Chapter 38: Caution - Exploratory Blasting

My family has always handled emergencies well. As Wil and Corinna left to pack a few things, Beth made up sandwiches of Wil and Corinna’s toast, scrambled eggs and bacon, then filled a big thermos with coffee. Dad was on the phone, calling Tom. Meanwhile Mom waved me out onto the porch to talk to me alone.

“It’s a good thing that you’re driving them down to Calgary, since Corinna will probably need Wil’s care and attention on the drive,” she said quietly after the door was closed so no one else could hear. “John had some other news that’s rather upsetting. When he called Sam McAdam about the accident, Sam simply told him that the whole thing must have been God’s will. Sam told John that he and Ann have disowned Sandy and no longer consider her their daughter. They don’t want anything to do with her in any way because of what they call her ‘sins of the flesh, ‘ so Sandy may need someone to lean on rather badly.”

“Oh shit. That means she’s totally alone. She doesn’t deserve that!”

“Yes, she’ll be totally alone and odds are that when you go to the front desk at the hospital, they won’t be willing to tell you anything since you’re not a family member.”

“Yes they will,” I snapped. “I’ll think of a way.”

“There is one way,” Mom sighed. “But, it’s asking a lot of you.”

“What’s that?”

“You could tell them that she’s your fiancée.”

All I could do was stare at her in astonishment.

“But Mom...” I finally said, forcing myself to speak quietly.

“Oh, I know,” she gestured impatiently, raising both hands to shoulder height, palms forward as if to stop my protest. “You don’t want the commitment that you’re afraid will come with saying that, but don’t you remember how she treated you in the hospital? She saved your life.”

“Yeah I do, but that was before we even knew each other so well and everything else happened.”

“So? Now you do know each other, and whether you like it or not, you’ve been friends and even lovers. Suddenly she’s alone and injured. After what her parents have done, she’s going to be feeling abandoned. If she doesn’t have a few friends to lean on, she’s going to fall into a state of deep depression,” Mom’s hands gently rested on my shoulders and her eyes stared into mine. “Please Chris, just think about what you’d feel like if you were in her place, won’t you?”

“Okay, Mom,” I sighed heavily. “While I’m driving to Calgary I’ll think about it, but no promises. However when this is all straightened out, I’m going to hunt up Sam McAdam and kick his ass from here to Halifax and back.”

“You’ll be standing in line,” she snorted. “I can just imagine what your father will say when I tell him what her parents have done.”

“Hmmph! It won’t be anything compared to what I feel right now,” I snapped. “I’m going to check the oil and stuff in my car before we take off, but I was wondering, do I have any spare clothes left here that would be suitable for wearing in Calgary? If I don’t make it back home tonight, I’d like something clean to wear tomorrow.”

“Chris, you’re going to Calgary, for crying in the sink!” she laughed. “There are more stores there than I could shake a stick at. You’ve got your credit card in your wallet, haven’t you? Just buy some new clothes.”

“But the credit card is for ranch stuff,” I protested.

“Young man, I handle the accounts and I can certainly find an excuse to make that fit into the books. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve worn out a lot more than two or three changes of clothing while working on that ranch this summer. Besides, in two days you’re taking over the ranch and no one is going to make a fuss about a few dollars spent on something like this. Besides as far as I’m concerned, what you’re going to be doing is ranch business. You just buy what you need and let me do the book-keeping, okay?”

I heard the phone ring, but Mom must have heard it too, because she spun about and went inside. I just stared after her; the realization was just sinking in that Grampa Bender was giving me control of all of the bank accounts of the ranch as well as all the duties. I was still standing there going over that added responsibility and wondering about the ethics of buying some clothes when Beth popped out the door.

“Hey Chris, Jessica and Jean are on the phone. Can they go along with you to Calgary? Mom said to tell you that you’ll have to get them a room at the motel too. Jess and Jean heard what their folks did and they’re pissed. They want to be there for Sandy. Oh, and they’ve been staying with Jasmine, so it’s not out of the way for you to pick them up,” she paused for an instant. “So, is it okay? Will you take them along?”

“Okay, Beth. Calm down. And yes, I’ll give them a ride to Calgary.”

“Great! Thanks, Chris,” she yelped loudly, then spun on her heel and raced back inside.

I’d checked under the hood, checked my tire pressure and even washed the windshield before anyone came outside again. This time it was Dad.

“Thanks for offering to do this, Chris,” he said quietly.

“Hey, it’s not a problem. Sandy is a friend, but then so is Carissa,” I shrugged my shoulders.

“And Jackie?” he smiled a bit and raised his eyebrows.

