Death (3/6) Sequel to “Crossing the Line” and “Confused” AUTHOR: Shirley E-mail: sgoates2607@charter.net RATING: PG-13 CONTEXT: This story is a sequel to “Confused” and it precedes the events of “The Beginning” episode. DISCLAIMER: Some characters have been borrowed from “The Guardian” and others are totally the figment of my imagination. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. ~~~~~~~ Nick’s agenda was jam-packed. He really wanted to see how Lulu was doing but he didn’t see how he would have the time to get over to Legal Services today. He had to fly to Washington D.C. to meet with a client this afternoon, after a morning filled with meetings. This time he had called his new P.O. to get pre-approval to leave the state. He was really trying to keep his nose clean, do the right thing. And since his flight didn’t get in until around 11:00 pm tonight, it would be too late to call when he got home. ~~~//~~~ “Mornin’, Lulu.” Alvin was getting a cup of coffee. There weren’t many people in the office yet so Alvin thought this might be the time to ask. “You and Brian patch things up?” “I guess you could say we’re working on it.” She disappeared into the “broom closet”. She plopped down in her chair and stared off into space. She honestly didn’t know what she was going to do. Brian had called her before her alarm went off this morning. He was so pitiful she felt sorry for him. He begged her to reconsider and they had agreed to talk this weekend. That was just a couple of days away. Even after he scared her last night, she still cared about him. She remembered that she told Nick last night that she loved him and he had said nothing. She didn’t know what to make of that. To get her mind off things she pulled a file and began reading. After a page or two she realized she didn’t remember anything she had read. Boy, this was going to be harder than she thought. ~~~//~~~ Nick’s flight had been late due to severe weather conditions in the D.C. area. When they finally got off the ground, two hours late, Nick wasn’t sure it was a good idea. The plane was buffeted about scaring the bejesus out of him. He didn’t much like flying anyway, especially since 9/11. It was 1:20 am when he arrived home. He had a message from his dad. Aunt Liz was dying and he wanted to talk with Nick first thing in the morning. He shed his clothes, not bothering to hang them up properly. Connie would take them to the cleaners tomorrow. Before his head hit the pillow good he was out like a light. ~~~//~~~ The alarm rang to rattle him from a sound sleep. He rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times then bounded out of bed. He took a quick shower, shaved and threw on some clothes and was out the door in a record 30 minutes. He had lots to do and he wanted to check with his dad about Aunt Liz. When he strolled into Fallin & Associates the place was still partially dark. He noticed a light on in his father’s office. He knocked lightly and walked in. Burton was gazing out the window as the city came to life; the first rays of the morning sun peeking out from behind the tall buildings. He glanced around and said, “Oh, hi, Nick. How was your trip to D.C.?” “I signed the guy up. He was a hard sell but I think he’ll be a good client for the Firm. I got your message about Aunt Liz.” “Yeah, it doesn’t look good. The doctors believe it’s just a matter of days. Jeremy isn’t taking it too well. He’s home from boarding school to be with her.” “What can we do?” Nick asked. “She doesn’t have any family around here other than Jeremy. I thought we could spend some time with her and give Jeremy a little break. This kind of thing is tough on a kid.” Nick bowed his head remembering his own mother’s death. At the time, he didn’t feel he had anyone to talk to and felt his dad was in some way responsible for her death. Later he realized that his dad had done everything he could to be with her and help her in the end. “Is he going to live with his dad?” Nick had never met Jeremy’s dad. He knew he lived about 50 miles north of Pittsburgh in a little town called New Castle and that he had remarried. “That’s the plan. I’m the executor of her estate. He won’t have any financial worries. But, I understand his relationship with his dad isn’t that great.” Burton looked at Nick remembering the rift between them after he divorced his mother. “I still regret that I wasn’t more of a father to you after your mother died.” Nick grimaced and turned his head away. “Nick, maybe you could spend some time with Jeremy and help him with this. Maybe get him and his dad together; help them patch things up?” “I don’t know that I can be much help, but I’ll do what I can.” This was not a mission he was prepared for. “I