***
Half an hour later, Parker arrived at the hospital. “He’s awake? Can I see him?” he rushed into his mother’s arms. Behind him walked his dad, Jonathan and Marc.
“He’s asleep again. He was in a lot of pain, and the doctor had to sedate him. He didn’t take the news of the amputation very well…” Tears appeared in Jeanette’s eyes. It was hard on everyone, and when Paul opened his arms for her, she fell into them, sobbing.
Parker sat at Cody’s bedside the entire morning. He didn’t want anyone else to relieve him or be there with him. He wanted to be there when Cody woke up again. By two in the afternoon, Cody began to stir, and Parker talked to him.
“I’m right here, babe. You’re going to be fine. We’ll get through this. We have a wedding to plan, remember? I love you so much Cody. I was afraid I had lost you forever when that truck hit you…” The memories of the accident were rushing over Parker and he, too, began to cry as he clung to Cody’s good hand.
“Parker, is that you?”
“Yes, I’m here. Sorry, I lost it for a moment,” he sniveled.
“Park, I’m scared. Is it true? Are my legs gone? Am I really a cripple?”
“Don’t say that. You’re not a cripple.”
“Are my legs gone?”
“Yes, they were too badly damaged in the accident. I’m sorry.”
The wail that followed from Cody cut through Parker’s body like someone had stabbed him.
“Why me? Why me…”
“It was an accident, babe. It could’ve happened to anyone. We’ll get through this. Together! I promise!”
After a while, Cody calmed down and began to ask questions about some missing links in his memory. He wanted to know about the accident, if it had been his fault, if anyone else was hurt, and so on. Parker tried to answer the questions to the best of his ability. No, no one else had been hurt. No, it had not been Cody’s fault. The traffic light had been showing green, and the “Walk” signal sound had been beeping clearly, but the truck had come fast, out of nowhere, and there was no chance for Cody to react, nor for the truck to stop.
Other pedestrians who saw the truck coming were lucky to throw themselves back onto the refuge in the middle of the street. Cody wasn’t. Parker had been reading a text on his phone and didn’t even see Cody beginning to cross the street. It had all happened in a split second, and the first thing Parker saw was the truck mauling Cody, and it was a sight he’d never forget, a sight that would forever haunt him.
In the coming days, the doctors discussed the continued treatment with Cody. He wanted, like the rest of the two families, to return home, to Chicago, and arrangements were made to transfer him to a local hospital back east. The Hawaiian doctors were gracious and understood that the patient would be best cared for in a hospital near his home, where he would feel comfortable. Then, one day, shortly before the two families were to fly home, Cody asked to speak to Jonathan, alone.
“What is it, Cody?” Jonathan sat down next him.
“Where’s Parker?”
“At the hotel. He’ll be back here in an hour. He needed a shave and a shower. He’s been here with you almost ten hours already. But he’ll be back.”
“I need a favor from you.”
“Anything. What can I do for you, Cody?”
“I need to disappear.”
Jonathan was surprised. “Disappear? How? Why?”
“My life is over. Or at least the life I’ve had—”
Jonathan interrupted him. “Nonsense.”
“Please, hear me out! I need more surgery, a transplant, then I’ll need weeks, if not months of physical therapy, fitting prosthetic legs, learning to walk again. My life for the foreseeable future is all about survival, learning to live again. I can’t study, I can’t travel, I can’t do anything you, Marc or Parker can do.”
“That’s not true. Yes, you have to adjust, and I know it’s not going to be easy, but you’re a strong kid. I know you can do it. And you’re not alone in this. You have Parker by your side, every step of the way, and our entire family!”
“That’s exactly the point, Grandpa. Please hear me out. I need to break things up with Parker. I need to disappear. It wouldn’t be fair to him to put his life on hold just to be there for me. I can’t ask him to sacrifice his studies, his future, just to stand next to me as I try to scramble together what’s left of my life. I can’t. It’s unfair to him, and it’s unfair to me. I’d always have this feeling that he’s sacrificing something, for me. I don’t want to feel that guilt. I can’t. I’ll have enough on my plate as it is.”
