Authors: Patti Hill
Seeing Things (24 page)
“Sure. I guess.”
I swirled a French fry in catsup. “Okay. I talked to him for an hour the other day.” I told Fletcher that Huck had never left his story before to meet with people in the real world. “I'm honored, but I don't know why he chose me, although he says he didn't. It all gets rather complicated.”
Fletcher waited for a motorcycle to pass. “He hasn't tried to hurt you, has he?”
“Absolutely not. Far from it. He allowed me to touch his shirt the other night. It brought back such wonderful memories of my father.”
Fletcher lowered his hamburger to his plate and wiped his hands clean with three napkins. “Let me get this straight. You
touched
Huckleberry Finn.”
touched
Huckleberry Finn.”
“Just his shirt,” I said with a flip of a hand, but my heart was beating wildly. “And I only touched him once.” I pushed my plate away. “You don't think I'm crazy, do you?”
Fletcher swirled the ice in his drink.
“Fletch?” I pleaded.
“No, Grandma. No. You're not crazy. It's just that I walk around on a certain plane of reality that's full of jocks, dorks, and cranky teachers. I've dreamed of traveling through time and meeting people from history, but I never dreamed it would happen. So, like, this is kinda weird, is all.”
“It's weirder than that when you consider Huck isn't a historical figure. He's the figment of Mark Twain's imagination.” The breeze delivered a waft of hamburger to my nose. I pulled the plate back. “Besides, I like Huck's visits. I like the unpredictability and the mystery of his appearances, but I'd be lying to you if I didn't admit to worrying about the state of my mind. You haven't told anyone, have you?”
“No way.”
“Not even Mi Sun?”
Fletcher leaned back in his chair. “She asked me to the prom.”
“And you're going?”
“I don't dance. She's asking another guy from chemistry.”
“Finish your hamburger. You're going to call Mi Sun the minute we get home to beg her forgiveness and accept her invitation. You're a Wainwright, Fletcher, my boy. Dancing's in your blood.”
“I think that gene must be recessive in me.”
“Not at all, not with your grandmother on the job. Lessons begin the moment you convince Mi Sun you're her escort.”
Fletcher covered his face.
I scooted closer and leaned in to whisper in his ear. “You want to hold that girl in your arms, don't you?”
“Do you know how to waltz?”
“I was born waltzing.”
FLETCHER DROVE SLOWLY THROUGH the business district, but then, he drove slowly everywhere. “I ate too much,” he said.
“You ate that whole order ofâ”
Fletcher braked hard. The seat belt pinned me to the seat.
“Why are you stopping?” I said, aggravated.
Fletcher leaned over the steering wheel. “There's a pigeon crossing the street.”
“I'll pay you fifty bucks if you can hit him.”
“Oh man, he sat down.”
“Offer still stands. For goodness' sake, Fletcher, get the lead out.” Little did he know the Phillips Milk of Magnesia I'd taken the night before had finally kicked in. “I need to get home sometime today.”
Fletcher waited at the next intersection as a bevy of cars whizzed past. “Okay, okay.”
“I appreciate your caution, but keep in mind that you're going straight across the intersection. You don't need as much time as you think you do to getâ”
Fletcher floored the accelerator.
The force pressed me into the seat. A flash of metallic blue. The screech of tires. The back end of the truck lurched. A shotgun? The world went white around the fog, and then trees, houses, and cars blurred. The world fell silent and still.
I tasted blood.
The air bag puckered and sagged like a spent balloon.
Fletcher moaned beside me.
“Fletcher!” I reached out, cursing the fog.
Concentrate! Look!
Blood ran through his fingers tented over his nose.
Concentrate! Look!
Blood ran through his fingers tented over his nose.
His palm came up, red with blood. “Don't touch! My nose, it's broken.”
“Are you hurt anywhere else? Don't move.”
A rap of knuckles on the window. The man wore a big watch and sunshine reflected off the dome of his head. He shouted through the glass, “Are you all right in there?”
I lowered the window. “We need help. My grandson's hurt.” I pulled up on the handle to open the door, which the man pressed closed.
“You shouldn't move until the EMTs get here.”
“Is the other driver okay?” I asked.
“That would be me. I'm fine. Now sit still. Help is on the way.”
Someone yelled, “I hear a siren!”
A woman wearing a lab coat over navy scrubs shuffled through papers on a clipboard. Cinnamon hair spiked wildly around her face. “You were lucky, Mrs. Wainwright. Besides the bruising on your chest from the seat belt and the cut to your lip from the air bag, you're in good shape. The cough is from talcum powder they use to coat the air bags. That will clear up in a few days. Drink plenty of fluids.”
Each breath burned.
She continued. Don't people introduce themselves anymore? “A staff orthopedist looked at your x-rays. Your ankle held perfectly. No damage to the incision sites or to the hardware inside. You're good to go. Do you have someone to take you home?”
Good question. After a cursory visit, I hadn't seen Andy in hours. “My grandson was driving. I haven't seen him since we got here. I'm sick with worry. No one will tell me anything.”
The woman moved closer. I caught MD on her name tag as she leaned in. She lowered her voice. “I'm a grandmother myself. As far as I'm concerned, HIPAA doesn't apply to us. That kid's gone through every test we have to offer, thanks to his mom.”
“Suzanne? She's a plasticâI mean, cosmetic surgeon here.”
