* * *
Beth hovered
over her daughter. Her heart was full of
gratitude for the miracle the doctor had announced, and full of anguish over
the long road back Cas’ would have to take, physically, as well as
emotionally. “How am I going to tell my
baby her best friend is dead?” she
whispered to Chad.
“You’ll find
the right words when the time comes,” he reassured her.
Beth put the
rail of the bed down so she could hold Cassie’s hand. She struggled to find her words. “Cas’, baby, I’m right here.” The mother paused, unsure of what to say
next. “Cas’?” She rubbed her daughter’s arm, peering again
into her still face.
Then, for no
particular reason, Beth remembered a trip to Chicago they took when Cassie was
little. “Remember that time Dad and I
took you up to the Navy Pier and Shedd’s Aquarium?” she said out loud, starting
slowly. “There was a Beluga whale making
all kinds of noise because she was about to give birth. I think it was one of the first Beluga births
in captivity, but I’m not sure. I know
they were very excited about it.”
There was no
return, except for the beep of machines.
“Keep
going,” Chad encouraged her.
“And then we
watched the dolphin show. You always
loved dolphins because of those silly smiles they always wear. You were so excited because you got to be
part of the show and feed the dolphins. And remember the seahorses? They had a seahorse exhibit and we never knew
how many different kinds there were.
Some didn’t even look like the seahorses you usually see in books.”
Chad saw Cassie’s
foot move.
“And we
discovered the males carried their babies--”
“Beth, look.”
Cassie moved
her head a fraction. “M-mom?”
Beth
struggled for a second with the lump in her throat. “Oh, Cas’!
I’m right here, honey. I‘m right
here,” she choked out.
“M-mmm,” she
moaned, her eyes still closed. “Wh-what
happened? Ohhh!” She seemed agitated, as if she was in a lot
of pain. Beth’s eyes flitted to the
nurse.
“I’ll get
the doctor to up her pain meds.”
“Sweetheart,
you were in an accident. But you’re okay
now.”
“We’re you
just talking about the dolphin show?” Cassie asked as the doctor entered in a
rush, followed by the nurse.
Beth smiled,
“You remember it?”
“I got to
make him do a trick.”
“That’s
right. I had forgotten that.”
“Cassie,”
the doctor inserted, “I’m Dr. Tuilly.
How are you feeling?”
She opened
her eyes, blinking in the bright light.
“I’ve had better days.”
They all
smiled, exchanging relieved looks.
“Listen Cassie,
we’re going to give you some more pain medication, but first I need for you to
do a couple of things for me.” He pulled
back the covers on the bed and placed her heel in his hand. “Cassie, can you push on my hand with your
left foot?” It was clear she could. Beth squeezed Chad’s hand. “Good, good.”
The doctor ran Cassie through a series of tests, all of which she passed
with flying colors. “You’re getting
tired now, aren’t ya, hon?” Cassie
nodded, again closing her eyes. “Well,
we’re going to give you some good stuff now to help you get some sleep. Say goodnight to your mom.”
“Goodnight,
Mom. Hey, Chad! What are you doing here?”
“I was in
the neighborhood. I’m glad you’re
feeling better,” he reached down to squeeze her hand.
“Thanks,”
she mumbled with a smile. The doctor
nodded to the nurse, who injected something into the IV. Cassie closed her eyes, and drifted
peacefully off to sleep.
“Let’s step
outside,” the doctor suggested in a hushed tone. But when they were in the hall, the doctor
was hardly able to contain his excitement, blurting out, “This is the best
possible scenario. All her neuromotor skills
seem to be intact, there seems to be no memory loss…. Mrs. Donovan, she’s going to be just fine.”
“Oh, you’re
the best!” Beth threw her arms around
him again, kissing him on the cheek.
Once more,
the young doctor seemed embarrassed by Beth’s exuberance. “As I said before, we’ve done little more
than make Cassie as comfortable as possible and monitor her progress. The credit goes to you and your daughter.”
“Yes, but
doctor, you knew what pain medications to give her, and you monitored her progress
so you could be ready to step in and help her if the time came. You’ll forgive me, I hope, for my
excitement. You’ve just returned my
daughter to me.”
He grabbed
her hands, “Okay, Mrs. Donovan, you win.
I’m glad I could be of help. And
I thank you, too. A doctor can also get
excited about a patient getting better, and this has made my day. Now…Cassie will be out for at least 2 hours,
more likely close to 4, so stretch your legs, or do whatever you need to.” He turned to go, but as he passed Chad he
added, tapping his shoulder with the medical chart in his hand. “Now, you, Mr. Evans, I’m not so happy
with.” Both men grinned as they parted.