thought I’d ride over to the hospital around 11:00 this morning. You got anything going on? Or can you join me?” “Well, I do have a hearing this morning but I could meet you there.” “That’s good. Okay.” Burton seemed depressed. Nick decided to ask, “Are you okay, Dad?” He looked concerned. “Yeah, I’ll be fine, son. I was just thinking about your mother. You know I loved her, son. I never married again because I just never found another woman like her. I know we probably had more bad times than good, but the good times were really good.” He looked at Nick and smiled. Nick’s face was twisted in pain. Anytime he remembered his mother’s death, it brought him pain. And now this revelation from his father—it was totally unexpected. He gazed at his dad, not knowing what to say. “I gotta get some paperwork done before I go to court. I’ll see you around 11:00 at the hospital.” He turned and walked out. Burton watched him go. He slumped into his chair thinking, ‘First Anne and now Liz.’ For the first time he was acknowledging his own mortality. ~~~//~~~ Burton had been sitting in the room for several minutes before Liz stirred. She was so pale and lifeless lying there. He touched her hand. She slowly opened her eyes from a drug induced sleep. It took a moment for her to recognize him. “Burton,” she acknowledged him. He squeezed her hand gently and she mustered a weak smile. “Have you been here long?” “Not long. How’re ya feelin’?” This was just a knee-jerk question—stupid. He quickly added, “Can I get you anything?” “Where’s Jeremy?” It was an effort for her to speak. “He went down the hall to get a coke. He should be back any minute.” “He doesn’t want to live with his father.” She grimaced. “I thought Nick might talk to Jeremy. You know after Anne died Nick and I had some problems. Since Nick was in this position once maybe he can help Jeremy avoid the same pitfalls.” He glanced away thinking about all the years he had missed being with his son. “That would be sweet of him.” Nick walked into the room. He was taken aback by Liz’ condition—painful memories of his mother. He neared the bed. “Hi, Aunt Liz.” He tried to be cheerful. “So good to see you, Nick.” Jeremy walked into the room, slurping a Coke. “Hi, Nick.” He was glad that Nick was here. Burton was nice but they didn’t have much in common. Nick was easier to talk with. “You doin’ okay, Jeremy?” Jeremy didn’t appear to be bothered by the whole situation. “Yeah, sure,” he said flippantly. Nick scowled and glanced at Liz. She had not appeared to notice. At this point she was going in and out of consciousness. “Would you like to get some lunch?” Nick offered. “That’d be great.” Jeremy jumped at the chance to be out of this room. Nick looked at Burton for his approval and he nodded. “I’ll stay here with Liz.” Liz was dozing at the moment. Burton settled back in his chair. They walked next door to a little sandwich shop. Nick wasn’t hungry but Jeremy ordered a burger—all the way, with fries. He watched as Jeremy gobbled down the food. “I heard you’re gonna live with your father, is that right?” “I don’t want to but I guess that’s what’s gonna happen. He doesn’t like me and his new wife doesn’t want me around.” “What makes you say that?” “I don’t know. That’s just the feeling I get.” “Have you ever sat down and talked to your dad?” When there was no answer he continued, “You know the only way to work things out is to talk about them. Talk about your feelings. Maybe your dad’s not such a bad guy after all. Maybe he thinks you don’t want anything to do with him and that’s why he stays away. I just think you ought to sit down and talk with him. What do ya say?” Nick didn’t know where these pearls of wisdom were coming from. He and his dad had never really talked, to this day. “Would you go with me?” “I guess I could.” They returned to Liz’ room. Nick and Burton had to get back to the office for a meeting. Jeremy sat with his mother who was sleeping comfortably. ~~~//~~~ The meeting lasted longer than expected. It was 3:00 pm when Burton returned to the hospital. He noticed Jeremy sitting outside his mother’s room, crying. He looked into Liz’ room, where the doctor and nurse were tending to her, and heard them pronounce the time of death. Burton walked over to Jeremy and put his arms around him. “Jeremy, your mother would want you to be strong.” Jeremy continued to sniffle. Burton squeezed his shoulders. As executor of Liz’ estate, Burton went into the room to talk with the doctor about the disposition of the body. Back out in the hall, Burton put his hand on Jeremy’s shoulder and said, “Let’s go, son.” Jeremy got to his feet and slowly followed Burton down the hallway. ~~~//~~~ Back at Fallin & Associates, Burton settled