“It’s not like that!”
“How do I know your mother doesn’t hate me? And how do I know she won’t make you break up with me?”
“Vance, please try to understand—”
“I hope you people rot in hell, you whore!” Vance abruptly hung up.
*
At ten in the morning on August 14, the phone rang in the Zimmer house. Seth, still in bed, reached over to his night table to pick it up, but the phone stopped ringing.
After a couple of moments he heard footsteps outside his bedroom, and the door suddenly swung open.
“Seth?”
“Yes, Mom?”
“Telephone, dear.”
He picked up the phone. “Hello?”
“Seth? Hi! It’s Keri’s mom, are you sitting down?”
Seth jumped up as a worrisome feeling came over him. “My God, Carol, is everything okay?”
Carol savoured this moment. “We had to rush Keri to the hospital earlier this morning—she’s in stable condition, and she’s asking to see you.”
“What happened?”
“We’re not quite sure yet, Seth. I got up around six this morning to go to the bathroom and found her lying in the hall in a pool of blood.”
“Okay, tell her I’m coming. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
*
Half an hour later Seth arrived at the hospital. Marlon was already outside waiting for him. Seth got out of the car and met Marlon.
They entered the hospital and started down the long hallway.
“Any news yet?”
“Not yet, Seth.”
They entered Keri’s room. Marlon walked over to Carol, as Seth walked over to Keri’s bedside.
“How are you feeling, babe?”
“A little better now, Seth, thanks.”
A moment later the doctor entered. “Hello, all, I’m Dr. Gilbert.” He turned to Carol and Marlon. “Are you Mom and Dad?”
Carol nodded.
The doctor turned and looked at Seth. “And who are you, young man, the brother?”
“I’m the boyfriend.”
The doctor turned to Carol and Marlon again and winked, part of their conspiracy, and then looked back at Seth. “I’m afraid I have some distressing news.”
Carol took a deep breath. “What is it, Doctor?”
The doctor turned to Keri. “You’re suffering from PID.”
Carol planted her ugly, grinning face on Marlon’s shoulder.
Seth and Keri shared a look.
“PID? What is that, Doctor?” Keri asked.
“It stands for pelvic inflammatory disease. It’s when the cervix becomes infected and less able to prevent the spread of organisms to the internal organs. PID occurs when the disease-causing organisms travel from the cervix to the upper genital tract.”
Seth and Keri exchanged a look. Keri swallowed hard. “Oh my God! Will I require surgery?”
“Yes. Unfortunately, you’ll need surgery. In your case, the PID caused a few abscesses filled with poisonous pus.”
Seth was stunned. He and Keri shared another look. He finally took a seat on the chair behind him.
Seth firmly and lovingly held Keri’s hand. She stared deeply into his eyes, knowing he was legitimately concerned.
Keri felt ready to just tell Seth the truth. But no matter how loudly her inner self screamed to do the right thing, she knew her mother held the reigns. If only she could somehow find a flaw in Seth and use it against him to end the relationship. Unfortunately, for the past four years, Seth had been a goody two-shoes. He’d been perfect, and his love for her was pure and legitimate.
A warmness suddenly fell over Keri. Her love and affection for Seth was somehow renewed. But unfortunately, Carol was one hell of a puppet master and absolutely loved working her daughter like a marionette.
“What does this mean for Seth exactly, Doctor?” Carol asked.
“Well, Mrs. Welder,” The doctor turned to Seth. “After surgery, Keri will be incoherent for quite some time. Months or even up to a year, due to the cocktail of medications she will need in order to make a full recovery. Also, there is a fifty-fifty chance that Keri could suffer from temporary amnesia or even slip into a coma.”
Seth shook his head. “Listen, Doc. I know you’re driving at something. So why don’t you do us all a favour and just come out with it?”
“All right, young man, I will. In my professional opinion, I think it would be best for Keri if you two, separated.”
A silence fell upon the room. Carol smiled from ear to ear, and she turned against Marlon’s shoulder.
“That’s your professional opinion,” Seth snapped. “A break-up? You want Keri and me to break up?”
The doctor’s featured hardened. “Well, I didn’t say permanently, only until she makes a full recovery.” He looked around the room. “Anybody have any more questions?”
When nobody answered, he looked at Marlon and Carol. “Please follow me to my office. I have some forms for you to sign, and we need to book Keri for surgery.”
*
The doctor, Carol and Marlon exited the room and arrived at the nurses’ station.
Carol rubbed her hands. “Oh my God, thank you very much, Dr. Gilbert! This has been a long time coming. I’m just glad to have seen it finally happen.”
Doctor Gilbert said, “Listen, I’m glad to help out. But truth be told, I didn’t want to do this. The only reason I went along with it is because your family are great con-people—especially your mother, Carol. She’s relentless.”
Carol tried to interrupt, but the doctor didn’t give her the opportunity.
“Now! If this little act of yours ever gets questioned, I am going to make sure you people get what you deserve! Good day!” He walked away.
“You know, Doc.” Said Carol. “I find it really funny how quickly you changed your tune.”
“What does that mean, Carol?”
