As the car pulled up to his parents’ house, Craig saw his mother and father standing outside, waving frantically. The sight made him laugh out loud. They didn’t look like two of the richest people in the country – they looked like any other pair of overly excited parents welcoming their child home.
They pulled him into a hug as soon as he got out of the car.
“Hello mum, dad!”
“Welcome home son!” His mum squeezed him so hard that he found himself out of breath. “Well let’s get inside, you’ll freeze to death out here!”
He laughed. “This is nothing compared to Madison this time of year.”
“You’ll have to tell us all about it!”
They went inside and sat down at the dining table. Craig’s mother fussed around, fetching things from the kitchen until the table was full. He’d forgotten how much she loved to cook. She’d made his favorite – spaghetti bolognese. She’d also baked fresh bread (which he knew was from scratch) and put together a lovely salad with vegetables from her greenhouse.
Once all of the questions about the flight were out of the way, his mother asked him to tell them everything that happened. “From the beginning,” she urged.
Mouth full of bread, he started. “Unfortunately, I still don’t know what happened the night I er – well, at first I thought I was attacked. Turns out, I slipped on some ice and knocked myself out.”
His mother gasped. “How awful!”
“I’m okay,” he said gently. “I found this out later when the police showed me a surveillance video. Slipped and fell. Some passersby relieved me of my coat, wallet and shoes before calling for an ambulance.”
His father let out a laugh. “You were defeated by a patch of ice, then?”
“Oh yes, completely. And at that point, I was taken to hospital – to intensive care. I woke up rather quickly, as I understand it, but had no memory of who I was or how I got there.”
His mother made a tsk noise. He continued. “By the next day, they transferred me to a room with a man who I’m sure, by now, is dead, judging by his terrible cough. I decided I should excuse myself, so I found my way out.”
“Craig William Watson!” his mother gasped. “You did not!”
“I did,” Craig said hurriedly. “They did say that I was ready to be discharged that day. Funny thing was, I ended up giving them a fake name and didn’t have a way to face the bill.”
“Don’t worry Maggie,” Craig’s father said evenly. “We’ll make a donation to cover his stay.”
She sighed, wagging a finger. “You’ve always been a rascal.”
Craig smiled. That was one way to put it. “Long story short, I underestimated the Wisconsin winter and found myself in need of shelter that night. I made it to the men’s shelter, but it wasn’t to my liking – ”
His father laughed again. “I would quite like to see you in a men’s shelter.”
“The smells alone drove me out,” Craig replied with a shudder. “I ended up at a food bank to get a meal. As luck would have it, the nurse who cared for me in the ICU was there. And she – well, she had a basement flat she’d finished and planned to rent. But she allowed me, quite graciously I might add, to stay there while I sorted out my situation.”
“There’s that midwestern charm that I so love,” his father commented. “I’m sure she wasn't much to look at, but it doesn’t matter since it sounds like she had a heart of gold.”
“She was beautiful, one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen in my life,” Craig said without thinking. The surprised look on his parents’ faces told him that his comment may have been an overshare.
“Not that it mattered, of course. She was exceptionally kind.” He filled them in on the details of her foster cats, her siblings, his cat and subsequent fleas, and finally her fiancé who tragically died of leukemia. When he finished, they both stared at him for a moment.
“Well, she sounds like a lovely person,” his mum said.
Craig smiled. “She was. I mean – is.”
“It seems we are quite in her debt for returning you to us safely.”
“Yes, but she wouldn’t want anything, of course.”
“Of course,” his mother agreed.
He decided to change the subject. “Why was I in Madison to begin with?”
His father answered. “For the gala.”
“What gala?”
“I’d asked you to attend in my place. I can’t tell you how I’ve regretted it,” his mother said with a sigh. “It was a gala to raise money for some Madison-based charities.”
“Ah,” Craig said. “Because you’re Maggie from Madison.”
“That’s right,” she said excitedly. “You remember!”
“It was the first thing I remembered, actually. But it wasn’t very useful without a last name.”
She laughed. “I suppose not. Well anyway, I attend every year, but thought it’d be nice if you saw where I grew up. Bunny went with you. She said the night you disappeared that you told her, ‘Don’t wait up.’ ”
Craig frowned. “That does sound like me. Have I always been such a terrible git?”
His mother grabbed his hand. “You’re not a git! A rascal, sure. But never a git.”
“Sure, mum. Dad?”
“A bit of a git, yes,” he responded. They erupted into laughter. “But not much worse than I was at your age.”
“Fair enough,” Craig said.
They sat for another few hours and he told them about his escapades in toilet and tile work. They found every story hilarious, but after a while, he was too tired to give each story justice.
“I’ll need to hear some of those again,” his mum warned him as she headed up to bed. “And I won’t be able to sleep until you tell me the name of the lovely girl who took you in. I have to send her a thank you note.”
Craig obliged. He wrote down her name and address on a sheet of paper. “Alright mum. But nothing embarrassing, promise?”
