by Sofie Hern
During their Thanksgiving dinner, the day before, Rita asked for everyone’s prayers for Aaron and Frank appeared bothered by it, which put Rita in a state of confusion. As with her, Frank's parents raised him with the notion that caring for others is one of the most important things in life. They all prayed for Aaron but Rita knew that Frank wasn’t happy.
After dinner, on their way home, Frank complained that she was too quiet and distant at dinner for which she apologized and they didn’t speak for the rest of the night. One hour later she received the news that Aaron was awake and her sadness turned to joy.
–
Two years ago, Rita became pregnant but lost the baby less than five weeks into the pregnancy and Frank was indifferent. “It wasn't meant to be,” he’d said and life went back to normal.
Work consumes him and Rita thinks he’s the perfect example of the expression ‘married to the job.’ They’ve become distant during the last couple of years and she often thinks of him as a roommate. With benefits.
She’s in bed crying for her friend and thinks that maybe it was her friendship with Tianna what caused that wedge between her and Frank.
57
AARON
Aaron closes his eyes, hoping to go away from the strange place and back to the hill by the ocean but a voice keeps calling him. It’s Uncle Adam, but where is he? He wants to close his eyes, but Uncle Adam keeps talking to him and tells him that everything is going to be alright and Aaron believes him because he’s always right.
–
The man in the white coat is back and Uncle Adam is gone from view. Aaron closes his eyes, but soon someone else is calling him. “Aaron, can you hear me?” It’s a different voice from a man in blue. Aaron tries to nod, but the thing around his head doesn't let him.
“Yes.”
The man smiles. “We’re putting you inside this awesome looking machine, it’s like a rocket ship,” he tells Aaron who doesn’t protest.
He can’t move because everything aches and he closes his eyes, but is unable to return to his hiding place in the bus, with his mom. He’s being placed in a machine, which makes Aaron feel like it’s swallowing him whole and he shuts his eyes. The sounds around him are super loud and Aaron imagines that’s the sound a jet engine must make—according to his uncle’s description over the years.
After a long time, the sound stops and the machine spits Aaron back out then he opens his eyes. The man in blue tells him that he did a great job, but Aaron isn’t so sure. What did he do exactly? Once again Aaron tries to go back to the bus but can't. It’s becoming more difficult to go back there.
A nice lady comes into his field of vision and smiles. “We’re going back to your room, champ.”
Slowly Aaron starts to piece things together and soon realizes that he is in a hospital. But why? He's not sure yet. Aaron is glad that his head no longer hurts and doesn’t need to close his eyes anymore. He tries to move, but his left arm still hurts. A lot. The nice nurse makes sure he’s comfortable and then leaves. Aaron likes her; she always has a smile on her face, just like Rita. Soon Uncle Adam comes into view and Aaron feels much better knowing he’s here.
“Hey, buddy,” says Uncle Adam with a smile as he takes his hand and Aaron smiles back. He’s wide awake now and very much aware of where he is but still doesn’t know why and is too afraid to ask.
The nice nurse and the doctor soon come into view.
“Hi, Aaron,” says the doctor while Uncle Adam holds Aaron’s hand. The doctor stands at the foot of Aaron’s bed and speaks. “Tell me if you feel this,” says the doctor, but Aaron isn't sure what he’s referring to.
“Do you feel this?”
“No?”
“How about this?”
Aaron once again says no.
The doctor then instructs Aaron to wiggle his toes, which he does.
“Now wiggle them when I count to three okay? One. Two. Three.” Aaron does as asked.
The doctor glances at Uncle Adam then approaches Aaron. “Does anything hurt, Aaron?”
“My arm and my face.”
“It is bad?”
“Uh-huh. A lot”
“We’ll help with the pain, okay?” says the doctor and the nice nurse puts something in Aaron’s IV drip. “You’ll feel better soon,” she tells him with a smile and Aaron eventually finds his way back to the bus.
58
ADAM
Dr. Jian and I step away from the bed and walk over to the window. He stands in front of me with his arms crossed over his chest.
“The MRI shows what’ve been suspecting. His spinal cord injury is exactly what we feared.”
“What happens now?”
“We can wait a few days and see if it anything changes.”
“We’ve been waiting for nearly two weeks now. What will change? And what if it doesn’t?”
He takes a while to answer. “I'm afraid there's nothing we can do. Not here.”
“Are you serious?”
He puts his hands in his coat pockets and his eyes dance around the room, avoiding eye contact. “Mr. Novak, my suggestion is you seek other facilities. I can tell you that I can fix this, but I'd be lying. He’ll need a specialist, therapy, extensive treatment. Decompression surgery is an option but we don’t have what he needs.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “Bullshit,” I say and take a step forward.
“Mr. Novak—”
“I think you waited too damn long.”
“Mr. Novak, our options were limited given his condition. There was too much swelling and—”
“Why didn’t you do something sooner? Why not do something when he was asleep?”
He says nothing.
