Chapter 7: Friends Will Be Friends
Ephram gazed out the window of his hospital room. The snow-capped picturesque Rocky Mountains stood in their majestic forms casting massive shadows on the valleys and crevices of the earth. They seemed almost threatening in their Herculean appearance. The snow-ridden silver clouds moving quickly across the lavender sky gave darkness and gloom to the earth in a ghostlike manner hiding the last strand of the sun's golden hues.
Perhaps dreams really were premonitions of tomorrow. It was mysterious how thoughts can creep into our subconscious mind telling us more than we cared to know. Were abstruse dreams capable of being interpreted as brief glances into the obscure future? The psyche allows us complex hints into our fate so far beyond our recognition that we fail to realize the connections in our waking hours.
It was the first time Ephram was able to get out of his bed since his surgery. He still had the IV and couldn't go too far, so they put him in a wheelchair by the window. He was on his way to recovery.
He fixed his stare on the peaceful towering pine and spruce as the wind rustled the treetops. He never realized how homesick he was for New York City life until that moment. He missed the loud symphony of sirens and honking cars, the 5 AM wake-up calls by the obnoxious screeching of garbage trucks and sanitation workers mercilessly banging trashcans at their every whim. He missed the horde of yellow taxi cabs swarming like bees striving to deliver passengers to their destinations, and the whizzing of cars and trucks on the Riverside Drive. He missed the bustling of people scurrying along in their busy lives, and the foul-mouthed commuters dishing out their share of profanity so bright and early each morning. He missed Brooklyn and Coney Island. He even missed city smog. He missed this and so much more. There was no excitement in Everwood.
"Ephram, you are in for a treat today." A male voice interrupted his train of thought. Ephram turned his head and saw the smiling faces of his three friends, who had just waltzed into his room. The voice belonged to Colin.
"Shouldn't you guys be at basketball practice or something?" Ephram replied weakly.
"And miss our tour? Never!!" Colin joked.
"What tour?" Ephram asked curiously.
"We're breaking you outta here, my friend. We think you've seen enough of this room." Colin said as Bright took control of Ephram's wheelchair and pushed it towards the door. "Are we ready to explore?" He added.
"Wait - What are you doing? I'm not supposed to leave this room." Ephram worried.
"Relax, we figured you'd be bored to tears in this room so we thought we'd drive you around the hospital a bit for a change of scenery." Amy explained with a cheery smile. Ephram watched the words pass her pink glossy lips in awe.
"If you have no special requests, we will go for the scenic route starting with oncology." Colin stated as Bright gaped at the yellow squishy saline solution in the IV bag dangling from the metal hanger above the wheelchair and followed his gaze on the tube connecting to Ephram's skinny wrist.
"Here, this will keep you warm." Amy snatched the blue quilt blanket from the bed and spread it neatly over Ephram's lap covering his legs and socked feet.
"I still think this is a bad idea." Ephram grumbled.
"C'mon, we have to find some way to keep you amused. Just tell us when you're tired and we'll bring you back to your room." Bright added trying to be helpful.
"We're gonna get lost." Ephram warned as they headed out the door.
"What?! Lost? Are you kidding? Look newbie, I've spent my share of living in this place long enough to know it like the back of my hand. So trust me when I say we are NOT going to get lost." Colin said coolly with a grin. "After all, this was my second home for a while." He laughed.
"So now that we've got that out of the way." Colin continued. "Sit back and let yours truly, master tour guide Colin Hart, take you on a thrilling journey around the hospital's most fascinating places." He spoke comically as he walked along side Ephram's wheelchair.
"Now if you'll turn to your left, we'll see nurses scrambling along their busy routines with pride in their attempt to save thousands of lives a day." Colin announced when they passed by the nurse's station catching the attention of a few nurses. "Wave to the beautiful hard-working dedicated nurses because without them, doctors wouldn't know which end to stick the thermometers in." Colin humored as they waved at the nurses. Charmed by Colin's charisma, they giggled and waved back.
They made their way to oncology, then taking a stroll down pediatrics, stopping briefly at the lounge, and continued to cardiology with Colin making little clever remarks here and there along the way.
After feeling fatigued, he asked his friends to take him back to his room.
"The tricky part is getting out of this friggin wheelchair and onto the bed." Ephram pondered.
"OK - here's the plan. You take hold of my shoulders. Colin hold the wheelchair steady and Amy - you take care of the IV." Bright ordered like it was one of his basketball strategies. Ephram blinked his tired panda eyes at them.
