Synopsis:

A phone call has sent Kari racing out the door. What has happened to Brittany, and does it portend a change in Kari's life?

Story:

KARI!
By Karen J. Taylor
Copyright 2006

At the end of Part One:
As I walked into the living room the phone started ringing, I glanced at the Caller ID and saw it was Suzanne, so I picked it up.

“Hi, Suzanne, what’s up?” I asked.

On the other end I heard Brittany scream “KARI!” and then it sounded like the phone was dropped.

I dropped the receiver and yelled for Kathy, then grabbed my purse and ran out the door, digging out Suzanne’s key as I ran.

Part Two

Brittany grabbed me as I let myself in.

“Momma’s hurt, she fell!” and she dragged me into the kitchen.

Suzanne was lying on the kitchen floor, an overturned chair next to her. She was unconscious and bleeding from a cut on her head. I grabbed their phone and dialed 911, giving the operator my location and requested an ambulance for a fall victim with a serious head injury.

Kathy came in just then and checked Suzanne, “She’s breathing”

About then the EMS people arrived and started treating her, and a police officer asked us to come into the front room. Brittany didn’t want to leave her mother, so I picked her up in my arms, at which point she broke down and started crying.

“Oh, Kari, is Mom going to be alright, I heard a bang and she was on the floor and I couldn’t get her to wake up and I called you and I’m SCARED!” she sobbed.

“Shush, honey, it will be all right, everything’s going to be fine,” I said as I held Brittany in my lap and comforted her.

The officer was apparently getting what he needed from Kathy; I was much too busy to talk to him; that is until I heard her voice rise, “No!”

“No, what?” I asked.

“He wants to call Child Services to take Brittany,” Kathy exclaimed.

“The father’s out of town and no family close, it’s standard procedure,” the officer explained.

“It’s okay,” I told the officer, “We’re both legal guardians in case something should happen to either one of them.”

“I need to see some proof of that, ma’am,” the officer said.

“Just a sec.” I went to the door where my keys were still in the lock, removed them and told the officer, “Come with me.”

Down the hall in the spare bedroom there was a locked file cabinet, which I had the key to. I unlocked it and pulled out a file labeled Brittany, “Officer, you’ll find the papers you need in here.”

Kathy came to the door then, “They’re taking Suzanne to University Medical Center.”

Brittany started squirming in my arms, “I wanna go with Mom!”

“No Brittany, you can’t ride in the ambulance,” Kathy said.

“I WANNA SEE MY MOM!” she cried, so I carried her up front as they were taking Suzanne out on the gurney.

She had a bandage around her head and the medics had her in a C-collar and strapped to a backboard. She was as white as my skirt. Brittany started crying again, and I hugged her close as they took Suzanne out.

Kathy along with the officer came back up front. “Everything I needed was there, thank you,” the officer said. “I wish everybody planned ahead like that. Now, what about contacting her husband, would you like us to do that?” he asked.

“We can handle it,” I told the officer. “Kathy, Ralph’s hotel information is on the refrigerator.”

Kathy went in to get it, when she walked back out she asked the officer, “What about that?” inclining her head towards the kitchen.

“Yes ma’am. No doubt this was a simple home accident, no foul play,” he said. “There’s a special cleaning service that handles that sort of thing, on call 24 hours.”

He flipped through his notebook, then wrote a number on a piece of paper and handed it to Kathy.

“And here‘s my card, if you have any questions, feel free to call. And have the husband call us when he gets in.”

After he left, I told Kathy, “I’m going to take Brittany back home, would you lock up?”

“Just a sec and I’ll go with you,” she said.

As I started towards the door, I noticed I was limping, and I realized I’d broken a heel, so I slipped the shoes off and handed them to Kathy. Halfway back to our house, I found the heel lying in the street.

“Well, that’s a brand new pair of shoes I’ll never wear,” I said.

“Your skirt doesn’t look too good, either.” Kathy said. I looked down and there was blood along the hem, I didn’t even remember kneeling by Suzanne, but I must have.

When we got to the house, I saw the door was open and there was a serious hole in the wall behind it. “What happened there?” I asked.

“You did,” Kathy said. “I’m surprised you even waited for it to open before you went through.”

Brittany’s crying was slowing down, so I attempted to put her down so I could change. But she just clung tighter to me. I looked an appeal at Kathy, and she motioned to the bathroom. I stepped in there still holding Brittany, Kathy unzipped my skirt and I stepped out of it.

“I’m going to throw it in the washer,” she said.

My phone started ringing about then, it was Laurie. “Where are you two?”

“Laurie, there’s been an accident; we won’t be able to make it.”

“What happened?”

“Hold on a sec, I can’t talk,” and handed the phone to Kathy, who’d just come back. “It’s Laurie.” She nodded and took the phone into the other room.

I could still hear bits of the conversation, “Suzanne……fell and hit…… serious…… Medical Center ER… Call you later.”

Kathy came back in, “I’m going to make some calls,” and pointed to the spare room. “You want to try and get dressed?”

“Okay.”

“Brittany, honey, I need to put you down.”

“I wanna see Mom!”

“We’ll go in little bit, but I have to get dressed first.”

I tried to put her down, but she clung to my neck and wouldn’t let go. She was calmer now, but still upset; something I understood all too well. It seemed as if death and serious injury had dogged my life; Brittany was too young to be able to deal with what had happened. It was time to try another tack to distract her.

“Honey, I need to pick a skirt, you want to help me?” and I opened the closet doors. “What about this one?” I asked her, pulling out a denim skirt.

She let go of my neck and turned around in my arms. “Nah.”

“Maybe this one, or how about this one?” I had her attention now, and she fingered the various choices as I pulled them out for her to see.

