Broken Promises

by Patricia Watters

  "How long ago?" Zak asked.

  "I don't know. Twenty, maybe thirty minutes. I was working under the car, and he'd been playing quietly, so I don't know. But I've been looking around out here for about fifteen minutes and I found this--" he held up Pio's jacket "--near the woods."

  "You said he had a rope?" Zak asked.

  Vince nodded. "He must have taken it with him because it's gone too."

  "Damn, Pio wouldn't! Come on, both of you." Zak said. "We'll check my old tree house near the river. Pio knows he's not supposed to go there. And the thing's half rotted. I should have taken the tree ladder down when Pio first got here." He started running towards the woods and Tess and Vince followed close behind. As they ran, the rain began to fall. Tess pulled the ties on her hood, gathering it close around her face. When they were a considerable distance from the house, Tess called ahead, saying, "How much farther to the river?"

  "It's right below us, and it's deep down there," Zak replied. "I've told Pio a dozen times--"

  "Over there!" Vince yelled, while pointing.

  Zak rushed over to where Vince stood. Reaching the edge of the embankment high above the river, they found the beret that Pio had worn to the festival, caught on the snag of a limb.

  "Jesus, he's fallen over the side!" Zak cried, while looking through the rain at the river swirling below. "He could never survive down there."

  "I don't see how he could go over the side," Vince said. "That brush is mostly blackberries. And even without the thorns, it's too dense to get through."

  "I hope you're right," Zak said. He shielded his eyes against the downpour and looked around. "We'd better find him soon. His clothes have got to be soaked through." He pointed to where the trail forked, and said to Vince, "You go that way and check along the river. Tess and I will go on ahead to the tree house. He had a rope, so he could be there."

  As they ran along the uneven trail, a sharp crack exploded above. Before Tess could see what was happening, Zak hurled her to the ground and threw himself on top of her. Moments later, a huge limb crashed where they'd just been. Zak pulled her against him. "That was too damn close," he said, looking at the gnarled oak limb lying beside them. "Let's get to the tree house and get out of here."

  They scrambled up a small rise and made their way down the opposite side, ducking under limbs heavy with moisture and shoving back branches that blocked the trail. Then at the base of a giant oak, Zak looked up and cried, "He's there!"

  Tess peered up at a platform high above the forest floor. "You're right. I see his hand."

  "Pio! " Zak yelled. When he got no response, he said, "I'm going up." But when he started up the first of a string of weathered wooden cross-boards nailed to the tree, the board splintered and ripped from the tree.

  "You're too heavy," Tess said. "I'll go up."

  "No, those boards are too rotten. I'll go back to the house and get a ladder and ropes. You stay here and make sure Pio stays put." Without waiting for a response, Zak turned and raced toward the house.

  Tess saw Pio roll dangerously close to the edge of the platform. "Pio!" she screamed, but Pio didn't seem to hear her. Impulsively, she started up the tree, one cross-board at a time, feeling the weathered slats twist and creak under her weight. By the time she reached the crude structure and pulled herself onto the platform, her face stung from the cold rain, and her hands felt numb. She looked at Pio's small form curled up and drenched to the skin, his face drained of color, his lips purple. Taking him by the shoulders, she shook him, but got no response. "Pio!" she cried, alarmed. She shook him again. His eyelids fluttered and opened, but he gave no sign of recognition. Then his lips moved, and he said in a weak voice, "Mama?"

  "No, honey. It's Tess."

  Pio wrapped his arms around her neck. "Mama," he repeated as he begin to whimper.

  Tess closed her arms around him, feeling his cold face against her neck. "You poor little thing, you're freezing," she said, rubbing him briskly. Looking down, she knew the frail ladder would never hold the two of them, nor could she climb down with Pio wrapped around her, so she knew she'd have to wait for Zak.

  Laying Pio against the platform, she unzipped her jacket and slipped out of it, then wrapped it around Pio and lifted him onto her lap. Feeling him shivering inside the jacket, she rubbed him briskly, then held him and rocked him until she sensed he was drifting off.

  A few minutes later, Zak arrived with a ladder in his hands, and a coil of rope over his shoulder. "Stay there until I get this rope up to you," he said.

