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Warnings: Happy Birthday Lars!, Snowmobile use, Severe accident (no one dies), Severe Angst
There’s a buzzing noise in the room. I feel James shift, his hand slapping around on his nightstand. The buzzing stops, but his phone is powered on. The light from the screen seems exceedingly bright in the dark room. Then it’s on speaker mode and ringing.
“Jah?”
James in full voice sings Happy Birthday to Lars.
“Thanks, you inconsiderate bastard!”
“Hey, I’m not the one who decided to be born the day after Christmas in Denmark!”
I love to hear these two rib each other lovingly.
I can also hear that James is not really awake. He ends the call without telling Lars about the biggest news of the day. He sets his phone down on his bedside table, snakes his arms around me and we are both back to sleep.
The smell of coffee wakes us. I untangle myself from James, kissing his forehead in the process, and head to the bathroom. He’s still face down in the pillows when I come out. Grabbing a clean pair of leggings and a t-shirt, I get dressed. Grabbing a clean sweater, I smack the covers over James’ legs. “C’mon Grandpa! Wake up!”
James rolls over, “Oh yeah!” He slides from the bed, uses the bathroom and gets dressed while I make up the bed and toss the dirties into the hamper.
Getting into the kitchen, the three girls are cooking. “Dad, we used some of the roast to make breakfast tacos.”
“That’s fine and smells great!” James smiles.
Looking out the window, it has stopped snowing, and the sun is trying to shine through the clouds scudding across the sky.
CBF comes from the living room with the tree pitcher, “Where does this go?” Both Cali and Marcella point to the end of the counter.
James makes our coffees, and we take them to the kitchen table. A few minutes later, we are served breakfast tacos. Basically, breakfast burritos just in smaller tortillas. And a little messier. But they are really good. The three boys start grabbing plates. “They cooked, we clean up” CBF says.
“Hey Dad, can we take out the snowmobiles?” Castor asks.
“They haven’t been used in a couple of years. They’ll need some work first.”
MBF speaks up, “I’ve worked on engines before. I’ll be happy to help.”
Nodding, James stands up, “Then let’s get out to the shed.” The four men leave through the garage. I hear, “Damn! Nice Shelby!” as the door closes. I can only giggle and imagine the looks on the boys’ faces when James tells them it’s mine.
The kitchen is clean and tidy. “I hate to do this” as I pull out the big mixer. “But I’m going to make another mess.”
I put together the batter for something Grandmother called Date Nut Bread. I get it into the oven. I may have over done again as I doubled the recipe. The girls all sit at the counter watching. We talk about a lot of things from fashion to hit songs on the radio to hairstyles.
I can hear the snowmobile engines being turned on and off in the background.
“How did you meet Dad?” Marcella asks.
“It was a blind date.” I get looks from his daughters. “Derek, one of the editors I work with knows someone on your Dad’s crew. Derek wanted me to go to a car show, but it was a charity event and I would need a date. Derek was taking his own girlfriend. Sooo, I needed a plus one.” Checking the timer, “Derek reached out to Martin and called in a favor.”
“I think I remember a Martin. Short guy?” I nod. “Bald?” I nod again. “He’s a nice guy.”
CGF asks, “You like cars?”
“And football.”
“Jets or Giants?” Cali asks.
“Seattle Seahawks.” That got me some looks. “Blame my college roommate. She’s from Seattle.”
The garage door opens and James walks in carrying a red helmet wearing a heavy snowsuit. “Whose going?”
Both Marcella and CGF speak up.
“Marcella, can you please show CGF where the big snow suits are?”
“Sure! C’mon!” The two women leave.
James looks at Cali. “How you doing this morning?”
“Better” she smiles at her Dad. “The rolls that Kira made don’t make me want to puke every ten minutes.”
“That’s good news! I’m glad you both are feeling better!” He wraps an arm around me, “Wanna go?” He’s got the huge cheshire cat grin smeared on his face.
