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4 Hours Later
Henry sat underneath the harsh fluorescent glare of the Emergency Room lights at the hospital holding Aiden tightly in his lap. The ambulance ride that seemed to take hours had been mercifully over in a few minutes. Henry had shielded Aiden all the way to the hospital. He knew his son would never forget seeing Betty's accident, but Aiden didn't need to see the bloodied and broken body of his friend laying on the pavement. Henry couldn't shake the images of her from his mind. Betty had landed on the concrete hard, one leg twisted and obviously broken. Her face had been bruised and bloody, and even her glasses had flown off her face from the impact. Henry had found the bent red frames next to her and clutched the broken frames in his hand, sobbing in earnest as Aiden tightened his hold on his daddy's neck.
"Daddy, I'm scared." Aiden whimpered, "Is Betty going to be all right?" Henry had no words of comfort for the five year old, so he settled for stroking Aiden's soft hair and whispering to the child. Across from him Justin and Santos sat, Santos' arm around his son. Hilda was pacing back and forth down the linoleum hallway and Ignacio sat to Henry's right, his hands clasped in his lap and his eyes red from crying. Henry cleared his throat and looked over at Betty's father.
"Mr. Suarez, I am so sorry for what happened. This is all my fault." Henry said hoarsely, "If Charlie hadn't been there and did what she did then Betty..." Ignacio stopped Henry with a hand on his shoulder.
"Henry...son...you couldn't have known this would happen. I'm sure Betty doesn't blame you. It was just an accident." Ignacio said, patting Henry's shoulder.
"I just can't believe this happened." Henry said, "I love her, I should have protected her better! She's laying in the hospital and she could...and it's all because of me." Henry said, his voice rising in anguish. Ignacio grasped Henry by the shoulder and shook him gently.
"Henry, that's enough!" Ignacio said firmly, "Stop all that right now. Betty and Aiden both need you to be strong right now. Betty's going to pull through this."
"She has to." Henry whispered, "She's the only one for me."
More than six hours had passed since Betty had been brought in. Henry remembered the EMT's who had worked on her on the way to the hospital said they thought she could have serious internal injuries. Henry's mind was working on autopilot, his brain reciting the same mantra:
She can't die. His Betty can't die.
He became aware of Hilda standing in front of him. She held out her arms and took a sleeping Aiden from him. She crooned softly in his ear like Betty did as Santos and Justin spread their coats down on the lumpy couch in the waiting area. Hilda smiled as she covered Aiden with Betty's jacket. Aiden smiled in his sleep and snuggled down underneath Betty's jacket. Henry gazed over at his son for a long time, watching his peaceful face. Henry excused himself for a moment and walked outside the ER. He looked up at the black night sky. 8,479: the exact number of stars visible from earth on an ideal night. He looked up at the stars, coldly winking from millions of miles away. Henry had never been particularly religious, but staring up at the created universe above his head, he decided he needed to talk to whomever held Betty's life in their hands.
"I know, I made a mistake." Henry sighed, "I took for granted that she would always be here. I forgot what a precious gift she is to me." Henry choked up but continued, "But if you could see your way clear to sending her back, I promise I'll make it up to her. My son needs her. I need her. I don't want to live without her anymore." Henry said as he took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. He replaced his glasses just as he heard Hilda calling for him. The doctor was here. Henry turned and headed back to the Emergency Room.
Betty looked around the MODE offices and realized that something was wrong. Not only was there no furniture in any of the offices she'd walked through, but there was absolutely no one here. Betty looked around as she tried to find someone, anyone who would tell her what was going on. She circled around the reception area, but Amanda was nowhere to be seen. No big surprise there, Betty thought. She headed for her desk but once again, no furniture and no Daniel. Betty glanced around in frustration at her office. Someone had to be playing a joke on her again she thought, but even this was too over the top for even Marc. As she slowly circled the room, Betty became aware of a noise behind her.
"Betty..." Betty whirled around but no one was there. She walked into Daniel's office. Again, nothing was in there.
"Betty..." Betty turned behind her to the voice. She couldn't see anyone. Betty's heart started to race as she ran from the MODE offices. She had to go home. Her dad would explain what had happened.
Henry arrived back in the Emergency Room just as the doctor was assembling the family together. Aiden was still sleeping peacefully as the doctor motioned them all to sit.
"Mr. Suarez, I am Doctor Devera Rochon. I am the one who operated on your daughter." The doctor said kindly.
"Dr. Rochon, how is Betty? I mean, how bad is she hurt?" Iganacio asked. The adults looked at one another anxiously. Dr. Rochon looked at each of them.
"Betty is in critical condition. She's going to be taken up to ICU in just a few minutes. Betty's surgery went well. She has a broken leg which we've set, and three broken ribs." Henry gasped aloud as the doctor continued, "she had some internal bleeding which we repaired and stablized. The biggest problem for Betty right now is her head injury." Dr. Rochon said.
"Head injury?" Hilda said as Santos took her hand, "well how bad is it?"
"Betty suffered a serious concussion as a result of her fall. The concussion itself will heal. However, the trauma that her brain suffered in the fall has caused massive swelling in her brain. We went in and relieved some of the swelling after we stopped her bleeding, but I'm afraid we may not have gone in in time to keep her from having permanent damage." Dr. Rochon looked around sadly.
"So what exactly does that mean?" Henry asked, "Will she have...brain damage...?" Henry asked.
