Chapter 5

There were two people at the door, one was a man in an expensive business suit and the other was a man in a common suit off the rack from a department store. The well dressed man asked, "Are you Ms Margaret Hunter?"

I said that I was, and the man introduced himself as James Weston of Sunrise Airlines, Inc. The other man was Rev. Samuel Jackson. Then I recognized him as the assistant pastor of the UMC (United Methodist Church) that we sometimes attended. I invited them in and introduced them to Bud. I got coffee for each of them and Cokes for Bud and me. That was when I asked why they were calling on us.

"Ms Hunter, I have some horrible news for you. Your father was a passenger on our 3:27 PM Flight #509 to New York City. That plane crashed upon takeoff and everyone on board was killed, including your father. Your mother collapsed when she saw the crash, and she has been transferred to the hospital. What can we do for you?"

For a moment, I just stared at James Weston, not comprehending what he had said. The next thing I did was to scan his mind to see if this was some sort of sick joke. The moment that I was convinced that he was sincere, I simply fainted. All of that could not have taken more than a few seconds, but apparently he was prepared for my fainting reaction. I learned later that he had expected fainting or outrage at the possibility of the tragedy happening.

In any case, I collapsed into Bud's lap, and the three men spread me out on the sofa and removed my shoes. Bud dashed upstairs to grab a blanket from my bedroom in case I went into deep shock. The next thing I knew was coming out of my unconsciousness with Rev. Samuel Jackson standing over me and praying for me and my family. I guess that was the best way I could have woken up under the circumstances.

My head was in Bud's lap and Weston was standing beside Jackson. All three had a concerned look on their faces, and that also helped me to feel better. I lay there and looked around at all three men, and decided that it was time for me to take hold of myself and act like the adult I wanted to be instead of the child everybody thought me to be. At 14, I certainly felt ready to take on adult responsibility.

Weston noticed that I was back to Earth and asked again, "Is there anything that we can do for you?"

The first thing to come to mind was that I should go to the hospital to comfort my mother as best I could. Since I was too young for a driver's license, someone else was going to have to drive me there. I mentioned that, and Bud immediately volunteered. I accepted his gracious offer and let him up to call his folks to explain why he would not be home until late.

Because I did not have enough funds, Mr. Weston handed me $500 to use for expenses until I returned home, hopefully with my mother. Bud saw the two men out after I had thanked them. He helped me to my bedroom to pack a small case of stuff I would need if I stayed at the hospital with Mom. I also packed a small case for her and changed my clothes for the trip to the hospital. During that time, But went home to change his clothes to something more appropriate for being seen in public.

He was back at my house by the time I was ready, so we got in his car and headed to the hospital. Fortunately, Bud knew where to find the hospital, so some time was saved in getting there. He parked and went in with me, but the hospital would only let me into Mom's room for that initial visit.

Oh, Man, was she a mess! A nurse had helped her clean up her ruined makeup from all of her crying, but there was enough left for Mom to look like a witch. I was sure that Mom would have been mortified if Bud had seen her like this. It looked like the hospital staff were more on the ball than I had thought at first. After the expected teary greeting, I cleaned away the remnants of her old makeup and helped her put on enough "to make her look civilized" (her words).

Then I brought Bud into the room and they talked for a few minutes. About that time, Mom's supper was delivered, and Bud and I went down to the hospital dining room for our supper. Bud left for home, and I went back to spend the night in the room with Mom. We talked about Dad and how wonderful a husband and father he had been until Mom was ready to sleep. There was a comfortable chair in the room, so I propped up my feet and slept there until Mom's breakfast was delivered.

I went to the hospital dining room for breakfast. When I got back, the doctor was there giving Mom a cursory examination. "Mrs. Hunter, it looks like you can go home today. Get dressed and pick up your discharge papers at the desk. Please understand that I do sympathize with your loss, but I don't see how another day in the hospital could do you any good. Goodby and good luck."

The doctor bustled out the door as only doctors can, and Mom turned to me. "Do you think that you could help me out at home for a couple of days, Honey? I would be a lot happier in my own home right now, even if it does bring back painful memories."

"Sure, Mom. Remember that I don't have a driver's license, so you will have to drive if we rent a car. Can you handle that?"

"Oh, shit! I forgot about that. I really shouldn't drive for a couple of more days. How about that nice boy who brought you to the hospital last night. Do you think he would be willing to drive us home? We could catch a cab to the parking lot where our car was left, and he could meet us there."

"Yeah, I guess so, but we would have to do something about his car."

"Oh, dammit, I am a real scatterbrain! I'll call our church and ask if there is someone who would volunteer to take care of our problem. One person could drive her car to the airport and turn around to go home. Her passenger could drive our car with us in it back home. Does that sound workable to you?"

"Yeah, Mom, I think that you have the solution to our problem. Do you want to call, or do you want me to?"

"Maybe you better be the one who calls. I will probably screw it up at the rate I have been going."

I used my cellphone to call the UMC and asked for Rev. Jackson. He came on the line right away, and I explained our problem. He told me that he would fix the problem. All we had to do was to meet him and his passenger at the hospital door, and we could relax while they took care of us. I thanked him profusely, and set the final details. There was a minimum of fooling around, and Mom and I were delivered to our home in time for lunch. The ladies of the church got together and had lunch waiting for us when we got home. Now that was being a good Christian neighbor! Why can't everybody be like that?

In fact, they fed us a hot meal every night for the next week. All I had to do was to fix breakfast and lunch, and Mom helped me with that after the first day we were home. I called Bud on his cellphone while he was driving to work after school to tell him that we were home and both of us would like to see him any time if he cared to drop by. He said that he would be by for a few minutes after work.

Bud stopped by for a few minutes on his way home and talked to us. By the time Friday came around, Bud was practically a fixture at our house. He reminded me of our Friday date, and I told him that would be great by me if we could stay home in my bedroom. Ah, now that was what he wanted to hear. By this time, he and Mom had come to an understanding, and he was not embarrassed that she would know what we were doing on our "date."

Mom was a little bit excited too when I offered to try to bring her in on sharing our feelings when we orgasmed. I had to tell her that I didn't know if that were possible, but she was excited by the prospect. Since I did not know exactly what time I would be having my orgasm, she proposed to stay in bed the whole time Bud was here. That sounded good to me, so that was what we agreed to.