~Part Five~


“Bip...bip...bip...bip...”

Jacqueline’s mother sat in a small chair at the side of her daughter’s bed. After her long talk with Dr. Blake Monica Pratt had let herself into her daughter’s hospital room to find her in a restless sleep. It was clear from the heavy sweat on Jacqueline’s forehead that Dr. Blake had been imprecise about her experiencing little, or no pain.

Mrs. Pratt had stayed at her daughter’s bedside while she slept, dabbing at the perspiration with her handkerchief. The nurses had come in periodically to check up on Jacqueline’s condition and offer an occasional drink to her jaded mother. She had just started drifting off when her daughter finally began stirring.

“Mom?”

“Oh Jacqueline, honey how are you feeling?”

“Glad to see you here.” Her voice was still drained and took its occasional turn to scratch in her throat. She reached up and pulled her mother in for a long, warm hug, both savoring the moment together. “Did Consuela come with you?” she asked, after pulling away and lying back down.

“She had to make some hotel arrangements and take care of a few things, but she said she would be here later tonight.” Monica paused a moment looking at her beautiful daughter, wiping the hair gently from her face. “So you’ve been attending Rawley Boys, have you?” one eyebrow raised, what was meant to be a scolding gesture but came out in a fit of muffled laughter.

Jacqueline just groaned and shut her eyes, “I know, I know...not one of my finer hours.”

“Well, it certainly does explain a few things.”

“...that I would love to forget!” Jacqueline was reminded of that dreadful parents’ day weekend and hoped her mother wouldn’t pull any of it out from the settled dust.

Monica stared at her daughter, noticing the tension that was quickly seeping into the room. “Well, visiting hours are almost up and I haven’t had a thing to eat since I got in. I’m going to meet Consuela and check in for the evening and I will see you back here bright and early tomorrow...how does that sound?”

“Perfect.” Jacqueline smiled and gave her mother a big hug and kiss before settling back down to recapture her vanished energy.

.  .  .

Hamilton rubbed at his foggy eyes. The night had seemed almost endless to get through, and his constant worry certainly influenced his excessive tossing. He wasn’t even certain what time it was when he finally fell asleep, but he knew it couldn’t have been that long ago.

“Hey stranger, how are you feeling?” Emma was just making her rounds and stopped in to bring Hamilton some warm breakfast.

“Tired.” was all he could muster out.

“Your mom just called.” Emma picked up the food tray and plopped it down on his lap after he managed to sit up. “She’ll be here in ten minutes to pick you up.”

“Thanks Emma.” Hamilton said, scooping a fork full of scrambled eggs into his mouth and taking a large bite of toast.

“Alright, I’m off to make my other round,” she stated cheerfully, “and just because you’re getting out of here doesn’t mean that you won’t be visiting this old lady every now and then, you hear?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way Emma!” Hamilton laughed, watching the tiny nurse slip out the door. Hamilton’s mother walked in just as he was finishing his meal and she handed him a change of clothing she had brought, knowing he wouldn’t want to go home in his hospital gown. Not much more than ‘hellos’ were spoken between them as he changed and gathered his things. After the morning before, he just wasn’t sure what she wanted to hear.

“Mom would it be alright if I...”

“Hamilton,” his mother turned towards him as they were leaving, “I have a lot I need to do today, and we need to get home.”

“But I just wanted to stop by...”

“Hamilton.” his mother glared at him, a stern look on her face.

“Sorry.”

The trip home, although very short, seemed to last forever in their silence. Hamilton resigned to gazing out of the window, regretting not being able to have said good-bye to Jake.

Hamilton went straight to his bedroom once they reached home, although the doctor’s orders had nothing to do with it. The thought of spending two weeks without speaking to Jake disappointed him, but he knew his mother would never budge. He laid down on his bed, admitting defeat.

.  .  .

“There...we...are...Could you wrap this please?” Dr. Blake turned from the nurse he was speaking with to face Jacqueline. “All right Miss Pratt,” he said, snapping off the white latex gloves on his hands, “we have just put on the temporary skin and the nurse will wrap your legs for you.” He pulled a small chair out of the corner to sit by Jacqueline and her mother.

