Mended Hearts

by Sarah Markel

  Once the group was loaded up, they headed back to the hospital. After parking in two adjoining slots, Steve unloaded the presents. Handing each child a few to carry, the four adults loaded their arms with the rest and led the children into the elevator. When they reached the proper floor, the elevator opened and the group marched quietly down to Zane’s private room. After checking to make sure the boy was alone, Alex opened the door wide, letting the others flood inside. “Zane!” the children shrieked in unison, happy to see him. Wearing a wide smile, Zane greeted his family. After stacking the gifts on the floor under the window, the children were instructed to line up around the bed so that Angie could take pictures. Rolling her eyes, Alex pulled Kelly close. Wrapping her arm around the woman’s waist, she whispered into Kelly’s ear “Dej’s going to stay the night with Angie tonight.” Shivering at the feeling of Alex’s breath on her ear, Kelly smiled and kissed her softly. Alex wasn’t the only one who had been battling her libido lately. The only thing that had stopped Kelly from acting on her desire was the fact that each time the pair went into their room, they passed Zane’s. Just walking past the boy’s room brought feelings of guilt that she knew she shouldn’t have. Looking back at the children, both women willed away tears.

  Zane sat in his hospital bed propped up by pillows. In response to the repeated requests by the other kids, Zane lifted his gown to show off his surgical scar. The long red mark stretched from the top of the boy’s breast bone down to between his ribs, perfectly dividing his chest. While the sutures had been removed over a week ago, the scar still looked scary. The children seemed both impressed and repulsed at the same time. “All right, you guys, that’s enough. Why don’t you all take turns giving Zane his birthday presents?” Steve asked, noticing the pain that Zane was trying to ignore. Ushering the children towards the gifts, Alex went to her son and asked if he needed something to make him comfortable. Blushing, he nodded, rubbing his chest gingerly. Once the nurse had been called, the children sat along the far wall to wait until Zane had been taken care of.

  After receiving his medication, Zane looked at his mother and asked “Where’s Colton? I haven’t seen him since that day.” Alex patted her son’s shoulder gently and replied “He’ll be here eventually, son. He was really scared when he heard you had been hurt. Judy and Lauren said he cried for days and wouldn’t come out of his room.” Nodding sadly, Zane whispered “Will you call them and ask him to come see me?” Feeling her heart break at the sight of her son’s sadness, Alex nodded. “Bubby, open this one first! It’s from me.” Dej said excitedly, handing Zane a small box wrapped with metallic blue paper. Taking the box, Zane ripped off the paper and said to his sister, “Aw, thanks Dej. It’s the one I’m missing.” Zane held up the box, showing off his new 1975 Duesenberg die cast model car kit. Beaming proudly, Dej went back to the gift pile to wait her turn as the other children gave Zane his gifts one by one.

  Almost an hour later, the children were working together to pick up all of the wrapping paper and put it into a trash bag. Zane had opened all of his gifts, except the ones from the four adults. Angie, Steve, Kelly, and Alex had all taken turns hauling the gifts out to the car once the boy had opened them. Once the children had finished their task, Steve handed Zane a large box that he had re-wrapped that morning. After the shooting, Steve and Angie had re-wrapped several of Zane’s gifts after noticing that the paper had blood on it, with Alex and Kelly’s agreement that the sight of the blood might affect the boy. Thanking his uncle, Zane tore the paper off with gusto. With a confused smile, the boy asked “A motorcycle helmet?” After a moment of confusion, Zane seemed to understand and shrieked excitedly, “You bought me a motorcycle?” Laughing, Steve shook his head no, “Actually son, no. What I bought you was a four wheeler. It matches the helmet.” Hugging his uncle, Zane thanked the man profusely. “This one’s from me.” Angie said, handing the boy a long, thin box wrapped in green and white Happy Birthday paper. Opening the gift eagerly, Zane stared at the box with wide eyes. “Are you serious?” the boy squealed. Hugging Angie tight, the boy held the box containing a compound archery bow up for everyone to see. “Now I can compete with the school next year!” he added excitedly. Angie beamed, remembering the conversation she and Zane had had at the beginning of the previous school year when the boy was told he had to wait until he was 11 to join the team.

