The Woman Behind the Glass Wall

by DB Jones

  Jacob kept looking out of the window and then saw Teddy’s car turn into the driveway. His hands began to perspire, and the veins in his neck were pulsating. “Thank God, they’re here.”

  He opened the front door to greet them. Teddy got out of the car first, waved then opened the door for Anna and Sydney.

  Jacob waved, but his attention was on Sydney. He walked outside and mumbled something to Anna and Teddy then reached for Sydney. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  Sydney’s eyes lit up, and her smile spread across her blushing cheeks. “Thank you for inviting us.”

  He bent down and kissed her on the forehead. “I wouldn’t have had this party without you. You’re the reason for it.” He turned to Teddy and Anna. “Thank you for coming. I can’t wait to introduce all of you to my father. Please, come in and make yourselves at home. There’s beer and wine on the patio. Let me introduce you to some of the guests.”

  He introduced Teddy, Anna, and Sydney to his friends and looked for his father and Sal. When he got to Brian, he stopped and glanced around the patio. “Where’s Dad?”

  Brian pointed to the lake. “He and Sal headed to the boathouse. Your dad said something about showing Sal the fishing gear you had. I heard them talking about going fishing.” Brian tilted his head. “Sounded funny to me. In all the years I’ve known your father, I have never once heard him mention fishing. I didn’t even know he liked the water.”

  Jacob chuckled. “Since he retired, he’s been talking about doing a lot of things he’s never done before. He and Sal are sure to get into trouble with that idea. Brian, this is Sydney, the woman I was telling you about.”

  Brian extended his hand. “Jacob never mentioned how beautiful you were.”

  Sydney smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “This is her brother, Ted, and their friend, Anna.”

  “Nice to meet you all. How do you like your steaks?”

  Teddy stepped up to the grill. “Medium rare, but I’ll eat it anyway but burnt,” he grinned.

  “And you Miss Anna?”

  “The same way.”

  “Sydney?”

  “The same as Anna and my brother. That should make it easy for you.”

  “Perfect.”

  “Jacob?” Sydney whispered.

  “Yes?”

  “Would you show me where the powder room is.”

  “Of course.” He led her back inside. “It’s the third door down on the left. I’ll just wait on the patio for you.”

  “Thank you.”

  Jacob returned to the patio just as his father and Sal were coming back from the lake.

  Teddy and Anna were standing with Jacob as Senior and Sal approached.

  “Dad, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

  Senior extended his hand. “It’s a pleasure meeting friends of Jacobs.”

  “Dad, this Ted, and Anna. Ted is the brother of the woman I’ve been telling you about.”

  Senior reached for Anna’s hand. “Nice to finally meet you.”

  Anna looked at Teddy then back at Jacob. Jacob quickly interjected. “No, Dad. Anna is not the woman I’m seeing.”

  “Oh dear, my apologies.”

  Jacob turned to see Sydney coming outside. He walked over to her, took her hand and escorted her back to his father. “Dad, this is the woman I’ve been telling you about. This is Sydney Parker.”

  Sydney smiled and extended her hand to Jacob’s father, but he stood there staring at her for a moment and then grabbed at his heart.

  “Dad!”

  Senior dropped to the ground gripping at his heart.

  Jacob screamed. “Someone call 911!”

  Sydney stepped back to give Jacob room with his father. Tyler, Senior’s young colleague rushed over to Jacob’s father. “Let’s get him into my car; it will be faster. I’ll call the hospital on the way, so they’ll be waiting.”

  Jacob turned to Sydney with tears welling up. “I’m so sorry.”

  Sydney looked at Jacob in shock. “You go.”

  Tyler, Teddy, and Jacob carried Senior out to the car. Jacob sat in the back seat with his father as Tyler rushed them to the hospital. Sydney was standing at the doorway with Anna’s arm around her shoulder as Jacob left with his father. Teddy rushed back to their side. Sydney looked up at her brother. “Maybe someone should be with Jacob.”

  Teddy escorted them to the car and raced off toward the hospital. By the time they arrived, the hospital had rushed Senior to the back with Tyler and Jacob alongside.