“I don’t know her well enough to really say she’s a friend, Dad,” I sighed. “I liked her ‘go get ‘em’ attitude when we were working together, but her late night ambush really bothered me.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that was an ambush, although I question the idea of you being involved with someone that impetuous,” Dad sighed. “However, that wasn’t what I was thinking about.”

When he didn’t say anything for a moment, I frowned and shrugged, trying to indicate that I couldn’t read his mind.

“Liz talked to Jess and Jean about their parents and about Jackie’s parents. They think if their own parents were angry, Jackie’s folks would have been furious,” he leaned against his pickup. “I’m not sure what you want to do about it, but we feel she’ll need as much support as Sandy, or perhaps even more.”

“Oh,” I just stared at him, then couldn’t help but grin. “I don’t think the hospital would go along with the idea that I was both girls’ fiancée, Dad.”

“No,” he managed a weak smile. “Trust you to think of that though. However, since Jess and Jean are going to go to the hospital with you, Liz and I were wondering if you should say that Jackie is your fiancée?”

“Dad, I refuse to do that. That kid is a loose cannon,” I shook my head. “Physically she’s old enough to have sex, but her life has been so sheltered and screwed around that she acts like she’s a lot younger than any girl I know.”

“Chris, she’s six months older than you are.”

“Yeah? Well she acts like she’s twelve,” I snapped. “But don’t worry, I’ll figure out some way to get to see her too.”

Luckily for me, Corinna and Wil came outside then, followed by Mom and Beth. A few minutes later we were on our way, but not before we all got hugs and kisses from Mom, Dad and Beth. Actually, Wil and I got a handshake from Dad, but Corinna got a hug.

I had to open the trunk so Wil and Corinna could toss a couple of small bags inside, but I was surprised when they hopped in the back seat.

“We thought we’d ride back here, then Jess and Jean can ride up front with you,” Wil explained. “We expect that they’re going to want to talk to you anyway.”

“Oh, okay,” I sighed.

Jess and Jean as well as all of Uncle Tom’s family were out on the porch when we pulled in, but after another round of hugs and handshakes we were on our way again. Actually I found it rather strange that everyone was making this much of a fuss about us going, but I didn’t say anything.

For once both of the twins were very quiet for a while. However, as we drove across the river bridge and turned away from town toward the main highway, both of them seemed to sit up straighter and take a deep breath. I glanced over curiously and Jess smiled weakly.

“I suppose it sounds weird, but we were worried about Mom or Dad seeing us leaving the area and heading for Calgary,” she said very quietly.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, they called and I talked to them shortly before we called your Dad’s place. They told us that Sandy had been in an accident, but forbade us to go see her,” Jean added, slightly louder and much more firmly. “I dunno what they’ll do when they find out that we’re going anyway.”

“Probably kick us out too,” Jess sighed. “That wouldn’t be the end of the world for us though; Tom and Jasmine’s folks said we could stay on the farm, no matter what Mom and Dad did.”

“I suppose there are benefits to that,” I tried to tease them.

“Maybe there could be, but there aren’t,” Jess snapped back instantly.

I knew better than to try to make a smart crack about that.

“Sorry. It’s none of my business,” I said instead, trying to be conciliatory.

“It’s not your fault that Tom treats us like we were his sisters,” Jean sighed softly.

“I think if there was just one of us, it would be different,” Jess added quietly.

“Oh,” I nodded, thinking that I knew just how Tom must feel.

“What do you mean by that tone of voice?” Jean leaned forward to look closely at my face.

“Well, when you have two gorgeous girls in front of you, anything you do with one might be misread by the other,” I sighed, thinking of Carissa and Sandy. “It’s intimidating as hell.”

“But we’re twins,” Jess said in a protesting tone.

“That would make it even worse for me,” I snorted.

“That’s right,” Corinna spoke from the back seat. “You should have seen how Chris treated Carissa and me when we were first around him at the farm. But once Wil and I decided to be close, he was a lot friendlier toward Carissa.”

“That was then and this is now. Things have changed.“ I thought to myself.

“So while you were talking to your Mom and Dad, did you happen to find out what injuries Sandy had?” Wil asked quietly, probably trying to change the subject.

“All they said is that they thought she’d live, because all she had were a couple of broken bones as well as cuts and bruises. I don’t think they even asked about anything else,” Jess snapped instantly, sounding angry.

“I think Sandy will be okay, but I’m worried about Jackie though,” Jean added almost as soon as Jess stopped speaking. “They said she was thrown out of the Jeep and across the intersection onto the hood of a parked car.”

