Chapter 32
32
Honey
Despite the drizzly, cloudy morning, Honey felt energetic and happy as she cleaned up the kitchen. CT had eaten a good breakfast and seemed in good spirits, albeit a bit worn out from a restless night. But she hoped his low energy, combined with the weather, might keep him housebound today since, with no more painting to occupy him, he’d taken to wandering the property again.
She heard CT’s slow steps shuffle up behind her. “The rain,” he said in a worried tone. “Not good. Hurts my grain.”
“We don’t have any grain this year.”
“Oh?” He peered out the kitchen window.
“The pumpkins and alfalfa and lavender like the rain.”
“My bees?”
“Oh, they’ll love it. Cools things off.”
“Oh?”
“Tell you what.” She smiled brightly. “As soon as I’m done here, we can play cards.”
“Cards?” His eyes lit up.
“Yeah. That’s fun on a rainy day.”
“Uh-huh.”
“You go find the cards while I finish here.” Although the decks and scorepads were in the same coffee table drawer as always, she knew this search would challenge him. Plus, the hunt would keep him busy. CT had always loved playing cards. Of course, they’d been forced to work down from their usual gin rummy. A couple years back they’d switched to a simpler rummy. Then to crazy eights. Now they were down to go fish. And CT would get so confused that playing cards was just that—playing as in play-acting. At least for her. CT sincerely believed his eights matched threes, and sixes paired nicely with nines, and unless she was feeling feisty, she almost always let him win.
But her heart felt light as she turned on the dishwasher. Almost as if she could see a light at the end of the tunnel, although that wasn’t the right metaphor since she knew CT’s situation wouldn’t improve. It was what it was. But with so many things completed on the farm, she felt like this could be a new era. Honey had less responsibility, and Jewel and Cooper would now have extra time to step in to help. Caring for CT would become more manageable. Even if the girls got busy again, Cooper with school, which would start in a couple weeks, and Jewel with her B&B plans, Honey would simply take Donna’s advice and engage some outside caregivers to assist. Hopefully that wouldn’t be too expensive. Who knew, after Donna’s encouragement about cruises, and how lots of challenged passengers enjoyed it, Honey might even take CT to Alaska.
She rinsed her dishcloth and then refilled her coffee cup and turned around to see that CT was gone. Probably searching for the cards in the bedroom. Or using the bathroom. She got out the cards and pad, then moved the small table they used next to his chair, bringing in a dining chair for herself before she called out for him. When he didn’t answer, she went to see if he was in the bathroom. She knew his habits and sometimes he could be in there for a while. But the bathroom was empty.
“CT?” she called out again as she went to the other side of the house. Opening the door to the bedroom she’d set up as her office, then the bathroom, and finally the guest room—also known as a place she could slip off to when CT’s snoring kept her awake, she found no one. CT was clearly gone.
It only took a minute or two to kick off her slippers, tug on boots, then fish a jacket from the big walk-in closet. She grabbed a cowboy hat from the hooks by the door and set out to find him. But she was barely down the front step when she heard a female voice calling for help. She couldn’t tell if it was Jewel or Cooper, but it seemed to be coming from the barn. Her walk turned to a run until she reached the barn where the door was open. Cooper was kneeling by CT, who was splayed out on the barn floor and groaning in pain. It took only seconds to figure out what had happened. Someone, probably CT, had set up a ladder next to the loft.
“CT.” Honey knelt beside him too. “What happened?”
“Fell down,” he muttered. “Hurt.”
“What hurts?” she asked as she pulled out her phone, ready to call 911.
“His leg,” Cooper told her.
Honey ignored the comment for the moment and felt around CT’s head. “How about your head? Did you hit it?” He looked puzzled, but since she found no lumps, she decided it was okay. “How about your back?”
“Uh-huh,” he said. Tears were now coming down his cheeks. But that wasn’t so unusual for him these days. “Hurts.”
Honey looked at Cooper, but the poor girl looked so stricken, she was afraid she was about to go into shock. “Go get your mom,” Honey told her.