“No, I’ll stay here. I have Date Nut Bread in the oven.” I smile up at James, “Go have fun!”
He kisses me, “We’ll be back before sunset.” He smacks my ass as he walks towards the garage.
“How much longer on this date bread nut stuff?”
I huff out a laugh, “Date Nut Bread. It’s almost done.”
“It smells really good! Thanks again for showing me about the baking soda.”
“You’re welcome.” The timer dings and I test, then pull out the pans. The snowmobiles roar down the driveway.
We talk about how she met her boyfriend. How she and her siblings got along as kids. How it was tough being the oldest daughter of a megarocksuperstargod. I slice a piece of the bread for Cali. She nibbles. “Dis ish wrewwy good!”
“I hope you both like it!” I grin. "It's better with cream cheese on it."
My ears pick up an engine. A single engine. I look at Cali then I run to the front door. There’s CGF. Alone. Her machine stops just before the front steps and she yanks off her helmet. “Castor gave me this” as she pulls his phone from her snowsuit. She puts in the passcode. There on the screen: Use house phone. Jacobs 439-555-2122 Coordinates: yadda yadda.. Dad’s unconscious.
I wrap my arm around her and pull her into the house, “How long did it take you to get here?” I calmly ask.
“Twenty minutes, I think.”
Grabbing the phone in the kitchen, I dial the number.
It’s answered, “Hi James!”
“This is Kira.”
“Who?”
“The new girlfriend. James is down. I have coordinates.”
“Give them to me. What happened.”
I give him the coordinates and hand the house phone over to CGF, “Just tell him exactly what you saw.”
“We’d been in a field. James said that he was going to check out the sides of the field. He wasn’t going really fast. The next thing … his snowmobile rears up and over and James is under it.”
Cali’s grabbing my arm. Tightly. CGF hands the phone back to me. “Ok. They are out there. I’ll get the chopper in the air right now. The others will have to ride their machines back. I can’t take them with me.”
“I understand. Where will you take him?”
“Denver, Swedish. I’ll call this number when I have him onboard.”
“Thanks.” The call ends. I dig out my phone and call the bands travel agent, “Jordan?”
“Hey!”
“James is hurt. He’s being airlifted to Denver. I’m going to need a chopper for seven soon.”
“What happened?”
“All I know right now is that he’s unconscious. There’s a medivac chopper headed out to collect him.”
“Hold the line.”
The three of us girls look at each other as a helicopter zooms over the house.
“Ok. The Eagle county airport. Call the number I just texted" my phone vibrates "to you when you leave the house.”
“It’s gonna take about 30 minutes for the kids to get back to the house.”
“Kira, just call that number. There’s a chopper on standby for you. Do you want me to call anyone?”
I heave a sigh, “I guess Lars.”
“Will do.”
“This is a fuck of a present.”
“Oh shit. It is his birthday.”
“Maybe Pete first?”
“Good idea. You have my number if you need anything.”
“Thanks.”
That call ends. I look at the two young women in front of me. “We need to get some things pulled together. As soon as the others get back, we’re leaving. CGF, go get out of those wet clothes. Toss some dry clothes into a backpack for Castor. Cali, can you put together some clothes for the others?”
“On it.” She turns, then stops, “How are you so calm?”
I smile at her, “You can’t hear my heartbeat.” Nodding, “Let’s go ladies.” I dash into our bedroom and pull on jeans, a bra and a thermal shirt. I grab another pair of sweats and shirt and stuf them into the bag. A run through the bathroom, I grab a hairbrush. Returning to the kitchen, I grab a handful of granola bars and toss those into the big purple bag. I pull my wallet from my purse on the counter, along with both our phones and add those to the purple bag. “Shoes” I mumble to myself. Going to the garage door, I pull on my mukluks. I also grab our coats. Just as I return to the kitchen, the house phone rings.
“Yes?” My voice much louder than I wanted.
