Chapter 4

Judy was sitting in the chair beside Charlie's bed. "How is Charlie?"

"Not much change. He had a restless spell an hour ago. The doctor checked him right afterward. He says his coma is not too deep. Not as deep as yesterday."

"This is good?"

"The doctor believes so. How is the road?"

"It might be open for a car by three this afternoon. I met Bob and Joni walking in. I borrowed Bob's car so I'm hoping I won't have to walk all the way home."

"You didn't have to come today."

"I wanted to. In another hour, I'm taking you out for lunch. You can leave Charlie for an hour can't you?"

"I guess I could. A hospital room is so depressing. I've been sitting here willing Charlie to wake up, but I get pretty discouraged."

"Maybe I can cheer you up. I slept in your room last night. I could sense your scent."

"That's a nice way of saying you could smell me isn't it?"

"Yes. I traced it to the soap you use in the shower. I love it. It was an odd shaped cake."

"That's because I order it specially made up. You like it, huh?" We were staring into each other's eyes. In another two minutes, I was going to kiss Judy.

Behind us, "Carol?"

Judy whipped around, and then turned back to me. "Find a nurse."

Then as I was going out the door, I heard him say more words and not just the Carol I was used to hearing from Charlie. "Judy, am I sick?"

"Charlie you had an auto accident." Tears were pouring down Judy's cheeks. I headed for the nurses station. I was informed a nurse would be in directly. I went back to the room.

Charlie was asking, "How long have I been out? I don't feel too bad. Where are Carol and the kids?"

Judy started sobbing uncontrollably. Charlie knew immediately he had lost his family. "How long ago did it happen?"

"Two years and one month. It happened coming home from your in-laws on Thanksgiving in 2007.

"You mean it is December, 2009 now? I lost Carol and the kids two years ago? What happened?"

"A truck ran into you. You have been in a coma ever since. Charlie, don't ask any more questions until the doctor comes and talks to you. You have said just one word and that was a name in the last two years. You said that to every woman who looked the least like Carol. We knew how much you loved her. Carol was the only word you said in all that time."

Just then, the nurse came rushing in. Charlie's eyes turned to her. The nurse was matronly and she looked harried as she was checking his vital signs. "Pulse is up. Heart rate is elevated some, but not too bad. The neurologist will be here this afternoon to evaluate you. I think you should rest until he sees you. Your wife can sit here by you if she remains quiet. No talking though." She paused, and then asked, "How much pain are you in?"

Apparently, Charlie was tired, for his eyes closed slowly, but he managed to mumble, "No pain." The nurse smiled with satisfaction.

Judy followed the nurse into the hall informing her, "I'm his sister. His wife died two years ago. It has been easier to say we are husband and wife because of some of the things I have had to do while caring for my brother.

"Okay, I'll remember."

I had been standing just outside and had heard all of this. As the nurse went down the hall, Judy came into my arms looking up into my face. "You heard my brother talking, didn't you? This is a miracle. He has not spoken but the one word in two years. I can't believe it." Tears of joy were coursing down her cheeks. I just hoped Charlie didn't slip back into a coma. That would be devastating.

It would be worse of all for Charlie of course. In addition, it would be terrible for Judy, who had just escaped from her duty of the care for her brother 24/7. Last of all, it would be difficult for me as well. I had visions Judy could escape from having to share a bed with Charlie. I wanted her for myself. "Jonathan, come in and sit with me. After I am sure that he is asleep, I'll go down to the cafeteria for some lunch with you."

We sat very quietly for fifteen minutes until the nurse came back in to check on Charlie. "Your brother's doctor has asked for a neurosurgeon and another neurologist to come down from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center to evaluate him, they'll be arriving about two thirty. Directly after lunch Mr. Comstock will go down for x-ray and for several tests.

"His records have been faxed to us from the hospital where he was treated right after his first accident. Those are for comparison. Would you be sure to be present to talk to all of the doctors? They will give you his prognosis at that time."

"Of course we will be here."

Charlie was sleeping and the nurse said he was comfortable according to his vital signs, so we went down to get some lunch. We ordered and sat eating. Judy looked earnestly at me. "Jonathan, I guess it is confession time. I know I have led you to believe that I was intimate with my brother. I can swear on a bible that I haven't had intercourse with him although I have been in his bed for the last year and a half.

"Let me tell you a little about Charlie and his wife, Carol. Carol has a sister, named Tina, and he dated Tina before he became interested in Carol. Tina relinquished all hold on him when she saw he was attracted to Carol. I know she still has deep affection for Charlie and it probably is as strong now as it has ever been because she has never married. How do I know this? When Charlie recovered to the point that you saw him this summer, it was going to be she that was to take care of him.

"Yes, she slept with him much like I have been doing with the exception she was having sex with Charlie. This is the part where it got tricky. Just about every night after Charlie is in bed for two or so hours, he becomes very agitated. He always asked for Carol. You know that, because you have heard him.

