By the time everyone was done, the adults and kids had cleaned their plates. Penny’s plate, however, was still nearly all full. She had eaten a few bites but that was all. Again, Jack and Crystal exchanged looks. Before they lit the Shabbat candles, he had gone into the bedroom to wake his fiancé to tell her of the plan he and Penny discussed. In the morning after services, he and Penny were going to borrow Shane’s car and drive down to Cherry Hill to talk with Penny’s dad. Penny was hesitant but Jack convinced her it needed to be done.
“You need help,” he had said.
“I’m scared,” she had replied.
“I will be with you.”
Jack drove – he just earned his driver’s license a few weeks earlier – and it was a quiet drive. Penny was stressed and not looking well at all. When he asked her if she had eaten breakfast, she said no. She guided Jack to the nice house in a fancy housing development but it took her several minutes before she could get out of Shane’s Camaro.
“I want to talk to him alone,” she said as they walked up the front walk.
“Okay, but if you need me, I will be there,” he replied. Jack expected Penny to just walk into the house but instead, she rang the doorbell. He could hear a dog barking inside the house.
“That’s Tucker,” Penny explained. “His bark is worse than his bite. You’ll be okay.” Jack was nervous around dogs after a terrible encounter with a stray dog back in Siberia which left him with a scar on his leg. The door opened and a woman in her mid-forties stood before them. She had platinum blonde hair and green eyes and she was dressed stylishly.
“Penny,” she said without a smile. “We weren’t expecting you.”
“I know and I’m sorry I didn’t call first. Is my dad home? I need to talk to him please.” Penny’s voice was nervous.
“He’s in his study,” she replied. “But first, aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. This is Jack Petrov. He is a classmate and friend of mine from Princeton. Jack, this is my stepmom Eliza Shepherd.” Jack stepped forward and held out his hand to her.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Shepherd,” he said properly.
“And the same for me. Please, come in.” She stood back from the door and Jack followed Penny into the nicely furnished home. It was large but not too large and had a homey feeling. Jack hoped one day he could afford a nice home for his family instead of leasing a too tiny apartment.
“I’ll be back, Ivan,” Penny said and walked towards the back of the house while Mrs. Shepherd guided Jack into an impeccable living room just off of the front hall. He took a seat and she sat opposite him.
“Ivan?” she questioned.
“Yes,” he chuckled a bit. “Ivan is my actual first name but when I came to America, I was called Jack.”
“Oh, an immigrant,” Mrs. Shepherd said with amusement. “Where did you come from?”
“Russia, well, it was the Soviet Union at the time.”
“Interesting. And you attend Princeton now. When you came to the country, where did you settle?
“Atlanta but after I graduated high school, I settled up in Princeton with my siblings and fiancé.”
“You’re getting married? Congratulations!” Jack was beginning to get irritated with Penny’s stepmom. She was very fake. From somewhere in the house came the ring of a telephone. “Excuse me,” she said and Jack stood as she left the room. He took the opportunity to look at the several pictures scattered about the room. In the fourteen frames he looked at, not one of them contained Penny. There was Mrs. Shepherd and a man Jack assumed was Mr. Shepherd and a blonde girl he assumed was Amanda. Jack wasn’t sure what to think of the missing Penny.
He sat back down and waited. He hoped the conversation Penny was having with her father was going well. Jack understood all too well the challenge of medical care and many anorexics required inpatient treatment which wouldn’t be cheap. His worry increased and it caused him to stand and start pacing. Penny needed help and if she was to get it in a hospital, her father was her only choice. Treatment of anorexia was not one of the things the free clinic he and his family relied on offered.
First ten minutes passed and then twenty. At thirty, Jack worried even more. Mrs. Shepherd never returned but Tucker the black lab wandered into the room. Jack was afraid and he put a sofa in between himself and the dog.
“Ukhodi. Vy menya ne ispugayesh’,” he spoke to the dog in Russian. The dog cocked his head at Jack, looked at him funny, then turned around and left the room. Jack chuckled. “Russian. I guess that is all it takes to scare a dog away.”
At forty-five minutes, Jack sat back down. He figured this might be a lengthy conversation but not as long as it had been. Finally, at an hour, Penny appeared. She looked shaken and her face was very pale.
“Let’s go,” she said.
“What happened?” he asked as he followed her out of the house. She said nothing until they were both sitting in the car. Her hand, which was shaking, went to her forehead. “What did your father say?”
“He said I got myself into this mess and I could get myself out of it. He will not pay for treatment. Let’s just go back to Princeton.”
“Your father refused?” Jack couldn’t believe it. He would do anything for his children and to hear of a father refusing medical help for his daughter was just such a foreign concept for him.
“Please, Jack, let’s just go,” she begged. It was a long trip back to Princeton and a silent one. Jack’s mind went into overdrive trying to think of a solution. There had to be one. Penny needed the help.
They took Shane’s car back to his apartment but he wasn’t home so they walked towards Jack’s building. Again, it was a quiet journey. Penny’s steps slowed and about a block from Jack’s apartment building, she passed out. He caught her just before she fell to the concrete.
