Between You and Me. Susan Wiggs
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Almost like a clockwork John, mechanically reciting proverbs from Rules for a Godly Life.
“My poor darling John.” A tear squeezed from Mem’s eye and slipped down her cheek. “He wasn’t hurt. It’s a miracle.”
“He’s married now. He and Naomi have two kids, Hannah and Jonah.”
“I wish I could see him,” said Mem. “And those children …”
“You’re under the Bann,” Caleb said. “Now that he’s in the church, he won’t speak to you. We needed you years ago, and you weren’t there. Eventually, we learned to get along without you.”
She flinched and started to cry again. Caleb looked around the room, dim and chilly with the musty-smelling air blowing in. There were photographs on a shelf of Nancy at different ages, and another shelf with a collection of books of the self-help variety—Survival After Abuse. Change Your Brain, Change Your Life.
Even now, Caleb still flinched at the memory of his father’s face, twisted by fury, and John’s steadfast refusal to budge. If John hadn’t stuck up for his younger brother, maybe Caleb would have been the one teetering on the cable bridge over the gorge, not John. He owed his brother devotion and loyalty. It was a debt he could never repay.
In the mechanical hospital bed, Jonah stirred and opened his eyes wide as he seemed to shake himself awake. His gaze darted immediately to the bandage, then to Caleb. “I wish I still had my arm,” he said.
“So do I,” Caleb told him. “I was just thinking about your dat, my brother, John. He was the bravest, strongest, kindest man in the world, and you’re his flesh and blood. It’s going to be real hard, but you’ll be just like that one day.”
“What if I can’t be brave and strong?”
“You can be. I’ll help you, the way your dat helped me.” Caleb reached out and gently touched Jonah’s head. “And that’s why I will never leave you.”
There was no door on the SICU suite where Jonah lay, just a wide doorway open to the nurses’ station. A nurse was always present at the computer in the suite monitoring everything on the screen. At each shift change, the nurse asked Caleb if he needed anything, if there was anyone he wanted to call, but he always politely declined. He did help himself to a book about snorkeling in the Caribbean, and he read it cover to cover by the dim, artificial light in the room.
He was just about to share some of the pictures with Jonah when Reese Powell showed up. She wore loose blue trousers, a shirt to match, and a hip-length white jacket over that. She carried a number of steel and rubber objects in her many pockets, and when she came into the room, she brought with her something Caleb had not expected: the smell of flowers. Must be the soap she used, he thought, then felt guilty for noticing the way she smelled at all.
“Good morning,” she said. “I came to see how Jonah is doing.”
“He woke up a few minutes ago. He’s waiting for his breakfast.” Caleb’s nephew had awakened in a state of fear and anger. Everything about the hospital was strange and new to him, and he was still struggling to accept the loss of his arm.
She fixed her gaze on Jonah, her eyes soft and friendly. “Hi there, Jonah.”
The boy regarded her with narrow-eyed suspicion as he mumbled, “Morning.”
“I was hoping I would get to meet you,” she said. “My name is Reese Powell. I was working in the emergency ward when you came in. Everyone worked hard for the best outcome.”
“This is not a good outcome,” said Jonah.
“It’s not,” she agreed. “I’m sorry.” She gave Caleb a paper-wrapped parcel. “Your clothes. I had them cleaned for you.”
He studied the label on the parcel—City Wash & Fold—and wondered what she would make of the ancient washtub and hand-crank wringer back at the farm.
Jonah glared at her with uncharacteristic anger. “Reese,” he said in a caustic voice. “That’s not a name. It’s a candy.”
“At least I never got swallowed by a whale,” she shot back.
Caleb stood there, amazed. He was amazed because Jonah had never in his life spoken rudely to a person until now. And he was amazed because Reese didn’t seem to care one bit. And in spite of everything terrible that was happening, he couldn’t stop himself from feeling a glimmer of amusement.
Jonah settled back against the pillow, and Caleb could see his fear go down a notch. “I always liked that story,” he muttered. “Are you a doctor?”
“Almost. I wanted to stop by, because I thought you might have some questions. You’ve got a super-talented care team. I’m not on that team, because I work in a different department, but I can talk with you about your arm if you want.”
“Why is it gone?” asked the boy.
“It was so badly injured. They wanted to save it, but there was too much damage.”
“Where is it?” Jonah asked.
She caught her breath. “Your arm, you mean.”
The boy nodded.
“It—the part that had to come off was taken away.” She shifted her stance and stuck her hands in her coat pockets.
“Taken away where?” Jonah persisted.
“I don’t know the exact location, but the hospital has a special way to take care of it.”
“What’s the special way?”
“Well, there are rules. It had to be incinerated and then disposed of. That probably sounds horrible.”
“We incinerate the trash back home.”
“Your arm wasn’t trash, Jonah.”
“I wish I had my hand back.”
“We all wish that. Now you have to work with what you’ve got. You’ll get what’s called a prosthetic arm and hand. Maybe more than one, depending on what you need. It’s going to take a while, because there are lots of steps involved. You have to heal and have physical therapy. I promise, you’ll get lots of help from your care team.”
“What’s my care team?”
“The doctors, nurses, therapists, and all the people who are going to help you. It’s a different world today than the one yesterday, that’s for sure. Eventually, you’ll be stronger than ever. I know it doesn’t seem possible right now, but it’s true. I’ve seen it.”
“How do you know?” Jonah persisted.
She folded her arms and looked him in the eye. “I know stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?” Jonah asked her, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
“When they move you to the ward, I’ll introduce you to some kids who are going to amaze you with their superpowers. Do you know what a superpower is?”
“Course I do. And I know they’re just made-up stuff in books.”
“Ah. That’s where you’re wrong. There’s one patient who had a heart transplant, and he still comes in every week to make balloon animals for the other kids, just to see them smile. If that’s not a superpower, I don’t know what is.”
“The surgeon said I was lucky,” Jonah said. “Do you think it’s lucky to get your arm cut off?”
She looked from side to side, then bent toward him. “Let me tell you something about surgeons. When they say you were lucky, you weren’t. What it really means is they thought you were going to die and you didn’t. So maybe your superpower and the surgeon’s superpower were working together.”
Jonah’s eyes widened. Caleb could see his fear go down another notch. Could be Reese Powell’s blunt honesty