The Outsider Series

Chapter 7-1

Chapter Seven

Diana felt a hand nudge her arm. She instantly stiffened and sat up, blinking, and placed her hand over her heart, pressing the other into a kinked muscle at the side of her neck. How long had she been asleep? It seemed the whole family was there. Rodney was standing in front of her, and Andy and Neil stood off by the window. It was Brad leaning over her, resting his hand on her arm. She blinked a couple times and heard “Ma ma ma.” Danny was in Becky’s arms. Diana staggered to her feet and reached for him.

Someone cleared their throat, and Diana hugged Danny and rested him on her hip.

She blinked again and realized the doctor was there. He stepped closer, his shirtfront damp. He yanked off the blue surgical cap. His gray hair, so neat before, was a damp mess. “Surgery went well. There was minimal bleeding on the brain. Considering how far he fell, he’s lucky. The spinal cord was bruised. We won’t know until Jed wakes up if there will be any paralysis.”

“When will Jed wake up?” It was Rodney who stepped forward and spoke in a deep voice. Becky, Jed’s short, plump mother, slid her arm around Diana’s waist and placed her other hand on Danny’s head as he clutched Diana’s old t-shirt.

“Brain injuries are tricky. We hope soon. Let’s just see how the next twenty-four hours play out.”

“Can I see my husband?” Diana asked.

“Can we see him?” Rodney glanced at Diana as he asked. He was a tall man, almost a head taller than the doctor. With all the large Friessen men crowding the waiting room, the doctor was having to look up at each of them.

“He’s being moved to ICU now, and then you can see him, one at a time. Don’t stay long.”

“Diana, let me take Danny.” Becky reached for Danny again.

Brad and Rodney followed the doctor down the hall. They paused and glanced Diana’s way, waiting for her. Becky stayed in the waiting room with Andy and Neil.

Rodney pressed his hand to Diana’s shoulder and squeezed. “You need to eat something, Diana. You need rest, too, not just a nap on hard plastic chairs,” he said.

Diana shook her head. “I want to see Jed. I need to make sure he’s okay.” She gazed up at her father-in-law, who had the same mysterious brown eyes as Jed, but older, with heavy lines on his face. He was a handsome man, and she struggled with her relationship with him. She’d never had a father. She didn’t know how fathers and daughters talked, shared, or anything.

“We’ll wait out here while you go in.” Rodney dropped his hand, and Diana walked into the ICU, which was all floor-to-ceiling glass. Jed was still on a respirator, tubes and wires sticking out of him. A white bandage was wrapped around his head, and his eyes were still closed. She touched his hand, hoping he’d feel her and that it would be enough to wake him.

The dark-haired nurse on the other side watched her from where she adjusted some tubing. “Are you his wife?”

“Yes. How’s he doing?” Diana asked.

“He’s stable. You can hold his hand. Talk to him. If he moves or wakes up, let me know. I’ll be right outside.” She stepped out to the nurse’s station.

Diana stood beside the bed. She slid her hand under Jed’s, squeezing it and willing him again to wake up and squeeze hers back. But he still didn’t move.

“I love you so much,” she said. “I need you to come back to me. Danny needs you. He’s here now, and your mom has him in the waiting room.” She realized then that Jed wouldn’t like that at all. The hospital waiting area was no place for a baby. “Your whole family is here.” Diana nearly jumped when a hand pressed her shoulder. She turned to Rodney behind her.

“Danny’s getting restless. Brad’s reserved a room at a hotel nearby. Go get some sleep, have something to eat. I’ll stay here with Jed.”

Diana gazed at her baby boy in his grandma’s arms as she now stood outside the glass door. Danny was fussing and reaching toward her. He needed her. Diana needed to eat. She knew that, too, but as she gazed back at her husband, she knew she couldn’t leave, not yet.

“No, I can’t leave. I’ll nurse Danny in the waiting room. That should help for now, and then take Danny back to the hotel. Please.”

Rodney must have seen her determination. “I’ll stay with Jed while you go.”

Diana stepped out of the room. “Becky, I’m just going to nurse Danny.”

“Ma ma ma,” Danny screeched as Becky handed him to his mother. He yanked at Diana’s tangled hair.

“Owie, Danny, don’t pull Mama’s hair.” She hugged him close.

