Saving Gracie

by Terry Lee

  From then on, life became easier when Grace learned to swing with her mother’s suggestions rather than lock horns with the powers that be.

  “And now she’s dying,” Grace muttered. “What will I do?”

  ~~~

  The week before Easter, to Grace’s surprise, Adam approached Kathryn again with the idea of hospice. Her time awake and out of bed had shortened considerably. To everyone’s relief Kathryn relented. The following morning the hospice social worker arrived, introduced herself as Anna, and put the help Grace desperately needed into action.

  “When she sleeps she seems so restless.” Grace explained to Anna how her mother pulled at the bedding and thrashed her head from side to side.

  “Let me spend some time with her,” Anna suggested. Thirty minutes later she emerged from the makeshift bedroom. “Your mother hasn’t made her Easter baskets for the kids.”

  “Easter baskets?” Grace’s shoulders dropped. “Seriously?”

  “That’s why she’s anxious,” Anna said. “I know it sounds trivial, but right now it’s really important to her.” Anna paused. “I’d do it soon.”

  “Easter baskets.” Grace scratched her head.

  “I’ve got some time. Go now,” Anna suggested.

  Grace walked into the study and explained her errand to her mother. Kathryn’s eyes widened with effort. Her lips formed a weak smile. In a barely audible voice, she ordered Grace to write down what she needed for the baskets.

  “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Grace jerked a cart loose at CVS and meandered through the aisles. The shelves, mostly bare this close to Easter, managed to produce some colored grass, two halfway decent baskets and an assortment of candy. At the last minute Grace threw in two pastel-colored stuffed bunnies she found in a bin near the checkout counter.

  “It shouldn’t be much longer,” Anna whispered on her way out the door, giving Grace a warm hug.

  Grace could only nod.

  Moving a small table next to Kathryn’s bed, Grace spread out the Easter goods. On request, she carefully raised her mother to an upright position. There, mother and daughter spent the better part of an hour filling and arranging Easter baskets. With the task complete, Kathryn reached across the small table and covered Grace’s hand with hers. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  Grace fought the urge to yank her hand back. What was her mother thinking? Who cared about Easter baskets at a time like this?

  ~~~

  Kathryn drifted in and out of a more peaceful sleep. At times she’d open her eyes and speak, bringing Grace immediately to her side.

  “Ruth,” Kathryn said, “You’re here. But I can’t go….” Her voice trailed off into silence.

  “No Mom, it’s me. Gracie. I’m here, not Aunt Ruth.” Her mother’s older sister had died three years ago.

  Kathryn’s conversations continued through the night, always bringing Grace to the bed. There were others besides Ruth her mother talked to…names Grace didn’t recognize.

  On Good Friday Kathryn, by her earlier request, was transferred to the Hospice Patient Care Facility in the Medical Center. At daybreak Easter morning Grace stepped down the hall for a cup of coffee. When she returned Kathryn had taken her last breath.

  Tears streaming down her face, Grace leaned over and wrapped her arms around her mother’s still body. “Even now, you’re still calling the shots.”

  Later that evening Grace retrieved the carefully constructed Easter baskets from the closet in the study and gave them to Hannah and Josh. Through tears, the four of them sat and looked through the woven containers assembled with love.

  CHAPTER 5

  KATHRYN AND MAGGIE

  The glowing light drew Kathryn forward, gently pulling her through a billowy-white cloudbank. No fear, no sadness, no trepidation, just comfort and peace filled her along the most pleasant journey she’d ever experienced…that she remembered.

  At the very moment the white light flying sensation ended, a hand closed around hers.

  “Who’s that?” Kathryn asked, her eyes squeezed shut.

  “Well, open your eyes, silly.”

  Kathryn inched open an eye and saw her sister in front of her. “Hey, it really is you!” Kathryn said.

  “Of course it’s me,” Ruth said. “Who were you expecting, the boogie man?”

  “That’s not funny.”

  “Yes it was.” A mischievous smile was on Ruth’s face. “Besides, I told you I’d be waiting.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t believe in that nonsense, remember?” Kathryn looked down, wondering how her clothes had weathered the trip. Surprisingly well, she noted.

