by Adam Hughes
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Alive on Opening Day?
David and Clara spent the rest of the afternoon alternating between watching Dan sleep and pulling themselves out of his room to let him sleep as soundly as possible. It was a strange position to be in, because they desperately wanted their son to wake up, but they felt like they shouldn’t disturb his slumber.
“Can’t we just wake him up?” Clara asked her husband at one point.
“I don’t know that we could, honey,” he responded. “And besides, I don’t know that we should. Maybe we should wait to hear back from Dr. Parks and then ask for his advice. He’ll know more soon, I’m sure.”
“OK,” she said in a whisper.
Both Hodges were encouraged to some extent by Parks’ earlier report that Dan’s eyes were moving — David was familiar with REM sleep from a psychology course he took in college — but they were eager to see him fully awake. If Parks’ assessment were to be believed, Dan might not be with them for long, so the sooner they could speak with him the better.
Late in the afternoon, David called work again to let his boss know Dan’s status and to confirm he wouldn’t be coming in to the office that day. He needed to be home in case Dan woke up, and he needed to support Clara. He didn’t know if he would be in on Thursday, either, but if Dan’s situation didn’t change soon, David would miss at least the morning hours.
Luckily, David still had most of his vacation time left, and his boss understood about the short notice. It was more of the equity David had earned through years of hard work and dedication to the company.
Around 5 pm, the Hodges checked on Dan again and, noting no further developments, headed to the kitchen to make some sandwiches for dinner. They had called Gabbie to give her an update on Dan’s condition, and she was planning to come over around 6 to eat and to sit with Dan for a while, and to let David and Clara spend some time with Troy.
All in all, it was a quiet evening at home, the sort that would have made them all happy under different circumstances. With Dan lying unconscious in the next room, though, and a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the small family, the mood was somber and matched the darkness creeping around the edge of the trees outside the Hodges’ home. Sitting at the dinner table, the three adults made small talk, all of them avoiding the serious discussions they needed to have. Little Troy helped in those efforts and gave them all something to focus on when he cried or fussed or pumped his baby fist as his nervous system tried to figure out its optimal motor pathways.
Finally, when dinner was done and the dishes were cleared away, Clara and David settled in on the sofa, and Gabbie slid Troy from her arms to Clara’s. The young lady straightened her spring dress, combed her hair with her fingers, and walked toward the bedroom in silence.
David and Clara had been playing with Troy for about five minutes, an elixir that brought them some semblance of peace, when Gabbie shrieked from the rear of the house.
“He’s moving!” she called.
David sprung to his feet, and Clara struggled to be gentle as she rose, careful not to jar Troy. David put a hand under his wife’s elbow and applied just enough pressure to help her stand. Then the three of them hurried down the hall toward Dan’s room.
“Come on! He’s moving,” Gabbie yelled again just as the Hodges reached the doorway.
“Shhh!!” Clara shushed, remembering her earlier conversation with David.
“But he’s moving!!” Gabbie enthused.
David squeezed his wife’s shoulder and pointed toward the bed. There, under the sheet and blanket that had lain in the same configuration for nearly 24 hours, Dan was not just moving, but thrashing about. He kicked at his covers with his feet and struggled to pull his hands out from underneath. It was evident he wanted to be free of his covers, and David moved forward to help in that effort. As he leaned to grab the top of the sheet, Dan’s hand popped out from the darkness and clasped his father’s wrist.
“Dad!” Dan said. “What’s going on? Why are you all in my room?”
David jerked, startled by his son’s clutch and voice, and broke into a wide smile. “Welcome back, sleepy head!” he teased.
“Dan!” Clara gasped and nudged past her husband with her hip.
“Hey, no pushing!” David teased her. She pushed harder.
“Mom, hi,” Dan said.
“You scared us, young man,” she said.
“I did?” he asked, and looked at the bundle in her arms. “Hey, you have Troy! Can I hold him?”
“Well, he is your son,” she said. “Can you sit up, or do you need some time?”