  “Well, hell Angie. How are we supposed to compete with that?” Kelly asked playfully. Chuckling, Alex handed Zane her gift. After removing the paper with the finesse of a toddler using scissors, Zane triumphantly held up a small glass box containing an autographed Seattle Seahawks football. Fist bumping his mother, Zane carefully handed her the box when Kelly handed him his last gift. Telling the boy to be careful when he opened it, Kelly stepped back and took Alex’s hand. Heeding the woman’s advice, Zane carefully removed the Pokémon wrapping paper to reveal a large, leather bound photo album emblazoned with the Portland Peacocks logo on the front. Looking to Kelly and back to his lap, the boy slowly opened the cover to the first page. “This album is presented to Zane Etienne Baxter-Walker on this day, June 19, 2015, by the members of the Portland Peacocks Charity Softball team. Your mom, Callie, was a wonderful, loving woman who dedicated her free time to raising money for those in need. She was also the best pitcher this team has ever had. We hope to continue seeing you at each of our games for many years to come.” The boy read aloud, fighting back the tears that welled in his eyes.

  Flipping slowly through the pages, Zane was presented with images of Callie in her uniform, photos of her posing with the team after games, and others of the woman during games. “I’ve never seen some of these before.” He said softly. When he reached the final page, the tears began to flow down his face. Without a word, the boy grabbed Kelly’s arm and pulled her to him, hugging her hard. Crying into the woman’s shoulder, Zane thanked her. “You don’t know what this means to me, Kelly. Thank you so much.” Smiling at the sight, Alex peeked at the page open on her son’s lap. The page contained a photo that Alex had never seen before. The image showed Callie with one arm around Alex’s waist and her other hand resting on Alex’s swollen belly. That’s the picture that the coach took when we told her the baby was a boy! Alex realized. Staring at Kelly with awe, Alex wondered to herself, how did she get all of these pictures? A short time later, Zane’s dinner was brought in and the group was asked to give him some time to eat. Saying their goodbyes, Alex and Kelly promised to be back before he went to bed.

  Chapter 44

  Later that night, the two women lay in bed spooned together after making love for the first time in weeks. “Babe, how did you manage to get all those old pictures?” Alex asked, tracing lazy circles on Kelly’s stomach with her finger. Feeling slightly uneasy, Kelly answered “I hope you’re not mad, honey. I got ahold of the current coach and she gave me the old coach’s number. I called, explained who I was and what I was looking for, and she said she would get back to me. When she did, she asked me to come to her home and she would help me out. I explained that it was for Zane’s birthday, and she got all excited and said she had an idea. When she gave me the idea for the album, I had her call all of the players who were on the team with Callie, and they were all happy to help.” Looking over her shoulder toward Alex, she finished “Please don’t be upset with me. I wanted to give him something special to show that I’m not trying to force Callie out of his life.” When Alex said nothing, Kelly turned to look at the woman’s face. Seeing tears, Kelly panicked. “Honey, I’m sorry. I should have asked you first, but I was trying to make it special. I’m so sorry.” She said pleadingly. Holding up her hand to quiet her, Alex spoke through her tears. “They’re happy tears babe. I’m not mad, I’m proud. Thank you, baby. Thank you for thinking about what would make him happy.” Leaning down to kiss her, Kelly smiled. “I will always think about their happiness when I do things for them. If Callie is what makes them happy, then so be it.”

  The next several weeks passed quickly. Both wome
n spent their lunch breaks with Zane at the hospital, and after picking Dej up from Angie’s after work, the three brought him dinner and the group ate as a family. On the last Friday of July, the doctor came in during dinner and informed Alex that Zane would be released the following Monday. Thrilled, Zane did a little happy dance in his wheelchair. “Sweet! That means I can see Colton!” he exclaimed. After the day Zane had asked about Colton, Alex had called Judy and asked her to bring the boy to the hospital to visit. “Honestly Alex, Lauren, and I think it would be better to wait until Zane comes home. Colton is so emotional about what happened, we are afraid that seeing him in the hospital would just make him more upset.” Judy had explained. While Alex didn’t understand why Colton would be so emotional, she agreed and relayed the answer to Zane. Although he was saddened by the news, Zane agreed that he would wait until going home to try to see the boy.

