An Ordinary Day
It was an ordinary day. Well, with the Harts, any day was hardly ordinary, but for them, it was nothing special. Mr. H got home from the office. Mrs. H was out doing some shopping. He was waiting for her to get back, and he was getting impatient. Poor Freeway just wanted some attention, but instead of sitting on the sofa to pet the dog, Mr. H was pacing back and forth.
"Max, where did you say she was again?" he asked.
"I dunno, Mr. H. She said she was gonna do some shopping and she'd be back. It's not dinnertime yet. She's not so late," Max answered. He knew Mr. H wouldn't relax until his wife was home with him, but there wasn't anything Max could do about it. He carried on watering the plants in all the little pots around the house.
Jonathan knew he was being petulant. It wasn't like he and Jennifer never spent any time together. Quite the opposite. They spent more time together than they did apart. And they liked it that way. And today, even though it was just an ordinary Tuesday, Jonathan had driven home from the office feeling excited at the prospect of getting to see Jennifer when he arrived at the house. The fact that she wasn't there was more of a disappointment than he really wanted to admit.
It wasn't that he was worried or paranoid or anything. She was out shopping, and she'd have her fun, and he'd see her soon. It was just that he wanted to see her. And he didn't want to do anything else until he saw her. He could read something or watch TV or make himself a drink or go out in the yard to throw the ball for Freeway. But Jonathan didn't want to do any of that. He just wanted to be with Jennifer.
Eventually, however, pacing back and forth was going to wear a hole in the rug. And Max kept giving him concerned looks like he was a panther pacing in a cage who might strike out any minute. Jonathan finally relented.
"Come on, Freeway, let's go play fetch," he said gesturing to the dog sitting on the sofa watching his master.
Max watched as the dog leapt up and ran after Mr. H through the kitchen and out the back door. And with them gone, Max got a little peace in the house to finish up this chore before it was time to get started on dinner. Mrs. H would be along anytime, and he didn't want to be in her way when she got home.
But of course, as soon as Max was grateful for the opportunity to get his work done, the darn phone rang. With a sigh, he put down the watering can and went to answer the phone. "Hart residence," he announced.
"There you go, Freeway, now bring it back!" Jonathan called. Whatever kind of dog Freeway was, he wasn't really a retriever. He often got bored with fetch pretty quickly. He was desperate to play and then after about four throws, he took the ball or toy or whatever was being thrown for him and just sat somewhere to chew on it or even just hold it. Jonathan and Max both got a little exasperated at him for it, but Jennifer always just scolded them for their annoyance, claiming that obviously their dog was an independent spirit who followed his own whims.
Freeway came bounding back and skidded to a stop, but the grass was a little damp and he bonked into Jonathan's legs.
Jonathan laughed and took the ball and gave his ears a little scratch. "Good boy, Freeway." He stood up and threw the ball again.
"Mr. Hart!" Max yelled from the house.
"Yeah, Max?" Jonathan called back, turning to him from where he was watching Freeway.
Even from about thirty feet away, Jonathan could see that Max was pale. He didn't even wait for Max to answer, he jogged over to him.
"What's the matter, Max?" he asked in concern.
"The police just called. Mrs. Hart was in an accident. The ambulance took her to the hospital. The car's totaled. They had to get her out with the jaws of life, the police said," Max told him shakily.
Jonathan felt his heart drop out of the bottom of his stomach. He'd never fainted before, but if he was ever going to, this was probably what it felt like. He had to swallow the lump in his throat, and even so, his voice was barely a rasp when he said, "We gotta go. Now. You drive. I…I can't…"
"Yeah, lemme get Freeway in the house," Max answered.
While Max got the dog and locked up the house, Jonathan floated out to the car. There was no other way to describe it. He must have walked, but he couldn't feel his feet. He was entirely separated from his own existence. For some reason, Jonathan felt sure that if he blinked, he'd crumble into a thousand pieces.
He didn't let himself think about Jennifer. He could see her face in his mind's eye. He could practically feel her touch. But he couldn't think about her. He couldn't do it. Max sped through Bel Air to the hospital faster than anyone might have thought a Bentley could go. And Jonathan couldn't think. Not a single thought in his mind at all. It was just the feeling of Jennifer, the knowledge of her being and her love that sustained his existence in that moment.
"You go in and talk to the doctors and I'll park the car," Max offered, pulling up by the emergency room entrance. "Unless you need me to go with you," he added, seeing the blank, terrified look on Mr. Hart's face. He really didn't look so good. Max was glad he was the one driving.
"No, I'll…" Jonathan got out of the car alright but he still couldn't finish a sentence.
He went from being dazed to being hyper focused as soon the doors slid open. He marched right up to the information desk, ignoring the line of people waiting.
"What's happened to Jennifer Hart?" he demanded.
"Sir, you'll need to wait—" the nurse attempted to explain.
"No, I will not wait, I need to know right now," Jonathan insisted.
"I have to—"
"I just need to know if she's alive!" he shouted, his voice cracking.
The look of shock and slight fear on the poor nurse's face was enough to knock just a little sense into Jonathan.
"I…I'm sorry…I'll…" His shoulders slumped and he turned away, letting the people waiting in line have their turns.
