“They’re giving you a transfusion… with Type ‘A’ positive! You’re ‘B’ on that side!! You’re ‘B’, now!!!”
My blood had somehow made the jump. I smelled, again, and I could definitely pick up my old odor. Cramps hit me hard, in my abdomen and middle torso.
“You’ve got to get back… you’ve got to stop them!!” he almost screamed. It was the first time I had ever really seen him lose his composure.
Another wave of cramps hit even worse than the first. I closed my eyes and then opened them, unsure of my whereabouts. I saw a mixture of flashes from the interior of my boat, and, also, from the Spartan rehabilitation room.
A bag of blood was on an I.V. pole, slowly dripping down a tube and into my vein.
“No…no! I don’t want to go there…” I said more to myself than to Giddeon. “I’ve got to get to Melody. I’ve got to…”
Spasms and contractions struck like a sledgehammer. I fell onto the floor. Aseptic white tiles were suddenly below my face.
“Noooo!” I screamed. “Not here!! Not here!!!”
There was darkness, and then, I saw scenes of the exterior of the church. Suddenly, there was the rehabilitation room, again. Then, the church. Images of the two began scrolling past like black and red on a Roulette Wheel… faster, and faster, and faster. I could feel Giddeon’s hand on my back; my sweat created a wet interface between us. The pain intensified and became almost unbearable.
Then, from out of my misery, there came a deafening sound… exactly like a sonic boom in my ears.
That’s when everything changed.
Chapter 70
I could no longer feel Giddeon’s hand on my dorsal surface. The pain within my midsection was extreme, and the area below my arms and knees was no longer smooth, but, quite rough… as if I was on a plane of pebbles. I opened my eyes and was blinded by daylight. Everything was washed out in the brilliance, and unable to support my weight, I collapsed and fell the short distance to the ground.
Slowly, my eyes began to focus. I looked up to see the double doors of the Catholic Church closed before me.
I inhaled, and had a coughing fit. When it was finally over, I looked back to the doors. As they once again came into focus, I saw the blurred image of a metal plate above me. It was to one side of the recessed entrance… I slowly realized that it was a switch that made it easier for the disabled to go inside by automatically controlling the opening. I tried to reach out, but it was impossible with my muscles in their weakened state from 48 months of disuse. Had it not been for the electric stimulation during that time, I don’t think I would have been able to move at all.
“Giddeon!” I shouted… well, it felt like I was shouting. It came out more like a croak mixed with a whisper. “Giddeon… I need help!”
I tried once again to reach up for the plate. The only motion I seemed to be able to make was to sort of roll over using my larger torso muscles. I felt pebbles embedded in the concrete on my bare backside during that maneuver… I was in a hospital gown provided by the rehab facility. My arm was bleeding a bit from where the I.V. had been yanked out by my sudden disappearance… we won’t talk about the state of my urethra due to where the catheter had been.
“Giddeon… you’ve got to crash the door! Can you hear me? You’ve got to crash the door!!”
I waited, in excruciating pain, as nothing happened.
“Giddeon!” I pleaded in a barely audible voice. “I’ve already moved so much inertia over here, a little more won’t matter. Please… concentrate. Please! I did it… so can you!!”
The wind kicked up a small breeze, which actually felt kind of cool and nice in the midst of my suffering. I tried to concentrate on that instead of the spasms wracking my body. I looked back up to the metal square and attempted to help give Giddeon some extra horsepower. In the end, I don’t know if it was him, or me, or both of us together, but I saw the switch flicker and depress.
The doors began to swing open.
Chapter 71
Of course, I was too close and one of the heavy wooden planes banged me in the head as it passed. I didn’t care. The pain I was already experiencing left little room for more. I heard the music from inside the church stop, and then, a soft, familiar intonation of words:
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union…”
I began to roll. It was all I could do. In fits and starts, I made my way into the vestibule. There was another set of double doors separating that area from the church interior, but, thankfully, those were set on hinges and swung loose like a full length saloon entryway. They totally covered the opening, and the doors had little windows about five feet up… presumably so that people could see through to the other side before opening them. I heard the master of ceremonies going on and on about the virtues of marriage and the importance of family as I tried to guide my pain-wracked body with my new mode of locomotion.
I turned, and turned, again.
Finally, I was at the dual barrier… I could hear the monotone of the minister coming from the other side more clearly. I rested for a few brief moments. Then, from beyond the mahogany came this invitation:
“If there is anyone here that knows of any reason why these two should not be joined together, let them speak, now, or forever hold their peace.”
Chapter 72
That was my cue.
