Death and Life
Chapter 3
Eric rushed into the kitchen behind Ginger. Taking Annie in his arms, he pulled her away from his wife's stepmother and held her tight. He had been afraid this explosion was coming all day; he just wished she hadn't taken it out on Ginger. "Annie, that's not fair. Ginger did not kill your father. It was an accident."
"She was supposed to watch him. He's not supposed to drive. How did he get the keys?"
Ginger lowered her head. "Annie, honey, I don't blame you for blaming me. I should have kept a better eye on your father. I knew he was upset but I never thought he'd do something so desperate."
Annie's face went blank. "What do you mean desperate? You make it sound like Dad hit the truck on purpose."
Ginger took a moment to wipe her eyes. "Maybe we should sit down."
Eric nodded and led Annie over to the kitchen table. He sat down next to Annie across from where Ginger had sat. For a few moments Ginger said nothing, obviously trying to find the words to say. At long last, with tears in her eyes, she faced Annie.
"The police believe that Charles simply forgot he wasn't supposed to drive and took the car and forgot what he was doing. I didn't see any reason to contradict them. But, Honey, you and I both know that your father hadn't gotten that bad yet. I think he knew exactly what he was doing yesterday when he took the car."
Annie's eyes narrowed. "So you are saying Dad hit the truck on purpose. How could you? Why?"
Ginger sighed. "A couple of months ago, Charles started taking out a photo album. He would sit down with me in the morning and go through the album picture by picture telling me exactly what was happening in the picture. He said he knew there would come a day that he wouldn't remember those pictures any more and he wanted me to know the stories so well that I could tell them to him when he forgot. One of the doctors he was seeing recommended it."
Annie nodded. "He called me and asked that I send him pictures of all the kids so he could add them to the album. But that still doesn't."
"The day before yesterday, he was going through the pictures when he came to the one of his wedding to your mother. He pointed to himself and said that he knew that that man was him but then he pointed to the picture of your mother and said he had no idea who she was. I had to tell him who Jenny was. He broke down in tears; he was so upset that he hadn't recognized her. I tried to calm him down. I reminded him that the doctor had told him there would be days that his memory would be worse than others. I showed him all the pictures he had gotten right that day but he was still upset. He wouldn't talk to me for the rest of the day. But by that evening, he went for the album again and got all the pictures right without any prompting. He lingered over the wedding picture for several minutes. I thought everything was okay. I was wrong and for that I'll take all the blame you want to give me."
"He forgot Mom?" Annie leaned wearily on Eric's shoulder. "No, you're lying. He could never forget Mom. He loved her too much. And you are wrong about him purposefully hurting himself. He'd never do that, not to himself and not to me."
"Annie."
"Get out! I don't want you spreading these lies to the kids or to anyone else. They just lost their grandfather; they don't need to hear these wild accusations."
Ginger stood. She placed an envelope on the table in front of Annie. "I found this as I was packing to come out her. Your father wrote it yesterday morning." As she turned to leave, Eric rose to see her out. She put her hand on his arm, stopping him. "Stay with Annie, Eric. She needs you. I'm sorry to drop this on her so soon after she found out about Charles but I thought she deserved to know the truth."
"It's not the truth. It's a vicious rumor you are trying to spread about a decent and loving man. Please Ginger. Leave me and my family alone. You've done enough." Annie turned her back on her stepmother.
*******
"Do you want me to get you anything from the kitchen?" Kevin hovered protectively over his wife. He was worried about her. He hadn't had the heart to bring up the baby because she seemed to be having such a difficult time dealing with the news of her grandfather's death. All night long, she had tossed and turned with dreams. All morning she'd spent looking through old picture albums and crying.
Lucy shook her head. Her stomach had been turning flips and threatening to expel its contents all day long. She wasn't sure if was because of the pregnancy or her grief but regardless she didn't want to put anything on her stomach to make things worse. Her eyes filled with fresh tears. Kevin had been so great to her all day. He deserved to know the truth but she couldn't bring herself to tell him. Voicing the fact that she was pregnant would mean they would have to face the problems that would come with having a baby so soon. Besides, Ginger was due to arrive at any time and the family would have to talk about the funeral arrangements.