  “Nonsense, huh?” Ruth squeezed her sister’s hand tighter. “You’d better hold on!”

  “Why—” was the only word Kathryn spoke before being beamed forward. Together they traveled through a vortex of whirling vibrant colors resembling a psychedelic water slide…not that Kathryn had ever been on a water slide.

  Quickly approaching the end of the tunnel Kathryn caught sight of a shallow pool. Before having a chance to complain what the water would do to her hair—not to mention her clothes—she and Ruth slipped into tranquil, glistening sparkles of light.

  Immediately on her feet, Kathryn surveyed the damage. Instead of looking like she’d just been pulled out of a washing machine her clothes, a tasteful, but totally unfamiliar outfit, felt completely dry, and from what she could tell her hair was untouched. “Can we do that again?”

  “I thought you didn’t believe in that nonsense.” Ruth stood beside Kathryn, hands on hips.

  “I don’t.” Kathryn said.

  “I see.” Ruth grabbed Kathryn’s hand again and headed across the pool. “C’mon, they’re waiting.”

  A welcoming group at the edge of the glistening sparkles offered warm embraces and greetings to Kathryn. Some she recognized immediately. Others, she knew she knew, but from where? This was getting weird.

  After the short reunion, Ruth led Kathryn to a nearby building. A tall structure with bronze tinted windows sent rays of reflected gold light outward. The sign on the door simply read INTAKE.

  “I’ll be back for you later,” Ruth said.

  “Wait!” Kathryn screamed, nervous about being left alone. “Can we have a cup of coffee, diet Coke, vodka? Anything? I’ve got some questions.”

  “Yeah?” Ruth asked. “Like what?”

  “Well, for starters, where’s the rest of the family?”

  “Our Earth family? They’re around.” Ruth walked away, leaving Kathryn in front of the Intake Building.

  “Where around?”

  “Around, I said,” Ruth yelled over her shoulder. “You’re stalling. Get inside!”

  “What am I supposed to do?” Kathryn shouted at Ruth’s back.

  “Try opening the door, you big sissy.”

  Being called a sissy by her sister, or anyone else for that matter, did not set well. She flung the door of the building open with more courage than she felt and, desperate to act nonchalant, picked a magazine from a rack on the wall before slipping into one of the seats in the waiting area. The room stood empty and eerily quiet. She glanced at the magazine, The Universe, Bigger Than You Think, and while flipping through several colorful pages, failed to notice a young man with curly brown hair approach her.

  “My name is Albert,” the man said.

  Kathryn jumped. She would have swallowed her gum if she had any.

  “I am the Assistant Intake Coordinator and will be conducting your Q & A today. This way, please.” Albert’s tone was solemn.

  Kathryn patted her hair, a nervous habit, before following Albert through a maze of hallways opening into an area of modular cubicles.

  Albert entered one of the small areas and sat at a desk, motioning Kathryn to take the seat across from him. “Busy day.” He grabbed a clipboard and filled in blanks at the top of the first page. “Your name?”

  “Kathryn Broussard.”

  “First names only here,” Albert said, hi
s eyes focused on the clipboard.

  The procedure moved quickly. Albert asked questions, Kathryn answered, Albert wrote.

  He laid his pen down. “Do you have any questions?” he asked, almost as an afterthought.

  “Not yet, but I’ll keep you posted,” Kathryn chuckled at her joke. Albert’s serious expression caused her to clear her throat. The water slide had been more fun.

  “Good. We’re finished here.” From the cubicle Albert escorted Kathryn to the next building, identical to the one they had just exited except for the sign—VSD-EC STATION.

  “V-S-D.” Kathryn smirked. “Sounds like one of those nasty diseases.”

  Albert, reaching for the door, paused, his hand mid-air. He turned to face Kathryn. “VSD is Veils of Self-Deception,”

  Oo-kay, not going well, Kathryn thought. “And EC?”

  “Energy Centers.” Albert ushered Kathryn through the doors and then glanced at his watch. “I’ve got to get back. Busy day, lots of arrivals.”

  Kathryn watched Albert do a perfect Pee-Wee Herman impersonation speed-walk down the sidewalk, make a U-turn around a row of trimmed bushes, and disappear inside the Intake Building.

