Community Moving OnChapter 11
- 4 years ago
- 17
- 0
Nikki’s turn:
Dan 1.0’s voice when I answered the phone. “You got the helm to yourself today, Nick.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Cindy got in a car wreck. I’m on my way to the ER. She called. Wreck. Headed to the ER. When I find out, I’ll update you. If you’ll pass the word – gently.”
The boy’s stressed. Repeating himself. But that’s the love of his life and she’s MY best friend (other than MY Dan) and...
Our building has a public address system. We do regular evacuation drills, severe weather announcements, other messages where we want the whole building to know. Access code on my phone.
“Attention everyone. Dan Richards just called. Cindy’s been in a car wreck. They’re taking her to the ER. That’s all the info I have right now. If you’re the praying type, this’d be a good time...”
Didn’t take two seconds for a head to pop in my door. Tommy. Questions.
“Don’t know anything, buddy,” I said. “Nothing at all.”
Cindy’s turn:
No good deed goes unpunished. Monday – we’re going strong, I don’t NEED to be there first thing, so I take it upon myself to call a favorite bakery in town and arrange for a hundred bucks’ worth of pastries.
Winding my way through town, normal traffic. Four lanes. How much thought do YOU give to driving in the morning? I pay attention. Driving since I was legal in Alabama – no tickets, no accidents. Hey! I know the route, it’s a good day.
This is a college town in Alabama, so there’s a good mix of vehicles on the road, old, new, cars, SUVs, minivans, pickup trucks.
That last one got me. Well, he didn’t, his trailer did. I noted him on a side street, twenty-year-old (maybe more – year/model of wheeled transportation is NOT something I paid attention to) pickup with a flat-bed trailer behind it, loaded with scrap metal. Hey, extra points for a working blinker, actually in use. He was turning right onto the opposite lane. Traffic was not dense, there was plenty of gap for his move, he started out, moving briskly.
Maybe TOO briskly. Trailer popped off the hitch, decided NOT to follow him, proceeded straight towards me. I was caught flat-footed. I punched the brake, hoping the trailer would pass in front of me.
It would have, if it wasn’t tapped by a driver in the oncoming lane, his own tires squealing. Just a nudge.
I was done in by a nudge. The tongue of the trailer bounced once on the pavement, jumped up, punched into my little grey SUV, right ahead of the driver’s door. Caved in. metal bent. airbags popped. (Airbags are neat. Explosives – right there in the car with you. Might be interesting to look into – funny how the mind works in slow motion during an accident)
My car slewed sideways, got tagged in the rear by another less attentive driver.
It’s like slow motion when it’s happening. I remember the powder from the side airbag. And the pain.
My door won’t open. I try to move. I think I screamed. Cindy, don’t do that again.
A good Samaritan rapped on my passenger-side window.
“Break it!” I yelled. Winced. Whimpered.
“Turn your head,” he yelled.
I turned my head, squeezed my eyes shut, heard glass shatter, then the door open.
“Are you okay, miss?” a big, burly face asked me.
Winced again. “No. My leg...” Inventory. Wet. Either I peed myself or ... blood.
“Leg’s bleeding...”
“I called 9-1-1,” a female voice said. “Sir, I’m a nurse...”
Middle-aged female face, gentle voice. “Hang on, baby. Ambulance and fire department are on the way ... Don’t try to move. Let ‘em get you out.”
“Hurtsssss...” I whimpered.
“I know, baby.” Soft hand patted my arm. “Hang on...”
I closed my eyes, willed myself to be calm. Sirens. Flashing lights. Voices. Male. Female. Guy in through the passenger door, talking gently, assessing. Talking. Bunch of attention, men, mechanical things, door popped off the driver’s side, I’m gently extracted onto a board, stuffed into the back of an ambulance, and off we go.
“Cellphone,” I hiss at the paramedic. “ICE. Dial it and tell my husband.” “ICE” was “in Case of Emergency”, a contact list we all keep on our cellphones.