Amy removed the quilted blanket from his lap. Ephram placed his arms on Bright's shoulders and hoisted himself up from the wheelchair as Amy carefully transported the IV bag to the stand next to the bed. With wobbled knees, Ephram lost his balance and nearly slid to the floor when Bright caught him by the armpits. He winced.
"I gotcha." Bright declared and lifted Ephram off his feet and placed him onto the bed. "My gosh you're light. I bet I can bench press you." They laughed as Ephram smiled feebly watching his friends fawn over him.
"Why?" Ephram croaked.
"Why what?" Amy inquired.
"Why are you treating me so nice?"
Ephram didn't understand why they were being so nice to him. He didn't relish this kind of attention - like they were feeding off their guilt on him. He didn't want to be pitied or patronized. He just wanted them to back off. But was that what he truly desired deep down inside? Or was it just his head speaking and not his heart? He longed for acceptance instead of being labeled the outcast.
"Silly - because you're our friend." Amy justified. "You never know how much you can take something for granted until you've almost lost it. We almost lost you Ephram."
"So, it's guilt?"
"It's not all about guilt. You've kept this horrible secret all to yourself because you didn't trust us. You thought we would've avoided you like the plague or that we wouldn't understand. But that's not true. We are here for you and we care. You don't always have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. We are your friends and no matter what, we will always be." Amy reasoned as Colin and Bright agreed. Amy touched the back of Ephram's hand, and Colin put his on Amy's, and Bright placed his on top.
Ephram finally realized he didn't need to try so hard to belong because it was apparent that he already belonged. He smiled sleepily at them.
"I need to sleep now. My dad, Delia and Nina are coming by later and I have to be somewhat well rested." He said with a yawn.
"Ok. We'll be back tomorrow - same bat place, same bat time." Colin joked.
"Thanks." Ephram mumbled.
Maybe Everwood wasn't so empty after all.
*** Friends Will Be Friends When you're in need of love they give you care and attention Friends Will Be Friends When you're through with life and all hope is lost Just hold out your hand Cause Friends Will Be Friends Right till the end
By Freddie Mercury & John Deacon
***
~ End ~
Ephram gazed out the window of his hospital room. The snow-capped picturesque Rocky Mountains stood in their majestic forms casting massive shadows on the valleys and crevices of the earth. They seemed almost threatening in their Herculean appearance. The snow-ridden silver clouds moving quickly across the lavender sky gave darkness and gloom to the earth in a ghostlike manner hiding the last strand of the sun's golden hues.
Perhaps dreams really were premonitions of tomorrow. It was mysterious how thoughts can creep into our subconscious mind telling us more than we cared to know. Were abstruse dreams capable of being interpreted as brief glances into the obscure future? The psyche allows us complex hints into our fate so far beyond our recognition that we fail to realize the connections in our waking hours.
It was the first time Ephram was able to get out of his bed since his surgery. He still had the IV and couldn't go too far, so they put him in a wheelchair by the window. He was on his way to recovery.
He fixed his stare on the peaceful towering pine and spruce as the wind rustled the treetops. He never realized how homesick he was for New York City life until that moment. He missed the loud symphony of sirens and honking cars, the 5 AM wake-up calls by the obnoxious screeching of garbage trucks and sanitation workers mercilessly banging trashcans at their every whim. He missed the horde of yellow taxi cabs swarming like bees striving to deliver passengers to their destinations, and the whizzing of cars and trucks on the Riverside Drive. He missed the bustling of people scurrying along in their busy lives, and the foul-mouthed commuters dishing out their share of profanity so bright and early each morning. He missed Brooklyn and Coney Island. He even missed city smog. He missed this and so much more. There was no excitement in Everwood.
"Ephram, you are in for a treat today." A male voice interrupted his train of thought. Ephram turned his head and saw the smiling faces of his three friends, who had just waltzed into his room. The voice belonged to Colin.
"Shouldn't you guys be at basketball practice or something?" Ephram replied weakly.
"And miss our tour? Never!!" Colin joked.
"What tour?" Ephram asked curiously.
"We're breaking you outta here, my friend. We think you've seen enough of this room." Colin said as Bright took control of Ephram's wheelchair and pushed it towards the door. "Are we ready to explore?" He added.
"Wait - What are you doing? I'm not supposed to leave this room." Ephram worried.
