THE ACCIDENT
By
Donal/Gold
Beth and Sally were sitting on the couch in the family room in Beth's house kissing. Sally's right arm was around Beth's neck keeping her in place, while Beth's right arm was around Sally's neck and her left hand gently caressing Sally's right breast. Their tongues were sparring with each other, back and forth and finally they had to separate so they could breathe.
"Baby, we really do need to do some studying. I have my algebra midterm in two days and you have your English midterm coming up."
"I know Beth, but I can't keep my hands off of you. I know my GPA is finally up because of you, but sometimes I find it very difficult to keep my hands off of you when we're around each other."
The television set was on in the background while they were talking when some news came on. Both Sally and Beth were barely listening to the news but when news of a car accident came on, they started listening a little more intently. The news person started mentioning where the accident occurred; downtown near a Hallmark Gold Crown card shop. Before Sally and Beth could do or say anything, Stephanie and Lisa came bursting into the house out of breath.
Stephanie was crying and trying to talk at the same time, "Sally, did you hear about the accident downtown? There was a major accident in front of Mom's card shop. They showed some pictures of it on the TV and one of the cars' was Moms!" Stephanie started crying harder as Lisa came up to her and wrapped her arms around Stephanie.
Sally was stunned and couldn't talk. She wanted to say something but couldn't, the tears rolled down her face before she realized it. The girls then turned toward the TV to see the pictures that were being shown again. They were showing a couple of ambulance's pulling up to the accident site but because the feed was not a live one, the pictures they were showing were almost an hour old. Just as Sally was about to start talking, Beth's phone rang. Beth walked slowly towards the phone and picked it up, "Hello, Wilson residence, can I help you?" Beth said shaking.
"Hi Beth, are my daughters over there?" Mr. Krieger asked Beth cautiously.
"Yes sir, as a matter of fact they are. Would you like to talk to them?" Beth asked, really starting to shake now.
"Please put Sally on."
"Dad, what's going on?" Sally said quietly with tears in her eyes.
"Sally, I'm sure you've heard about the accident by now. It's been all over the news for the last 45 minutes. You're mother was hurt pretty badly. She's got internal injuries, along with a broken right arm." He hesitated before continuing. "Sally, your mother is also in a coma." Sally could hear father start to weep.
"Dad, is she going to be okay?" Sally asked quietly crying.
"Right now I'm not so sure, honey. They have her in the operating room and are working on her. I've talked to Beth's parents and they are coming by to pick you and Stephanie up so they can bring you down here to the hospital." Her father couldn't keep his composure any longer and started to cry on the phone.
Before Sally could reply to her father, Beth's parents walked in the door. "Sally, Stephanie, are you ready to go to the hospital?" Beth's mother asked them.
Sally was too petrified to answer so Stephanie answered for the both of them, "Yes, we're ready to go. Can Lisa come too?"
"Of course she can sweetheart. Her parents will be waiting there for us."
Sally was listening to all of this and realized she was still on the phone with her father, "Dad, Beth's parents just came in and we're on our way down."
Between sobs, her father tried to answer as best he could, "Please hurry Sally."
On the way down to the hospital, Sally explained to all of them what had transpired over the phone with her father. When she got to the part about her mother being in a coma, Stephanie started crying again. Lisa wrapped her arms around Stephanie and tried to soothe her. "Your mother is a very strong person, baby. She will pull through."
"I can't help it Lisa. I feel so helpless that I can't do anything for her. I love her so much." Stephanie continued crying.
Beth had been listening to all of this and looked down at Sally who was wrapped up in her arms. Tears were rolling down Sally's beautiful face and there was nothing Beth could do to stop them, so she just held her tighter. She felt Sally's arms tighten around her even more and wished she could do something more for her.
Beth's father pulled up to the entrance of the Emergency Room and let the ladies out while he went to find a parking space. As they entered the lobby of the emergency room, they saw Lisa's parents sitting and as they walked in, Lisa's parents got up and walked towards them.