  "Hurry," Tess yelled down. "Pio's sleeping and he's freezing. He probably has hypothermia."

  "Then wake him up and keep his circulation going or he'll go into shock," Zak said.

  Tess shook Pio. "Come on, Pio. Wake up!" Pio opened his eyes momentarily, then they closed again and his head slumped against her. "I can't get him to stay awake," she said. "Get the rope up here so I can make a harness and lower him." When she scooted to the edge of the platform and looked over the side, she realized how far down it was.

  Zak propped the ladder against the tree and climbed up, then hurled the rope to Tess. As it sailed upward, Tess leaned over while holding onto Pio with one hand and reaching out with the other. She felt the platform give, and jerked her arm back. The rope dropped away, but when she looked down, she saw it caught on the top cross board of the tree ladder. Gripping the edge of the platform, she stretched toward the rope, grabbed it, and pulled it up.

  Pio lay limp as she threaded the rope under his arms, and around his waist, and between his legs to make a harness. Then she pulled on the knot to make sure it would hold, and stood. Holding the rope with both hands, and laying on her belly, she called down to Zak, "He's ready. I'm going to lower him." As she lowered Pio over the edge, she knew the rope was cutting into her hands, but they were numb from cold so she felt no pain. But when she shifted her weight to feed out more rope, the platform cracked and a board on the edge gave way and sailed to the ground. And the rope tightened around her hand, almost pulling her off the platform before she could reach out with her foot and hook it around a limb. She felt her forearms scraping against the ragged edge of the old wood platform as Pio hung from the harness, midway down, but still high enough off the ground that he'd be badly injured if he fell. But as she continued to lower Pio, she felt the strength leaving her hands, and her hold on the rope with Pio giving way...

  Then suddenly the rope slackened, and she heard Zak yell, "I've got him."

  While Zak released the harness from around Pio, Tess secured the rope to a heavy limb, and while holding onto it, made her way down the cross boards. When her foot hit the ground, Zak bundled Pio's cold limp body in his arms, and said, "Come on, let's get him home."

  As they raced toward the house, Vince joined them, and by the time they arrived, Gratianne and Jean-Pierre were waiting outside. "How is he?" Gratianne asked, in an anxious voice.

  "Not good," Zak replied. "Call emergency."

  "I'll call," Jean-Pierre said, then rushed into the house.

  Zak raced in after him, then rushed up the stairs to Pio's room, where he lay Pio on the bed, removed Tess's jacket from around him, and started unbuttoning his wet shirt. Tess pushed Zak's hands away, and said, "Let me do this. You throw some towels in the dryer to warm." While Tess stripped off Pio's clothes, Zak rushed out of the room, and a few minutes later, returned with an armload of warm towels, then tossed them on the bed and went for more. Gratianne brought in a thick down comforter and set it on the foot of the bed.

  As Tess wrapped Pio in the warm towels, he began to stir. "Mama?" he said, again.

  "You're okay now, honey," Tess said. "You're in your bed now. You're going to be fine."

  Pio looked at Tess, but his eyes didn't appear to focus. "Mama," he said again, while reaching for her. Tess started to draw him against her, but knowing that her shirt was soaked, wrapped him in the comforter first, then held him close and started rocking him.

  "An emergency rig's on t
he way," Jean-Pierre announced from the doorway. "They said to keep him warm, and as soon as he's conscious, give him something warm to drink. I'll go back down and wait for them to arrive."

  Gratianne sat on the opposite side of the bed, and Zak pulled up a chair and sat near Tess.

  "He still doesn't know what's going on," Tess said. "He just keeps calling for his mother."

  Zak stroked Pio's face. "It's okay, son. We're here." Pio opened his eyes to Zak's voice and began to whimper. Zak took the bundle from Tess and held him close, and as Tess watched Zak looking down at his son, and saw the love and worry on his face, tears welled.

  Gratianne reached across the bed and touched Tess's hand. "You need to change out of those wet clothes and take a warm bath or you'll get sick," she said. "I'll get you a robe." She left, and returned a few minutes later with a robe, which she handed to Tess. "Leave your wet clothes in the bathroom and I'll throw them in the washer."