  “Dad, hang in there. You’re going to be fine,” Jacob struggled to say as they wheeled his father down the hall.

  The doctor turned to Jacob. “We’ll take it from here, Jacob. Good thing you got him here right away. You and Tyler wait in the waiting room, and we’ll call you.”

  Tyler put his arm on Jacob’s shoulder. “He’s going to be okay. Nothing else we can do right now. You know the drill. Let the doctors do their jobs.”

  Jacob nodded his head and slowly walked to the waiting room, Tyler sat next to the phone, but Jacob just paced the room.

  “Jacob.”

  He looked up to see Sydney, pulled her to his chest and held her tightly.

  Teddy and Anna sat next to Tyler. “Do they know anything yet?” Teddy whispered.

  Tyler shrugged his shoulders. “All indications are that David had a heart attack, but we won’t know for sure until we hear from the doctor.”

  Anna leaned over Teddy toward Tyler. “He’s going to be okay, isn’t he?”

  “I hope so.”

  Suddenly, the phone in the waiting room rang. Tyler answered it then looked up at Jacob. “Jacob, they want to see you.”

  Sydney nodded. “I’ll be here.”

  Jacob went to the door and pressed the button. There was a nurse waiting for hm as the door opened. “The doctor wants to talk to you before you go in and see your father.”

  “Is my dad okay?”

  “Doctor Thornhill, you know I can’t say until the doctor talks to you.”

  “Jeanne, please.”

  “All I can say is that you got your father here in time.” She motioned Jacob down the hall and knocked on the door.

  “Jacob, come in.”

  “Franklin, how’s my dad? What happened?”

  “Have a seat. How has your dad been lately? Have you noticed any changes?”

  “Other than retiring?”

  “I wasn’t aware David had retired.”

  “Franklin, what happened? Is he going to be all right?”

  Franklin tightened his lip. “You’re father had a stroke.”

  “How bad is it?”

  “Thanks to your quick action, he’s going to be fine. I’d like to keep him here for a few days and run more tests, but he’s already fighting me on that.”

  “You know the old saying.”

  “Yes, a physician makes the worst patient, and your father is no exception. He wants to go home with you now, but I’m advising against it until we’re sure he’s okay.”

  “I agree. May I see him, now?”

  “Yes, but we’ve given him something to relax him, so keep your visit short.”

  Jacob stood up and shook the doctor’s hand. “Thanks, Franklin.”

  The nurse escorted him down the hall. They had started his father on fluids and had him hooked up to the monitors.

  “Hi, Dad. How do you feel?”

  Senior was having a little trouble with his speech but grunted out a few words clearly. “I feel like shit.”

  Jacob struggled to hold back his laughter. His father was not one to curse in any circumstances, at least not in front of him.

  “You’re missing a good party. What happened?”

  Senior turned his head away from Jacob. “I’m tired,” he mumbled.

  Jacob leaned over and kissed his father on the forehead. “I love you, Dad. Get some rest, and I’ll be back in the morning.”

  His father closed his eyes and quickly drif
ted off to sleep. Jacob turned to the nurse. “Jeanne, here’s my card. Call me if there’s any change, will you?”

  “Of course. But I think your father is going to be out for the night.”

  “Thank you.”

  Jacob returned to the waiting room. Tyler, Teddy, Anna, and Sydney stood.

  “Dad had a stroke.”

  “Is he going to be all right?” Sydney softly asked.

  “I think he’ll be fine. He cursed at me.”

  Tyler bit his lower lip. “Wish I could have heard that. I’ve never heard your father swear.”

  Jacob gave a slight grin.“I haven’t either. I think it shocked him, too. Thank you all for being here, but my father is in good hands, so there’s no reason for us to stay. Tyler, do you mind if I ride back with Sydney?”

  “Heck no. we’d better get back; I haven’t eaten today, and I sure could go for a steak.”

  “Yeah, me, too,” Teddy interjected.