. . .
Jack watched as the man with the chiseled face and salt and pepper hair argued behind a glass window with a doctor. The man was Penny’s father and the hospital had called him. He was not a happy person about the situation but Jack hoped seeing Penny in the hospital would change his mind about helping her.
After she fainted, a passerby ran into the nearest shop and called for an ambulance. Jack checked her vitals and found her pulse was very weak and irregular. She was breathing, however, so he didn’t need to perform CPR. The EMTs came and bundled her into the back of the ambulance and started an IV. Penny was unresponsive and Jack rode along to the hospital. At first, the ER staff would not tell him anything but he fibbed and said he was her brother. They looked enough alike the staff finally acquiesced.
Penny’s blood pressure was very low and her heart rate slow and irregular. Blood tests showed her electrolytes were out of whack which was normal in someone suffering from severe anorexia. Jack gave the ER doctor all the information he knew about her struggle and then Penny’s father was called. He did not rush up to the hospital either so Jack sat by Penny’s bedside in the ER. As expected, the suggestion by the ER doctor was admission to the inpatient eating disorders clinic but the hospital wouldn’t do that until they had insurance information.
They stabilized Penny in the meantime and gave her some medicine to help her heart and started a slew of IVs to work on her electrolytes. She was on oxygen and still unconscious when the ER doctor came in. Jack had expected Mr. Shepherd to at least come in to see his daughter but he disappeared.
“I have some good news and some bad news,” Dr. Bloom said as she looked down at Penny’s chart. “The bad news is your father will not okay the use of his insurance for impatient care up in the eating disorders ward.”
“I cannot believe it,” he said and sat down heavily on
the chair next to Penny’s bed. “She has collapsed. She is in the hospital and still he will not cover her care.”
“I tried my best to talk some sense into him but he was adamant.”
Jack couldn’t stop shaking his head. He was nearly in shock for this utter lack of caring by a parent.
“But I do have good news, Jack,” the doctor said, “although it may not sound like it. Penny is not in good shape; there’s no way I can release her. She needs to be stabilized and he pretty much doesn’t have a choice but to cover that. She’ll probably be here maybe three or four days and I’ve already talked to my eating disorders colleague about seeing what we can do for her during those days. I also have a couple contacts in the community that help with young women who are battling anorexia. They run free group therapy sessions.”
“That would be great,” Jack said, feeling relief flow through him. “Thank you for all your help.”
“It’s apparent Penny needs it and like I said, she’s not doing so well. We need to get her heart straightened out along with her electrolytes. Dr. Jackson, the eating specialist, has ordered a nasogastric tube put in so she can start getting some calories.”
An hour later, a still unconscious Penny was taken to her hospital room. Jack took the opportunity to call Crystal while the nurses were settling her in. Crystal was relieved Penny was getting at least a little help and she was okay with Jack staying at the hospital until Penny gained consciousness. That wouldn’t happen until nearly three in the morning. She was groggy and confused and tried to pull the feeding tube from her nose.
“No, no, no,” Jack said gently and pulled her hand away. “It is a feeding tube. It needs to stay.” He filled her in on her condition and what the plan was. Her first words when he was done bothered him.
“He doesn’t care,” she said, in reference to her father. Her eyes closed and she fell asleep.
She was released from the hospital four days later and began attending the free group sessions. Jack insisted on Penny eating as many meals with his family as possible. One of the things they needed to make sure she didn’t do was isolate herself. Penny was hesitant since money was so tight for the Petrov family. She insisted on giving him money for food. Jack, stubborn and proud, refused so Penny bought groceries instead and he reluctantly accepted them. Even with his pride, he didn’t want to see perfectly good food go to waste.
The summer was filled with changes and accomplishments. Penny did well and gained nearly twenty pounds by the time they started their senior year. Jack’s name came up for a bigger apartment in the building and on his and Penny’s 21st birthday, the Petrovs moved into the three-bedroom place and Danny finally had a room to himself instead of sleeping on the couch. Then came the biggest news. The Ivy Brothers had been on the radar of a record executive from New York City. Emerson Cohen had just left Sony to start his own company and was looking for new acts. In mid-August, Jack and his band brothers signed their first record deal. There was no advance since the company was so new but Shane threw the band a huge party at his apartment to celebrate.
Penny was truly happy for Jack although the rejection by her father had hurt her deeply. It also didn’t help Shane never visited Penny in the hospital or showed any concern as she worked to get better during the summer. On Shane’s terrace late in the party, Jack found Penny sitting by herself.
“Hey there, rok svezdoy,” she said as he sat next to her.
“I am not a rockstar yet,” he countered.
“You will be,” she said. “You are on your way.”
“It is still so hard to believe,” he replied. “The plan the guys and I formulated while in high school is actually panning out. Things are looking up.”
“You deserve it, Ivan. You have worked so hard the last three years.”