“I’m fine, mom,” Dan said, and he swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up. He weaved back and forth a couple of times, his eyes unfocused. Gabbie grabbed his shoulder to steady him.
“Thanks, Gabbie,” Dan said, placing his hand on hers. “I think I’m OK now. Come sit by me?”
The young girl stepped around the end of the bed and settled onto the mattress beside Dan, uneasy but feeling a warmth grow in her chest. The two had been together for a few years, but it had been really hard to go through the pregnancy on her own, and their relationship had been strained since Dan woke up in the spring. Still, he was Troy’s father, and she loved him and was afraid to lose him again.
She threw her arm around his shoulder and kissed him on the cheek as Clara bent to place Troy in Dan’s arms.
David tapped his wife on the shoulder and motioned toward the hallway with his head. She nodded and said, “We, um, need to finish cleaning up the dinner dishes. We’ll be back in a bit.”
And then, even if for just a little while, Gabbie, Troy, and Dan were a family.
—
David and Clara drove Dan to the hospital later that night, where Parks met them and ordered another series of tests. By the next morning, he had pulled in Dr. Rayburn, an endocrinologist from Terre Haute, and the two of them were able to confirm that Dan’s hormones were slipping again and that his profile was similar to where it had been during the previous winter.
From all appearances, Dan was on the verge of hibernating.
He managed to stay awake, with the help of a pot of black coffee and some stimulant drugs administered intravenously, throughout most of Thursday morning. By that afternoon, however, he was groggy, and Clara called Gabbie to the hospital, just in case something happened. Gabbie arrived with Troy around 7 pm, and there was just enough time for her to see Dan for a few minutes before he blacked out.
His sleep was even deeper than it had been on Tuesday night, and he didn’t wake up again until late Friday. When he came to, Dan sensed several people around him, but he zeroed in on the wide face at the end of his bed. It was coach Croft.
“Sleeping on the job again, eh, Hodges?” the coach teased.
“Hi coach,” Dan rasped.
His parents and Gabbie, who had been in chairs around the edges of the room stood and gathered near him, their faces swimming into focus.
Dan was wild-eyed when he said, “I almost hate to ask, but what are you all doing here? How long was I out?”
David grabbed his son’s toes through the hospital blanket. “Just a day or so, Dan,” he said.
Dan sighed in relief. “Well, that’s good,” he said. “At least I haven’t missed anything yet.”
He clipped that last word as he realized the Eagles were scheduled to have played the second round of sectionals on Thursday, the night before. “The game!” Dan gasped.
“Don’t you worry about that,” Croft said. “You’ve already got our offense hopping, remember?”
“So …,” Dan led, and Croft nodded.
“We won, Dan,” the coach said. “We won big — 13-2.”
“Wow! That’s great,” Dan enthused. “Addison was supposed to be really good. That means we’ll play on Saturday … who do we play?”
“Rosedale,” the coach said.
Dan looked determined. “Well, we shouldn’t have any trouble with them. You know they’ll s
end Hartenstein to the mound. Hard fastball, but not much else. Can’t wait to see the game!”
Another realization flashed across his face, before disappointment took its place. “Oh, man,” Dan said. “I knew this would happen! I’m going to be in Cincinnati on Saturday!”
Croft and David looked at each other, an exchange that didn’t escape Dan.
“What?” he said. “What??”
“Dan,” David said in a soft voice. “Doctor Parks wants you to stay here, in the hospital, for at least a little while. They need to monitor your condition and try to come up with a treatment. I’m so sorry, Dan.”
All the people gathered around Dan put a hand on his arms or legs, and Gabbie kissed him on the cheek. Even though he knew he was getting worse, he was still stunned by the idea he was sick enough to stay in the hospital. His eyes teared up as he thought about all he would miss — Troy’s first Christmas, Gabbie heading off to college, the World Series …again.
“Well,” he said in a quivering voice after a few seconds, “I guess there’s always next year. And the spring — we can count on that, right? I always come alive on Opening Day.”
