Woven Wishes (Whispered Wishes Book 4)

by Karen Pokras

  Chapter 23 - Ava

  Ava watched her two boys play together in the backyard. While she couldn’t hear them, she could tell just by the expression on their faces they were enjoying the nice weather and each other’s company.

  Back when she learned her second child was a boy, she was admittedly disappointed. It wasn’t that she didn’t want a son, she just didn’t really know that much about taking care of little boys. With the exception of her father, a few dates, and her husband, she’d spent her entire life around girls. But she quickly learned that little boys were cuddly creatures who loved to get messy and give lots of kisses. Her heart, already stretched to the max upon the birth of Jenna, grew even bigger the day Logan was born, and once more with Ryan.

  “I keep telling Ryan he has to keep his hands cupped if he wants to catch the ball.”

  Ava startled at the sound of the voice behind her, nearly dropping the dish she’d been washing into the sink.

  “Max! You’re home early. I didn’t hear you come in. I wasn’t expecting you until dinner time.”

  Wrapping his arms around her waist, he kissed her lips and explained, “My last flight got detoured … there are some nasty storms down south. Anyway, we landed early, and here I am. I hope I gave you enough time to kick your boyfriend out.”

  “Oh, stop,” she replied, kissing him back. “The only boys here are the ones you helped make. My boyfriend left hours ago.” Winking, she gave him another kiss.

  “Gross!”

  Ava looked over to her daughter standing in the doorway … a look of pure disgust on her face.

  “Oh, hi Dad! Welcome home. It’s great to see you,” Max said in his best teenage girl voice, still holding Ava close.

  “Seriously,” Jenna quipped, glaring at them, “do you have to do that in front of everyone?”

  Max raised one eyebrow. “We were alone until you barged in. And last I checked, this is my house. I can pretty much do whatever I want, wherever I want.” Looking back to Ava, he kissed her again—this time a wet, sloppy, noisy kiss.

  “Whatever,” Jenna said with that tone all kids seem to have the minute they turn double-digits. “Mom, when you’re done making out with Dad, can you tell me what time you need me to babysit tonight?”

  “Babysit?” Max asked, pulling away slightly. “Did I forget about plans for this evening?”

  “Sometime after dinner,” Ava told her daughter. “Thanks.”

  “Okay,” she said. “Oh and hi, Dad, welcome home. It’s great to see you.” Grabbing an apple out of the fruit bowl, she turned and walked out of the kitchen.

  “Well?” Max asked again “What are these plans?”

  “I mentioned it to you before you left. It’s for the exhibit of the artist who I ran into at the museum with Ryan a few of weeks ago.”

  “You mean the day you lost Ryan, and he got lucky and ran into the artist you knew, when God knows what really could have happened to him.”

  Ava closed her eyes for a second. This conversation was not getting off to a good start, but now was not the time for an argument about the events of that day.

  “Anyway,” she continued, hoping they could quickly move past that part of the story, “this artist, Gregory Douglas, was in town because he was preparing for his own exhibit. The opening is tonight, and he invited us to go, as his personal guests. Remember?”

  Max shook his head and sat down at the kitchen table. “Right. I guess I forgot. I’m sorry, babe, but I’m really beat. I just came off a six-hour flight, and I haven’t been home in days. I just want to watch the game tonight and get some shut-eye.”

  She nodded. It was what he did every time he came off of a long shift. Every. Time. Except this one time, she wanted to do something different—with him—as a couple.

  “What about what I want?” she asked. The words came out without her giving them any thought, but they needed to be said. “Max, being back in that museum did something to me. I can’t explain it, but I miss that scene. The pieces, the smell of the paints, talking with artists, the mechanics of the exhibit itself, everything.” Sitting down at the table, she took her husband’s hand in her own.

  “Don’t these things last a few days? Why do we have to go tonight?”