Jeremy in his office and went down the hall to talk with Nick. He knocked and entered Nick’s office, finding him poring over a file. “Nicholas, Liz passed away about 30 minutes ago.” Nick glanced up, “Oh, I’m sorry.” Now, he thought, Jeremy’s nightmare really begins. “Where’s Jeremy?” “He’s in my office. I’m going to make the funeral arrangements. I thought you might call his dad and see about setting up a meeting between him and Jeremy. He’s the logical choice to take him.” “Sure, Dad. You want me to do anything else?” “No, I can get everything else taken care of. If I can arrange it, we’ll have the funeral on Sunday.” Burton turned to go. “Nick, can Jeremy stay with you until we get his custody situation decided?” Nick hesitated, “Ah, yeah, I guess that’ll be okay.” Burton nodded and left the room, pulling the door closed behind him. Nick paused to think. He would have to call Alvin and tell him he would be out-of-pocket for a few days. And he would have to re-schedule a couple business appointments. He dialed Michelle’s extension, “Michelle, call Mr. Bryson and Mr. Abbott and re-schedule their appointments for some time next week. Tell them family emergency.” He listened. “Yeah, Tuesday is fine. Thanks.” He dialed Alvin. “Alvin, Nick here. I have a family emergency and won’t be in until Monday.” He waited for a confirmation. “No, Alvin, there’s nothing you can do.” Alvin, always the do-gooder; thinking he could solve everyone’s problems. “Yeah, I should be in on Monday morning. I’ll let you know if that changes.” He thumbed through his business cards and found one for John Hetherington. He dialed his work number. “John Hetherington, please. Nick Fallin calling.” “John Hetherington speaking.” “Oh, hi, my name’s Nick Fallin. Your ex-wife, Liz, is my Aunt.” “You Burton’s son?” “That’s right.” “What can I do for you?” “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you but Liz passed away earlier today.” He waited for a response. When none came he added, “She went peacefully in her sleep.” “How’s Jeremy doing?” At least, Nick thought, he seems concerned about his son. “It’s been a strain on him but he’s holding up pretty well. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. It’s my understanding that Jeremy will be living with you, is that right?” “Liz and I had talked about it. Jeremy wasn’t too happy when I remarried.” “Well, I thought it might be a good idea for you two to get together and talk about it. Jeremy thinks you don’t want him.” Nick had decided to throw this out there so John would know where Jeremy was coming from. “It’s not that. It’s just that Jeremy’s hostility, well; it creates a lot of tension around here.” Nick really didn’t want to get involved in anyone else’s family problems. He had enough of his own. He changed the subject. “My dad’s working on the funeral arrangements. He says it will probably be Sunday. How ‘bout I drive Jeremy up tonight? Maybe you two can work something out.” “I guess that would be fine.” Nick got directions to John’s house and hung up. He walked into Burton’s office and relayed the information. ~~~//~~~ In the car, on the way to his father’s, Jeremy was quiet. Nick kept glancing at him. He was just staring out into the darkness. “Jeremy, believe me I know how scared you must be. When my mom died I felt like my dad and I were total strangers. And when he shipped me off immediately to boarding school, I really thought he didn’t love me. But, now that I’m older, I see he had no other choice. He had a business to run and there was no one to watch over me. And I got a helluva good education. But I fought him all the way.” He glanced over at Jeremy to see if he was even listening. Nothing. “What I’m trying to say is, don’t do like I did. Talk to your dad. Work out your differences. You’ll be glad you did in years to come.” “What if he really doesn’t love me?” He turned to Nick, a pained expression on his face. “I don’t think that’s the case. Try to be the best son you can. If you go in trying to mess up, just for spite, then it’s not gonna work. You meet him half-way and I believe he’ll do the same.” They arrived in the upper-middleclass neighborhood. Even at night you could tell spring was showing its colors in the flowering shrubs and the budding trees. The streets were well lit by old-fashioned lampposts—all in all a very family friendly neighborhood. Nick pulled up in the circular drive in front of the house. As they got out of the car, John and his wife, Marie, met them at the door. John hugged his son and asked him, “Are you okay, son? Sorry to hear about your mother. Jeremy, you remember Marie?” He nodded at his wife. “Yeah,” he said shyly. Nick extended his hand to John. “Nice to meet you, John,” he said as he shook hands. He nodded at Marie, “Ma’am.” “Come, come. Sit.” John said as he showed them to a very comfortable, cozy living room. Marie had made refreshments and put a tray down on the coffee table. “Jeremy, I hope you like chocolate chip cookies. I made these fresh this afternoon when I found out you were coming.” Marie was a plain but attractive woman. She was not a business woman, like Liz, preferring to be a full-time homemaker. Nick thought, ‘Cookies are a nice touch.’ Jeremy nodded and grabbed one. He glanced over at Nick. Nick was smiling. So far things were going just fine. John said, “Jeremy, I hope you’ll stay the night. Nick says the funeral will probably be Sunday. If you’d like to stay until then we can drive you down.” “I didn’t bring any clothes.” “That won’t be a problem. Tomorrow’s Saturday and we can all go shopping. You can make do for tonight. What do ya say?” “Is it okay, Nick?” Jeremy asked looking at Nick. “I don’t see any problem. He is your father, after all.” He glanced at John and Marie to gauge their sincerity. It looked like they were going to make a real effort. It was 10:30 pm when Nick got home. He phoned his father to let him know that Jeremy was with his dad and then he fell into bed. ~~~//~~~ It was Saturday morning and Nick headed for the office to catch up on work he had sloughed off. He was surprised to see his father already there. Nick walked into Burton’s office and found him looking over a file. “Couldn’t sleep?” he asked jokingly. Burton looked up. “Guess I had the same thought you did. Get in here and get some of this work done. How’d it go with John last night?” “I was surprised. He wasn’t near as bad as Jeremy made out. They were both very cordial and even insisted that Jeremy stay over. I think Jeremy was encouraged.” “I would sure do things differently, if I had it to do all over.” Burton said, his eyes still on his file. “How so?” Nick asked, wondering what he was referring to. Burton looked up. “I regret sending you off to boarding school so soon after your mother died. It had to be hard on you but I wasn’t thinking about you, I was thinking about me. What would be easier for me.” He gazed out the window and rubbed his hand over the top of his head. “Dad, that’s all water under the bridge. I survived.” Nick hated to talk about this. He changed the subject. “What time is the funeral?” “Oh, it’s 2:30 in the afternoon on Sunday. I thought I would have everyone over to the house afterwards. I’ve got Rosie working on that. The obituary should be in the paper this morning and again tomorrow morning.” “I’ll let John know. He’s gonna bring Jeremy.” ~~~//~~~ The funeral had been an ordeal for Nick. It brought back so many memories. Especially since his mother and Liz had been sisters. There were many relatives there, on his mother’s side, he hadn’t seen in years. Most of them lived around Philly, Boston and New York. Some he hadn’t seen since his own mother’s funeral two decades ago. Later at Burton’s house they all got re-acquainted. He was introduced to cousins he’d never seen. It was after 4:00 before people started clearing out. By the time Nick helped his Dad and Rosie clean up, it was closer to 6:00. As Nick was leaving, Burton said, “Nicholas, thank you for your help.” “I didn’t do anything.” Burton patted him on the shoulder. “You might have helped Jeremy more than you know. Good night, son.” ~~~//~~~ He got off the elevator at Legal Services. As usual he looked around for Lulu. He noticed her door closed. He walked into Alvin’s office to tell him he was back and catch up on any news from last week. “Alvin, mornin’. Just wanted to report in. Did I miss anything last week?” “It was a pretty quiet week, actually. Is everything okay at home?” Alvin asked. “What?” Nick didn’t know what he was referring to. “The family emergency.” Alvin added. “Oh, that. Yeah. My Aunt Liz died. We buried her Sunday. Thanks for asking.” “So nothing happened around here last week?” Nick was anxious to get any news about Lulu. “Oh, there is one thing. I’m sure Lulu will tell you later but she and Brian patched things up and they’re gonna get married after all.” Alvin noticed what appeared to be shock on Nick’s face. “I see.” Nick was finding it hard to think straight. He turned and walked out of Alvin’s office without another word. He knocked on Lulu’s door and barged in. She looked startled at the interruption. “Oh, hi, Nick. Where’ve you been?” She asked nonchalantly. “Death in the family.” Nick was buying some time before he asked about Brian. “I’m sorry.” She waited for him to go on. “Alvin says the wedding’s back on.” Nick pursed his lips, his brow furrowed. “Yeah. Brian came to Pittsburgh over the weekend and we had a long