Chapter 39: The Show Must Go On?

July 3, 1985

[I said, “I hope the girls can still play in their concert on Thursday. They’ll be very disappointed if they can’t.”

“That WOULD be a tragedy...” Linda murmured, knowingly.]

We all went home, getting to bed around 1:00 AM. I wished I could have fallen asleep quickly, but I was so consumed by the day’s events, it wasn’t to be. Even Mary’s tender cuddling did little to quiet my mind. I almost wished I hadn’t hugged Gracie last night when we got home. I had a vision of the future, today, that indicated it was going to be crazy.

***

Together in the shower, Mary said quietly, “You’re definitely my soulmate, Sugar Bear, you shared your dreams with me last night.”

“I’m sorry I kept you awake all night, you always seem to know when I’m troubled. I love you, ya know?”

She giggled, “I know! You said it at least a dozen times, trying to apologize for keeping me awake!”

“Then you WERE with me.” I chuckled, “Sometimes I feel like I don’t say it as often as I should.”

“Shh, if there’s one thing I’ll never doubt, it’s how much you love me. You don’t ever need to say it. You SHARE it with me every day! I get a warm tingle every time you do.”

“I do too! I’m a little troubled because I love Linda as deeply as I do...”

“Don’t be. Can I tell you what I feel about that?”

“Please.”

“I think the four of us, you, me, Bob and Linda are ALL Family-mates together. I have those same deep feelings for Bob, just like you do for Linda.”

“I DO, Mary! You just said, what I was trying to explain to Linda. We were all feeling the same thing. Were all of us feeling guilty for loving each other so much?” Bob flashed.

“Is it really possible, that we’re ALL soulmates? Like we’re all one, interwoven, loving ensemble? Equally dependent on each other to be truly whole?” Linda flashed hopefully.

“I think we are. It would sure explain our current feelings. Are all of us ready to completely drop all feelings of guilt and just move forward?” I asked boldly.

“YES!” They all flashed simultaneously.

“Jamie and I were WONDERING when you guys were going to figure that out!” Greg flashed with a chuckle. “You guys better get moving, ... it’s gonna be a long day. See you in the kitchen.”

We all had a quick bowl of cereal and coffee. Linda and I refilled our travel mugs before leaving. All the way to work, Linda kept giving me an impish, loving grin.

I started chuckling, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this!”

“That’s because I’ve never FELT like this Charlie!” She giggled.

“I had a feeling. Did you know I was becoming afraid of ever making love to you again? Mary sensed that, I’m sure, because she is so in tune with me. When she told me that SHE was feeling guilty, for loving the intense, physical way Bob makes love to her, I knew she understood,”

“I know! Bob is more intense than you, but you burrowed into my whole being and took my soul to places Bob just can’t!”

“That’s what Mary said too, but she loves that intensity. She felt greedy for wanting it both ways. She’s also fantasizing about dancing with Bob. Something ‘clicked’ in her when she and Bob were dancing the other day. She wants to dance a sexual tango with him, where his intensity pushes her to nirvana.”

“Just like I do, when we work together. I can feel your slowly building passion for your ideas. It’s like, when I’m drawing things that you are imagining, I’m really making love to you. Through our work, we’re connected so deeply I sometimes get wet!”

“Now we’re all free to embrace all of our passions without any more guilt!” I said smiling.

Linda giggled, “Now if either of you would just embrace TRUE camping!”

“Hey, Greg is just salivating over the idea of taking you into the wilderness.”

“Yes, I am Linda! Being in a forest, with you, a beautiful, sexy nymph is my FANTASY you know, Greg flashed.

“And before the summer is over, my hunky camp-mate, we ARE going to go off alone on the sexiest camping trip of your life. You Tarzan, me Jane!” Linda howled.

I could feel my buddy laughing, “Oh great. I just creamed my jeans!”

“Then we’re even! I’m going to have my juices dripping down my leg all morning. Hee-hee.”

“And while you two are gone, Charlie and I are going ‘bronco-riding’ till neither of us can walk or talk!” Jamie giggled.

“Yahoo, my freckled ‘buckaroo’!”

“Damn, now I’M gonna be dripping just like Linda.” Jamie giggled.

“Only fair, YOU made me join my buddy’s club,” I chortled.

“That’s it. I’m signing Mary and me up for nekkid dance lessons, the SECOND I get to the office,” Bob retorted.

“Will you hush, my turgid Tangomeister. I’m just now going into Roll Call and I don’t need 20 horny cops seeing me getting a wet spot!” Mary giggled.

After a fun start to the day, by the time Linda and I got to the break room to refill our coffee, Sam came rushing and turned the television on.

“You guys gotta see this. There’s something about a miracle that happened at this hospital in Rockford last night.”