I closed my eyes, barreled through the doors, and rolled down the center aisle at the back of the church. I’m sure every eye was upon me as I completed three circuits, exposing my butt to the crowd in triplicate. Exhausted, I lay on my back, kind of sideways on the thick, red carpet.
I was too weak to speak just then; however, I think I had made my point.
An excited murmur rustled through the guests. I could hear people getting to their feet. I was afraid I was going to vomit, but, somehow, kept it down; I sprawled there panting and sweating, like a dying dog.
I’m unsure of how much time passed as I lay there on the floor, semi-conscious and in horrible pain. Had I not been able to compare it to the time when I experienced the misery of a nuclear holocaust, I don’t think I would have been able to bear it. Relativity, you know.
Then, I smelled her.
She was kneeling down beside me, cradling my head in her hands. I saw the flash of a camera, and, as if from inside of a tunnel, heard someone calling for an ambulance. I looked up and saw her lovely countenance above me, all in white. A man was standing behind her.
Oddly, I recognized him, even without his Scottish-styled hat.
Father McCreely.
__________
I watched him disappear from my view as he fainted dead away. I suppose there’s more than one way to stop a wedding. Like Giddeon said… it’s always good to have a Plan ‘B’. Melody leaned her head in close when she saw I was trying to communicate. I whispered to her as best I could,
“Hi.”
A tear spilled down her cheek. I watched it make its way in beautiful slow motion over her perfect skin, and, then, drop into the abyss past my peripheral vision.
“Hi,” she answered back.
“I’m sorry I didn’t call… I’ve been… in a coma.”
At that point, I had what felt like a small convulsion. Diffuse epicenters of pain wheeled through my being. When it had passed, I looked back up.
“I’m having a transfusion reaction,” I rasped. “They gave me ‘A’ positive blood… I’m ‘B’ negative, just like you. We’re a perfect match.” I then muttered something about our MHC molecules and how she was sick, but I don’t think she heard me.
She looked up at the crowd gathered around us. “Is the ambulance on its way? Make sure it’s on the way! Tell them it’s a transfusion reaction… he has ‘B’ negative and they gave him ‘A’ positive!”
I told you she was smart.
I struggled to find my voice. “You… you have to go to a doctor… you have lymphoma… or, maybe it’s leukemia. It’s gonna be okay. I know what to do…
”
I felt my world going black. I was trying desperately to stay awake. I had to tell her about the cure. I had to write it down. However, the last thing I remember from that day were two words. I didn’t quite get to complete the sentence I had waited so long to say.
“I love….”
Chapter 73
I was out for three days. I don’t remember any of it. No Giddeon, no Boris, no golf or MangoMooManias. When I finally did open my eyes, she was there. She had never left my side. That was against all kind of hospital rules, but my physician was apparently a big-wig at the institution and allowed it.
Outside of my hospital room was a small circus, of sorts. Reporters and media waited in the hallway when they could get away with it, or, if not, in the lobby, for news. My brother apparently was accosted with questions each time he came and went; everyone wanted to know more about the guy that had come out of a coma to stop a wedding.
__________
We were a national story, and, a smash on YouTube. The Videographer for the wedding pretty much caught everything on camera. I have to give it to him, he was cool under pressure. From the high definition close up of ‘… let them speak now or forever hold their peace.’, to my butt-cheeks crashing through the door and rolling down the aisle, he never shook. Steady as a rock. It was some mighty fine camera work. Father McCreely going pale and falling backwards into the congregation’s arms… Melody leaning in close with tears streaming down her face. It was awesome.
The number of hits far exceeded anything ever posted.
__________
Her wonderful aroma invaded my world, once again. I swam through the darkness around me, struggled to consciousness and opened my eyes.
“Hi,” I said, again.
“Hi,” she replied. She was sitting beside my bed, holding my hand. Her eyes were glistening with tears as she gazed down at me. “I… dreamed of you.” Her voice was almost a whisper. A beautiful, melodious whisper.
“I know.”
Melody seemed like she could hardly believe the reality in the room around her… as if it was all still only part of a dream. Then, she said, “You were really in a coma… for all of that time?”
“I’ve been trying so hard to get back to you,” I replied, softly.
She looked at me with those smoke grey eyes… all of creation was distilled down into two beautiful orbs.
“How did you get to the church? They almost arrested your brother… they thought he brought you there.”
“You won’t believe it right now, if I told you. We have… a lot to talk about.”
I tried to sit up a bit, but couldn’t do it. She hit a button on the side of my bed and tilted the back forward. “Could you get me a pencil and paper?” I asked. My voice was ragged, already going out.