talk. He’s really sorry for what he did.” She looked at Nick. “He lined up a job at Pittsburgh General and will be moving here next weekend. We’re just going to go off for the weekend and get married rather than try to do that whole wedding thing.” It had been about 3 weeks since they made love but yet it seemed a distant memory—as if it had never happened. “Well, I guess that’s that.” He turned and charged out the door and out of the building. ~~~//~~~ It had been a couple of weeks since Lulu got married. She seemed happy. Nick was discussing a case with Lulu when Brian dropped by the office one day. As Brian approached they stopped talking. Brian extended his hand to Nick and said, “No hard feelings?” Nick put his hands in his pockets then turned and walked away. He was still finding it hard to be civilized to the guy. Later that week Nick and Lulu were in court with a woman trying to regain custody of her child after being released from jail. Lulu whispered to Nick, “Nick, I feel sick. I gotta go.” She ran out of the courtroom. Nick looked after her, concerned. After the hearing he found Lulu sitting on a bench outside the courtroom, head in hands. “Lulu, you okay?” He rushed over and stooped to check on her. She raised her head and assured him that she was okay. It had worried her, though. This was not the first time she had felt like this in the past week. If it happened again, she was going to make a doctor’s appointment. ~~~//~~~ “Hi, Nick.” It was Lulu. “Can I talk to you?” She led him to the “broom closet”. “What is it?” She seemed all serious. “I wanted you to be the first to know.” She was facing the window. “Know what?” She turned to face him. “I’m pregnant. That’s why I’ve been feeling bad for the past week.” “Oh, that was fast.” Nick said, totally crushed and struggling to digest the information. Now Lulu, Brian and the baby would be a happy “family” unit. It made his heart ache. “Congratulations,” he said. But she was not smiling. “You’re not happy about the baby?” “Let’s just say it comes at the wrong time. Brian and I are still having problems. I know I haven’t said anything. I was hoping we could work things out. This just complicates things.” “I’m sorry, Lulu. If there is anything I can do, just let me know.” He couldn’t think of a thing he could do to help the situation. She turned back to the window. She didn’t say another word. Nick turned to go. “Nick, thanks.” He shrugged and left. ~~~//~~~ A week later, Nick was at Legal Services when Alvin told him that Lulu and Brian were getting a divorce. Nick was shocked. He wasn’t sure if Alvin knew about the baby. He wasn’t going to divulge that secret if he didn’t know. Brian had actually moved out, left town, gone back to New York. It didn’t sound like there was any chance they would patch things up. “Where is Lulu? I haven’t seen her around the last couple of days.” Nick was worried. “She asked for some time off to take care of this situation.” Nick found an excuse to leave the office and immediately headed for Lulu’s house. Her car was parked out front. Nick checked to be sure Brian’s car was no where around. He knocked on the door and after several minutes, Lulu answered. She was dressed in loose fitting jeans and a sloppy sweatshirt. She had tennis shoes on. “Alvin told me about the divorce. You okay?” She opened the door wider for him to enter without saying a word. He followed her to the living room where she curled up on the sofa and he took a seat in the chair next to it. “I thought you were working things out.” He looked at her for her answer. “There’s no working things out, Nick.” She bowed her head. “Why not? What about the baby?” He couldn’t believe that Brian was the type of man to walk out on a woman carrying his child. “Nick, there’s something you should know.” He waited several minutes for her to continue. “When Brian and I got engaged we decided to postpone having sex until after we got married in order to make our wedding night “special”. We had been intimate before then but thought it would be nice to pretend it was the first time once we got married. It sounds silly, I know. That was one reason for the tension between us leading up to the wedding.” Nick thought about the night Brian had solicited a prostitute. Lulu probably still didn’t know about that. “What are you trying to say?” Nick didn’t want to think about it. “It can’t be Brian’s baby. We’ve only been married 2 weeks.” This should be the happiest moment of her life but it was the saddest. And now she was going to make someone else sad. Nick waited, eyes staring at nothing. “This is your baby, Nick.” Her eyes started to tear-up. “Jesus, Lulu. I figured you were on the pill or something. I don’t know what to say.” He