Chapter Thirty-Six
The bossy Nurse Ratchet reentered Abraham’s hospital room.
“There are too many people in here, Mr. Martin,” she said.
Her voice was stern, but Abraham had learned that she was a pushover. He grinned at her. “Don’t try your smooth ways with me,” she said. “Just for tonight we’re going to break the rules. You can have your whole family in here for the next hour or so but then I’m kicking everybody out. You need your rest. Open up,” she said. When he did, she stuck a thermometer in his mouth.
“He needs his rest,” the nurse said to Saralyn, Isaac, and Rebecca. The three of them huddled near the foot of the bed, out of her way. “Even if he doesn’t think so.”
“We understand, Nurse Wilson,” Saralyn said. “I’ll make sure they’re out of here soon. He wanted to see everybody. He can be bull-headed when he wants something.”
“You’re telling me. I know that and he’s been awake less than an hour.” Nurse Wilson pulled the thermometer out of his mouth. She recorded his temperature on her PDA. “I’ll be back in an hour,” she told him. “If you need me before then, press the call button and I’ll come running.”
Saralyn and Isaac moved closer to the head of the bed after the nurse left. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” Saralyn asked.
Abraham took her hand in his. “I’m fine,” he said. “Stop worrying.”
“Dad,” Isaac said, standing next to his mother, “you’re not exactly fine. Your full memory hasn’t come back yet.”
“I remember everything up to the accident, and I remember everything since I woke up. I’m not sure I want to remember what happened in between. How’s the car?”
“Pretty bad,” Isaac said. “You ran off the road and hit a tree—a big tree. It crashed the front end all the way up to the windshield. It’s a miracle you’re alive.”
Abraham nodded. “It’s also a miracle I didn’t hit anybody. That would have been a tragedy.”
“Don’t think about it,” Saralyn said. “Just focus on getting better.”
“I’m a strong old man. I’ll be fine.”
“You’re not old,” Rebecca said with a smile.
Abraham could tell her smile wasn’t sincere. She stood on the opposite side of the bed from Isaac and Saralyn, which he thought odd. Something was wrong. He’d find out later what it was. He turned to Saralyn and Isaac. “Did one of you call Deborah or Michael to let them know about the change in my condition?”
“I called Alan,” Isaac said. “He was supposed to contact them.”
“Don’t worry about them, Abraham,” Saralyn said. “You have all the family you need right here. You’ve reached out to those children. You can’t make them care about you. I don’t say that to hurt you, but you need to be realistic in your expectations.”
Abraham nodded. He knew Saralyn was right, but he still wanted to see them. He had some vague memory of Deborah visiting him here in the hospital. “Have they come at all since I’ve been here?”
Saralyn stepped away from the bed and Isaac moved up in her space. “Deborah and her mother came the night of the accident,” he said, “and Deborah has been here several times since.”
“And the boy?” Abraham asked, another vague memory flashing in his mind.
Isaac shook his head. “I’m sorry.”
“No need to be sorry, Isaac. Your mother’s right. I didn’t have any interest in them for all of their lives so I can’t expect them to be that interested in me. I’ll have to settle for what they’re willing to give.” He sighed. “Enough of that. Tell me what’s going on at MEEG.”
“Abraham,” Saralyn warned. “There’ll be plenty of time to talk business in the morning.”
Abraham ignored her. He looked at Isaac and waited for an answer.
“We’ll be glad to have you back at the helm.”
“So you came back?”
“Of course I did, Dad,” Isaac said. “The company needed me.”
Isaac’s answer gave Abraham hope. “Are you back for good? Have you forgiven me?”
“I don’t know the answer to your first question. All I know is that I’m back at MEEG until you’re ready to resume your role. As for your last question, that’s a little bit harder to answer. I’m trying to understand, though. That’s about the best I can do.”
Abraham grabbed his son’s hand and looked directly into his eyes. “If that’s true, then my accident was worth it. I’m sorry I’ve disappointed you, Isaac. You’ll be a better husband and father than I am. I really believe that.”
Abraham saw the quick glance that Isaac shot at Rebecca. That glance told him that all was not well with his son and daughter-in-law. He’d have to see what he could do to fix the problem.
“Saralyn—” he said, but stopped when the door opened and Deborah walked in, followed by Josette and Alan.
“It’s about time you got here,” he said to them.
Deborah stood at the foot of the bed. “I’m glad you’re better,” she said.
“Much better now that you’re here.”
She smiled, and it warmed his heart.
Josette came closer to the bed. “I knew you’d wake up before your grandchild was born,” she said. “She’s been praying for you.”
Abraham vaguely remembered a visit by Josette as well. She looked cheerful enough now but he felt her visit had not been a happy one. “Is everything all right with the baby?”
Josette rubbed her belly. “She’s perfect.”
“Good,” he said. “And thanks for coming to see me.”
She nodded. “About Michael—” she began.
“Don’t,” he said. “I understand. I’m just glad you’re here.” He glanced around the room at Deborah, Alan, Saralyn, Rebecca, and Isaac. “I’m glad you’re all here. There’s nothing more important than family. I hope it won’t take you all as long to learn that as it took me.”
