by Nella Tyler
I was quiet for a moment, feeling sorry for the man. It was obvious that he wanted his son to be there, but had convinced himself that it wouldn’t happen. I guessed that way, he wouldn’t be disappointed. It was sad. I couldn’t imagine missing an opportunity to be there for any of my family members if they needed me. I hoped Phil was wrong, but figured that he knew his son better than anyone else.
“Who knows? Maybe this will change things.”
“I doubt it. Tim isn’t the sentimental, you’re-near-death-so-now-I’m-going-to-show-you-I-love-you type,” he grumbled and looked down. “Hell, I never was, so I don’t know how I expect him to be. I’ve got soft in my old age, Doc…do you have a cure for that?”
I chuckled. “You know that’s not a bad thing.”
“Maybe not for you. You can bat those eyes and you can get damn near anything you want,” he teased.
I narrowed my eyes, playfully in his direction, but before I had a chance to respond, there was a knock at the door.
Both Phil and I looked up with about the same amount of surprise. There, standing in the doorway, was a man that seemed extremely put together, especially for being in a hospital.
“Tim?” Phil exclaimed and I couldn’t help but grin, happy to see that the elder Mr. Meck had been wrong about his son.
“Hey, Dad…” Tim answered awkwardly before turning to me. “Are you…do you want me to come back?”
“No,” I insisted, walking toward him hastily. “I’m finished, Mr. Meck. Take as long as you would like. If you need anything, let us know.”
As I passed Tim, I tried not to notice much about him, but what I picked up on was his short, blond hair, striking azure eyes, and muscular, tan physique. Instantly, I found myself growing attracted to him. He had certainly grown into his own since high school. I didn’t remember feeling this way about him then.
Feeling my face get red, I turned away from him and hurried out of the room, not only to give them privacy, but also to keep from making a fool of myself. I quickened my step as I walked down the hall until I could catch my breath. When I did, I stopped and glanced back at the room.
Although I couldn’t see him any longer, the highlights of his appearance were etched into my mind. Wow… I thought, drawing in a deep breath, before shaking my head and putting more distance between us, eager to forget about the strange experience.
Chapter 7
Tim
The sight of my father in the hospital bed was far worse than I thought it would be.
While it was clear that he was no longer in mortal danger, the casts, IVs, and monitors that surrounded him made the usually strong man that I grew up with look feeble. There was still a little bit of blood on his head and a few bruises from the accident, but otherwise, he looked to be cleaned up fairly well.
Or, perhaps I was simply trying to make the ordeal seem less horrific than it was.
Who am I kidding? He looks like shit! Still, regardless of my actions and the rapid flow of emotions coursing through me, I couldn’t find the words to express pity for the man.
“So…you decided to show up. That was unnecessary,” my father spat as soon as the woman who I had found in his room left.
“Well, it is nice to see you, too. I’m glad you’re alive,” I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest and narrowing my eyes.
“Bullshit. You don’t care whether I’m alive or not.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?” I retorted.
“Yeah, well you don’t have to be.”
“Well, like it or not, old man, you’re stuck with me until I’m sure you're going to be okay.”
“I’m fine! Go back to your life and leave me alone!”
“Oh my God, you’re impossible!” I shouted, exasperated. “You know what? I’m going to stay right here if only to succeed in pissing you off!”
With that, I dumped myself into the uncomfortable chair at his bedside and glared at him.
“As compassionate and loving as always, aren't you, Son?”
I didn’t dignify that with an answer, considering anything I had to say to that was far worse than what I wanted to put out there at that moment. Normally, I would’ve shot my mouth off as much as I possibly could, but even now, with him being an ass, I was still happy to see him. I was still happy I had come, if only to reinforce that once I left, I never wanted to come back.
Since I didn’t bait him anymore, he simply glared back at me and an awkward silence ensued. I wanted to say something, but didn’t feel like arguing or hearing his underhanded way of telling me what a disappointment I was, so I settled for the silence.
However, eventually, even that became overwhelming and I needed to say something, or I was sure I would go crazy.
“So, what happened, Dad?”
At this genuine question, his stare softened slightly and he growled at the memory of the accident. “Some bastard ran me off the road.”
“Do you know who it was?”
“No. I didn’t recognize the car. It was someone passing through town. I’m sure of it,” he insisted, serious as the injuries he sustained.
I thought about inquiring how he could possibly know that, but decided that it wasn’t worth the argument since my father was at least giving me straight answers.
“Where were you headed?”
“The damn hardware store,” he muttered. “I have to fix the toilet. The crappy thing started to leak last night and this mornin’, I figured I’d better fix it, but now the doctor said I have to stay here for a few days until they can be sure that the internal bleeding stopped. My house’ll be under water by the time I get back.”
Stubborn old man! I thought. Can’t even ask for help.
“Don't worry about it. I will fix your toilet and stick around until you are back on your feet.”
“You must think I’m dying. I ain’t dying. You aren’t that lucky. Not yet.”
No thanks. No acknowledgment of exactly what I will have to go through to help out. Typical.