“That one!” she exclaimed, pointing.

“That one” was a lacy sheer black skirt, very fashionable, but not at all what I had in mind for wearing to the hospital.

“Brittany, I don’t think that one is right…”

“That One!” she insisted, and her face started to cloud up.

“Okay, honey, this one,” I conceded. “How about you sit on the bed while I put it on?”

“Okay.”

I was pulling up the skirt, which had required a half-slip first, when Kathy walked back in.

“You’re wearing that?”

“Brittany picked it out herself,” I told Kathy.

“Ah-h-h-h. I got hold of Ralph, he’s on his way, he’ll call when he gets a flight. The cleaning service will be here in a few minutes, I’ll go let them in.”

“Would you also call Dr. Hanson, please,” I asked.

“Already did. She’ll meet us at the hospital in thirty minutes.”

“Why don’t you get some pajamas for her while you’re there, I imagine she’ll be spending the night here,” I told her. “And get the booster seat out of their car, please.”

Kathy left to take care of things at Suzanne’s house and I finished getting dressed, pulling on a pair of black low-heeled sandals. I started to walk out front, but Brittany insisted on being carried again, so I picked her up and balanced her on my hip. When we went outside, Kathy was putting Brittany’s booster seat in her car, and I noticed that there were several neighbors standing in their yards talking and looking at us.

I heard, “Oh, girls,” and saw Mrs. Carter approaching.

“I’ll handle her, you get the seat mounted,” Kathy said.

Brittany didn’t want to be put down, but I distracted her by asking how to hook up the booster seat.

I sat in the back with Brittany on the way to the hospital; by the time we got there Brittany was willing to walk instead of being carried.

The ER desk at first refused to tell us how Suzanne was since we weren’t relatives. Kathy handed me our copy of Brittany’s folder, which included all the various legal forms to satisfy the hospital.

“She has a concussion, and they’ve taken her up to do a CT scan,” the nurse said. “Can you fill out some papers for us?”

Somebody behind me said, “Kari?” and I turned around to see Cheryl, the ER nurse, standing there. “What happened?”

“Brittany’s mom fell and cracked her head; she was brought in a little while ago,” I told her.

She reached over and pulled a record out of the rack, when the desk nurse protested, Cheryl told her to hush up, “Kari’s one of us”.

“You’re an RN?” the desk nurse asked me.

“An honorary one,” I said.

“I’ll explain later,” Cheryl told her.

Turning to me she said, “It’s not really bad. That’s a nasty crack on her head, but except for a mild concussion she’s fine. Good Babinski, the CT scan is just to make sure. She’s going to have the mother of all headaches.”

Brittany was tugging on my arm, “How’s Mom?”

Cheryl kneeled down and looked at her, “I remember you; you’re Kari’s friend in the picture.” Brittany nodded.

“Well, your mom banged her head, and she’ll be staying here for a day or two, but she’ll be just fine,” Cheryl told her.

“Can I see her?”

“Soon as she’s in her room,” Cheryl replied. “Why don’t you and Kari go get something to drink, I’ll come and get you when it’s time.”

“Go ahead,” Kathy said. “I’ll fill out the paperwork.” I tapped the line on the form asking for insurance, Kathy understood what I wanted and smiled. “Will do.”

We were drinking ice tea when Dr. Hanson showed up along with another woman in a white doctor’s coat.

“Hi Dr. Baker,” Brittany said.

“Hi Brittany, how are you?” the other woman, Dr. Baker apparently, asked.

“I want to see my Mom!” Brittany cried.

“Soon, Brittany, soon,” she reassured Brittany. “And you must be Karielle Taylor, I’ve heard a lot about you,” she said. “I’m Dr. Baker, Suzanne’s physician; sorry we’re meeting under these circumstances.”

“No more than I, Dr. Baker,” I said. “You know Dr. Hanson, I take it.”

“Yes, we’ve known each other for several years.”

“Then you understand why we called her, we weren’t trying to go around you or anything,” I told her.

“Not at all, it was good thinking,” Dr. Baker said.

My phone rang just then. “Excuse me, I think this may be important,” I said. “Hello? Ralph, yes, we’re at the hospital right now, Dr. Baker is with me, just a sec.”

I handed my phone to Dr. Baker, “It’s Ralph.”

“Hello Ralph, it‘s Dr. Baker. She’ll be fine; she just has a mild concussion. I want to keep her overnight for observation. Yes, she’s right here, hold on. Brittany, it’s your father,” and Dr. Baker handed the phone to her.

“DADDY! I wanna see Mommy! No, Dad. Yes Dad, I’m being good for Kari. You ARE!!! WHEN! OK! I love you Dad, bye.” Brittany was on an emotional roller coaster, her fright at what had happened warred with her excitement at seeing her father soon.

Brittany started snuffling as she handed me the phone. “Ralph, can you hang on a sec?” I set the phone down and reached to Brittany.

She practically leaped into my arms and started crying again as I held her on my lap and rocked her. Kathy walked up and I nodded at the phone, “It’s Ralph”.

Kathy picked up the phone and started talking to Ralph, then pulled out a piece of paper and started jotting things down. “Somebody will meet you at the airport, don’t worry. She’s fine; she’s just having a good cry in Kari’s lap. She hasn’t been any trouble at all. We’ll have her at our house tonight; she’ll be okay. We’ll see you then. Bye.”

“Ralph will be getting in at 11:30 PM, Flight 104,” Kathy said. “I guess I’ll pick him up, you’ll want to stay with shortstuff here.”

“I think that would be a good idea,” Dr. Baker said. “She obviously trusts Kari and feels safe with her.”