There must have been something in the way I made the request that relayed urgency to her. Melody got quickly up, went through the door and then down to the lobby. I could hear a commotion along with shouted questions. After a few moments, she came back to my room with a notebook and a pen, evidently requisitioned from one of the reporters. She sat down and handed them to me. I tried to form my fingers around the instrument and write ‘Turmeric’ on the pad, but my muscles wouldn’t cooperate… that spice was the first ingredient on the list I had memorized. Melody took the writing utensil and notebook from me, and I dictated the list in my faltering voice. Then, I relayed the instructions. When I was done, I was exhausted. She leaned me back, questions in her eyes.
“You have cancer,” I said. “That will cure you. You have to drink it every day for a year.”
She nodded, as if humoring me.
“I feel fine. I’m just a little run down… that’s all.”
At that point, a male doctor and a female nurse came rushing into the room. I was surprised it had taken them so long to arrive; most likely the monitors and devices I was connected to had relayed my activity to the nurse’s station. I was just thankful for the few minutes that Melody and I had been able to share up until that point… it had at least given me the time to recite the formula to her before I forgot it.
The physician started examining me, shining a light in my eyes and probing here and there. Eventually, Jeremy and his wife also arrived; they were allowed brief access to me.
My brother hugged me gently, as if he was afraid I would break. Janice did the same.
The doctor, a nurse, and then another doctor… a specialist, I presume… all went over my reflexes, responses and chart for the better part of two hours. Melody, my brother and his wife all huddled out of the way, in the corner near a table, while they did.
When the experts were finally done, they pronounced that I needed to rest. I disagreed, since I had been asleep for 1472 days, counting the recent three. However, they won out, and everyone was ushered from the room. I wasn’t sure I should close my eyes because I wanted to make sure that I stayed on this side of reality. Eventually, however, I fell into a deep, sound slumber.
__________
When I awoke, she was there, again. Right by my side. I noticed a bandage was over her cubital fossa… the area from where blood is usually drawn. She reached out and took my hand.
“Hi, again.” This time, she said it with only a smile. No tears.
“Could I have some water?” Melody reached over and got a cup from the bedside table and positioned the straw, that was there in the liquid, near my lips. God, it tasted good. She tilted my bed up and gave me some more.
“Thanks.” I looked into those mesmerizing eyes, again, and asked, “Do you remember the dream? The night before you were supposed to get married?” A terrible thought then occurred to me. “You didn’t still get married, did you?”
I glanced down at her left hand. There was no ring there.
She shook her head gently back and forth. “No… I didn’t. And, I do remember the dream. It was beautiful… the city, the people flying through the air… the music.”
“Don’t forget the chocolate.” My voice was a little stronger.
“Oh, my God… the chocolate.”
I smiled and nodded. “It was real. The show, I mean. It was on a planet far away… thousands of years in the future.”
I saw a little crinkle between her eyebrows. I’m sure she was confused, and maybe wondering if she should call the doctor.
“I don’t understand…”
I nodded, again. “I was there. When I was in my coma. I saw it all. I saw so many things… so many places,” I half whispered.
She looked perplexed, and rubbed the back of my hand with her thumb as if trying to comfort me. “It was a beautiful dream… they all were…”
“I saw you. At your condo. With your cat, Samantha. You painted a picture of us at the table where we met. It’s perfect… almost like we never left.”
Melody held her other hand to her mouth; I could see her eyes glisten, once more, as they began to well up.
“It’s okay… I know it’s hard to take in. But, I was there… with you… when you were painting. I also saw you at the golf course, taking pictures of the water and the dolphin.” I asked for another sip of water to soothe my throat; once again, it tasted wonderfully. “You went there after a dream, to see for yourself. Boris came up to you, and…”
“Boris?”
“My cat. You petted him. He was in the dream… with me, and you, and Samantha… on the boat. I really like that painting, too, by the way.”
She removed her hand from mine and reached for some tissues beside the bed. She wiped her eyes, and looked at me with a mix of apprehension and wonder.
“How… is this possible? How do you know all of this?”
Another doctor barged into the room. Then, a nurse. Another examination ensued, and blood was drawn. Finally, after about twenty-five minutes, we were alone, again.
“I hardly know where to start.” I looked away for a few moments, and then back. “Let me start with this. I’ve been waiting to tell you this for four years.” My voice w
as leaving me, again.
She reached out to my hand. It felt so good to have it there, once more. I squeezed it with what little strength I had at my disposal.
“I love you,” I whispered.
Chapter 74
That morning, I went through what had occurred on the other side. It took me the better part of the day because my vocal chords were so weak. She sat quietly, as in bits and pieces I relayed my experiences to her.
I told her of Giddeon, and how we could sample realities without being a part of those realities. How he was the subconscious component of my brain that I had somehow had access to due to my injury.
Coronado Dreaming (The Silver Strand Series) Page 27
