Brother and Sisterly Love
Kevin was sitting behing the wheel of his car, Joan was seated next to him and Luke was in the back seat. The three of them were cooking that day's dinner, therefore buying the groceries they needed at the local mall. As it was Saturday the busiest day of the week, all but one of the parking spaces reserved for the disabled was taken. After Kevin, parked the car, an older woman walked up to the car, knocked on the side window, yelled something incoherent. Polite as he was, Kevin rolled down the window, only to find out that the woman wanted his parking space, as he was young and could make more distance than she could. "Sorry mam, but I can't walk at all!" The older woman wouldn't believe him right away. Joan got his wheel chair out of the trunk and asked the woman politely to step a side, in order for her to pass and let her brother, get out of the car and into his chair. The woman then walked away, looking rahter angry.
The three of them got the groceries they needed without further ado. As Kevin got into the passenger seat, Luke, put the three grocerie bags and the wheel chair into the trunk of the car, before retaining his seat in the back of the car, meanwhile, Joan folded down the foot pedals, before getting behind the wheel of Kevin's car.
They had just left the parking lot when all of a sudden, a car crossed their path! Thanks to Joan's fast reaction and her using the hand controlled brake, which stopped the car a lot faster, than the foot brake, would have done, a crash was avoided! Thank goodness, they were all wearing their seat belts, therefor none of them crashed into the windshield! Joan managed to streer the car, onto a strip of grass next to the road.
All shook up, Joan's body was shaking from head to toe and her tears, fell freely down her cheeks. Her face and Kevin's hurt from the air bags impact and Luke's collar bone hurt from the impact of the seat belt, otherwise they were all right. Joan managed to get out of the car and walk over to the driver's side of the car that had nearly rammed them. It was an older model, dark green Buick. As Joan had managed to prevent the vehicle crashing into theirs, it had instead rammed into a a lightpost which the passenger side of the car now embraced. The driver was bent over the steering wheel, which obviously hadn't contained and air bag. All Joan could see of the driver, was gray, half long hair, with blood trickling down the left side from a gaping head wound. This freightened her badly and she ran over to their car. Sobbing, she said "one of you call 911!" Having said that, Joan collapsed emotionally and sat down on the grass, leaning against the car.
As Kevin, called for an ambulance, Luke exited the car and checked on Joan, whom was close to a nervous break down by that time. She had recognized the driver of the other car, as the elderly woman in the parking lot at the mall! The woman had obviously been really mad, that Kevin wouldn't give her the parking space and had waited for them to leave the parking lot, to ram her car into theirs! In order to get revenge! Realizing, that the woman had tried to ram their car on purpose. That was just too much for Joan's already shaken nerves to handle.
Luke tried to talk to Joan, he could see that she heard him, as she nodded or shook her head at his questions, but she couldn't speak, as there was a lump as big as a baseball in her throat. As Joan kept on pointing in the direction of the ohter car, Luke walked over to check on the driver. He could see by the heaving of her back that she was still alive. Luke recoqnizing the woman as well, now understood why Joan was close to hysteria. This wasn't an accident! This woman had been out to get them, over a parking space they had every right to occupy!
Having hung up his cell phone Kevin looked around for his brother and sister. Luke was a few feet away from the car, he looked extremely pale, shook up and spaced out. Ummm, Kevin didn't like what he saw. This was a Luke he had never seen before! Joan, on the other hand seemed to have disappeared. Where could she be? If Luke was taking things that bad, then Joan must be in an awfull shape!
Kevin unsnapped his seat belt and turned his body to the left, leaned over the back seat until he reached the handle, which would pull its upper half forward. Having done so he was able to get his wheel chair. He took off the wheels and set the chair, next to the car where he reassemled it. Once in his chair Kevin started looking for Joan, which he found sitting proped against the car on the opposite side, her face down. She was crying hysterically and uttering something, which Kevin couldn't make sense out of. Not wanting to leave Joan's side he hollered at Luke: "what's with the other driver? Is he gonna be okay?"
Luke walked over to Joan and Kevin and said deeply shocked "It's a she!...She meant...to ram us Kev!... It's the...parking lot...lady!" Never before had Kevin heard Luke's voice sound that serious and seen such a look of horror on his face. He knew, that Luke wasn't joking! "Oh my God! You mean that she?" His voice trailed off, as it hit Kevin, that the woman had actually wanted to hurt or even kill them and his face too grew pale.
The paramedics arrived with three ambulances. It seemed like ages had passed since Kevin placed the call, yet only 10 minutes had passed! The three of them received a general check- up by one team of paramedics, while the other two took it upon themselves to release the woman, from her car which didn't prove to be all that easy.
Just to be on the safe side, the three Girardi kids were driven to a nearby community hospital. There they were x-rayed for broken bones and their vital signs were monitored. One of the doctors had phoned their parents. One thing Kevin had forgotten to do, as he couldn't see Joan from the car and was worried about her state of being.
Kevin, Joan and Luke, which were lying in a bed next to one another in the Emergency Room, started to cry as they were too shaken from the day's events to control their emotions, when they were re-united with their parents 15 minutes later.
