At Seddon Station

by Sheila Horgan

  “Thank you.”

  The next several hours were filled with tests and relocations. By the time Carolyn was settled in her room, it had been determined she hadn’t broken her hip, but rather, had sent her back into spasm when she fell and there was a possibility some nerve damage had occurred. In an abundance of caution—probably stemming from Adeline’s presence—it had been decided that Carolyn would spend at least twenty-four hours in the hospital. Not an unreasonable request due to her age and the medications required to relax the spasms in her back.

  Carolyn insisted that Anna and Adeline get out of the room and get something to eat. They acquiesced, but only went as far as the cafeteria.

  They were sitting at the table, Anna enjoying some French fries—some hospitals seemed to have really good French fries—when she turned her phone back on. There was a message from Morgan. She said it was urgent.

  Anna dialed the number before Adeline made her way to the table.

  When Adeline arrived, she saw the look on Anna’s face and knew something was horribly wrong.

  “I’ll tell the girls. I’m so sorry to hear this. Give Liam my love.”

  Anna turned to Adeline. “Mrs. O’Flynn has died in a car accident this morning. They’re at the hospital with Mr. O’Flynn. He’s not doing well. Major internal injuries.”

  Adeline grabbed her phone. “I’ll give Cara a call. See if there’s anything at all we can do.”

  “What about Carolyn? She’s A.J.’s grandmother. Her relationship is the closest. Do we tell her? Will she want to leave the hospital? What if she turns her phone on, and they’ve left a message for her as well?”

  “We should go back upstairs. Immediately.”

  They did just that.

  When they entered Carolyn’s room, she was sitting quietly, her cell phone on the bed tray. She looked up at the girls. “Did you hear? Cara’s mother has been killed in a car accident. Her father’s in bad shape. We should go home.”

  Adeline nodded.

  Anna took Carolyn’s hand. “We need to make sure you’re okay first. If the doctor says you can travel, then we’ll be on the first plane, but you have to know that Cara and A.J.—and the rest of the family—will want what’s best for you. They wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself to be there.”

  “I need to be with them. For A.J. For Cara. I need to go. Can you get me my clothes, please? I’m sure they can give me a pill or a shot or something that will keep my back loose enough for me to make it home.”

  The next hour was spent on more tests. The doctors were not prepared to release Carolyn, and Adeline and Anna were not willing to allow their friend to leave against medical advice.

  When A.J. called again, Carolyn tried to sound him out. He seemed to be holding strong. He insisted there was nothing Carolyn could do and there was no need for them to come home. He said the family was pretty much in a walking coma. None of them had processed the loss yet. Later, they would need the support of the girls, but right now, there was nothing to be done.

  Anna and Adeline jumped on it when Carolyn explained what A.J. had said. They vowed when Carolyn was able to travel they would do something nice for the family, but not until Carolyn was able.

  “Hun, I know you want to go to take care of your A.J., but think of it this way. He and that lovely young lady will be married before long, you mark my words, and when they have those little ones, aren’t you going to want to be able to pick them up, just the same as your granddaughter’s little Evelyn? You have to have a strong back for that. Let’s just see what the doctors say. They won’t be having any services until the father’s out of danger, so why don’t we wait a bit and see what happens.”

  “Alright.”

  Anna sent up a quick prayer of thanks. She was quite sure the pain medication Carolyn was taking helped in the negotiations. She sent up another prayer the family wouldn’t think the girls disrespectful for not making the journey home, but Carolyn had been adamant they not tell A.J. about her injury. She did not want to add to his stress.

  It was four days before Carolyn left the hospital, and then she only journeyed to the condo with Adeline and Anna.

  Unfortunately she’d had a bad reaction to one of the medications they had given her. It was believed it was actually a combination of medications that hit her hard. It would be an overstatement to say it was touch and go for a little while, but not by much.