“Believe it or not, I am happy to see that you’re just as ornery as I remember. If you weren’t, I might be worried. But since you haven’t missed a chance to knock me down, I think it’s safe to assume that you’re doing fine.”
“Yeah, I am,” he answered, grumbling again.
I could tell that this was only going to end in an argument I didn’t want to have, so I told him that I would be right back and went to talk to the woman who had left the room when I walked in.
I found her quickly, passing my father’s room. Thankful to not have to go all over creation to find someone I recognized as being able to help, I reached for her arm. She turned quickly and grinned in a kind manner when she recognized me.
“Excuse me, you’re a doctor, right? You’re caring for my father?”
“Yes. Dr. Barnes,” she replied, reaching a slender, perfectly manicured hand toward me.
I shook it her hand and noticed that for such a petite woman, her grip was confident and strong.
“Hi! It’s great to officially meet you. My name is Tim. Tim Meck. So tell me, what’s the deal with my father? He told me what happened, but is there anything else I should know, from a medical perspective?”
“Yes, of course!” she exclaimed as the two of them started to walk down the hall. “Your father sustained a few broken bones, but what we are most concerned about is the internal bleeding.”
“Yeah, he mentioned that.”
“Okay, good. So, you know that he will need to stay here for a few days?”
“Yes. I’m glad you’re keeping him. It’s the only way to get my father to stay still,” I insisted and noticed the kindness of her grin.
“I gathered that,” she admitted and stopped short, turning toward me with a serious expression. “Mr. Meck, we are going to do everything in our power to ensure your father recovers quickly and completely.”
“Oh, yeah, I’m sure you will,” I answered easily, as that was one of the few things I was sure of.
&nb
sp; Taking my brisk tone for what I supposed should have been concern for my father’s well-being, the doctor reached out and put a consoling hand on my shoulder. However, I didn’t need consoling. I was fine. I knew that my father would be fine, and so I quickly eased myself out from under her hand.
“Thanks, Dr. Barnes. I think that’s all for tonight. I’ll be back tomorrow to check in on him.” With that, I practically ran out of the hospital.
Unfortunately, once I had made it to my rental car and started to drive down streets that were all too familiar to me, I realized that I was only heading to another place I didn’t want to be.
The house I grew up in looked exactly the same, and that irritated the shit out of me. I had given my father a small fortune and he couldn’t even remodel, much less move into something more fitting. It was embarrassing.
As I pulled up, I noticed at least ten different areas that could easily be improved with a fraction of what I gave him, but my father never would do something so rational. Instead, he had maintained the idea that he enjoyed living this way.
My father had told me once that he and I would always be country boys and no matter how much money either of us earned or donated, that would never change. Perhaps his refusal to update his house was his idea of maintaining his image. By the time I rolled up to the front of the house, I was reminded, fully and unquestionably how much I hated this lifestyle.
It’s only for a few days, Tim. Relax. I tried to come to terms with my surroundings, but for some reason, the thought of this being extremely temporary did nothing to ease the tension that seemed to only grow worse by the minute.
Chapter 8
Jenna
Getting off work at eight in the morning, right as the sun was starting to light up the world, wasn’t fun. I had known that before, but I was sure of it now.
However, after such an interesting night and the immense amount of coffee I had consumed so that I didn’t fall asleep on the job, there was no chance of me going to sleep, no matter how tired I was.
So, I decided to go over Michelle’s house for a visit. When I knocked on the door, I heard the familiar sound of Kassie barreling down the hallway before the door creaked opened. Yet, this time, before I could see Kassie in the entranceway, the front door slammed shut again.
“Oh, yeah! Wait!” Kassie’s tiny voice exclaimed before the door closed. After the slam, I heard her yell, “Um…who is it?”
“It’s your favorite aunt!” I called back.
“Yay!” she squealed as the door was thrown open. As Kassie leaped into my arms, she asked, “Why are you here so early?”
“I had to work late, so I came by to see you before I went to sleep,” I answered as her eyes grew large.
“You stayed up all night?”
“Yeah,” I giggled as she slid out of my arms and raced back into the house.
As I followed her, I heard Kassie yelling to Michelle everything from the fact that I’ve been up all night, to the assurance that she didn’t open the door all the way before finding out who it was first.
“Good morning!” Michelle greeted me with a smile, already putting breakfast on a plate for me.
“Good morning!” I exclaimed. “Thanks, Sis, I’m starved.”
I took it upon myself to dig into her candy dish and pull out a handful of M&Ms. Kassie’s eyes grew wide and I could almost see her mouth water at the idea of having candy before breakfast.
“Here is your plate!” Michelle scolded, shoving the food in front of me.
“Thank you!” I replied, tossing the candy into my mouth as I took the plate with the other hand.
“Mommy, can I have…”
“No! You cannot.” Michelle interrupted her, glaring at me. “Go sit down. Your breakfast will be out in a minute.”
Kassie huffed but did as she was told, so when Michelle turned her back, I snuck a few M&Ms out of the dish and passed them to her as I sat down. She looked at me with surprise and I put my finger to my lips to tell her it was a secret. Kassie beamed from ear to ear, stuffed the candy in her mouth, and wagged her head in understanding.