"Relax, we figured you'd be bored to tears in this room so we thought we'd drive you around the hospital a bit for a change of scenery." Amy explained with a cheery smile. Ephram watched the words pass her pink glossy lips in awe.
"If you have no special requests, we will go for the scenic route starting with oncology." Colin stated as Bright gaped at the yellow squishy saline solution in the IV bag dangling from the metal hanger above the wheelchair and followed his gaze on the tube connecting to Ephram's skinny wrist.
"Here, this will keep you warm." Amy snatched the blue quilt blanket from the bed and spread it neatly over Ephram's lap covering his legs and socked feet.
"I still think this is a bad idea." Ephram grumbled.
"C'mon, we have to find some way to keep you amused. Just tell us when you're tired and we'll bring you back to your room." Bright added trying to be helpful.
"We're gonna get lost." Ephram warned as they headed out the door.
"What?! Lost? Are you kidding? Look newbie, I've spent my share of living in this place long enough to know it like the back of my hand. So trust me when I say we are NOT going to get lost." Colin said coolly with a grin. "After all, this was my second home for a while." He laughed.
"So now that we've got that out of the way." Colin continued. "Sit back and let yours truly, master tour guide Colin Hart, take you on a thrilling journey around the hospital's most fascinating places." He spoke comically as he walked along side Ephram's wheelchair.
"Now if you'll turn to your left, we'll see nurses scrambling along their busy routines with pride in their attempt to save thousands of lives a day." Colin announced when they passed by the nurse's station catching the attention of a few nurses. "Wave to the beautiful hard-working dedicated nurses because without them, doctors wouldn't know which end to stick the thermometers in." Colin humored as they waved at the nurses. Charmed by Colin's charisma, they giggled and waved back.
They made their way to oncology, then taking a stroll down pediatrics, stopping briefly at the lounge, and continued to cardiology with Colin making little clever remarks here and there along the way.
After feeling fatigued, he asked his friends to take him back to his room.
"The tricky part is getting out of this friggin wheelchair and onto the bed." Ephram pondered.
"OK - here's the plan. You take hold of my shoulders. Colin hold the wheelchair steady and Amy - you take care of the IV." Bright ordered like it was one of his basketball strategies. Ephram blinked his tired panda eyes at them.
Amy removed the quilted blanket from his lap. Ephram placed his arms on Bright's shoulders and hoisted himself up from the wheelchair as Amy carefully transported the IV bag to the stand next to the bed. With wobbled knees, Ephram lost his balance and nearly slid to the floor when Bright caught him by the armpits. He winced.
"I gotcha." Bright declared and lifted Ephram off his feet and placed him onto the bed. "My gosh you're light. I bet I can bench press you." They laughed as Ephram smiled feebly watching his friends fawn over him.
"Why?" Ephram croaked.
"Why what?" Amy inquired.
"Why are you treating me so nice?"
Ephram didn't understand why they were being so nice to him. He didn't relish this kind of attention - like they were feeding off their guilt on him. He didn't want to be pitied or patronized. He just wanted them to back off. But was that what he truly desired deep down inside? Or was it just his head speaking and not his heart? He longed for acceptance instead of being labeled the outcast.
"Silly - because you're our friend." Amy justified. "You never know how much you can take something for granted until you've almost lost it. We almost lost you Ephram."
"So, it's guilt?"
"It's not all about guilt. You've kept this horrible secret all to yourself because you didn't trust us. You thought we would've avoided you like the plague or that we wouldn't understand. But that's not true. We are here for you and we care. You don't always have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. We are your friends and no matter what, we will always be." Amy reasoned as Colin and Bright agreed. Amy touched the back of Ephram's hand, and Colin put his on Amy's, and Bright placed his on top.
Ephram finally realized he didn't need to try so hard to belong because it was apparent that he already belonged. He smiled sleepily at them.
"I need to sleep now. My dad, Delia and Nina are coming by later and I have to be somewhat well rested." He said with a yawn.
"Ok. We'll be back tomorrow - same bat place, same bat time." Colin joked.
"Thanks." Ephram mumbled.
Maybe Everwood wasn't so empty after all.
*** Friends Will Be Friends When you're in need of love they give you care and attention Friends Will Be Friends When you're through with life and all hope is lost Just hold out your hand Cause Friends Will Be Friends Right till the end
By Freddie Mercury & John Deacon
***
~ End ~