  What she remembered of it was terrifying. She had been mostly asleep when she heard an alarm sound. Hospitals are noisy places under the best of circumstances, and even though Adeline had made very special arrangements for Carolyn, some noise was to be expected, but this alarm sounded very loud.

  The next thing she knew, there was a beautiful nurse leaning over her. She was rubbing Carolyn’s chest, her sternum really, calling to her. “Mrs. Cooper? Are you with me? You need to listen to me. You’re going to be fine. Are you in any pain? Mrs. Cooper?”

  Carolyn tried to answer, but it came out as little more than a moan.

  “I’ve got you, Mrs. Cooper. You’re going to be fine. We’re going to give you some medication to get your blood pressure back up to where we need it. Are you having any problems breathing?”

  Another moan.

  Anna volunteered. “She hasn’t seemed in distress. No wheezing. No choking or anything.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Harris.”

  The doctor exploded into the room, and the nurse escorted Adeline and Anna to a waiting room. A very long hour later, Carolyn was sitting up a bit, and although she was as pale as any of the girls had ever seen an individual, she said she felt pretty good.

  Anna and Adeline never left her side. They had considered calling A.J., but under the circumstances, knowing that Carolyn was in the best of hands, being assured by the doctors that although it was scary, it was under control, and knowing A.J. would need to be there for Cara, they made the decision not to call when Carolyn first ran into difficulty, and they felt they’d made the right call.

  Carolyn told them it was the right decision to make and thanked them profusely for not calling A.J. or Suzi.

  There was nothing to be done about the services now. They had missed them and hoped the kids would understand in time.

  Once back at the condo Carolyn couldn’t wish for better care. Anna and Adeline made arrangements for doctor visits and visiting nurses, and even special food was brought in. Although it hurt when she moved—or even breathed—for the next several days, Carolyn allowed herself to be taken care of.

  On her sixth day home from the hospital, she decided she was well enough to travel and asked the girls to accompany her back to Tampa Bay.

  Adeline had her private jet waiting. Although Carolyn was mortified at the cost, when it came time to do the actual travel, she was grateful for the luxury. The car ride had sent her back into spasm. For a moment after alighting from the limo, she thought she would have to impose upon one of the young male crew members to carry her up the stairs to the plane. She made it onto the plane under her own power, but by the time she was settled in the seat, she was panting from the exertion and pain.

  Alice, the stewardess, was quick with a cool drink of water, and Anna pulled out pain pills that the doctor had warned would put Carolyn to sleep almost immediately.

  Alice hovered about—checking Carolyn’s pulse twice—seeing to it that Adeline and Anna were well cared for as they cared for their friend.

  Carolyn was awake enough to navigate her way to the waiting limo, but fell asleep not long after they pulled off the tarmac. She was surprised when they stopped at Adeline’s loft, as her condo was closer to the airport.

  “You will be staying with me for a few days, Carolyn. I don’t want to hear a word about it. Anna has decided to stay with us as well. I think it will be best for all three of us.”

  “All three of us?”

  “Anna and I don’t want to have to skulk around the lobby of your condominium complex to spy on you.”

  Anna nodded her
agreement.

  It hurt to laugh.

  When they were settled in the loft, with the help of the doorman, a security person, and a nurse that was waiting for their arrival, Carolyn found she was actually hungry. Anna popped up to fix a light meal while Adeline took care of some business and Carolyn dozed on the sofa.

  She marveled at the level of devotion from her friends.

  She was grateful and a little bit nostalgic.

  It wasn’t long before Carolyn needed a nap. She lay in bed and remembered.

  Emerson was never meant to be the care provider to his small children—men of that generation rarely were hands-on—and Emerson was no match for Cooper in that department. Cooper was rarely home, but when he was, he was good about helping with the children. He was out in the yard, tossing a ball to Albert or teaching Ellen how to ride her bicycle. He’d even been known to put them to bed from time to time, always marveling at how Carolyn was able to keep the ship afloat with such grace.

