My Sisters Keeper
Before Epilogue
Jesse
"It must be perfect…" I murmur only to realize no one is there listening as he is walking around his messy apartment finding his suitcase and passport. "And last but not least," he hold up a small black velvet box and slowly opens it maybe hoping it will make the effect more dramatic. "the ring." Closing the box and gently placing it in his suitcase in the safest place he can find, he checks and re-checks everything.
"Where do you think your going?" his chaotic roommate questions as he walks in with a humongous Subway sandwich in one hand and a large soda in the other, juggling to shut the door on his way in..
"I am going to Paris."
"Should I ask why?" he hesitantly mutters.
"I am going to Paris to surprise Victoria because I really think she needs a break from that expensive college she's at and I am going to take her out for the night and I am going to ask her to marry me." I let out a sigh of relief as my secret was finally squeezed out of me.
"Wow." He tries to say with enthusiasm, but fails. Realizing I have just wasted a perfectly good secret on this guy, I call Kate and let her know where I am headed off to and why.
Brian
"Hey would you mind passing the salt?" We are sitting here at the Fire station and just as I am sitting down and putting a little bit on parmesan cheese on my spaghetti and salt the alarm goes off. We rush to the fire truck and I put the rest of my suit on like an old habit I don't even recognize anymore. Racing the streets with a blaring siren so close sure gave me a thrill when I first started working here but now it just makes me take another asprin. When we reach the fire it's at an apartment building and there is one 34 year old woman in the building still and her two month old baby. Apparently, the woman was trying to save her baby and they got stuck because the stairs were full of smoke she couldn't see. As I run up the stairs I run into many side fires and almost trip straight into one that looks like a campfire gone wild. As I reach the floor she is on, I suddenly fall to the ground. I get back up but when I do my head is pounding and I am losing vision. I suddenly realize what is happening. I did not fill up my oxygen tank and I am now almost out. I try to focus. I find the room they are in and kick out the window. We are on the 5th floor and I stare to the ground as my head is spinning and the truck has two firefighters on their way up from the fire truck ladder. I grab the woman from the other corner of the room and take the baby from her and hand it to the firefighter closest to the window and then I tell her to climb out. She has a hard time coping with the fact of how high she is but I really need her to go so I can get out. She finally leaps to safety and I fall over and everything goes black.
Kate
"Okay girls; let's take a 10 minute break." Exhausted I reach for my water bottle. Let me tell you that running a ballet class of 27 girls under the age of 5 can really wear you out. I watch as all these little girls run to get their nice little thermoses in their pink tutus and wonder how my life would have been different if I was normal like they were when I was that age. But the leukemia I had held me back so much I never had time for dance even though it was my passion.
I am about to call everyone back to our routine a few minutes later when my cell phone vibrates and the name Jesse shows up on the screen and I know I should answer. Reluctantly I reach for my phone and rush out of the room. "Is everything O.K.?" I question.
"Yea Kate, everything's fine. I just wanted to call and let you know that I have a flight to Paris tonight and I am going to be gone for about a week."
"Why? What's wrong?" he leaves that small pause in-between our sentences that still make it a little awkward for me.
"Nothing's wrong I am going to visit Victoria and I am going to propose to her tomorrow night."
"Whoa. Is the police station O.K. with you even taking that much time off?"
"I'm sure they'll survive. But hey, I just wanted to call and say that I love you and I will see you in a week. Alright?"
"Yea, bye Jes. Call me and tell me how it all works out." Wow.
Sara
The house is all quiet. I am just sitting at the dining room table studying. All of a sudden everything happens. My beautiful daughter Kate runs in the house and starts rambling on and on about some gorgeous stranger. I really didn't catch the rest but I had to stop her for a moment as the telephone rang. I struggled not to knock any of my papers off the table as I got up to answer. Picking up the phone I hear the voice of a nurse. I immediately panic. This is one of those moments that I haven't dreamed about for about five years. Since Kate was still in remission and standing right next to me I thought about Jesse. Was he O.K.?
"Ms. Fitzgerald? Yes my name is Mya from the San Francisco General Hospital and we are just calling to inform you that your husband Brain Fitzgerald has been brought in from a fire, he is being examined but we will need you to come immediately to consent any further medical treatment as he is in critical condition.
Kate
The butterflies I had in my stomach only moments ago have completely disappeared as my mother has just gotten a phone call and her eyes have gotten bigger than I have ever seen in my life. Just as quickly as that look on her face appeared, it was gone and the face of a mother returned, concerned and determined to not let anyone see her distress. I was not yet sure what happened but as soon as she murmured "Get in the car." I was smart enough not to answer.
Finally after about ten dead silent minutes in the car racing through intersections and almost causing three different accidents, I finally got enough guts to break the silence.
"Mom, what happened?" after the longest minute of my life…
"Your father is in the hospital."
Sara
I have just finished speaking to the doctor and approved of all medical treatment and am now running as fast as they will let you in a hospital to the third floor room number 314. I turn into the room and I am afraid of what I am going to see. The respirator is humming and I can hear his faint wheezing as he struggles to take each breath. He is pale and somehow looks older than he really was lying on that hospital bed. I told Kate I needed a moment alone to talk to her father. She quietly stepped out and I knelt down beside him as my knees hit the cold hard tile floor. My hands were shaking as I blurted out "I'm pregnant." With those two words he slowly sat up and looked me straight in the eyes, somehow seeming more alive now. I was just about to explain why I had not yet told him when his heart rate spiked and nurses rushed in and he collapsed back on the bed and his eyes fluttered shut. I stepped out backwards, keeping my eyes on him for as long as possible. Kate ran into me as she was about to charge into the room.
"Mom! What happened?" she stammered soundly like a little girl again, too scared and frightened to hold still.
"I'm not quite sure, but I told your father that I was pregnant."
TO BE CONTINUED…