“Come on!” I kick the sleeper chair. I’m so angry and frustrated and so worried about Aaron.
“I'm only being honest, Mr. Novak. I can… We can run more tests to see what more we can do, but—”
“But he’s a waste of time?”
“That’s not at all what I—”
“My nephew is not a fucking waste of time.”
“Mr. Novak, I—”
“Get out!” I say and for a moment I’m afraid I’ll punch him.
“I'm really sorry,” he says and walks out of the room.
I stand in the center of the room with my hands on my hips, fuming and looking at Aaron then there’s a knock on the door. I turn to find Charles, my boss, at the threshold.
“May I come in?” He’s holding a colorful basket with flowers and a get-well balloon attached to it.
“Charles.” I approach and shake his hand. “Thank you for coming,” I say and invite him in. I take the basket from him and put it with the others. He walks to the bed and looks at Aaron for a long moment. “How is he?”
“He’s in a lot of pain so he’s sedated, and…”
He studies me for a moment. “What’s wrong?”
“The doctor, he… he’s giving up on him.” I throw my hands up, step away from the bed and Charles follows me to the window.
“He just told me that he’s paralyzed. The doctor says there's nothing they can do. I think he waited too damn long to make him right again. They can’t help him now. Not here, anyway.”
“That's terrible. Are they flat-out refusing?”
“According to the doctor, they lack the necessary equipment, something about decompression? He’ll need a specialist and God knows what else.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ve no idea.” I glance out the window at the gray sky, feeling deflated.
“Well, you can't give up.”
“I know that, but I... I have no idea what to do. I mean, the insurance will take its sweet time and—”
“Look, Adam. I…” Charles begins and then turns to look out the window. “I almost lost Howard and… well, you gave him another chance and—”
“Charles, please. Don't.”
“No. Please, Adam. Allow me. I never got the opportunity to properly thank you.�
�
“He was my friend and he needed help,’” I say and shrug.
He shakes his head. “You need to fight for this boy and I want to help.”
“Charles, I—”
“I know you can handle this. It’s not an easy undertaking and I want to help. You need to look for another hospital, one that specializes in his type of injuries. The best one you can find. Anywhere. I’ll make sure he gets what he needs.”
I am in awe. “I don't know what to say.”
“Say yes. Adam, you gave me back my son and I want to help get yours back too. Please, let me.”
I exhale and nod. “Um… Thank you.”
“And don't you worry about work either. Your job will always be there for you, you’re my best.”
“No, no. I’ll go back to work, Charles. I need the income, especially—”
“I'll take care of any expenses.”
“What? Why? No. Charles I—”
“You don't realize how deeply you touched me and my family with your actions on that day.”
“Wow. I, uh… thank you.”
He touches my shoulder. “You're welcome,” he says and walks back to Aaron’s bed.
“You’re going to be okay, little guy,” he says and turns to me. “I need to get going. I just wanted to stop by for a minute and say hello.
–
“How do you feel about working remotely?” he asks as we make our way to the elevators.
“I can do that.”
“Perfect. If you can keep up with the emails and get them resolved that will be a huge help. You can answer inquiries, make calls, and direct your team through your computer. You young kids are good with that stuff.”
He walks in the elevator, smiles and the door closes.
59
IRENE
Irene holds the key in her hand and leans back against the closed door. She hears Adam’s car pull away and knows that returning the key isn’t a good sign. She throws the key on the desk and goes upstairs where she opens Jordyn’s door and storms inside.
–
“Mom!” Jordyn protests, sitting at her computer.
Irene crosses the room and turns down the music, then stands next to her daughter with her arms crossed over her chest. “What the hell was that?”
“What?”
“Dad?”
Jordyn shrugs and returns her attention to the computer.
“Since when do you call him dad?”
The girl says nothing.
“What happened to ‘he’s not my dad’ crap?”
“He said it was okay. And anyway you’ve been wanting me to call him dad so there ya go.”
“So there's hope?”
Jordyn rolls her eyes. “Mom, he's done with you.”
“No!” Irene slaps the girl across the face.
Jordyn rubs at her cheek and looks at her mom with tears in her eyes.
“Honey, I… I’m sorry I—”
Jordyn gets to her feet and leaves the room.
“Honey!” Irene goes after her. “Where are you going?” she screams from the top of the stairs.
Jordyn opens the front door and turns to her mom. “Away from you!” And slams the door shut as Irene descends the stairs.
Can she afford to be angry with Jordyn? What if she tells Adam I hit her? She paces the office. “Think Irene!” she hisses, but she can't think, she’s too angry and for the first time feels powerless. She’s lost the ability to manipulate her children and her husband. Calm down, Irene. She takes her jacket from the coat hanger and leaves the house.
–
She goes after Jordyn, down the porch, and across the yard. She looks both ways and sees Jordyn heading west on Cartier and Irene walks as fast as she can.
“Jordyn, honey, wait!”
The girl is about twenty feet away and Irene is able to catch up before the light turns green. The morning’s cold and the streets deserted.