  While Tess soaked in a tub of warm water, the medics arrived and verified that Pio was suffering from mild hypothermia. While they were monitoring his vital signs, Tess, wrapped in the robe that Gratianne had loaned her, joined Zak and his mother, who stood at the foot of the bed, while Jean-Pierre paced the room.

  "He lost a lot of body heat so it may be a while before he fully regains consciousness," one of the two medics said. "Keep him warm and give him lots of liquids when he comes around, not too hot though. He'll sleep a lot."

  "Shouldn't he be in the hospital?" Zak asked.

  "That's not necessary," the medic replied. "His color's coming back and his heart rate's strong. He'll be fine once he warms up."

  Zak and his father walked with the medics to the emergency rig, leaving Tess and Gratianne with Pio. "He looks so alone in that big bed," Gratianne said, verbalizing Tess's thoughts. But when Tess went to pull the cover up around Pio's chin, Gratianne grabbed her wrist, and said, "What have you done to your hand?" She turned Tess's palm up.

  Tess looked at both raw, red hands. "It's rope burns," she said.

  "We've got to put something on them," Gratianne replied.

  When Tess started to get up to follow Gratianne out the room, Pio's head moved. "Mama?" he called out, while reaching up.

  "It's okay, sweetie," Tess said, settling back on the bed. Pio opened his eyes, looked at Tess for a moment, then closed them again and rested peacefully.

  "I'll be back with the ointment," Gratianne said, then turned and left the room.

  As Tess sat with Pio, her gaze moved to a small picture frame on the bedside table. She lifted it and studied the photo. A woman with a pleasant face and kind eyes, and a long braid over her shoulder, stood behind Pio, her hands resting on his shoulders. There was nothing particularly striking about the woman, but it was evident that she loved her son.

  Zak, who'd been standing in the doorway watching, said as he walked toward her. "That was the last picture of them together." He sat on the bed beside Tess.

  "She was pretty," Tess replied, "and she looks very nice."

  "She was a good woman," Zak said, "and a good mother. Pio loved her very much."

  Tess brushed the hair from Pio's forehead, then rested her hand there. "He feels much warmer now." She looked down at Pio. On his lips was the trace of a smile, although she knew he was still asleep.

  Gratianne returned with a roll of gauze, some adhesive, and a tube of ointment, and said, while handing the ointment to Tess, "Put this on your hands and Zak can help you wrap the gauze around them and hold it in place with the adhesive. I'll bring you a tray with soup and fresh baked bread and hot spiced wine. Pio will probably sleep for a while now."

  "Thank you, Mrs. de Neuville," Tess said.

  "Please, it's Gratianne."

  Tess held the woman's gaze, and on her face Tess saw what she could only describe as acceptance. It was an odd, but very gratifying feeling, one she would never have expected when she'd first arrived. After Gratianne left the room, Tess stood beside the bed while Zak wrapped her hands, but when he'd finished, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, and she responded by curving her arms around his neck and kissing him back. As their lips held, Zak moved his hands up and down her sides, and his thumbs moved over the swell of her breasts flattened against his chest. Then he pressed against her butt, and said in a husky voice, "I'd like to crawl into that robe with you."

  Tess looked into his smoldering gaze, and replied, "If you did, I'm afraid you'd find a very tired, very hungry woman inside."

  "I'm not opposed to crawling in with a tired, hungry woman," Zak said. "I might even be able to fix the hunger part, as long as it's not about food."

  "Umm, I think that crosses our substance without sex line," Tess reminded him.

  Zak held her at arm's length, gave her a wicked grin, and said, "Then let's get on with the substance part this relationship."

  Tess laughed, enjoying the playful banter again. But the light moment they shared passed when Zak's father appeared in the doorway. She quickly released Zak's hands and moved away from him. She was tempted to return to the bathroom and stay there until Jean-Pierre left, but before she'd made a move to do so, Zak said to his father, "Pio's doing fine. We'll let him rest now." Then he turned to Tess and added, "Honey, you'll be okay here?"

  Tess eyed Jean-Pierre, who was clearly disturbed with Zak's endearments, then said to Zak, "I'll be fine. Your mother will be bringing me a tray."