“There were moments I wondered if I would make it but here we are. Mama and Papa would be so proud.” Penny’s face crinkled a bit in sadness and she dropped her gaze. “I am sorry your father is the way he is.”
“Spasibo,” Penny replied. “Maybe one day he’ll turn around.”
“I hope so. He needs to see what a wonderful young woman he has for a daughter.” Penny’s cheeks blushed and she kept her gaze down. “How has the strashnyi golos been?”
“Quiet, and I’m so glad. It scares me when It is so loud.”
“Just remember to tell me if It comes back. You mean so much to me and my family and I want to make sure you are always with us.”
Chapter 10
Millie slipped the sweatshirt on Little Sofie while observing Natalya as she paced on the front porch. The sun was dipping behind the trees and taking the warm May air with it. Natalya refused to put on the hoodie Danny brought out to her but Millie was more than happy to slip on the one her brother brought her and then put on another layer for Little Sofie. Danny was conducting the evening routine for the rest of the kids while Millie and Little Sofie kept Natalya company.
It was a Saturday night and Crystal was supposed to show up that afternoon to pick up Natalya and spend time with her but she was a no show and no one had been able to contact Crystal by cell phone. Natalya was upset; this was not the first time this had happened.
Little Sofie leaned against Millie and yawned. It had been a busy day for her. She participated in a play therapy group in the city that Dr. Abraham, the psychiatrist and family friend who was helping the Petrov’s during the ordeal, organized for other traumatized children. He thought she would benefit by interacting with other children in various states of healing. Millie didn’t think it was a good idea as healing meant whatever ordeal caused the trauma had ended and there was no ending yet for what hurt Little Sofie. Danny, Matty and Dr. Abraham convinced Millie to at least try so she and her niece drove into the city for the play group.
The experience both broke Millie’s heart but also gave her hope Little Sofie might one day emerge from her silent, regressed state. Dr. Abraham introduced her to a little boy who watched his mother murdered in front of him. Ryan had regressed much like Little Sofie but over the course of many, many months, he was now interacting with those around him. He wasn’t verbal yet but there was hope he would begin talking soon.
Little Sofie made very little indication she understood what was going on around her. As usual, Millie could not put her down but after six months, she was used to lugging her niece around. Although she had not gained any of the weight back she lost before the feeding button was implanted, she hadn’t lost anymore and Dr. Shelly, the children’s pediatrician, took that as a win.
There was a small moment during the play group, however, that gave Millie hope. After she lightly danced Little Sofie around the room as whimsical music played, her niece swayed a bit when they stopped. Millie asked her quietly if she liked the music. Little Sofie looked at Teddy, hugged him closer, and swayed again.
“Little Me,” Millie spoke softly, calling her niece who looked so much like her aunt her nickname. “Who makes the music?” Little Sofie looked blank for a moment but then repeated the actions of hugging Teddy and swaying slightly. Maybe it was just hope fueling her but Millie wanted to believe Little Sofie was trying, in her own way, to indicate she meant Jack, her papa, the person who gave her Teddy. Dr. Abraham was cautious but when she told Danny about it, he thought it was something good. They didn’t push her, however. If it was a moment of progress, even such a tiny one, they didn’t want to startle her backwards.
To be honest, though, Millie didn’t think Little Sofie could go any further back. She’d lost control of her bowels and bladder, couldn’t feed herself, and had no communication other than screaming if Danny, Millie, or Sasha broke contact with her. She would only go to sleep if Millie held her and Millie eventually moved into Little Sofie’s room so they could share a bed. This w
orked out for the best, actually. Danny moved into her room so now he was no longer sleeping on the family room couch.
She frowned. Danny’s relationship with Melanie, his fiancé, suffered from the kidnapping. Melanie was understanding but with all the time she spent at the hospital in her residency and with Danny having moved into the house to help Millie, they never saw each other. Two days ago, they postponed their summer wedding. Danny had been morose since. Millie wanted Danny to take some time for a getaway with Melanie so they could work on things but he declined. We have to hold this family together first. Millie didn’t think that was right. Although she knew his words were true, she didn’t want Danny’s personal life to fall apart.
“It’s not fair to Mel,” he said after telling Millie about the postponement. “Until Jack and Penny are back, I can’t be 100% there for her.”
“But what if it’s many more months…”
“I’m done talking,” he said, cutting her off. About the only fault in Danny Millie saw was his inability to talk with her about how the ordeal was affecting him. He was worse than Jack when it came to sharing his feelings. Millie worried about her middle brother; he stopped seeing Dr. Abraham also. Nothing she said recently sunk in and for the moment, she tabled her harping at him.
Little Sofie yawned again and Natalya continued pacing. Dinner came and went and although Danny fixed Natalya’s favorite – kosher hot dogs and homemade French fries – she refused to come inside and eat. She was going to wait for her mother on the porch and nothing was going to stop her. Millie knew the chances of Crystal showing up were small; she didn’t say anything to her niece. They’d been through this before and the fallout would be less boisterous if Natalya made the realization herself.
Aftermath (The Deceptions Trilogy Book 2) Page 12
