After Scott and Jean left the doctor and a nurse came in along with Sarah
Jean's parents.
"Well Sarah," began the doctor, "there seems to be nothing outwardly wrong with you so you can go home while we wait for the more lengthy of the tests come back in. When the results come in, we'll send them to your family physician and then he and your family can decide if there's anything to be concerned about."
While he was speaking, the nurse went around Sarah unhooking her from machines and detaching her IV.
The doctor waited to see if Sarah had any questions but received a steady stare for his trouble. As he turned to leave, he offered a few more words for Sarah.
"Good luck to you, Sarah. I sincerely hope your tests come back okay. I'm sorry for your loss."
Sarah's look softened. She nodded and thanked the doctor as he left.
"Miss Sarah, are you ready for your great escape?"
"Yeah Mom, let's get out of here." Sarah Jean rolled out of the bed and took the bag her mom had packed for her.
Next Day
The day dawned overcast once again as Sarah prepared herself for the memorial services. The families of all the students lost on the flight had agreed to place the head stones together in the memorial park. Some 30 students had been on the flight and the whole town was grieving.
At the service words were said for each of the students. As the list progressed, the clouds slowly grew darker. During Alyssa and David's memories, lightning could be seen high in the clouds and the distant rumblings of thunder grew ominously.
In her heart Sarah Jean said her own good-byes and prayed that David would watch over her if he could.
'Holes in the floor of Heaven, indeed," she thought as her prayers concluded and the sky released the tears Sarah herself could not shed.
Sarah and her parents sat down for dinner that night and she told her parents of the visitors in the hospital. Her parents shared a look and said that a teacher from the institute had spoken to them as well.
They were less than eager to accept the visitors' conclusions as the politics of such a revelation were still volatile. Ultimately, they allowed Sarah to make her own decisions since it was in fact her college career. The distance was unfortunate but not impossible.
Sarah admitted she was unsure at the moment but was seriously considering it.
"Would it be all right if I invited them over tomorrow to talk more about it? Maybe even arrange a visit to the school. I've never been to the east coast and I don't want to make a semi-permanent move blind." The hint of distaste with which Sarah said "east coast" made her mother smile and keep hope for Sarah's emotional recovery.
"Not a problem Sarah, honey, but let's table this for after dinner. Could you pass the taters?" he asked with a grin.
Sarah shot a glance to her mother and said, "Nothing ever changes with you, Dad, does it? You and your PO-TA-TOES." Sarah grinned widely and passed the bowl. But even as she did, tears welled up in her eyes, a sad look came over her face as she dropped her eyes and a somber mood settled over the table.
Sarah kept her gaze on her plate as she said, "David loved that hobbit. Said his faithfulness was a light in the dark, a force to be reckoned with. And Alyssa only had eyes for the blond elf. I remember the starry glaze that came over her when he came on screen."
In her mind Sarah recalled the last time the three had watched the movie together.
'Sarah Jean,' David had said, 'if I were Sam, would you be my Frodo?'
'Oh yes,' she told him, keeping up the light charade, 'we'd be the bestest friends for always.'
Sarah cleared her throat and came out of her reverie. Shooting glances to both her parents she discovered only sympathy and mutual pain.
"We know you loved them, baby, and their absence is difficult, but you'll do well to remember the good times you had with them and know they're doing okay on the other side."
Sarah Jean got up and hugged her father.
"Thanks Dad."
"I remember the first time Alyssa spent the night with you," her mom began as Sarah Jean took her seat.
"You were so excited, you got out all your games and toys and told me you were 'gonna stay up all night like grownups.' You were maybe a sixth grader then. But when she finally came over, we ate dinner and watched a movie and you were both out cold before the movie even finished. Your dad and I carried you to bed and the next morning you were so mad at us for letting you fall asleep, you pouted all the way through breakfast." Here her mom stopped as her eyes filled with tears of laughter and sorrow.
"Then Alyssa went to your room, grabbed a pillow and came back and hit you with it saying, 'Don't be a baby.' You just sat there shocked and then you took the pillow and got her back."
"Thus began the seven year fight of the pillows," her father added.
They all laughed and eventually dinner resumed, interspersed with stories and anecdotes about the two friends. Slowly the stories ran out and the family was silent, avoiding the next step.
Sarah stood to clear the table when her mother stopped her.
"Leave it," she said and by unspoken agreement the family moved into the living room to discuss the next move. They settled on the sofa with Sarah Jean between her mom and dad. Sitting there, without speaking for a moment, Sarah knew she had to make her choice. Her mom reached over and smoothed her daughter's cheek.
"Sarah, your dad and I aren't sure how to react to this change. We don't want you to think that it scares us so much we don't love you but there's something we need to work out. I know it's difficult to think about right now but how do you feel? What is it that you want to do?"
Sarah sighed and placed her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. As rationally as she could she weighed her options. Leaving her parents and going to New York with the strangers might help her forget about her loss but staying with her parents might force her to cope with the pain. Both places would mean furthering her education but she wasn't sure just what sort of education she would receive in New York. Sarah rubbed her hands over her face and came to her conclusion.
"I know that I can't continue the summer session. There's no way I would be able to concentrate enough to catch up and keep up. And what if I get stressed during a test or a pop quiz and fry the desk or classroom. No, I don't think I'll be going to school. I don't know what else to tell you except that I never thought it could happen to me. I don't understand what happened or how they found me but I'd sure like to find out and I think the best way to get that information is to go with them. I want to know more about the institute and I'd like for all of to sit and talk with them, especially the teacher you talked to. I want to have my options laid out for me."
Sarah Jean's parents nodded together and agreed to invite the ambassadors to lunch the following day.