“What about tonight, getting her to sleep?” I asked.

Dr. Hanson pulled out a physician’s sample package and showed it to Dr. Baker, who nodded. “I think half a tablet in some warm tea at bedtime will do the trick,” Dr. Hanson said, handing the packet to me.

“Thank you both,” I said. “Now, what’s the word?”

“She has a hairline fracture, but the scan looks good. Overnight for observation, she should go home tomorrow,” Dr. Baker said.

“But all that blood . . .”

“Scalp wounds always bleed something fierce,” Dr. Hanson said.

“20 stitches and she’s good as new,” Dr. Baker added.

“When can we see her?” Kathy asked.

Dr. Baker looked at her watch, “About now, I’d say. Shall we go up?”

“Come on, Brittany; let’s go see your mother,” I said to her.

Once again, she insisted on being carried, so I propped her on my hip and we headed for the elevators.

“She’s in your old room, Kari,” Dr. Hanson said.

“Then I know she’ll get the best care,” I replied.

As we walked by the nurse’s station I saw Marsha, who gave me a thumbs up. My heart lifted considerably at that gesture, I knew Marsha wouldn’t shade things.

When we got to the door, I put Brittany down. “Brittany, I want you to take it easy with your mom, she’s probably feeling tired right now,” I told her.

“Okay, Kari, I’ll be good.”

“I know you will, sweetheart.”

When we walked in, Suzanne was lying in bed with her eyes closed but she opened them when she heard us come in.

“Hi Brits, come give me a hug,” Suzanne told her.

Brittany raced to the bed and wrapped her arms around her mother. I could see Suzanne’s eye’s tear up, and I was sure Brittany was crying again. I pulled out some tissues and went over and blotted Suzanne’s eyes. She loosened a hand from Brittany’s hug and grabbed my hand.

“Thank you,” was all she said, it was all she needed to say.

Kathy walked up beside me and wiped my cheeks, and hugged my shoulder. I turned around and shooed everybody out.

Out in the hallway, Dr. Hanson turned to me, “You’re looking fit, been working out?”

“Yes, I even got Kathy to exercise.”

Marsha walked up, “You know, you can stop by when nobody’s sick.”

“Sorry, I’ve been meaning to,” I said.

“Yeah, that’s what they all say,” she replied. “You’re looking very nice.”

“Well, I got blood on my skirt and had to change, Brittany picked this.”

“She’s got good taste,” Marsha said with a grin.

Dr. Baker peeked in the room, and then motioned us back in. When we went in, Brittany was sitting on the edge of the bed holding her mom’s hand.

“Brittany tells me you tore the door down running out,” Suzanne said.

“Nah, nothing like that,” I replied.

“Hah!” Kathy said. “You should see the hole in the wall in the front hall! She darn near ripped the front door off its hinges!”

Suzanne waved me over and hugged me around the waist.

Dr. Baker stepped in then, “I’m sorry, but Suzanne needs to rest now.”

“What about Ralph?” Suzanne asked.

“He’s flying in tonight, but it’ll be late,” I told her. “Kathy’s picking him up at the airport.”

“Then I can’t see him tonight?” she asked. Dr. Baker shook her head, but behind her Marsha caught my eye and winked at me. It pays to have friends!

“Brittany, I want you to be good for Kari,” Suzanne said.

“Yes, Mom,” Brittany said.

“She’s been an angel,” I told Suzanne.

“Give me a kiss, Brit, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Suzanne said.

After we left the room, Brittany took my hand, which told me she was feeling better. On the way home, we stopped at the ice cream store and picked up some chocolate chunk, Brittany’s favorite. Kathy cooked up some dinner while I took care of getting Brittany ready for bed.

After we ate and enjoyed the ice cream, I took Brittany in to put her to bed. I had to sit with her awhile as she didn’t want to go to sleep. I finally made some hot tea and got her to drink some with me. The pill did its magic, and she went to sleep.

About ten there was a soft knock at the door; I opened it to find Laurie and Kelli standing there. “We didn’t want to ring the bell and risk waking Brittany,” Laurie said.

As they came in they noticed the hole in the wall, “Wow, what happened there?”

“That’s Kari’s handiwork,” Kathy said. “She ran out of here like she was being chased by the devil when Brittany called.”

“Really?” Kelli said.

“Really!” Kathy replied. “I heard her answer the phone, then she shouted, ‘KATHY!’ and I heard a bang. I came up the hall to find the front door standing open and when I looked outside she was disappearing into Suzanne’s house

“I got there in time to find her holding Brittany while checking Suzanne. She had blood all over her skirt and the heel was broken off her shoe. She didn’t even notice the broken heel until we started home.”

“Not the new skirt and heels you just bought,” Laurie asked.

“’Fraid so,” I admitted ruefully.

“We may be able to get the skirt clean,” Kathy said. “That ER nurse, Cheryl, said to use meat tenderizer. I’ll stop on the way to the airport and pick some up.”

“Well, the shoes are a total write-off, I’m afraid,” I said.

“Let me have them,” Laurie said. “I may be able to get something done there.”

I went in the bedroom and put them back in the box and took them to Laurie.

Laurie took them out and looked at the broken heel, “Hm-m-m, looks defective to me.” That was good for a laugh from all of us.

“I can’t get over that hole in the wall,” Kelli said. “Don’t you have a travel stop on the door?”

“Now that I think about it, we do,” I said.

We all went to look at the door. The stop was one of those that installed under the hinge pin, and it was broken in two.

Kelli looked at me with new respect, “That exercise program of yours must be something!” She reached over and squeezed my upper arm, “Firm but not that big,” was her judgment.