No sooner had he walked away than another nurse hurried over to him. "Were you asking about Jennifer Hart?" she asked.
"Yes, where is she? How is she?"
"She's coming out of surgery right now," the nurse told him. "I was here to admit her when the ambulance brought her in. The doctors will tell you more, but according to the paramedics, her car was hit right in the driver's side and the door crushed part of her body. But she was alive when she came in, and she was alive when I was instructed to prepare her room about ten minutes ago. She should be in there soon. Room 213."
A wave of relief at the knowledge that Jennifer was alive and coming out of surgery nearly bowled him over. "Thank you," he said gratefully to the nurse.
He wasted no time rushing through the crowds of people to the elevator and going up to the second floor and then practically running down the hall to Room 213. The room was empty, but Jennifer's name was on the little paper sign on the wall. She would be here soon. Soon, she'd be here soon.
"Alright, let's get her settled," a voice outside the room said.
A gurney was wheeled in by a couple of orderlies with a doctor behind, directing things.
"Jennifer!" Jonathan cried, seeing the first glimpse of his wife's form.
"Are you a family member?" the doctor asked.
"I'm her husband. Are you her doctor?" Jonathan asked in return, not taking his eyes off Jennifer.
"I was the trauma surgeon on call when your wife was brought in, Mr. Hart. It took us a few hours, but we've stopped all the internal bleeding and repaired everything we could. She isn't out of the woods yet, and she'll be here for quite a while, but she is stable for now," the doctor explained.
Jonathan watched as the orderlies carefully transferred Jennifer from the gurney to the bed. She was unconscious and covered in bandages. Only a bit of her auburn hair was visible. And her beautiful face was scratched and had its share of bandages as well.
The doctor kept talking. "It was a good thing the police were able to find her identity. She was brought in as a Jane Doe, since she was rushed in after it took so long for them to get her out of the vehicle. She was unconscious already at that point. We received a call probably the same time you did, when the police were able to find the license plate on the car and ran the registration. I understand they found her purse inside the car shortly after that. A policeman should be bringing her wallet and other personal items here for her."
"Yeah, okay," Jonathan said distractedly.
Hours. It had been hours since she was hit by a car and no one knew it was her and no one had told him she'd been hurt. She'd been in surgery for hours to repair probably every single part of her body. There were casts on both legs and one on her arm and bandages everywhere. She was probably stitched up inside and out.
But she was alive. And god, that was all that mattered.
The sound of voices…were they voices? It was hard to tell. There was some kind of sound. And then pain. So much pain that it was torture to even be conscious. Jennifer gasped and cried out with the pain.
"I'm here, darling."
That was Jonathan's voice. Through the pain, she could hear that. She could hear him. And in the fog of every part of her body hurting, she could feel a squeeze of her hand. Jonathan was holding her hand. Jonathan was here and holding her hand, and everything would be alright. Everything slipped away, but Jennifer felt better knowing that Jonathan was there to hold her hand.
Jennifer woke up like that another three times, scaring the hell out of Jonathan and Max each and every time. The two of them sat there all night.
Max had gone home to get some things for them and to feed Freeway, but he was back and sitting vigil alongside Mr. H. He came back just as Mr. H was arguing with a nurse about visiting hours. She said visitors had to leave, and he refused. When she tried to cite hospital policy to him, he threatened to buy the hospital just so he could change the policy. Max stepped in at that point to talk to the nurse and the doctor in charge, and they agreed that Max and Mr. Hart could stay through the night so long as they weren't in anyone's way.
Eventually the sun came up. And just as the sun started to rise over the horizon, Jennifer's eyes started to flutter open.
"Jonathan?" she mumbled. Everything still hurt. But she didn't feel so foggy now. She wanted to wake up.
"Jennifer!" he exclaimed. "Oh god, Jennifer!" Jonathan stood up and held onto Jennifer's one good hand and made sure that she could see him when she opened her eyes.
"Oh Jonathan, what happened?" she asked groggily.
"You were in a car accident, darling. You're in the hospital now, and you're going to be alright."
The pain certainly made sense now. But something more important came into her mind at his words. "Oh no," she lamented.
"What is it, are you in pain?" he asked worriedly.
"No," she answered. "Well, yes, I'm in pain, but no, I'm just so sorry."
"Sorry!?"
Jennifer could hardly move, but she could squeeze Jonathan's hand that was holding hers. "I'm sorry, darling, you must have been so worried about me. I'm sorry to have scared you."
"Don't apologize for worrying me, and I'm not going to apologize for loving you," Jonathan said.
"I suppose that's fair," Jennifer answered. "Now would you come over here and kiss me to make sure I'm still alive, please?"
Max stood back to allow them their moment, and he watched the two people he loved most in the world hold each other as best they could. The relief in the room was palpable. Tears started to sting at Max's eyes, but he didn't bother to wipe them away. He wanted to remember this moment and this feeling. Because everything was almost lost. If Mrs. H hadn't made it through, Max knew he would have lost them both. Mr. H couldn't survive without her. Well, actually, he probably could, but Max knew he wouldn't want to. Not for a minute. And they'd come too close to that today.
In the end, as the sun came up on Wednesday, it was suddenly another ordinary day for the Harts. After all, they had each other and they were in love, and for them, that was just an ordinary day.
THE END