“Why are you telling me this? Did you talk to Parker?”
“I tried. He’s not listening. We had a long conversation in Cartagena about this very situation. Back then, it was all theoretical, but Parker doesn’t understand. He’s stubborn, and he doesn’t see things clearly. I don’t want him to give up his life. Mine is already screwed up. No need to ruin his, too. But he’ll never give in, he’ll never go freely. Which is why I need your help. Please, Grandpa, please help me disappear. I know you understand.”
“I do?” Jonathan didn’t understand what Cody was alluring to.
“Sean.”
“What’s Sean got to do with anything?”
“You let Dan go. You let him go to be reunited with his first love. You could’ve fought, held on. But out of love for Dan, you let him go.”
“That’s not quite what happened. Dan was dying. He left me.”
“Grandpa, please. What about Marc? Would you expect him to stick around if you suddenly got sick, if you were bedridden? Would you expect him to put his life on hold for you?”
Jonathan frowned. He didn’t like this thought one bit. It was drilling right to the very core of his relationship with Marc, the age difference between them. Forty-one years. By the time Jonathan died, which could be any day really, Marc would still be a very young and attractive man, and the thought of Marc having to care for an invalid was unbearable.
Jonathan acquiesced. “You do have a point. No, I would not want Marc to stick around if I ever became sick and bedridden. But that’s different.”
“How so? At least in your case, Marc would know he’d only have to wait a short time. No offense, Grandpa. But Parker? There’s nothing to say I won’t be alive for a very long time. Is that really what you want your grandson to do? To spend his entire life with a blind cripple? To make love to a legless body? He’ll resent me, he’ll be grossed out by the sight of me, and eventually he’ll come to hate me. We’ll never be happy, and if we don’t end up breaking up later, he’ll end up resenting me for the rest of my life. Please, I have to disappear. Parker needs to move on. Find someone else, be happy with someone healthy.”
Jonathan’s head drooped, but he understood what Cody was saying, and as much as it pained him, he agreed.
“What can I do?” he finally said, resigned.
“I’ve got a plan. I found a hospital in Albuquerque. My mom has relatives there. Grandma, Mom and I could move there. They wouldn’t be alone, and I could start my life fresh, as far away from Parker as possible. But I’ll need your help to make it happen. Please? If not for me, would you do it for Parker?”
Jonathan nodded. He felt miserable, but he understood Cody had made up his mind. And he agreed. He loved the boy, but he also knew that there would be countless difficulties ahead of him, and he was making the ultimate sacrifice for Parker, letting him go. That was true love, if he’d ever seen it.
He hugged Cody and kissed him on the forehead. “Don’t worry, boy. I’ll help you. If only Parker knew just how much you love him, to let him go, and not to hold on to him…”
“He mustn’t. He’ll hate me. I know that, but I also know he’ll get over it more quickly. The hate will fuel his recovery. And eventually, with your help, he’ll be fine and find someone to make him truly happy! Thank you, Grandpa!”
That night, Jonathan made a few phone calls. Marc was curious, but Jonathan was afra
id that if he told him what he was planning then he’d try to stop him.
Parker wasn’t at the hotel. He’d returned to Cody’s bedside, giving Jonathan the privacy to make the arrangements. After Parker’s return from the hospital that night, an ambulance would drive Cody to the airport where he, his mother and grandma would board a medical flight to Albuquerque under different names. His lawyers back in Chicago were tasked with hiding every trace of the Thomases. The contents of their apartment would be moved, their mail quietly forwarded.
When Parker returned to the hospital tomorrow, Cody would be nothing but a memory. A painful one, for sure, but time heals all wounds, they say. Jonathan made sure there was no trace of his involvement, and nobody knew anything, not even Marc, although he was frowning suspiciously as he was banished from the bedroom while Jonathan made his calls.