After Cooper left, Honey tried to evaluate CT’s condition. It was pointless to ask if anything was broken or if he could walk. Finally she just called 911 and, while holding CT’s hand, explained the situation. By the time she answered the normal questions about breathing and consciousness, Jewel and Cooper were back, both trying to console CT. And Jewel, bless her heart, had brought a pretty Pendleton blanket from her house to spread over her father.
“I’m sure he needs to go to the hospital,” Honey told the 911 woman. “But I’m not sure if we can get him there, or if he can even get to the car. Especially since he says his back hurts.” It didn’t take long for the woman to convince Honey that he probably needed a transport and Honey agreed. The woman promised that EMTs were on their way, and finally the call ended and Honey just sat there on the barn floor, holding CT’s hand.
“You should probably ride with him,” Jewel said.
Honey just nodded.
“Coop and I will follow. Okay?”
Honey felt tears in her eyes. “Thank you.”
“I need to go turn off my oven,” Jewel said. “Thanks to this weather I decided to make blueberry muffins this morning.”
“Sorry.” Honey sighed to realize how quickly plans could change.
“It’s okay. I’m just starting to practice up for the B&B.” Jewel’s smile looked nervous. “Coop can keep you company, okay?” She looked at her daughter.
“Duh, Mom.” Cooper rolled her eyes, and Jewel headed out.
“How you doing, CT?” Honey asked since his eyes were closed.
“Hurts.” He groaned. “Hurts a lot.”
“Help is coming,” she assured him. “Try to relax.”
“Hurts,” he said again.
“Want me to pray for you?” she offered.
“Yeah. Pray.” He closed his eyes again and she did too.
She had never been comfortable praying aloud in front of others, but sensing CT’s need for soothing, and hoping for some divine intervention, she started to pray. It was nothing fancy or wordy, just her letting God know they needed some help and asking for CT to be okay. As she prayed he seemed to relax. Finally she had no more words so she opened her eyes and was pleasantly surprised to see that Cooper’s eyes were closed and her head was bowed too. “Amen,” Honey said quietly.
“Amen,” CT echoed.
It seemed to take forever for the paramedics to arrive, but Honey felt peaceful as they all waited in the barn. When Jewel rejoined them, she still looked shaken, and Honey suspected she was blaming herself for not locking the barn door.
“It’s not your fault,” Honey told her. “This stuff just happens. I could feel guilty for being preoccupied while he was fretting over the rain. I told him we’d play cards and then turned my back.” She snapped the fingers on her free hand. “Just like that he takes off.” She looked down to see if he was listening, but his eyes were still closed and, judging by his looser grip on her hand, he was more relaxed now, only letting out a quiet groan from time to time.
“I wonder how high he got up the ladder before falling?” Jewel asked.
“Who knows?” Honey said.
“I was so worried about that ladder while we were painting,” Jewel admitted. “So I always hid it out of sight at the end of the day. I can’t believe he found it.”
“Well, he’s sneaky,” Honey said quietly. “And surprisingly fast when he wants to be. I’ve considered getting wildlife cams to see what he’s up to.”
Jewel almost smiled. “It would be amusing.”
“I wonder why —I mean, what did he think was up there?” Cooper looked up at the loft.
“God only knows.” Honey shook her head.
“It’s mostly just boxes of old photos, farm records, and memorabilia,” Jewel told them. “Things I thought we should hold on to, to sort out when we have more time. But Dad couldn’t have known about that stuff.”
“Just one more why question we won’t be able to answer.” Honey sighed, then listened. “Is that a siren I hear?”
Sure enough, it was, and it was getting closer. Honey sent Cooper out to tell the paramedics where to find them and, before long, a team of three EMTs were tending to CT. Despite his pain, he seemed to enjoy the attention as they took his vitals, then poked and prodded his legs and back. Honey quietly explained CT’s mental condition. “So I should probably ride with him, if that’s okay.”
“Absolutely.” The woman made some notes on her tablet and before long, CT was being carefully lifted onto a gurney and then they were on their way. Ambulances always made Honey nervous, and she was sure her blood pressure was elevated, but remembering her deep breath routine, she continued to hold CT’s hand and pray silently for him to be okay ... then counted the seconds in her head until they finally arrived at the hospital.
Jewel
As she and Cooper drove to the hospital, Jewel knew it wasn’t really her fault, but she still felt guilty about her dad’s fall. “I should never have left the barn door unlocked,” she confessed as they pulled into the ER parking area.
