Chapter 11: Anna

Thursday, May 20, 1971

“Good morning, sweetheart,” Sydney whispered softly in my ear.

The gray light of dawn was showing around the closed blinds. Sydney smelled fresh, like she had just showered. Her face was radiating with a healthy glow. She looked beautiful.

“They need to come in and take your vitals,” she told me. “And I need to get home.”

It suddenly occurred to me that no one had entered the room all night to check on me. I raised my eyebrows in question.

“Uh, I think Catherine arranged it last night with David,” she said, blushing. “She really is a special person, isn’t she?”

“Very!” I said as I nodded in agreement.

Sydney leaned close and kissed me on the tip of my nose. My eyes crossed as I followed her, before I finally closed them.

“You are a very special person, too!” she said so softly I had to strain to hear.

“Don’t go,” I told her.

“I have to go, Michael,” she said sadly.

“When will I see you again?” I asked.

“I don’t know if I WILL see you again. I’m scheduled off for the next two days. You’re getting better. They should let you go home any day now.”

I heard the sadness in her voice as she whispered in my ear. I wanted to raise my arms and hug her tightly to me, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I didn’t want to face the fact that she was leaving. I didn’t want to touch her and discover that she didn’t feel the same way I did. I had had too much rejection in my last life. I just didn’t want to know. I wanted to hang on to my illusions, that despite our difference in years, we could work something out. I wanted to hang on to my hopes of being with her, somehow. But, deep down inside, I knew that wasn’t right. It wasn’t being fair to Sydney. So I kept my arms at my sides so she couldn’t feel my pain. And I kept my eyes closed so she wouldn’t see my tears.

“Thank you, Michael, for all you did for me,” Sydney said as she kissed my forehead.

I didn’t hear her leave. My tears must have blocked out the sound.

The hospital’s morning routine started a little later. I don’t remember who came in or what they did. My mind was still on Sydney and the sorrow I felt at her goodbye. Deep down inside, I knew she was right.

“At least now, she can get on with her life,” I finally decided. The thought brought me some happiness.

The Nurse’s Assistant this morning was Regina. She would be sixteen next month and a junior next year at Everett High. She told me she had been an NA for eight months and was looking forward to going to Nursing School when she graduated from high school. She was nice, and we had a good time chatting about growing up in a small town as she fed me. I didn’t try to read her; I didn’t think I could handle it right now.

After feeding me, Regina changed the bed while I sat in the big chair. Then she gathered up the food tray and the dirty linens and turned to face me.

“I’m glad I got to meet you. All the nurses said you were nice...” she hesitated, then continued. “Do I get a kiss too, for feeding you, I mean?” she asked hopefully.

I stood up, facing her. The tray and dirty linens were still in her hands, between us. I leaned over slightly and brushed her cheek with the back of my hand. Then touching my lips to her ear, I kissed it.

“Thank you Regina,” I whispered. Then trailing my lips down her cheek, I kissed her full on the mouth. I felt her tongue touch my lips and so I parted them slightly and her tongue quickly darted inside. I played with it lightly with my teeth, then stuck my tongue between her lips and ran it lightly over her teeth.

“Wow! This girl is hot!” I realized. So I kissed her with all the passion that she had generated in me, adding some erotic images of me licking her nipples for good measure. She shuddered as a small orgasm claimed her.

“Where were all these girls on my first time through?” I wondered, holding her as she swayed.

Regina shook her head, trying to shake the hair out of her eyes because her hands were full. I could tell she was seriously debating setting down the tray so she could reach the troublesome hairs, and maybe even try that kiss again. So I reached for the errant strand of hair in her eyes, pushing it gently behind her ear.

“Thank you, again, Regina,” I told her before resuming my seat in the chair.

“You are very welcome!” she replied happily. Then, with a sigh, she added, “I guess I’d better get going.”

I think I told her goodbye. I’d like to be able to say I thought of her fondly as she departed. But the truth was, I was in such a funk, I don’t even remember her leaving.

Catherine came bustling in a short time later, looking like she was on a schedule this morning, but stopped when she saw me slumped in the chair. I’m sure that the dark cloud of funk that surrounded me was almost visible.

“Michael?” she asked. “Are you all right?”

“Good morning,” I nodded.

“May I?” she asked as she reached out her hand to me.

I nodded again, giving her everything, including last night with Sydney. And this morning’s goodbye.

“Oh my!” she said, as she blushed slightly. Then she looked at me.

“You are truly a beautiful young man, Michael. That was a good thing you did for Sydney. I watched how she took care of you every day, always smiling. But I always thought she had a sadness hanging over her. If what she said is any indication, I believe it’s gone now, thanks to you,” she told me.

I rose then, offering her the chair. Catherine thanked me as she sat down, lost in her own private thoughts. I waited. I really didn’t have anything to say. I felt drained, wasted, and empty.

“Would you like to do something special for her?” Catherine asked me, breaking the silence.

“Like flowers, or candy, or something?” I replied, not comprehending where she was headed.

“Well ... I was thinking more along the lines of a scholarship for Little Kenny, when he gets older,” she smiled. “After all, you will soon become one of the wealthiest young men in the world!”

“Holy double shit!” I thought as I looked at Catherine. The implications of her statement still not totally sinking in. “Please. Would you explain that last remark?”

“I’ll go through it with you shortly, Michael. Right now, I have to talk to you about Dr. Carter.”

“Dr. Carter?” I responded absently. “Which one was he?”

“SHE is one of the country’s leading authorities on head traumas and comas. We are flying her in this morning. She should be here any time. I wanted to talk to you about your ‘gift’ before she gets here,” she told me.

Catherine paused, gathering her thoughts, then continued.

“Michael, I have seen you do more good for more people in the three days you have been here, than my grandson ever did.