One of the guys bent down. “Got that going, lady. Five minutes to the hospital.”
“Thank you...” I managed. “Pain...”
“Little stick,” the other attendant said.
I felt it. Then didn’t feel as bad.
Closed my eyes.
Bumps. Rolling. Moving. Bright lights. I recognize an emergency room when I see one. Examination. X-ray. MRI.
Dan. My lovely, kind, handsome, caring Dan. I’m somewhat groggy. Drugs.
“Baby,” he says.
“MY baby,” I return.
“Your doctor says your leg...”
“Cut, broken, compound fracture. There goes Wednesday’s flight...”
“Somebody’ll step up,” he said. “You! We need to fix YOU.”
“We’ll fix ‘er,” another voice said. Female. “Mister Richards, we’re going to bring her to surgery. Ortho surgeon’s going to handle that fracture.”
I held his hand all the way to surgery, his kiss was the last thing on my lips.
I woke up in recovery. Funny. I didn’t really WANT to wake up, but I did. Dan was there when I opened my eyes.
“Could be heaven, you know...” I said. “You’re here...”
“Doc says you’ll be okay, baby. Won’t walk for a while, a scar ... but full use...”
“Good ... How soon?”
“Tonight you’re here. Maybe tomorrow if things look good.” He paused. “Everybody’s asking ... Mandy’s out there. Your mom. Told the rest that they’d have to wait...”
“Oh, lord ... Dan, I don’t like this ... My people...”
“We’re going to move you to a room, darlin’,” an attendant said. “You can have visitors then.”
“I’ll be right behind you,” Dan said.
It was a parade. Me on the gurney, Dan, Mom and Mandy. Into the room. Eased onto the bed. Mom crying all over me. Mandy looking worried.
Nurse took the vitals, announced the availability of additional pain medications. “Post-surgery ortho,” she said. “Liable to be a bit of pain. Don’t wait until it’s at full scream. Management is the key.”
“Yes ma’am,” I said. “Bring it when you’re ready.” I’d adamantly refused the PCA pain pump. I’d rather have to make a physical interaction with another human if I needed relief.
“Be right back.”
“Hurts,” I said to my audience.
Mandy hugged me from one side, Mom from the other. Dan’s hand was brushing my messed-up hair aside when the nurse returned.
“Mizz Richards...”
“Cindy, please,” I said.
She smiled. “Cindy, this is gonna burn when it hits your vein. You’ll probably get really drowsy.”
“Yes, ma’’am. Thank you...”
It did burn. Bearable. I felt myself drifting off. “I love y’all...”
I drifted awake some time later, turned my head, saw Dan.
“Baby...” I croaked.
“You’re back, sweetness,” he said softly, standing.
I relished his touch. He bent over, brushed his lips against mine.
“Water?” I wheezed.
“Here...” He held the cup to my lips, laying the straw into my reach.
Good. One of the ten best drinks I’ve ever had in my life.
“You’re watching over me...”
“I am,” he said. “Most important person in the universe is in this room.”
“You are, aren’t you?” I replied. “Kinda groggy. How’s the news being received?”
“About what you’d expect,” he said. “Everybody’s concerned. Wanna know if you want visitors.”
“Tell ‘em I’m still groggy. If Mom or Mandy or Mister Bill...”
“Your mom’s beside herself, baby. So’s Mandy.”
“Nice to be loved.”
“You got that,” my love said. His fingertips gently brushed my face.
“Have you talked with a doctor?”
“Not yet. I think you’re due for a late visit. You’re gonna be in here at least one or two nights.”
“I hate that. Who’s covering my flying?”
“You don’t worry. We’ll cover it. I think that Stoney’s getting your Wednesday trip. Says Little Stoney’s potty trained and is lined up for co-pilot...”
“I’m dead in the water...”
“Love of my life, you were in a major car wreck.”
“I know, baby, but in a few days I won’t be hurting – I can ditch the pain pills, figure out mobility issues, then...”
“The FAA won’t let you fly with a broken leg.”