She held up her hand. “What was it that you used to say when you were little? Pinky swear?”
He gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Yes. Goodnight mum.”
“Sleep tight.”
Somehow, he didn’t trust that his mother wouldn’t do something embarrassing with Kali’s information. She did pinky swear, though, and there had to be some honor left in that.
Chapter 17
After a fair bit of worrying, Kali decided to call Betsy’s bluff. That Tuesday, she did not go in for work. Instead, she visited Luke’s parents, went to his grave, and lit a candle for him. She knew she’d requested the day off and she could prove that to anyone who questioned it. It was unacceptable to keep living her life under the threat of “exposure.” Most importantly, she did what she needed to do to honor Luke’s memory.
Betsy’s response came in early on Wednesday. Kali was scheduled for the 7 AM shift and her phone rang at six – it was someone named Sue.
“It’s come to our attention,” Sue said, “that there are allegations of your improper conduct with a patient.”
Kali heard herself gulp. “There are?”
“Effective immediately, you are suspended. We’ll be in contact with a date for a hearing in front of the ethics committee.”
She didn’t know what to say. Clearly now wasn’t the time to argue. She settled on, “Thank you,” and “have a nice day.”
Not knowing what else to do, she called her mother, who was outraged by the allegations and threatened to go down to the hospital and confront Betsy.
“Please don’t,” Kali said. It was nice to have someone on her side, even if they seemed set on the unrealistic plan of inciting some sort of a riot. They talked for a good bit, her mother reassuring her that the investigation would find that she acted honorably, and therefore, she should enjoy this free vacation. Kali laughed. It didn’t feel like a vacation. It felt like they were taking away the most important part of her.
Kali thought of texting Ashley, but knew she was at work already
– plus, would they pull her texting logs or something for the hearing? It was better to leave no trace. Instead, she sent Ashley a text message that she’d gotten some bad news. This caused Ashley to become outrageously curious; she stopped by Kali’s place on the way home from work.
“Spill the beans!” she said. “I’ve been imagining terrible things all day!”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Well, not nothing – I’m being investigated for ‘improper conduct.’ Right now I’m suspended.”
Ashley sat down dramatically. “I thought you were dying or something!”
Kali frowned. “Not literally. But if I can’t be a nurse…”
“Stop. They can’t take away your license. I don’t think.” Ashley shrugged. “Worst case, you may get fired.”
Kali groaned. “That’s pretty bad.”
“It is,” Ashley said, “but it’s not the end of the world. Listen, if they fire you, I’ll go to a new hospital with you! I’ll quit in solidarity!”
“You don’t have to do that,” Kali said. “I know you love your floor.”
Ashley shrugged. “Not as much as I love you. And don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll scold you and nothing will come of it. Slap on the wrist.”
“When they find out he was living with me, I’m sure that I’ll get more than – ”
“How are they going to find that out?” Ashley said.
Kali eyed her for a moment. “Well, if they ask.”
“No! Don’t tell them anything! All they have is what, a picture?”
“Yeah, but – ”
“But nothing! Innocent until proven guilty.”
Kali sighed. “I don’t think it works that way.”
“Well then, stop thinking so much,” Ashley said, crossing her arms. “You’ll get yourself in trouble.”
There was a knock at the door. Kali shot Ashley a puzzled look. Who could that be? A little streak of terror shot through her that it may be Bunny again. Did she forget her ridiculous purse somewhere? That reminded her – she needed to tell Ashley about seeing it.
Kali opened the door – it was a delivery guy.
“A letter for you, ma’am. Please sign here.”
“Uh – okay. Thank you.”
“Have a good night.”
Kali closed the door and examined the large envelope in her hand.
“Who’s it from?” Ashley sat up with interest.
“It’s posted from the UK,” she said slowly. Had Craig sent her something? A little flutter of hope took off in her chest.
“Well don’t just look at it! Open it!” Ashley urged.
Kali carefully opened the envelope, slipping out a single sheet of paper. Ashley jumped up to read over her shoulder.
Dear Kali Mitchell,
Thank you a thousand times over for taking care of my son Craig these past few weeks. I grew up in Madison, and I know how brutal the winters there can be. If you hadn’t opened up your home to Craig…well, to be honest, I’m too afraid to think of what may have happened to him. Thank you does not seem like enough.
My husband Phillip and I request the honor of your presence in our home in London. I would like to properly thank you in person. I understand that you lead quite a busy life, however, I can send the jet whenever is convenient for you. Please feel free to bring any guests you so choose. Craig has told us all about your wonderful mother, father, sisters and brother, and your best friends Ashley and Steven. Everyone is welcome to join.
I have included my phone number at the bottom of this letter. Please feel free to reach out to me at any time.
Truly in your debt,
Maggie Watson
Kali stared at the letter for a moment, quickly re-reading it. What on earth? There was no way she was going to go to London. She needed to be in the country so she could defend herself from being fired.
“She knows my name!” Ashley said excitedly. “That’s so cool!”
Kali laughed. “Don’t get any ideas.”