looked at her and she averted her eyes. “Does Brian know?” “That’s why he left. I can’t blame him.” She sobbed quietly. Nick put his head in his hands. Could his life get any more screwed up? He wasn’t sure he was ready for a family. “What are you going to do?” She wiped away tears and said, “What do you mean, what am I going to do?” Nick didn’t answer. He didn’t want to put his thought into words. “I’m gonna have the baby,” she said matter-of-factly. Nick was silent. “Don’t worry, Nick. You don’t have to be a part of this.” “How can you say that if the baby is part of me?” He looked hurt and frustrated at the same time. “If?” She started to cry again. “I mean…. I didn’t mean it like that.” He moved to the sofa next to her and put his arms around her shoulders. She was sobbing uncontrollably now. “Does Alvin know about the baby?” “No. He’s got such a big mouth I thought he would tell everyone and I’m not ready for that yet. My husband abandons me and I’m carrying another man’s child. Things can’t get any worse.” Nick lifted her face to his and kissed her tear stained cheeks. He then gently kissed her lips. She put her arms around his neck and held him fast. “Maybe it would be a good idea not to mention it for awhile. Let’s think about it for a few days. Okay?” Nick’s mind was spinning. What would his dad say? And how would the people at Legal Services take the news? He was more worried about Lulu’s reputation than his own minor worries. If she didn’t say anything it would appear that Brian abandoned her, making him the bad guy. But did Nick want others thinking this was Brian’s baby? Oh, God, what a mess. Finally he asked, “What about the divorce?” “It was uncontested. I should get the final papers by the end of the month.” “That’s another week.” He knew you had to wait 30 days after a divorce was final before you could remarry. He couldn’t believe it. He was thinking about marrying this woman. Yet, two weeks ago she married Brian even after professing her love for him. “Lulu, I’ve gotta get back to the office. I’ve got a dinner meeting tonight but maybe we can get together sometime this week and talk more about this. In the meantime, don’t think about it. I know that’ll be hard to do, especially if you’re still feeling sick.” “Are you sure, Nick?” “Sure about what, Lulu?” What an exasperating question, “Do you want me to have an abortion?” She started to cry again. He said angrily, “Did I say that? I just want to think about it. Right now I can’t think straight. I gotta go.” He rose to his feet. She remained curled up on the sofa. He pushed her hair back from her face and leaned to kiss her. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure something out.” She didn’t walk him to the door. He headed for Fallin & Associates and immersed himself in his work. The meeting that evening was with one of Burton’s biggest clients. His dad was going to convince Mr. Steel to let him handle his account. It was late when he arrived home so he decided against calling Lulu. She hadn’t been feeling well and needed her sleep. ~~~//~~~ Next morning he was at Legal Services bright and early. Alvin was in but others hadn’t arrived. Alvin started telling Nick about one of the unusual cases which had come in earlier in the week. He finally turned the conversation around to Lulu. “That was too bad about Lulu and Brian. I never really got to know him but he seemed like a more level headed guy than that. I know they were having problems but—two weeks—doesn’t seem like he gave it much time.” He noticed Nick staring off into space. His eyes were glazed over. “Nick,” Alvin said to bring him back to the moment. “Anything wrong?” He paused before answering and then almost whispered, “No.” He ducked his head. “I guess I’d better get to work.” He rose and walked quickly to the door just as the phone rang on Alvin’s desk. “Masterson, here,” he answered. He suddenly straightened up in his chair and got a serious look on his face. “What?” He listened. “How is she?” He listened again. “I’ll be right down.” He hung up the phone and grabbed his coat off the coat tree. Nick was standing in the doorway with a quizzical look on his face. “Nick, it’s Lulu. She was in a car accident this morning on the way to work. She’s in serious condition at Mercy Hospital.” Nick turned and bolted out the door. Alvin just stood for a moment then quickly followed. They rode down in the elevator together. “Nick, you wanna ride over with me?” “No, Alvin, I need my car.” Nick was visibly shaken. He raced out of the elevator and jumped in his car. Before Alvin could get into his, Nick was racing off towards the hospital. In the emergency room, Nick asked about Lulu. Since he was not a family member they didn’t