Twisted Truths & Leveled Lies

by Lessner, S. K.

  Nearing the end of the hall, we approached a nurse’s station where multiple rooms were located in a circular arrangement around the station.

  “Please wait here.” The officer looked down at me, and I momentarily saw a flash of compassion before his well-practiced Army mask was back in place.

  I leaned against the desk, taking in my surroundings. There were two nurses on the other side typing on computers. When they noticed me watching them, they looked up and offered a small smile. It looked almost like pity. I returned their smile and continued glancing around.

  Was Josie in one of these rooms? It looked like four of the six were occupied. If I knew which one it was I could run inside and see him.

  Before I had a chance to execute my plan, a young doctor entered through a closed door beside the nurse’s station, and came toward me. I tried to read his expression as he approached, but couldn’t. He seemed to be devoid of all emotion.

  “Ms. Sandviel?”

  “Yes?” I wasn’t questioning who I was. I was questioning the progress on my son.

  “Can you please follow me over here so I can update you on your son’s condition?”

  Oh, no. Why didn’t he just take me to him? What happened? My heart raced uncontrollably as fear overtook my body.

  Nodding my head in agreement, I followed behind the doctor.

  He led me over to a small sitting area that had two reclining chairs and a small table between them. The sun was shining through the windows on the far side, but it did nothing to ease the churning in my stomach.

  I sat down and turned to look at the doctor. He was younger than I expected, possibly still in his twenties. He had a somewhat nerdy look to him, but wasn’t unattractive. The look on his face didn’t change at all as he sat beside me. Either he was hiding something terrible, or the man had no emotions whatsoever.

  Reaching his hand out to shake mine, he introduced himself. “I’m Doctor Mulane. I was one of three doctors in the operating room with your son. None of us, or any of our colleagues for that matter, have ever been in a situation like this before.”

  I already assumed as much. Just tell me how my son was already!

  “We had to be extremely careful handling the explosive.”

  Duh! Did he think I was an idiot?

  “But fortunately, we were able to remove it and take it elsewhere for further studies and discharge.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

  That was good right? Why was he still looking at me like that?

  “And?” I pushed him forward. I needed him to tell me everything and he was taking forever. I was starting to pick the skin off from around my fingernails from my nervousness and knew I’d be bleeding soon if he didn’t finish quickly.

  “And,” He took a deep breath, “There was a considerable amount damage the doctors did when they inserted the device during the first surgery.”

  Oh God, no.

  “We were able to repair almost all of the damage, but your son will need another surgery in the future to insert the proper rods to heal his scoliosis. I’m sorry. We were trying to eliminate any further surgeries, but his body needs time to heal from this before we could do any more. He’s small and suffered a lot of bruising and trauma around the vertebrae.”

  “Why do you look so upset then? What aren’t you telling me?”

  He took another deep breath and I noticed the shift in his eyes as they softened with sympathy. “A small amount of the chemical Triacetone leaked from the device before we were able to remove it completely. We counteracted the chemical with various medications and did our best to remove every trace, but he’s still fighting it off. At this time, he’s stable, but we won’t know for sure what the effects will be for another forty-eight hours or so.”

  I heard what he said, but all I wanted was to hold my baby, to see him, and know he was still alive.

  “Can you please take me to him now?” I gritted the words between my teeth. I wasn’t angry with the doctor specifically, I was angry that my innocent little boy had to suffer repeatedly.

  The doctor nodded his head and stood. Reaching his hand out, he offered to help me up, but I didn’t take it. I rose from my chair and hurried over to the hall, waiting for him to catch up.

  Looking at me in surprise, he pulled his hand back in, sliding it into his coat pocket. I wasn’t trying to be rude. The only thing I could think about was that my son was here somewhere and I needed to get to him as soon as possible.

  “He’s right over here. Please come with me.” He nodded his head down the hall, walking past me, so he could lead the way.

  Following closely behind him, we walked around the circular nurses’ station, pausing outside one of the rooms I had been studying earlier.

  “For what it’s worth, Miss, everyone in that operating room fought for Josiah like he was our own child. We’ll continue to do everything we can for him.”

  His words were kind. Any other time I would’ve been grateful for his compassion, but right now he was blocking my way to my son.

  “Thank you, but can you please move so I can go in now?” I softened my voice since I knew he was being honest, and I should be grateful for what they’d done. I knew I should tell him how much I appreciated his help, but I couldn’t. I’d get to that later, after I held my son.

  The doctor pushed the curtain aside, revealing my Josiah. The room was dimly lit, but I could see almost everything. He was lying on his tummy, the metal guard railings up beside him. His back was bare, displaying the new incision that was larger than before, making it about six inches long now. It looked raw and terribly sore. There was a tube at the bottom of the incision, allowing fluid to drain, and he also had an IV in one hand, and an oxygen tube leading to his nose.

  Sitting next to Josie’s bed was Brett. I felt relief rush through me when I saw the two of them together. He looked as sexy as before, but terribly exhausted. Yet, he was here, he’d kept his word, and was with Josie when I couldn’t be. I would forever be grateful. He offered a small smile and I hurried over to him.