  Sydney pulled Jacob to the side. “Are you sure you want to leave? Please don’t do it on my account. If you need to be here with your father, I certainly understand.”

  “They just gave him something, and Jeanne said he’d probably be out until morning. I’ll come back before he wakes up, but thanks.”

  Sydney wrapped her arm around his. “Family is everything.”

  By the time they got back to the house, the only people remaining at the party were Brian and Sal. They were out on the patio. As soon as they heard the front door open, they stood. “Well, how’s he doing?” Sal asked as he held his breath.

  “Dad had a slight stroke, but he’s going to be fine. Thank you for staying. Jacob looked at the grill. “Are there any steaks left?”

  Brian walked back to the grill. “Five. How do you want your’s cooked Tyler?”

  “Medium rare.”

  “You all make it easy for me.” He stabbed the steaks, one by one and tossed them on the grill.

  Teddy reached into the tub of ice and pulled out a couple of beers and handed them to Jacob and Tyler.

  Anna grumbled. “What about us?”

  “Sorry,” Teddy reached in and grabbed two more. “Here,” passing one to her and the other to Sydney.

  There wasn’t much conversation while they ate and when they finished, Sal, Brian, and Tyler thanked Jacob and left. “Keep us posted,” Brian requested as he left.

  “I will. Thank you.” Jacob escorted them to the door. Teddy, Anna, and Sydney were right behind him. “Are you leaving, too?”

  Sydney reached up and touched his face. “You could use some rest, but please call me and let me know how your dad is doing.”

  “I will. Thank you for sticking around. This was not how I wanted this evening to go. I had hoped my father would have had a chance to get to know you tonight.”

  “I’m just glad he’s going to be okay.”

  He kissed her and leaned against the doorway until their car was out of sight.

  He closed the door and stood in the middle of the empty room. “I don’t know what I would do if something happens to him.” He opened another beer while he cleaned up the grill and put the leftover food away. As he passed his father’s bedroom, he stopped for a moment then went upstairs.

  Jacob kept reliving that moment his father had the stroke. “The moment he met Sydney. That’s too weird. He never had a chance to speak to her.”

  Sleep finally claimed him.

  Teddy, did you see the way Jacob’s father looked at me?”

  “Yeah, his father was having a stroke. You’re lucky he didn’t pull you down with him.”

  “You don’t think Jacob thinks I’m responsible, do you?”

  Teddy grabbed her by the shoulders. “You can just get that thought out of your pretty little head. You had nothing to do with what happened.”

  “I know how important today was for Jacob. I wish I could be with him.”

  “Sis, give him some time. He needs to be with his Dad. I’m sure as soon as he knows more, he’ll call. You need to get some rest, now. It’s been a long and intense day.” Teddy kissed her on the cheek.

  “You’re right. Thank you. Good night Anna,” she hollered down the hall.

  Anna stuck her head out of her bedroom door. “Good night, Syd.”

  Sydney closed her door, but couldn’t erase the look on Jacob’s father’s face. “I hope he’s going to be all right.”

  Sydney changed into a pair of yoga pants, a tank top and crawled into bed. She stared up at the ceiling texturing trying to create patterns from the swirls hoping it would distract her from the vision of Doctor Thornhill’s expression when she extended her hand to him. Struggling to keep her eyes open, she finally gave way to sleep. However, her dreams flashed back and forth between the night of the accident to watching Jacob’s father fall to the ground. Her body thrashed around in bed. Had it not been for the covers that engulfed her in a knot, she would have tumbled to the floor.

  Perspiration formed a puddle at the base of her neck. It saturated her tank top. Sydney headed for the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face and ran a damp washcloth on her neck.

  It was 4:30 a.m. so she tiptoed into the kitchen and made a pot of coffee then opened the French doors to the balcony. A cool mist of air drifted into the room bringing a chill to her. She quivered, grabbed the sweater draped on the couch, poured a cup of coffee and headed outside.

  The stillness of the morning was not an experience she had felt in more years than she could remember. She loved the silence and peace. The morning traffic hadn’t started yet, and there was no one in the park, only the sounds of a mourning dove and a distance owl calling out to his mate. She let the steam from her drink drift to her face then took that first sip. “I wish Jacob could experience this with me.” She shook her head, breathed in the cool morning air and headed back inside.