  On the day she’d run into Emerson at the gas station, he looked haggard and worn. He asked if she had just a few minutes. He needed a friend to talk to, and she was his oldest friend.

  She tried not to feel any sympathy for him—he’d brought this mess on himself—but she couldn’t help herself. When she saw the look of despair in his eyes, she suggested they meet at the diner just across the way.

  It was a nice public place.

  No one could find harm in that.

  She was a respected member of the community, and Emerson was an old friend of the family. His wife was poorly. She was simply providing comfort as any good Christian woman would.

  They talked for the better part of an hour.

  She knew that her mother would be livid. She was babysitting Ellen and Albert. It had been Carolyn’s intent to run into town and pick up a few things for dinner. Her mother had started to come by more regularly, now that her father was retired. Carolyn suspected her father instigated it. A little bit of her mother went a very long way. Carolyn often escaped during the visits, finding an excuse wherever she could.

  The conversation with Emerson stayed on the current issues with his wife. There was no hanky-panky. No furtive glances. Two people that had once been enamored of one another, having both moved on.

  Emerson was a lost man. He was unhappy in the military but hated civilian life even more. He was unhappy in his marriage. He was unconvinced his wife was as sickly as she put forth. It seemed to Emerson his wife was making him pay for their earlier mistakes. He would never be free of those mistakes, or of her.

  Carolyn left the diner quite sure she had made the right decision in Coop. Her life was a good one—if a little lonely—and she appreciated that Coop was dependable, if perhaps a little predictable.

  Later, when she was thinking about their conversation at the diner, she wondered why she hadn’t offered to ask Coop if maybe he had something for Emerson. Coop’s company had grown in the last few years, and he often commented they were on the hunt for employees. It wasn’t as if she’d kept Coop in the dark about Emerson. She’d mentioned him from time to time.

  Just last week during their nightly phone call, she told Coop about her mother running into Emerson at the grocery store. At the time, her mother had been quite catty about the need for the man of the house to shop. What was his wife doing? Could she not run her household properly? The conversation was much more about her mother’s increasingly bitter attitude than it had been about Emerson’s family life, but still, Coop had suggested it might be a nice gesture to have the family over for a meal. He was a generous man.

  Carolyn had thought better of it and had not extended the invitation, but she loved Coop for even thinking of it.

  Coop was a good man. An honorable man. He made a point of calling every night when he was on the road, a hardship many men weren’t willing to shoulder. She was a lucky woman, and she needed to remember that.

  Carolyn’s thoughts—her memories, actually—were interrupted by a knock on the door. “Gran, can I come in?”

  “Suzi, how are you?”

  “The question is—how are you?”

  “I’m fine. A little twinge now and then, but the girls are taking good care of me. How is your brother? And Cara?”

  “A.J.’s out in the other room. I came in to make sure you were decent.”

  “I’m as decent as I’m likely to get. Go get him, will you?”

  When Suzi left the room, Carolyn took a pill quickly. She figured she’d have about forty minutes before it put her to sleep again, but at least the kids wouldn’t see the pain written all over her face.

  A.J. looked terrible. Tired. Completely wrung out. “How are you, Gran?”

  “I’m fine. It’s you I’m worried about. You and Cara. How is she?”

  “Not good. She’s so skinny I’m afraid she’s going to break.”

  “Some people lose weight when they’re stressed.”

  “It’s so much more than that, Gran. Her whole world imploded. It seems like her whole belief structure was wrapped up in this world that died with her mother. I don’t know. I can’t explain it. All I can tell you is she doesn’t sleep, she doesn’t eat, she cries.”

  “It takes time, dear.”

  “I know. She’s just so fragile. Fragile’s the right word, I guess.”

  “How’s her father? Will he make a full recovery?”

