Henry

by Cilika Kunovic

  “Here you are. How are they?” Bill asked Barb, aware that she couldn’t possibly know anything yet, but he felt better for it. There wasn’t much else to say.

  “All I know is Henry is in the ICU. I have no idea as to what his condition is. Sam has been taken into surgery for a punctured lung. I was told to wait here. I can’t tell you how glad I am that you are here.” There was a lot of commotion going on around them, as it probably always is at any hospital and with this being a Saturday — or rather a Sunday morning — there were victims of traffic accidents arriving as well, because those are more likely to happen on the weekends due to drinking and driving.

  Bill said, “By the way, Nicole asked me to tell you she will take your car home with the Lamberts in tow. Mark and Olivia will take Trevor and whoever else, as required. If you happen to have Sam’s car keys, Doug and I will be happy to go and get the car and bring it home.”

  “Is there anything we can get you?” Doug asked. They were all worried beyond belief.

  “How is my brother holding out? I told him to stay there and look after Gina and all the children,” Barb said.

  “Let me just say I wouldn’t want you as my sister. You drive a hard bargain.”

  “Don’t worry about John — he’s right where he is most needed. I don’t mind being unpopular when it comes to my children’s safety, as well as his. He will get over it.”

  “I know, I know,” Bill answered. “Are you sure you don’t need anything?”

  “No, thank you — I will be fine as soon as I hear more about the two of them in there.”

  After a few hours, Dr. Swan walked toward Barb, who was no longer alone in the waiting room; the party had moved to the hospital.

  “Mrs. Preston? I’m Dr. Swan, your husband’s surgeon. He will be all right. He’s resting now but it will be a while before he is able to receive visitors. You will be told when you can see him.”

  Barb noticed a slight hesitation on Dr. Swan’s face. “Dr. Swan, is my husband coherent at this point?”

  “Well, now that you ask, that part is a bit sketchy for the time being. He is agitated and confused, but that’s not uncommon after surgery.” He was testing her level of anxiety but was not a good liar.

  She was worried. What should she tell the children? By now, there were too many people there standing by. Yet there was still no news regarding Henry’s condition. All she heard was that the police were in charge of the case and would be informing her as soon as there was anything definite to tell.

  “The police!” Barb reacted. Immediately, she knew that the police were suspicious and were trying to keep it as quiet as possible for the sake of the investigation. “Not again! I have heard so much about the investigations regarding Henry’s previous cases, I don’t know if I can take any more.”

  All the children were by now beside her wanting answers, but none were forthcoming.

  At around three p.m., Dr. Swan walked in accompanied by a police sergeant.

  “Mrs. Preston, I am Sergeant Kennedy.”

  “How do you do, Sergeant Kennedy? When would I be allowed to go and see Henry — I mean, Mr. Dobbs? I don’t know if you are familiar with his circumstances regarding his so-called non-existent family? We are his friends; and my husband, Mr. Randall, and Mr. Wilson, here, are his business partners.” Before she could continue, Sergeant Kennedy told her she could go with him to see Henry for just a moment.

  Everybody in the room reacted favourably to that. They all wanted to know how Henry was doing.

  The Millers made the call to the police station and informed them what the situation was in Henry’s case. George Miller had been a policeman himself before he married Anna and he had a good standing in the community. He offered to come to the station and explain what the situation was regarding the party. George had every intention of following up on anything and everything regarding this horrible incident.

  “Oh my God, what have they done to Henry?” Barb whispered as she entered the room where Henry lay hooked up to a number of machines and what seemed like endless wires. No wonder there were restrictions as to how many people could be present. “I don’t think I want too many details right now because I would never remember everything anyway. Do you think he is going to make it?” But the attending intern was not allowed to give out any information.

  “I’m sorry, Mrs. Preston, but you will have to speak with Dr. Sheridan about that. He is in complete charge of Mr. Dobbs’s case.” He glanced at Sergeant Kennedy and expected him to take it from there.

  “Very well, then. Thank you.” She turned to the sergeant, and out they walked. “I wonder when that will be. Everybody wants to know how he is doing.” She was feeling weak in the knees after seeing Henry so helpless. There was no indication that Henry was conscious. A nurse had been assigned to him.

  The police were also making sure whoever did that to him would not be able to get in and finish the job. “It sure looks like somebody wants him dead — but who and why?”

  “Mrs. Preston, you will have to leave that part to the police.” Sergeant Kennedy made it quite clear that they should not even try to search for any clues. He had his own thoughts about it but he was not allowed to say anything that might jeopardize the investigation.

  As the two of them rejoined the others in the waiting room, there was complete silence at first, but soon there were many questions coming forward. Barb informed her children that they should be grateful their father was not right there beside Henry.

  Another few hours passed before Dr. Sheridan entered the room with some information.

  “Mr. Dobbs is in a critical but stable condition for the time being. He has suffered severe head trauma. His head is swollen, but he is a fighter, which is a good sign. We have had to relieve some of the pressure from the brain, and he will remain in the ICU for some time.”

  “Can you tell us what his chances of survival are?” Barb was asking for all concerned.