  It was like talking to a complete stranger. Max knew opening night was a big deal; the night everyone got dressed up to celebrate the artist and his or her work. It was a party, mixed with art, and she wanted to be a part of it. Besides, tomorrow he’d have another excuse, and then another. There was always something. “Tonight’s the opening. Look, I know I chose to give up that life to raise our family, and I don’t have any regrets. However, now that the kids are older, I need to start carving out more time for myself. I need to live and breathe art again.”

  “You’re saying you want to go back to work?” he asked.

  “No. I don’t know, I haven’t thought about that. What I’m talking about is going out, to events like the one we were invited to tonight. It’s something we haven’t done in years. Don’t you remember how much we enjoyed doing that together? We never seem to go out anymore. I miss that, Max. I miss you.”

  “I’m sorry, but I really am wiped. Tonight the only date I want is one with my lazy boy chair and big screen TV. Why don’t you call Tessa? I’m sure she’ll go with you.”

  “Never mind.” Ava sulked out of the kitchen, frustration, anger, and disappointment all crowding her brain, trying to make sense of her husband’s words. Sitting on the couch she tried to remember when exactly it was he’d changed so much. Her thoughts would have to wait as she answered the phone.

  “Ava?” the frantic voice said. “It’s Tessa. I’m on my way to the hospital. There’s been an accident.”

  Chapter 24 – Holly

  “Mrs. Oakes, the doctor would really like to examine you.” The nurse put her hand on Holly’s shoulder only to have it shrugged away, again.

  “I told you I’m fine,” she said, eyes glued to the door in the waiting room.

  Several hours ago, they’d arrived at the hospital by ambulance where they rushed her husband into surgery. She’d tried to run down the hall after him, but an orderly held her back as she screamed and sobbed to let her go. Eventually, she was able to calm herself down enough to talk to a string of doctors ranging from medical students to internists to give them Ben’s history and tell them what little she could remember from the accident. Somehow she managed to convince them, that despite the bloody bandage the EMS had placed on her forehead, she felt absolutely fine. Ben was the only thing she cared about. When they’d found him at the scene he was bloodied, unconscious, and barely breathing.

  Now, she was just waiting. The nurse had brought her into a room reserved for families. It was there she realized she was alone. She gave the nurse Tessa’s name and number as next of kin for some reason. Maybe it was because of her two sisters, her younger one always had such a special bond with Ben. Tessa told the nurse not to worry, she would take care of making the necessary calls to Ava and both her and Ben’s parents. She arrived at the hospital in record time.

  “Holly,” Tessa said, grabbing hold of her sister’s hand, “how are you holding up?”

  She heard the words, but didn’t respond.

  “Sweetie, let me get you some coffee. I’m sure the doctor will have him back as soon as possible.”

  Oh, how she wished that was true. “As they rushed him in,” Holly said, slowly turning her red and swollen eyes toward her sister, “the doctor …” She stopped, not sure she could say the words out loud.

  “The doctor what?” Tessa asked.

  “He told me I should be prepared to say good-bye to my husband,” she continued. “Before you got here, the hospital clergy came by to help me pray.”

  “Oh my God,” Tessa said, her voice wavering with fear. She wrapped her arms around her sister. “But he’s in surgery. He has been for a while. That means there’s hope. They wouldn’t be working on him this long if they didn’t think there was a chanc
e.”

  Nodding, Holly’s expression remained stoic. “Yes, there’s a slight chance.”

  “Okay then,” Tessa said, sounding more like her self-assured self. She softly stroked Holly’s trembling arm. “Okay. We just have to be strong and hold on to that … together … for Ben. Because he’s a fighter. We both know that. I mean, look at all the things he’s fought for over the years for both of us, and now he’s going to fight for himself. I know he can do this, and you know this, too. Right?”

  Before Holly could respond, two weary looking doctors, still in surgical scrubs entered the room. “Mrs. Oakes?” one of them asked.

  “Yes?” Holly said, willing herself to stand up.

  “Your husband is resting in the ICU. He had substantial internal bleeding which we were able to control. He also has several significant fractures in his right leg. We were able to do some temporary repairs. However, he’ll need an orthopedic consult as soon as possible. He’s still unconscious, but you can see him now. Just briefly though, he’s quite weak.”