“Honey, I'm sorry. I don’t know what got into me.”
Jordyn looks at her while pressing the button to cross the street. “You scare me, mom.”
Irene looks around, but sees no one. She’s a mess and doesn’t want to make a scene.
“I promise it won’t happen again. I… I miss him, that's all.”
Jordyn studies her for a moment and then nods.
“Let's go home,” says Irene and puts her arm around Jordyn’s shoulders. “So, how’s Aaron?”
“Oh my God, mom, he woke up!”
Her heart sinks and she feels the color leave her face. “What? Is… is he okay?”
“He sleeps a lot, but Jaycob told Adam that he responded. Isn't that awesome?”
“Yes… yes, it… it is.” Panic is taking over. “Can he talk or...?”
“Don't know. I’m sure Adam will let me know later.”
Jordyn continues to talk all the way home, but Irene’s thoughts are elsewhere. She worries and wonders how long until the cops come to her door to throw her in jail. She shakes her head, pushing the thought away and knows that she needs a backup plan in case they come for her.
“—that he’s going to be okay,” Jordyn continues as they approach the door. “Isn’t it great?”
“Yeah,” she says to whatever it was that Jordyn said.
Irene knows she needs to keep her cool. She needs to calm down and not lose control, again, no matter what Jordyn tells her and no matter how jealous she may be.
–
Jordyn sits at the table and Irene takes two bowls and puts them on the table.
“How did he look to you when he woke up?” she asks while taking a quart of milk from the refrigerator.
“Confused.”
Irene takes out a box of Corn Pops, puts it on the table and sits. Jordyn reaches for it and pours herself some cereal, then covers the yellow bubbles with milk.
60
ADAM
It is an unbelievable relief knowing that I’ll be able to work remotely. It will give me an opportunity to stay with Aaron for the long haul. While I sit next to Aaron’s bed, I start getting chills and know I’m definitely coming down with something. I close my eyes, and then Rita walks in.
“Hey,” she says and I stand to greet her. “How is he?”
We walk to the bed and stand side by side looking at Aaron and I shake my head.
“What is it?”
I invite her to sit on the sleeper chair by the window and tell her what the doctor discovered. She listens as I share the offer Charles made and tears well in her eyes.
“So now I need to start looking for other options, hospitals, and specialists.”
“Let’s find him the best one then.” She pats my knee and gets to her feet. “I’ll help with whatever you need.”
“Thanks, Rita.”
“You don’t look well. Are you all right?”
“I think I’m coming down with something. I feel like crap.”
“Why don’t you go home? I can stay with Aaron until Jaycob comes back.”
“I don’t know. What if he wakes up?”
“I’ll be right here. Plus, I don’t think you should be here if you’re sick. You’ll give him whatever bug got you.”
“But I want to find a hospital. Today, if possible.”
“Then let me help.”
–
We go down to the cafeteria with my laptop to do our research and have a quick bite to eat. We each take a tray and Rita gets a cinnamon roll and chocolate milk, but I’m not hungry and only take an orange juice. We sit at a table by the windows and immediately start searching the internet for the best specialist in the country. Nearly an hour later we have narrowed our search down to three hospitals, all out of state.
“Do you think his insurance will approve the transfer or cover it?”
“I’m not going through the insurance.”
“Are you sure?”
“Think about all the red tape we’ll need to cut. The hours spent being given the runaround. There are approvals
and referrals and pointless crap. That’s a lot of time, Rita. Precious time. Time that Aaron should be spending under the best care. Plus, I have some savings and my boss’s offer.”
She mulls this over and says, “Why is he doing this? What’s the catch?”
I stop typing and look at her. “There is no catch, I promise. You gotta trust me. Yes?”
We look at each other for a long time without saying a word. I’ve never paid attention to her eyes. She has beautiful gray eyes and they glimmer with the reflection of the window. She nods and we continue our research.
“What type of injuries does he have, again?”
I repeat what the doctor said. She types on the keyboard with impressive speed and after a few minutes, she closes the laptop and says, “Done! I sent the last email.” She smiles, but her face falls and suddenly looks concerned. “Are you all right?” she says and places a hand to my forehead. “You’re burning up, Adam. You better go on home.”
She packs up the laptop and helps me stand. “Can you drive okay?”
“I’ll be fine.”
She walks me to the car, puts the laptop in the passenger seat and sends me on my way.
–
I walk in and find Jaycob on the couch with a laptop in front of him and when he sees me he looks confused.
“What are you doing here?”
“I don’t feel well.”
He gets to his feet with panic in his face. “And you left Aaron alone?”
“No, ‘course not. Rita’s with him.”
He sits back down and I join him, putting my bag on the floor.
“Everything okay?” he asks.
I take a deep breath and lean back on the couch, then close my eyes and recite the same words I told Rita. The test results, the options, Charles’s offer, and Rita’s research. Of the three hospitals we found, the closest one is in Los Angeles.
“Fuck.”