“You’re going to have to be very careful with your legs for the next three weeks while we get your new skin ready. So if you want to leave your room, you’ll have to have a nurse assist you. We have to make sure that you legs don’t get infected so the less you go out, the better off you are, okay?” Jacqueline nodded her head in compliance.

“What happens if her legs get infected?” her mother questioned.

“Well, if they get infected the skin won’t attach itself to her legs and we’d have to explore some other options.” he stated.

“What other options?” Mrs. Pratt asked concerned.

Dr. Blake looked back and forth between mother and daughter before answering, “Let’s not worry about that unless the situation comes up.” He smiled at them, pushing himself up. Setting the chair back against the wall and walking towards the door he pulled on the handle and turned around “I’ll see you tomorrow. If you need me for anything, Mrs. Pratt, the front receptionist can page me.” The door shut quietly behind him.

After he left silence flooded the room, hovering over the uneasy atmosphere. It was like a corrosive tension, infiltrating the confined space. “So, how’s Hamilton?” Jacqueline’s mother asked, attempting to break the unearthly silence.

“I don’t know.” she stated, a little distracted by the thought. “He never stopped by before going home.”

“I sure he wanted to honey.” Jacqueline’s mom said tenderly.

“I know...So what happened with the play you were doing?” Jacqueline looked up, changing the subject.

“Oh, that,” her mother stumbled a little in her reply.  “I got Consuela’s call right after the last performance, so everything’s fine.” She thought it almost pointless to worry her daughter about the fines she had received due to her breach of contract. The money meant very little compared to what she could have lost and the time she now had to spend with her daughter was worth it.

.  .  .

Transparent raindrops trickled down the smooth plate of glass. A small puff of cloud formed on the window, slowly retracting itself and reappearing rhythmically a few seconds later. Moisture toppled out of the trees in large droplets, forming individual puddles on the sidewalks and streets.

Hamilton gazed out of the long bedroom window, watching a few miniature robins swoop down from the trees and begin tugging on worms that had made their way to the surface for the rainfall. A small boy appeared from across the street hopping back and forth between the new puddles, pouncing on them just as they collected themselves back up, laughing and giggling.

Hamilton was drawn from his thoughts as he heard a light tapping on the door. It slowly opened as his mother peaked around the corner, finding him leaning against the windowsill.

“Hamilton?” she paused a moment, knowing that he was upset but she still hoped for a response. After a few seconds of momentary silence, she continued.  “You have a couple of visitors sweetie.” When once again she received no sign of an answer she opened the door, allowing Scout and Will to walk passed. She took one last glance at her son before walking down the silent hall, leaving them to talk.

“Hey Ham, what’s up?” Will said bouncing down onto Hamilton’s bed.

“Hey.” Hamilton’s tone was dry and he continued to stiffly look through the window, not turning to face his friends.

Scout sat down next to Will, “So we heard you were going to be stuck in your room for two weeks and thought we’d drop by to see how you were holding up.”

“Fine.” was all the response that came.

The three of them sat in silence for the next few minutes, the tension building in the room. Hamilton finally turned around to face them, sitting in the chair near his desk. “Have you been to see Jake yet?” he asked, picking up the camera on his desk and setting it in his lap, using his left hand to inspect it.

“Well,” Will began, scratching the back of his neck, “we stopped by the hospital but they wouldn’t let us see her. I guess they have a family only policy where she is.”

“Yeah and the long lost brother bit didn’t seem to work.” Scout said chuckling to himself, quickly being shot down by Hamilton’s glare.

“No offense guys, but I really kind of feel like being alone right now.” Hamilton said setting the camera back on his desk, staring through the window again.

“That’s cool.” Will said standing up. “Besides, I’ve got a ton of homework to catch up on at the dorms.” Scout and Will both started heading towards the door.

“Hey, guys?” Hamilton asked, looking back “If you do see Jake soon, could you tell her my mom grounded me for a month, so I won’t be able to see her for a while?”

“Sure man.” Scout said walking into the hall.

“Hey, if you need anything just let us know.” Will said before walking out and closing the door.