“So I’ll hang around the robotics lab. Might go be co-pilot with somebody.”
“Or you could just stay around here and let me take care of you...”
Dammit! I looked at his face, this man I love ... Have I been taking his love, his faithfulness, his tenderness, his willingness to stand aside and let me my own version of rockstar, all the wonderful things in my life, for granted?
Quick answer – yes. Correct response: “I’m yours. I’ll hang here for recovery. See if you can put up with me like you used to...”
He smiled. “Baby doll, we were joined at the hip ... And I loved every minute of it.”
“Daniel, you gotta know I still worship you.”
“Mutual admiration society, little one.”
A week later. I’ve been home a few days. Everybody’s visited, and I’m ready to be mobile. Mandy’s pulling yeoman duty as my ‘wheelchair motor’. Terri’s been by, along with the rest of the Munchkins, but they’re curiously tight-lipped. I suspect mayhem.
Hadn’t been there ten minutes before the doorbell rang. Dan looked at me (questioning). I just shrugged my shoulders, so he answered the door.
All four Munchkins stepped in, followed by a little robot, with an aluminum lawn chair mounted on top. Head-stalk, two arms, wheeled, and two obvious handles on each side.
Terri said, “Cindy, meet “Chair-bot”. “Chair” is scaled down from “Luggage”, but he’s what we could cobble together quickly, from spare parts. He has about half the battery life of “Luggage”, and maybe half the carrying capacity. But he only weighs twenty-five kilos, so two people can lift him out of the back of an SUV.”
Dan 1.0’s turn: Interesting meeting – me, my redheaded pixie, Don Matzke ... And the interesting part – Teresa Hardesty. Was supposed to be an informal get-together to see where things are in the circles of 3S Transport which is also the umbrella under which Don runs a charter jet service. “I know Cindy’ll be in the middle of this,” Don told me on the phone. “Do you have a problem if I bring a date?” “You know just how formal we are around here. Anybody we know?” “Teresa...
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Cindy's turn: Riot weekend! We flew to Houston and collected an engineer and a flute-player. Okay, I said 'flautist' but Johanna said very few people still use that term. We flew? I flew. Dan handled communications with air traffic control once we entered the Houston traffic control area and fed me altitude and course data. I paid attention to ALL of that while we both watched for traffic. This is the most intense flying I've done, threading our way between TWO major airports, Hobby on...
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Johanna’s turn: I have become the musical mommy. I’m not complaining, mind you. Dad and Mom smile at me and tell me that their prayers are answered, that I’m married, my husband loves me, we’re successful, and ... my life is as filled with wonder as I told them. Little Randall is a good baby. That’s good. I’ve heard horror stories about crying all night and teething issues and ear problems and serious diseases. Randall is none of these. The community crèche is devoid of that. There’s a...
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I have been doing some community service due to a DUI.It is my first, and I didn't have to do any jail time, but I did however get sentenced to 300 hours of community service.That is a lot of spare time.One thing that this has given me is a lot of contact with young studs that are doing the same thing.I have been able to look over quite a few of them and while cleaning up the road sides, I have had to use mother natures rest room along with a few of them. I can visually check them out and I can...
I had got a DWI and had to do eighty hours of community service. The first 48 hours I worked picking up trash off the side of the road and other stuff like that. The last 32 hours I ended up working with this group cleaning up trails that go thru the woods. My first day I showed up and there was another guy who had to do community service and a old man, I would guess in his 70's. Three women that must have been around that age were also there. They were peppy and ready to work. The women went...
Tina's view: Sometimes I curl up on the sofa in those rare moments when I need some 'me' time and I think about things. Mommyhood. Little girls always think of being mommies. I did until I realized that my own 'mommy' saw me as a problem to be solved. Fortunately the solution was her own mother, Grandma, who did me right. When Grandma died and I ended up with Mom again, I pretty much decided that motherhood wasn't for me, not if I had a chance of ending up like Mom and me. Rethinking...