Lisa ran over to her parents and hugged them. "Mom, have you heard anything about Stephanie's mother?"
"No, honey, not yet. But a doctor came out not too long ago and talked to Stephanie's father. When the doctor went back in, Stephanie's father looked very tired. We've been waiting for all of you to get here so we can find out what happened." Her mother said quietly.
Sally and Stephanie's father looked up and saw his two daughters walking towards him. At the look their father gave them, they both started getting more worried.
"Dad, how's mom doing?" Stephanie asked shaking.
Mr. Krieger looked at his two daughters lovingly and hugged them. "Girls, one of the doctors' came out not too long ago and gave me some news on your mom. While they were performing surgery on her, she went into cardiac arrest and they had to resuscitate her. Luckily, they were able to bring her back and the doctor said that she should make it through surgery. The doctor also told me that the next 24 hours will be critical. But the longer she stays in a coma, the worse it will be. The doctor also told me that if she can make it through the next day, her chances will be much better but her recovery will be long."
Sally looked shaken at the news, and seeing this Beth came over and placed her arms around her waist.
"Oh Beth, I don't know what I'm going to do if something happens to my mother." Sally just let it all out and Beth held her giving what comfort she could.
"Try not to worry Sally. Your mother is a fighter and you have to believe that she will pull through. Just have faith." Beth said looking at her girlfriend with hope and love in her eyes.
Stephanie was still over by her father when Lisa came over and hugged her. "Baby, have you heard anything about your mother?"
Stephanie looked up at Lisa with tears in her eyes, "Lisa, a doctor came out to talk to my dad and told him that she has internal bleeding and a broken right arm. The doctor also told us that she went into cardiac arrest but they were able to bring her back and continue with the operation." At that point, Stephanie just let the flood of tears that she was holding back, pour out of her.
Lisa just held Stephanie in her arms and just let her cry. She felt Stephanie's arms tighten around her waist and she in turn, tightened her arms around Stephanie.
It had been a couple of hours since they walked into the hospital. Sally, Beth, Stephanie and Lisa were all sitting together trying to sleep. Beth's parents and Lisa's parents were gathered by Mr. Krieger when a doctor finally came out of the operating room.
"Mr. Krieger?" The doctor asked.
Mr. Krieger stood up and approached the doctor. "I'm Mr. Krieger doctor." He stood up and shook the doctor's hand.
"Mr. Krieger, I'm Doctor Samuels. I just finished the operation on your wife."
"How is she doing doctor?" Mr. Krieger asked shaking.
"Well, considering her injuries and the cardiac arrest that she went through during the operation, it looks as if she will pull through. She's still in a coma though, but the x-rays that we took didn't show any trauma to the brain. The next 24 hours is very critical for her. We're about to move her to the ICU so we can keep a close watch on her." Dr. Samuels finally finished with his summarization.
"Can we stay and wait to see what happens doctor?" Mr. Krieger asked.
"Of course you can. There are a couple of chairs in the room that we just moved your wife into, plus there's the waiting room that you've been in for the last couple of hours. If you go into the room though, please only have the immediate family in there, okay?"
"Sure doctor and thank you for all you've done so far." Mr. Krieger told the doctor shaking his hand again.
"Dad, what did the doctor just tell you?" Sally asked walking up to her father.
"Honey, they are moving her into a room in the ICU to keep a closer watch on her. The doctor said that she will pull through but that she is still in a coma and that the next 24 hours is going to be very critical. The doctor also said that they X-rayed her and could not find any trauma to the head. We can only hope that she will wake up shortly." Sally's father said still shaking.
Stephanie was listening to the entire conversation and trying not to cry. Lisa was holding onto her left hand as the both of them were walking up to Stephanie's father. "Dad, can I go into the room with you first?"
Her father looked over at Stephanie and realized how much she had grown and matured over the last year. He felt real pride in both of his daughters even though they were really his stepdaughters. He loved them as they were his own. "Sure sweetheart. Sally, do you mind if Stephanie goes in there first with me?"
