The Last World (10 page)

Winfield nodded with as strong a smile as he could. “Alright. I’ll check in on you later.”

Franklin nodded and thought he heard his father say he loved him, but he wasn’t sure whether the voice belonged to his father or not. Not wanting to lose what he’d gained over the last few minutes, he returned his love before things began to grow dark.

Watching his son sink into
slumber caused Winfield to think back over their conversation and wondered what had been so hard about what they just did. The simplest of efforts could’ve prevented years of arguing, but it wasn’t too late to correct that. First order of business was to find a place to stay, then he’d come back and see his son. There was plenty to feel good about, so why did he feel like a dark cloud was hanging over his head? As he was leaving, he spotted Doctor Doug and thanked him for everything he’d done before asking about local lodging.

Doug paused as his eyes glazed over in thought. “There’s a motel on the other end of town. It’s not much
, but it’s cheap and comfortable.” Winfield nodded and started to leave, but Doug stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Are you alright?” Something about the way he carried himself gave Doug pause.

Winfield smiled an odd combination of relief and worry. “I’m fine. I just need to get some rest.”

Doug nodded his understanding and watched the man walk toward the entrance. He thanked God he never had to deal with his daughter being hurt and maybe dying, and prayed he never would. With that matter closed for the moment, he lost himself in his own thoughts and turned his attention back to the task at hand.

Chapter 13

“I tell you, I’ve never seen anything like it. Not even in the movies. No. No, I wasn’t in the room when it happened.” Janice leaned against the wall by the inner entrance of the vestibule. She still couldn’t believe it. Horace, true to his nature, was patient and interested. He apologized three times for asking her to go there to check on the guy they found.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Really, you don’t have to worry about me. Awe, you’re so sweet.” Blushing, Janice happened to turn her head to the right and saw her dad coming. “Honey, I’ve got to go,
Daddy’s coming. Love you, too.”

She closed her phone as the door opened and Doug stepped out. “How’d it go?” She noticed the look on his face. “Daddy?”

Doug stopped the minute the sun hit his face. The clarity he expected once he was outside of the hospital walls didn’t come. In an unexplainable way, he was glad it hadn’t. The sound of Janice’s voice surprised him, but he tried to appear upbeat and smiled in reply. “I’m alright, I… I just had a shock.” He took a deep breath while continuing to smile. “Talking to that boyfriend of yours, huh?”

Janice couldn’t help blushing and smiled a little at the tone in her dad’s voice. It was the same he used to cheer her up since she was a little girl.
Sounding accusatory while full of laughter was an ability that worked on her everytime. “Yeah, I was telling him about your patient.” Janice’s face changed some at the sight of her father. She couldn’t believe he was able to get her topic like that. “Is he okay?”

For what it was worth, Doug was relieved at not being able to fool his daughter so easily. Although, if there would’ve been a time for her to miss a detail he wouldn’t have minded if it’d been right then. “He says he’s fine.”

“He…? The patient?” She sounded incredulous and he couldn’t blame her.

Doug nodded his head several times while shrugging. “I’ve never seen anything like it. He sat up when we were about to operate and said he was fine.” Doug wanted to spare her from this… madness
, but he needed to talk with someone that wouldn’t laugh at him.

Too many thoughts flashed through Janice’s mind for her to focus on a single one for nearly a minute. If it was anyone but her
dad standing before her telling such an outlandish tale, she would’ve questioned their sanity. But if her dad said it happened, then it happened. In the end, the only thing she could think of was another question. “A miracle?”

Doug paused for a moment in thought. He grew up hearing about them
, but he never believed they happened. Maybe it was time he started, but as much as Doug tried, he found he couldn’t accept that beyond saying the word. What other possibilities were there? Beaten for the moment, he shrugged. “It’s the only thing I can think of.”

Janice smiled at him. Unlike her father, she chose to remain
true to her faith, but not as a devout. There were things Janice believed in that weren’t accepted, but her father was fine with that, so long as she found her way and was happy and content. “I’ll let Horace know, he’s been worried all day.”

Doug smiled with a small chuckle.
He’s not the only one
. “Give him my regards when you see him.”