"You haven't eaten anything all day. I don't want you passing out again." He wasn't all that hungry either and didn't want to leave her alone but he also knew he needed some time to himself. If he wasn't going to tell her he knew that she was pregnant, he needed a few moments to himself to really contemplate how their lives were about to change. At first he'd been so happy about the idea that he was going to be a father but as the night wore on the reality of the situation started to dawn on him. With his salary, could they afford to have a child? These were things he needed to think about if they weren't going to talk about it. "How about a compromise. I'll go get me something and then I'll bring you back a small bowl of soup or something easy."
Lucy nodded absently. She turned the page in the album. She pointed to a picture of an older couple sitting on a couch with a little girl who appeared to be about three years old. Fresh tears filled her eyes. "Grandpa set up the timer on the camera and took this picture me with Grandma, he, and me. They were staying with us when Mom had Simon. I was upset, nothing new for me, about a new baby coming into the house."
Kevin took the album away from her and closed it. Kneeling beside her, he gently pulled her into his arms. He gave her a few minutes to cry her tears and then he kissed her gently. "You need to come with me. You are going to make yourself sick if you keep looking at pictures and staying upset. I imagine Ginger or maybe even Sarah has arrived by now."
Finally Lucy nodded. She allowed Kevin to help her to her feet. A hard cramp gripped her stomach all of a sudden. It was all she could do not to let out a cry of pain. Even at that, Kevin looked at her in concern as a grimace of pain passed over her face. "You okay, Luce?"
She nodded. "I'm just going to go to the bathroom before we go over to the house. You go on and go over. I'll be right behind you."
Looking reluctant, Kevin finally nodded and kissed her. "If you aren't over there in ten minutes, I'm coming back for you."
Smiling through the pain, Lucy nodded. "I'll be there. I love you."
"Love you too."
As soon as she was alone, Lucy went into the bathroom. She was surprised to see a small amount of blood on her panties. Had the pregnancy test been wrong? She was a little relieved to think she might not be pregnant after all. She and Kevin weren't ready for a baby yet. Feeling better now that it seemed that it had been a false scare, Lucy didn't even think about the fact that she never had such hard cramps or bled so heavily at the start of her period.
She finished up in the bathroom and left the garage apartment. She knew that Kevin would be coming to look for her if she took much longer. Entering the kitchen, it was immediately evident that something had happened. She hadn't felt tension that thick since her mom had gotten mad at the kids for staging a coup when Mary came home. Kevin was standing next to the refrigerator, silently drinking a glass of milk. Her mom and dad were sitting at the kitchen table. Annie was holding an envelope in her hand but it was unopened.
"What's wrong?" Lucy joined Kevin by the refrigerator.
"Nothing." Annie insisted curtly. Her very voice gave lie to her words but her tone left no room for argument. She stood abruptly, leaving the envelope on the table. "I'm going upstairs to lie down for a little while."
As Annie headed up the stairs, Lucy bit her lip. No one said anything for a couple of minutes, giving time for the "tunnel of sound," as Annie had once called the stairs, to clear. Then Lucy looked at Eric. "Mom's not okay. What happened?"
Eric sighed. "Ginger came by. She had some things to say that your Mom wasn't ready to hear. I can't imagine how hard this on her. While she wasn't ready for your grandmother's death, she had at least begun to prepare for it."
Lucy nodded. "I'm going to go up and check on her." Almost halfway to the stairs, another cramp hit her, forcing her to double over in pain. This time she couldn't stop the cry of pain.
Kevin was at her side in an instant. He and Eric led Lucy to a chair at the table. "Lucy, is it the baby?"
"Baby?" Eric looked from Kevin to Lucy in shock.
Lucy looked at her husband, equally shocked. "I'm not pregnant. I started my period. It was a false alarm. The test I took must have been wrong."
Eric shook his head. "You took a pregnancy test and it was positive. Now you are bleeding and having cramps. Kevin, we need to get her to the hospital. I think she may be having a miscarriage. You take her to the emergency room. I'll call Hank and have him meet you there and Annie and I will follow."
Looking pale, Kevin quickly scooped Lucy up in his arms before she could protest. Eric waited until they were gone before picking up the phone and calling his brother-in-law. He quickly explained what was going on then headed upstairs to his and Annie's bedroom. She was lying on the bed but wasn't asleep. Eric leaned heavily on the door.