Saralyn came back and took up her position next to the bed. “Okay,” she said to Abraham. “You’ve seen everybody and had your say. Now you should get some rest.”
“But I haven’t even talked to Alan yet,” he said.
“We can talk tomorrow morning, old friend,” Alan said. “MEEG is in good hands with Isaac. Your boy is off to a fine start.”
Abraham met Isaac’s eyes. “I never doubted him.”
“Okay,” Saralyn said, “everybody out.”
Josette leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. Rebecca did the same thing. Isaac and Alan shook his hand. Deborah hung back, as if unsure what to do. He called her over to him. When she reached him, he beckoned her to come closer. Then he whispered, “I remembered you called me Dad. I liked it.”
A smile lit her face, replacing the earlier sadness. “I’m so glad you’re better,” she said. He smiled, but noticed that Saralyn did not. His perfect family was not as perfect as he’d hoped.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Michael met Alan during one of their scheduled late night runs/meetings in Piedmont Park. When he saw him round the well-lit bend, he fell in with him. “So how’s the old man?” he asked.
“He’s fine, good as new, the doctors say. Apparently, as they had hoped, the coma gave him time to heal. They’re going to keep him two to three more days for observation before releasing him. He’ll be back at MEEG within a couple of weeks at most.”
“Do you think he’ll go along with the plan my mother and Deborah have to give me the seat on the board?”
Alan stopped and began jogging in place. Michael did the same.
“That one’s hard to gauge. Your mother and sister need to talk to him, tell him what they want to do. They may be able to guilt him into going along with it. Of course, I’ll do my part to see he goes along.”
“Of course.”
“We have to be patient, Michael. After Josette has the baby, per the bylaws, she’ll get a seat and then we’ll control the board. I’ll be the deciding seventh vote in all decisions. It’s perfect.”
“And Abraham won’t know what hit him when you vote with me instead of with him.”
“I can’t wait to see the expression on his face.”
Alan resumed his jog, and Michael had no choice but to follow after him.
“I wanted to talk to you about something, Alan.”
“What?”
“Are you dating my sister?”
Alan glanced over at him. “I don’t think I’d call it dating. She has questions about Abraham and I answer them. I enjoy her company. We’ve shared a few meals. Do you have a problem with that?”
“Not a problem exactly,” Michael said, wiping sweat from his brow. “More like a concern. I don’t want to see her hurt.”
“I don’t plan to hurt her, Michael,” he said. “Like I told you, I enjoy her company.”
Michael glanced over at him. “You know how you feel about Abraham because of your sister. Well, I’ll feel about the same way about you if you hurt Deborah. I don’t want her to feel used after our plan unfolds.”
Alan stopped running but kept jogging in place. “I get the message, Michael,” he said, breathing heavily. “Loud and clear. I’ll keep things friendly but professional with Deborah.”
Michael stopped and then bent over, hands on knees. “Good.”
“You realize,” Alan said, “that in order to carry out our plan, you’re going to have to lie to your sister and your wife. Something tells me they’re not going like it.”
“They won’t,” Michael said, “but they’ll forgive me eventually. I can always count on them to stand with me.”
Michael started moving again, and this time Alan had to follow him.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Abraham sat in his hospital bed reading a report that Alan had left for him earlier that morning. He found himself distracted by his wife, who sat in a chair next to his bed flipping through one of her fashion magazines. She had one leg crossed atop the other, the top one moving rapidly back and forth. She was angry, he knew. He also knew she would never admit it unless he asked her. This was the pattern with them, always had been, and always would be. Saralyn had been a spoiled child who grew up to become a pampered wife. It was too late to change the rules governing their relationship now.
Besides, she had always been a good wife to him and an excellent mother to Isaac. She’d been the perfect woman to have on his arm when he needed to impress a business colleague, and the perfect woman to share his bed when he needed to have his ego stroked. He loved her. He knew he always would.
“Okay, Saralyn,” he said, closing his file and placing it on his bedside tray. “What’s wrong?” She kept flipping through the magazine. “You have my full attention,” he said.
She closed the magazine and placed it on her lap. “You know what’s wrong,” she said. “That part of your memory wasn’t affected. What are you going to do about them, Abraham? This plan of yours isn’t working.”
“We have to give it time, Saralyn,” he said, already growing weary of the conversation.
She got up and came to the bed. “The price is too high. You almost lost Isaac over all this. You might lose him still.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, knowing his wife was given to hyperbole.
She perched on the side of the bed. “Isaac left MEEG when he found out about Deborah and Michael. He only came back because you were ill and he was needed at the company. I don’t see him staying there, not if he has to deal with Michael. The man hates him.”
“I’m going to convince Isaac to stay,” he said. “Maybe all he needed was a bit more responsibility.”
“Don’t kid yourself. Did Alan tell you Isaac and Michael got into a fistfight at the board meeting?”
He eyed her skeptically. “You’re exaggerating.”
