Chapter 68: Off Track

August 7, 1993, Norway, Illinois

“Stay here with the kids!” I said to Kara.

Elyse was off like a shot and I tore down the steps of the stands after her. I passed her, and sprinted across the track to the place where Matthew’s Go-Kart had flipped. Two track marshals beat us there and one of them was making a radio call. When I came to the car, I saw Matthew sprawled on the ground, with the car over his legs.

“Matthew!” I called out.

“I’m OK!” he said.

“Don’t move, Son!” one of the track marshals said. “Stay still!”

Elyse came up behind me and screamed, “No!”

I put my arm around her, “He’s conscious.”

“Foo, does anything hurt?” I asked.

“I’m dizzy, but nothing hurts.”

“Don’t move like the man said,” I repeated.

“We called the paramedics,” the marshal with the radio said.

“What happened?”

“I’m not sure,” the other marshal said, “but his left front tire came up over the rear tire of the car in front of him. I don’t know if she slowed or if he was going too fast.”

“She slowed down!” Matthew said. “I didn’t push the pedal harder.”

I looked at the track and he’d flipped on the turn. It was certainly possible that he maintained his speed and the car in front of him had slowed. Or she might have taken a different line than he did through the turn. Or both.

It took about ten minutes for a fire engine and paramedic squad to arrive. Matthew talked to us the whole time, and seemed fine. The paramedics got out of the squad and rushed over to Matthew and began assessing him.

“Name and age?” one of them asked.

“Matthew; I’m six!” he said before I could answer.

The firemen got out of their truck and joined the two paramedics.

“Bill, do you want us to move the Kart?” one of them asked.

“Wait until we finish our assessment, Ron.”

They started an IV, checked all his vitals, and stabilized his neck, then had the firemen lift the Go-Kart. Matthew’s legs hadn’t been trapped, and the roll bar had prevented the Kart from crushing him.

“Matthew, were you wearing your harness?” the paramedic asked.

“Harness?” he asked.

“The seat belts?”

“Yes! I was hanging upside down so I pushed the button!”

“Helmet is cracked,” one of the paramedics said.

The firemen and paramedics maneuvered Matthew onto a backboard, then onto a gurney. They moved him into the life squad.

“Can we ride along?” I asked.

“One of you,” the paramedic named Bill said.

“I’ll go!” Elyse said, quickly following the paramedic into the back of the unit.

“We’re taking him to Saint Elizabeth in Ottawa,” the paramedic who was driving said. “We’ll use our lights but follow the speed limit because he doesn’t appear to be in any danger. You can follow us. It’s a straight shot on IL-71.”

I nodded and hurried back to where Kara and the other kids were.

“How is he?” Kara asked worriedly.

“He landed on his head. He’s an Adams. He’ll be fine!”

“Steve!” Kara reprimanded. “Your daughter is in tears!”

I picked up Birgit, “He’s fine, Pumpkin. They need to take him to have a doctor check him.”

“Mommy should!” she insisted.

I could only IMAGINE what ‘Mommy’, in this context obviously Jessica, would say. I didn’t want to think about it.

“Mommy isn’t here,” I said. “They’ll take him to another hospital.”

Kara and I quickly gathered the kids and I put Michael into his car seat. Birgit insisted on riding with me, so I put her in the car seat. I helped Kara get the kids into the minivan. Once they were settled, she and I hugged, then got into our vehicles and quickly got out onto IL-71. I exceeded the speed limit a bit to catch up to the rescue squad.

“Birgit is sad,” Michael said.

“I know,” I said. “It was very scary, but Matthew will be fine.”

“Are you sure, Daddy?” Birgit asked.

“I’m sure, Pumpkin.”

When we arrived at the small, regional hospital, I got Kara situated with the kids in the waiting room then I went into the treatment room where they had taken Matthew. Elyse was standing to the side while a doctor spoke to one of the paramedics who had brought him in. Two nurses took his vitals.

“Do you have the helmet?” the doctor, whose name was Baker, asked the paramedic.

“Bill’s bringing it in. It has a mid-line crack front to back.”

“We’ll need a full neuro scan, nurse,” Doctor Baker said.

I put my arm around Elyse and she rested her head on my shoulder.

“Doctor Baker, are you thinking concussion?” I asked.

“Yes. Are you his dad?”

“Yes. And this is his mom.”

“Mr.?”

“Adams. And this is Ms. Clarke. Matthew has her last name.”

“Mr. Adams, allow me to finish the evaluation and I’ll give you a full update.”

It took about ten minutes before he was ready to speak to us.

“We’re going to do an x-ray to make sure there are no skull fractures, but my initial diagnosis is a mild concussion. He was lucky.”

“Lucky?”

“A cracked helmet is usually a bad sign.”

“It cracked when I pushed the button for the seat belt!”