Sally looked over at Stephanie and saw the look of real fear on her sisters' face. "That will be fine dad. I'll wait out here with Beth and everyone else."
As soon as Stephanie walked into the room where her mother was, the first thing she saw was all the pieces of equipment that were hooked up to her mother; an IV going into her left arm, feeding her antibiotics, a machine to breathe for her and finally a machine that was keeping track of her pulse. The breathing machine was needed because being in a coma, her mother could not breathe for herself. Stephanie's father looked stunned; He had never felt so helpless before.
Stephanie walked slowly over to her mother and gently picked up her left hand, holding it. "Mom, if you can hear me, I'm here for you. Please wake up, we need you." Stephanie started to cry again as she started stroking her mother's left hand.
Her father came over to stand by Stephanie's side and gently held his daughter while she continued to hold her mothers left hand. "Please mom, wake up. We all need you very much." Stephanie continued to stroke her mothers' hand and cry at the same time.
"Honey, why don't you go sit down, okay?"
"Okay Dad." Stephanie went to sit down in one of the provided chairs in the room while she watched her father sit on the edge of the bed, holding her mother's left hand.
"We're all here sweetheart. Stephanie is here with me and Sally is outside with Beth, Lisa and the rest of the parents. They're all waiting to see and talk to you. We all love you very much. Please come back to us." Stephanie's father started to cry and Stephanie walked over to her father and wrapped her arms around him while tears flowed from his eyes.
"I'm sorry sweetheart; I can't seem to stop crying. Your mother means everything to me, just like you and Sally mean everything to me."
"I know Dad. It's hard seeing her laying there with all those machines hooked up to her. I think I'll go and see if Sally wants to come in now."
Stephanie walked out of the room, leaving her father still sitting on the side of the bed.
Stephanie found Sally where she left her 15 minutes ago; sitting with her arms tightly wrapped around Beth. Sally looked up as Stephanie approached her. "Do you want to go in and see Mom now, sis?"
"Of course I do. How's she doing Stephanie?"
"Just be prepared Sally. She's hooked up to three different machines."
Sally disengaged herself from Beth who looked at her with a look that said "I Love You and I will be here for you" and gave Beth a quick kiss on the lips and walked over to the room that her mother was in.
As Sally walked in, she saw that her father was still sitting on the bed next to her mother and holding her left hand very tenderly. He was also talking to her, telling her about his day (before the accident happened) and about the girls.
"Hey Dad, how's Mom doing?" Sally asked him shaking.
"She's still the same sweetheart, no change but we can hope for the best. Why don't you come over here next to your Mom and let me sit in the chair for now."
As her father got up off the bed so she could take his place, Sally threw her arms around her father's waist, hugged him hard and started crying again. After Sally got her crying under control, she sat down where her father had been and picked up her Mom's left hand. "Mom, I'm here with you now." Sally then proceeded to tell her Mom about her day at school and her study session with Beth. She then told her Mom that over the course of the last year, she started giving some serious thought to what she wanted to do with her life and a possible career. While Sally was telling her Mom all of this, her father stepped outside to stretch and to talk with everyone else that was waiting for any news.
Sally was still letting her Mom know what she wanted to do with her life when she felt her Mom's hand grasp hers tightly. As Sally was looking down while she had been talking, she raised her head to look at her Mom, and found her smiling at Sally.
They were all out in the lounge talking about what would happen if Judy didn't make it when they all heard Sally scream "Mom!"
The first one through the door was Sally's father. He was about to ask Sally what was wrong, when he saw his wife and Sally holding each other and talking to each other.
"Judy! Oh my god, you're up." Eugene gasped out.
"Hello to you too sweetheart. " Judy said quietly as Sally got up to let her father sit down beside her mother.
"How do you feel, honey?"
"Well, with the exception of a headache and a broken arm, not too bad."