Soon after their parents arrival, two police officers came and wanted to speak to Joan, as she had been driving at the time of the 'accident'. Joan however, was still too shook up to speak therefor, they decided to talk to Kevin.
He started off telling them about the incident with the lady in the parking lot. One of the officers interrupted Kevin and asked him, if it was relevant information. Kevin rolled his eyes in answer and continued, telling the officers that the driver of the Buick, which Joan had miraculously managed to avoid ramming, was the lady from the parking lot! He told the officers, that the three of them assumed, that the lady had wanted revenge, for him not letting her have the parking space he had just pulled into.
The officers both shook their head in disbelief. They thouth the three of them were paranoid and that it must be a coinsidence, that the lady from the parking lot almost crashed into their car. Luke got mad. He just couldn't believe the officers unbelief in the three of them's judgement, where the other driver was concerned.
Will told the officers, that the kids certainly wouldn't be seeing things, as that wasn't like them. The officers still seemed reluctant to believe that the older lady had wanted to ram the teenagers car to get even over a parking space.
The other driver was being scanned for internal injuries, at the same time as the officers spoke to the Girardis. She was still alive and the scans showed up negative, except the one of her head. That one showed that there were some fluid in her brain. A rather bad sign, as it could lead to brain damage.
The two officers were about to leave the hospital, when they let the Girardis know that they, would have to speak to the three of them again shortly. Therefor, they were not allowed to leave town! Will protested, "they're not under arrest, so how can you tell them not to leave town?" "You're a police officer Mr. Girardi figure it out yourself!" One of the officers replied smartly. Having said that the officers left the hospital.
Kevin, Joan and Luke, had to stay in the hospital over night for observation, just to be on the safe side. Kevin requested that they all stay in the same room, in case one of them should have a nightmare after the day's ordeal, then the others could be of some comfort. The head nurse didn't think it was a good idea, especially as Kevin needed a room with an ajoining bathroom, to fit his special needs and those rooms were only fitted for two people at the most. Will asked the head nurse to have a look at one of these rooms, as maybe together they could come up with a solution, as he agreed with his eldest son that they should share a room for the night. After a while, they did come up with a solution allowing the three beds to be placed in one room, leaving enough space between them for Kevin, to get around in his wheel chair.
Then, the three of them were moved up to their room, tailed by Will and Helen, holding hands both sunk deep in their own thoughts, concerned about their kids' state of mind and what would come of this. How were their kids to prove, that the lady had meant to crash her car into theirs!
Once, up in the room the five of them got something to eat and drink. It was then 4:10 p.m. Kevin, Joan and Luke, weren't all that hungry, yet they, managed to eat some of their chicken soup. Slowly but surely their nerves calmed down. All but Joan were able to make themselves understood verbally, as she still had a big lump in her throat. Everything said had to do with the 'accident' one way or the other. At 6:35 p.m. Will and Helen were asked to leave, in order for their kids to get some well needed rest. They gave all three of their kids a big hug, before turning to the nurse, asking him what time they could pick up their kids the next morning. The nurse replied, at 10 a.m.
The older woman talked in her sleep the same afternoon. One of the ICU nurses, tending to her recorded what she said, as she thougth it might be important to her family members, if she didn't make it through the night.
Kevin was right that someone needed the comfort of the other two that night. Only, he'd thougth it would be Joan. Instead, it was Luke that needed comforting words and hugs after having a nightmare. The two of them stayed by his bed until he'd gone back to sleep.
Later that night, it was Kevin himself who had a bad nightmare; instead of avoiding the crash, the Buick, hit the driver's side with an amaizing impact, tipping the car over onto the passenger side, making all three of them bounce all over the place. Kevin screamed "no! no! Which awoke Luke and Joan, sending them running over to their older brother's bed. Joan grabbed his left hand and started stroking it's rough, calloused surface tenderly. While Luke, pulled Kevin's upper body towards him in an embrace. Turning the tables around, he now stroked Kevin's back and told him that they were there and he's be okay. Then slowly, Luke let Kevin's body fall back onto the pillows. Joan and Luke, comforted him until he'd fallen asleep and then went back to their own beds and they went back to sleep once more.
The other driver did pass away that night. Another nurse, had seen her colleague recording the things the older woman had mumbled before she died. She asked to listen to the tape to see if it only contained jibberish, or something that was coherent. To both the nurses surprise the woman's voice was clear. "It was my space! I'm gonna teach you kids a lesson!" The rest was incoherent as her voice faded into oblivion. The nurses agreed, that the police had to know this woman's last words.
When Will and Helen, came to pick up their kids the next morning, they were surprised to find the two officers in their room that had talked to them yesterday in the ER, along with a Lieutenant which had a tape in his hand. On a small table by the window was a tape recorder. The Lieutentant, asked the entire Girardi family to have a seat around the table and listen to the tape carefully.
After hearing the woman's confession they all felt a mixture of emotions. One was relief, as the three of them's intuition had been right. Another feeling was shock, that one person could try and kill three other people over a parking space which they had obtained rightfully!
Though Luke, Joan and Kevin hadn't always been so close, this common nerve wrecking experience made them realize the brotherly and sisterly love they felt for one another.
Some how, Joan felt God had something to do with this. God had wanted them to bond. Well, now they had bonded, hadn't they!