Chapter 30

"How is she?"

They were the first words anyone had said since Jill and her father arrived. John was the one to ask the inevitable question.

"She's in bad shape, John. I'm sure she'll pull through all right but I know my daughter and this is going to change her whole outlook on life. It's just not fair."

"Unfortunately, life rarely is." He pulled her into his chest again. I could see her sigh as she closed her eyes.

Jill spoke to me. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm bored out of my skull. I feel so helpless. She's in that room and I know they're taking care of her but there's not a damn thing I can do. I know it for a fact, but I still feel guilty because I'm not doing something to help her. And sitting around, waiting, doesn't make it any easier on me. Mom and I took a walk and had some food we probably didn't need a while ago. I think we both would have gone out of our minds if we hadn't. I'm sure it's been even worse for Mom."

Mr. Dandridge came around the corner with a couple of cups of coffee. I hadn't seen him leave.

"Hello, Mr. Dandridge."

"Oh, hello, Jill. I'm surprised to see you here."

"Jack is my boyfriend. Mary is his sister. How is Charlie doing?"

He looked over at John holding my mother. "Not well, Jill. I'm afraid Charles is going to be recovering from tonight for a long time. The doctor thinks he'll probably lose his right eye."

"Oh, my God. I had no idea it was that bad."

"We don't know the whole story yet. It appears that Charles tried to stop what was happening to the little girl and her attackers punished him for his efforts. You'll excuse me, I need to take this coffee to my wife."

"How is Mrs. Dandridge?"

"Not very well, I'm afraid. She's not used to things like this. It's a little beyond taking care of the house and going to church."

"I'm sure she'll be all right."

"I hope so, Jill."

"I forgot that you knew them. Of course you do. Wanda says you've been friends with Charlie as long as the two of you have known each other."

"Longer. Charlie and I started walking to school together in second grade. I actually met Wanda when I was in fifth grade. I used to go over to her house and her mother would watch us after school. She was a big Jr. high kid back then. When I went into sixth grade for the last part of the year, we didn't seem so far apart. And when I got into the seventh grade, the three of us walked to school together. She even walked part of the way with us when she was a freshman and Charlie and I were finishing up Jr. high. Now that we're all in high school, it's back to being the three musketeers again. I hope this accident doesn't change anything."

"Accident? Accident? For Gods sake. She was raped. In the vagina, in the mouth and in the rectum. They knocked teeth out of her mouth. They stuck something up her ass so far they tore her colon. Most of the ribs on Charlie's right side have been broken. He doesn't have a right side of his face anymore, it's all kicked in. He'll probably lose an eye. This was an attack. A brutal attack. It was no accident."

John pulled my mother back into his chest. Jill looked as if she'd been kicked in the stomach.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything. I know it wasn't an accident. I wasn't thinking."

Mom was sobbing up against John. It didn't look like she heard anything Jill said.

"Jack, I'm so sorry. You've got to tell her. I didn't mean it."

I held on to her. "I know Jill. Mom does too. She's just upset. She's taking this real hard."

I held on to Jill as she shook and started to cry.

Five minutes later they'd both cried it out and Jill had successfully apologized to Mom.

"I'm sorry, Jill. I'm just a mess today. It wasn't right for me to take it out on you."

"I understand, June. I wasn't thinking."

"June? Did Raul talk to you about the ECP?"

"I'm sorry, John, I'm not thinking. ECP?"

"The emergency contraceptive pill. It's not foolproof, but it has about an 89% chance of preventing pregnancy. The sooner she gets it, the better the chances of prevention."

"Oh, my God. I didn't even think of pregnancy. What about AIDS?"

"I'm afraid that's a very definite possibility."

"Oh, my poor baby. She can't have AIDS. It's not right, John, it's just not right."

"Relax, June. We can test. There's no need to get upset about it until we know something for sure. We can do a rapid test and get a preliminary idea in a day or two. Then a week for the confirmation."

"A week. Oh, God, I don't know if I can handle waiting a week."

"June, it's the best we can do. You're going to need to be strong for your daughter. Do you understand me, June?"

"Yes, John. Strong for Mary. I need to be strong for Mary."

"Jack, Jillian, watch over her. I'm going too see if there's anything I can do."

He went over to the desk and managed to get Nurse Clipboard. She refused to let him near the operating room and wouldn't get a message to the people inside. He was not Emergency Room staff.

John calmly pulled out his cell phone and dialed a speed number as she attempted to stare him down.

"Arthur. John O'Hara. Yes, I'm aware what time it is. Listen. One of your best maternity nurses has a daughter who's in Emergency Surgery right now because she's been raped. You've got a bitch with a clipboard manning the desk here and she won't even let me send a message in. She's pretty damaged up from what I hear, Art. They'd probably be glad to have some help. And they haven't mentioned giving her a morning after pill or testing for AIDS. We need to jump right on that before it's too late. Sure. Here she is."

He held the phone out to the nurse. "It's your boss. The hospital administrator."

She confidently took the phone, ready to defend her bureaucratic bullshit. I watched as the color drained from her face. She was almost white when she said "Yes, Sir. Good night, Sir. I'm sorry, Sir," and gave John back his phone. She dialed an extension from the phone on her desk and gave the handset to John. "It's the supervising nurse in Emergency Surgery."

"Hello, who is this? Nurse Turner. Good. My name's Dr. O'Hara. Tell Dr. Gonzales that John O'Hara is outside and would like to talk to him and is offering to help if he wants me." He waited about 15 seconds. "Thank you. I'll be right over."