“I referred to her as being like a mother cat one time,” Kathy said, “but I think where Brittany’s concerned it’s more like a mother lioness.”

“Amen!” Laurie said, looking at the hole the doorknob had left in the wall. “Why did you say you were going to the airport?”

“Ralph, that’s Suzanne’s husband, is flying in,” Kathy told her. “I’m going to pick him up and bring him home.”

“Take him by the hospital first,” I told her.

“The doctor said it was too late for him to come by tonight,” Kathy argued.

“Yeah, but Marsha let me know she would slip him in for a minute.” I grinned at her, “It’s all in who you know.”

“You’re the sly one, aren’t you,” Kelli said to me.

“Yep!”

Kelli turned to Kathy then, “You aren’t driving out to the airport by yourself at this time of night, are you?” she asked Kathy.

Kathy said, “yes,” and Kelli shook her head.

“No! That’s not a good idea. Tell you what, I’ll ride out to the airport with you, and Laurie can stay here with Kari. We can stop on the way and get the meat tenderizer.”

“Tell the truth, I’d feel better for the company,” Kathy said. “You don’t mind, do you,” she asked Laurie.

“Not at all, that’s what friends are for,” Laurie said.

We chatted until just before eleven, then Kathy and Kelli left for the airport.

Laurie looked at me, “What do we do now?” she asked.

A grin broadened across my face as a thought occurred to me.

“I know that look,” Laurie said. “Spill it, girl”

“Two words,” I told her, “Chocolate Chunk!”

“Ooh, sounds good!” So I dished up two big bowls, and we plopped down in front of the TV to savor our treat. “Kelli’s gonna kill me, this is her favorite!” Laurie said.

“She’s the one that volunteered to go to the airport,” I pointed out.

“That’s true,” Laurie said, “I feel better already!”

Flipping through the channels, I found an old movie, “To Have And Have Not,” on PBS and we settled down to watch it. Bogie and Bacall, does it get any better than that?

The movie was over and we’d both fallen asleep when Kathy and company got back. I woke up when I heard the door open. Getting up, I met Ralph at the door. He looked tired, but not too upset, and I gave him a hug as he walked in.

“Thanks for everything,” he told me. “I don’t know what would have happened if you and Kathy hadn’t been here.”

“That’s alright, Ralph. I’m glad we were here to help,” I told him.

“Where’s Brittany?” he asked.

“Asleep in Kathy’s bedroom.”

“Maybe I should take her home . . .” he said.

“She’s fine where she is,” I told him. “If you try and move her she’ll wake up, and I had a time getting her to go to sleep. Let’s see what tomorrow brings. Come over in the morning, and we’ll all have breakfast.”

“Honestly, I wasn’t sure how I’d deal with her, as tired as I am, but I didn’t want to put you two out,” he admitted. “I don’t know how we’re ever going to repay you.”

“Shit,“ I said, using a most unladylike term. “You don’t pay us back; you pay it forward. That’s how this works.”

“Okay,” he conceded, “I should have known you’d say something like that. Can I see Brittany?” I let him peek into the bedroom so he could see she was fine.

“Now go home and get some sleep,” I told him. “Come back at eight and we’ll all have breakfast, then go to the hospital.”

Laurie and Kelli followed him out the door, and Kathy and I went to bed, after setting the alarm for 6:30.

When the alarm went off the next morning it took me a minute to figure out what was going on. Something was different. Then I realized Brittany was snuggled up between Kathy and me. Fortunately the alarm hadn’t disturbed her. Kathy was looking around, a bit bleary-eyed, so I told her to sleep a little longer.

“Keep an eye on munchkin here; I’m going to start breakfast.” I slipped on my robe and headed to the kitchen.

~~Coffee, I need coffee!~~ Once that was started, I explored the contents of the refrigerator.

~~Hmmm, fresh peppers and mushrooms, cheddar cheese, eggs, bacon, cinnamon rolls, milk, do we have any cereal, yep a box of Cheerios. ~~

I found some frozen orange juice concentrate in the freezer, and added that to the growing pile on the counter.

By now the coffee was ready; I poured myself a cup and sat down at the table to wake up. After the first couple of swallows I was starting to fire on all cylinders, so I got up and turned the oven on and pulled out a frying pan. Soon the smell of bacon frying mixed with the coffee smell, and I really started to perk up.

Kathy came wandering in about then, plopped down at the table, snagged my coffee cup and took a long swallow. I poured another cup for myself and filled up Kathy’s.

“Bless you, love,” she told me.

She sat watching me as I chopped up some green pepper and mushrooms and grated some cheese. Breaking half-dozen eggs in a bowel, I added milk and whipped it all up. Setting that aside, I pulled out a cookie sheet, placed the cinnamon rolls on it and popped them in the oven. By then the bacon was done, I laid it on a paper towel to drain and poured the eggs into the frying pan, adding the pepper/mushroom/cheese fixings on top.

“You awake enough to watch this?” I asked Kathy. “I want to get dressed.”

“Go on Suzy,” Kathy said.

“Suzy?”

“Yeah, Suzy Homemaker, that’s who you look like. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you doing the domestic thing this early in the morning before.”

She was right, even though I’m a pretty fair cook I didn’t usually bother, but with Brittany here and Ralph coming over I thought I should make the effort.

I stuck my tongue out at her but squeezed her shoulder as I walked by. “Make the orange juice!” I called back over my shoulder to her.

On the way down the hall, I grabbed Brittany’s clean clothes out of the front bedroom. She was still asleep when I entered the bedroom, so I closed the bathroom door while I cleaned up. Returning to the bedroom, I went over to the dresser and got out clean undies and a bra.