  “We will not know much more until the swelling has come down considerably. He is presently comatose and has no idea of what is going on. We will hopefully know more in a few days. I suggest you all go home, except for one or two of you who might want to stick around so that we could inform you of any changes.” Then, he turned to Barb and said, “I know your husband is here as well; he is in much better shape. He was lucky.”

  “We will take turns staying here, if you don’t mind. Henry is a part of us all, so we will not abandon him,” said Bill.

  “Thank you, Dr. Sheridan. I would like to go and see my husband now.”

  “Yes, of course, Mrs. Preston; come along with me.” He escorted her to Sam’s room, where he was recuperating from surgery and doing as well as expected. But Barb knew how much their children wanted to see their father, so she arranged it.

  “Now, you can’t all go in there at once, so take turns. And, Sasha and Dominic, we will say that you are his children, too.” That brought them all to a lighter frame of mind. The kids found that quite comical. Bill and Doug also wanted to see Sam, although the line was somewhat long. But there was unspoken anxiety lingering above all of them. When could they see Henry? That time was to come.

  “Hey, Sam, I thought you didn’t like hospitals.” Bill was trying to tease his buddy. “So, how come you decided to visit another one so soon?” He shook Sam’s hand lightly so as not to give him any unnecessary pain. Doug was right there as well. These guys all got along well, and things would not be the same on Monday when all the partners were to be back at work again.

  Sam said, “They tell me I was hit over the shoulders and the back, but I am not sure. I can’t think straight.”

  “You’re still in shock. It will be a while before it all comes back. Just rest for now and I promise we will fill you in on all the gossip at work. You know what they say — time heals.”

  “Hey, Bill, where is John? Is he all right? I have seen everybody but him. Is something wrong with him?” Sam could not figure out if he was imagining things
.

  “Sam, you know your wife — she made John stay behind to make sure the children got home safe. And that included Gina and Jennie.”

  By Monday, there was a change in Henry’s condition. The swelling was slowly subsiding, which was good news; but Henry was still unconscious. Dr. Sheridan was cautiously optimistic, but there were no guarantees. The fact that it was taking time was somewhat good. If there is too much change too soon, there are more likely complications to occur.

  “Mom, when is Dad coming home?” Trevor wanted to know. The house was not the same without him. The girls were handling it better.

  “Trevor, I know that you miss him very much; however, I feel better that he is still in the hospital, because he would not co-operate and watch himself at home, and you know it.” It was true.

  The phone rang, and it was Tom, wanting to know what was happening. “Barb, have you heard anything more about Henry? I don’t mean to pester you, but at the same time, I just can’t help feeling that I should be doing something in order to help him. I am keeping an eye on the house, but with this heavy feeling. It’s lonely up here.”

  “Oh, Tom, you are having your own problems, and now those problems seem a lot larger, don’t they?” She felt bad for him. “How would you like to come down to our place and spend some time here with us on the weekend? We would be delighted to have you. Sam is coming home on Friday, and he will be happy to see you.”

  “I don’t know about that . . . I don’t know if Sam can ever forgive me for causing all that trouble up here.” He was in tears by now. It was good that no one saw it.

  “Now, Tom, don’t you ever let me hear you say that again. Not ever again. Do you hear me?”

  “Barb, I can’t help thinking that way.” He was beside himself.

  “The only thing you should be thinking is, ‘I am glad to be alive.’” She meant it with her whole heart. After all, the culprit could very well have come after him once the other people had left. “Come down on Friday afternoon, and we will take it from there. I will expect you for dinner.”

  “I would like to face Sam and see if he blames me for it. I would also like to go and see Henry at the hospital. He has been my friend forever . . . At least it feels that way.”

  The children were happy when Barb told them Tom was going to join them on the weekend. She was happily preparing the spare room for him. They had all been worried for his safety since the incident.

  Dominic remained in a state of shock. He hardly spoke to anyone about anything. A long time ago, when his parents were fighting and making all kinds of accusations, back and forth, he used to hear his father threatening how he was going to “do something about it.” At the time, those words never meant much to the boy, but those memories had become more and more his nightmares. Sasha kept trying to comfort him with logic and reasoning, but nothing worked. He remained in shock over Henry’s condition. He was not showing any improvement. Medically speaking, his condition was improving, although very slowly. Still comatose, Henry appeared to be resigned to whatever was going on around him. Nobody knew if he was aware of anything or anybody in the room. Dominic spent every possible moment there with his friend and mentor.

  “Dominic, you will die with him, if you don’t stop this abnormal obsession over Henry. You don’t care about anybody else, including yourself,” Susanne warned. She was not impressed with her son.

  “Mom, I have to do what I have to do. The man in that hospital room has been the only decent father I ever had, and I am not about to abandon him, no matter what.” He wished his mother would leave him alone. “I am no longer a child, so please don’t give me a hard time about being there for him. You know that I love you and Sasha, but this is what I need to do.” The only one who understood him was Sasha. She would come into his room, give him a big hug without saying much, and she would leave him in peace.

  “Sam, now that you are back home and feeling better, do you think you should go and see Henry by yourself at times and inform him about the business?” Barb was willing to try every possible trick toward getting Henry back to the land of the living. By speaking with him in a positive way, he just might be able to hear, if not speak . . .