The most difficult task lay ahead of them all: to help Parker move on.
* * * * *
Chapter 18 - Fury
“He’s gone!” Parker was screaming, completely out of sorts.
“Who’s gone?” Jeanette was shocked when she saw her son’s teary face on the vid-phone’s screen.
“Cody. They flew him out last night. No idea where to. It’s all confidential. The doctors won’t tell me. He’s my fiancé, and they won’t tell me. Mom, Cody’s gone. My love. Disappeared. What am I going to do?”
Helplessly, Jeanette had to watch as her firstborn came undone right in front of her on a screen, too far away for her to hold him, comfort him.
“Hang on, son. Dad and I will come right over. We’ll find answers.” Jeanette was already halfway to the room’s exit as she called for Paul to follow her. “Parker’s in trouble. Cody’s gone missing. Our son needs us!”
She kept Parker on the phone for the entire drive from their hotel to the hospital. She was too afraid he might do something stupid, so she hung on, talked to him, comforted him, or at least tried to. She wasn’t sure if he was listening, or not. Once he stopped screaming, he seemed almost catatonic, his face blank, staring ahead, not even looking at the screen. But at least he was in a hospital, if anything happened.
Paul drove as quickly as he dared, and they reached the hospital within fifteen minutes. Parker was sitting on the chair next to Cody’s bed, only, Cody wasn’t lying in it anymore. He was really gone.
Jeanette rushed to her son and hugged him tightly. “What happened?”
Parker cried on his mom’s shoulder, unable to speak. He was completely devastated.
Paul left the room to find a nurse. He came back a couple of minutes later with news. “He was flown out to the mainland last night. Apparently, it was all set up to keep us out of the loop. His mother and grandmother flew with him. They’re all gone.”
Jeanette was confused. “But why?”
Paul shook his head. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
“He did it for me.” Parker sobbed anew.
“What are you saying, son?” Paul asked.
Parker handed him a short note, written by Cody. “He left me this.”
Paul took the note and started to read.
Parker, my love.
I know you will not understand what I do, or why I do it, but let me explain anyway.
My life is over. At least the life that includes you.
What lies ahead is time spent in hospitals, surgery, suffering, pain, recovery. I don’t want you to witness that, I don’t want you to waste your precious life suffering with me. I love you far too much for that. So please, my love, as much as I know you will hurt when you read this, you will heal, you will be happy again, you will love again.
Forget me, the sooner the better. True love is to let go, so I’m releasing you from our bond. Go Parker, go and live your life, pretend we never met.
Love, always,
Cody
“This makes no sense,” Paul said, after he’d read the note. “If he loves you, how can he just disappear?”
Parker looked at his father, his eyes blood shot, and tears still rolling down his cheeks. “It’s what he always said he wanted. I remember him saying it often. I guess being blind, he already felt he was a burden to me. We had a strange conversation a few weeks ago, on the beach, where he said he wouldn’t want me to stick around. We were talking about Grandpa and Marc, and how unusual Marc was to fall for Grandpa, given that they won’t have much time. And if Grandpa ever became ill. It was a hypothetical discussion, and I disagreed with him.” Parker’s body shook again, as the gravity of the situation made itself painfully aware, again.
Jeanette tried to take Cody’s side. “Maybe this is for the best, Parker. You’re only twenty-one, you’re in the middle of college. You have your entire life ahead of you. Cody will spend a long time, maybe years, in medical care. I think he acted very maturely.”
“You don’t understand, Mom. I love him. I would gladly give my life for him. I don’t want to live without him. I don’t think I can.”
“I know you love him, Parker. Nobody disputed that. But do you love him enough to let him go?”
Parker had no answer to that question, only tears.