Rummaging around, I found a novelty tee Kathy had bought me, bright pink with “WYSIWYG” in two-inch high blue letters across the chest. A pair of new jeans and some flats completed my outfit. Looking at the clock, I saw it was a quarter till eight, so I decided it was time to start getting Brittany up.

“Brittany, Brittany honey, time to wake up.”

At first she snuggled down further into the bed, but finally she roused enough to look up at me. “Karielle, I had a bad dream. Mom was hurt.”

“It wasn’t a dream, honey, but your mom will be fine. Come on, you need to get up and get dressed, your dad will be here in a few minutes.”

“Dad’s home!” Brittany was over the top with excitement.

“Yes, honey. After breakfast we’ll all go to the hospital and see your mom, but you have to get dressed first. Now go to the bathroom.”

Once she finished in the bathroom she was awake enough to dress herself.

As she finished the doorbell rang. “Bet that’s your dad,” I told her.

She went tearing down the hall, fumbled with the unfamiliar lock, and threw open the door just as I got there.

“DADDY!” She flung her arms around Ralph, as he stooped to pick her up.

“Hi sweetling!”

“Come on in, breakfast should be about ready,” I told him.

Kathy was just setting out the juice as we walked into the dining room. “Perfect timing,” she said. “The rolls just came out of the oven.”

I waved Ralph to a seat as we brought everything in. A stack of pillows in one chair boosted Brittany high enough, and I poured some cereal in a bowl for her, along with a glass of milk and some juice. Kathy poured a cup of coffee for Ralph, which he accepted gratefully.

“Dig in,” I told him. “Whatever’s left we’ll throw to the hogs.”

“Look’s delicious,” he said. “You always eat like this?”

Hardly! Usually it’s a liquid breakfast,” I said, flourishing my coffee cup.

Very little talking was done as we all dug in; the loudest sound was Brittany crunching her cereal.

After we finished eating it was almost nine, so Kathy and Ralph went out to transfer Brittany’s booster seat to his car, while I took care of getting her cleaned up and ready for the visit.

Kathy hollered, “You two ready?” just as we finished up, so I yelled back, “Coming”.

We were just loading up when something occurred to me. “Ralph, we need to get Suzanne some clean clothes.” So we stopped at their house, and Ralph and I went in and picked up a change for her; then it was off to the hospital.

When we got to the fourth floor, April was at the nurse’s station. She came over and gave me a hug, then kneeled and greeted Brittany.

Turning to Ralph she said, “The doctor is in with your wife right now; it looks like she’ll be able to go home.”

The relief was visible on his face. “Good, I don’t know how much my insurance will cover; a long stay could ruin us.”

I looked over at Kathy, and she winked back at me.

We knocked, and went in as Dr. Baker was finishing the chart. Ralph and Brittany both went to Suzanne and hugged her. I looked at the doctor and raised an eyebrow; she smiled and gave me a slight nod, so I pulled Suzanne’s clean clothes out and hung them up, Suzanne looked past her family and noticed my actions.

“Thank you for thinking about that, I didn’t want to wear the clothes home that I arrived in.”

Ralph turned to the doctor, “She can go home now?”

“Yes,” Dr. Baker replied. “She’ll need to take it easy for a couple of days, but she’ll be fine. You’ll need to go downstairs and check her out.”

“Kathy, why don’t you take Ralph down and help him,” I said. “You know the drill. Brittany, would you please go with them?”

“I want to stay with mom.”

“I know, sweetheart. But I need to help your mom get dressed and ready to go. You’ll have her all day long once you get home.”

“Please do what Kari asks,“ Suzanne said to her.

“O-kay.”

After they left, Dr. Baker turned to me, “I’ve got some instructions and a prescription for Suzanne, can I give all that to you?”

“Sure, no problem,” I told her.

April came in with a paper cup on a tray, “Here’s the analgesics you ordered, Doctor.”

“Take these now,” the doctor told Suzanne, “and start the prescription at noon. By the way, let me emphasize this, no climbing on things for a couple of days; you may be dizzy for awhile.”

The doctor left, and I helped Suzanne out of bed and into the bathroom.

“How’s the head,” I asked her.

“Hurts like hell!” she replied. “Thanks again for everything,” she said.

“De nada,” I replied. “I seem to remember a woman that offered to help a complete stranger, could I do less for someone I know?”

“Yeah, but . . .” she started, so I interrupted her.

“Take it as said, Suzanne. You’re going to make me cry, and my mascara will run.”

“Wouldn’t want that,” she replied with a slight smile.

I helped her dress and gathered up her dirty clothes, while she sat in a chair waiting for Ralph, Brittany and Kathy to come back. Dr. Baker come back in and handed me a packet, followed by an orderly with a wheelchair.

Suzanne had just settled into the wheelchair when Ralph came in, followed by the others. He was trying to fight back tears as he came over and hugged me. “Thank You!”

“What?” Suzanne asked, perplexed.

“Kari guaranteed all the bills here at the hospital. Anything my insurance won’t cover, she’s paying for.”

Suzanne got up and hugged me, “I don’t know how to thank you!”

“We’ll repay you every cent,” Ralph told me.

“Phooey,” I told him. “We already discussed this last night.”

“But, but . . .”

“Look, if it makes you feel better, pay what you can, when you can. Or give it to a good charity in my name. I don’t care. I didn’t earn this money! It’s blood money! It’s what some bean counters decided my fiancée’s life was worth. If I can do something good with it, I’ll count it as a win.”

By now there were tears running down my face. I was as surprised as anybody at how emotional I’d become. Kathy gathered me up in a hug, and Suzanne joined her, hugging us both. Brittany was tugging on my shirt, and I disengaged from the hug and turned to her.