  He stood, wrapping me in his arms, as I squeezed him as tightly as possible.

  “How’d it go? You were gone quite a while.”

  I blew out a breath that had been hiding inside me for hours. With it, I exhaled immeasurable amounts of stress and worry.

  “Not so good, but I’m here now, and Josie’s out of surgery. That’s all that matters.” I stepped back to look closer at my son. Although the incision and all the medical attachments looked horrendous, he looked peaceful. His little eyes were moving rapidly beneath his eyelids. Hopefully he was having good dreams now.

  Reaching over the bed railing, I laid my hand on top of his tiny fingers. Saying a silent prayer that he’d make it through this, I felt Brett put his arm around, pulling me into his side, as we both looked down at Josie.

  “I’ve been here for a few hours. At first, pacin’ the halls. I think I pissed the nurses off with some things I said.”

  I saw his grin out of the corner of my eye and knew he was proud of himself for upsetting more of them.

  “When they finally let me in here to see him, Mel, I sat and thought about all he had been through and it took everything I had not to go and try to find the bastards who did this to him and kill ‘em myself.”

  I nodded my head, absorbing everything going on with my son, his present condition, and what the doctor had told me. But more than anything, I was trying to understand how a near stranger could care so much.

  He lowered his mouth to my ear, the closeness of our bodies bringing goose bumps to my arms. “I keep lookin’ at him and thinkin’ ‘bout my own son. I wasn’t able to help him or give him the life he deserved, but I can be here for Josiah.”

  That explained a lot. Somehow he blamed himself for his son’s death all these years.

  “Thank you, Brett.” I wrapped my arm around his waist, laying my head on his arm, as I sighed. “Has anything happened while you’ve been here?”

&nb
sp; “Uh-uh. The nurses came in periodically to check him, but otherwise no. He’s been sleepin’. The doctors said he’d probably sleep most of today from the anesthesia and pain medication.”

  Continuing our stance and watch over Josie, we stood in silence, both of us deep in thought. So much had happened so fast. But now the bomb was gone. As long as the chemical didn’t hurt him, he was going to be okay. He’d live.

  “I don’t know ‘bout you, but I’m starvin’. Would ya like somethin’? I’m gonna hunt down a kitchen and find some food.”

  “Coffee. I need coffee.” I smiled, again. It felt like a big weight had been lifted off my chest. I hadn’t eaten much in the last two days, and I finally had the desire to.

  “They didn’t give ya anything while you were in questioning?” He was surprised.

  “They were total assholes in there. They offered me water and it took everything I had not to spit it in their faces. I couldn’t believe they were so cold hearted when my son was in surgery.”

  “I knew I disliked them damn Grunt!” He shook his head with disgust. “At least we gave our prisoners food when we questioned them. It may’ve been laced with what we called truth serum, but it had some nutrients in it too.”

  He joked and I found myself enjoying his easy-going personality. If he weren’t here, I’d focus on every bad thought possible and be a complete mess. He was an oasis of peace right now.

  “Okay, I’m off to find Chef Boy R Dee.” He leaned down, softly placing a kiss on the top of my head.

  I was about to reply, but froze. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I nodded my head, hoping he didn’t notice the change in me. I doubt that he meant anything by the kiss except reassurance, but my thoughts instantly returned to Miguel and I didn’t want to offend Brett when he was being so kind.

  After he left the room, I pulled the chair up to the bed and reached over to hold Josie’s hand. Laying my head on the metal bar separating us, I closed my eyes, trying to process everything that had happened.

  So many memories raced through my mind. The first night Miguel and I met, with the rooster pot holder, the fireworks, our sailboat, the way he looked at me when we made love, his words “You are my everything,” marrying him on the beach, the day our son was born and he held Josie and cried, how he came home every night and ran to be with him, how we never grew tired of new sex positions and laughed when some didn’t work, hearing the news about Josie’s diagnosis, finding a doctor together, and then the memories started to slow down as they became more recent.

  I replayed hearing Miguel’s anger in the plane when I passed out. He was angry and wasn’t part of the drugging, but he never told me. Why not? He was angry when he came down and saw Osan holding Josie the next morning, but after their talk, he was withdrawn and upset with me. What changed? He put up so many walls while we were there, became irritated and distant, spent so much time with his brother away from us, he yelled and threatened me, and even locked me inside the house for almost two months. Why? Did he know and resign himself to doing this? For what? Religion? Family? I summarized everything by thinking of the ladies in evening gowns that he had escorted home and finally, Osan’s words, “American whore.” I was too tired to cry anymore, and wondered if I had any tears left.

  Keeping my eyes closed, I let everything fade away. I pictured returning home and Joan rushing to me, wrapping me in her arms. Her baby was due any day and the happiness of finally holding the new baby took the edge off the pain and filled me with joy as I dozed off.

  A little while later, I woke to someone rubbing my back. Lifting my heavy head, I noticed that my forehead hurt. Before I could figure out why, I turned to find Brett laughing next to me.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “You.” He continued to laugh. “You have an amazingly attractive red indent across your forehead from sleepin’ against the bar.”