  After dinner, Alex and Kelly cleaned up and the trio said their goodbyes. Once they got home, Kelly gave Dej her bath and three spent the rest of the evening playing board games. At bedtime, Alex carried the girl upstairs and tucked her in. Re-joining Kelly in the living room, the pair settled in to watch a movie before going to bed. After the movie was over, Alex turned to Kelly and took the woman’s hand. “Baby, can I ask you a question?” she asked. Nodding, Kelly smiled “Of course, honey. What is it?” Blowing out a breath, Alex began “Dej said something to me when I was tucking her in, and I didn’t know what to say to her.” Unsure of how Kelly would answer, Alex looked down at her feet as she finished “She wants to know if she can call you mom.” Stealing a glance, Alex saw the look of shock on the woman’s face. Giving her a moment to think, Alex added “You don’t have to decide right now, I was just wondering what you thought.” Kelly took Alex’s hand and brought it to her lips before replying, “I have no problem with that at all, but are you alright with it?” Nodding, Alex looked up into Kelly’s eyes. “Honestly that is between the two of you. Dej was only two when Callie died, and doesn’t really know what it’s like to have two loving parents. She has only had me for most of her life. I personally don’t mind, but if you don’t want her to then that’s fine too.” she replied. Smiling at Alex, Kelly nodded, “Why don’t you get her going in the morning, and tell her she has to ask me herself?” Chuckling, Alex agreed and pulled Kelly up from the couch to go upstairs.

  The next morning, Kelly went downstairs while Alex helped Dej get ready for the day. Coming downstairs in a pink and yellow checkered sundress, Dej stalked into the kitchen and placed her hands on her hips. Laughing at the child’s stance, Kelly said “Well good morning, beautiful. You look awfully nice today, what’s the occasion?” Giggling, Dej dropped her hands and sat at the table without a word. Once Alex had joined them, the trio sat down to eat. After they had finished their breakfast, Dej got down off of her chair and knelt down on one knee, taking Kelly’s hand. “Kelly, will you be my Mommy?” the girl asked, sliding a pink rubber bracelet with the words I <3 Mommy etched on the top onto the woman’s wrist. Laughing at Kelly’s amused reaction, Alex said “Well, Mommy, don’t leave the child hanging.” Kelly shot Alex a playful glare and leaned down to pull the child into her lap. Brushing a lock of the girl’s hair behind her ear, she replied with a smile, “Marissa Dej, I would be honored to be your Mommy.” Shouting with excitement, Dej wrapped her arms around Kelly’s neck and hugged her tight. Chuckling, Alex stood and bent down to kiss the top of Kelly’s head. “Alright, young lady. Let my woman go and get your shoes on.” She said to her daughter. Hopping down, Dej placed her hands on her hips again and chastised her mother “She might be your woman, but she’s my Mommy!” Kelly laughed as she saw the look of feigned shock on Alex’s face when the child went to get her shoes. “You see that? You see how your daughter talks to me?” Alex said playfully. Wrapping her arms around Alex’s waist, Kelly answered with mock shame “Yeah, I heard that. My daughter sure is full of it today, isn’t she?” Chuckling, Alex laid her lips on Kelly’s kissing her softly.

  On Monday morning, Alex and Kelly both called into work, letting their assistant’s know that Angie would be on call for the day. When they arrived at the hospital, Zane was having his vital signs taken one last time. “You ready to make a break for it, son?” Alex asked, handing the boy a pair of basketball shorts and a loose fitting, oversized t-shirt. Nodding excitedly, Zane replied “Oh my God, yes.” Smiling, Alex ruffled the boy’s hair as he went into the bathroom to change. Gathering up Zane’s belongings, Kelly left to take them down to the SUV. As soon as Kelly left the room, the doctor came in with Zane’s discharge papers. “Well it’s been a long road, but I bet you’re excited to be taking your boy home.” He said, handing the papers to Alex to sign. “Yes, sir. Home hasn’t seemed like home without him.” She replied honestly. “One of the nurses told me your wife is a doctor.” He said conversationally while the pair waited for Zane to come out. Alex smiled, liking the sound of someone else referring to Kelly as her wife. “Yes, she’s the staff physician at Serenity Home.” she replied. Smiling his approval, the doctor asked “Is she here today?” Nodding, Alex explained that Kelly would be right back. As if on cue, Kelly walked back into the room and greeted the doctor.