“I love you Kari,” she told me.

“I love you, too, sweetheart.”

I caught sight of myself in the mirror. “Now, see, you’ve made my mascara run!” Suzanne laughed then, and after a moment Ralph joined in.

Kathy slipped an arm around my shoulder, “Come on; let’s go fix your makeup.”

When I emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, I’d regained my composure. Judging from the looks of the others, they’d shed a few tears also.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go home,” I said.

The Thomas’s turned into their driveway and we continued on to ours. I went in and plopped on the couch. Kathy sat next to me and put her arm around me. I laid my head on her shoulder.

“It’s not even noon and I’m already tired,” I said.

“You’ve had a busy day,” Kathy said. “Why don’t you go take a nap?”

“Sounds lovely! You coming?”

“I said a nap, as in sleep!” Kathy replied.

“Oh, I’ll sleep. But I’d like to cuddle a little,” I replied.

We adjourned to the bedroom where I stripped off my jeans and climbed under the covers. Kathy joined me a moment later, I pulled her over next to me, and I was out like a light.

The doorbell woke us about 1:30, “I’ll get it,” I told Kathy.

After pulling on my jeans, I opened the door to Mrs. Howard from down the street.

“Karielle?”

I nodded.

“How is Suzanne?” she asked.

“She has a sore head, but she’ll be fine,” I told her. “Please, I’m forgetting my manners, won’t you come in, I was just going to make some coffee.”

“No, that’s alright, but thank you,” she replied. “I was baking some banana bread, and I thought you two and the Thomas’s would enjoy some.” She handed me the sack she was carrying. “There’s two loaves in there, one for each of you.”

“Thank you, that’s very nice of you,” I said.

As I tuned to put the bread down on the hall table she caught sight of the wall. “What happened?”

I grinned in embarrassment, “I guess I got in a bit of a rush when Brittany called me yesterday, and I opened the door too hard.”

“Howie has some people,” she said, “He’s a general contractor, you know. Anyway, one of his people could fix that in no time. I’ll have him come over later and look at it.”

“That’s not necessary…” I began, but she cut me off.

“Hush, dear. We’re all neighbors; we take care of each other, like you did with the Thomas’s.” She had me there, all right.

“Well, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Of course not, I’ll have him stop by after supper.”

I was making the coffee when Kathy came in. “Who was at the door?”

“Mrs. Howard. It seems we’re caught in the backwash from the neighbors.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, she brought us a fresh-baked loaf of banana bread. The other is for Ralph and Suzanne.”

“Smell‘s good,” Kathy said.

“That’s not all,” I said. “Her husband is a general contractor; he’ll be over after dinner to look at the hole in the wall.”

“Wow, that’s nice!” Kathy said.

“Yeah,” I responded somewhat sourly.

“You got a problem with that?” Kathy asked.

“I’m used to doing things myself, I guess.”

“Kari, you go around doing things for other people, you’ve got to expect other people will do things for you,” Kathy told me.

“Guess so,” I said.

“Get used to it, love. People like to do things for nice people, and you’re nice people.” She handed me a cup, “Here, drink your coffee and then you can take the banana bread up to Suzanne.”

Ralph answered the door when I rang the bell, and groaned when he saw the wrapped banana bread in my hands. “Not you too!”

“No, I’m just the delivery girl on this. Mrs. Howard dropped it off, along with one for us. It’s pretty good, actually,” I told him.

“Come on in. Suzanne and Brittany are in the living room. I’ll put that in the refrigerator, if there’s any room left.”

I walked into the living room; Suzanne was stretched out on the couch, Brittany sitting on the floor beside her.

“Hi,” Suzanne said.

“Hi yourself! Hi Brittany!”

“Hi Kari.”

For once Brittany showed no inclination to crawl all over me. Her mother’s hand was resting on her shoulder and Brittany was clinging to it.

“Feeling any better?”

“Yes, a little bit,” Suzanne said. “The guys in my head with the sledgehammers are apparently taking a break.”

Ralph came back and handed me a glass of ice tea, “Please, sit down.”

After I got settled and took a sip of tea, I asked, “I take it the neighborhood cooking committee has been dropping by with goodies?”

“Yes, the doorbell has been ringing about every 15 minutes,” Suzanne said. “There are probably enough casseroles in the refrigerator to feed us for a week.”

“Two weeks,” Ralph said. “Not counting leftovers.”

I laughed, “It took us about two months to go through everything we received. So Ralph, how long are you going to be able to stick around?”

“Only for a couple of days,” he said. “I spoke to my boss, and he says now that Suzanne is home he needs me back on the job.”

“That’s too bad. I’m down the street if you need me. Littlebit there knows how to get hold of me.” I laughed. “Speaking of the neighbors, Mrs. Howard is having her husband come over and look at the hole. Apparently he’s a building contractor and can fix it.”

“That’s nice,” Suzanne said.

“Yeah, I tried to tell her it wasn’t necessary, but she told me we’re all neighbors, ‘We take care of each other’,” I told them.

“Trying to send a message here?” Ralph asked.

“Aside from the fact that I have a hard time accepting help myself, I guess it’s the one Kathy gave me: ‘People like to do things for nice people, and you’re nice people‘.” I replied. “Anyway, I just wanted to see how you were doing and drop off the banana bread,” I told them as I stood.

“You don’t have to run off,” Ralph said.

“I don’t want to tire Suzanne out,” I replied. “That’s one thing I know from experience, a little visitor goes a long way.” I smiled to take any sting out of it. “If there’s anything I can do, like babysitting for a few hours, call me.”

“Thanks Kari,” Suzanne said. “I’ll call you later on.”