"Tina thought by saying she was Carol, he wouldn't recognize he was with someone different. However, he did, especially with her. Sometime during the sex act, he would realize it and became almost too violent with her. In the morning, she would have bruises in several places. It was decided that she could not sleep in his bed at night because of this.

"We tried aides and nurses when we were searching for a solution to keep him calm during the night. We also discovered I could calm him when he became agitated by singing some children's lullabies he knew when we were together as kids."

"What about when Brenda crawled into his bed?"

"According to the reports from the aides and nurses who succumbed to him like Brenda did, they raved about his prowess and had the best sex ever. I can believe it for he was quite the pussy hound before he met Tina and then Carol. This was a traumatic time for me, trying to find a solution in having Charlie cared for. I was his closest relative after the death of Carol and the kids were little more than babies.

"I was the one who sued the company who owned the truck company that caused the accident and ultimately the insurance company. I was trained as a forester, but had to give it up to care for Charlie when all other solutions failed."

"When Charlie leaves here what will he do? What can he do? Will he still be under your care?"

"It will depend of course, on how well he is going to be. If he has all of his faculties, I imagine he will go back to his in-laws and rejoin their company. He owned forty-nine percent of it and was a major driving force in making it work. Just as soon as I find out this afternoon how he is, I am going to call Tina and then her folks and let them know.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Charlie takes up with Tina again. I think the problem during the time he was out of it was because Charlie could not recognize that Carol had passed away and it was not okay for him and Tina to be intimate. I am talking fidelity issues, not the cheating he must have felt he was unknowingly doing. Anyway, if he is whole again, it isn't my problem and I can look for a life of my own again."

I almost made an immediate pitch for her myself, but remembered I was still married to Brenda. Also, did I totally believe Judy's story about Charlie? I certainly was inclined to believe her. I had known Judy for six months. She was always the one to let people believe the worst of her and invariably it was not as bad as she painted it. Yes, I do think I believed her.

When we returned to his room, it was empty and he had not returned. We surmised he was still having tests performed. Three quarters of an hour later, we were called to an examining room. Charlie was half reclining on a bed. He smiled when he saw Judy.

"Hi Sis, where have you been? The doctors said you were at lunch, but they have been telling me about a lot of stuff I don't know if I believe. Who's the guy?"

"This is the owner of the lodge we have been staying at for the last six months. We're friends and he has been really nice to me."

"What happened to Brian? You should be married and have kids by now."

"Brian dumped me."

"Because of you having to care for me?"

"I guess you could say that, but I'm glad he did. It gave me a chance to find out what kind of person he was. Charlie what do the doctors say? Are you all over your injuries?"

"They will be here in a few minutes to explain. Sis, I don't feel sick or injured at all. It is still hard to believe I do not remember anything. Was I in bed all of that time?"

"No, not at all. You would follow my orders if I told you to do something. You were able to dress yourself and you took care of your personal needs. But, I had to be there to tell you. I would place a plate of food in front of you and you would stare at it until I told you to start eating."

Just then, three doctors entered. The local physician spoke to Charlie, "You can sit up all the way if you wish. I don't think you will feel faint or nauseous, but if you do tell me. This is Ram Isho from the medical center. He will explain why you have been like you have for the last two years."

The doctor was a small man with beetling eyebrows. He had an intense, intelligent look about him. He put some diagrams on the wall and shoved some negatives up into the slot that held them so they could be read before he spoke. "I first looked at the pictures of Charlie's skull that were faxed here from the hospital where Charlie was when he first had his accident. I admit I could not see anything out of the ordinary. I would have made the same diagnosis as the neurologist that last had Charlie under his care.

"That would have been that something was damaged deep in his brain and as long as he was able to function to some degree it would be better to leave well enough alone. From the tests we have just looked at that were taken today, we could finally see the abnormality. It is very minute, just a fraction of a centimeter to be exact."

He took his pointer and pointed it to a place on the diagram displayed on the wall. "That abnormality we could see now was close to the outer layer of the brain, but not in it. I will just use common names as you wouldn't understand or remember the technical terms. Right here is the bone of the skull or cranium. Between that and the brain, there are three layers of soft but rugged tissue and some fluid. There are blood vessels traveling all over the surface of the brain. The brain itself is not attached anywhere except to the spinal column.

"As near as we can determine the brain shifted ever so slightly in the earlier accident and just didn't return to its original position. It has to do with the auditory cortex and the temporal lobe. We think--I say that for it is only conjecture--that a blood vessel was pinched slightly so it starved the area that needed it. This would be a vein that connected to Charlie's speech and cognitive centers. It stayed that way until the latest blow to his head repositioned it. That is where he is at present."

Judy asked, "So how is Charlie right now? What about the bleeding from his ears when it first happened?"

"Those were tiny veins that ruptured from the blow to his head and had nothing to do with this other problem. It is nothing to cause you to worry. Charlie, show your sister you can get up and walk as well as you did before the first trauma."