As Stephanie and the rest of the "Extended family" came into the room, they saw Eugene and Judy tenderly kissing each other.
Stephanie came up to her Mom and gave her a kiss on her right cheek. "Mom, we were so worried about you. Thank god you're up. I love you so much."
Stephanie couldn't stop talking, so Lisa hugged her just to shut her up. Everyone started laughing, including her mother.
Alyssa came up to her next. "Judy, when we heard what happened, we were all so worried about you. They showed the accident on TV and when we recognized your car, we rushed right over here. Liz and Bill stopped by to pick up Sally, Beth, Lisa and Stephanie and brought them down here as quick as possible."
Judy looked up at Alyssa and all of her old feelings toward her friend started to come back. She quickly realized what was happening and pushed her feelings back down before anyone realized what had happened with her. Her husband did notice something but didn't say anything for now. She picked up Alyssa's right hand, "Thank you for being here for me. All of you; thank you for being here for me. And also, thanks Liz, for bringing the girls down here."
Liz smiled at Judy warmly, "You know I'd do anything for you Judy. Just hurry and get better, okay?"
Judy was about to answer, when the doctor came through the door.
"I thought I heard some noise coming from this room. And just what is everyone doing in here anyway?" Dr. Samuels said with a big grin on his face.
"Well, Doctor, as you can see, my wife is up and talking." Eugene said with pride in his voice.
"Yes, I can see that Mr. Krieger. And to tell you the truth, I can't blame everyone for being in here. I can see that she means a lot to everyone in this room. Okay, now that that's out of the way, can everyone please clear the room so I can examine my patient? Thank you." Dr. Samuels said smiling.
They had been waiting a good 30 minutes in the waiting room when Dr. Samuels walked out of the room. "Mr. Krieger. I just finished examining your wife and with the exception of her broken arm and her headache, she's not in bad condition given the circumstances. She will need a lot of caring for and rehab for the next few weeks for her arm, but I don't see why she can't go home in a couple of days. She was a very lucky lady. We were able to take care of all of her internal injuries because none of her vital organs were injured."
"Thank you Dr. Samuels. Can I go in and see her now?" Eugene asked hopefully.
"Sure, go in, but keep it short. She's very tired and needs her rest. You can all come back tomorrow when visiting hours starts at 10:00am."
As Eugene walked into the room, he could see that his wife had her eyes shut and was trying to rest. He started to walk back out when she opened her eyes to look at him. "Dear, come on in."
"How are you feeling honey?"
"Very tired. But I'm glad you came back in."
Eugene walked over to the side of the bed and took his wife's' left hand in his and sat down next to her. "You're looking better sweetheart. How's your headache?"
"I still have it, but the doctor gave me something for it. I need to talk to you before you go back home. I saw the look you gave me right after Alyssa talked to me earlier and I just wanted to say something. When I saw her looking at me earlier, all of my old feelings for her almost surfaced, but the one thing that kept them from completely surfacing were my feelings for you. I love you so much sweetheart, along with the girls that I would never do anything to hurt any of you."
"I know that. I did see that look in your eyes for just a second but then when you looked back at me, I noticed that smile on your face and everything was okay." Eugene bent over a little and gave his wife a very tender kiss on her lips. "I love you very much, honey. We are going to go now so I can get the girls home and get some rest myself. We will back tomorrow morning at 10:00. I love you."
As she watched her husband get off the bed and walk out of the room, she realized that she could never love Alyssa the way she had when they were younger and that her love for her husband was so strong, it would survive anything. With that thought, Judy closed her eyes and fell asleep.
*** Since the following day was Saturday, everyone came back to see Judy. When they arrived at the Hospital and walked in the door, Judy was sitting up trying to eat some breakfast; Orange Juice with some Oatmeal, and eggs. Eugene walked over to her and helped her with the rest of the breakfast. After the breakfast was cleared away, they all sat or stood around Judy's bed discussing what would happen when Judy came home on Monday. As they were talking, Dr. Samuels walked in.