  “Welcome to the VSD-EC (ves deck) Station.” An attractive young woman sat at the receptionist desk. “Your name?”

  “Kathryn,” she answered, remembering first names only.

  “You’re right on time. Follow me please.” The young woman led Kathryn down a narrow hallway and stopped at a door marked #5.

  “Please go in,” the woman explained. “Your host will be with you shortly.”

  Kathryn turned the doorknob, peeked inside and blinked hard several times, adjusting her eyes to the hosed-down walls of mellow oranges and salmons. “Geez, looks like a Dreamsicle,” she breathed, feeling like she’d fallen down Alice’s rabbit hole. She slipped into a straight-back chair near the door and looked around. Recessed tempered lights illuminated the room, throwing soft peach half-moons across the walls. A massive canopy bed framed the middle of the room, stacked high with layers of thick mattresses. A patchwork quilt in varying hues of Dreamsicle colors lay across the top.

  Princess and the Pea? She rose and walked around the room in fairy-tale wonder, noticing the perfectly coordinated airy wisps of material gathers across the canopy. A polished wooden step stool perched next to the enormous bed.

  An elderly woman entered the room through a door Kathryn had yet to notice, concealed in one of the salmon-colored wall panels.

  “Hello luv. I’m Maggie.” The woman spoke in a silky-smooth British accent. “I’ll be your host for this part of the intake.” Maggie’s faded yet round blue eyes sparkled. Her hair, auburn and lightened by streaks of gray, hung to her shoulders in loose waves framing her heavily lined, but kind face. “Hop up on the bed, dearie,” she instructed.

  Kathryn felt another nervous twinge. “Can I ask a question first?”

  “Of course.” Maggie adjusted a small switch on the wall, lowering the lights to a past-sunset look. “What is it, luv?”

  “Albert told me VSD-EC means Veils of Self-Deception.” Kathryn inched toward the overly large bed and absent-mindedly ran a finger along one of the canopy bedposts. “Exactly what does that mean?”

  “A bit anxious, are we?” Maggie moved to stand beside Kathryn.

  “What?” Kathryn turned and realized Maggie caught her checking for dust. “Sorry,” she said, quite embarrassed. “I usually clean when I’m nervous.”

  “No need. Come sit.” Maggie tucked her fingers under Kathryn’s elbow and led her back to the chair by the door. Pulling up a matching wooden chair, Maggie sat across from her.

  “You’ll learn more about this later, luv, but let’s see if I can help.” Maggie took in a long breath. “This, the V-S-D part, gives you a chance to review your time on Earth.” She reached for both of Kathryn’s hands. “Warts and all. You know, to see what areas you need to work on, what went well, and what…how should I say this.” She paused. “Didn’t.”

  Kathryn sucked in air. “My faults? All of them?”

  Maggie smiled. “That’s the self-deception part, dearie; they’re not faults, although humans regard them as such. Rather judgmental creatures they are.”

  “But what if I don’t like what I see?” Kathryn wiped sweaty palms across the top of her pants leg. She didn’t like the sound of this at all.

  “It is what it is. That’s how you learn about your true self,” Maggie said. “It’s the development of the soul.”

  Kathryn fidgeted in her chair.

  “Once the veil is lifted you will see your time on Earth more objectively; something humans rarely do, if ever.”

  Kathryn pulled a hand free and rubbed her forehead. “Do you have any Extra-Strength Tylenol?”

  “Look, luv. Take a deep breath.”

  Kathryn forced air into her lungs.

  “The way you’re feeling is a human emotion. Once the veil is lifted you’ll feel much, much better,” Maggie said.

  “Swear?” Kathryn wrung her damp hands.

  Maggie smiled reassuringly. “Humans, by nature, are difficult creatures. They devise unhealthy emotional havens for themselves.”

  Kathryn squinted, trying to grasp the meaning of Maggie’s words.

  “They’re greatly influenced by what they’re told by others or…what they tell themselves,” Maggie said. “Which in turn becomes their reality.”

  Kathryn eyed Maggie, not having a clue what the woman meant.

  “The veil of self-deception is a defense mechanism used to protect the ego. It’s rather fragile, you know.” Maggie paused. “The ego, that is.” She pulled Kathryn gently to her feet. “There, I’ve said enough. Just keep in mind, it’s a good thing.” Maggie paused, a puzzled look on her face. “Who says that?”