Charlie hopped off the bed, walked to Judy, and gathered her into his arms. "Judy, I feel fine, really. I'm getting damned hungry though." Judy laughed through her tears. She had her brother back.

"Doctor, when can Charlie go home?"

"I want him to stay at least the night. If he is as good in the morning as he is right now, I would say he can be discharged by eleven."

We traveled back to Charlie's room. Judy had her hand in mine and was almost skipping, she was so happy. The doctor had ordered some lunch for Charlie and Judy talked to me while he consumed it. He watched us. "I take it you two are a couple?"

"Maybe, but we haven't declared it yet. You see, I'm still married, although I am getting a divorce."

"Cheated on your wife, did you?"

"No, it was she who cheated. She is seeing someone else now. It looks serious, so I expect the divorce will go forward as planned."

"Who was it, your best friend?" I was silent and Judy audibly sucked in her breath. I looked at her. No way was I going to answer his question.

Judy covered for me the best she could and was sharp. "Charlie, you are prying into something that is best not discussed. Just drop it."

"Okay, sorry."

It was getting late in the afternoon and I decided I had better head home. "Judy, I'll pick you and Charlie up if he is released. That is if brush in the road is cleared by that time. I have some sorting out to do. Mom is getting married in three days. I also have to see my boss and see if it is okay to come back to work after Christmas. I have to see where everyone is sleeping. I don't think you will have the same sleeping arrangements as you have had.

"I may have to cut the two couple's reservations short, but I think they were leaving tomorrow anyway. I will make sure. You were going to make some phone calls. If it turns out as you think, Tina will have to stay in a motel. I did tell you Bob and Joni were here didn't I, and that Rich and Sarah were coming for Mom's wedding?"

"Yes. Don't worry about where I am going to sleep. I will crawl into a bed somewhere. I bet I can find someone who won't kick me out."

"I'll bet you won't be kicked out either, but let's make that the last resort for now."

"Okay, but I like to look ahead."

Charlie had been trying to follow the conversation, but had no idea about what we were saying. Judy came and kissed my cheek as I turned to the door. "Charlie, I'm so glad you are well. I'll see you tomorrow." I paused outside the door for a minute. Judy had started to tell her brother what had transpired since the truck had decimated his family. It would be a long night of listening to explanations for him.

I checked with my supervisor and I was on for the Monday after the first of the year. That was good. There were bills coming due from my attorney concerning my divorce. There was something else that I was working on in my mind. I had decided that I should incorporate the farm and lodge business.

Not the property itself, but the business. The real property had come down to me from my father. Even Mom had been cut out of the ownership of the property. She had not minded because she knew she would always be taken care of by me in the future.

Brenda had contributed to our home all of the time she was married to me. I had promised that if she found a new mate, I would help her in setting up a new household. By making the lodge business a separate entity, I would not have to risk the real estate in anyway.

I could assign some shares to her and she could use them as collateral. If she wanted to dispose of them, I, or Mom could buy them back. Deciding how much each share was worth would be the problem. With the help of an attorney, the division could be resolved.

The road was open, but the utility company hadn't been able to restore the power yet. The phone lines were up though. I lugged Joni's case in and Bob came out and got his when I pulled in. Mom was putting my supper on the table. Everyone else had eaten. As I was eating, everyone in residence came out and asked how Charlie was.

"I'm going to be picking him up just before noon. His fall was actually to his benefit. It jarred his brain, he has his speech back, and he is as aware just as if he was never injured. Judy is telling him what has happened to him in the last two years. You should see how happy she is. Charlie is sad and missing his wife and two children, but is handling it fairly well. Better than I would in the same situation."

"You have to be kidding. It isn't possible."

"No I'm not kidding, Mom. Judy thinks it is a miracle and I guess it is."

"Will Judy and Charlie be coming back here to stay?"

"I don't know. Judy is calling Charlie's wife's family. He owns part of the business his father-in-law is owns. There is also a past connection with his wife's sister, Tina. Charlie dated her before he did Carol. I guess Tina tried to care for Charlie when he was first injured, but it upset him, so Judy took over. It was a good move although no one realized it at the time. Let's forget the Comstocks. Mom, are you and Ho ready for your wedding ceremony?"

"We are. Ben called and he will be here tomorrow night. Jonathan, after supper, you and I need to talk about where we are going to put everyone."

"Okay. I didn't think there was a problem, but I'm sure we can figure it out."

We finished the meal. The two couples that were supposed to leave were packed and ready to leave in the morning. I helped put food away. Joni was helping to clean the kitchen as she often did during the summer. Everyone except Ho and Mom went into the living room while we three had one more cup of coffee.

Mom started the conversation with, "Brenda called and she has a problem. She is not going on vacation next week as planned. It seems as though the woman who was married to Brenda's man is dumping his two kids on him for the school vacation. They are a girl sixteen and a boy of fourteen. Pat's apartment is so small she was hoping they could stay here."