Chapter 1: It Never Ends, Part I

Christmas Eve, 1984, Chicago, Illinois

'If you end up with a boring, miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on television telling you how to do your shit, then you deserve it.'

-Frank Zappa

"Who is this?" I asked, unsure if it was Bethany's or Jennifer's dad who was calling to tell me about an accident.

"It's Ed," Bethany's brother said.

His voice had become deeper, and I hadn't recognized it!

"Hi, Ed," I said. "How bad?"

"I don't know anything except that the Indiana State Police told my dad that she was airlifted to a hospital in Indianapolis. My dad called, but they wouldn't tell him anything over the phone."

"Oh, fuck!" I exclaimed, tears forming in my eyes.

"What?" Kara asked, concerned.

"Bethany!" I said, as the tears began to stream down my face.

"No!" Kara said, collapsing back in her chair.

"Where, Ed?" I asked.

"Indiana University Hospital. Dad's warming up the car. Mom had me call you. I'm leaving with them right now."

"OK. We're on our way," I said, hanging up.

"Is she...?" Kara asked, a horrified look on her face.

"I don't know. All Ed knows is that she was airlifted to Indiana University Hospital. Pack a bag for each of us. I need to call my sister, Elyse, and Kathy. Then we'll drive to Indianapolis."

"OK. Can I have a hug, Snuggle Bear?"

I pulled her into my arms and we held each other for a minute, then she left the study to pack our bags.

I dialed my sister's number.

"Steve! Merry Christmas!" Stephanie answered happily.

"Squirt," I said, my heart heavy, "Bethany was in an accident driving home. I'm on my way to Indianapolis right now."

"Oh, no!" she gasped. "How is she?"

"I don't know. Ed called me. He said the police told her parents that she was airlifted to Indiana University Hospital in Indianapolis. The hospital wouldn't tell her dad anything over the phone."

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" she said. "I'm going to meet you there."

"No, Squirt. Kara's with me. I need you to call Melanie, Jennifer, Joyce, Larry, and Stephie for me. I'll call you from Indianapolis."

"The hell you will! I'll make the calls, but I WILL see you in Indianapolis."

"Fine," I said, resigned to not being able to control my sister. "Drive safely."

"You too, Big Brother!" she said.

I hung up and dialed Kathy's number. Her mom called her to the phone.

"Steve? Bethany's mom has called twice. Did something happen?" Kathy asked.

"Bethany was in an accident driving home. She was airlifted to Indiana University Hospital in Indianapolis. That's all we know."

"Oh my God!" she wailed. "Oh my God! No!"

"I'm on my way there with Kara. Bethany's parents and her brother are on their way."

"I'm going to talk to Kurt," Kathy said. "We'll probably drive there, too!"

"Drive safely! If I don't see you there, I'll call you as soon as I find out anything."

We hung up, and I dialed Elyse's number just as Kara walked into my study with two bags. Elyse's dad answered and called her to the phone.

"Bethany was in a bad accident," I said without any preamble. "I don't know anything more than that, and Kara and I are leaving right now for Indianapolis."

"Holy shit! Do you need me to come there?" Elyse asked.

"No, I don't think so. Kara's with me, and Stephanie is on her way soon. I'll call you the second I know anything. I promise."

"Jesus," Elyse sighed. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Jennifer's in bad shape, too. She and Josie broke up."

"Oh, for the love of God! Can we rewind a week and get a fucking do-over?"

"It never ends, Elyse," I sighed. "I'll call you. Please call our housemates and make sure that they know."

"I will. I'm so sorry, Steve."

"Thanks, Elyse," I said.

I hung up and Kara and I ran for her car, though I did stop to lock the front door. We threw our bags in the car and it dawned on me that I should let Penny and her parents know. I asked Kara to warm up the car and ran up the steps on to the Nichols' porch. I rang the bell and Bart opened the door.

"Steve? Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas," I said automatically, but quickly added, "Bart, a friend of mine, was in a very bad accident and I'm heading to Indianapolis. I'll probably be gone for several days. Would you let Penny know and ask her to bring in my mail and newspapers?"

"Sure. But if you want, I can get her and you can tell her yourself."

"That's probably best," I said.

I waited in the foyer while Bart called Penny down from her room.

"Hi, Steve!" she said.

"Penny, my friend Bethany was in a bad accident and I need to go to Indianapolis."

"Your best friend? Oh no!" she said, suddenly very concerned. "Are you OK?"

"I'm hanging in there. But I need to go and I'll be gone for a while, I think. Would you bring in my mail and newspapers?"