“Well, in the room you were very professional and shot us a few winks. But now we’re out here in the hall, you’re acting so opposed.”
“I never ever liked this idea to begin with. I could seriously lose my job if this ever got out.”
*
Back in Keri’s room, the tension grew thicker. A deep sadness fell upon Keri, and she slowly turned to him.
He reached for her hand.
“Seth, I,” Keri stopped.
“What is it, babe?” Seth asked with a powerful burst of lovingness.
Keri’s eyed swelled with tears and slowly ran down her cheeks. She suddenly began crying uncontrollably. “I love you so much!”
Carol and Marlon rushed into the room, and Carol gave Seth a dirty look. “What the hell did you do to my daughter?”
“Not a damned thing,” Seth snapped.
“Oh, bullshit! Then why is she like this?”
Keri calmed down after a moment. “I’m fine, Mom, really. Seth had nothing to do with it.”
Carol sat down and stroked Keri’s hair. “It’s okay—just tell me what this monster did to you.”
She took her mother’s arm and shoved it away. “Are you deaf or just stupid, Mom? I just got through telling you that Seth had absolutely nothing to do with why I was crying!”
Carol got quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry, honey.”
“You’re apologizing to the wrong person.” Keri crossed her arms and stared at her mother.
Carol swallowed hard. “Yeah, you’re right.” Carol stared at Seth for a moment, trying to spit the words “I’m sorry” out. The longer she stared, the more disgusted she became.
“Well, Mom?”
“Well what?”
“I believe Seth is waiting for an apology,”
Carol slowly turned back to Seth. She licked her lips, her mouth firmly set. “I’m, sor
ry.”
Carol quickly changed the subject. “Well, Keri, you’re booked into surgery for Monday August 24. Until then, Dr. Gilbert has you on heavy-duty antibiotics.”
Carol looked at Marlon. “Are you ready to go? I’ll take you home.”
Marlon said, “I’ll stay with Keri for a bit.”
Seth slowly walked over to Marlon. Marlon gently closed the door.
“Well, Keri,” Carol said excitably. “Are you and Seth officially broken up?”
“No, Mother, we’re not!”
“Oh for Christ’s sake, Keri! Why the hell not?”
Keri tried to speak but Carol signalled her to keep quiet. “So you’re telling me this whole damned charade was for nothing?”
“Mom, listen! I want to spend one more night with Seth. I think he deserves at least that much, considering the way we’ve been treating him lately. So I’ve decided to invite him to the sleepover Crystal and I are having.”
It got quiet again, and Keri was suddenly filled with sadness, finding it hard to speak. She became choked up. “I, I promise that’ll be,”
Keri took a deep breath and slowly released it. “That’ll be the last time we’ll ever see Seth again.” Her eyes filled with tears.
*
The day of the sleepover, Seth and his mom pulled into the driveway of Keri’s house.
Mrs. Zimmer decided to voice her concern to her son. “Seth, before you go, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Tell me—is everything all right?”
Seth thought for a moment. “All right? How so?”
“I mean, is everything all right between you and Keri?”
“Well, I think so, so far it seems to be fine. Why?”
“I beg to differ.” She paused for a moment. “For starters, Keri goes days at a time without talking to you. Then, when she does finally decide to speak to you again, she gets you angry.”
“Well, maybe,”
Mrs. Zimmer sighed. “Seth, please. It’s so bad it’s now affecting your health. The last time she pulled that stunt, it ended with atrial fibrillation. It’s no joke, and I know deep down inside you know it’s not a perfect relationship.”
“I appreciate your concern, Mom, but isn’t this just all life experience?”
“Yes it is. But honey, I just want you to recognize the warning signs of a troubled relationship. I don’t want to see you hurt.”
“Don’t worry. At the first sign, I’m gone.” He leaned over, gave his mom a kiss on the cheek and exited the car.
*
In Keri’s bedroom, Keri and Crystal were deep in heated conversation.
“No! You didn’t.”
“Yes, Crystal, I did. What’s done is done and can’t be undone!”
“God! You and your family are deceitful!”
Keri took a moment. “How am I deceitful?”
Crystal chuckled. “Where do I begin? Well, first you cheat on Seth with his best friend, and then your mom wanted you to pretend you were pregnant to scare Seth off. All of this was followed by an elaborate scheme about you having pelvic inflammatory disease and needing surgery.”
Keri crossed her arms and looked disgustedly at Crystal. “A few slip-ups and you’re going to hold it over my head? Plus, I’ve already told you, that surgery thing wasn’t my idea!”
“Well, it may not have been your idea, but you were still stupid enough to play along.”
“Listen, you blonde bimbo! If you blow the whistle on me, our friendship is over!”
“This friendship is over anyway if you actually go through with this lie!”
There was a knock at the bedroom door, and after a couple of moments the door swung open.
“Uh, I hope I didn’t interrupt anything?”
Keri smiled. “Not at all, sweetheart!”
Crystal grabbed Seth’s arm and pulled him closer. “So tell me. How would you like to sleep with two, hot, helpless and lonely girls tonight?”
