Chapter 28

Stoney's turn:

Aside from the idea of leaving Jo behind, I was not feeling bad when I left for work. After all, I had her kiss still tingling on my lips when I got in my car. A push of the button and I had the classical music station on the stereo. Oh, yeah, I have the iPod plugged in, too, but I liked giving the radio station a shot at titillating my ears on the way to work. This technique insured that my tastes received some variety.

I hated the commute. Traffic is aggravation. After a couple of years of exploration, though, I had a route that I determined to be the lowest amount of aggravation possible for a despised trek. So here I am, visage of my beautiful, smiling Johanna in my head, strains of Brahms in my ears, driving a route I drove several times every week.

I knew there was a series of traffic lights, but if I hit the first one, then I'd generally make the rest because they were coordinated. Like I said, I knew the route, right down to recognizing several cars and drivers whom I'd seen on the trip, day after day, week after week. That was a key to the normal ease of the path, I'm sure, that like me, many of the drivers were into the routine.

I had three lights to go before my destination. I saw it switch from red to green when I was half a block from it. Perfect timing. As I got closer, I noted that traffic on the cross street was stopped. Good! I was safe from light runners. I proceeded into the intersection, not giving a thought that anything was out of the norm.

I woke up in an ambulance, strapped to a backboard in a horrible example of deja vu. The electronic siren was making horrible noises. That's new. Medevac helicopters don't have sirens.

A medic, EMT, paramedic, I don't know what to call them or what they call themselves, was bent over me. We called all medics 'Doc' in the army.

"Can you hear me?" the EMT said.

"Yeah ... wha?"

"You got T-boned pretty bad. You'll be in the trauma center in a couple more minutes."

I winced in pain as some muscle or another tried a random movement. I gasped. Got it under control. "How bad?"

"Can't say. You got hit on the driver's side. We got you out of a mess of airbags. There's blood. Let the doctors see what's wrong."

"Cellphone," I said. "Call my wife."

"When we get you in the ER," he said. "Lay still. You'll just hurt if you move."

"I'm hurting and I ain't moving."

"Dude," he said, "You're gonna be okay. Nobody who makes jokes like that ever died on me."

I gritted my teeth. Though it wasn't a good time to laugh, I hiccuped a chuckle. Side hurt. Oh, shit! I recognize THAT pain. At least I could still see out of both eyes.

I was ceremoniously deposited onto a table in the trauma center and had a day's worth of good clothes cut off me. Somebody with a clipboard showed up along with real medical people. "Can he talk?"

"I can talk," I said. I noted the look. Turned my head. Do you know that turning your head moves muscles in your back and chest? It does. I winced. "Wallet has ID. Insurance card. Cellphone has ICE 1 & 2. One is my wife ... please..."

"We will," she said.

"Mister Jackson," a nurse said, "we're gonna knock you out. The next part is gonna hurt..."

"Yeah," I said. "This part's been an absolute riot."

"Wait," the doctor said. "These old scars..."

"I'm pinned in the leg, femur, tibia and fibula. Arm, humerus. Got some bits of shrapnel."

"That rules out the MRI," he said. "Allergies?"

"RPG's make me break out," I said.

The doctor smiled. "Put im out. He's polluting the place."

"Uh, good night, folks..."

Consciousness came in stages. I thought I felt a soft touch. Drifted off. Fingers on my face. Drifted off. Uh-oh ... like an angel. Definitely an angel. You've done it, boy. You're dead. No, wait, this is prettier than an angel. Everybody knows angels are blonde. This one's awfully redheaded and concerned-looking.

"Jo..."

"Stoney, what have you done?"

"I love you, Johanna Elise."

"You're bumped up pretty bad."

"Hello, Mister Jackson," a nurse said. "You're back with us?"

"Either that or you have the Number Two role in a dream."

"Gee, Stoney," Jo giggled. To the nurse she said, "Yes, he's back."

"I'll see when the doctor's free to talk with you," she said. "Do you need anything?"

"My skateboard..."

"Stoney!" Jo squealed. She turned to the nurse. "He's crippled. I'll beat him for you later."

The nurse pulled the privacy curtain closed as she left. Jo bent over and kissed me. "Oh, gosh, Stoney..."

"Sorry to throw a scare at you, baby," I said.

"Oh, gosh, Stoney..."

"I'll be okay..."

"Yes, you'll be okay, Mister Jackson. I'm Doctor Timmons." To Jo he said, "And you're his wife?"

"Yes, Doctor," Jo said. "What's going on with him?"

"Well, first, you got bag burn. Airbags are rather violent, but the burn's a lot better than you bouncing around the inside of your car. Your side airbag tried, but it didn't stop the guy that hit you. You get a rebuild of previous work, it appears. I'm not the guy who'll do that. In the morning you get an orthopedic surgeon."

"That bad?" I asked. Jo's face was serious. Smile was missing.

"You took an impact, apparently a bit ahead of your pelvis, because that's not broken. The impact displaced the hardware from your previous incident. Your breaks are both at the termini of your pins."

"But I'll walk again, right?"

"You were walking before. You'll walk again. You're probably familiar with the physical therapy and rehab part from last time."

"I'll do all that again?"

