Longing for Spring – 26
"Hey, what's all this crying in here?" a woman's voice interrupted.
It was Zoey, accompanied by Roy and Will... and the baby.
"They told us we could bring him here, so that mother and son could be together. We thought it'd help create some positive vibes in the room."
Smiling, Matt released his arms around Jolie and walked over to her. "Good idea. Come here, little fellow," he said, taking him from Zoey's arms, admiring him as he returned to CJ's bedside.
The trio gasped for a second upon seeing CJ at first, but then forced smiles, not wanting to make Jolie or Matt any more concerned than they already were.
"In fact, from here on out, there is to be no crying, no complaining, no negative expressions of any sort. For what we have here in our presence is a miracle … actually two miracles. And if CJ can hear any of what's going on, I want it to be nothing but positive comments," Matt said as he placed the baby on the bed, cradling him next to his mother.
They all smiled to that, even though they privately wondered how Matt was getting the strength to be so positive. His new wife, the love of his life he had been waiting a lifetime for was in horrific shape, a coma, and would need months and months of therapy once she awoke ... if she awoke. His daughter, who had already endured more than enough shock and hurt earlier in the year would need more love, patience and emotional support to recover from witnessing the violence that silenced her mother. And as with all babies, Matt Junior would need round the clock care from a loving, devoted, and nurturing parent. Good thing he and CJ's family had been growing over the past dozen years or so. He could lean on them in times like these.
Speaking of family …
With visitors now allowed in her room, the remainder of the family arrived one by one, commencing with Johnny who encountered his grandmother Carlotta on his way from the blood bank. They made tracks to CJ's room, forewarned briefly by the nurse. As soon as they saw the baby they smiled, immediately wanting to exclaim oohs and ahs. But when they saw CJ, they grimaced for a moment – and Matt quickly rushed to greet them.
"No crying. Just keep smiling and saying nice things," he said, whispering softly. "If CJ can hear any of what is going on around her, I don't want her thinking for even a second that her injuries are as bad as they really are."
"I'll try," Carlotta said swallowing hard, initially finding it difficult to honor that request once she caught a close-up look at her former daughter-in-law. Fortunately, Jolie interrupted her thoughts as she rushed to greet her.
"Grandma Carlotta!" she exclaimed, as Carlotta redirected her concern and reciprocated her embrace, forcing her eyes away from CJ and onto her granddaughter. "Are you okay, Jolie?"
She smiled and said, "Yeah, I'll be fine," while Johnny made his way over to CJ's bed.
"Hey, Mom," he said, taking her hand along with a deep breath to combat his emotions. "I'm here and Jordan's on his way."
Their ears perked up. "Jordan? He's coming?" Matt asked.
"Yes," answered Carlotta. "I spoke to him late last night."
"CJ really misses him. Having him here would mean a lot to her."
"I wonder if CJ would feel the same way about me," a voice just outside the room interjected.
"Grandma Maggie!" cried Jolie, immediately rushing to embrace her. "You're here, too!"
She wrapped her arms around Jolie while looking at Matt stoically. "Yes, I had to come," she stated, wondering how he would react to seeing her without an invitation. Had enough time passed for at least him to forgive her?
He met eyes with her. "Maggie. Would you like to meet your grandson?"
She nodded, pleasantly surprised by his welcoming invitation. But as she neared closer to her daughter she placed a hand to her mouth. "Oh my!" she gasped, finding it hard to remain unphased by CJ's appearance.
Johnny offered her his seat. "Here."
She nodded and lowered herself cautiously into the chair, glancing between the perfect little bundle on the bed and the horrific condition of the woman next to him.
"My God!" she uttered softly, fighting back tears.
Matt moved to shush her but Maggie caught his expression, swallowed and fought through her emotions.
"I'm okay," she assured him, noting the irony of being the person in the room having the most difficulty remaining emotionless. "How is he?" she asked regarding Junior.
"He's fine … perfect, actually. Doctor says he can go home in a couple of weeks, just needs to gain a little weight."
"And CJ?"
"Well, right now we're just waiting for her to wake up, then we'll take things from there. Doctor says it was a miracle the bullet didn't kill her."
She shook her head, trying to process that information.
"I just can't believe it. What happened to the scum who shot her?"
"I actually don't know, and I don't want to know. Right now I'm concentrating on CJ. She, Junior, and Jolie are my only priority."
Maggie couldn't argue with that answer, even though she privately harbored questions about why CJ was at the school in the first place and not Matt, not that she'd want him or anyone else for that matter wounded like her daughter, but she couldn't ignore the question that existed in her mind without invitation.
"Okay. Well, then Miss CJ … here's your pep talk. I raised you to be a lady, and an intelligent one at that, but moreover I raised you to be tough, so that you could survive anything thrown at you in this big, cruel world we live in. So you need to open your eyes now, Miss CJ. You've got a family to take care of: a daughter, a husband and this brand new miracle. The longer you stay asleep the longer I'm gonna stay around, so you see, unless you want me to take over for you, you had better wake up!"
Matt saw the humor in her statement while Jolie wondered about its deeper meaning.
Matt ventured out to his favorite fishing spot – well, actually, CJ's and his favorite fishing spot. He had hoped to go with her but when he knocked on her back door as he had often done, her mother said she wasn't allowed to go fishing today and didn't give any explanation as to why. Before he could plead further, the door slammed in his face.
So off he went, hoping that the hours he spent fishing would somehow fill the void for company. It had been two days since that tornado hit the school. The school board declared an early weekend, being that it hit on a Thursday, so the students had Friday off while the administration used the time to figure out exactly how much damage there was, how much time and cost it would be to make repairs, and if and where the students could attend school in the meantime.