I was happy to see that Sam wasn’t looking at Linda and I, thinking we had anything to do with it. He was just excited about the story. After a commercial, a reporter came on standing in front of the hospital. Next to her was the doctor that had given us the bad news about the girls.

The lady reporter started, “So Doctor, could you tell us exactly what transpired here last night?”

“Honestly, no one knows exactly what DID happen. I was on call in the ICU unit, relaxing in the doctor’s lounge. Earlier that day, two teenage girls, whose names have to remain anonymous, had been admitted with life-threatening injuries. They had been riding their bicycles when an unknown man, fleeing from police, jumped the curb and ran over them. One of the young ladies suffered a severe head and neck trauma which was threatening to leave her a quadriplegic for life. She also suffered numerous other fractures on her arms and hands.

“The other young lady had her right leg completely mangled when the bicycle she was riding got trapped between her leg and the tires, nearly severing it, while also completely crushing her pelvis. She was also in a coma.

“We had gotten them stabilized at approximately 7:00 PM and moved them to a semi private room in the ICU ward. They were both awaiting further surgery this morning. The only visitors they had all night were their parents. According to hospital security staff logs, the two parents went to the Chapel at approximately 9:00 PM to pray. Just past 10:00 PM they went back up to sit with their daughters. Suddenly, both girls woke up claiming not to know what was happening. Both of them were sitting up in bed trying to remove their IVs, not understanding why they had them

“The charge nurse immediately notified me to come to their room. I had been looking over the photographs that had been taken both before and after they were admitted to the hospital.

“When I went into the room I could not believe what I saw. Other than the bandages, splints and stabilization devices, they did not appear to have ever been injured! Their vitals were completely normal and upon closer examination, not a single bruise, let alone fracture was found. The young lady with the crushed pelvis had miraculously fully healed.

“The young lady with the broken neck was moving her hands and legs completely normally. There are several more doctors who are currently administering tests and further examinations. The parents and their lawyer are adamantly demanding their daughters be released, as not a single injury seems to be present. That is all I can say at the present time.”

The reporter asked, “So you’re trying to say that some kind of a ‘Miracle’ happened here last night?”

“I’m not at liberty to say, I’ve never witnessed a ‘Miracle’ and I’m not even particularly religious.”

“Did the young ladies in question say anything to you? Did you ask them what happened? Can you tell us their names?”

“They might have mentioned something about seeing Angels. I’m sorry I can’t say any more. I may have already said too much. That is all.”

With that, the doctor hurriedly walked back inside the hospital, leaving the reporter looking around dumbfounded. After a second she looked back at the camera, “We’ll try to bring you more on this story as soon as we get a chance to interview the parties involved in this, well I guess you could say, this apparent ‘Miracle at the Medical Center’. Stay tuned to Channel 2 news and we will bring you updates as they occur.”

I was shocked at the sheer number of news vehicles scattered around when the cameras panned out. Most of the office was now crowded into the break room. Sam switched the channel and they were all showing different angles of the same statement. As the stations went back to regular programming, Sam suggested that we try to get as much work done as possible and that he would monitor the television and let us know when anything happened.

Sam did catch up to me briefly and whispered in my ear, asking if I had anything to do with that.

I simply shook my head warily. “No, but if I ever find out the name of the scumbag that ran over them, you can bet your ASS I’ll have something to do with that!”

He scoffed and said, “You and me both, my friend, you and me both.”

Linda and I decided we needed to bust-ass and try to get as much done as we could. We gave three relatively small elevations that we needed drawn to Cindy. Today when we asked her if she wanted to stay in our office and use the spare drafting table, she noticed it had a jack for her cassette player and she smiled and moved her things in.

Linda and I then proceeded to prepare proposed floor plans for the commercial units on the first three floors. The way we had become tuned into each other is absolutely amazing. Even though she’s mentally asking me questions almost constantly, it’s never distracting. It’s like doing a dance. We get into such a zone that her ideas and my ideas just meld together even though we’re both working on different drawings.

Right around lunchtime, 11:30 AM, Sam came in and said there was an update on the television. Everyone crowded into the break room, deciding this was a good time to take lunch. Normally lunches are scattered anywhere between 11 o’clock and 1:30.

Ed flashed me and I told him we were getting ready to watch a news bulletin. He thought that it was probably recorded around 10 o’clock. He said that AJ, Joni, the girls and their lawyer had liked the idea of going to AJ’s sister-in-law’s house, and that’s where they were going. Jim had his men block off the interstate, going eastbound until 10 minutes after the family’s convoy had passed. He also had troopers block off the eastbound entrance to I-90 at Genoa Road. That way the family’s caravan could exit, on what normally is an entrance ramp, since there was currently no eastbound exit onto Genoa Road. That would also completely throw off anyone trying to follow them. Ed wanted to know how soon Linda and I thought we could get off work. I told him I’d talk to Sam right after we hear the news conference. I told him that I would let him know.