“What did he
mean by that?”
“Uh, I’ll
explain later.” Chad grabbed her up in a huge bear-hug. “See,” he whispered in her ear, “I told you
it would be all right.” They parted and
she kissed the singer happily. “I think
we should stretch our legs,” he commented, “as the good doctor advised. Hold on, I’ll be right back.”
Beth watched
as he went up to the nurses’ station to ask a question. The nurse was gesturing with her response,
and Beth could tell he had asked for directions.
“What did
you ask them?”
“You’ll
see,” he hinted, taking her hand and leading her down several halls. He finally opened a set of double doors, and
they stepped out into a small courtyard.
The entire courtyard was covered with giant skylights, so it was like
being outside, without the inclement weather.
There were several tables scattered about, but they were alone, possibly
due to the fact that, despite the designer’s best efforts, it was still fairly
cold in the area.
As soon as
they entered and the door closed behind them Chad grabbed Beth by the hips and
pulled her to him. “I couldn’t wait to
get you alone.” He bent in and kissed
her, long and deep. They separated but
laid their foreheads together.
“Mmmm…that’s more like it.”
“If you kiss
me again like that, I may not be able to let you go.”
“Who said
anything about going?”
“Chad…you
have shows lined up. Now Cassie is
awake, and doing well…you should go, be with the guys.”
“I’ll stay
if you need me.”
“Of course,
I need you,” she replied, kissing him again.
“But I’ll be fine.”
“Well, this
time I’m giving you my cell number, and if you need anything….”
“I’ll call
you. I promise.”
“Well, I
guess I should go, then.” He rubbed her arms in the cold. “Roger’s probably having a mini-cow by
now. He can be pretty anal.”
“Actually,
he called me on a hospital line when you were in the bathroom.”
“He did?”
“Yes. He was very sweet. Wanted to know if there was anything I
needed.”
“I don’t
know if I like that clown callin’ my best gal.”
“You,” she
whispered tugging on the sides of his leather jacket, and then gazing up at him
with both sincerity and longing, “have nothing to worry about.” And the kiss she gave him left little doubt.
They strolled
back towards Cassie’s room, arm-in-arm, both quiet, occupied with their own
thoughts. Beth stopped in mid-step.
“It never
dawned on me to ask before, I don’t know why, maybe because I was just so happy
to see you, but, how did you know what had happened?”
“When you
didn’t show up at the stadium, I started calling your house. By the time your friend, Cali, answered, I
was half-crazed.”
Beth smiled,
“Cali.”
“Yeah. She’s…interesting.”
Beth
laughed. “Let’s just say, she’s my
Roger.”
“Ohh. God help us both.” They laughed.
“She should
have been here by now,” Beth commented, checking her watch. “But knowing Cali, she probably stopped at
Starbucks, and got her nails done.”
“Heyyy!”
came a loud cry from down the hall.
“There she
is!”
Chad looked
up to see a loud, leggy, good-looking blonde approaching with, ironically, a
carry-out tray from Starbucks with two cups and a bag of some sort, which the
blonde, without warning, shoved into his hands.
“Take this
so I can give my girl a hug.” She drew
Beth in and then pulled away to ask seriously, “How is she?”
“Much, much
better,” Beth answered her with a smile.
“Good. I told you my prayers would work.” Cali
smiled up at Chad, taking the tray back.
“I’ve got an in with The Big Man.”
Chad somehow doubted that.
“You’re Chad Evans,” she balanced the coffee and extended her hand. “Nice to finally meet you.” She leaned into Beth, “You’re right,” she
whispered loud enough for him to hear, “he is hot.”
Beth giggled
but swatted her friend on the shoulder.
“And he was just leaving.” Chad
extended his hand to take Beth‘s. “Just
sit right here, Cal. I’ll be right
back.”
“Sure you
will.”
“She’s…interesting,”
Chad stated again.
“Yeah, but
she’s fantastic.” They had reached the
door. They could see a couple of cabs
waiting for a fare in the taxi stand across the circle drive. “I’ll miss you,” she said, brushing her lips
over his.
Without
pulling away he ordered, “Remember, call me if you need anything.”
She pointed
at the pocket where she kept her cell phone, which he had programmed his number
into. “I will.”
The rocker
snagged her bottom lip in his and then kissed her one last time, hating to
leave her, but knowing he probably should.
Beth watched
until the cab had driven away, partly wishing she had made him stay.
The bridge Beth spots from atop the bluff.
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