Chapter 2: Joanie
Joanie had not quite left for the Barkery when the house phone rang. Dropping her bag on the hall table, she picked up the receiver.
'Hansen residence,' she greeted, glancing at her watch.
'Hello,' the voice greeted. 'Could I please speak to a member of the Hansen family?'
'This is Joanie Hansen,' she told them. 'What can I do for you?'
'Well, Ms Hansen, this concerns Robbie Hansen.'
'He's my brother,' Joanie clarified, wanting the person to get to the point so that she could get out the door.
'Yes, right. Well, he's been in an accident...'
The voice on the other end of the phone began to relate the details of Robbie's accident to her. Joanie listened, fear and panic creeping into her voice.
'Y-yes,' she stuttered. She took a moment to compose herself. 'Of course. We'll be right there.' She hung up the phone and slid her back down the wall. It couldn't be true, she thought to herself. It had to be a mistake. But, deep inside, she knew it wasn't.
She shook her head and ran, Hannah in her arms, downstairs to her Dad's office. She called for him, momentarily ignoring Heather.
'Dad!'
'Hey, Joanie' Jim walked out of the back room, holding his hands up in defence. He was about to make a joke, asking where the fire was, when he saw the terror on her face, and he knew that something was dreadfully wrong.
'Dad,' Joanie began, taking a moment to catch her breath. 'We've got to get to the hospital. It's Robbie.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After what felt like hours, Jim and Joanie arrived at Rhode Island Hospital. Syd met them at the door after being called by Heather, who was nervously taking care of the one-year-old Hannah.
One look at Syd's face could tell anyone that the news was not good.
They walked swiftly along the corridor to Robbie's room, located in the ICU. As they hurried, Syd explained what had happened.
'I've talked to Dr Gregory about his condition,' she began before swallowing. 'He's got multiple abrasions to the face, due to the broken glass in the screen of the helmet, as well as some to the legs. One of the legs of his jeans was ripped by the speed at which he skidded and rolled.' She paused again, the moment giving Joanie and Jim time only imagine what could have happened.
'There's a breathing tube hooked up to a ventilator, and some broken ribs. The paramedics say the bike might have struck his chest at one point, maybe when they landed. He's also suffered a broken humorous.' She took a deep breath for the last part. 'There's worse to come. Robbie's in a coma.'
Jim and Joanie stopped dead in their tracks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The three Hansens stood outside the window leading into Robbie's window. They could not see a lot from out there, only slits through the blinds. Even from there, it did not look good. They each decided to go in separately at first, to say their private words to Robbie. Joanie walked into the room first.
The scene was far worse than she had seen outside. It seemed as though a thousand wires connected him to various machines surrounding her brother's bed. There were a couple of heart monitors, an artificial respiration machine, several drips, and goodness knows what else.
Underneath all the wires, Robbie looked horrific. Several cuts covered his face, worryingly close to his eyes. A large tube was fixed into his mouth, connected to the ventilator. The sheet was low enough to show that Robbie also had large, thick bandages around his ribs. Carefully, Joanie pulled the sheet above them, to keep him warm, but mostly wanting to eliminate as many signs of the damage as possible.
She took hold of Robbie's left hand, of the arm that was not broken, and held it tightly.
'Robbie,' she began, her voice containing a slight croak. 'I'm sorry I yelled this morning. I mean, all you were doing was complimenting your niece, and being nice to her. I took it the wrong way, and I snapped.'
She paused for a moment. 'Actually, I do that an awful lot to you. You help me out so much. In your own way,' she added with a chuckle. 'Like with the money for the Barkery. And what do I do in return? Take it all out on you.' A tear rolled jumpily down her cheek. 'Come on, Robbie. Wake up, for Hannah and me. Please wake up.' Not being able to say any more, she kissed his hand and walked away, more tears following the first.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joanie had not quite left for the Barkery when the house phone rang. Dropping her bag on the hall table, she picked up the receiver.
'Hansen residence,' she greeted, glancing at her watch.
'Hello,' the voice greeted. 'Could I please speak to a member of the Hansen family?'
'This is Joanie Hansen,' she told them. 'What can I do for you?'
'Well, Ms Hansen, this concerns Robbie Hansen.'
'He's my brother,' Joanie clarified, wanting the person to get to the point so that she could get out the door.
'Yes, right. Well, he's been in an accident...'
The voice on the other end of the phone began to relate the details of Robbie's accident to her. Joanie listened, fear and panic creeping into her voice.
'Y-yes,' she stuttered. She took a moment to compose herself. 'Of course. We'll be right there.' She hung up the phone and slid her back down the wall. It couldn't be true, she thought to herself. It had to be a mistake. But, deep inside, she knew it wasn't.
She shook her head and ran, Hannah in her arms, downstairs to her Dad's office. She called for him, momentarily ignoring Heather.
'Dad!'
'Hey, Joanie' Jim walked out of the back room, holding his hands up in defence. He was about to make a joke, asking where the fire was, when he saw the terror on her face, and he knew that something was dreadfully wrong.
'Dad,' Joanie began, taking a moment to catch her breath. 'We've got to get to the hospital. It's Robbie.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After what felt like hours, Jim and Joanie arrived at Rhode Island Hospital. Syd met them at the door after being called by Heather, who was nervously taking care of the one-year-old Hannah.
One look at Syd's face could tell anyone that the news was not good.
They walked swiftly along the corridor to Robbie's room, located in the ICU. As they hurried, Syd explained what had happened.
'I've talked to Dr Gregory about his condition,' she began before swallowing. 'He's got multiple abrasions to the face, due to the broken glass in the screen of the helmet, as well as some to the legs. One of the legs of his jeans was ripped by the speed at which he skidded and rolled.' She paused again, the moment giving Joanie and Jim time only imagine what could have happened.
'There's a breathing tube hooked up to a ventilator, and some broken ribs. The paramedics say the bike might have struck his chest at one point, maybe when they landed. He's also suffered a broken humorous.' She took a deep breath for the last part. 'There's worse to come. Robbie's in a coma.'
Jim and Joanie stopped dead in their tracks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The three Hansens stood outside the window leading into Robbie's window. They could not see a lot from out there, only slits through the blinds. Even from there, it did not look good. They each decided to go in separately at first, to say their private words to Robbie. Joanie walked into the room first.
The scene was far worse than she had seen outside. It seemed as though a thousand wires connected him to various machines surrounding her brother's bed. There were a couple of heart monitors, an artificial respiration machine, several drips, and goodness knows what else.
Underneath all the wires, Robbie looked horrific. Several cuts covered his face, worryingly close to his eyes. A large tube was fixed into his mouth, connected to the ventilator. The sheet was low enough to show that Robbie also had large, thick bandages around his ribs. Carefully, Joanie pulled the sheet above them, to keep him warm, but mostly wanting to eliminate as many signs of the damage as possible.
She took hold of Robbie's left hand, of the arm that was not broken, and held it tightly.
'Robbie,' she began, her voice containing a slight croak. 'I'm sorry I yelled this morning. I mean, all you were doing was complimenting your niece, and being nice to her. I took it the wrong way, and I snapped.'
She paused for a moment. 'Actually, I do that an awful lot to you. You help me out so much. In your own way,' she added with a chuckle. 'Like with the money for the Barkery. And what do I do in return? Take it all out on you.' A tear rolled jumpily down her cheek. 'Come on, Robbie. Wake up, for Hannah and me. Please wake up.' Not being able to say any more, she kissed his hand and walked away, more tears following the first.
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