  Once Zane came out of the bathroom, the doctor told him he was free to go. “Remember to do your physical therapy exercises and don’t push your limits. You aren’t fully healed yet, so you have to be careful.” He instructed, patting the boy on the shoulder. When the doctor left the room, Zane looked at the two women and asked pleadingly “Can we leave now?” Laughing, both women nodded. Sitting in his wheelchair, Alex pushed her son out of the room and past the nurse’s station, where the group of nurses stopped them to say their goodbyes. Once they reached the hospital entrance, Zane hopped out of the wheelchair and happily strode out into the parking garage. “Is everything all set?” Alex whispered to Kelly. “Yep, Judy and Lauren are at the house with Colton. Will and Tanya are on their way with Willow, and Angie and Steve just needed to pick up the cake.” Kelly explained. Over the last week, Kelly had managed to convince Alex to throw a “Welcome Home” party for the boy. When she finally agreed, Kelly made all the arrangements and handled all of the task delegation. Smiling, Alex helped Zane into the car and then buckled herself behind the wheel before heading home.

  Chapter 45

  “Okay son, slow and easy.” Alex coached when they arrived at home. Resting her hand on the boy’s back, she led Zane into the house. “Honey, why don’t we take him out back to the hammock and let him rest? He hasn’t been outside in weeks.” Kelly offered once they were inside. “Yeah, can we?” Zane asked happily. Nodding, Alex agreed and led her son out the back door. “Surprise!” shouted the guests, standing up from their hiding spot just below the railing of the deck. Startled, Zane jumped, causing the boy to wince. Apologizing repeatedly, everyone cleared a path for Zane to get to the hammock. Once the boy was settled, Colton went to his side. “I’m sorry I didn’t come see you before now,” the boy said, “I was afraid and didn’t want to see you like that.” He said, hugging Zane tight. Alex sat back and watched the two boys speak to each other with a smile on her face. He’s got his best friend back. She thought to herself.

  Once the two boys had finished talking, and Colton had gone off to get Zane a drink, the other guests made their way over. Willow, who was quite a vocal child, stood beside Zane with her hands on her hips. “Boy, what in the heck were you thinking jumping in front of a bullet? Don’t you know those things hurt?” she demanded. Unsure of what to say to her, Zane looked at Alex and Kelly, a silent plea on his face. “I’m just glad you’re alright.” She finished softly, leaning down to kiss the boy on the cheek. Blushing scarlet, Zane did his best to shrug off her concerns. “Of course I’m alright. I was protecting my family, which is what any good man would do in that situation.” He said. Laughing, Willow shook her head and walked away, leaving the boy to visit with his other guests. Once he had been greeted by everyone and gotten some punch and a slice of cake, du
tifully acquired by his best friend, Zane was caught off guard when a pretty blond woman in a pale pink pantsuit stood next to him. The woman seemed familiar to the boy but he couldn’t place her. Looking around, he noticed there was a camera man a few feet away, and when he looked back at the woman who was now holding a microphone, Zane remembered where he had seen her before.

  Holy cow, it’s Donna Michaels! He thought to himself as the woman took her cue from the camera man. “Good afternoon, I’m standing here with eleven year old Zane Baxter-Walker.” The woman began. “Six weeks ago, this brave young man jumped in front of a bullet to protect his younger sister and his mother’s partner from a woman who held a gun to them. Today, he was released from the hospital and welcomed home by his family and friends. Zane here has been touted as a hero by the press ever since word of his heroic actions was spread. Zane, how does it feel to know that people are looking up to you now?” the woman asked after her introduction. Placing the microphone near Zane’s face so he could answer, Donna Michaels waited patiently. Slightly panicked, he looked to his mother for help. Nodding encouragingly, Alex smiled at her son. Smiling back, the boy said “Well, Miss Michaels, to be honest I don’t think I am a hero. I mean, it’s great that people are calling me that, but what I did wasn’t done so other people would look up to me,” he replied. “Why did you step in front of the gun?” the reporter asked gently. This time, when Zane looked at his mother, he did so with tears in his eyes. Moving his gaze to Kelly, Zane took a deep breath and replied, “You already know the answer to that Miss Michaels. You said it earlier when you said I was protecting my sister and my mom’s partner, except she isn’t just my mom’s partner. She is much more than that. I jumped in front of that bullet to save my sister and my other mom.” Looking back to Kelly, Zane gave her a thumbs up and wiped away the tears in his eyes. “Well, there you have it from the hero himself. I’m Donna Michaels, goodnight.” The woman finished, lowering the microphone once the camera man had signaled the wrap. Turning back to the boy, Donna shook his hand and congratulated him on his actions before leaving with the camera man.