“Oh, Mom.” Cooper sounded exasperated. “Don’t blame yourself. You know Grandpa. He gets into mischief no matter how hard we try to keep him out of it.”
Jewel snagged a spot close to the door. “I know.”
“Even if you’d locked the door, Grandpa knows how to break locks.”
“I know,” she said again. “But I still feel bad.”
“Well, maybe he’s fine. You know how Grandpa can think he’s dying from a sliver in his finger.”
Jewel smiled as she got out. “Yeah, underneath his whining and crying, he’s a tough old bird.”
“And how many times have we seen him fall down and heal up and be just fine?”
“That’s true.” Jewel pulled her hood up, and they both jogged through the rain to the entrance. “I’m sure Grandma is with him,” she said as they found seats in the nearly empty waiting area. “In fact, we probably didn’t need to hurry over here so fast.”
“Sure, you could be home doing something really important, like baking muffins.” Cooper’s tone was sarcastic.
“Thanks.” Jewel smirked at her.
“Now I’m hungry. I never had breakfast.” Cooper glanced around. “Think we can find something decent to eat around here?”
“I know my way to the cafeteria, but I can’t promise much as far as the food goes.” Jewel texted Mom their whereabouts, then stood.
The cafeteria, like the waiting room, was fairly quiet too, but they discovered some good-looking bagels. And Cooper got yogurt and fruit as well. They were just finishing up when Mom texted Jewel back. She read the short message, then shook her head. “Sounds like Grandpa broke some bones.”
“Uh-oh.” Cooper stuffed her banana peel into the yogurt container.
“His ankle for sure and probably his hip too.” She frowned. “And not on the same leg.”
“So he can’t even use crutches to walk.”
“Sounds like it. Grandma says she’ll be here awhile, and Grandpa might have to stay overnight. They’ll give him some more tests and might schedule surgery on his ankle. She says we should just go home.” Jewel finished her coffee.
“Think that’s all that’s wrong?” Cooper asked as she dumped the trash.
“I hope so. Guess we’ll find out.”
As Jewel drove them home, Cooper was focused on her phone, and Jewel began to feel even more guilty. If only she’d locked that door. Maybe Dad would be okay right now. She also felt sharp disappointment. Just when things had seemed to lighten up ... for everyone ... and now this. Ah, life!
Jewel kept her phone handy as she puttered about the house, fussing over things that didn’t need fussing over. Cooper had gone over to Anna’s to tell her the news. Although Jewel suspected she was just trying to escape her mother’s pacing and fretting. Finally, remembering that Dad loved blueberry muffins, she decided it was better to keep busy than worry. But by the time the last tray of muffins was cooling, it had been nearly two hours since they’d left the hospital, with no new messages. Maybe it was time to check in. After all, Mom had her blood pressure to consider. She might need moral support by now.
When Mom didn’t text back, Jewel grew even more concerned, but she busied herself with cleaning up the baking mess. Then her phone finally chimed. Jewel hoped it was Mom but was surprised to see a text from Miguel, offering to take her to the hospital and even to sit with her. She sent an eager “yes!” in reply.
As he drove her to the hospital, she confessed how she was on pins and needles, worried about both her parents. “I realize it’s not really my fault, but I wish I’d locked that door last night.”
“You can’t blame yourself,” he said. “You know how your dad is.”
“I do know how he is. But that’s even more reason to protect him.”
“But what if you can’t?” He stopped for a traffic light. “I mean, sometimes we just have to let some things go and admit we’re human and make mistakes.” He turned to look at her. “And then forgive ourselves ... I think someone lectured me on this recently.”
“The light’s green.” She knew he was referring to when she’d talked about rebuilding bridges with Aaron.
He grinned. “You can’t control everything, Jewel.”
She grimaced. “I can’t control anything .”
“That’s probably true. Think about it, what can you really control?”
“Good point. I certainly can’t control anyone in my family. Good grief, I can’t even control myself sometimes.” Now she confessed how many blueberry muffins she’d consumed while baking today, and they both laughed. Not for the first time she thought Miguel was good medicine. Especially for her.