“Really, Jenna?” Michelle demanded, turning around with venom piercing her tone.
“What?” Kassie and I both played innocent, even though she knew what I had done. Instead of reprimanding me, or Kassie, Michelle simply rolled her eyes. Believing she got away with something, Kassie giggled.
“So, how was your first night rotation?” Michelle inquired, ignoring us both completely.
“It was…different,” I answered honestly.
“Anything interesting happen?”
“Well, we had someone who was in a car wreck…” I answered, knowing she was digging for information.
“Someone?” she groaned, dropping into the kitchen chair across from me. “You seriously can’t tell me who it is?”
“No. I can’t, Michelle. It’s a breach of confidentiality,” I responded, slightly annoyed that she would even ask me.
“Confidentiality?” she spat. “Are you serious right now? In this small town, no one does anything with the intention of keeping it confidential.”
“Well, if you know who I’m talking about, then it doesn’t matter.”
“If it doesn’t matter, why are we playing guess who? I mean, God! I’m your sister. Who am I going to tell? Kassie?”
At the mention of her name, Kassie stuck a chubby finger up to her lips and made her presence known. “Shhhh!” she interjected. “It’s a secret!”
“See? She’s good.”
“Mommy!” Kassie exclaimed, suddenly loud and urgent. “Aunt Jenna has a secret, too! It has to do with candy. Look!” With that, she rolled her tongue out to show the blue and red marks left by the M&Ms.
“Kassie!” I responded, pretending to be outraged, to which I received a laugh.
By this point, Michelle was already waiting for a retort. “Good, huh?”
“Fine,” she sighed. “So, how is this person? Is this someone okay?”
“Yes, thankfully, this person is responding extremely well.”
“Good.” A sly grin crossed her features. “I heard that someone’s son finally came back to town after years of being away. Did you see that person?”
“Yes, I did, and let me tell you…he has grown up well. He’s one beautiful man.”
“Oh yeah?” Michelle was now extremely interested. She leaned in close and inched closer to me to get more information.
From the intrigue I had incited, I wished I had more information to tell her, but I was fresh out. “Yeah. He has changed a lot since high school.”
“You remember him? He always acted…better than everyone else, but he was only smart. He wasn’t attractive.”
“Well, I can’t say that anymore. He is gorgeous.”
“Hmmm…” Michelle replied and I could tell there was deep insinuation brewing in her mind.
“Yeah, well, aesthetics is the end of my attraction. He’s not the kind of person I would ever…enjoy being friends with,” I replied, stopping mid-sentence as I remembered that Kassie was sitting there, intently listening to every word, even if she didn’t have a clue what we were talking about. She was still taking it all in and thus, we learned almost as soon as she started talking that anything that we said would come out of her mouth later.
Poor Gavin had learned that the hard way, and I tried my best not to make the same mistake.
“Oh, come on! Why not?”
“The guy hasn’t even been to town in over a decade. Why would I want to invest any time in a…friendship that I know wouldn’t last, if it even went anywhere at all.”
“Who knows?” Michelle answered as though she couldn’t understand why I was so opposed to the idea. “Besides, I think him staying away has a lot to do with his mom passing away. Apparently, they were extremely close. And, he does donate quite a bit to the community.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that, too, but still – the way his father talks about him, it seems like he’s…not
all that nice. His father didn’t even think he was going to show up.”
“He did, though. That has to count for something,” she answered hopefully. “All I’m saying is don’t make up your mind. Go with the flow.”
“I will when you do,” I retorted.
“I did and now, I’m married with a child.”
“And I don’t want that for myself right now.”
“Why not?” Kassie demanded, sounding as though she was a little insulted.
“Because, dear, you are the only child that I want to spoil right now,” I answered, tickling her, which seemed to satisfy her round of questioning.
“You never know, Jenna,” Michelle started again.
“Yes, I do, Michelle . I’m telling you right now, it isn’t for me. He isn’t the one for me.”
She simply rolled her eyes and we finished the meal with only small talk after that. Once it was appropriate, I said goodbyes and left to go home. The pit stop for breakfast and the conversation that ensued had worn me out more than I thought it would, but it had also made me curious.
I was tired, but my interest was piqued. Michelle had made a big deal about how much Tim Meck had donated to the town, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was getting more credit than he deserved.
So, when I got home, I did a little bit of research on Mr. Tim Meck, only to find that he was helping a lot of people in town. He even paid for one child to go to college a few years ago and intended to hire him when he finished.
That was all well and good, of course, but I still couldn’t discount what his father had said and how he honestly thought his son wouldn’t show up. That had to count for something, too.
You don’t have to be a saint to donate a bunch of money and give some kid a job, I thought, ultimately concluding that while he had done his fair share of good, this guy could still be an asshole when it came to how he treated those that should matter most.
When I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, I put my computer away and had absolutely no trouble drifting off to sleep. I only had a few hours before I had to go back to work, and I was going to take full advantage of every solitary second that remained.