“He was hanging upside down in the Go-Kart and pushed the release on the harness.”

“So not in the crash?” Doctor Baker said. “Did you hit your head when your Kart flipped?”

“No!” Matthew said. “Only when I pushed the button!”

That didn’t seem likely to me given the crack in the helmet. My guess was that he had been knocked senseless for a moment, hence the dizziness.

“Doctor, did the paramedic tell you he was dizzy, but not disoriented?” I asked.

“Yes. I think he hit his head and doesn’t remember. I suppose there could have been some kind of defect in the helmet, but I’m a doctor not a materials engineer, so I couldn’t tell you. I only see one scuff on the helmet and it’s right by the midline crack. We’ll get the x-rays and make sure.”

And a likely Star Trek fan given the way he said that, but I didn’t think Elyse would tolerate that kind of joking at the moment. I was seeing a new side of her - the very concerned mom. She was holding it together well, but I figured once the adrenaline wore off, she’d probably need some attention. I was sure Kara would be agreeable.

About two hours later, with negative x-rays, and having been given a couple of tablets of ibuprofen, Matthew was released. We carefully put him into my car, along with Michael, over Birgit’s loud protests.

“Pumpkin, ride with Mommy, please,” I said.

“I want to ride with Foo!” she demanded.

“Aunt Elyse needs to be with her boys,” I said. “Go with Mommy. You can see Matthew at home!”

Kara picked her up and I witnessed Birgit’s first ever temper tantrum. Kara wrestled Birgit into her car seat, and buckled her in. Birgit was screaming at the top of her lungs for Matthew, and Kara was trying to calm her down. I was sure Birgit would be fine once I got into the car. Kara eventually got Birgit strapped into the van, came for a kiss, then got into the driver’s seat. I got into my car, and when Kara pulled away, I followed her.

“How do you feel, Matthew?” Elyse asked.

“I have a headache.”

“Matthew! You crashed!” Michael exclaimed.

“It was the girl in front of me!” Matthew protested. “She went too slow!”

“Let’s not worry about that now,” Elyse said. “We want to get you home.”

“Yes, Mom,” Matthew sighed.

I laughed when I saw, in the rearview mirror, Matthew roll his eyes.

“I think he’s fine,” I chuckled quietly. “He rolled his eyes at you!”

The drive took about ninety minutes, and at home, I helped Matthew from the car and watched him steadily walk into the house. I helped Kara get the kids from the minivan, and picked up a VERY cross daughter who refused to kiss me for the first time ever. I decided to let her little snit run its course, so I put her down to let her walk inside.

“How is Elyse?” Kara asked.

“I think she’s going to collapse as soon as she gets inside.”

“Go take care of her. I’ll manage the kids. Abbie should be here.”

“She’s out in Rockford with Jason,” I said. “They were going to be home for dinner, but not likely much before that.”

“It’s OK. Go help Elyse.”

I went inside to find her sitting on the couch in the great room with Matthew on her lap, cuddling him. That wasn’t a normal thing for him since he’d been three or four, and I suspected it was at Elyse’s request, not his. I went to sit next to them and put my arm around her.

“You OK?” I asked.

“I was a bit freaked out,” she said.

“I was fine, Mom!” Matthew protested. “I had my helmet and my seat belts!”

“But your mom was worried about you,” I said. “You could have been hurt.”

“Mom, will you let me go again?” Matthew asked.

Elyse took a deep breath and looked at me. With my eyes I told her it was completely up to her. I knew the risks and nobody was pushing Matthew to drive Go-Karts. I knew that Abbie and Jason were a strong influence on him, but I hadn’t ever heard them do anything other than encourage him to follow his own ideas about what he wanted to do.

“Let me talk to your dad about it,” Elyse replied.

Matthew’s face showed disappointment but he didn’t argue with his mom. He’d learned fairly quickly that he had a much better chance of success if he let me make his arguments. Jesse, on the other hand, would make his points no matter what.

“Can I go play with my SEGA?” Matthew asked.

“Yes, but take Michael with you,” Elyse said. “And use the elevator.”

The two boys got up and went to the elevator to go upstairs. Elyse sagged against me.

“You OK?” I asked.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever been scared like that in my entire life.”

I had little idea how to comfort her, other than sitting together. Elyse was not one for platitudes, and I wasn’t one to give them. Matthew had engaged in something that was inherently risky, and that risk had reared up and bit him. Fortunately, it hadn’t been worse, but it was a stark lesson in what might happen. The recent deaths in NASCAR had been aviation-related, not racing-related, but they too, served as reminders of risk.

“Take your time and decide what you want to do. I’ll back you, whatever your decision.”

“Give me a few days,” Elyse said. “I’ll think about it. If I were to decide right now, I’d say ‘no’ and never let him do anything risky ever again.”

