Second Chances
- an Adam & Joan story -
by TeeJay
Chapter 3
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On Monday Adam had a hard time choosing what to wear in the morning. He really needed this job at the Herald where he would be going to apply directly after school. He didn't want to look too dorky or fancy, so he went for a pair of blue jeans that wasn't too loose-fitting, a plain white t-shirt and a long-sleeved pale blue striped button-down shirt.
When he met Joan and Grace at the lockers before first period, Grace gave him a once over. Frowning, she said, "Yo, Rove, what's with the decorous look?"
Joan also looked at him. "Yeah, if you wanna impress Ms. Shelley for the Spanish test, you look ... a little too conservative."
Adam looked a tad offended, but said to Joan, "The Herald after school, remember?"
"Oh," Joan said, suddenly remembering. "Yeah."
Just then the bell rang. Adam pointed down one corridor. "Computer class." He went off, leaving Joan and Grace to walk the opposite direction to their classroom. Grace looked at Joan questioningly. "The Herald? What was that all about?"
"Well," Joan said, "You remember how Michael fired him, right? He said he needed a new job, and apparently there's an opening at the Herald."
"The Herald, huh? Your brother wouldn't have a hand in that, would he?"
Joan smiled mischievously. "Ummm... Maybe. Sometimes it pays, having an older brother to finagle certain things for you, you know."
"So, how come you're actually getting your brother involved for Rove's sake, when the two of you weren't even speaking the other week?"
Joan and Grace entered the classroom and sat down at their respective desks.
Joan sighed. "It's a long story. And I think Adam should tell you himself."
Just then their teacher entered and began droning on about the Third Reich.
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Joan returned to the cemetery after school, where the group of volunteers met again to continue to "keep Arcadia's cemeteries clean", as the flyer had stated. She looked around for Jason. She was actually looking forward to have him teach her more about the local flora. 'Who would have thought?' she mused. When she didn't spot Jason right away, she asked Father Tanner.
"You haven't heard? He was in a horrible car accident yesterday."
Joan looked stricken. "Is he gonna be all right?"
"I don't know, but why don't you find out yourself? He was admitted to Arcadia Angel of Mercy."
"Yeah, thanks," Joan muttered. All the anticipation of her time at the cemetery was gone in a flash. She half-heartedly helped an elderly lady plant carnations along one of the cemetery paths, but after half an hour excused herself and went home.
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Adam looked up at the words ARCADIA HERALD displaying on the sign in front of the glass-walled building he was approaching. Quickly adjusting his shirt sleeves that he had rolled up during classes, he entered and asked for the contact person that Joan had written down for him. He was sent to the third floor, where they made him wait in extravagant metal chairs for fifteen minutes.
Adam had ample time to look around at the starkly white painted walls that were dotted at regular intervals with colorful, abstract pictures that looked like something Emil Schumacher might have painted. Suddenly, the door opposite him opened, and a man in his mid-thirties, dressed in a grey suit, white shirt and dark red tie told him to enter.
Half an hour later, the door opened again and Adam and the man in the suit, whose name was Derek Taylor, came out. Just outside the door, they both shook hands.
"Well, Mr. Rove, I will now show you your new work place and introduce you to Karen Wiles, who will actually be your boss."
Adam was smiling. The interview had gone well, and Mr. Taylor had told Adam right away that they would hire him. "Unchallenged," Adam said enthusiastically. Then he realized that he wasn't talking to someone his own age and embarrassedly corrected himself. "I mean, thank you."
Mr. Taylor was smiling openly at Adam. "Is that the new fashion word in high school now? 'Unchallenged'?"
Adam's face flushed a little. He admitted, "No, not really."
They took the elevator to the fifth floor where they entered a large office room that had several cubicles with people working in front of computer screens crammed into it. Mr. Taylor guided him through the maze of aisles until they came to a cubicle with a slightly chubby woman in her forties. Her brown hair was bound in a ponytail, and even though she didn't have a striking appearance, she still looked attractive.
Mr. Taylor made quick introductions and left Adam with his new boss. Kate Wiles looked at Adam approvingly. "So, Mr. Rove," she addressed him. When she saw the slightly intimidated look on his face, she added, "Or can I call you Adam?"
"Adam will be fine," he replied.