“I’m airborne. The others are on the way back. He’s still out.”
“Thanks. Fly safe.”
“Thanks.” The call ends.
Cali and CGF are standing there. “The others are on the way back. James is still unconscious.” I look at both of them, “This will be the hardest part. Waiting for the others to return.” I grab CGF’s arm, “Ya did good.” She starts to cry. I just pull her into a hug. Cali joins in. “Hey. Seriously, ya did good.” We stand there together for a time. I double check that the oven is off and put the loaves into storage bags. I heave a sigh, “Let’s get the bags into the truck.”
“Dad’s truck?” Cali sounds slightly aghast.
“We can’t all fit into my Shelby.”
“The Shelby is your car?” CGF’s voice is a little squeaky.
“Yup.” I grab the key fob for the truck and my purple bag.
The girls grab the backpacks they’d packed, “Seriously, you are going to drive Dad’s truck.”
“Cali” I turn and smile smally at the young woman, “yes, I am going to drive that damn behemoth.” As I open the garage door, “It’s the only option.” I hit the button for the garage overhead door and plop my purple bag on the console between the front seats. “I’m going to back it out. CGF, go get your machine. We’ll just park them all in here for now.” As she runs, “Please don’t hit my Shelby” I give her a smile.
I had to spend a moment or so adjusting the driver seat from the settings for James’ 6 foot 1 body to my 5 foot 2 one. I finally get it set and back his damned truck out pointing it down the driveway. Just as CGF gets her machine in the garage, I hear the others coming. Cali tosses the bags she’d packed into the bed and climbs in the back seat. CGF helps point the other machines into the garage. Castor jumps into the passenger seat dropping something to the floor between his feet. Pointing to the item, “What’s that?”
He picks it up, “What’s left of Dad’s helmet” he says softly. It’s split almost in two. He puts it between his feet again. His hands are shaking. I rest my hand on his arm. He pats my hand.
I heave out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Then I lean out the window, “Marcella, please check that I locked the front door.” MBF joins Cali in the back seat.
Marcella climbs in, “Yes it’s locked.” CGF squeezes in the back too.
“Sorry for the tight fit back there.” I hit the button on the remote and watch the garage door roll all the way down. “It’s only till we get to the airport.” Leaving the driveway, my phone syncs up. I hit the message app and call the number that Jordan had given me.
“Eagle Airport Choppers.”
“My name is Kira.”
“Are you on your way?”
“Yes, we are.”
“What are you driving?”
“A big ass truck.” I can hear the huffed laugh on the other end.
“We’ll have the chopper ready for you when you get here. You can park the big ass truck in the hanger.”
I actually laugh “Thank you!”
“See you in about 40 minutes?”
“Highway patrol can mail James the ticket. Thirty.”
“See you then.” The call ends.
I hit the freeway and punch the gas. Fortunately, the road is clear, there is no snow falling, very little traffic and the gas tank is full. I don’t even look at the speedometer. I keep my eyes on the road. “There’s some granola bars in this bag” I elbow it to Castor, “if you’re hungry.”
Castor pulls the bag into his lap, “Thanks. Anyone else?” There were a couple of takers.
“Hey, I have dry clothes for you guys in the back” Cali speaks up.
“Let’s not forget those bags at the airport” Marcella adds.
Twenty-eight minutes later, I’m parking the truck in the hanger. I hand the fob over to the chopper pilot, “Please don’t ding his truck.”
“No ma’am, I won’t” he smiles at me. He puts me in the co-pilot’s seat, the kids all get the back seats with the bags on the floor between their feet. “This will take about 40 minutes with today’s weather. I have gotten permission to land at the hospital.” He taps my arm pointing at my feet, “Ma’am, I do ask that you keep your feet off the controllers there.” I nod and tuck my feet under the seat. Moments later we are airborne. I try to keep from shaking. The panic is trying to set in. The what if’s are beginning to run amuck. What if he’s paralyzed. What if he never wakes. What if he’s suffered brain trauma. I feel a hand grab my right arm from behind. I recognize the nails. It’s Cali. I just put my hand over hers and squeeze. That’s when I realize that I’ve been twisting the ring on my finger and it’s sore. Denver begins to loom up out of the snow. I make sure that I’m not hitting any of the flight controllers as the pilot brings the chopper in to land. He powers down and the blades slowly come to a stop. He rests his hand on my arm, “We all hope that James is fine."