  Jacob awoke several times during the night reliving the moment his father had the stroke. He tried turning over and reclaiming sleep, but it was futile. “Dang, it’s only 4:30 in the morning. Ah, heck. I might as well get up. He tossed on his robe and headed for the kitchen. The timer on the coffee pot wasn’t set to start brewing for another hour. He clicked the timer to start then headed for the doors leading to the patio. He pulled the doors back, letting the cool air off the lake drift through the room. He stared at the patio and the grill, remembering how great the evening had started out and how quickly it all changed. “Dad never had a chance to hear Sydney’s sweet voice. I hope today he’ll show some improvement. I want to be there when he wakes up, but I want to see Sydney, too.”

  He could hear the buzzer from the coffee indicating it was ready. He filled a large mug and strolled outside. He sat on the wall of the patio facing the lake. “Only yesterday, Dad and Sal were down at the boathouse planning a fishing trip.” He sucked in the cool air, sipped his coffee then returned to the house.

  As Jacob passed his father’s new room, he stepped inside. He struggled to remember if he had seen any signs that would indicate the onset of a stroke with his father, but nothing stood out. “I just don’t understand. Did Dad know something was wrong and kept it from me?”

  Jacob left, closed the door behind him and went back upstairs to shower.

  The traffic wasn’t heavy that morning, so Jacob arrived at the hospital just as they were passing out the morning trays. He walked down the hall toward his father’s room. He gently knocked and walked into the dark room. His father was still sleeping, so Jacob slowly pulled up a chair to the edge of the bed. He watched his father’s breathing and frequently glanced at the monitors. His blood pressure and pulse rate are normal, and his O2 is within range. Good sign.

  Senior began to stir, tossing his head from one side then to the other as his face twitched. Suddenly his blood pressure rose, and pulse started to elevate. Within moments a nurse came rushing in, turned on the light and tapped Senior or the shoulder. “Doctor Thornhill?”

  Jacob’s father opened his eyes, and immediately his stats re
turned to normal. The nurse smiled at his father. “You’re looking much better this morning,” she remarked as she checked his vitals. “Would you like something to eat?”

  Senior turned to see Jacob sitting next to the bed and forced a half smile.

  “Good morning, Dad.”

  Senior tried to speak but nothing came out but gurgling noises.

  “You’re not awake yet, Dad. Would you like me to get you some coffee?”

  His father shook his head and muttered a few words. “No thanks.”

  Jacob smiled. “How are you feeling this morning?”

  Senior nodded his head. “Okay.”

  “Well, they said you didn’t break anything when you fell. That’s good.”

  Senior took a moment, slowly reached for the bed control and elevated the head of his bed. “No fishing with Sal for awhile.”

  Jacob smiled and hugged his father. “At least not today.”

  The doctor came into the room. “Good morning, David. I heard you caused a scene at the party last night.”

  Senior grinned, revealing a slight droop in the corner of his mouth.

  The doctor patted David on the shoulder. “Good thing you had doctors surrounding you. It looks like you dodged a big one, thanks to them. How are you feeling today?”

  Senior cocked his head. “Pretty good, now get me out of here.”

  “Not so fast. We still need to monitor you for a few days to make sure. David, you know the drill better than I do, so don’t be that cliché, that doctors make the worst patients.”

  David chuckled. “I’ll try.”

  The nurse came in with Senior’s breakfast tray. “Here you go. Can I get you anything else, Doctor Thornhill?”

  Senior curled his upper lip and looked up at her. “You forgot the lime jello.”

  The nurse laughed as she left the room.

  “Now, David, don’t be giving the nurses a hard time. I’ll be back later.”

  While his father dabbed at the food, Jacob followed Franklin out of the room. “How’s Dad doing?”

  “We were lucky. There could have been more damage had you and Brian not taken quick action. Jacob, had you noticed any changes in your father lately that could have led up to this?”