"Well Sarah," began the doctor, "there seems to be nothing outwardly wrong with you so you can go home while we wait for the more lengthy of the tests come back in. When the results come in, we'll send them to your family physician and then he and your family can decide if there's anything to be concerned about."
While he was speaking, the nurse went around Sarah unhooking her from machines and detaching her IV.
The doctor waited to see if Sarah had any questions but received a steady stare for his trouble. As he turned to leave, he offered a few more words for Sarah.
"Good luck to you, Sarah. I sincerely hope your tests come back okay. I'm sorry for your loss."
Sarah's look softened. She nodded and thanked the doctor as he left.
"Miss Sarah, are you ready for your great escape?"
"Yeah Mom, let's get out of here." Sarah Jean rolled out of the bed and took the bag her mom had packed for her.
Next Day
The day dawned overcast once again as Sarah prepared herself for the memorial services. The families of all the students lost on the flight had agreed to place the head stones together in the memorial park. Some 30 students had been on the flight and the whole town was grieving.
At the service words were said for each of the students. As the list progressed, the clouds slowly grew darker. During Alyssa and David's memories, lightning could be seen high in the clouds and the distant rumblings of thunder grew ominously.
In her heart Sarah Jean said her own good-byes and prayed that David would watch over her if he could.
'Holes in the floor of Heaven, indeed," she thought as her prayers concluded and the sky released the tears Sarah herself could not shed.
Sarah and her parents sat down for dinner that night and she told her parents of the visitors in the hospital. Her parents shared a look and said that a teacher from the institute had spoken to them as well.
They were less than eager to accept the visitors' conclusions as the politics of such a revelation were still volatile. Ultimately, they allowed Sarah to make her own decisions since it was in fact her college career. The distance was unfortunate but not impossible.
Sarah admitted she was unsure at the moment but was seriously considering it.
"Would it be all right if I invited them over tomorrow to talk more about it? Maybe even arrange a visit to the school. I've never been to the east coast and I don't want to make a semi-permanent move blind." The hint of distaste with which Sarah said "east coast" made her mother smile and keep hope for Sarah's emotional recovery.
"Not a problem Sarah, honey, but let's table this for after dinner. Could you pass the taters?" he asked with a grin.
Sarah shot a glance to her mother and said, "Nothing ever changes with you, Dad, does it? You and your PO-TA-TOES." Sarah grinned widely and passed the bowl. But even as she did, tears welled up in her eyes, a sad look came over her face as she dropped her eyes and a somber mood settled over the table.
Sarah kept her gaze on her plate as she said, "David loved that hobbit. Said his faithfulness was a light in the dark, a force to be reckoned with. And Alyssa only had eyes for the blond elf. I remember the starry glaze that came over her when he came on screen."
In her mind Sarah recalled the last time the three had watched the movie together.
'Sarah Jean,' David had said, 'if I were Sam, would you be my Frodo?'
'Oh yes,' she told him, keeping up the light charade, 'we'd be the bestest friends for always.'
Sarah cleared her throat and came out of her reverie. Shooting glances to both her parents she discovered only sympathy and mutual pain.
"We know you loved them, baby, and their absence is difficult, but you'll do well to remember the good times you had with them and know they're doing okay on the other side."
Sarah Jean got up and hugged her father.
"Thanks Dad."
"I remember the first time Alyssa spent the night with you," her mom began as Sarah Jean took her seat.
"You were so excited, you got out all your games and toys and told me you were 'gonna stay up all night like grownups.' You were maybe a sixth grader then. But when she finally came over, we ate dinner and watched a movie and you were both out cold before the movie even finished. Your dad and I carried you to bed and the next morning you were so mad at us for letting you fall asleep, you pouted all the way through breakfast." Here her mom stopped as her eyes filled with tears of laughter and sorrow.
"Then Alyssa went to your room, grabbed a pillow and came back and hit you with it saying, 'Don't be a baby.' You just sat there shocked and then you took the pillow and got her back."
"Thus began the seven year fight of the pillows," her father added.
They all laughed and eventually dinner resumed, interspersed with stories and anecdotes about the two friends. Slowly the stories ran out and the family was silent, avoiding the next step.
Sarah stood to clear the table when her mother stopped her.
"Leave it," she said and by unspoken agreement the family moved into the living room to discuss the next move. They settled on the sofa with Sarah Jean between her mom and dad. Sitting there, without speaking for a moment, Sarah knew she had to make her choice. Her mom reached over and smoothed her daughter's cheek.
"Sarah, your dad and I aren't sure how to react to this change. We don't want you to think that it scares us so much we don't love you but there's something we need to work out. I know it's difficult to think about right now but how do you feel? What is it that you want to do?"
Sarah sighed and placed her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. As rationally as she could she weighed her options. Leaving her parents and going to New York with the strangers might help her forget about her loss but staying with her parents might force her to cope with the pain. Both places would mean furthering her education but she wasn't sure just what sort of education she would receive in New York. Sarah rubbed her hands over her face and came to her conclusion.
"I know that I can't continue the summer session. There's no way I would be able to concentrate enough to catch up and keep up. And what if I get stressed during a test or a pop quiz and fry the desk or classroom. No, I don't think I'll be going to school. I don't know what else to tell you except that I never thought it could happen to me. I don't understand what happened or how they found me but I'd sure like to find out and I think the best way to get that information is to go with them. I want to know more about the institute and I'd like for all of to sit and talk with them, especially the teacher you talked to. I want to have my options laid out for me."
Sarah Jean's parents nodded together and agreed to invite the ambassadors to lunch the following day.