She straightened. “He's had an MRI, x-rays, and ultrasounds. To his credit, he refused the rhinoscopy. Makes me cringe just to think about a hose snaking up a broken nose. There's not enough Xylocaine in the world.”
“How is he?”
“Sore. But he'll be fine. If he were my son, I'd send him home with an ice pack and Tylenol.”
“But Suzanne is overseeing his case,” I guessed.
“If his nose is the least bit off, he'll have surgery.” She patted my leg. “Now, should I have the nurse call a taxi?”
I deserved to be banished from the family forever. Not only had I encouraged Fletcher to drive around the neighborhood at my bidding, I'd harangued him into rushing into traffic. The accident never would have happened if I'd done what common sense dictated and just sat in front of the television for six to eight weeks. On the other hand, Fletcher had developed confidence with his driving, and he'd helped a friend, who happened to be a beautiful and brilliant girl. That counted for something.
Besides, screwup or not, I was still his grandmother.
“Which way to pediatrics?”
I FOUND ANDY SITTING outside Fletcher's room, head in hands. He looked up when I said his name. “Ma, I'm sorry. I should have been down to check on you. Your lip looks sore.”
“I deserve worse. How's Fletcher doing?”
“They've been trying to get an IV in his vein for nearly an hour.”
“Who's in there with him?”
“Just the nurses. Suzanne went toâ”
“He's in there alone?”
“I've never been good withâ”
“Nobody is, Son, but this is your job.” I shooed him toward the door. “I'll be in the waiting room when he's ready for visitors.”
I nearly ran over an expectant mother, but I wheeled myself away from Andy and toward the waiting room. The doors of the elevator opened, and a woman rushed out in a flurry of chiffon. “Birdie!”
I recognized Ruth's voice.
“Are you all right?” she said, bending to wrap an arm around my shoulders and kiss my forehead. Her kindness threatened to unleash the emotion I struggled to contain.
I swallowed hard before answering. “Fine, but how did you know?”
She crouched beside the wheelchair. “I still have my sources.”
“I'm just a stupid old woman. I don't deserve the time of day.”
“What are you talking about? You're precious in his sight. You know that. Now, what's this all about?”
“I had no business taking the boy out to drive.”
“You stepped in to help your grandson. So he had an accident. Happens every day. No one was seriously hurt. We don't know how the Lord will use this event in Fletcher's life.”
“You don't understand. I nagged him to be more assertive.”
“He'll be more judicious about listening to backseat drivers from now on.”
“I should be taken out and horsewhipped.”
“It's a wonder our children survive us at all, isn't it?”
She rose and pushed me to a waiting room and parked me in front of a rocker. Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus filled an entire wall. Across the room, a cluster of people hunched over coffee cups and talked on cell phones.
Lord, bring healing to their little one.
Ruth sat in the rocker. “There. That's better. Would you like a cup of coffee?”
I knew better than to accept hospital coffee. “No, as soon as I see Fletcher, I'm going home to pack.”
“Pack? You're not ready to go home.”
“I won't hurt anyone in Ouray.”
“Birdie, you experienced a lapse in judgment, but your heart was in the right place. There's a new lightness in Fletcher's step as he walks by. I can see it. Besides, you don't seem like the sort of woman who sidesteps difficult situations.”
Hurting my grandson undermined everything I'd believed about myself.
Ruth stood. “How's our boy doing?”
“I haven't seen him yet.”
Ruth pushed the wheelchair toward Fletcher's room. “That will never do for a devoted grandmother like you.”
ANDY STOOD IN THE corner of Fletcher's room, talking on his cell phone, head down, his other hand deep in his pocket. Ruth pushed me to the bedside and whispered in my ear, “He adores you. Call me when you're finished. I'll be outside the door.”
I wanted to argue with her, tell her to go on home, but I needed her. Nothing surprised me more. I felt for Fletcher's hand and sandwiched it between mine. His fingers hung out of my hands.
“Hey, Grandma,” he said, sleepily.
“Oh, Fletcher, I'm sorry I woke you. Go back to sleep.”
His speech was soft and slow. “They gave me something for the pain.”
“Good.” I dared not say more, or I'd blubber like a schoolgirl.
“Nice fat lip, Grandma. Does it hurt?”
“The lip's fine. My chest feels like I've been kicked by a mule.”
“Yeah, me too.”
I squeezed his hand. “Fletcher, I am so sorry. I never should have urged you to take a chance.”
“Grandma, I was the driver. We're cool.”
Andy stood over me. “I just got off the phone with the police. Fletcher won't be getting his license for six to twelve months beyond his sixteenth birthday, thanks to this fiasco.”
“It's no big deal. Grandma, I won't need to drive anyway where they're sending me.”
“What's he talking about?” I asked Andy.
“Crashing my truck earned Fletcher enrollment in boarding school. Obviously, he has a good deal to learn about discipline and responsibility, something he's been unwilling to learn at home. All that's about to change.”
“We need to talk,” I said.
As we passed Ruth in the hall, I put my palms together for the international signal to pray. I directed Andy to the waiting room with Big Bird. The family that had occupied the corner had left, hopefully to a happy ending. Andy pushed me to a sofa and sat down. “I'm not in much of a mood to talk about Fletcher's future.”
“I don't imagine you are, not with a sorry excuse of a mother like me. Andy, I never should have taken the boy driving. I know that now.”
He stood. “We'll talk tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? I'd love to, but twenty-four hours provides too many opportunities to say or do something stupid. Or worse yet, say nothing at all.”
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