35. Teddy
JACK LEFT BIRD ISLE TO TAKE CARE OF HIS BUSINESSES IN FORT Worth. He said he felt better knowing Teddy had Pepper to keep her company. Sometimes Jack’s insistence on taking care of, or trying to, annoyed her. Other times, she found his concern comforting. Jack and Daniel viewed the world through very different eyes. Jack genuinely seemed to care about her. Now, thanks to Jack, she had Pepper. Jack felt her pain when she gave up Pickles. Jack drove her all the way to Austin to get a dog. Jack cared about her.
With Pepper sleeping beside her these past two nights, Teddy had managed to keep her mind off Pickles. Once again, Jack had come to her rescue, not that she needed rescuing. She hated to admit it, but accepting help felt good. She and Jack had become a team. And, they had Pepper.
Pepper snored softly, splayed out on her back with her legs flopped out to the side without a care in the world. She had to be happy now that they’d sprung her out of the noisy shelter.
The phone rang. Jack’s name with a heart emoji popped up on her caller ID. “Hey, you. It’s not polite to call before nine.” Silence. “Jack, are you there? Did you butt dial me at seven a.m.?”
“I’m here.”
“I can hardly hear you.”
“I . . . well, you see . . .” Maybe because of the hour, but Jack sounded off without his usual sportscaster voice. “I’m at the hospital with Pops.”
Silence. She thought the call had dropped, maybe she hadn’t heard Jack correctly.
“He had a heart attack.”
An icy chill coursed through her. “Please, God. No, no, no!”
“He’s all right. He’s going to be all right. I’m sure everything will be fine. He’s going in for bypass surgery right now. I’m sure—”
“Stop talking!” She screamed. She couldn’t think straight. If Pops needed surgery, someone besides Jack should call her, someone at the hospital, like a doctor. Besides, Jack called from the hospital. How can that be? “Okay, don’t stop talking. Just tell me where he is.”
“He’s in Fredericksburg Hospital.”
She dropped the phone, threw some things in an overnight bag, and left the house without coffee. Pepper whimpered in the seat next to her.
“It’s all right, girl. It’s all right. We’re just going for a little drive.”
Five hours. What if he didn’t make it? She tried focusing on the road. No need to make things worse with a car wreck. Her brain struggled to piece together the phone call at seven, Jack’s tentative tone, his frequent pauses, then the news Pops had suffered a heart attack. She put her phone on speaker and punched Jack’s number. He answered immediately.
“What’s happening? Right now, what are they doing?” She shouted into the phone.
“He’s in surgery. Don’t worry, he’s in good hands here. The board in the waiting room says surgery is in progress. That’s all I know.”
Teddy exhaled.
“Be careful driving. It’s okay, I’ll let you know if anything happens.”
“What would happen?”
“Nothing, nothing is going to happen. He’s going to be fine. You just drive safe, okay?”
Jack wanted her to be rational, but how could she be rational at a time like this? Nothing made sense. “I don’t understand. Why are you with my grandfather?”
“I had some business with him. You just focus on getting here, okay?” Jack’s voice had a fatherly tone now.
“Why were you there so early in the morning?”
“He had a heart attack, so I took him to the hospital.”
“Oh, God, oh, God.” If Jack hadn’t had been there, Pops might be dead. “But wait, you were there when he had the heart attack?”
“I’ll explain everything . . . I can’t really talk right now. He’s in surgery.”
“But—”
“He’s going to be fine. You just drive safe.” The line fell silent for a beat. “Teddy, he’s going to be fine. You take care. I want you to get here safe and sound.” Jack ended the call. For some unknown reason, Jack drove Pops to the hospital. If he hadn’t been with Pops, would her grandfather still be alive?
Rushing through the halls, Teddy followed the signs to the ICU. The hospital hallways were bare and antiseptic without a hint of life. Only four people sat in the ICU waiting room. Just beyond it, the automatic doors to the unit were shut tight. Teddy pounded on the door. A woman in the waiting room showed her the bell. Teddy pressed the button twice. A nurse poked his head out the door and asked her name. When she responded, the nurse admitted her. She shoved past him, checking the room numbers for eleven.
She caught sight of Pops through the window. Jack sat facing the wall of monitors, his hair spiky around a cowlick, spine rigid as a knife. He gave her the smallest bit of a smile, stood, and tiptoed to the door.
Jack wrapped her arms around her. “He’s stable, just got out of surgery. I’m glad you’re here.”
Tears blurred her eyes. She broke away and rushed into the room where Pops rested in the middle of a scary tangle of intravenous lines. “I’m here.”
Pops’s head turned slightly at the sound of her voice. She clasped his hands which were folded like a corpse across his chest. She moved one arm to his side and repositioned the other over a pillow. “He wouldn’t ever rest like this.”
The nurse nodded.
“It’s me, Teddy.”
He opened his eyes and reached for her hand. “You didn’t have to come.”
She strained to hear his voice above the sounds of the monitors. “ Shhh ” she whispered, wanting to scream. She shivered. Her teeth chattered.
Pops squeezed her hand. “The doctor said I’ll be fine.” He pointed to Jack. “He got me to the hospital in time.”
Tears blurred her view of Jack’s face.
“You know him?” She blinked. “I don’t . . .”
Pops nodded, knocking the oxygen cannula from his nose.
“ Shhh ,” she said to herself. Pops needed rest. There would be plenty of time for questions later.
“Here you go, Pops. The nurse said you could have this.” Jack pulled a cherry Tootsie Pop from his pocket.
Where did Jack get a Tootsie Pop, and how did he know her grandfather loved them?
Jack waved the lollipop in front of Pops. “Trade you this for a couple of your fancy grass-fed black angus beef cattle.”
Pops’s eyes brightened as Jack unwrapped the sucker and put it to her grandfather’s mouth. He licked a couple times and then allowed Jack to pull the lollipop away. Teddy’s chin trembled. She covered her mouth.
Pops patted the bed with a hand and pointed to Jack who moved closer to the bed. “You and Teddy.” He kept his eyes steady on Jack’s.
“Don’t try to talk.”
“Take care of Teddy.”
“You ought to know that your granddaughter doesn’t need anyone to take care of her. She’s just like you, only pretty.”
Pops closed his eyes and let loose of Teddy. Jack signaled that they should leave. He put an arm around her waist, and she dropped her head on Jack’s shoulder as he led her out of the ICU.
“I need to get Pepper.” She rushed to the Jeep and pulled Pepper into her arms. “You okay, girl? Let’s go for a walk.”
She leashed Pepper and took her for a walk around the parking lot. She breathed in the Hill Country air hoping to loosen the tightness in her chest, but without a sea breeze, or a trace of humidity, the air felt harsh and pitiless. The smell of dust and tarred pavement, gas, and exhaust fumes nauseated her.
If Pops died, no, she couldn’t think about it. He couldn’t die. Not now. Of course, he would die someday. At ninety, he didn’t have many years left. But not now. Please, not now. She wanted to prove to him that she could keep Sweet Somethings afloat. After she killed his daughter, she owed him. She had killed her mother. Not on purpose, but she’d killed her just the same.
She joined Jack on a bench under a shady pecan tree. He handed her a can of black cherry sparkling water, her favorite. She gulped the cool drink too fast, and a hard knot of bubbles lodged in her chest.
“I need to explain,” Jack reached down to scratch one of Pepper’s ears.
Teddy stared straight ahead wanting her mother by her side. A lonesome wind rustled the leaves of the ancient pecan. Jack squirmed beside her. She wished she wanted to hear what he had to say.