“Kari!” I tuned when Brittany called to me.

I could see she was torn, she wanted to give me a hug, but she wasn’t about to leave her mother. I went back and kneeled beside her. Brittany flung her arms around my neck and hugged me tight.

“Thank you!”

“Of course, honey,” I told her.

Letting go of me she asked, “When are we going to plant your flowers?”

“Your mom and I will figure out something, Brittany. I still intend to have the second prettiest garden on the street; of course yours will still be the prettiest.”

Just after six the doorbell rang, and I answered the door, as I was closest. Standing with Mrs. Howard was a bear of a man, six foot five at least! “Hi kiddo! Martha tells me you had a little accident with the door. Let me take a look.”

“Sure Mr. Howard. I’m Kari and this is Kathy,” who had walked up behind me.

“Just call me Howie.” He examined the hole, pulling out a knife to cut out a piece of the sheet rock. “Yep, this can be easily patched. What’s a good time to stop by tomorrow afternoon?”

“I’ll be home all afternoon, so anytime that’s good for you,” I told him.

“Good, how about just after one o’clock then. I’ll bring a sheetrocker over, we can have it patched and taped in about an hour. The entire wall will have to be painted, though.”

“I can do that,” I told him.

“Okay. I’ve got some paint leftover from another job that should match this; I’ll bring it along. Let’s look at that stop.”

He closed the door; and picking up a hammer and screwdriver he popped the pin out of the hinge.

Looking at the stop, he snorted. “See here, this has been ready to break for awhile.” He pointed to the break, and I could see that part of it was shiny, but the other part was discolored. “These things are cheap pot metal, they don’t hold up.”

“That makes me feel better,” I told him. “Everybody has been looking at me like I’m the Incredible Hulk or something.”

“You still had to have banged it pretty hard,“ he replied. Turning to his wife, he asked, “Got that new one, honey?”

“Right here.”

Howie took the screwdriver and removed the screws holding the hinge plate to the frame. He placed the new stop behind the plate and screwed it back down. Swinging the door back and forth a few times, he made some adjustments with the screwdriver. “There, even the Incredible Hulkette couldn’t break that!”

“Thanks! Would you like some coffee?” I asked.

“As long as it’s not some of that designer crud,” Howie said.

“Howie!” Martha exclaimed.

“You sound like Kari,” Kathy laughed. “You ought to see the reaction at Starbucks when she orders, ‘Columbian coffee - black’.”

“Smart girl!”

Everybody settled down in the living room with the coffee; after chatting about nothing in particular for a little while, Mrs. Howard asked, “What ever happened to the young man that used to live here?”

“Elliot, he was injured in an industrial accident, then while he was in the hospital his fiancée was killed in a car accident,” I told her.

“That’s a shame. So he’s gone now?”

“Yes, Elliot turned the house over to me.”

“I wondered. He never really got very friendly with anybody in the neighborhood.”

“No, he had a lot of pain, and was very unhappy.”

“Are you related to him, you look a lot like him,” she asked.

“Yes, our mothers were very close.”

This was getting uncomfortable; I didn’t like to lie, especially to people as nice as the Howard’s.

Meanwhile, Mr. Howard had been looking from Kathy to me and back. “You two aren’t really twins, are you?”

“No, we’re not.” Kathy said. “It’s one of those freaky coincidences that we look so much alike.”

“And it’s another coincidence that both of you have the last name of Taylor?”

“No, I married someone named Taylor,” Kathy said.

“Hmmm. You know, this is a quiet neighborhood because it’s cul-de-sac, so there’s not much traffic.”

“Yes, that’s one of the things I like about it,” I said.

“Well, some of the people who live here might be a bit conservative in their outlook; we’ve been able to keep the worst of the outside world at bay.”

I glanced at Kathy, who shrugged her shoulders; we weren’t quite sure where this was going. But I had a bad feeling.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Howard, I’m not quite sure what this is about,” I said.

“Some of the residents might not be very accepting of what you call ‘alternative lifestyles’, if you know what I mean.”

“Y--e--s?”

“But as long as you don’t do it in the streets and scare the horses . . .”

“Howie, you’re confusing them,” Mrs. Howard told him, then turned to us. “What he’s trying to say, in his usual roundabout cryptic manner, is that what people here prize is neighborliness.”

I’m sure my face was a blank as Kathy’s, for Mrs. Howard laughed lightly at us. “It’s like this girls, the two of you have been very good neighbors, helping out the Thomas’s, that sort of thing, and that’s important to those of us who live here. Your personal life is your own business.”

“So, you . . .” I began.

“As long as you continue to be as discreet as you’ve been, there’s no problem,” Mr. Howard said. “It’s a shame Elliot didn’t make an effort to reach out, he would have found people here willing to help him.”

“He knows that now, Mr. Howard. Thank you,” I told him.

“Will he ever be back?” Mrs. Howard asked.

“No, he’s gone now. He’s far happier with his new life.”

“Well, you’re a lovely young woman, Kari; we’re glad to have you and Kathy as neighbors.”

“Thank you, we’re very happy to be living here, and we feel very fortunate.”

Mr. Howard looked at his watch, “We need to be going; I’ll be by tomorrow to fix that wall.”

“Thank you, Mr. Howard. We really appreciate that,” I replied.

“It’s still Howie; we’re all neighbors, after all.”

Kathy laughed, “Then thanks, Howie!”

Mrs. Howard gave Kathy a hug, then turned to me. As she hugged me she whispered in my ear, “You aren’t very comfortable not telling the truth, are you?”

“No,” I whispered back.

“That’s a good thing.”