“Your grandfather used to do good things like that. The Wagner Foundation is a large philanthropic foundation your grandfather started many years ago to assist the less fortunate. That’s where the help for Stevie’s family and the scholarship for Little Kenny will come from. And while he made it possible for the foundation to do good things, I don’t know that I ever saw him actually do anything like I’ve seen you do.”

“Foundation?” I asked. But Catherine didn’t answer me. She was busy remembering.

“And, except for me, and maybe one other, I don’t ever recall him letting anyone else know about his gift,” Catherine said as she sighed.

“Consequently, I am torn and don’t know how to advise you, as far as sharing your gift, or even the knowledge of it. I mean, you have been very open about it with your sister and cousins. And I assume you told Grace, as well,” she said.

I just nodded when she looked at me for confirmation.

“So, as to how much of it you share with others, I haven’t any idea how to guide you,” she admitted.

“But you have so much experience with this, where I’m still trying to figure it out,” I told her.

Catherine looked up as if I had slapped her. She had a tear in the corner of her eye, so I got up and retrieved the box of tissues from the bedside table.

“Thank you,” she said. “You just keep surprising me. My grandson would never have asked my advice.”

“Then he was a bloody fool!” I thought to myself.

“You may be right,” she said in response to my thought. “Forgive me, please, but when I look at you, I see a very handsome young man, but I don’t see my grandson anymore. He is gone.”

“You’re right. I am not your grandson,” I told her. “Still, I didn’t mean to speak ill of the dead.”

“Just looking at you, it’s easy to forget that you are older than I am. But then, you say or do something that is way beyond your years, so it’s hard for me to keep it straight sometimes. As I said, I am torn,” Catherine paused to gather her thoughts.

I remained quiet. I had an idea of what she was getting at, but I had a hunch that she needed to work it out for herself.

“Michael, I have already seen you using your powers beyond anything I ever saw your grandfather do. Is it because you are not afraid to use them like he was? Or could it be that you simply have more of whatever it is?” she asked me.

“Either way, Catherine, I know it’s there and I also know I have to explore it even more. I don’t think I could stop even if I wanted to,” I told her.

“And therein lies the problem,” Catherine said, coming to her point. “Dr. Carter is no adolescent school girl, Michael. She’s one of the best head-doctors in the world. If she finds out the whole story and the extent of your powers, she will want to study it and publish it. You could be taken away from us and never seen again. Or even worse, kidnapped by a government, friendly or not, and forced to work for them. Talents like yours would be in high demand. They could even keep you locked up, just to keep someone else from getting you. And if you refused to cooperate, they could threaten to harm your sister or the rest of our family.”

I sat quietly, contemplating all Catherine had said. She was right, I just hadn’t thought about it very much before now. Catherine sat there, watching me, without interrupting my contemplation.

“What do you know about this Dr. Carter?” I finally asked her.

“Only that she is supposed to be one of the best head-trauma doctors in the world,” Catherine said.

“So you didn’t choose her?” I asked.

When Catherine shook her head, I asked, “Okay, then who selected her?”

“I don’t know for sure. The board is taking care of it,” she supplied. Then she added, “I had hoped to discuss this with you when we had more time. But you need to know it now. In a little less than two years, on your eighteenth birthday, you, as my grandson, will take control of what is, today, the ninth largest privately held company in the United States. I don’t have time to give you all the details now, but be warned, the stakes are high when it comes to you.”

“So, THAT’S why all the security,” I said, my statement intended as a question.

Catherine nodded, smiling at me. I could detect a certain amount of pride in her look.

“Right before he died, your grandfather changed both the structure of the company and his will, making you the majority owner. Everyone, including me, thought he had lost it. And while we all questioned his selection of you, he was determined. We have only seen part of his will, so far. The rest, his attorneys are holding until you reach eighteen. And he has his will structured so that none of the other shareholders could challenge it,” she explained.

“So, you’re telling me that in addition to somebody wanting to kill me, I’m soon going to be responsible for this company and all its employees and their families?” I asked.

“You are priceless, Michael,” she laughed.

“Wha-a-t!” I whined.

“Ha! I tell you that you’ll soon be the head of a major corporation making you one of the richest and most powerful teenagers in the world, and all you’re worried about are the people that work for you!” she laughed again. “It’s truly priceless! Wait until Uncle Harry hears this!”

“I still don’t understand,” I told her calmly.

“You,” she tried to talk as she laughed, “you ... were a self-centered, stuck-up, snob before the accident. You never gave a damn for other people. I’m not sure Nancy or the others will be able to accept such a radical change. And wait until Vivian meets you!”

I started considering what she had just revealed to me. The responsibility seemed overwhelming. Catherine was still in the big chair, smirking as she contemplated how whoever Uncle Harry, Nancy, and Vivian are, were going to react to me. I had moved to my bed, the weight of everything making me tired.

“Catherine, I need some coffee and I know you like tea. How can we get some in here?” I asked.

She just looked at me as if I had slapped her, or something.

“What now?” I whined some more. “Don’t tell me Michael didn’t drink coffee,” I said in response to the look of surprise on her face.

“I don’t know if he ever drank coffee or not, but I’ll assure you that he never once gave a thought to anyone else’s comfort or needs,” she said. “And in his entire life, I don’t think he even considered whether I would want something to drink or not, much less remembering that I preferred tea!”

“He really was a bloody fool!” I thought to myself for the second time.

I was still on my first cup of coffee when Dr. Anna Carter strode in the small hospital room. Without a word, she tossed me a rubber ball as she walked towards the bed. I caught it one handed, balancing my cup of coffee in the other.

“Good!” she said. “His motor skills seem to be fine. Do you remember what seven times nine equals?”