Chapter 8
1394 Words
Present Day
Present Day“Mr. Nickerson. I"m so sorry to have to go over these details with you at such a painful time, but I have just a few questions about the accident.” The police officer leads Isaac to a comfortable chair and sits across from him.
“I understand.” Still dazed, Isaac nods his head. He is a military man after all and understands that protocol must be followed.
“It was foggy, a thick marine layer,” Isaac begins. “We had - my family and I - had gone to a favorite restaurant up to Lighthouse Point for dinner. On the way home I wanted to stop at my office to pick up some blueprints, so I could work on them some more. I design ships.”
“So, it was foggy and you missed the exit on the freeway, is that what happened?” The officer had been briefed earlier but wanted to hear it directly from Isaac.
“Yes, I missed the exit. I guess I was going too slow and this semi was behind me. I didn"t even see it in all that fog, and he hit us from behind, or so I"m told. I barely remember, it all happened so fast.”
“And your car had only one air bag? On the driver"s side?”
“It"s an old SUV. There was one on the passenger side, but it didn"t deploy. I don"t know why. I don"t know…” He shakes his head and runs a trembling hand through his thick dark hair.
“Was your wife wearing a seat belt?”
“Yes…no…she was adjusting it when the collision happened. I guess it wasn"t fixed. Damn it Billie! I told her to leave the belt alone until I stopped. But she wouldn"t listen…or didn"t have time to before I -” He begins to sob, taking all the guilt onto himself.
He remembers now that David only suffered some minor injuries. It was a miracle he wasn"t hurt worse. “He"s deaf, you know,” Isaac informs the officer. “Maybe it was a good thing he didn"t hear it coming.”
“I"m very sorry about your wife,” Mr. Nickerson. “But I"m glad your boy will be okay.”
“Thank you.” A light goes on in Isaac"s head. “Oh, my God. Sally. My daughter. I"ve got to go see her. She"s in the ICU. She might not wake up.”
“Of course. I think we"re finished here. If there is anything I can do for you, don"t hesitate to call.” He gives Isaac his card.
But now Isaac and David must concentrate on Sally. Glumly, they walk together to the ICU and to Sally"s room. They are surprised to see her awake.
“She"s still groggy,” the doctor explains, “and not quite sure where she is.”
“Sally,” Isaac soothes her. “It"s Dad and David. We"re here for you.”
“Where am I, Dad? What"s going on?”
“You"re in the hospital, Sally. There was an accident. You got pretty banged up.”
“I did? Were you hurt? And David?”
“We were very lucky, Sal,” David tells her with a quick sign. “We"ll both be good as new soon.”
“Mom…was Mom hurt?”
Deliberately avoiding the question, Isaac focuses on his daughter"s condition. He forces an encouraging smile.
“Right now, we"ve got to get you better.” Isaac turns to the doctor for an update.
“I was just going to give her a check up,” the doctor informs him. “Her vitals are good and that"s a good sign. Sally, I need to examine your mobility now. Okay?”
“Okay, I guess.” Sally says meekly.
“Now hold your right hand up to mine and push back as hard as you can. Good. Nice and strong. Same with your left hand. That"s fine, too. Do this with your fingers.” The doctor touches his thumb to each finger and Sally mirrors his movements.
“You"re doing fine, Sally. Now, we"ll check your feet and legs, okay?”
“Sure.”
The doctor lifts the sheet above Sally"s knees. “Can you wiggle your toes for me?”
“Sure. Is that okay?”
There is no movement, but Sally doesn"t realize it. “Try again, Sally,” Isaac encourages her. You can do it.”
Still no movement. The doctor runs a small blunt instrument along the soles of Sally"s feet. There is no reflex motion.
“What"s going on, Doc? Why can"t she move her legs?” Isaac is borderline panicky. “Can"t you do something?”
“We"ll have to do more tests to be sure. When she came in we did a CT scan but couldn"t see anything to indicate paralysis.”
“But she can"t move her legs?” Isaac tried not to sound hysterical.
Sally starts to sob. “I can"t move, David. I can"t move my legs!”
Her brother holds Sally"s hand and signs to her, “It"s okay, Sal. You"re going to be okay. I promise.”
An MRI to detect fractures or nerve damage to Sally"s spine is performed but doesn"t yield any definitive diagnosis.
“She does have some compression fractures and tissue swelling,” the Radiologist reports, “so we hope these will heal on their own. But whether or not she will regain all of her functionality is too soon to tell. We are hopeful the paralysis is temporary.”
“And if it isn"t?” Isaac"s breathing is heavy with anxiety.
“Let"s take it one step at a time.”
Outside Sally"s room, Dorothy tries to console Isaac to face the most difficult undertaking of his life.
“I don"t think I can tell Sally about her mother without completely falling apart,” Isaac confesses. “Finding out she can"t walk is bad enough, but telling her that Billie is dead will devastate her.”
“It"s devastated all of us,” Dorothy reminds him, “but we"ll all be by her side when you tell her. You have to do it soon, Isaac. This is not something you can keep from her much longer.”
“One day she"s all happy and carefree, then in an instant she"s motherless and an invalid. It"s not fair.” Isaac finally breaks down, his body heaving in sorrowful cries.
* * *
David guides his sister"s wheelchair up to Billie"s casket where they will see their mother for the last time. Wearing the pink sheath that she had designed and sewn herself, with her luxurious hair a cascade of silken blonde waves, Billie Nickerson is beautiful even in death. David steels himself to keep composed, for Sally"s sake.
“She looks like she"s sleeping, David,” Sally remarks. “Sleeping Beauty. Maybe she"ll wake up. Wake up, Mom.” She grabs onto the edge of the coffin and lays her head in her hands, crying her heart out.
David puts his arms around his sister"s shoulders and comforts her tenderly. Throughout the funeral service he is stunned but stoic, relieved that he cannot hear the platitudes of well-meaning friends or the sobs of the sister he adores.
Isaac is so despondent that Dorothy has to be the strong one, to keep her brother from letting his knees buckle under him.
Billie is laid to rest in the Nickerson family cemetery overlooking the ocean, which today is smooth as glass, gilded by the sun"s sparkling gold reflection.
An alabaster guardian angel adorns her headstone which reads,
Blanche “Billie” Nickerson
Beloved Wife and Mother
We Miss You
David, Sally, Isaac and Dorothy place single stem yellow roses on her coffin one by one and say their goodbyes, their pain assuaged by the fact that she is close by and they can visit her anytime they feel the need.
Even in her spirit state, Billie feels their sorrow and makes a solemn vow of her own. I"m coming back, dear family. I don"t know when or how, but I promise I won"t desert you.”
I"m coming back, dear family. I don"t know when or how, but I promise I won"t desert you.”
- Writer