After Kathy closed the door behind them she turned to me, “I think our secret’s out.”

“I know it is. But I think we’re safe.” I told her what Mrs. Howard said to me.

“How much do you think she knows?”

“It’s hard to say, but I got the feeling she knows I used to be Elliot.”

“Doesn’t seem to bother her.”

“They’re not that old, people have become more accepting since the Sixties.”

“True.”

After scrounging a snack out of the fridge, we settled in for a night of relaxation; it had been a busy weekend and doing nothing was nice.

It was after ten the next morning when I woke, I hadn’t even heard Kathy go to work. Wandering into the kitchen, I found a sign on the coffee maker, “Turn Me On”. I did and was soon rewarded with the smell of fresh-brewed coffee. Have I mentioned how much I love that woman?

After a quick brunch, I set about cleaning up the house; things were a bit of a mess from all the activities over the weekend. It was almost one when I remembered I needed to clear out the front hall. I barely had time to finish when the doorbell rang. I opened the door, expecting to greet Howie; instead it was Greg from the band at the Halloween party several years ago!

“Hi! Mr. Howard sent me to . . . Ellen?”

“Actually it’s Karielle, but yeah, it’s me.”

“Wow! I never expected to bump into you! How you doing, uh, Karielle?”

“Just call me Kari, everybody else does. ‘Ellen’ was kind of a joke.”

“Uh, okay. You live here?”

“Yes, it’s home, and it’s paid for. Come on in.”

Greg walked in, looking around. “Nice place!”

“So, still got the band?” I asked, an idea forming.

“Yes. This job feeds the belly, the band feeds the soul. Hey, we added a trumpet player!”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah! We’re doing some Chicago now, that sort of thing.”

“Any Blood, Sweat & Tears?”

“You like B, S & T?” Greg seemed amazed.

“Oh, yeah! My Mom got me hooked on them. They were one of her favorite groups.”

“That’s some great stuff, ‘Spinning Wheel’, all that.”

“’And When I Die’ is really good!”

“Yeah. Listen, I’d better get to work. Mr. Howard is going to wonder what happened if I take too long.”

I watched him as he carefully measured the area around the hole and cut out a section, exposing the studs underneath. Cutting a matching piece from the material he’d brought with him, he carefully installed it in the hole and secured it with a couple of screws.

“Can I get some water?”

“Sure. Sink’s in here. Would you like something to drink?”

“After I’m done, maybe.”

It didn’t take him long to get the patched area taped and mudded in.

“That’s got to dry before I can sand it; I’ll take that drink now.”

I poured a couple of glasses of iced tea, and we sat down at the kitchen table. “So, did you ever find a new singer?”

“Yeah, several in fact. Every one thinks she’s going to be the next Kelly Clarkson; so they don’t want to waste time singing in a bar band. That’s why we added the trumpet player; so I could do more of the vocals.”

I wasn’t sure how to ask this, after blowing Greg off several years ago; but the idea of singing for the band suddenly sounded like fun; as well as something to do with my time.

“Hmmm. Greg, I was wondering, would you. . . .”

“Yes.”

“You didn’t even give me a chance to finish!”

“If you were asking if I was interested in you singing for us, the answer is yes.”

“Well, you might want to hear the deal first.”

“Okay, what’s the deal?”

“I don’t know how long I’ll be able to sing with the band; I’m trying to get my old job at Ch. 7 back.”

“You’re a reporter?”

“No, a photographer.” I laughed, “I’d rather be behind the camera than in front of it!”

“Fair enough. We all have real world jobs, if your’s conflicts, that’s the way it goes. What else?”

“I can’t work both nights every weekend, I need some personal time.”

“How about weeknights, say Wednesdays and Thursdays?”

“I should be able to do some; we just need to figure out a schedule. I can figure out the big gigs, and some of the smaller ones I’ll take off, okay?”

“Should be able to do that, anything else?”

“The band gets the billing, not me. You guys are the one doing all the work.”

“Now, THAT’S a switch! Every singer we’ve had wanted her name on top.”

“Not me. I’m doing this to keep busy. Since I got out of the hospital last year, I’ve been sitting around going stir crazy.”

“Why were you in the hospital?”

“Oh, I had an accident, and I’ve had multiple surgeries to fix things. That’s why I haven’t been working.”

“All right, no problems so far, anything else?”

“No, but I may think of some other things.”

“Let me know; and we’ll sit down and discuss them. Can you come to a practice tomorrow night?”

“What time?”

“Oh, about eight, at my place. I’ll give you directions.”

“Can I bring somebody with me? My . . . roommate.”

“Sure. Oops, need to get back to work. We’ll talk more tomorrow night.”

“Okay.”

Greg sanded the patch; filled in a few spots and sanded them down; then pronounced the wall done. “Let it dry for a day, just to make sure, before you paint it.”

Greg took his tools out to his truck; and returned with a gallon of paint.

“Mr. Howard said to give this to you. You need any help with the painting?”

“No. Thanks anyway.”

Kathy had just pulled into the driveway as Greg was getting into his truck. “See ya tomorrow night!” He waved and pulled away.

Kathy stepped up to me, “Who’s that and why are you seeing him tomorrow night?”

“Actually we both are. That’s Greg, the guy that has that band I sang with at Halloween. I’m going to start singing with them. I’m tired of sitting around doing nothing.”

I was excited and happy, and I’m sure it showed.

Kathy looked at the truck as it disappeared down the street, then looked back at me, “And that’s all there is?”

“What? Oh, sure, of course! Don’t be silly!” I told her.

End Part 2

Notes:

Coming soon - Part Three - A new career for Kari?

Thanks to Jill and John for their valuable editorial assistance.

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