I nod nervously, “Thank you. I will keep you informed.”
“Please do. I’ll be happy to make the return flight with one more onboard.”
“Thank you.” I climb out of the chopper and collect my purple bag.
A nurse greets us on the helipad. “I was told to expect you. I’m Nancy. This way.” She leads us into a waiting area. “Please have a seat, the doctor will be right in.”
My heart is racing. This is either really good news. Or super bad. Cali sits next to me, holding her stomach. “Upset?”
“Yeah, and I didn’t grab the baking soda.”
“We’re in a hospital. I’m sure they’ll have something” I pat her arm. She grins.
A middle-aged doctor comes in, “Kira Mooreland?”
“That’s me.”
“Would you come with me please?”
“Doc, these are his children. Whatever you’re going to tell me, you might as well say it right here cause I’m just going to tell them. It’s better coming directly from the doctor’s mouth.”
Nodding, he pulls up the magazine strewn table and sits. “Then let me be blunt. He’s damned lucky.” He leans elbows on his knees. “James does have a severe concussion and some major bruising. Other than that, he’s fine.” I hear all the kids heave a sigh.
“What about his neck?” I ask.
“He’s had a full CT scan. The herniated disc is actually fine.” I heave a sigh. “I’m going to keep him under tonight. You can see him tomorrow morning.” He stands, “But not before 7am, please.”
“Thank you doctor.” I stand and shake his hand. “By the way, you might have to secure his wrists to the bed frame. He’s known for pulling out his IV ports.”
The doctor cocks a grin, “Yeah, we already discovered that.” The kids laugh.
“Doctor, he’s also a recovering alcoholic. Please keep the pain meds to the minimum and non-narcotic.”
“I will see what I can do. I appreciate the information. I will also add it to his permanent records.”
“Thank you again. We’ll see you tomorrow morning.” I sit as the doctor leaves and heave a sigh. Now. To house six kids. I call Jordan.
“Kira.”
“He’s fine. Severe concussion and bruising, but fine.” I hear a breath of relief on the other end. “They are keeping him at least tonight.”
“I’ll get you rooms.”
“Can you please get me a suite? I don’t think any of us want to be separated tonight.” I see all the kids nodding.
“Let me see what I can book. One night or two?”
“Do two, can always cancel the second.”
“Two it is. You’ll need car service too.”
“Yes please.”
“Ok, van. We do have a couple of people in the area that I can call on to be runners. Do you need anything?”
“Hang on.” I look to the kids, “Do y’all need anything?” Nodding at Cali, “Besides baking soda?” I smile. I pass along the two requests – a box of baking soda and a bottle of melatonin. “Hey Jordan, can we please get some catering? Pasta maybe.” Again, all the kids nod.
“Sure.” I hear clicking on a keyboard. “Ooookaaaayy, the car service van will be at the hospital main entrance in about 5 minutes. I didn’t want to send it to the ER door.”
“Understood.”
“Runner tells me that he’ll have your asks at the hotel about the same time you guys get there.”
“Jordan?”
“Yes?”
“You deserve a raise.”
“You get them to agree to that and I won’t say no!” I just laugh. “Kira, call me if you need anything.”
“I will. Thank you again for everything.” I end the call. “Ok, car service will be at the main entrance in five.”
The seven of us collect bags and coats and wander to the main doors, getting lost once in the halls. It was a minute before the van showed up. We climb into the black vehicle. The driver was smooth and courteous. Once at the hotel, I go to the front desk. “Checking in.”