  Ben lay in the hospital bed, eyes closed, tubes and wires coming out of him. Around him machines rhythmically beeped, displaying numbers and graphs … the only confirmation Holly had that he was actually breathing. His face was barely recognizable under the blood and bruises covering his swollen skin.

  Leaning over, she kissed his forehead, taking a moment just to silently thank God. Then, in the strongest voice she could gather she said, “Ben? It’s me, Holly. I love you, sweetheart. You’re banged up pretty good, but I know you’re going to pull through this. You have to pull through this.” She ran her fingers through his hair and continued, “They told me earlier I needed to say good-bye to you.” Wiping her tears with her hand, she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. Now was not the time to break down. She needed to be strong for the man she loved. “But I told them no. It’s not your time, babe. We’ve got big plans together, you and me. Remember what we were talking about in the car? We still have so many memories to make together and so many more milestones to celebrate. I know you can hear me, Ben. I know you’re strong enough to fight this. I’m going to fight with you. I promise. We’re a team. Don’t ever forget that. Don’t ever forget how strong our love is.” She backed away and nodded to the nurse who was waiting patiently to check his vitals. “I love you, babe,” she said quietly while she backed out of the room. “You got this.”

  Tears flowed down her face as she turned around and buried herself in Tessa’s shoulder.

  “Come on,” Tessa said, putting her arms around her sister. “Let’s go find that coffee.”

  “Holly!” Ava shrieked as she ran down the hallway toward her with Max on her heels. “Are you okay? What happened? Where’s Ben?”

  Holly was grateful for her younger sister, who put her hand up to stop their oldest sister in her tracks. “She’s fine,” Tessa answered. “Just a bit shaken up. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you more on the telephone when I called you. I didn’t know myself. The nurse wouldn’t give me any details. All I knew was that they were in a nasty accident with a tractor-trailer.”

  “Oh honey,” Ava said, giving Holly a hug. “I’m so relieved you’re okay. I was so worried.” Looking around, Ava asked the question Holly knew was coming, yet dreaded answering. “What about Ben? Is he all right?”

  Her entire body tensed as she tried to think of the words to use. He’s okay, Hol. He’s going to be just fine. As long as she believed it, it would be true. As long as she said the words out loud, it had to be true. “He’ll be okay, also,” she said, looking at Tessa for reassurance. Taking a deep breath, she added, “He just got out of surgery. He was in bad shape, broken bones and internal bleeding. He’s in recovery now in the ICU and still unconscious. But he’s going to be okay.” She nodded with confidence as she said each word in the last part of her statement slowly and with purpose.

  “Oh thank God,” Ava replied, hugging her sister close. “We were so worried.”

  “We’re just on our way to find some coffee,” Tessa explained. “Holly, you could probably use some food, too. When was the last time you ate something?”

  “I don’t know,” she answered. “This morning maybe? I’m not hungry. My stomach’s a mess. I really just want to sit here and wait for Ben to wake up. And what if the doctor needs to talk to me?”

  “Okay,” Tessa murmured and patted her arm. “You stay, and I’ll bring some food back for you. You have to keep your strength up, and you also should let the doctor look at you. At the very least, have them check out the cut on your forehead.”

  Lifting her hand up, Holly felt the dampness through the bandage the EMS workers had put on her at the site. Blood, no doubt, was starting to seep through. “I’m fine, honest. It’s just a scrape. It doesn’t even hurt.” That part was true—she didn’t feel a thing since her entire body was numb after what she’d just been through.

  Chapter 25 - Tessa

  Sophie sat at the kitchen table. She appeared to be deep in thought as she wrote, erased, and wrote some more. From the couch in the living room, Tessa watched her daughter as she tried to re-group for their meeting with Scott. The last several hours had been an emotional roller coaster for Tessa and her family. She hoped Holly was finally getting some much-needed sleep. Truth be told, she could use a good eight hours herself. At this point, she’d even take three or four.