“Are you still OK to go to LA on Tuesday?” I asked.

“Yes. Are you up for a sauna now?”

“Relaxation? Or?”

“Or!” she said with a grin.

An hour later we were in the kitchen working on dinner when Jason and Abbie came in.

“How did it go?” I asked after greeting them.

“Good. They don’t get too many guys who served on Cup Championship teams showing up and asking to sign up! So I’ll probably have some work on Saturdays in addition to working for the Mercedes dealer.”

“Sounds like things are coming together nicely,” I said, deciding to let Matthew fill them in on his adventure.

“I have Abs, which is the most important thing.”

Jason certainly had his priorities straight.

August 10, 1993, Los Angeles California

Elyse and I had checked into the InterContinental Hotel at California Plaza in Los Angeles before going to the office. We found no pressing issues and at the end of the day everyone except Heather went out to dinner. Ross had flown down from San Francisco, but Heather wasn’t able to get away. After dinner, Elyse and I went back to the hotel for a quiet evening together.

“I think I’ll let him drive,” Elyse said as we relaxed on the couch, her with a glass of wine and me with a bourbon.

“You’re sure?” I asked.

“He and Jason had a very good talk about it and when they finished, Matthew came to talk to me. I suppose, in the end, I can’t protect him from everything, and if this is what he loves to do, I can’t stand in his way. I’ve listened to you and Jessica debate this until I wanted to scream, and I think, ultimately, I agree mostly with you.”

“My real problem is what to do with Albert and Ashley,” I said. “I can’t really let them do things Jessica doesn’t approve of.”

“Sure you can,” Elyse said. “She gave up her rights when she walked out of the house.”

“It’s not that simple,” I said. “She’s still their mom. Whatever problems she has, whatever is wrong with her, she is still their mom.”

“What about treating all the kids equitably?”

“That was always going to be an issue, even if she was at home. It’s something we had been trying to work through with Doctor Green, but obviously that’s not happening.”

“How are things with Birgit?”

“She was VERY upset with my decision on Sunday, but I did get a hug and kiss this morning before we left. She’ll get over it. I just felt you and I needed our little part of the family together after what happened.”

“I was shocked. I’ve never seen her upset with you in the past.”

“It had to happen eventually. Jesse has had his snits as well. They pass. I think it’s part of the process of defining relationships and boundaries and teaching the kids about limits. I don’t want to raise any Samanthas. Well, the Samantha I met, not the one who’s living at the house now.”

“I think that might have been the first time you ever really denied Birgit something she wanted.”

“I was happy to see she was concerned about Matthew, and it does present a dilemma. We’re all a big family, but there are also three distinct family units. Birgit sees Matthew and Michael as her brothers in a way that’s no different from how she sees Stephie as a sister.”

“I wonder about moving, then.”

“Birgit will have to deal with it,” I said. “None of us are going to be held hostage by my precocious five-year-old!”

August 14, 1993, Chicago, Illinois

“Elyse, when we go to Pittsburgh, I’m going to need to drive out to Ellwood City,” I said at lunch on Saturday.

“Michelle is finally ready for visitors?”

“So it would seem. It’s been a year.”

“Then I think I’ll let you go alone. You could see Tara if you wanted.”

“If you’re sure.”

“It makes sense. That way you can be flexible with your schedule.”

“I think I’ll see Michelle on Wednesday,” I said. “I’ll rent a car, and change my flight home to the early evening.”

Just then, Jorge came in with Ashley and Albert. He had no news about Jessica, so we shook hands and he left. I got the kids lunch, and when we finished, I went to meet Jennifer and Josie to go to Jesse’s last hockey game of the summer. He’d move on to the next level starting in September, and that meant buying him his goalie gear. I’d offered to help cover the cost, but as I’d expected, Jennifer and Josie declined.

“Do you get a chance to play goalie today?” I asked as we walked into the rink.

“No. I had my turn on Tuesday,” Jesse answered. “But I can be goalie all the time on my next team!”

“You like playing goalie instead of trying to score?”

“Yes! I get to be on the ice all the time, and it’s fun!”

Jesse had a pretty good game, scoring a goal, though his team scored nine and gave up seven.

“I have to say Birgit is right,” Josie said as we left the rink. “Nothing smells as bad as a hockey locker room!”

“I’m just glad his gear is in the trunk!” I chuckled. “Jesse, do you know the team you’ll be on next month?”

“No.”

“He’s a ‘Mite’,” Jennifer said. “They just number the teams. After that comes ‘Squirt’, then ‘PeeWee’, then ‘Bantam’, and finally ‘Midget’, which is High School age. They don’t use names until PeeWee.”

“Jesse, I saw the information sheet that said they could have Sunday morning games. What will you do?”

“I’ll play hockey. I talked to Father Basil about it and he doesn’t like it, but he said it would be OK.”