“I’m going to go in and see Jed.” Becky wandered in, went to the side of the bed, and bent over Jed. In that second, Diana saw how deeply Becky loved Jed. She loved Danny so much, so she understood a mother’s love. It was just hard for her to see, as she’d always wanted a mother’s love.

“Okay, Danny.” Diana strode back to the waiting room, bouncing Danny on her hip as he noisily babbled.

Brad, Neil, and Andy all faced her from where they stood huddled in a circle. It was Brad who asked, “Everything okay? How’s Jed?”

“He’s apparently stable, but he didn’t respond to me when I touched his hand or open his eyes when I talked to him.”

Danny picked that moment to let out a howl, and he tried to flip sideways to nurse, his tiny hands clutching at her breasts.

Diana whipped her head around, looking for somewhere to sit that would be somewhat private to nurse him. “I know, Danny, okay?” Diana took the end seat closer to the window. She didn’t look up as she slid her hand under her shirt and lifted her bra, trying to be inconspicuous as she cradled Danny’s head so he could latch on and nurse, but Danny had other ideas, pushing her shirt up and exposing her pale breast, patting the fullness as he drank. Diana’s cheeks burned and she dared not look up, but she wished for a blanket, even a jacket, to provide her some modesty. She slid around, even slouched a bit in desperation.

It was Neil, Jed’s very neat and tidy, extremely handsome brother, with short styled hair, tan slacks, and a black silk sports shirt, who said, “Diana, here’s my jacket. It looks like my nephew is a chip off the old block and takes after every one of the Friessen males as an exhibitionist, with no thought as to his mama’s feelings.” Neil draped the jacket over her shoulder, and Diana gripped the front to cover Danny’s head and her breasts. Neil sat beside her, flashing a bright smile, his brown eyes twinkling.

“My little brother, Jed, do you all remember when he was fifteen and he helped himself to Mom and Dad’s wine collection? Took a bottle of some really expensive private reserve chardonnay got wasted with a couple of friends.”

“I never heard about that.” Andy laughed from where he leaned against the window.

“Yeah, just ask Brad what happened when Dad and Mom invited over the president of the cattleman’s association, with his young wife with the big boobs.”

Brad chuckled. “She was an eyeful. I remember her in that skimpy top that left little to the imagination. Mom asked once if she was chilly and wanted a sweater. Dad ogled her all of two seconds, and mom flicked his ear.” All three men laughed over that picture.

Diana felt herself let go of her earlier discomfort.

“So what about the wine?” Diana smiled, and then Danny smacked his lips and tried to twist to the other breast. Neil must have noticed, as he held his jacket up as she turned Danny, offering him her other breast. “Thank you,” she said as she glanced at Neil. He genuinely made her feel relaxed and eased her anxiety.

“My pleasure, Diana.” He winked at her and then continued on. “Now, by the time dinner came around and we were seated at the dining room table, Dad was opening a bottle of wine and poured everyone a glass. I remember watching the cattleman’s wife—I don’t even remember her name, but she took a sip and made this awful face. She set down her glass just as Dad sat at the head of the table and Mom carried in the platter of steak, and she said, ‘This is water.’

“Of course, Mom rolled her eyes in a way I’ve never seen her do before and said, ‘It is not. This is one of my favorites. It has a sharp, fruity taste.’ It was from a trip that she’d taken with Dad to the Napa Valley on a wine tour. So Mom picked up her glass to prove this young lady wrong about the same time Dad did, and they both took a swallow. Mom’s eyes widened….”

Diana glanced over at Brad, who was laughing so hard he had to sit. Andy’s chest shook from laughing, and he was holding his stomach.

Neil winked at Diana as he continued in that deep, animated voice of his: “And then I looked over at Jed, and his face was white, his eyes big as saucers. And then I hear Mom say, in an extremely calm voice, ‘Rodney, this is water.’ And she set her glass down, and Dad and the president of the cattlemen’s association both stared at the bottle, each taking a turn reading the label. And that loud-mouth rancher was telling Dad to call the winery because someone sure needed to get fired, and all the while Jed is staring at the wine bottle. I know he’s done something, and it was Mom and her sharp gaze that studied each of us as if she could read our minds, and she landed on Jed. I was positive she’d say something. She opened her mouth, exhaled hard, and then seemed to gather herself and said in this really calm voice, ‘Brad, run down and grab another bottle of wine, red this time, since we are having beef. We may as well get something right.’ ”

Diana was now laughing. “Well, what happened? Your mom didn’t say anything to Jed?”