“The thing is, her parents are even stricter than ours are,” Jess continued the explanation. “I think they’d like any excuse to have her out of the family and away from home. Heck, their boys are all out of the house now, working for the FLDS bunch from Bountiful. The last I heard they were working out in the bush at Sundre, cutting poles, and out of touch with anyone for weeks on end. That means her brothers won’t even know about Jackie being injured.”

“Hah, those dummies wouldn’t care anyway,” Jean snapped, as she jumped into the conversation again. “I’ll bet not one of her family even shows up to see if she lives or dies. We were thinking that one of us could pretend to be her sister, then we might be able to at least find out what’s going on.”

“I don’t think we could get away with it,” Jess sighed softly, looking ready to cry. “We look too much alike.”

“I could help you to look a little different. Carissa and I learned how to do that a long time ago,” Corinna offered. “I mean you’d still look quite similar, but people would easily believe that you were cousins, not sisters.”

That started a three-way girl-to-girl chatter session that shortly was extremely enthusiastic and loud enough to actually disturbing my concentration on driving.

“Hey, could you gals hold it down a bit?” I asked as the squeals and giggles broke out a bit too loudly. “Why don’t I pull over to the side for a second, then Wil can come up here and you two can hop in the back with Corinna?”

“Oh yeah!” I got an enthusiastic answer.

“Um, could you open the trunk and let me get at my makeup case when we stop?” Corinna asked.

“And we need one of our bags, for some clothes and things as well,” Jess added, reaching out to touch my arm. “Please?”

“Fine, but if you’re going to do that, would you like me to pull into a service station with a washroom? There’s one just a few miles ahead.”

“Oh yes, please,” Jean and Jess said in concert.

There was a small coffee shop as well as a service station at the place we chose to stop. Corinna suggested that Wil and I have a coffee while we waited for them to do their cosmetic make over because she expected it to take a while. So Wil and I sat and waited quietly after they disappeared into the washroom. It seemed to me to be taking forever, but according to the clock on the wall, it was less than twenty minutes before they came out and approached us.

What a change! Now Jess looked a bit older and a lot like Jackie and Jean looked even older, slightly heavier and even more like Sandy. I’ll admit it; I just stared at them both for a moment as they broke into wide grins.

That brief period of elation disappeared by the time we were back on the road. For the rest of the trip to the hospital, Wil sat up front with me, but we hardly spoke. The three girls in the back seat spoke quite quietly and almost constantly, but by the time we arrived at Calgary General they had a plan laid out that they wanted us to follow. We’d go in as three separate groups, then if the girls managed with their masquerade we’d meet later, either at the car or in the waiting room of the hospital. At that time we could compare notes and update each other about what was going on with the three injured girls.

Jess was going to go in first and see if she could convince the nurse at the desk that she was Jackie’s sister, but Corinna and Wil were going to be just a few steps behind her. If Jess needed it, they’d be right there to give her support.

That left Jean and me to wait a few moments. While we waited I explained that I’d decided that I wasn’t going to use the fiancée idea except as an absolutely last resort. I didn’t mind the idea of being referred to as Sandy’s boyfriend, but the idea of calling myself her fiancée just felt wrong to me. I was surprised that Jean didn’t argue with me at all. But when we went inside, we were both surprised to find that I needn’t have worried.

The woman at the information desk was Lucille Bender, one of my older cousins.

“Hello, Chris. I haven’t seen you in years,” she said with what seemed like a forced smile. “Your brother Wil is here already. He told me that you and a young woman were coming to see one of our patients.”

“Hi, Lucille, how are you doing? Actually, I’ve got three patients here that I’d like to find out about and visit if possible. Jean’s sister is one of them,” I managed a weak smile as I nodded my head toward Jean. “They had an accident this morning and I understand that all three were brought here.”

“Yes, Wil explained that they were all close friends of yours. Is this young lady Sandra McAdam’s sister?”

“Yes. I am,” Jean nodded her head vigorously.

“Very good,” Lucille nodded and made a notation in the book on her desk. “That means all three of those patients have someone we can contact. We had contact information previously that appears to have been erroneous.”

“If you mean Sam and Ann McAdam, then the contact information wasn’t wrong, they’re our parents, Sandy’s and mine,” Jean snapped instantly, her face suddenly as menacing as a thundercloud. “Unfortunately, they aren’t very good at parenting right now.”

“I see,” Lucille said quietly then waved a hand as if in dismissal. “We do need some form of contact information though. We have to try to establish a next of kin and contact information to...”

“Use Jean’s name, with Mom and Dad’s phone number and address,” I said instantly. “Sandy and I are quite close and either Mom or I always know where to find Jean.”

“I thought you were living on Uncle Toby’s ranch?” Lucille said, then stopped as if she’d said something wrong.

