Chapter 4

Jake

One day, I was on my boat, when a State Trooper came to my boat. He asked if I was Jake Pepper? I immediately thought of the kids. Are my kids Ok? He said your kids are fine. It’s your wife. I said Officer I’m divorced. He said well anyway, your EX wife has been involved in a bad accident. She had you as her emergency contact. A 17 year old girl texting while driving hit her broadside in a STOP intersection. He said your EX is in a bad way. She’s at Mercy General. The kids were in school. I called a neighbor to pick them up and told her what was going on.

I drove to the hospital and asked for Mrs. Pepper. Yeah, habits are hard to break and officially she’s still Mrs. Pepper. She was still in the ER. They were still trying to stabilize her. When I got to the ER, I decided it was simpler to just tell them I was her husband. A doctor came out and looked grim. He said your wife sustained some serious injuries. Her right leg is broken in two places. Her left ankle and foot are crushed. We are still assessing how much damage to her foot. Extensive surgery will be required to fix those. She has some internal injuries that will also require surgery. She has a bruised lung, lacerated spleen, a laceration over her forehead and many cuts and bruises. Unfortunately, we could not save the baby.

A registrar came over and asked who would be responsible for the bill because they did not have any info. I said, do you know who that is? She looked at me funny. I said that woman can buy and sell this hospital a thousand times over. That’s Janet Winchester. She said OMG ... THE Janet Winchester? I said one and the same and make sure she is confidential status. Now go do paperwork. I heard her moaning in pain and it broke my heart. They were still working on her when I walked in. She was semi conscious. There were IV bags hanging everywhere. A heart monitor was beeping. She whispered, Jake. I said ... seems like we’ve been here before in another life. Just relax and try to get better, Janet. She said my baby. I just looked at her and shook my head. She knew ... I saw the tears on her cheek. She said I lost you, my children ... Now I’ve lost my baby. Let me die, Jake. I’m worthless. No, we are gong to get you well and back in business. You have two great kids that need their mother. I was still smarting from her betrayal and I wanted to be nasty but it was not the right time. She said Jake. The past few weeks I’ve taken some big steps regarding the business while in Europe. Jake, I sold the company for $5 billion. I made my will out to make you and the kids the sole beneficiaries should I die which looks like it might be sooner than later. I said Bull Shit, Janet. You are going to be fine. They came to get her ready for surgery. Janet, I will be here when you wake up. She weakly grabbed my hand and wouldn’t let go until the nurse pried it loose. I waited.

They had a team working on her internal organs and another Ortho team working on pinning her ankle and legs. They had already stapled her forehead.she was in surgery for 9 hours. The docs come out at 10pm. They told me she had bled a lot internally and nearly lost her but finally got it stopped. I said she’s a tough lady. He said I know. I saw the scars. Gunshots wounds? I nodded. 13 years ago. She’s in recovery and will be moving her to ICU. He said you might as well go home and rest. She won’t wake up til tomorrow sometime. Can I see her? He said sure ... but don’t be shocked at what you see, shes on a ventilator to help her breathe while her lung heals. I walked in. The only time I’ve seen her like this was when she was shot. It’s a horrible thing to see when it’s the love of your life. I looked at her, tubes, wires, catheter, monitors beeping. Right leg bandaged from toes to knee. Left leg heavily bandaged from toes to knee resting on elevated pillows. They were still trying to clean all the blood off of her while she was out and pain free. I wanted to hold her and tell her it will be alright but then I see those pictures her lover sent in my head and I get nauseous.

Janet

I began to come out of a dense fog. I tried to move but I hurt all over. When I opened my eyes, I saw a nurse looking at me. She said Welcome Back, Ms. Pepper, with a smile. How’s your pain level from 1 to 10. I croaked ... what’s after Gazillion. She said, great, a sense of humor. Your back among us mortals. She said, have a button there by your hand that will give you a boost of morphine when you need it. I said yep, I need it. No more than one dose every two hours though. The pain level reduced to bearable after that pressing the button. I asked her, how bad, am I and how long will I be here. She said, well, you’ve been here for four days on a ventilator. You had some serious injuries. You won’t be dancing for quite awhile or much of anything that requires your legs or feet. I’m guessing you will be here for about 2 weeks with no complications. Your chest hit the steering wheel even with airbags. A lot of chest bruising. Im sorry for your loss referring to my unborn child. I teared up but figured it was for the best. Now I wouldn’t have to explain it to my kids. Then I thought ... my kids. I want to see them. I asked her if my ex husband had been here. She smiled and nodded across the room. It was hard to turn my head but Jake was in a chair ... sound asleep. She said, he hasn’t left your bedside. You know, he loves you. I don’t know what you did, but he’s hurt beyond pain. I said I know, that’s when the overwhelming guilt hit me again. I hurt him in the worst way. She said, the baby wasn’t his, was it? I nodded. She said, I think you’ve got your work cut out for you if you want him back. It will not be easy. The trust is gone. He’s a rich, handsome man who can have his choice of ladies on this planet. I said, I know. I’m not sure I should even try. She said if you don’t, there are a zillion women out there who would gladly give him grief therapy in their bed.

She left and I was left to my thoughts and regrets. I tried to move a little but it hurt too bad. I looked at my toes sticking out of the bandages. My red toe nails didn’t seem to suffer too much damage but red and betadine don’t go together. Maybe I can get my nail lady to give me a touch up when I feel better. Jake was waking up. He looked at me and I was just staring at him. What utter nonsense could have driven me to another man’s bed? Stupid, I think its obvious? Your no conscience pussy got you into this. Tears started again. Jake came over to the bed bringing his chair. He asked are you in pain? I said some but this physical pain is nothing like the pain in my heart for disrespecting the only man I ever loved. I watched him walk to the end of the bed and kiss my exposed toes. I felt myself dampen between my legs. He gently touched them. I said Jake, if it takes the rest of my life, I’m going to get you back. I’m going to regain your trust and love. I want to be the woman you married again. He said I have to be honest, Janet, I’m not sure I even want that. He said ... with tears streaming down his gorgeous face ... YOU LET ANOTHER MAN STICK HIS DICK IN YOU AND PUT HIS BABY IN YOU! You were my wife, DAMN YOU! How do I deal with that, Janet and he began sobbing uncontrollably. Jake, you don’t have to stay with me. I know you probably can’t stand to look at me. I can hire a gopher to be with me while I’m here. I need my laptop and some other things. I said, Jake? Would you bring the kids to see me. I need them. please, Jake.said I’ll think about it.

They had me sitting in a chair the next day as painful as moving is. My legs were resting on another chair. My nail lady came by and returned my nails to perfect sculptured condition with only a slight amount of pain. She was very gentle. Step 1 to getting Jake back was complete. No one will ever touch my toes in lust but Jake ever again. One of my employees brought my laptop to me. I still owned 25% of my company after the sale but other than a stockholder and voter, I was out of the business. I would now be devoting my life to my kids and Jake.

The doctor came in and said they would cast my right leg today but my left ankle and foot were still very swollen. He removed the bandage from my ankle. It was the first time I had seen it. Jesus ... what a mess. He said, yeah ... isn’t pretty right now but you have a lot of plates and screws in their. We hope that you will have close to 90% function if not 100. The scars will be minimal. I asked what that meant. He said, it may not bend and flex as well as it did and there could be some pain. He said a brace or cane to assist walking might not be out of the question for up to a year.