It was a warm Saturday morning. My wife Alice had left with our son Robert to spend the weekend with her parents, Tom and Marsha.
I was working in the yard when I got the phone call that changed my life. My wife had been involved in an accident, and was being transported by ambulance to County General Hospital. Just as I ended the call my neighbor, Carol, came over and said she had just gotten the same call about her husband, Bob.
I told her we could go together to the hospital; it would only take 10 minutes to get there. I went inside to put on a clean shirt while Carol went to get her purse and lock her door. On the kitchen table, I saw an envelope with my name on it in Alice's handwriting. I folded it and put in my pocket to read later. Carol and I climbed into my Jeep Cherokee and made the short drive to the hospital.
I pulled into the hospital emergency room parking lot. Together, we walked into the ER admitting area and waiting room. As we entered the room, I noticed that Carol was holding my arm tightly. I knew she was nervous and frightened, and I tried to comfort her as well as I could. I informed the nurse that I was there to see Alice Wilson.
"I'm sorry," said the nurse. "She is being treated by the ER staff and Dr. Anderson. I'm afraid she requires extensive treatment, and it may be a while before she can have visitors. If you will have a seat, I'll let you know when you can see her. Are you family?"
"I am her husband," I replied.
"Oh, the man who came in with her," said the nurse. "I thought he was her husband."
"That would be my husband." said Carol.
Alice and I have lived in the Bent Tree neighborhood for 10 years, and Bob and Carol have lived next door for 8. Alice and Carol have been best friends for all that time, and share everything with each other. Several times a year, we alternate hosting barbeques in our back yards. The kids run interchangeably between houses, and feel equally at home in either house. We have one child, a 5 year old son named Robert. Bob and Carol have 2 children, Hayley is 9 and Steven is 6. The kids run and play together in a pack, and it is hard to determine which kid belongs to whom.
Bob Johnson is a Vice President of the Union National Bank. Bob earned his MBA in Banking and Finance, and his career has progressed accordingly. Bob has a special affinity for money management and international banking transactions. His bank relies on his expertise in these areas. Even though it is a small town bank, it still has some wealthy clients. In older days, many of their clients were farmers and ranchers who were "dirt poor", meaning all they had was their land. Now, many have been able to sell off parcels of land for subdivisions and shopping centers. Retaining the mineral rights, they are now also profiting from recent discoveries of natural gas.
Carol met Bob 11 years ago, when he was the supervisor of the commercial banking operations at UNB. Carol was the office manager at Sears, and she found herself frequently needing to go to the bank. Casual lunches led to dinner dates, drinks and dances. Bob proposed after 6 months, and they have been married for 10 years. Carol quit her job when Hayley was born.
I am Ted Wilson, and I own Wilson Services Inc. My company services heavy equipment for construction equipment in a 5 county area. Bulldozers and heavy earthmovers need to be fueled, and have oil changes and maintenance while on site, wherever the job is. My fleet of trucks brings the service to the customer. The proliferation of drilling rigs in the area has increased the demand for our services tenfold.
Alice and I have been married 14 years. I started as a diesel mechanic at the Caterpillar dealership. Alice taught 2nd grade at Roosevelt Elementary. We met at a family picnic sponsored by the dealership on the 4th of July. Alice was there with her Dad, who was one of the owners of the dealership. Alice's grandfather had been one of the "dirt poor" ranchers of Union County.
After the picnic, we stayed to watch the fireworks show over the city park. Six months later we were married. It was Alice's first marriage, and my second. For several years we tried to start a family. Nothing seemed to work, and we finally resigned ourselves to remaining childless. Then 6 years ago, Alice announced she was pregnant. She insisted our son would be named Robert, after her paternal grandfather.
I thought that was strange since I knew her grandfather's name was Herman, but I let it go.
As Carol and I turned the corner into the ER, I heard Bob's voice.
"Don't say anything, Alice. Ted and Carol don't know. We can still get away after you've had time to recover."
Carol and I walked into the treatment room in the ER. Carol was still holding tightly to my arm. It would not be hard for the casual observer to think we were a couple. The small room had one bed. Bob was sitting in a chair next to the bed. He had some stitches in his forehead, just above the eyebrow, and bandages wrapping his right arm from his wrist to his elbow. Otherwise, he seemed to be okay.
Alice was in the bed, and she was definitely NOT okay. Alice looked like she had just gone 15 rounds with a 500 pound gorilla, and lost. She had bandages around her head, and under her chin, framing her battered face. Both arms were bandaged from her finger tips, past her elbows. Her left leg was elevated, splinted and bandaged, so only her toes were exposed, showing off her bright red nail polish. She had 2 black eyes, her face was swollen, and she had a split lip. She had a mask over her nose and mouth for oxygen, an IV drip in her right arm, and a blood plasma bottle attached to her left arm.
The nurse told Carol that Bob would be released soon, since his injuries were minor. I would have to wait for the ER doctor to discuss Alice's condition.
"Mr. Wilson? I'm Dr. Anderson. I've been treating your wife." At least this guy picked the right husband.
"Mrs. Wilson sustained some severe injuries in the accident. We managed to stop the bleeding. Besides the superficial wounds you can see, she has a broken leg, 3 cracked ribs, a possible skull fracture, concussion, and brain injury. We are watching for signs of any other internal injuries. She will have to be closely monitored for the next 72 hours. Meanwhile, she is scheduled for surgery tomorrow to set the fractured bones in her leg. We may have to put screws in the bone to get it to grow back in place."
"She is very lucky to have survived the crash; the taxi driver didn't make it."
Taxi? What the hell? Why would Bob and Alice be together in a taxi? And what did Bob mean when he said they could still get away?
And where was my son, Robert?
Dr. Anderson explained that Alice would be kept in a medically induced coma for the next 72 hours while they evaluated the extent of her brain injuries. The next 24 hours would be crucial to whether she would survive. She was moved from the ER to ICU.
I went back into the waiting room and called Alice's parents to let them know what had happened. That was when I found out where my son was. Alice left him there and told her parents she would be back at the end of the week. She wouldn't tell them where she was going or why. She left her car there and left in a taxi.
Tom and Marsha came to the hospital right away. They left Robert with their neighbor to babysit. I felt better with their support. Bob and Carol had left the hospital. One of the neighbors had come to check on us, and took them home. Tom, Marsha, and I sat there through the day, and on into the night. Periodically we would be visited by well meaning friends and neighbors coming by to check on us.
