|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
Part
59
Becky was pushing her cart down the hall when she was pushed to the side by Jack Gage in his search for a stairwell.
Becky silently swore at him as she straightened her cart and the supplies. She continued on just in time to see Dr. Early and a nurse slipping out of the doctors' lounge. Given the look on the nurse's face, Becky knew exactly what they had been doing. Dirty old man, he's old enough to be her father.
She didn't see who went up the stairs but she did catch the last part of Sharon's poignant plead to her retreating mother. Seems I'm not the only one with a bitch of a mother. I probably got off lucky with mine dumping me off at the orphanage.
Not wanting to intrude on her private grief, but wanting to make sure she was okay, Becky walked up to the nurse and in her slurred voice asked, "Are you okay? Do you need help?"
Sharon's eyes snapped to the cleaning woman's clear blue eyes; obviously startled by her sudden appearance and her strange voice. She stammered, "Ah... no. I'm fine. I just banged my elbow." She then hurried off down the hall.
Becky just shook her head as she watched the nurse run off. She's not a very good liar. Glancing at her watch she saw that it was the end of her shift.
She took her cart back down to maintenance and changed into a yellow blouse with white flowers on it and a denim skirt. Giving her short blonde hair a quick combing through, she headed upstairs to Brice's room for her promised visit.
She liked the young man but thought he was way too serious for his own good. Maybe I can get him to loosen up a bit. He seems like the brainy type, maybe he's like a trip to the museum. Mrs. Abbott should be able to arrange it. Except for his therapy and his classes for signing and lip-reading, he's just about ready to go home.
These thoughts kept her occupied as she made her way through the hospital corridors. She didn't even notice passing Dr. Early although he certainly noticed her. At first his eyes were glued on her body as she casually walked by; the sway of her skirt and how her blouse fitted her nicely. Then his leering eyes settled on her face and he went white. No it can't be!
A few moments later he was given a shake by Dr. Morton and he realized that he was slumped up against the wall. "Joe? Are you okay?"
He snapped out of it instantly, "Ah yes, Mike. I'm fine."
"You sure? You looked pretty out of it there."
Joe gave one of his characteristic laughs. "I'm fine really. I just thought I saw someone I once knew, but it couldn't have been her."
"Why not? You never know who you might meet at a hospital." Mike replied.
Joe smiled a bit sadly, "Not in this case. Not unless I just saw a ghost. The woman I'm thinking of has been dead for many years."
*****
Dwyer and Bellingham carefully but quickly got Johnny onto a gurney while Roy and Jack watched and prayed. Roy had filled him in the moment he had finally made it up the stairs.
Within minutes they were all heading down to the ER. Morton and Early had been alerted and an ophthalmologist was being summoned.
*****
Becky checked the door handle as she came up to Brice's room. Seeing that the do not disturb sign wasn't there, she opened the door and peered in. She smiled and entered the room as he waved her in.
Signing and speaking at the same time, she asked, "How was therapy today?"
Craig gave her a big smiled. "I di' real goo, Rebecca."
"Great! But you have to watch out. I think you are starting to drop consonants. It looked like you just said di and goo instead of did and good. Concentrate on your dees."
Craig kept on smiling and shrugged his shoulders. He signed all the words he knew as he replied. "I don' care. I'm learnin' sign real fas'. Why shou' I care if I can' speak anymore?"
Becky shook her head, "Because you still have to live in the world of the hearing. Despite what some deaf people would like, we can't keep ourselves isolated. That kind of thinking has lead to some pretty strange ideas the hearing have about us."
Craig replied lightly with, "Why shou' I try? I can' be a paramedic. And not to offen' but I don' wan' to mop floors for a livin'."
Becky was a bit shocked at his attitude. She had seen Brice angry, depressed and analytical, but she had never seen him uncaring about his future like this. Maybe it's just another phase of his recovery.
Outloud she said and signed, "I clean floors for the paycheck. I teach classes to help others as well as for the money. But what I really do for a living is my art. But being an artist doesn't pay too well; whether you are hearing or not. So I clean floors. There's no shame in that. I've got artist friends that work at McDonalds. If I wanted to I could be an accountant or a stock broker or just about anything. Brice, just because we are deaf doesn't mean we are stupid or incapable of doing meaningful work."
"I'm sorry. Tha' was pretty dum' of me. An' pleaz, call me Craig."
Becky smiled, "Sure thing Craig, but only if you call me Becky. The only ones who've ever called my Rebecca were the stuffy teachers at the school. "
He shook his head. "Not Becky, I don' like tha' name. How abou' Beka?"
"I'd like that."
"Good. See? I can remember my dees when I wan' to. Tell me about your art..."
*****
Meanwhile, down in the ER waiting room, Dr. Early was just coming out to let Roy and Johnny's dad know how things were going.
"Well it looks like Johnny's nine lives are holding out once again. He's got some pulled muscles in his leg and some serious lacerations across his face, but the specialist thinks that no permanent damage was done to his eyes."
"Then why can't he see?" Jack demanded.
"When the cable hit his face it caused some bleeding around the optic nerves and this lead to some swelling there. Once the swelling and the shock of the injury wear off, his sight should return. But until then, we have to keep his eyes bandaged. "
Roy started to ask, "When can we see..."
Just then a frantic Brackett came around the corner, along with a paramedic and the ambulance attendants pushing Dixie on a gurney. "Joe! Dixie's been shot! "
Roy and Jack looked on in shock as Joe pointed to Treatment room 3 and followed them in, calling out orders to a passing nurse.
"Who in the world would shoot Dixie?" Roy asked, fresh tears in his eyes. Will this horrible day never end?
Click the patch to go back to the Main Page