“Ooh sounds kinky. I’m game, sign me up.” Seth looked at Keri, then at Crystal, and then back at Keri. “Who are the hot, helpless and lonely girls?”
Crystal playfully slapped Seth’s shoulder. “Us, silly!”
“You, Crystal? You’re lonely?”
Crystal turned to Keri. “What, didn’t Keri tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“Rick found a new play toy, and he left me last month.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“You know what though? I’m better off. I was getting really sick of arguing over the same thing.”
“What’s that?”
“How big of a jerk he really is.” There was a brief moment of silence.
“So, ladies, where are we sleeping tonight?”
Keri grinned. “I thought we’d sleep out among the stars tonight.” She moved closer to Seth and lovingly wrapped her arms around him. “How does that sound?”
Seth smiled. “That, honey, sounds amazing!” Seth lowered his head and gave Keri a passionate kiss.
After an awesome dinner of barbecued steak and shrimp, mixed with a delightful evening of music and gazing at the fire pit, the three decided to turn in for the night. Their bedding was five thick comforters and a light Egyptian cotton sheet.
Seth lay sandwiched between Keri and Crystal, his hands behind his head as he gazed up at the gorgeous, bright, starry sky, the sounds of crickets and soft snapping of the fire in the background extremely relaxing. Seth inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly.
In this moment in time Seth was overcome with extreme relaxation; he could not remember the last time he felt so comfortable.
Keri stirred, turned onto her side to face Seth and smiled. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. I’m just admiring the sky.”
Crystal turned onto her back. “You’re right. It is a rather beautiful night.”
Keri turned over and looked into the sky. “I can see the beauty in that, sure.”
All went quiet momentarily.
Crystal looked over at Seth and Keri and back up at the sky. “Do you guys ever get the feeling that we’re not, you know, alone in this little universe of ours?”
Keri didn’t take Crystal seriously and giggled.
Seth on the other hand thought about it for a moment. “Well, it isn’t inconceivable,” “When you think about it, out of all the planets in the universe, only one has intelligent life? And Mars had water on it at one time, so who knows? Personally, I believe there is other intelligent beings somewhere out there, and they could be wondering the exact same thing about us.”
Crystal gasped in amazement. “My God, Seth, that was deep. It’s fascinating listening to you talk.”
Keri giggled. “I agree with you to some degree.”
Seth turned to her. “What do you mean?”
She lifted her head from her pillow and gave Seth a long and passionate kiss.
“I’m extremely tired. Good night.” She dropped her head back down and closed her eyes.
*
Two hours later Seth was still awake, looking up at the night sky. Crystal was awake as well. She was full of guilt for knowing what was going to go down between Keri and Seth. She was debating whether or not to cave. She began to really stir the harder she thought about it.
Seth turned to Crystal. “You’re moving quite a bit—you all right over there?”
Crystal turned onto her back. “Yes, no, I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? That doesn’t sound assuring.”
Crystal got quiet and thought for a moment. “Seth, I’d like to get your, point of view on something, do you mind?”
“Sure, absolutely.”
Crystal sat up. “In all honesty, what would you do if
your best friend was in a heavy relationship for a couple of years and then started sneaking around and lying at every turn. Meanwhile, your best friend is telling you everything they’re doing and swears you to secrecy. Now, you’re feeling extremely guilty and really want to tell your best friend’s boyfriend or girlfriend, what would you do? Would you tell them, or find a way to live with the guilt?”
Seth thought for a moment. Meanwhile, Crystal took deep breaths and tried to remain calm. She suddenly became overpowered with a deep, uncontrollable sadness. Her eyes flooded with tears.
She tried desperately to suck back this feeling as she attempted to speak. “Tell me, what would you do?”
Seth shook his head, knowing Crystal’s feelings were legitimate, and for a moment he wondered if she was referring to Keri. But then he realized he was talking to a woman, and maybe perhaps it was that special time of the month, and he decided to proceed with extreme caution.
“Well, I would say that’s quite a conundrum. I personally think the friend should confront the boyfriend or girlfriend.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. My feeling is the boyfriend or girlfriend would be understanding. That he or she would realize the blame isn’t on the ‘messenger’ and would be grateful to this person for bringing the situation to light.”
It got awkward once more, and he started feeling suspicious again. “Why do you ask, Crystal? Is there something you want to tell me? Something you need to get off your chest?”
Crystal dabbed her eyes with the sheet. She glanced over at Keri, who was sleeping soundly, and then slowly looked back at Seth. Crystal swallowed her self-dignity. “No, Seth,” She then quickly tried to come up with a believable excuse. “It’s just, I’ve been so depressed and lonely and have been going through crazy mood swings ever since Rick broke up with me.”
Seth’s suspicions quickly dissipated. “Oh, I’m sorry,”
She leaned in closer to Seth, and their eyes locked.
Crystal missed the comfort of being held and the kind, loving words of passion. She started to find Seth irresistibly attractive. Her heart beat faster, and she continued slowly leaning closer to Seth, leaning in until their lips touched. Both Crystal and Seth’s eyes grew wide. Crystal expected Seth to pull back and push her away, but instead, he kept his lips firmly in place.
Growing Pains Page 8