Neil shook his head. “One thing about Mom, she’d never embarrass one of us in front of a bunch of strangers. She saved that for the moment they walked out the door, which was about the time Jed knew he was busted. So he’s doing the dishes, cleaning the kitchen. Mom stops and sees him scurrying around. Brad and I stayed where we were at the dining room table, waiting for the show. But Mom walks in, sees Jed, and says nothing. Instead, she kissed each of us on the cheek and said, ‘Goodnight. I’m going to have a hot bath, and then I think I’ll read for a bit.’ And she said to Dad, who lingered in the living room, ‘Rodney, make sure you take the wine to the liquor store tomorrow and file a complaint, and make sure they analyze the contents. Then we’ll be sure to contact the winery, as someone will lose their job over this.’ By this time, Jed’s damn near freaking out. Remember, Brad, when he came into the dining room and stared at that wine bottle that was still filled with water sitting on the buffet?”

Brad was still laughing.

Neil, with flair, extended his hand over to Brad as he stared at Diana. “And Jed was absolutely trembling when he slunk over to big brother and said, ‘Brad, I did something really stupid,’ and he was shaking as he confessed to you that he stole the wine and he and his friend drank it, and just in case Mom and Dad counted the bottles of wine, he filled it with water, jammed the cork back in, and slipped it back into the wine rack. And do you remember what you said to him?”

Brad wiped his damp eye. “Yeah, I said to him, ‘You’re in big trouble. If I were you, I’d come clean.’ ”

“But he didn’t. You remember how he practically waited on Mom, helped her with dinner, jumping up every night and telling her to sit, he’d do the dishes. And we knew Mom knew, but she never said a word. She’d smile at Jed, thank him for his thoughtfulness. Do you remember how long it went on for?”

“Four wonderful days.” Becky strode in, and it was then that Diana noticed Becky’s wrinkled slacks and the creases in her blouse, a sadness lurking in her warm eyes. “He did everything for me, appearing at my side, bringing me tea and asking if there was anything else he could do for me. When he started scrubbing the kitchen floor, I had to let him off. In good conscience, no matter what he did, the guilt was eating away at him. I hoped he would’ve confessed, but … Jed was determined to punish himself. I was starting to feel so guilty with how hard he was working with school, homework, chores, and then being my personal slave. I called him in, told him to put away the mop, and sat him down. And I finally told him I knew that it was him who filled the wine bottle with water.”

Danny pushed away then and sat up. Diana adjusted her bra and shirt clumsily. Danny was now rubbing his eyes.

“Oh, my sweet boy, come on over to Grandma.” He went to her willingly. “Jed always held on to everything, even when he did something wrong. You all did, but Jed even more so. He’s always been a lone wolf.”

Silence filled the waiting room as everyone seemed lost in thought. The lighthearted teasing Neil had so easily weaved disappeared.

“Thank you, Neil.” Diana stood the weariness and worry making her legs feel like two stiff tree stumps. “Becky, would you mind taking Danny back to the hotel? I want to stay with Jed. I can’t go until I know he’s going to be okay.”

“I can stay with Diana. Rodney, Neil, Brad, if you want to go to the hotel, I can call you.” Andy stepped closer to Diana.

Diana had opened her mouth to say something when Brad stiffened. Even the expression on his face was similar to how Jed had looked the time the local hay guy showed up with a truck full of moldy hay, trying to pass it off as top grade.

A lock of hair drooped in her eyes, and she quickly swept it back behind her ears.

“No, Andy, I’ll stay. You’ve done so much already, driving back to get Danny, too. I’m the single one here with nowhere to go. You should get back to Laura, your wife. She has to be worried, wondering what’s going on,” Neil said as he accepted his coat back from Diana.

“Andy, you come back to the hotel with us. Get some rest first. Neil will stay with Diana.” It was Rodney who stepped in and patted Andy’s back.

“Dad, I’ll stay, too. You three take Danny to the hotel.” Brad stood with his brother Neil. The two of them together appeared, in their own way, a formidable force.

Before Diana could say anything, Brad was ushering her to Jed’s room. She paused at the glass door and looked up at her brother-in-law, and what she saw rattled her. It was what she believed was a big-brother protectiveness for her.