She nodded
. “I will. Are we still on tonight for dinner?”

He let out a breath. “I’m sorry
, sweetie. I completely forgot…” His face twisted into a sad scowl at the thought of letting her down.

It was a look Janice knew well
, so she shrugged it off. “No problem, Daddy, we’ll take you out tonight.”

Doug couldn’t help smiling. “Alright, it’s a date.” After a brief hug, Janice walked
toward the parking lot. He watched her, like he did when she was learning to ride a bike and he’d let go of the seat. Since then, she’d been on the go, leaving moments like those in his memory. When her car pulled out of the lot and onto the road, he turned around and walked back into the hospital.

*****

Horace walked through the front door of his parent’s house and dropped his keys on the end table by the door. The room wasn’t very large, but somehow it held three comfortable chairs and as many tables. His own chair was to his right and the two used by his parents sat to the left, against the wall with an end table between them. To the side of the room, was an old floor-model television that was older than Horace by four years. The brown carpeting and yellow wallpaper gave the room a comfortable, if not claustrophobic, feel to an unexpected visitor.

As was his usual place, Lucius Foster sat in the chair neare
st the door. His wrinkled face and salt-and-pepper hair combined with the soft yellow light from the lamp to make him resemble a painting. He heard his son’s car, it was hard to miss a ‘77 Pinto that barely worked, and muted the television after Horace closed the front door.

“Afternoon,
Son. You look like you’ve had a hard day.” He set down the remote and leaned forward. “It’s not women trouble, is it? Cause I sure do like Janice.”

Horace smiled, more at his father’s apparent mobility than the joke they shared. “Nope, so far it looks like we’re stuck with her.” He sat in his chair
; the soft cushion felt good after being on his feet all day. “How’s your back feeling?” His heart warmed at seeing his father nod and smile.

“Good. I can’t complain. Those new pills the doctor gave me did the trick.”

Horace nodded. “You see? I told you the doctor wasn’t a quack out to take your money.”

“I never said that.”

“Yes, you did.”

“No.” Lucius pointed
toward his son, waving his finger in the air. “What I said was, Doctor Francis is a quack and after my money. Doctor Williams is a kind, generous soul.”

“The fact she’s forty-one and is named Beth Ann has nothing to do with it.” Naomi Foster, Horace’s mother, entered the room and converged before either of them noticed. She was carrying a cup of coffee for Lucius
, and a cup of tea for herself. “I’m sorry, I forgot what time you were working to today. Let me set this down and I’ll get you something.” Naomi leaned over to set her cup down, but Horace stopped her.

“It’s alright
, Mom, I have to get ready to go out in a bit.”

Her eyes widened as she sat in her chair. “Oh? Another date with Janice? I really like her
, Horace. You should bring her by here.”

Lucius, who hadn’t yet forgiven his wife for sneaking into the room and siding against him a moment before, glared at her out of the corner of his eyes. “He doesn’t want to bring her here to eat your cooking. He may as well poison her himself in that case.”

Naomi rolled her eyes and her plus-sized frame shook with laughter. “If it ain’t killed you yet, it won’t do her a bit of harm.”

Horace did everything he could to keep from laughing. After all those years, their half-hearted bickering never grew old. While he didn’t want to interrupt the entertainment, he felt the timing was right before they really got rolling. “Maybe this weekend
; Janice wants to take her dad out to cheer him up some.” Horace still remembered her call after she left the hospital and the worry in her voice. For her, he’d happily deal with his insecurities with her father for the evening.

“
That’s right! He’s a doctor, isn’t he?” When Horace nodded, Naomi shook her head. “What’s gotten into you and your father? I could never understand why you don’t like doctors.”

“I don’t have any trouble with doctors
,” Lucius spoke up, defending his honor.

His wife looked at him with a comical expression
. “No, not so long as they look as good as Doctor Beth Ann Williams.”

As much as he hated to
do it, Horace excused himself to grab a quick snack and a shower. He knew they’d be at it for a little longer before they settled in to watch the news and the nightly run of game shows.

