Longing for Spring – 37

"Houston is dead," he plainly said.

She couldn't believe her ears. Did she hear right? She must have because a single tear rolled down her cheek without permission. She couldn't think. She couldn't even breathe. She hung up the phone and stared into space, trying to process his words.

No, it can't be! she thought. No Houston! You can't die. You can't!

Her mind spun, recalling the moment she first met him in the fourth grade … the time he rescued her after a tornado … their fishing trips … the time in his daddy's study right before he left for war... the day he rescued her from Custanos. In between each memory, Hoyt's voice could be heard, "Houston is dead… Houston is dead… Houston is dead."

She shook her head, trying to stop that persistent voice from replaying over and over again in her mind. But it kept echoing on and on and on, "Houston is dead… Houston is dead."

She closed her eyes and prayed.

"No, God. Not Matt. Please don't take him like you took my dad. Please! I need him!"

Should she call Bill? Should she tell him the devastating news before he stepped on the plane so that he wouldn't get his hopes up? How would he feel traveling on a plane knowing he would be visiting his son in a funeral home instead of a hospital? Feeling more vulnerable, scared, and shaky than she ever had been in her life, she knew she couldn't make any decisions alone. She desperately needed someone to help her. She needed Carl. Before she could pick up the receiver, though, the phone rang again.

"CJ. It's Hoyt. He's back!" His voice shook with incredulity.

"He's back?" she asked, again in hopeful disbelief.

"Yes. Houston's back!" he said, trying to believe it for himself. "He was dead and then inexplicably his heart started beating again. He's still critical but …"

Her heart racing with elation, she cut him off. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

CJ couldn't believe what her daughter just said.

"Two planes… what… what are you talking about?"

"Come see. It's on every channel," said Jolie, pointing to the television in the living room.

Curiously, both women followed her into the living room where they read the crawl on the bottom of the screen.

"Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center. One plane headed for White House crashed in Pennsylvania. One plane crashed into the Pentagon."

Elizabeth's jaw dropped. CJ couldn't believe what she was witnessing, so much so that she had to turn the channel and see if this world crisis was for real.

And there it was on another channel.

"Terrorists take over four planes. Thousands believed dead."

Thousands believed dead? Oh, that last word cut through her like a knife!

"Matt and Will are in the Pentagon," she softly revealed.

"What?" Jolie and Elizabeth exclaimed in unison.

She nodded while staring at the screen.

"They had a meeting with … Matt didn't want to go… but he had … I told him not to worry about a thing… oh God!"

CJ rushed to the phone, her heart racing, frantically dialing Matt's cell phone. Her fingers couldn't push the buttons fast enough.

"Be there! Damn it be there!" she anxiously exclaimed, waiting for a sound on the other end.

When the call finally connected all she heard was a busy signal.

She stared at the phone thinking her nervous fingers must have dialed the wrong number. So she dialed again and waited again … and got the same answer.

Bill Houston felt a dull pain that stopped him in his tracks. He almost called CJ but changed his mind knowing she might be in transit, rushing to the hospital to be with his son. He knew she would be Matt's advocate and stay as close to him until he arrived. He knew how much she loved him.

Throughout the plane ride his mind spun wild with disparate memories. From the moment Matt was left in his care… his first day of school… the time he threw Bill a very expensive birthday party … the kidnapping when he was only 10… the first time he was thrown from a horse … the time he scored the winning touchdown ...the day he returned from 'Nam… He often wondered what he did to deserve such a great son.

He rushed from his cab into the hospital, briefly pausing to interrupt a nurse to ask where his son was. When she revealed his location, Bill hurried up the stairs, despite his weak heart. There was no way he could take the elevator. As soon as he opened the door to the third floor, he looked around. CJ saw him before he saw her.

"Bill!" she called out. He turned in her direction and met her with a hug.

"CJ, how is he?"

The words came out breathless but filled with the kind of optimism CJ could only dream about just a few short hours prior. "He's out of surgery. Earlier, he went into cardiac arrest. There was a brief period of time the doctors thought he was dead."

He drew in a deep breath.

"That would explain it."

"Explain what?"

"Never mind," he said taking ahold of her hand. She had the face of a woman who had worn the scars of worry, probably drained from a rollercoaster of emotions.

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine now," she quickly dismissed. "I was a wreck until I saw him breathing for myself."

He smiled from CJ's reassuring manner. Always a confident, well-put together young woman, Bill often hoped Matt would get his act together and marry the girl. If he showed some progress in the marrying department, he'd tell him about the baby they lost in '72, and about his biological father. They should know these things before they had children of their own. He couldn't wait to be a grandfather. It was the only gift his son hadn't given him.