"Yes! Of course! I'm so sorry, Steve."

"Thanks, Penny. I need to go," I said.

"Bye!" she said. "I hope she's OK."

"Me too, Penny," I said. "Me too."

"Drive safely!" Bart said as I turned to leave.

"I will. Thanks."

I ran down to the car and hopped in, and Kara pulled out into the street. I checked the atlas and located the hospital in Indianapolis. I told Kara just to head as if she was going to Cincinnati and I'd give her the turns when we got close. She was driving faster than she normally did and I gently requested she slow down just a bit, saying it was more important to arrive alive.

"Sorry," she said. "I'm just upset and I want to get there."

"Me too, but let's not take any risks. I'm sorry this ruined our Christmas."

"I grabbed your gift for me and my gift for you. They're in my bag. Along with our year ornament, though I guess we won't put it on a tree."

"I guess not," I sighed.

We both left unspoken the question of what we'd find in Indianapolis. There was nothing to be gained by speculating, and I didn't want to talk about it. My friends from Ohio would get to the hospital a couple of hours before we would, but there was nothing I could do to get us there faster.

"Snuggle Bear, I'm going to drive through Wendy's," she said when we reached Lebanon, about 25 miles north of Indianapolis.

"OK. I suppose we do need something to eat."

Kara drove through and we got our orders, and ate as we closed the remaining distance towards the hospital.

"Follow I-65 to Exit 114," I said. "I'll direct you from there. It's only a couple of turns."

Christmas Eve, 1984, Indianapolis, Indiana

We pulled into the hospital parking lot twenty-eight minutes after leaving Wendy's. We sprinted for the entrance to the Emergency Room and through the automatic doors. I quickly scanned the room and saw Ed and his parents and hurried over to them.

"Mr. Krajick, how is she?" I asked.

His face was ashen, "Bad. They don't know if she'll make it."

"Where is she?" I asked.

"She was just rushed back to surgery for internal bleeding," he said.

Kara put her arm around me and we held each other.

"What injuries?"

"I don't know all the details. The doctor said multiple internal injuries, broken bones, lacerations, and possibly a skull fracture."

"Holy shit," I breathed. "What happened?"

My sister came over and put her arm around me from the other side. It was a good thing, because I was ready to collapse. Between Kara and Stephanie, they managed to support me.

"We don't know for sure. Her car was found upside down in a ditch on I-65 halfway between West Lafayette and Indianapolis. The police think she might have been run off the road, but there aren't any witnesses who actually saw the crash. Just the trucker who saw her a few minutes after it happened. The rescue team had to cut her out of the car."

"God damn," I said.

"Dad's here," Stephanie said. "He went to get some coffee for everyone."

"Did Kathy and Kurt come?" I asked.

"Yeah, they're over there," she said, pointing.

"I need to call Elyse. Did you call the others?"

"Yes. I called and updated them, too. Jennifer's in bad shape, Big Brother."

"Shit. OK. One crisis at a time, please. I need to call Elyse."

"Let me do that," Stephanie replied. "Let's have you go sit with Kurt and Kathy."

I nodded and let her lead me and Kara over to where my friends were. Kathy was crying, and we all hugged as a group, and then I sat down next to Kathy, with Kara on my other side.

"It's really bad," Kathy said, crying. "From what the doctor said, I don't think she's going to make it."

"Don't be so quick to write her epitaph," I said. "Bethany is no quitter. If she was, she wouldn't have stuck with me for this long."

"I know, but you heard what they said, right?"

"I did. And Wen was in extremely critical condition and she pulled through. If there is ANY justice in this fucking universe, any justice at all, Bethany is going to make it. What do you know about the first surgery?"

"It was to try to stabilize her and stop the bleeding," Kurt said. "I guess it didn't work, given they rushed her back to surgery. They can't even try to fix everything else until she's stable."

"Fuck!"

"Yeah," he agreed.

My sister came back and sat across from me.

"I called Elyse. She's upset, obviously, just like the rest of our friends. They're spreading the word."

"Damn. I forgot to call Jackie," I said. "And the rest of my housemates."

"Steve, you asked Elyse to do that, remember?" Kara prodded gently.

"Yeah. But I should call them myself."

"Wait until morning, Big Brother," Stephanie counseled. "There's nothing anyone except the doctors can do right now."

"I suppose. What's up with Jennifer?"

"You heard that she and Josie broke up, I'm sure," Stephanie said. "Well, she's a basket case. I'm concerned that she's drinking again."

"Damn," I said. "I hope her mom took my advice and took away her car keys. Is she still coming to Chicago?"