"I'm not the expert, but I think probably not as much. You don't have the muscle damage that those scars show me from the first time. Your ortho guy will know better. We're gonna put you in a room tonight."

"Okay. Thanks, Doc," I said.

"Thank you, sir. 'Preciate your service."

"Service?"

"Yeah. You don't get that kind of hardware and those scars skateboarding," he said.

"You heard that?"

"MY ER. I get to listen."

Jo followed as they wheeled me on a long trek to my room. I noted the plastic bag she carried.

"Your wallet. Your cellphone. Your shoes. They told me the rest wasn't worth saving."

"Can you call the office? Ask for Bob Wilson. Tell him what's going on."

"I'll do that."

The floor nurse came in and did her thing, verifying my IV installation, noting the last time I'd been dosed with Demerol. "How's your pain?"

"Pretty stout right now. The stuff they gave me earlier's thinning out."

"It must be," Jo said. "He stopped being funny."

"I'll be back with his next dose in about twenty minutes," the nurse said as she left.

"Jo, you don't have to stay..."

"Don't you start with me, Randall Jackson," she said. "After you get your next dose of Demerol, I'm going home and put things in order and then I will be back up here. You are my husband and there will be no nights by yourself."

"Okay, sweetie. What about school?"

"I will be okay. I'll call Key and tell her what's up. I will email my professors. We can get through this."

"Look," I said, "I can manage while you're in class. Don't jeopardize your classes."

"We'll see how long this goes on, baby. I'll get you some help if you have to stay home." She touched my face lovingly. "Can I get close enough for a kiss?"

"Yes, please," I said.

She bent over and our lips met. Then she kissed my face. "You had me worried."

"I had me worried, too, baby. I love you, you know."

The nurse showed up, syringe in hand. I felt the liquid fire enter my vein and then I started drifting. I felt a gentle kiss and heard, "I'll be back, baby."

I let myself drift off. When I awoke, Jo was sitting there with one of her textbooks and her MacBook.

"Hey, babydoll," I said.

"Hi, guy." She smiled for me. "How are you feeling?"

"Not too hot today, princess," I said. "How're you?"

"I started my morning just perfectly happy, then I got this phone call," she said. "I talked to Bill. He's gonna come by just as soon as you can stand him."

"Tell 'im December of next year works just fine."

"Oh, you're BACK!" she giggled. "He said don't worry about work. They'll take care of things for you. And I talked to Key. You know that aside from the orchestra, our classes don't match up."

"Yeah, I know."

"You like Key, don't you? I mean, you can stand her around you?"

"Key's a hoot. Why?"

"Key said you're, and I quote her words, her favorite white boy and she would be glad to stay up here with you while I'm in class. That way my grades don't take too big a dive."

"Key. Okay. Tell 'er I' look forward to seeing her. What's Hutch say about that?"

"I asked the same question. She said she will see that Hutch finds it a sane thing to do. It's not like you're gonna spend the night in 'er bed, you know. I'll be here every evening when class is over. She's just filling in the gaps so I can get to class."

"Oughtta be a real hoot," I said.

"And you don't have to worry. I talked with one of the nurses. They say they'll have a home health nurse come by while you're recuperating."

"I've heard of that," I told her. "Insurance oughtta cover most of it."

"We can cover it," she said. "And the other driver should have insurance, anyway. The ward clerk said that the police called asking about your status. They want to talk to you."

"I would imagine so." I winced. Right leg was uncomfortable. When you move your right leg, your left leg wants to help out. That hurts.

"What's wrong?" Jo asked.

"I moved my right leg. Hurts my left."

"What can I do?"

"Can you just stuff that extra pillow under the right knee. I need to change the pressure points just a little bit."

She performed that task, her mouth a straight line as I sucked my breath in a couple of times. "Like that?"

"Yeah, great, honey."

"I'm sorry I hurt you."

"Can't be avoided. It's gonna be fun for a while."

"I'm sorry, Stoney. You've been through this before. With your leg, I mean."

"I still have both arms this time. And I would like to attempt a hug with them."

"I don't want to hurt you, baby."

"Let's try. I need my Johanna."

I could see how carefully she tried sitting on the edge of the bed. She leaned over and I put my arms around her. Through the smells of antiseptic I could get tendrils of delicate perfume. My Jo. I could connect with the blue eyes, the delicate ears, the pert nose. And the red lips softly brushed mine.

"Mmmmm," she said. "Stoney, I never want to do without you."

"You got me, baby. For better or worse. And we're having a wild ride, you and me, but I'm yours."

There was a knock on the door and the floor nurse peered in. "Are you okay, Mister Jackson?"

"All things considered, yes," I said.

"Be careful sitting on his bed, Mizz Jackson," the nurse said. "You know the rules."

"I know," Jo said. "But he MADE me..."

"Uh-huh. Mister Jackson, how's your pain?"

"About a five right now."

"Good," the nurse returned. "I'll give you another dose in an hour if you can wait."

"I'm good."

"Be careful with 'im, Mizz Jackson," the nurse said as she left. I noted that she pulled the door shut behind her.

"Could I get another kiss?" Jo asked.

"Please, yes."

I was wakened early the next morning, not that I slept all night, anyway. Between nurses making their rounds and the twinges of pain every time my unconscious body made a move, I drifted in and out. And nothing by mouth after midnight.