"Annie, we have another problem."
Eric rushed into the kitchen behind Ginger. Taking Annie in his arms, he pulled her away from his wife's stepmother and held her tight. He had been afraid this explosion was coming all day; he just wished she hadn't taken it out on Ginger. "Annie, that's not fair. Ginger did not kill your father. It was an accident."
"She was supposed to watch him. He's not supposed to drive. How did he get the keys?"
Ginger lowered her head. "Annie, honey, I don't blame you for blaming me. I should have kept a better eye on your father. I knew he was upset but I never thought he'd do something so desperate."
Annie's face went blank. "What do you mean desperate? You make it sound like Dad hit the truck on purpose."
Ginger took a moment to wipe her eyes. "Maybe we should sit down."
Eric nodded and led Annie over to the kitchen table. He sat down next to Annie across from where Ginger had sat. For a few moments Ginger said nothing, obviously trying to find the words to say. At long last, with tears in her eyes, she faced Annie.
"The police believe that Charles simply forgot he wasn't supposed to drive and took the car and forgot what he was doing. I didn't see any reason to contradict them. But, Honey, you and I both know that your father hadn't gotten that bad yet. I think he knew exactly what he was doing yesterday when he took the car."
Annie's eyes narrowed. "So you are saying Dad hit the truck on purpose. How could you? Why?"
Ginger sighed. "A couple of months ago, Charles started taking out a photo album. He would sit down with me in the morning and go through the album picture by picture telling me exactly what was happening in the picture. He said he knew there would come a day that he wouldn't remember those pictures any more and he wanted me to know the stories so well that I could tell them to him when he forgot. One of the doctors he was seeing recommended it."
Annie nodded. "He called me and asked that I send him pictures of all the kids so he could add them to the album. But that still doesn't."
"The day before yesterday, he was going through the pictures when he came to the one of his wedding to your mother. He pointed to himself and said that he knew that that man was him but then he pointed to the picture of your mother and said he had no idea who she was. I had to tell him who Jenny was. He broke down in tears; he was so upset that he hadn't recognized her. I tried to calm him down. I reminded him that the doctor had told him there would be days that his memory would be worse than others. I showed him all the pictures he had gotten right that day but he was still upset. He wouldn't talk to me for the rest of the day. But by that evening, he went for the album again and got all the pictures right without any prompting. He lingered over the wedding picture for several minutes. I thought everything was okay. I was wrong and for that I'll take all the blame you want to give me."
"He forgot Mom?" Annie leaned wearily on Eric's shoulder. "No, you're lying. He could never forget Mom. He loved her too much. And you are wrong about him purposefully hurting himself. He'd never do that, not to himself and not to me."
"Annie."
"Get out! I don't want you spreading these lies to the kids or to anyone else. They just lost their grandfather; they don't need to hear these wild accusations."
Ginger stood. She placed an envelope on the table in front of Annie. "I found this as I was packing to come out her. Your father wrote it yesterday morning." As she turned to leave, Eric rose to see her out. She put her hand on his arm, stopping him. "Stay with Annie, Eric. She needs you. I'm sorry to drop this on her so soon after she found out about Charles but I thought she deserved to know the truth."
"It's not the truth. It's a vicious rumor you are trying to spread about a decent and loving man. Please Ginger. Leave me and my family alone. You've done enough." Annie turned her back on her stepmother.
*******
"Do you want me to get you anything from the kitchen?" Kevin hovered protectively over his wife. He was worried about her. He hadn't had the heart to bring up the baby because she seemed to be having such a difficult time dealing with the news of her grandfather's death. All night long, she had tossed and turned with dreams. All morning she'd spent looking through old picture albums and crying.
Lucy shook her head. Her stomach had been turning flips and threatening to expel its contents all day long. She wasn't sure if was because of the pregnancy or her grief but regardless she didn't want to put anything on her stomach to make things worse. Her eyes filled with fresh tears. Kevin had been so great to her all day. He deserved to know the truth but she couldn't bring herself to tell him. Voicing the fact that she was pregnant would mean they would have to face the problems that would come with having a baby so soon. Besides, Ginger was due to arrive at any time and the family would have to talk about the funeral arrangements.