“I am. Someone needed to care for the place when he went into the hospital,” I managed to keep my voice neutral, but I knew that he hadn’t had one visitor from the ‘citified’ members of our family. “You can put down the phone number of the ranch too or even Uncle Tom’s number. We all know where to find any of our friends and family in a very short time.”

“Oh, I guess that explains why Jackie McAdam’s sister gave me Tom’s number to contact, does it?”

“Yes, her parents are here in Calgary, but she doesn’t get along that well with them either,” I was losing my patience. “Could we handle this in little while? We’re worried about Sandy and the others.”

“Oh certainly, I’m sorry,” Lucille seemed to snap out of her detective mode and started to explain what we wanted to know.

It turned out that Sandy was the only one of the three who wasn’t still in the operating room. However she was still in intensive care which meant that she was still groggy from the drugs. It also meant that we’d only be able to go in to see her one at a time. Lucille suggested that we go to the small waiting room on the second floor, near the emergency room and wait there, because she thought Sandy’s ‘cousin’ was visiting with her at the moment.

“That waiting room is also where anyone having or needing information about the patients would look first for family members,” Lucille said as we started to move away.

“We’ll be back,” I told her, guiding Jean toward an elevator I’d just seen open.

In a moment, Jean and I were alone in the elevator and she looked at me questioningly.

“Who was that woman? She seemed to know you.”

“Yeah, she does,” I sighed deeply. “She’s a cousin and one of the city side of the family, but those of us back home don’t get along with that bunch most of the time. It’s a long complicated story and I’m only learning part of it myself. If you want to know about it ask Aunt Alice or Mom when you get home.”

“Maybe I will ask sometime, but not right away,” Jean snorted and shook her head. “I’ve got enough family crap of my own to deal with.”

I just nodded my head, then the elevator door opened and we stepped out, looking for the waiting room. Wil and Corinna were sitting with Mr. and Mrs. Coulter as we entered the room. I was surprised when John Coulter got to his feet instantly, moving forward and holding out his right hand.

“Thank you for coming and bringing the others, Chris,” he grabbed my hand and squeezed quite hard and his other arm swung over my shoulders in a ‘man hug.’

“Oh I had to come, Mr. Coulter,” I said, growing emotional. “I don’t abandon friends when they need someone.”

“Yeah, I know and dammit, call me John, you’ve earned that many times over,” he said quietly as he stepped back a pace and I could see a tear in his eye, but at the same time, he tried to smile. “However, somehow I have to convince my daughters to quit doing things so we meet like this.”

“How is Carissa? Have you heard anything ... John?”

“I’d better let Wilma tell you that,” he said, stepping aside so Mrs. Coulter could wrap me in a hug.

“I’m sorry I was angry with you, Chris,” she said, then didn’t say much more for a moment as she hugged me tightly.

“It’s okay. Things got mixed up and no one really understood what was happening.”

“Hmph, that’s what you think, but I’ll explain later,” she was crying now. “Anyway Carissa is in the operating room. They’re trying to reconstruct her right ankle. They’ve also told us that she has a minor head wound and multiple other small injuries. But she’s not in anywhere near as bad shape as Jackie is. Jackie was thrown out of the Jeep through the rear door and flew across the street, landing on the hood of a parked car and breaking the windshield.”

“Through the rear door?”

“Well not the people door, the rear door at the very back of the Jeep, the one that opens upward. If a Jeep was a car, I’d call it the trunk lid,” she frowned. “I don’t know any other way to describe it.”

“That’s the tailgate,” John interrupted. “Somehow she was thrown up and back, over the top of the back seat. Or at least that’s where they think she was sitting.”

“Holy crow! What hit them, a semi?”

“A five-ton truck, loaded with dairy products to be delivered to some big store,” he growled and I could see his hands clenched tightly. “I spoke to the police and they blame the truck driver for the accident. He went through a red light and there was no sign that he braked at all. The witnesses who saw the accident estimate he was doing about fifty miles an hour when he hit Carissa. They had to use the ‘jaws of life’ and take off the top, the doors and most of the firewall to get her out of the driver’s seat of the Jeep.”

“Oh migawd,” Jean squeaked, covering her mouth with her hand. “And Jackie?”

“She was seriously hurt, but they haven’t told us much more than that yet,” Then he looked at Jean and smiled slightly. “I want to thank you for being here.”

“Well, Sandy is my sister and Jackie is family too. Blood’s thicker than water, you know,” she was on the edge of tears.

Mrs. Coulter never hesitated, she wrapped Jean in a hug and pulled her aside, then talked to her quietly.