"Okay, Adam, let me show you where you will work." She took him past the cubicles and showed him to a very small office. It was only dimly lit by a single desk lamp on the only desk in the room and, since it had no window, had a slightly dingy air about it. Bookshelves and filing cabinets lined the walls. The desk was overflowing with piles of books, files and paper next to an old CRT monitor, keyboard and mouse being connected to a computer under the desk on the floor. A small xerox machine was in one corner, a microfiche viewer in another.
Kate Wiles shrugged apologetically. "We call it 'The Dungeon', I think you can see why."
"Yeah," Adam acknowledged.
Kate explained to him that he would mostly have to xerox stuff, compile and get articles and books from the archive in the basement or maybe even research some subjects for the editors or reporters.
"You think you're up to it?" she asked him.
Adam nodded. "Sure."
"Okay, then I'll show you the archive."
They entered the elevator and Kate pushed the 'B' button before the elevator doors closed behind them.
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Joan stepped hesitatingly into the hospital lobby. She asked at the information desk for Jason Hall. The lady behind the desk told her to go to the surgery ward and ask there for more information. For a second Joan wanted to turn around and leave. She had had enough of hospitals for one lifetime. But she felt an eerie obligation to see how Jason was doing.
In the surgery ward, she asked for Jason Hall at the nurse's station. While the nurse told her to wait, a pretty woman with short blond hair came up to Joan. "Do you know my husband?"
'So, this was Jason's wife,' Joan realized. She told her, "Yes, I'm Joan Girardi, we did some gardening work together at the cemetery. I came to see how he was, Father Tanner told me what happened."
"The cemetery," Mrs. Hall repeated. "He loved gardening, he always said it was the best way to relax and forget about all the constraints of every day life."
"He told me that too." Then Joan realized that Mrs. Hall was talking about Jason in the past tense. She looked at Mrs. Hall. "You said 'He loved', does that mean ...?" She let the question hang in the air.
"His brain activity ceased last night. They're keeping him on the ventilator to see if he will improve, but it was determined this morning that he is brain-dead," Mrs. Hall said in a strangely detached way, as if she was speaking about a stranger.
"He's gonna have surgery tomorrow, they'll be harvesting his organs. Isn't it ironic, just the other day we talked about organ donation, and two days ago he went to get an organ donor card. It was like a premonition. They came to me with the donor card after the accident, asking if I would agree to organ donation. I ... I didn't know what to say. What if he would wake up again after all? Now they're gonna cut him open and basically take out anything of value. Like an old car that you salvage parts of. That just seems ... so wrong."
Mrs. Hall and Joan had gone to the waiting area of the ward and sat down in the chairs there. Joan told Mrs. Hall, "A few days ago Jason found an organ donor card in the cemetery and he said he would get one for himself too. And he also said that if through that he could save even one life, it would be worth it. So, for all it's worth, I think you made the right decision."
Mrs. Hall's eyes now started to fill with tears. She took Joan's hand and squeezed it. "Thank you," she simply said.
Joan sat there for another half minute in silence and then got up to go. Mrs. Hall stopped her. "Joan, if you want to see him, you can go in."
Joan shook her head ever so slightly. "No, I think I would like to remember him the way I last saw him."
Mrs. Hall nodded. "One last thing. Can you do me a favor and plant a petunia for him the next time? He loved petunias."
Joan said, "Yes, of course. I will do that."
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On her way to the bus stop, Joan's cell phone rang. The display was flashing 'Adam cell'. She answered it.
She hadn't even finished saying the second syllable of "Hello" when she heard Adam's enthusiastic voice. "Jane, guess what, I got the job!" he blurted.
"Hey, that's great," she answered, trying to sound happy. Words bubbled out of Adam, he told her all about the interview and his new boss and workplace. When he was done with his monologue, there was silence on the line. Joan was happy for him, but her recent encounter with Mrs. Hall had rattled her enough to not be her usual chatty self.
After a few seconds of silence, concern crept into Adam's voice as he asked, "Jane? Are you okay?"
Joan didn't want to talk about this over the phone, so she tried to sound reassuring. "Yeah, I'm fine. Adam, that's so cool that you got the job. I'm really happy for you."
He asked her, "Where are you? Can we see each other?"
"No, I gotta head home and get some homework done. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah, sure."
Joan shut the cover of her cell phone and thoughtfully sat down on the bench at the bus stop to wait for the bus to arrive.
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