"You haven't eaten anything all day. I don't want you passing out again." He wasn't all that hungry either and didn't want to leave her alone but he also knew he needed some time to himself. If he wasn't going to tell her he knew that she was pregnant, he needed a few moments to himself to really contemplate how their lives were about to change. At first he'd been so happy about the idea that he was going to be a father but as the night wore on the reality of the situation started to dawn on him. With his salary, could they afford to have a child? These were things he needed to think about if they weren't going to talk about it. "How about a compromise. I'll go get me something and then I'll bring you back a small bowl of soup or something easy."
Lucy nodded absently. She turned the page in the album. She pointed to a picture of an older couple sitting on a couch with a little girl who appeared to be about three years old. Fresh tears filled her eyes. "Grandpa set up the timer on the camera and took this picture me with Grandma, he, and me. They were staying with us when Mom had Simon. I was upset, nothing new for me, about a new baby coming into the house."
Kevin took the album away from her and closed it. Kneeling beside her, he gently pulled her into his arms. He gave her a few minutes to cry her tears and then he kissed her gently. "You need to come with me. You are going to make yourself sick if you keep looking at pictures and staying upset. I imagine Ginger or maybe even Sarah has arrived by now."
Finally Lucy nodded. She allowed Kevin to help her to her feet. A hard cramp gripped her stomach all of a sudden. It was all she could do not to let out a cry of pain. Even at that, Kevin looked at her in concern as a grimace of pain passed over her face. "You okay, Luce?"
She nodded. "I'm just going to go to the bathroom before we go over to the house. You go on and go over. I'll be right behind you."
Looking reluctant, Kevin finally nodded and kissed her. "If you aren't over there in ten minutes, I'm coming back for you."
Smiling through the pain, Lucy nodded. "I'll be there. I love you."
"Love you too."
As soon as she was alone, Lucy went into the bathroom. She was surprised to see a small amount of blood on her panties. Had the pregnancy test been wrong? She was a little relieved to think she might not be pregnant after all. She and Kevin weren't ready for a baby yet. Feeling better now that it seemed that it had been a false scare, Lucy didn't even think about the fact that she never had such hard cramps or bled so heavily at the start of her period.
She finished up in the bathroom and left the garage apartment. She knew that Kevin would be coming to look for her if she took much longer. Entering the kitchen, it was immediately evident that something had happened. She hadn't felt tension that thick since her mom had gotten mad at the kids for staging a coup when Mary came home. Kevin was standing next to the refrigerator, silently drinking a glass of milk. Her mom and dad were sitting at the kitchen table. Annie was holding an envelope in her hand but it was unopened.
"What's wrong?" Lucy joined Kevin by the refrigerator.
"Nothing." Annie insisted curtly. Her very voice gave lie to her words but her tone left no room for argument. She stood abruptly, leaving the envelope on the table. "I'm going upstairs to lie down for a little while."
As Annie headed up the stairs, Lucy bit her lip. No one said anything for a couple of minutes, giving time for the "tunnel of sound," as Annie had once called the stairs, to clear. Then Lucy looked at Eric. "Mom's not okay. What happened?"
Eric sighed. "Ginger came by. She had some things to say that your Mom wasn't ready to hear. I can't imagine how hard this on her. While she wasn't ready for your grandmother's death, she had at least begun to prepare for it."
Lucy nodded. "I'm going to go up and check on her." Almost halfway to the stairs, another cramp hit her, forcing her to double over in pain. This time she couldn't stop the cry of pain.
Kevin was at her side in an instant. He and Eric led Lucy to a chair at the table. "Lucy, is it the baby?"
"Baby?" Eric looked from Kevin to Lucy in shock.
Lucy looked at her husband, equally shocked. "I'm not pregnant. I started my period. It was a false alarm. The test I took must have been wrong."
Eric shook his head. "You took a pregnancy test and it was positive. Now you are bleeding and having cramps. Kevin, we need to get her to the hospital. I think she may be having a miscarriage. You take her to the emergency room. I'll call Hank and have him meet you there and Annie and I will follow."
Looking pale, Kevin quickly scooped Lucy up in his arms before she could protest. Eric waited until they were gone before picking up the phone and calling his brother-in-law. He quickly explained what was going on then headed upstairs to his and Annie's bedroom. She was lying on the bed but wasn't asleep. Eric leaned heavily on the door.
"Annie, we have another problem."