"We're not sure right now. The next few days will tell us more. She's young and she's a fighter, so that is to her advantage. Unfortunately with this kind of brain injury, there's always a possibility that there may be amnesia and memory loss." Dr. Rochon said. Henry and the other adults looked at the doctor as her words sank in. "When will Aunt Betty wake up?" Justin asked.
"That's hard to say. Her body's been through a lot right now and it and her mind needs to rest. The best guess I can give you is whenever Betty is ready to wake up." Dr. Rochon said. The nurse assistant came up to her.
"Dr. Rochon, Ms. Suarez is in her room now." She said. Dr. Rochon thanked her and turned to the family. She smiled at each of them. "You all may go on up. ICU is on the 5th floor. Only one family member at a time and only ten minutes each." The doctor reminded them. Hilda hugged Santos as Ignacio pulled Henry and Justin in for a hug. As they embraced, Henry sent up a wordless prayer of thanks. The first step was always the hardest.
But Betty was still alive!!!!
Betty stood inside her father's house, looking around worriedly. She couldn't hear any sounds
of Ignacio cooking, or Hilda and Justin watching television. She turned around in the living room,
trying to hear any sounds from her family. But the house was eerily quiet. She walked upstairs and
looked around. No one was here. She walked into her old bedroom; it looked the same as the day
she moved out. Her comforter was spread neatly over her bed, stuffed animals and pictures still
in the same places. She picked up an old day planner and leafed through it. Today was her friend
Teri's birthday. She would have to remember to pick up a card for her. As she flipped through the
calendar, she heard the voice again, the one from MODE.
"Betty..." Betty turned around and gasped. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She swallowed hard to find her voice.
"Mama?" Betty said.
"Mi Hija..." Rosa said. Betty stood and walked towards her mother. She stopped a few feet in front of what must be her first hallucination. She reached out to her mother, then stopped short.
"Mom, I don't understand. What's going on? What are you doing here? And where exactly are we"
Betty said. Rosa smiled Betty's smile and motioned towards Betty's bed.
"Come Mi hija, sit. I'll try to explain." Rosa said.
Henry was the last to go in and see Betty. He stayed downstairs with Aiden until the rest of the family had time to visit. Hilda, Justin and Ignacio all wore equally grim faces as they approached him. Hilda smiled a tired smile as she walked up to Henry.
"I'll stay here with Aiden, you go on up and see her." Hilda said, touching his shoulder. She gave him Betty's room number as she walked over and sat down next to Aiden. Henry's thoughts were a jumble as he rode the elevator to the fifth floor. He walked down the hall to Betty's room and pushed open the door. The hiss and beep of machines greeted him as he walked over to her bed. Tears sprang to his eyes as he moved a chair next to her bed and sat down. Henry gently took her hand.
The bruises on Betty's face stood out ugly and livid against her pale skin. She looked different laying there without her glasses on. Henry gently stroked her hand for a few minutes. When he spoke, his voice sounded loud in the stillness of the room.
"Betty, I've done a lot of thinking sitting here waiting to see you. I wanted to tell you how much I love you. I
wanted to say something inspirational to make you open your eyes and look at me. I wanted to tell you that I
want to spend the rest of my life with you and to make a family together with Aiden. I wanted to say so much,
but now that I'm here, looking at your beautiful face bruised and swollen, and your body laying here broken
and battered, I can't think of anything else but that I'm to blame for where you are." Henry said brokenly.
"I've always been a stand-up guy, the one everyone knows will always do the right thing." Henry paused, bringign her fingers to his lips and kissing them. He took a deep breath and prayed for the courage to continue.
"I can't sit by, I WON'T sit by any longer and be the cause of such hurt for you anymore. I love you so much
it hurts sometimes just to look at you. But this is all I have given you for so many years. Hurts and second bests.
You deserve so much more than that from someone that loves you. And I do love you Betty Suarez, more than
you'll ever know. But I'm letting you go. I can't take the chance that Charlie or Walter or the man in the moon
might come back in five or ten years and cause a worse accident next time. You mean so much more to me than
that, and I..." Henry broke down then, resting his head on the bed railing. He took some deep breaths, then gently
reached up and stroked Betty's hair.
"I love you Betty Suarez. I will never stop loving you. Not now, not when I'm dead and gone. Don't ever forget that." Henry said as he squeezed her hand and kissed her goodbye one last time. Henry quickly left the room. He rode the elevator down in silence. When he reached Betty's family, he paused before picking up Aiden.
"You're the best medicine for Betty right now." Henry said, "She's going to need you more than ever when she wakes up. Just love her the way you always do and make sure she's happy." Hilda's eyes widened.
"Henry, she needs you too. She loves you and that little boy more than..." Hilda stopped as Henry shook his head.
"No, she doesn't need me. All I do is put her in the hospital. And break her heart." Henry whispered sadly as he bent down and picked up his sleeping son. Hilda and Ignacio watched as Henry gently carried Aiden out of the hospital, the doors quietly shutting behind them. Hilda turned to her father.
"Papi...we've got to..." Hilda started but Ignacio shook his head.
"Mi hija, he needs time. He's carrying all the guilt for Betty's accident. Henry thinks it's all his fault. No, we can't go after him. He just needs some time."
"All they both need is time." Ignacio said as Hilda put her arms around her father and cried.
TBC...