  I reached up and felt the dent. Between the dirt and sweat from yesterday, no brush, and now this on my face, I knew I looked terrifying. I rubbed the spot, trying to get it to fade, and felt the heat cover my face from embarrassment.

  “Don’t worry. You're still beautiful, indents and all.”

  He reached over and grabbed a brown paper bag off the chair. “Here’s your fine cuisine, my princess. A deliciously toasted, flaky bread layered elegantly with the finest of lunch meats. We have a side order of rare and hard to find, potato chips. Imported, nonetheless. I was able to climb a few trees and retrieve some fresh bananas and oranges before I went down to the winery and hand picked the finest grapes I could find. And to wash it all down, they actually had beer and little bottles of wine. Obviously they knew we’d have to be drunk to deal with Army personnel. I brought some water, soda, wine, and of course, this.”

  He held out a large cup of coffee while his lips slowly turned up into a smile. He was trying to keep it in, but he burst into laughter.

  I couldn’t help it either, laughter spilled out of me. Everything from the past few weeks disappeared and I started laughing uncontrollably. It started as a light, melancholy sound, but quickly turned into a rolling echo across the room. I had tears in my eyes again, but this time from laughing so hard.

  We were both holding our stomachs and trying to calm ourselves down when the nurse peeked in to see if we were okay.

  “Is everything okay in here?” I guess they didn’t hear much laughter in this area.

  “Yes…we’re…good…thanks.” I could hardly get it out. Every time I looked at her surprise, I laughed more.

  She nodded her head in confusion and left, pulling the curtain closed again.

  When we finally regained control, we ate our food like it was truly a fine delicacy. We were so hungry, anything would’ve been good. After drinking some of the stale coffee, I decided to skip it, and the sodas, and went straight for the wine. If I ever needed it, it was now. I wished I had something stronger, but was thankful for the little pleasure.

  CHAPTER 31

  Two days later, Josie was able to sit up in bed for short amounts of time. He was still in pain, and slept a lot from the medication, but he was starting to laugh and smile again. The doctor said they didn’t find any evidence of poisoning from the chemicals in his blood and his back was healing well. We had been moved into a family sized room yesterday and they brought in a large cot for Brett and me to share. I think the nurses assumed we were together since we hadn’t separated the entire time. As far as I could figure out, they must not have been privileged to our information. Other than Josiah’s medical chart, and small questions about his normal routine, they never asked about his father.

  I tried to insist that Brett return to work, even for a few hours, but every time he’d cut me off and refuse. We spent a lot of time playing board games, watching TV, and talking. He was good company with his sense of humor and I was glad for the distraction, because as Josie started improving, I was left with another problem to face. Miguel. I wasn’t ready to deal with those demons yet.

  I was finally allowed to call Joan this morning. The officials in charge wouldn’t let me contact her until they had the “situation under control” and I was beginning to worry it may never happen when they finally came to our room.

  I was told only to discuss the bare minimum, which was extremely frustrating, but I tried to be understanding considering the magnitude of the situation. I was also informed that her family was now under police protection. I was shocked. I’d never considered that someone might retaliate against me, or my loved ones. Clearly, I still had no idea what to expect.

  Joan and I talked for over an hour. I didn’t want to go into everything over the phone, especially when I had an officer sitting with me at the desk, but I did tell her Miguel and I weren’t together and I didn’t think we ever would be. She expected it though. She said they were questioned for a couple hours and even though they didn’t know what had happened, a lot of it was about Miguel. Joan felt awful knowing she had set us up, but we agreed that it wasn’t
all bad. In fact, 90% of it was perfect. Plus, we had Josie because of him. So, we focused on the good and tried to move past the bad.

  The shop was doing fine and she and Paul were taking care of my bill payments until I got back. I asked about the baby and she told me they were going to induce her labor in three days. It made me sad to know I wouldn’t be there for the birth. I had never missed anything in my sister’s life before. Now, Miguel and his family were stealing more of my life that I’d never get back again. It wasn’t fair.

  I briefly told her about my new friend, Brett. She gasped, wondering how I felt with him still there. She must’ve seen it as more of a sexual thing then it was. I assured her that we were only friends and he had previous experience with the military and a son who had died which allowed him to relate, and help me immensely. After explaining, she agreed and was glad I wasn’t alone when we were so far away from home.

  After catching up on everything else, we laughed more about the security detail she now had outside her home and that followed her everywhere. She was told it would end once the situation was stable. I only hoped that was soon for their sake. Knowing Joan, she was probably trying to bake cupcakes and take them out to the car in the evenings. Noticing the officer becoming restless I knew it was time to end the call. Reluctantly, we said goodbye, unsure of when we’d speak again.

  Walking back into our hospital room, I saw that Brett and Josie were both napping. Josie was in his bed and Brett on the cot beside him. The shades were pulled down, and the room was almost completely dark. I was glad, because the tears were still lingering on my face after talking to Joan. After crying so much in front of Brett already, I hated that he had to deal with that side of me so often.