Alan's Turn: One might imagine that in the aftermath of the restaurant robbery, things might be in a turmoil. To a certain extent, one would be right. I'm fortunate. I have immediate family, my Tina and my Terri. I have my full family, and Tina made sure that she talked with my sister about the incident. And I have the Community. "You gonna be okay, buddy?" Dan 1.0 asked. "Yeah. Am I supposed to be all weepy or something?" He shook his head. "Not like you had any choices." "You...
Dan Granger's turn: I have to laugh. I tried very hard NOT to burn bridges when I left my old job. It paid off. Steve called. "Hey, Steve, what's up?" "You ready to come back?" "Not funny, Steve." "Seriously. One of our clients specifically asked if we'd subcontract you so you can come in and do some stuff for him." "What and when?" Steve gave me the run-down. I wasn't too surprised. Big facility. I'd done a similar scope for part of it prior to moving to Alabama. Now...
The World According to Susan: I am officially ready for a break. It's almost Christmas. I almost hide when I see my math professor. That's okay, though. He almost hides when he sees Cindy. Jason's right there with me, though. He's tested out of some classes and he's gotten transferred credits for a lot of things he took for his technology degree and if he does a summer semester next summer, he just MIGHT squeeze his way onto stage with the rest of us. I hoping. He deserves it. We work...
Cindy's Turn: I finished, well, actually WE finished a Skype session with Kara. This time it was me and Nikki and Kara. I turned to Nikki. "She's a sister, you know. Should be part of the Community," Nikki said. I'm glad Nikki said it first. I don't want everybody to think I'm running this show. I'm certainly not malicious or anything, but everybody contributes in this effort. "How do we make it happen?" I asked. "She's music, not engineering." "We had Mizz Patel handling...
Bill Carmody's turn: Interesting turn of events, I think. Two years ago I had Dan Richards on my power plant project. I knew him and Alan Addison from a previous power plant project where we were engineers, all three of us, on the same project. They're technically beyond reproach. Now I'm on THEIR payroll. 'Their' is, of course, 3Sigma Engineering. We're redoing several rural substations in Georgia. I ride herd on contractors, mainly, and make sure that they adhere to plans, and I...
Beck’s turn: First thing I did when we got home is call Mom. “Hello, my lost daughter,” Mom said, using her best ‘poor me’ voice. “Did somebody go into the hospital? It is not yet Saturday.” “Mom, your GRAD-daughter...” ““GRAND daughter,” Mom corrected. “My grand-daughter the millionaire...” “Your grand-daughter the research scientist...” “What has become of her now?” “She’s holding a letter in her hands that says she’s graduated college with a degree in engineering.” “My...
Susan's turn: I'm waiting for the aliens to show up. Here's how I figure it will break down. Nikki and Cindy will work with Terri and Rachel on the Star Wars squirrel denial system. They'll actually GET that 95 gigahertz transmitter, and in the process of modulating its output so that it only severely annoys squirrels instead of cooking them on the spot out there in the yard, they'll transmit a signal into space where it will be picked up by an alien spacecraft. The aliens will come...
Bill Carmody’s turn: Yesterday’s wedding was a delight, especially watching my NEW daughter (!) and Cindy, my original daughter, looking and acting very much like twins. Can’t help but grin, just thinking about it. Both of ‘em have a little fire in their eyes, and when they’re together, you can nearly SEE the sparks flying between them. Couldn’t have asked for a more unlikely development, right up to matching green dresses they bought together for the wedding. And my phone buzzes --...
Tina's turn: "What's so funny?" my husband asked. "Stoney and Jo are coming back and they're still flyin' that Pitts." "Did they buy it?" "She says 'no', but two trips, you gotta wonder." I giggled. I know the real reason. A combination of scheduling conflicts and weather had kept us from holding the weekend airport social and landing contest. The social, however, now had a few outside participants. I mean, it was bound to happen. We don't exist in a vacuum. On any given...