  “Physically, he’s better. He’s in a lot more pain than he’s allowing his kids to see. You can tell. But they’re all so lost, he’s been pretty successful keeping it from them. Cara’s worried about him. More than just the accident—I mean wreck—she’s worried he’ll just give up. Her mother and father had this bond that can’t be explained, and she’s afraid without her mother, her father will pretty much just stop living. Then it’ll only be a matter of time.”

  “I have faith it will not happen. Mr. O’Flynn will respect his wife’s wishes, and I’m sure she wished for him a long and happy life. It will take some time to get to get there, but he will. I believe that.”

  “I hope so. If Cara lost her dad after losing her mother, I don’t think she could survive it. I mean that literally.”

  “All you can do is love her, A.J. Leave the rest of it to God and her history with her mother.”

  “I don’t know what that means, really.”

  “Don’t overthink it. Just be there when she needs you. Hold her when she needs to be held. Allow her space when she can’t be close. Remember, always remember, that this is her journey and you can’t accompany her, but you can support her through it. As for her father, when your grandfather passed, there were those that thought I would be right behind him, and believe me, I thought about it, but I have so much more living to do, and so does Mr. O’Flynn.”

  “Gran, she’s so thin.”

  “Be patient, A.J. This was a shock to everything Cara is and everything she believed in. It’s more than the loss of her mother; it’s the loss of her world. She’ll work her way through it.”

  Suzi joined her grandmother and brother. They spent the next half hour trying to figure out ways to support the O’Flynn family, making sure Carolyn was as well as she claimed to be, and Carolyn apologizing for not making it back for the funeral.

  Moments after the kids left, Anna entered the room. Carolyn couldn’t quite decipher the look on her face. “Anna, are you alright?”

  “I’m just fine. I went over to your condo to get those clothes you thought you might need.”

  “That really wasn’t necessary. I told you I could have the kids do it, or I could make do with what I have here. I appreciate the kindness.”

  Anna sat next to the bed in a chair still warm from the visit. She noticed that detail for some reason. She seemed to be hyper-vigilant. Every one of her senses told her to be on the lookout.

  “I found this on the floor just inside your door.”

  She handed the note to Carolyn.

  “I couldn’t help but see what it said, Carolyn. I wasn’t
intent on snooping.”

  “Don’t be silly. I’m a rather boring one. I’ve nothing to hide.”

  Adeline walked in the room as the words on the note registered in Carolyn’s brain. The look on her face must have told the story, because Adeline was instantly at her side.

  Adeline asked, “Carolyn, dear, is it more bad news?”

  Carolyn shook her head and responded by handing the note to Adeline.

  Adeline’s brows met in the middle.

  Tinker,

  The forces of retribution

  are always listening

  They never sleep

  Stay far away from Arlington

  You don’t belong there

  you will pay for what you did

  at Seddon Station

  It appeared to be signed, but the signature was little more than a scribbled line. No sense could be made of it.

  Anna was sitting at the side of the bed. She spoke softly. “Do you recognize the signature? The handwriting?”

  “No. I don’t. Who could know I went to Arlington? Why would anyone care? Emerson has been dead for years. As has Coop. Those are the only people in the world to care about Seddon Station.”

  Anna shook her head. “Well, it looks like at least one other person knew. How about his wife?”

  “I can’t imagine she knew. They didn’t share like Coop and I did. Theirs was a marriage of duty and resentment. I can’t imagine him telling her anything about me.”

  Adeline read the note again. “I will say it is concerning. The last line of it. I would think it a threat.”

  Anna nodded. “Me too. That’s the feeling I get. I think maybe we should call in the cops.”

  “Or at the very least my security team. We could have Roland and his people look into this. Perhaps they would be able to get fingerprints or DNA or something of value.”

  Carolyn shook her head. “No one wants to do me any harm. I’m sure it will come to me—what all this means—once I’m back on my feet and thinking clearly. The medications the doctors are giving me do a fine job of relaxing my back, but they relax my brain as well. I think it’s time to stop with all this and get back to living my life.”