  “What are you talking about? You know very well Henry is in a coma.”

  But Barb was prepared for that kind of an answer and she tried to humour him. “Go, and play it dumb, as if you weren’t aware that he can hear you. Please, Sam. It is worth trying. You could do it as a joke, the way you always tease him. Just think how Bill teased you about not liking hospitals and ending up in one so soon again. Think about it.”

  Sam was totally annoyed to see Nicole walk in with an exasperated expression on her face. Her mother picked up on it and asked her what was on her mind.

  “Mom, Dad: Mark is here and he is trying to get Olivia to talk about the incident at the house, during the party. That sister of mine is as usual in total denial.”

  “Nicole, what are you talking about?” her father wanted to know.

  “Why don’t you ask that impossible daughter of yours what she is afraid of this time? She always has these secrets and she thinks we are some kind of idiots who shouldn’t be allowed to know anything. Mark is dying for her to tell you about it.”

  “Nicole, will you ask your sister to come into the living room? By the way, we want Mark here as well,” Sam made it clear that this was not optional.

  “Yes, yes, we’re coming,” Olivia could be heard saying. She came in reluctantly, and Mark was right behind her. She shot Mark a look as if to say, see what you did? But Mark felt a responsibility about what they had to say to her parents. Barb was ready to slap her face.

  The DIVA was always acting as if she were on a level above the others. “I don’t know why these two are making such a big deal about it. Everybody is always picking on me.”

  Trevor, who’d had just about enough of his sister’s behaviour, also wanted to hear what Olivia had to say. As Mark and Olivia sat down and took their time starting from the beginning, Trevor just about exploded from anxiety at that point. “Will you tell it like it is already?”

  “Stop it!” Olivia snapped at her brother. She was stalling and trying to buy time in order to bring things to a minimum. She was aware that she should have said something at the party but was afraid of having to testify to the fact in court.

  “Dad —” Nicole stared at her father in contempt as if to say, do something.

  “Now, Livy, you take your time and tell us what is all this about.” Even he had enough of his favourite daughter’s stalling. “Do you know something that we don’t? If so, you must tell us if it will help solve any of our recent problems.”

  “Well, I’m not sure.”

  “Olivia!” Mark snapped furiously.

  “The night of the party I saw somebody out in the bushes. I’m not sure who it was, because it was dark, but he looked familiar.”

  “What?” both Sam and Barb said simultaneously. “Olivia, what are you talking about?” Sam could feel his skin getting all tight and he was shaking. He was still in a somewhat fragile stage of recovery from the ordeal, and those words now coming from his daughter were screaming in his head. He was unable to respond just then.

  Barb took over and proceeded to ask the questions. “Olivia, would you mind starting from the beginning, please? You said ‘somebody.’ Do you mean you saw a person who did not belong to the party? Or was there more than one person?”

  “I don’t know if there were any other people there as well. I wish I hadn’t said anything to Mark, because he is making a big deal out of this.” She gave Mark a dirty look.

  Barb was ready to hit her, but she needed more information. “What made you think that the person you saw did not belong to the party? Did you recognize him?”

  “Mom, I couldn’t be sure, because it was dark.”

  “And just where was this person at the time? Was he on the grass, or in the bushes?” This was important. “Try to concentrate and think what alerted yo
u. Was it his behaviour? What he was wearing? What?”

  “Mom, this is exactly why I didn’t say anything about it before now. I don’t want to become some kind of a witness in some court.”

  To which Mark reacted, “Olivia, you freaked out when you saw what you saw. So how do you explain that?”

  “Well, it could have been what I said before, so don’t make a big deal out of it.”

  Now Mark told them exactly what had transpired that night. What he couldn’t understand was why would Olivia get so worked up about some guy relieving himself in the bushes, had there not been more to it. Mark was known for having good instincts about a lot of things but this bothered him no end.

  “Thank you,” Nicole said. “I don’t know if this means anything to help the case, but I sure feel better for having it out in the open. Sometimes a small angle of information can make a big difference in solving mysteries such as this one. After all, someone — or some people — attacked Dad and Henry out there in those bushes that night and any information could be helpful. I just wanted Olivia to tell you what she saw, and now you guys can do with it whatever you want. Besides, I know how desperately Mark wanted you to know. Am I right?” She looked at Mark as if to say, you never had a chance at this without me — and she was right.

  Olivia said, “I’m tired. If you don’t mind, I am going for a walk. Are you coming, Mark?”

  But her mother was not to be that easily persuaded that this was finished. “Not so fast, Olivia. You haven’t answered our question about what made you pay attention to this particular person, or persons. What was different about this situation?”

  “Mother, must you always be the one who wants to know everything?” Olivia said indignantly.

  “In some cases, it might be only me; but in this case, we all want to know everything, and you had better dish it out, whether you care to or not. This could be extremely important information.”

  “Olivia, living in denial is not a good idea. As far as I am concerned, that kind of life is not real. It is also not healthy to keep things inside, because you do worry when you don’t do something about it.”