“Last name please?”
“Mooreland.” I put my driver’s license on the counter. I can see his eyes widen as he starts clicking on the keyboard.
“Thank you. How many key cards would you like, Ms Mooreland?”
“Seven please. And I prefer Miss” I say kindly.
“My apologies, Miss Mooreland. The key cards will take just a moment.”
“Castor?” a voice behind me calls out.
“Timothy!” Castor moves to shake the man’s hand. He has several bags with him.
“Miss Mooreland?” I turn back to the desk. “Your key cards. The elevator is just there. You will need to use a key card on the pad for the Penthouse.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Please do let us know if you need anything during your stay.” I just nod at him.
Collecting my purple gym bag, I nod to the kids. They follow, as does Timothy – who is carrying a very large bag – probably dinner, into the elevator. I tap a key card on the pad and hit the P button. The doors open on the biggest hotel room I’ve ever seen. It was like walking into someone’s super fancy living room. There was even a grand piano. Like roaches in the light, the kids scatter to claim a room. Timothy sets the bag on the dining table. He rests his hand on my shoulder. “Jordan told me.” I can only nod. “Here’s my number. If you need anything.” He hands me a business card.
“Thank you.”
Timothy pats my shoulder and yells bye to Castor. Then he’s on the elevator.
Sighing, I drop my purple bag on the sofa and start pulling dinner out of the bags. Two large containers of pasta, two kinds of sauce, breadsticks, tossed salad, cheese packets, plates, utensils and napkins. Lots of napkins. Cali comes over and grabbing some breadsticks, helps me get things sorted. “Hey dorks!” she yells. “Dinner.” Giving me a nod, she just smiles.
Grabbing my bag, I go into the big room and sit on the bed. It looks so huge knowing that I’ll be the only one in it. I shudder.
“You ok?” Marcella asks quietly.
I heave a sigh, “I haven’t slept alone since September.”
Marcella sits on the bed. “I can see why Dad likes you.” She looks at me, “Thank you.” I look at her. “We’d have been a mess today without you.”
“One of you would have stepped up.”
She looks at her fingers, “Maybe.” She looks at me – with her dad’s blue eyes. “Still, I’m glad you are here.”
“Thanks.”
“Hey Kira”
“yeah”
“Why don’t you have kids?”
A smile spreads over my face, “I didn’t find the right man until I was too old.”
She gives me a look, “You’re forty. You can still have kids.”
I chuckle, “Marcella. I’m two years older than your Dad.”
“Naw.”
“I can never call him Papa Het” I chuckle softly.
Marcella just starts laughing. Castor comes to the door, “What’s so funny?”
Marcella points to me, “She’s older than Dad!”
“Naw.”
I just nod smiling.
“Wow!” Castor smiles. “You don’t look it.”
“Thank you, Castor.”
“Ok, y’all. The old lady” Cali winks at me “needs some alone time. She’s taken care of us all day.”
I get hugs from all of them, Cali making sure to set the melatonin on the dresser and then closing the door. I close the drapes in the room, take a melatonin and head into the bathroom. I deposit my clothes on the counter and start the shower. The room fills with steam. I walk in and let the water pound on my back. He’s going to be fine. He’s not paralyzed. There’s no apparent brain damage. His neck is ok. All those nasty what if’s float away. But the terror that I’d buried for the sake of the kids bubbles up. I slide down the wall of the shower stall to the floor sobbing quietly curling into a ball. Body shaking sobs. I push away the images my mind had created during the day: James in a wheelchair. James never being able to play guitar again. James having to exist in the terror of his own song. I finally get to the hiccupping stage and stand up. I do a quick body scrub and rinse. Then turning off the water, dry off and wrap up my hair. My sobbing had put my head in the stream from the shower head. Pulling the sweats out of my bag, dress and climb into the massive bed. Alone.
The stress of the day, the hot shower and the melatonin have me under in short order.