“Come back to me my baby. Please, you can do it.” Why can’t I see, my eyes are open, everything is so blurry. I see silhouettes, can’t make them out. I can’t move, where am I?
They say I was moving my eyes frantically, and I was. I remember it all now. It took at least ten minutes for my vision to get good enough to make out the faces. Cat was there of course and holding my hand. So was neighbor Ed, and many of the Buckers. The Mahoff, Beth, Suzanne, Colin, Cheryl, Mike, Dennis, Mark, Ken, Suzanne, Dr. Frank, Two of the Johns, Jane, Leslie, even the Chief and Maria, were there. Everyone except the third John the man who became J, in that other place, I wondered why? I wanted so badly to talk with them, to let them know how happy I was to see them all, but I was for the most part paralyzed, I could move my eyes and my neck just a little, but nothing else, not even my face muscles.
The doctor came in and did his doctorly things, light in the pupil, stethoscope on my chest, checking the machines. Then he said, looking into my eyes.” Mr. Schafer can you hear me? Just nod if you can?” I did. There was much clapping and crying going on in the room. “You are our miracle today. There was not much hope for you. These folks are all here because we were going to move you tomorrow to a permanent facility for folks living in a vegetative state. Like I said you one lucky guy at this moment. I can’t promise you a full recovery, but we will work hard with you to bring you back to your old self. Something tells me you’ll make it back all the way. I will check in on you in the morning. Enjoy the first day of the rest of your life.”
I so wanted to smile, but I couldn’t make that happen. I couldn’t stop the tears however as each of my dear friends came up to me one at a time and they hugged me or kissed me. One by one they left. All of them promising me I would fully recover and making little quips to cheer me up. I love all those guys with no exceptions. After they left it was just Cat and I. She told me about the accident at three in the morning. She heard me yell and then a big thud as my head hit the wall. She couldn’t get me to come to. She called the ambulance. After some time in the emergency room they admitted me and placed me in the newly created head trauma area of the hospital, where I have been ever since. The second day when they suspected I may be out for a while, she moved into the facility so that she could be with me day and night. She sent the dog to stay with my good friend Chet who is a natural sucker for dogs of any kind.
For a short time, she left the room to call her sister and mother from the family room, as the reception in this part of the hospital was so bad.
About two minutes went by and in walked the missing John AKA J.
He pulled up a chair and sat next to me. “I’m sorry I got here late. I saw some of the group downstairs and they filled me in as to your miraculous recovery. Congratulations from what we knew about your condition this was certainly your lucky day. I’m not staying. I know you’ll need time to think this whole thing through.” He then leaned over and whispered in my ear, “she came in through the bathroom window.” He then stood up and gave me his famous nonplus John face as he winked at me. He turned and left the room.
Sonofabitch, he’s one of them. I thought to myself.
I spent the next month and a half in rehab, and for all intents and purposes I was recovered completely. Cat picked me up on my last day at that hell hole. I was so happy to be home. When I walked through the front door Harriet was so happy to see me, she almost knocked me down by jumping all over me. We had a real love fest me and her for a few minutes. When we had calmed down Cat said, “Come upstairs to the bedroom and see what I have done with it.” I entered the room. It was freshly painted, completely reconfigured, all new furniture and new pictures on the wall, a complete redo. “So, what do you think, did I do good?”
“You did really good.” I said and gave her a for real kiss.
“That’s what I’ve been Missing,” she said. “Oh, and I almost forgot. One day when I took a break from staying in the hospital with you, I came home here to do a little tidying up. I decided to change the sheets and remake the bed. As I pulled the bedspread back, I was almost knocked down by this smell. It smelled like root beer, so strange, so I gathered up all of it and put it all through washer dryer cycle, and you know what? It still smelled of root beer. So, I threw all of it out except for a pillowcase.” She opened the closet door and pulled the pillowcase out and gave it a whiff, “Yep still reeks of it. Here, take a huff.” I took it from her and breathed in. A flood of memories suddenly came over me. “Nope, nothing, I smell nothing.”
Later that evening she made for me a spectacular dinner, as only Cat can. We drank a little wine and watched, From Here to Eternity, on Turner Classics. We were cuddling on the couch and she said something to me that I never heard her say before. She said, “You’ve been cooped up for so long would you like to, you know, get lucky?”
“You know, I truly would, By the way, have you ever heard of The Kama Sutra?”
The End
She Came in Through the Bathroom Window Page 5
