Creaky Walls: A Short Story
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Creaky Walls
Copyright 2012 Leslie M. Joyner
Written and Published By Leslie M. Joyner
Edited By Kym Goodell
1She knew from the beginning that this was not going to be a good day. How could it? It was barely 7 a.m. middle of January and it was hot. The humidity made it that much worse. It felt like May. Just last week it was in the lower 30’s and now it was closing in on 80 degrees. She couldn’t even walk without sweat starting to form on her forehead and neck.
Elizabeth walked into her office and adjusted the thermostat to cool. There was a staff meeting at nine and she desperately wanted to just go home, even though she had just arrived. Hopefully, the air would cool her down as well as her nerves. She hated staff meetings. They were always the same. Nothing was ever accomplished it was just a waste of time. Time in which she could be going over one of her accounts. Advertising wasn’t as glamorous a job as she had imagined, but it helped keep everyone happy.
Some days Elizabeth just wished that she could stay home with the kids, even though they probably did not. Jason was nearing 13 and Joann was 14. Not exactly an age where either of them would want their mom around. Elizabeth began preparing her notes for the meeting, notes which she would read from and no one would really listen. She could speak German and no one would notice. Everyone except her didn’t mind the weekly staff meetings. They saw it as an opportunity to goof off. The monthly staff meetings, however everyone was attentive, because that’s when the district supervisor would come in.
Deep in the thought of notes on her most recent account, she jumped when the phone rang, startling her back into reality. It was her assistant, Linda.
“Mrs. Monroe, there is an urgent call for you on line 3.” Linda stated as she transferred the call.
“This is Elizabeth Monroe, can I help you?”
“Mrs. Monroe this is Lt. Shelton...” Elizabeth’s stomach knotted up so tight that she thought she would explode.
“What can I do for you Lieutenant?” Elizabeth really didn’t want to ask, but there was no choice.
“Don’t get upset or anything, but there has been a small accident...” Elizabeth froze. This was the bad thing that she had felt all morning along with the unseasonable heat. She held her breath for what seemed like an eternity, before Lt. Shelton continued.
“Jason fell and broke his arm this morning on the way to school...” Elizabeth wondered why a police officer of such a high rank was calling about a broke arm, it just didn’t seem right, there must be more coming.
“He is at Keller Hospital. You’re probably wandering why I am calling, I was driving my daughter Elaine to school when your daughter flagged us down.”
Now it made perfect since. Elaine was in the same English class with Joann. Though they were not close friends, they were classmates. Elizabeth had never even realized that Elaine’s father was a police officer.
“If you need someone to drive you over here I can call one of the patrol units and have them drive by for you. Joann said that your husband wasn’t in town, that he is due back in this afternoon from Boston.”
“No, that’s alright. I can manage. Can you stay there with them until I can get there?” Elizabeth was grateful in an awful way, that she now had an excuse to leave, and miss the staff meeting.
“I wasn’t even considering leaving. Not until I find out how Jason is doing. They just took him down to x-ray a few minutes ago, and Joann is right here...” he handed the phone to Joann.
“What on earth happened Joann?” Elizabeth questioned her daughter.
“That stupid skateboard. He was trying to do some kind of trick that Bobby had done this morning and BAM, fell right onto the curb on his arm...” Joann continued with the gruesome details of the sound of the arm breaking and the sliver of bone sticking out of the skin. “The doctor says he will be fine. Are you coming over here?”
“Yes, I’m going to call your dad and tell Linda and then I will be right over. Okay?” Elizabeth tried to sound reassuring, even though the thought of her son’s bone sticking out of the skin nearly caused her to pass out.
Elizabeth called Aaron, and told him what had happened.
“I’ll catch an earlier flight. I should be there by lunch.” They each hung up their receivers. Aaron immediately began calling the airlines as he went down to the lobby to check out. Elizabeth explained to Linda as she hurried out the door towards the parking garage.
By the time that she found Lt. Shelton and Joann, Doctor Loftin had walked in from the other end of the break room.
“Mrs. Monroe?” He looked at Elizabeth, as the only people in the room where the officer that brought Jason in and his sister.
“Yes. How is Jason is he going to be alright?” Elizabeth was fighting the tears. It may have just been a broken arm, but it was also her son’s broken arm, that made a lot of difference to a mother.
“He is going to be fine. They are getting him ready for surgery...”
“Surgery, I thought it was just a broke arm, I thought you put casts on them, or they used to when we were kids.” Elizabeth began to panic.
“Where the arm broke needs to be pinned back into place. Once that’s taken care of and the swelling goes down then we will put a cast on him. He should be able to go home by late tonight.” Loftin hated telling mothers that their child needed surgery, even such a minor surgery. He had so many mothers fall apart at the mention of surgery.
When Elizabeth realized that it was just a broke arm, and that the surgery was just a pin she began to calm down.
“We will be in surgery for about two to three hours. When we finish, Jason will be put in recovery, and I will come tell you how he is doing, and then you can go see him.” Dr. Loftin finished and left through the double doors.
Elizabeth turned to face her daughter, whose face was red from crying, but had now calmed down, and was becoming her normal sarcastic teenage self again. The tension in the room could only be cut with a very sharp steak knife. Before Joann could begin her diatribe about skateboarding, which Elizabeth had heard a thousand times, Lt. Shelton spoke up.
“Mrs. Monroe, I don’t think we’ve ever been formally introduced, Mark Shelton.” The officer offered her his hand.
“Now that I see you, I think I recall seeing you at the PTA meetings. I guess I never realized that you were a cop. Right now I am glad that you are. Thank you so much for getting Jason here and taking care of him and Joann for me.” Elizabeth was truly grateful. If Joann hadn’t seen the Lieutenant it would have taken an ambulance a lot longer to get across town, especially during the morning traffic.
“It’s all a part of serving the public, and having kids of my own. My oldest son David broke his arm about 3 years ago. Only his was a bike accident. I guess boys are just gonna be boys.” He chuckled trying to ease everyone’s nerves. “Can I get you some coffee?”
“That would be wonderful, 2 sugars and one cream if you don’t mind.”
“No problem, I’ll get us some coffee and you and Joann can talk.” He slipped out the doors and headed towards the cafeteria.
Elizabeth couldn’t think of what to say and Joann had curbed her thoughts on skateboarding, so as not to upset Elizabeth anymore than she was. Neither of them spoke they just stood there holding each other, comforting each other just by being together. They stood there in the empty room filled only with uncomfortable chairs, a table, and a pay phone on the wall and hypnotic classical music playing over the waiting room loud speakers.
An eerie sound penetrated the room. A creaking sound. Elizabeth thought to herself, “That’s an odd sound to hear in a hospital. Sounds like an old staircase. I must be imagining things.”
But at that s
ame instant Joann flinched at the sound. “What’s wrong dear?” Elizabeth questioned.
“I keep hearing sounds. I’ve been hearing them since we got here. But Mr. Shelton doesn’t seem to have heard anything.” Joann stated as if Lt. Shelton was just ignoring the sound instead of reacting to it.
“Did it sound like stairs being walked on like at grandmother’s house?”
“Yeah, a lot like that. But why would that sound come from around here. Everything seems to be new and concrete, I haven’t seen any real wood since we came inside, everything is plastic and metal.” Joann looked as puzzled as Elizabeth felt.
At that moment the door squeaked and they both jumped, but it was only the Lieutenant with the coffee and some OJ for Joann. Mother and daughter looked at each other and just busted out laughing. What more could they do. The officer just stared at them.
“Ok, what’s the joke? Is my cowlick sticking up again?” He was trying to join in, and keep them from thinking