Cindy’s turn: 0700 for a wake-up. The alarm caught me when it went off. Sometimes I’m drifting between sleep and awake, but not this morning. I finally got to sleep, found out that Dana’s a kicker, so I kicked back. When the alarm went off, I let it roll for a bit, listening to the whines and other sounds of the gang waking up. I killed it, turned to get out of bed, but was a bit slow. I saw a T-shirted Rachel flash by muttering “bathroom...” Well, at least with two rooms we can split the...
Tina's turn: I keep telling myself that Bot-bot is not a real pet. I only wish I knew what was going on in my little girl's mind. Parse that statement, won't you? I have a stepdaughter who's ten years younger than me, who is probably past me in some ways, academically speaking. I know she does things with technology that all of us in the community wonder about. What went on in her head that caused her to take a mobile squirrel repeller platform and convert it into a pet? Yeah, I know,...
Tim's turn: I'd be a janitor for 3Sigma after seeing how Vicki and Kim fit in here. I'm THAT happy. That whole 'divorced dad' thing is horrible. I mean, you talk with your daughter on the phone once or twice a week, trying to stay up with what's going on in her life, and then you get a week or so for Thanksgiving or Christmas and you get a few weeks in the summer. A week was BAD. I don't know little girls. Until this past year, I didn't have my own place, so we cribbed up at Mom and...
Donna's turn: Do you know how to bring on pure pandemonium in my daughter's little community? Let me tell you. Saturday nights are the big night for music. Everybody's usually there. Well, sometimes we add Stoney and Johanna, sometimes Jason and Susan are off visiting one set of impending grandparents or the other. This particular weekend, though, we're all together. Me and Bill, we have our own swing there. So we laugh and sing and dance and then there's a break and my Bill stands...
Terri's turn: I really DO love my mom. I'm speaking of my natural mom, the person who carried me for nine months, then gave birth to me. I did not and still do not understand why she left Dad for Mister Martin. I know both men and there's no comparison. Tina tells me that there are things that go on in people's hearts and heads that are not easily defined. Defined. If you define 'step-mom', it means the woman who marries your dad. That's Tina. Dictionary definitions are so...
Nikki's Turn: Mommyhood hangs over us all. Don't get me wrong, I am in no way disparaging FOUR new mommies. Let's run down the list. Susan 'n' Jason have little JW – Jason Wallace, named after him and his dad. Alan and Tina have Katherine Genevieve – after nobody in particular, but Terri is forbidden to call her Kathygen. Johanna and Stoney have Randall Stonewall, and Mister Bill and Mizz Donna have Cindy's half-sister Elise Ann, a whole two days old. I'm likely to be the next. My...
Still Nikki’s turn: I squeezed Dan’s fingers. “A bit of bad luck, this,” I said. “Baby, be so kind as to hand me my iPhone. I need to get the news out.” Dana’s turn: We’re a pretty connected group here. I mean, everybody’s always texting and posting updates during the day, so when I got one from Nikki, I knew where she was supposed to be – on campus with the munchkins. I thought I’d see another ‘you won’t believe what Terri (or Rachel or Vicki) just did’ post. It wasn’t. I’m at the...
Derek’s turn: This is trouble. Wonderful, happy, delightful, ecstatically wonderful. But trouble. I knew what was going to happen when Rachel called me to help her feed Dana’s cat. Empty apartment except for me and Rachel and the cat, and the cat gets petted while I’m sitting next to Rachel and the cat leaves and Rachel turns to me. I like kissing her. I like holding her. We talk about everything. Tara says we’re too young to have a past, but I’ve lived through a car wreck and the loss of...
Cindy’s turn: It was just another morning in the office when the phone rang and as Maddie was occupied, I answered it. “3Sigma, this is Cindy. May I help you?” “Cindy? Good, it’s you I wanted to talk to.” “Hello Mizz Patel. What’s going on today?” “Would you mind if I drive out to your office? I’d like to talk about something in private.” I noted that she didn’t have her normal happy lilt. “Of course it’s okay. You’re always welcome here.” This was unusual for her though, so I added,...