“Hold on, just hold on a minute,” Ashley said quickly. “Think about it! You can’t go to work. I have to work the weekend and then I’m free next week. What could be more perfect?”
“What could be more perfect? Me getting my job back!”
“Oh relax, you haven't lost your job yet.” Ashley outstretched her hand. “Can I see the letter?”
“Fine,” Kali said, rubbing her forehead. She didn’t want to be rude and refuse to go, but at the same time, she was absolutely not going! It was absurd and out of the question. How would it look to the committee if her patient sent a jet for her? It was one of the most ridiculous things she’d ever heard, and she’d have none of it. Who did Maggie Watson think she was?
Ashley returned the letter to her. “Well, I’ve got good news and bad news.”
“What?”
“The bad news is that I didn’t know how to text internationally. The good news is that I figured it out and told Maggie that we’re ready to be picked up next week.”
Kali’s jaw dropped. “You didn’t.”
She giggled. “I did!”
“Ashley! How could you do that?”
“Listen Kal, I need to go home and do some laundry. What’s the weather like in London?”
“We are not going to London! And why did you invite yourself?”
“She practically sent the letter personally to me! She knows I’m your best friend.”
“She also thinks Steven is my best friend.”
“No,” Ashley said, pulling on her coat, “clearly Steven is Craig’s best friend. Duh. But he can’t come, he has to work.”
“Ashley.”
“I suggest you buy some new clothes before we fly out, you’re going to stick out like a country bumpkin in London!”
Kali gritted her teeth. “I’m not going to London.”
“Good thing Luke made you get a passport, now you can finally use it!” Ashley said brightly. “And I haven't’ used mine since my honeymoon.”
“I don’t think – ”
Ashley cut her off, patting her on the shoulder. “I know we’ll look back on this one day and laugh.”
“No, we won’t!” Kali said, arms crossed.
“Love you, sleep tight!” Ashley scooted out of the door before Kali could say anything else.
Kali sighed and went back to look at the letter. She couldn’t very well message Maggie Watson now and say that it was a false alarm. It looked like she was taking her suspension to London after all.
Chapter 18
Though he hoped to have at least a day to recover a bit from jet lag, Craig found himself running wedding related errands with Bunny for the rest of the week. “You’ve gotten out of helping me for far too long,” she reasoned.
He didn’t think that was quite fair, but he said nothing. Instead he tried to gather as much information about this wedding as he could. It seemed like he was paying for most, if not all, of the festivities. This became clear after he handed his credit card over more times than he could count that week. There were over 500 invited guests – close friends, family and business connections from both of their families. When Craig commented that it seemed a bit excessive, Bunny scolded him. “It was your idea to invite everyone you’d ever like to do business with!”
He had no retort. That probably was true, and apparently the invitations already went out, so it was too late to nix a few hundred people from the list.
The most absurd task that Bunny brought him along for was a photo shoot. For it, she changed into two different dresses. Craig didn’t want to ask how much those cost him.
“Isn’t it bad luck for me to see you in your wedding dress before the wedding?” he asked.
“This isn’t my wedding dress silly,” she replied. “It’s my reception dress. There’s no bad luck about it.”
“It’s quite poofy for dancing,” he observed. “And looks heavy.” It was covered in sparkling white jewels. Craig wondered if they were diamonds. That seemed like a waste.
“B
eauty is pain.” She carefully positioned herself following the photographer’s instructions. Craig stood to the side, watching. He was dressed in a tuxedo. Someone came and put gel in his hair. Another woman tried to dab makeup on his face but he shooed her away. Is this how he used to spend his time?
Eventually the photographer pulled Craig in front of the camera and gave him instructions on how to stand and hold his arms. It was rather boring, and Bunny was dissatisfied with many of her lone shots, so she did them again. They repeated the process with her second dress.
“This is my leaving dress.”
“For leaving…the country?” he asked.
“No, for leaving the reception. When they wave us off.”
“Ah, I see. It’s much lighter, for travel, is that it? We don’t want to risk bottoming out the car as we exit.”
She ignored him and stood still for makeup reapplication.
Craig took a seat on a nearby couch. He couldn’t possibly have agreed to all of this. What were these pictures for anyway? Wouldn’t they get enough pictures on the wedding day itself? He sighed and took out his phone. There was a message from his mum.
“Be sure to be home for lunch tomorrow, I’ve got quite the surprise!”
“As long as it’s not wedding related, sure.”
“No problem there!” she said. She added five hearts to the end of the message, which made Craig smile.
The photo shoot went on for another two hours, and he was so exhausted by the end that he forgot to ask where these pictures were going. He wished Bunny a good night and headed home to his parent’s house. Bunny thought it was odd that he didn’t want to return to his flat in London, which was closer to where she lived. He didn’t know how to explain it to her, so he said that his mum asked him to stay over. In truth, there was something comforting about being home with them. They were still the main two people that he had memories of. Everything else was still trickling in. His flat in London seemed cold and empty by comparison.
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