“No, I’m not. Our son, who’s never been in a fight in his life, was rolling around on the boardroom floor fighting with Michael Thomas. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”
“I can’t believe it. Not Isaac.”
Saralyn nodded. “That incident should tell you that it’s going to be impossible for the two of them to work together. You’ve got to come up with another plan, Abraham. This one is not going to work.”
“What was Michael doing at the board meeting?” he asked. “He’s not on the board.”
“I tried to make that point, but Alan, Leah, and Deborah basically shut me down. Michael even wanted to nominate himself for acting president and CEO of MEEG in your absence. The nerve of him.”
Abraham bit back a smile. He could relate to Michael’s audacity, though he’d never tell Saralyn. “What happened?”
“Nothing happened. Alan explained to him that he didn’t have a chance in hell of winning against Isaac because Leah and Deborah only had two votes and we had four. That bit of information seemed to put him back in his place.”
Abraham wanted her to see that Michael’s place was no different from Isaac’s but he knew she wouldn’t view it that way.
“I don’t know what more I can say, Abraham. Obviously, you don’t trust the boy or you would have given him a seat instead of giving the seat to his mother. If you don’t trust him, I don’t want him around.”
“I hear what you’re saying, Saralyn, and I’ll think about it.”
“You’d better do more than think about it,” she said. “You need to take some action. Have you thought about giving them a settlement of some sort? That would be a quick and easy way to get them out of our lives.”
Abraham studied his wife. At times like this he found her selfishness and self-centeredness very unattractive. “I don’t want them out of our lives, Saralyn. I want to get to know them.”
She eased up from the bed. “You’ve always accomplished whatever you set your sights on, Abraham, and usually on your own terms. Something tells me things won’t work out so smoothly for you this time. You’re going to have to make some hard choices.”
“What are you saying, Saralyn?”
She folded her arms and looked down at him. “Let me be perfectly clear. You have this unrealistic vision of your two families living together happily ever after. Well, it’s not going to happen. I’m never going to accept Leah and her bastards, and you’re wrong for even expecting me to.”
“Don’t threaten me, Saralyn,” he told her. “I don’t like threats.”
“We’ve been married thirty years, Isaac, and I’ve never threatened you and I’m not starting now. I’m only making you aware of the consequences of your actions. Pretty soon you’re going to have to choose between me and Isaac and them. You can’t have us both.”
“Why are you so unwilling to work with me on this?”
“Do you even hear what you’re saying? Do you know what you’re asking of me?” When he nodded, she added, “Why would you think I’d accept those bastards now when I didn’t accept them when they were children?” She picked up her magazine and her purse. “Write them a check, Abraham, and send them on their way so that we can get on with our lives.”
He watched as she stalked to the door and snatched it open. When it closed behind her, he began to do what he often saw his mother do but he had never taken up himself: pray. He knew he needed a miracle to get what he wanted.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Deborah stood at her desk and flipped through the slides she’d copied for her meeting with Isaac. Even though she told herself the meeting wasn’t a big deal, she was anxious about it. She felt she needed to prove to him that she was competent for the position Abraham had given her with Running Brook. Even though she wished it wasn’t so, it was important that he thought well of her and Michael.
Satisfied that the status of Running Brook was accurately represented in the slides, she put one set in each of the two folders on the desk before her. Taking the folders, she headed out of her office and to Isaac’s. Not seeing his secretary, she checked her watch. Two minutes early. Perfect timing. She knocked on his door.
“It’s open,” I
saac said. “Come on in.”
She opened the door and entered his office. Hers looked like a cubbyhole in comparison. She knew from Alan that this was actually Abraham’s office. The massive desk drew her attention first—it was twice the size of hers. She didn’t want to gawk, but couldn’t help sneaking a peek at the photos on his desk. She thought she saw one with him and former President Bill Clinton. The bookcase—actually, a library media unit—was filled with gilt-edged books.
Isaac waved her over to the conference table where he sat, a multitude of files and papers in front of him. When she reached the table, he stood. “Thanks for coming,” he said, a welcoming but professional smile on his face.
“No problem. You’re the boss, after all.” His smile faded a bit. She wanted to take back the words as soon as she said them.
“Have a seat,” he said, reseating himself.
She followed his direction.
“This is awkward, isn’t it?” he said.
She was taken off guard by the comment. She’d expected him to keep their conversation strictly work-related. “Very awkward.”
He studied her for a long minute. “Do you mind if we talk about it?”
She shook her head. She didn’t mind but she had no idea where or how to start.
He chuckled. “I don’t know how to talk about it.”
She smiled. He was trying, and she had to give him credit for that. “It must be harder for you. You grew up an only child. I grew up with Michael.”
It was his turn to laugh. “I don’t know if I’d agree. Growing up with Michael couldn’t have been easy.”
Deborah had to walk the tightrope of defending her brother and making excuses for him. “I apologize for what happened at the board meeting. Michael shouldn’t have hit you.”
“I hit him first,” Isaac said. “He provoked me, though.”
Sins of the Father Page 15