want to give him much information but he ranted and raved so much they finally gave in. According to the EMTs who brought her in, her car had been hit broadside by a large pick-up truck. It took them 40 minutes to cut her out of the vehicle. As the medic was talking, Nick noticed her lying on a gurney inside one of the windowed cubicles. Several doctors and nurses were tending to her. He stood there in shock watching as they worked furiously to keep her alive. She seemed so lifeless lying there. He raised his eyes upward and prayed a little prayer. They started wheeling her out of the room. He tried to approach the gurney but was held back by a nurse. Nick turned to one of the doctors and asked, “Where are they taking her?” He seemed in near panic. “They’re taking her to surgery. If you like, you can wait in the surgical waiting room on the 4th floor.” He waited as they wheeled her onto the elevator and watched the doors close. About this time Alvin arrived in the emergency room and ran over to Nick. “Nick, what did you find out?” Nick turned and looked at him like he had two heads. “Nick?” Alvin touched his arm. Finally Nick responded. “Yeah?” “How is she?” “They’ve taken her to surgery. We can wait on the 4th floor.” He started walking like a zombie towards the elevator. Alvin followed. It was a couple of hours before the doctor finally came to give them an update. Alvin had tried to engage Nick in casual conversation but he would not respond. Finally Alvin decided it was best just to leave Nick alone with his thoughts. They were the only ones in the waiting room when the doctor came to report on the surgery. You couldn’t tell by the doctor’s expression how the surgery had gone. He finally spoke. “Ms. Archer has two broken ribs, a broken arm, closed head trauma and internal injuries. We do think she’ll be okay. I’m sorry to say, she lost the baby. Are either of you the father?” Alvin sat stunned. This was the first he’d heard about a baby. Alvin looked at Nick. After a long moment, Nick quietly answered, “I’m the father.” He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. The doctor continued. “She’s in recovery right now but you’ll be able to see her in about an hour. If you want to wait right here I will have someone let you know when it’s time.” He rose to leave. “Thanks, doctor.” It was Alvin talking. Nick had his head in his hands and pressed his fingers against his eyes trying to hold back the tears. Alvin reached over and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Nick.” Alvin got up and walked down the hall to the coffee machine. He poured out two cups of lukewarm coffee and carried them back to the waiting room. “Nick, I got you some coffee.” He extended his hand. Nick looked up and took the coffee. “Thanks.” He took a sip. Minutes passed before Nick finally said, “I just found out yesterday.” It was just now sinking in. Yesterday he was going to be a father and he didn’t know if he was ready. Today he wasn’t going to be a father and he was devastated. The hour passed quickly. Nick was led in to see Lulu. The left side of her face was one big bruise with swelling around her left eye. Her left arm was in a cast and she was on a respirator to make it easier for her to breathe with two broken ribs. Nick pulled up a chair beside the bed and gently took her hand in his. She opened her eyes and blinked to focus. “How do ya feel?” He asked. He kissed her hand. “Not so good,” she replied painfully. “Nick, the baby?” Her eyes watered. “I’m sorry.” He bowed his head to avoid her gaze. “Well, I guess you got what you wanted,” Lulu said turning her head away from him. She couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down her face. She weakly pulled her hand from his grasp. “You should just go.” “Lulu, how can you say that?” She didn’t answer. He walked to the door and looked back. Lulu had turned her head away from the door. He opened it and quietly walked out. He drove to work. Walked into his office. Sat down at his desk. There was a knock on the door and Burton walked in with a big smile on his face. “Well, Jim Steel is gonna let you handle his account. What do ya think about that?” When Nick didn’t answer he said, “Nick, is there something wrong?” “Lulu was in a car accident this morning.” He looked straight at his dad. “Well, is she gonna be all right?” Burton seemed genuinely concerned. “Yeah.” He paused. “Yeah.” Another minute passed and Nick continued, “That’s good about Mr. Steel.” Nick gave a feeble grin. Burton couldn’t think of the right words to say. After another look at his son, he turned and left the room. Nick leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Nothing was ever easy. To be continued… (Rebound 4/6)