"Well hello everybody. I thought only a couple of people at a time were supposed to be in here?"
"I know Doctor, but everyone wanted to see how my wife was doing. It seems that she's doing pretty well."
"Actually Mr. Krieger, your wife is doing extremely well, despite what she went through yesterday. I was coming in to check on her progress because if she keeps it up, I will let her go come Monday morning. How's that sound to you Mrs. Krieger?"
"Are you sure I will be well enough by then? I know I've been feeling pretty good but don't you think I should get medically checked out first?"
"And just what do you think I've been doing with you, playing doctor? Yes, you will be ready to get out of here come Monday morning."
"If you say so, you're the doctor." Judy said smiling.
"Just remember to take it easy. You will have to come back here several times a week for your Rehab on your arm. I imagine it will take about 3 to 4 weeks to get full use of that arm back. Now, everyone out. I would like check my patient again before lunchtime."
Over the weekend, Stephanie, Lisa, Sally and Beth all got together and talked about what would happen once Stephanie's Mom came back home on Monday morning. They all agreed on helping to take care of Stephanie's Mom when Lisa and Beth were over doing their studying. Sally and Beth were upstairs in Sally's room talking on Sunday afternoon when there was a knock on the door. "Come in whoever you are."
"Hey honey. I just wanted to see what you and Beth were up to." Sally's father asked amusedly.
"Well Dad, Beth and I were discussing how we would be able to take care of Mom when she comes back tomorrow. I know there's school tomorrow, but we were about to come downstairs and ask if we could take off and help you with her, that is if you need the help."
"Thank you for the offer honey, but I think I can handle it myself. Besides, don't you have your English midterm test tomorrow?"
"Yeah, you're right Dad. I was just trying to see if you remembered. When you pick Mom up, tell her I'll see her when I get home from school. I'm dragging Beth back here with me after school whether or not she wants to or not!" Sally said laughing.
"Well, all I have to say is that you will not have to drag me over here because I want to see your mother. Mr. Krieger, how long will she be in rehab for her arm?"
"Only about three weeks Beth. Her assistant manager at the store is ready to hold down the fort, despite Judy telling her that she will not have to work open to close everyday. By the way Sally, where's your sister?"
"As far as I know, she's over at Lisa's."
No sooner than Sally had said that, they all heard a loud slam and then Stephanie yelling, "Hey everyone, I'm home and Lisa's with me!"
Sally, Beth and Sally's father just couldn't help it and started laughing when they heard Stephanie. Stephanie walked upstairs with Lisa trailing behind her and when she got to Sally's room, she found all three of them laughing. "What are you laughing at?" Stephanie asked seriously.
"Honey, we just couldn't help it. I had asked your sister where you were and as soon as she told us, you walked into the house announcing yourself and Lisa." Her father said as his laughter started dying down.
"I really don't see why that was so funny. But then I guess I would have to been here to appreciate it." Stephanie said smiling at Lisa.
Stephanie's father looked at the girls and realized that his two daughters really had grown up over the past year. He was really proud of them and was happy he had them with him right now. As he continued looking at them while they were talking with their girlfriends, he never realized before now, how happy both of them were with Beth and Lisa. It's like they found the person they were meant to be with the rest of their lives.
"Okay, ladies. I think it's time to talk about what we are going to do when your Mother is home."
Sally looked over at her father and smiled somewhat mischievously, "Actually Dad, Stephanie, myself, Beth and Lisa have already discussed what we are going to do when Mom comes home. You are going to take care of Mom during the day and then when we get home, we will take care of our homework, then take care of her the rest of the evening. Now, how's that sound with you?"
Eugene sat there for a moment with his chin resting in his left hand thinking, "Well ladies, I think you've thought this through pretty good. Beth, Lisa, you don't mind helping out?"