As he walked through the woods with his tackle box, net, and pole he heard the sounds of what seemed like someone crying. As he ventured closer to the creek he saw a figure sitting on the large rock he and CJ often sat. The figure looked familiar to him, and as he walked a few more yards, he knew who it was.
"CJ?" he called out.
She recognized his voice immediately but didn't turn around until she had a chance to erase her tears by wiping her face and sniffling.
"CJ ... you're here. Your mother said you couldn't go fishing today."
"I climbed out of my bedroom window and came anyway."
"Oh. Won't you get in trouble for that?"
She shrugged just as he reached the creek's edge and faced her.
"Are you crying?"
She turned away. "No."
He sighed, "CJ … you are crying. What's wrong? CJ?"
"You'll think I'm silly."
"No, I won't ... really … I promise!"
She took a deep breath. "Momma told me I have to go to a different school."
Matt nodded. "Yeah. I think I heard my daddy and Lamar talking about it."
She wondered why he wasn't as upset as her.
"Matt, don't you know what this means? We won't be going to the same school anymore!"
"Well, gosh, CJ. It'll only be for a little while, then we'll be back at our regular school."
She shook her head back and forth emphatically. "No, Momma told me I won't be going back to Trafton. She said we don't have enough money to keep sending me to private schools. I'll be going to River Oaks instead!"
This was news to Matt but he still didn't seem to share CJ's concern.
"Well, what's so bad about that?"
"Matt, we won't be going to the same school together anymore!"
"Okay, but it's not like we won't see each other. I mean, we live on the same street!"
Becoming frustrated, CJ stood up and placed her hands on her hips and exclaimed, "But it's not going to be the same. There's not gonna be anyone to protect me from bullies like Elmer at River Oaks and I hear that some of the kids are a lot worse there than they are at Trafton!"
A little concerned by her distress, Matt saw the opportunity to share some information. "Well, CJ. Elmer may have been a bully in the past, but look, he helped me rescue you. He was the one who heard you crying and found you."
"He was?" she asked in disbelief.
"Uh huh," he said, smiling. "And anyway, CJ, I know you can handle yourself. You don't really need me. You're so strong. My gosh, CJ, you survived a tornado! If you can do that, you can do anything!"
Almost two weeks later, Matt was alone in CJ's room wondering when his wife would wake up already. In a matter of hours Matt Junior would be discharged from the hospital and Matt had hoped his mother would be accompanying him home. But alas, she wasn't conscious yet. Yes, he had several very capable and caring family members to look after the baby and Jolie so that he could stay vigilant at the hospital, but it didn't feel right that his immediate family was so scattered.
With his positive energy waning and his patience growing thin, he took her hand in his, sharing some of their happier memories. "Remember that time when we were little and that tornado struck the school? I really thought you were a goner, CJ, but you surprised us all and escaped being killed, even injured. I knew right there and then that you were tough, that you were a fighter, and that there wasn't anything you couldn't do once you set your mind to it. So, CJ, you see, it's really simple: All you gotta do is open your eyes. That's right, just open them, and then you'll get to see everyone who's here rootin' you on, especially our son. He's gonna be somethin', you know? I can already tell he takes after you. That's what you wanted: someone who favors your personality after raising a daughter who favored my traits... still not sure how you managed that one. Leaving your life in L.A., venturing out, alone and pregnant, taking on the responsibilities if a new career, a new husband, a new family. But, you did it, CJ, and earned the love and respect of a whole new bunch of people in the process. That's one thing I've always admired about you: how you've been able to be soft when you needed to be, and tough when the chips were down."
"Mr. Houston?" a voice suddenly interrupted.
It was one of the doctors, wanting to speak to him privately, motioning to join him in the hall.
Matt looked tentatively at CJ, not wanting to leave her, but then obliged, slowly letting go of her hand, glancing back at her several times as he made his way.
"Doctor …"
"Mr. Houston, I wanted to speak with you about something …"
"Yes …"
"It's time to run some tests, determine if there is any brain activity, if your wife will, in fact, awake at some point."
This notion made every cell in Matt's body protest.
"WHAT?"
"It's par for the course with injuries such as hers."
"And what happens if you don't see any? Does that mean she's already …?"
"Yes, that's a worst case scenario, but it would help us determine her future recovery, letting us know if we're all wasting our time here …"
"WASTING OUR TIME?" Matt shouted back.
Meanwhile, a young man ventured into her room, glad for the opportunity to see CJ without an audience. If he was going to get emotional, have a breakdown of any sort, he'd prefer doing it without anyone around.
"Mom?" he asked in disbelief, sitting down in the chair next to her bed that Matt had previously occupied. "Mom, it's me … Jordan."
He was the one last missing piece of CJ's family who hadn't visited her yet, the son she longed to see for months … her first baby boy. For Jordan, it was the woman who he always thought of as his mother, the person who he always held in the highest regard, the parent he couldn't bear losing - fate already stole all the other parents in his life.
Matt left his conversation unsettled, frustrated and angry. He wasn't sure how he was going to manage his negative energy, but once he entered CJ's room, he saw Jordan sitting next to her bedside – and it changed his mood completely.
"Jordan?" he asked.
It had been two weeks since he was told the news and Matt often wondered what had kept him, how he could ignore the only mother he had ever known at a time when she needed him the most. Was the military that strict on family emergencies he couldn't tear himself away from base?
Startled, Jordan made a sudden jerk. "Houston…" he said, as he started to move away from the bed.
"Jordan, thank God you're here!" Matt said enthusiastically, moving to greet him when he suddenly stopped.
"Wait …" he said, looking down at her hand … squeezing his!