  Zak left with his father, and a few minutes later, Gratianne arrived holding a tray with a bowl of steaming soup with chunks of meat and vegetables in it, and a plate with two large slices of French bread. After setting the tray on a small desk, she pulled out the desk chair, and said to Tess, "Now, you must eat. When you're done, I've prepared a bedroom down the hallway for you. I think you'll be comfortable there for the night."

  It came to Tess then that the only place where she'd truly be comfortable for this particular night would be lying in bed with Zak, with his arms around her.

  As Tess ate, Gratianne pulled up a chair and sat adjacent to her, and said, "While you were taking your bath, Pio had something to drink, and he asked where you were."

  Tess stared at Gratianne. "He knew I'd been here?"

  "He seemed to," Gratianne said.

  Tess mulled that over. Pio gave no indication that he'd thought anyone but his mother had been with him. The idea that he knew who it was, and was pleased about it, was surprising. "Do you think he'll be ready to return to school on Tuesday?" she asked.

  "Probably," Gratianne said, "but we think it's best that he stay here with us through the week end since Zak has more nests to climb..."

  "I'll take over from here," Zak said from the doorway.

  Gratianne looked up at Zak, and said, with concern, "Just see that Tess finishes everything on that tray."

  Zak winked at Tess, then said to his mother, "I think I can take care of this woman."

  Gratianne smiled at Zak, and said, "Yes, son, I believe you can."

  After Gratianne left the room, and while Tess was finishing her soup, Tess looked over at Zak and saw him staring at Pio. He seemed in deep thought. "You're very quiet," she said. "What are you thinking about?"

  "You, me--" he looked at Pio "--us. Will you sit here with me for a while?"

  "If you want." When Tess started to pull her chair over to where Zak sat, Zak patted his knees and said, "Not in the chair, here."

  Tess looked at him for a moment, then went over and sat on his lap and leaned against him. He reached around her and took her hands and turned them palms up, and said, while looking at the gauze wrapped around them. "Thank you for saving Pio. I couldn't have done it without you." He kissed the dressings on each ointment-covered palm, then placed her hands against her tummy and covered them with his.

  Tess rested back and her head settled in the curve between Zak's shoulder and his head. "I guess you should thank my father for that," she said. "He's the one who taught me how to climb." She kissed Zak on the jaw, then rested her head
against his shoulder again and closed her eyes.

  "You tired?" Zak asked.

  She nodded.

  Zak said something about his mother liking her, and she started to tell him that maybe his mother did, but she didn't think his father ever would, but her eyelids felt heavy, and Zak's voice began to drift away, so she snuggled against him and said nothing...

  Some time later, Tess thought she heard a voice... her name? "Tess?" her name came again. She opened her eyes and found Pio looking at her. "Tess?" he said. "Ezutzi."

  "He says, 'don't leave me.'" The words were from Zak, but his voice seemed distant.

  Tess closed her eyes again, not certain if she was dreaming, and not caring.

  All she felt now was a need to rest...

  CHAPTER TEN

  Tess opened her eyes to a rapping on the door. She looked around and found the unfamiliar room cloaked in an eerie gray light, the sheer curtains drawn against an overcast sky. She was still wearing the robe with nothing under it, and she lay curled on her side on top of the bed, with a puffy quilt covering her. The last thing she remembered was seeing Pio and hearing Zak's voice. Or was it a dream? She had no idea how, or when, she'd gotten to this room.

  The rapping came again. She looked toward the door as a voice called from behind, "Tess? It's Gratianne. May I come in?"

  Tess pulled herself up to a sitting position against the pillow. "Oh, sure," she said, wishing her hair wasn't in such disarray.

  Gratianne walked in and set a stack of clothes on the foot of the bed, and said, "Your clothes have all been washed."

  "Thank you," Tess replied.

  "You had a very long night," Gratianne said.

  Tess raked her fingers through her hair. "Does it show?"

  "Only on Zak's worried face. He's concerned about you."

  "Where is he?"

  "In Pio's room with Pio and a doctor from Navarre." Gratianne sat on the edge of the bed. "Zak insisted on Pio seeing the doctor, but I think Pio would rather see you."