Gracie flashed and said that she and Jim had just gotten to the sister-in-law’s house and that currently, everything was quiet. He was hoping it would stay that way for a while. She said that Jim had been talking to his son, Tom and for tonight, was planning to stay out of the picture.

Mary flashed and said she would be joining us, but not in uniform. Greg flashed that the boss had told his guys they could break for the weekend at 1:00 PM. He would stop at home and change clothes, wait for Mary and Jamie, then the three of them would drive to the sister-in-law’s house. I told him that Linda and I might just go straight from work.

Gracie gave me the address and directions from Genoa Road.

Dad flashed, lamenting the fact that we didn’t have disguises, but cautioned us to say as little as possible to anyone and avoid getting on television as much as possible. He said that he and Jim were coming up with a plan and he would inform me on our ride out there.

The commercial ended and the same reporter from earlier this morning was standing next to a fairly tall professional looking lady who I assumed was Sherry, the family’s lawyer. The reporter was trying to ask the girls questions but Sherry stepped in and said, “Please, these girls and their parents are very tired. They’ve had a very long and trying night. If any of you had to go through with these young ladies have since midnight last night until less than half an hour ago, I’m sure you’d understand.

“I’ve prepared a short statement. We’re not going to be answering any questions at this time.

“Last night, sometime shortly after 9:00 PM the girls said that, what they felt were two Angels came to them. The Angels glowed brightly and the girls said that their own bodies felt like they were warm and glowing. They also said that the Angels told them not to be afraid. The next thing they knew they had fallen asleep.

“Sometime, just before 10:00 PM, their parents returned from the chapel where they had been praying. Much to their surprise, when they touched their daughters they both woke up, not knowing where they were or why they were even in the hospital. The girls apparently have no memory whatsoever of ever having been in an accident. They were also completely healed of all of their injuries including bruises.

“The parents immediately notified the charge nurse who summoned the Doctor, to check on the girls. That doctor, the one who had been on standby in the ICU, gave the girls a complete examination. He found them both to be in perfect health. We feel they should have been released at that time.

“However, the hospital felt it necessary to run both girls through endless tests and questions, totally unbelieving that something miraculous might have actually happened. Just before they began drawing blood, for a THIRD time, I put a stop to it, threatening a lawsuit. We are now taking the girls and their parents home, so they can get some rest as they’ve all been up for over 24 hours. If you’ll excuse us, we’re leaving now. Thank you.”

If it wasn’t for the dozen or so Rockford police officers, escorting them away, the press would’ve had them there forever. Sherry had been smart, only saying that they were going home. At least half of them would take the bait and go the opposite direction from where the family was actually headed. The reporter was unable to say much more as everyone was scrambling, hoping to follow their vehicle. I had to chuckle when the Channel 5 camera crew were stopped by the Illinois State Police’s roadblock, as the camera showed Jim’s car and the family’s car make their way around on the shoulder, continuing on unimpeded.

Once all the news channels switched back to regular programming everyone went back to work. I went with Sam to his office and closed the door.

“Oh my God Sam”, I said, “those two girls were the ones who were supposed to play that concert we’ve been planning on going to tomorrow! Linda and I both know their parents very well. We had no idea it was their daughters who had been involved. Do you think it would be okay if Linda and I took off early to see if there’s any way we can possibly help them? I just know the media will inevitably catch up to them. I don’t know if we can do anything, but we’d sure like to be there for moral support if nothing else.”

Sam looked at me incredulously, “Wow Charlie, I don’t know what to say. Melissa and I were planning on going to that concert because you invited us several weeks ago. Those are the two girls that play the four-handed piano right?”

“Yes Sam, that’s them! Linda and I would both really would like to help them if we can.”

Sam shook my hand, saying, “No problem, let Larry and the rest of your crew know what’s going on and the two of you can go ahead and get out of here. Let me know if that concert gets canceled. With everything that’s happened the girls may be too tired to play. I’d hate to go all that way for nothing.”

“Will do Sam, I’ll call you one way or the other. Thanks for understanding! We’ll see you Monday morning if not Thursday night. If all goes well, the concert is supposed to start around 7:00 PM. There will be fireworks right after.”

By 12:30 PM, Linda and I were headed home. Dad and I were discussing a plan that called for Linda and I stopping at home to type a couple of quick notes, in case they were needed tonight.

We arrived at the home of Steve and Julie Pierce, AJ’s first wife’s sister, just before 2:00 PM. So far so good, the media hadn’t figured out where the family was hiding. AJ introduced us, saying we were ‘very close’ friends and avid fans of the girls. AJ told us that Joni and the girls were indeed upstairs sleeping and the lawyer had returned to her office.