*****

As Horace predicted, both of his parents were watching the local news by the time he finished cleaning himself up. Dressed in his best pair of jeans and a cream-colored turtleneck, he knew there was some time to kill until Janice picked him up, so he sat in his chair to watch the TV. An hour later, a knock at the door caught Horace’s attention. In a matter of seconds, he was out of his chair and opening the door.

His expectant smile widened at the sight greeting him. Janice stood
and smiled back at him. She wore a blue sweater and matching jeans. A simple glance at the two would be proof enough that the nights were beginning to grow cold.

No sooner was the door open then Naomi’s voice floated through the opening. “Is that Janice?” Naomi appeared behind her son, her face framed by his shoulder and nape of his neck. “Oh, come in
, honey! Come in!”

Horace shrugged, stepping aside to let her into the house. Janice followed his lead, knowing that turning Naomi down was a useless gesture. Once inside
, Naomi took her in a bone-breaking embrace.

“Oh
, honey, you need to come around more often.”

“I know
, Mrs. Foster, I’m sorry for that.”

Naomi released her with a twinkle in her eyes. “I know
, honey, it’s hard to resist the charms of these men, am I right?” Her smile was genuine and caused Horace to groan.

Janice couldn’t help laughing. “They are horrible.”

From his seat, Lucius scoffed. “Better look out, Son. When they get to cackling like this, there ain’t a peace anywhere for us men.”

“You hush.”
Naomi turned to face Lucius, then with her task complete, she turned back to Janice with a warm smile. “How’s your father doing? Horace said you hoped to cheer him up tonight.”

Janice’s smile faltered somewhat as her mind went to her father and how stressed and tired he looked a few hours earlier. “He’s doing good
. It’s been a rough couple of days at the hospital for him.”

Naomi nodded
. “I won’t keep you, then. Take care of my baby; he won’t admit it, but he needs mothering.”

Janice’s smile returned. “I won’t let him get into trouble. I promise.

Naomi nodded, letting her go while locking her eyes on Horace. “You’d better treat her right, or you’ll have me to answer to.”

Horace nodded while doing his best to hide his embarrassment. “I will,
Mom.”

“Love you, baby.” She hugged and kissed him on the cheek.

“I love you too, Mom.”

“Be careful you two.” Lucius pointed at Janice. “Give your father our best.”

“I will. Thank you.” The pair closed the door behind them and paused on the porch. The sun wasn’t yet ready to set as it struggled to remain in sight above the horizon. Janice walked down the three steps to the sidewalk, forcing Horace to catch up.

“You okay?” He put his arm around her once they were even and matched her pace as they walked toward the driveway.

Janice shrugged. “Yeah, it’s just a weird day.”

He nodded as they separated when they reached her car. “Nothing’s been the same. I guess it
’s like that after days like yesterday.”

“I suppose.” Once they were in the car, Janice sat in her seat for a minute with the keys in her right hand.
Fidgeting with whatever she had in her hands had become one of her habits over the years. “How well do you know him?”

The sound of the jangling keys gave Horace a warning
regarding her protective nature. He thought he knew who she meant, but he wasn’t sure. “Your father? Pretty well, I think.”

“No, I mean that Franklin.”

A silence fell between them as Horace looked at her.
What the hell is this about?
“I don’t. Yesterday was the first time I ever saw him. Why?”

The keys continued jingling until she answered and shrugged. “I’m not sure
, but I think he upset my dad.”

H
e reached over and quieted the jingling keys by taking hold of her hand. “Hey, it’ll be alright. He’s been under a lot of stress. You said he had an embolism then told your dad he was fine. That’s enough to upset anyone.”

Horace’s logic had the desired effect as she stopped fidgeting and smiled at him. It was a look he understood better than most of her other ones. Janice only wanted to be reassured that everything was fine, something any of them could need after what happened over the last day and a half. Hell, Horace wanted the same thing at times and still felt the accident was a dream of some sort. His concerns about Janice dwindled when she squeezed his hand back and started the car. It was then that he realized what time it was.

“Doesn’t your dad get off in an hour?”

“Two hours.” She confided as she pulled out of the driveway and started down the road. “There’s something I need your help with first.” Her sly smile betrayed her and Horace could only shake his head in anticipation and wonder.