  Shortly after Ava came to the hospital, a parade of people streamed in. Nicholas arrived first. He wasn’t going to, but had felt hopeless waiting at home, so he knocked on their neighbor’s door in a panic. She was a sweet older woman who was quite fond of Sophie. She agreed to look after her so he could join his wife at the hospital. After that, parents arrived, starting with a very frantic Mr. and Mrs. Oakes, followed quickly by her own parents … both just an hour’s drive away. She knew it would be too much on Holly to have to retell the story several times over, so Tessa took care of that job, while Ava and Nicholas tried to keep Holly distracted. After a couple of hours with no news, Nicholas returned home to Sophie, giving strict instructions to call if Ben’s condition changed, while Tessa’s parents drove Max home so he could relieve Jenna of babysitting duty. Her parents then went back to Holly’s house where they would stay the night with Ben’s parents, who first stayed at the hospital another few hours … waiting.

  Somewhere around midnight Ben finally opened his eyes. His only words were, “Holly.” His eyes fluttered back closed the moment her name escaped his lips. At three a.m. he opened his eyes once more, this time appearing to be slightly more alert. At eight a.m. Ben’s doctor convinced Holly he was stable enough for her to go home to get some sleep. Ava took her back to her house, seeing as though her & Ben’s home was occupied with her parents and in-laws. Tessa left with them to return home to Nicholas and Sophie.

  “I just got off the phone with William— Dr. Golden,” Nicholas said, taking a seat next to Tessa on the couch.

  “Is that the specialist you know?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Nicholas replied. “He arrived at the hospital this morning and has already spoken with Ben’s doctor about taking over his treatment going forward. He’s top in the country for spinal injuries, and his partner, an orthopedist with an impeccable reputation, is flying in later this afternoon.

  “Spinal injury?” Tessa asked. “I thought he broke his leg and had internal bleeding.”

  “He had severe swelling in his spinal cord as well,” Nicholas said. “Holly told me last night when I offered to help. I think she was so overwhelmed with everything, she just couldn’t emotionally deal with it all.”

  “Thank you for doing this for her … for all of us.”

  “We’re family. That’s what we do,” he said, taking her in his arms. “And Ben is more than a brother-in-law to me, you know. He’s the one who got us back together when I thought I’d lost you. Holly, too, of course, but mostly Ben. He loves you so much, Tess.”

  “I know,” she responded, wiping her husband’s tears. �
�I feel the same way. It’s like you said. He’s more than a brother-in-law. He’s really one in a million. If he doesn’t make it, I’ll kill him,” she snickered and reached for a tissue to wipe her own tears and sighed. “I’m trying so hard to stay strong for Holly, but I’m really scared, Nicholas.”

  “I know, so am I,” he said, letting out his own sigh. “For the moment, though, everything is calm. At least at the hospital.” He motioned to the kitchen, where Sophie still seemed to be struggling with getting words onto her paper.

  “Soph?” Tessa asked. “Is everything okay, sweetie? We have to leave soon.” She walked over to where her daughter sat. “What are you working on?”

  “I’m trying to come up with a list of questions and things I want to ask Scott. Last time, I was so nervous, he did most of the talking, so I never really got a chance to ask him anything. I’m afraid if I don’t write it down, I’m going to get nervous again and forget everything.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Tessa said, looking over to the paper. There were some basic questions like if he had any pets, what he liked to watch on television, and his favorite color … the usual stuff a seven year would old ask. After that, the paper was filled with grey smudges from questions written and erased. Clearly her daughter was struggling. It wasn’t hard for Tessa to figure out why. “Can I help you?”

  Sophie looked up at her mother with sad eyes and nodded.

  “Well, whenever you used to ask me about Scott, you always wanted to know why he wasn’t around like all of the others dads were.”

  “You told me it was because he lived so far away,” her daughter replied.

  “I did,” Tessa said, chewing her bottom lip. Perhaps now was a good time to be a little more direct with her daughter. “But he didn’t always,” she continued. “He used to live right here in Forest Hills. He left town while I was still pregnant with you.”