Beth spoke up first, "Mr. Krieger, we consider this a second home. I love Sally very much and would do anything for her. No, I don't mind helping you out at all. As a matter of fact, I don't know about Lisa, but my parents would also like to come over and help you out during the day." Sally looked over at Beth, blushed then beamed at her.
Then it was Lisa's turn, "Mr. Krieger, I also consider this my second home too. I love Stephanie with all my heart and would love to help out. My parents have also made mention of helping if they can." Lisa turned and saw Stephanie blushing.
"Well, I guess that takes care of everything then. I would like to thank you young ladies for everything you've done so far. I'll be picking Judy up at about 10:00 tomorrow morning. Which ever one of your parents would like to come over first, can they be here at 10:30?"
"I guess that means I will talk to my parents tonight and let them know." Beth said smiling.
With that Mr. Krieger went downstairs into his office and finished up some work that he started on before the accident happened. Sally and Beth went into Sally's room and Stephanie and Lisa, went into Stephanie's room.
The next day when Eugene picked up his wife and brought her home, Beth's parents were there waiting for them. Since Judy was still a little tender from the surgery and the accident, she had to stay off of her feet. Eugene waited on her hand and foot (which of course she loved), Beth's parents kept them company and also did some of the housework for Judy, When the girls got home from school, they did their homework first, then as promised, they did the laundry, some more housework and made the dinner,
This actually went on for almost a month until Judy was pulling out her hair from boredom. She thanked everyone for their help, especially her daughters, along with Beth and Lisa, when she realized they put their own lives on hold to help them out. She and Eugene took a trip downtown to the Four Seasons restaurant one day while the girls were still in school and set up a nice dinner and whole weekend for them to show their appreciation for all of their help. Since Eugene had some contacts in the printing industry, he had some invitations made up for the girls, letting them know the time and date for the dinner. Now all Judy and Eugene had to do was wait for the girls to come home from school.
Judy and Eugene were sitting in the dining room talking about events of the past month when all four of the girls walked in the door.
Sally and Stephanie walked over to their parents, gave them a kiss and a hug. "Hey you two, catching up on old times?" Sally asked them smiling.
"As a matter of fact sweetheart, that's exactly what we're doing. Hello Beth, Lisa. How was school today?"
"It was a good day, Mrs. Krieger. I aced my Geography test." Lisa said with a big grin on her face.
"And I aced my Algebra exam." Beth said.
"What are you ladies planning to do this weekend now that it's Friday?" Mr. Krieger asked.
"Well, Dad, we were on planning on going to the movies tomorrow to see the new Harry Potter movie. They say it's the best one yet." Stephanie said as she walked over to Lisa and placed her left arm around Lisa's waist.
"Sounds like a plan to me. Why don't you girls go upstairs and freshen up and whatever else you have to do before dinner." Stephanie's mother said with a slight smile on her face.
Sally and Beth led the way upstairs with Stephanie and Lisa following them. Sally and Beth walked into Sally's room and closed the door, Lisa and Stephanie walked into Stephanie's room and shut the door. The next thing Judy and Eugene heard were screams of joy coming from both rooms. Before they knew what hit them, the girls had come out of the rooms, ran down the stairs and were enveloped by four teenage girls thanking them profusely.
"Thank you Mom, thank you Dad. You didn't really have to do this for us. You know that. We love you both and would do anything for you." Stephanie said to both of them with a big smile on her face.
"I know honey but you girls deserve it. All four of you put your lives on hold for me and Eugene and I just wanted to show our appreciation. Enjoy the weekend ladies." Judy told them.
The girls then tramped back upstairs and planned what they were going to do after dinner tomorrow night.
When Saturday night rolled around, the girls were dressed up and were ready to enjoy themselves all weekend. After the dinner, Sally and Beth went back to Beth's house and Lisa and Stephanie went back to Lisa's house, leaving Eugene and Judy alone for the weekend. The loving in all three homes lasted all weekend and was tender and all consuming.
Any comments would be welcome.
Krazydog@juno.com Bgold49@myway.com
Copyright Donal/Gold 2005