***
Later that week, the Jacksons flew back to Chicago. With Cody gone, there was no need for them to remain in Hawaii. The mood on the flight was subdued. Parker’s sorrow over the loss of Cody was affecting everybody. And there was some disagreement over Cody’s actions. Marc was taking Parker’s side, and Jeanette wasn’t having it.
“That’s real sweet of you, but you seem to be having an ulterior motive, don’t you?” she hissed.
Jonathan’s eye brows shot up. “What do you mean?”
“Well, it seems awfully convenient for him to take Parker’s side. I mean, Marc is biased, after all. Given the two of you…”
“Jeanette, I don’t get it. What are you trying to say here?”
“I, uh, I just don’t think Marc is without ulterior motive, that’s all. Why would someone his age even consider being with someone like you?”
Jonathan chuckled. “And what exactly is wrong with me?”
“Nothing, Dad. That’s not what I’m saying.”
“But that’s exactly what you said.”
“Urgh! Don’t you get it?”
“Tell me, please, enlighten this old man…” Jonathan knew exactly what his daughter was getting at, but he wanted her to say it.
“He’s a gold digger obviously. He’s only with you because of your money.”
“Let’s assume that’s correct. Why does that make him partial to Parker’s side?”
Jeanette was stupefied. “I, uh, I guess he’s trying to get on Parker’s good side?”
“And thus alienating you? And Paul? Now how does that help him with his ‘gold digging’?” Jonathan turned to Marc, who was sitting next to him, quietly watching and listening to the exchange. “I’m sorry you have to hear this, Marc, but we usually hash things out, rather than sweeping them under the carpet, and she doesn’t really mean it…”
Jeanette opened her mouth and tried to say something, but closed it again.
“Listen, kiddo. I know for a fact you don’t mean it. Yes, you’re hurting. We are all hurting. We miss Cody, and we all feel awful for Parker. But just because Marc sees things differently doesn’t mean he is after my money. Besides, I’ve already transferred most of it to the foundation and to you kids anyway. So what I’ve got left, can’t I do with it what I want? Am I not entitled to love?”
Jeanette shook her head. “I’m sorry, Dad. It’s just been too much recently.” She turned to Marc. “And I owe you an apology, too. Somewhere up there, in all of this, my logic seems to be flawed. And if Dad wants to give you money, that’s obviously his prerogative. It’s his money. Not mine.”
Marc lifted his hand to interrupt her. “It’s okay, Jeanette. I can assure you I didn’t fall in love with your father because of his money, and I’ll sign any paper you put in front of me to prove it. In fact, you can ask all of them—I even offered to pay for
my room and board on the ship…”
“And I wouldn’t let him. Marc, your mere presence is worth more than a thousand doctors and pills. Can we please not talk about this? I love you, and I know you’re sincere. And Jeanette, I’m on your side on this, and I disagree with Marc. I think Cody made the right decision.”
Marc gave Jonathan a look of “we’ll talk about this.”
Parker shook his head. “It makes no sense. How could Cody afford to be flown out?”
“I’m sure his medical insurance paid for it…” Jonathan tried to diffuse the question.
“I doubt that very much. I’ve done some research, and by any means, the insurance may have paid for his treatment in Honolulu, at best, but certainly not a transport by an unlisted private flight to the mainland.”
“I think you’re seeing ghosts, Parker.” Jonathan didn’t like the direction the conversation was taking.
“Did you have anything to do with this?” Parker asked.
“Me? Why would you think that? That’s nonsense,” Jonathan responded too quickly, annoyed that Parker had seen straight through him.
“You have the means to do it.”
“But that doesn’t mean I did. How could you even ask such a question. Maybe they had savings, maybe Cody’s mom took out a loan. What do I know? But don’t you accuse me to be involved, young man!” Jonathan hissed.
“I’m sorry, Grandpa. It’s just that I miss him so much. I miss not being able to talk to him, hold him, feel him next to me. I want to be there for him, comfort him in his pain, help him in his struggle, his fight back to health. We had our entire lives ahead of us…”
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