  “What?”

  “It’s a good thing.” Maggie rubbed her chin. Her eyes brightened. “It’s that Martha person, isn’t it?”

  Kathryn could only nod. Martha Stewart? At a time like this? Not at the top of her list.

  “I knew I’d heard it somewhere.” Maggie plumped the pillows on the peach bed. “Most unusual woman, I hear.”

  “Yes,” Kathryn managed to say.

  “You’ll be here for an hour.” Maggie turned to face Kathryn. “Just think of it as a lovely nap. Once you’re finished, I’ll come and take you straight away to the E-C chamber.”

  “Can’t you stay?” Kathryn said, petrified by the warts and all thing. “You know, just till I fall asleep?” she asked, feeling five.

  “You’ll be fine, luv. Just trust the process.” Maggie walked toward the door. “Now. Any more questions?”

  Kathryn shook her head, regretting the ones she’d already asked.

  “No worries, luv.” Maggie said and left the room.

  I can do this, I can do this, I can do this, Kathryn thought, slipping between the Dreamsicle sheets. She forced her head to relax against the mound of down pillows, the covers clenched up under her chin.

  “I can do this,” she said one last time before her eyes closed.

  ~~~

  Maggie watched Kathryn from a two-way glass outside the room. She set the timer on the meter box for an hour. “This one isn’t going to be an easy one.”

  An hour later Maggie returned to the meter box. The needle gage had barely moved.

  “She’s holding on too tight, I’d say.” Maggie rubbed her chin. “I’ll give it a bit longer.” She set the timer for another hour.

  When the timer sounded again, the needle gage registered 48%. Maggie shook her head and made a notation on her clipboard.

  Appears to be having difficulty letting go of Earthly matters.

  ~~~

  Kathryn awoke from a fitful sleep. Not the lovely nap at all Maggie promised, but a near nightmare of Gracie planning another dinner party. She witnessed her daughter banging *1 on her phone desperate for Kathryn’s help only to get the repeated disconnect recording.

  “Alright, off you go.�
� Maggie helped Kathryn down from the tower of mattresses and escorted her through a short hallway to what looked like a small elevator. “In here, luv.” Maggie pointed to the open door.

  Kathryn, still shaken by her less than pleasant nap, backed away from the door, not at all ready to be shoved into a small closet-sized space. “Ah…I’m claustrophobic.”

  “It’ll be over before you know it,” Maggie said.

  Gulping back trepidation, Kathryn stepped inside. A seven-columned panel of round buttons aligned one wall. Above them, a small, mounted plaque read ENERGY CENTERS.

  Maggie handed Kathryn a pair of blue-tinted sunglasses.

  “What are these for?” Kathryn slipped them on, trying out the blue tint of her surroundings.

  “It’s just a bit of a light show,” Maggie replied.

  The door of the chamber slid shut and, as predicted, the walls of the chamber seemed to close in around her like a trash compactor. Kathryn felt beads of sweat form on her brow. Just stay cool, she thought. Nano seconds before she reached full-throttle panic, a high frequency hum resonated through the chamber, followed by vibrant rays of neon lights ricocheting off the walls. The bottom button on the control panel glowed red. The next one up, orange, then yellow and the last button to light beamed neon green. The top three buttons remained unlit.

  The humming psychedelic light show stopped and the door of the small enclosure opened. Kathryn lifted the blue-tinted glasses from the bridge of her nose and peeked out. “I got four out of seven. Is that good?”

  Maggie seemed to avoid direct eye contact. “I’m sure it’ll all work out, dear. C’mon, luv. We’ve a schedule to keep.”

  CHAPTER 6

  QUINLAN AND MAGGIE

  Maggie led Kathryn to a third building down the street, similar in structure but much larger than the Intake and VSD-EC buildings. Ruth met them in the lobby.

  Maggie turned to Kathryn. “Hungry, luv?”

  “Starved,” Kathryn said.

  “There you go,” Maggie pointed to an adjacent area stemming from the main lobby, filled with comfortable over-stuffed furniture and an elegant buffet line.