"Yes. If you're still here, I'll go get her for you. Dad already reserved some hotel rooms for everyone for tomorrow."

"He has to be the coolest customer on the planet," Kara said.

"Hey, if you'd had two destroyers sunk from under you by German U-Boats, you'd be a cool customer, too!" I declared.

"What?!" Stephanie gasped.

"World War II was a bitch. It tried to do him in multiple times, but failed. And here we are."

"How did you find out?" my sister asked.

"He told me a couple of months ago," I said.

As if on cue, my dad came into the waiting area with a large tray of coffee from Dunkin' Donuts. Thankfully, he'd brought one for me. He also had some hot chocolate, a cup of which Kara took. When he'd handed it out, he came over by us.

"Has anything changed?" he asked Stephanie.

"No. You know she was rushed back to surgery just before you went to get the coffee."

"How are you doing, Son?" he asked.

"I feel like one of those bags they use to train boxers," I said. "Life has pummeled the hell out of me the last few days. Shit! I just remembered that I was supposed to meet Wen's parents tomorrow. What a fucking mess!"

"I think they'll understand, Son. Can you reach her to let her know?"

"I can call the hospital tomorrow. She has a phone in her room. Stephanie said Jennifer's in bad shape, too."

"She told me on the way here. Did your sister tell you that I booked hotel rooms for everyone?"

"Yes, she did. Thanks. Where's Mom?"

"Home with Jeff. I'll be driving back to Milford first thing in the morning. After that, it'll depend on how things go. If you or Stephanie need me, or anyone needs anything, I can be here in two hours."

Christmas Day, 1984, Indianapolis, Indiana

About an hour later, I saw a doctor walk over to where Bethany's parents were sitting. I quickly got up and walked over to listen.

"First off," the doctor said, "the fact that she was wearing her seat belt when the car rolled over was an important factor. Without it, we wouldn't be having this conversation. As for her injuries, we stopped the bleeding. All we can do now is wait and see if she stabilizes enough to start working on her other problems. Her condition is extremely grave. The next few hours are critical. The good news is that there does not appear to be any intracranial pressure from the skull fracture. But, and this is important, that doesn't mean it won't happen. If it does, that complicates things even more than they are right now."

"Doctor, CAN she make it?" I asked.

"Who are you?"

"Her boyfriend and best friend," I said.

"It's OK, Doctor," Mr. Krajick said. "He's the person closest to my daughter of anyone, including us."

"Son, I don't know," the doctor said. "Anything is possible. If you are inclined to pray, I'll take all the help that I can get. Her injuries are that severe. I've seen some people recover. I've seen a lot who don't. I'm the best trauma surgeon in the city, but sometimes that doesn't matter."

I nodded, "Thanks for being honest with me."

"I learned a long time ago that platitudes don't help. I hear complaints about my bedside manner all the time. I fix broken bodies; I'll leave the PR to someone else."

"Then she's in the best possible hands," I said. "I don't need bullshit platitudes. Just information. Would you share?"

He looked at Bethany's parents and her dad nodded.

"We removed her spleen. She can live without that. She has lacerations on her liver. We just fixed one of those that we missed before. Those are problematic, but again, she can survive those. When she came in, she had arrhythmia due to fluid around her heart. We drained that, and it hasn't built up again. She had a collapsed lung which we re-inflated. We inserted a chest tube. She has several broken ribs, which is a classic flail chest. Again, something that will heal. She has a tear in her diaphragm that has to be surgically repaired, so she's on a ventilator. Her skull is fractured, but there's no pressure building up. If that holds, it will heal. She lost quite a bit of blood, but transfusions have fixed that. She has a badly broken arm, shattered really, which is splinted. She also has contusions all over her body.

"Any one, or even two or three of those things, and I'd be somewhat optimistic. Piling all of them on at once? I can't make any promises of any kind, even if I was inclined to do so, which I'm not. I don't know for sure what caused the fluid around her heart. I don't know if any of her other organs were damaged. I don't know about the severe concussion that she must have given the skull fracture. And that's just it — I don't know."

Bethany's mom was sobbing and her dad had tears running down his cheek. I had tears of my own.

I held out my hand, and the doctor took it. I shook his hand vigorously.

"Thank you, Doctor Barton," I said, reading his name from his lab coat. "The lack of BS is refreshing."

"You looked like you could take it. You understood everything I said?"

"Yeah. She's in deep shit."

He chuckled, then composed himself, "That is the bottom line. Are you pre-med?"

"No. Computers. But I read voraciously. Thanks for being a straight shooter."

"You're welcome, Mr.?"

Interlude »