Chapter 18
Winston slid his Metro Card through the slot on the left hand side of the turnstile at the Franklin Street Station and followed Echo down the ramp to the trains.
It had been four years since he had stepped foot back into the city. After Winston had married Iris they had stayed in the city in Egon's old studio apartment in Morningside Heights, a few blocks from Columbia University.
Their lives had been routine until September 11th, 2001. Sitting helpless next to Iris' side and watching the television, Winston knew that he had to do something, anything.
Like so many others, the anger over 9/11 spurred Winston and he had walked into his local Air Force recruiting office the next day, along with others, and had reenlisted in the Air Force. The recruiting officer, after having found out that Winston had flown helicopters in Vietnam, had recommended him for fighter jets.
The Air Force had a need for pilots and Winston had jumped at the chance to learn to fly planes. After that, it had been a whirlwind for him and Iris.
Moving from New York to another state for six months and then moving to a different state after that. Leaving Iris to go overseas for Iraqi Freedom in 2003, and then when he had come back, to be told he was being transferred once again.
Iris and him had lived in almost every state in America at one time or another. The state that Iris had loved the most was Virginia.
"It reminds me of my childhood home," Iris had told him when he got stationed at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.
Winston stopped next to Echo as they waited on the platform for the #1 train to take them uptown.
"Echo," Winston said, "I want to thank you for finding out what was wrong with Iris."
"Winston," Echo replied, "you don't need to thank me. Iris was my mother's best friend. It's an honor for me to help you out."
Winston nodded his head as he felt the pressure in the underground tunnel suddenly change. The subway train came into view from his right. Waiting for the train to stop and its doors to open, Winston followed Echo onto the train and allowed her to take the seat while he stood and held onto the overhead handrail.
It was good to see Echo healthy and walking about. The last time he had seen her was in a hospital bed in a coma. Janine had called him early one Saturday morning.
He and Iris were living in Anchorage, Alaska at the time. The couple was used to phone calls at all hours of the day and night. Winston had figured that the call was from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and had picked up the receiver without looking at the phone's identification first.
"Lieutenant Colonel Zeddemore here," Winston sleepily replied as he sat up and tossed the bed covers off of his body.
Janine's voice had surprised him as he stood up next to the bed. He had been grateful that he hadn't moved away from the bed because after Janine had told him the reason for her call he had fallen down, the bed having saved his backside from the hard wooden floor.
"Winston?" Iris asked, concerned upon seeing her husband slide off the bed and fall to the ground, "what's wrong?"
"Echo's been hurt," he had replied as the phone's receiver dropped from his hand to the floor. "She's in a coma."
"Go," Iris said getting out of bed and rushing to his side. "Don't worry about me. Take as much time as the Air Force will give you. Echo is my best friend's daughter. Help Egon and her in anyway that you can."
Winston had phoned his superior and was given the month off if he would do one thing for him first. Winston had been flown down to Sydney, Australia on a military transport aircraft flight. From there he had picked up Oscar Venkman and had flown the new F-35 Lightning II back to Washington D.C. with Oscar riding behind him in the copilot's seat.
Oscar had been ecstatic when they had landed on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling's runway and taxied to the hanger.
"That was the best Uncle Winston!" Oscar had shouted at him as the Airmen came to help the pair down from the cockpit.
Winston had smiled at him. Even though Oscar was twenty-two years old at the time he acted like he was five years old by how he was carrying on.
Winston and Oscar had been given a ride over the Anacostia River and into Washington D.C. where they had caught the Acela Express at Union Station to take them into Penn Station, New York. Winston and Oscar had met Janine, Louis and their twins at the firehouse a little over three hours later.
That was when he had found out that not only was Echo hurt, but Eduardo and Garrett too.
Garrett had been the only lucky one. He had stitches in his leg from a tree branch that had struck him. Eduardo had broken ribs, a laceration, and a dislocated shoulder, but Echo was the one who was the worse off.
Winston had spent the week at either the firehouse or Ray's house at night and the hospital during the day. He had seen first hand how hard it had been on Egon. Winston was having a hard time sleeping at night because he was worrying about Echo, and he knew that Egon was having nightmares at night over her.
Egon had started out the week in a three piece suit, clean shaven and hair neatly placed in a ponytail, but as the days went along Egon had stopped shaving and wearing his three piece suits. The last time Winston had seen Egon, before his daughter had woken up from her coma, he was sporting a beard and only a jacket. His tie hadn't matched the color of his jacket and his hair was longer, hastily placed into his standard ponytail, but Egon's face had told the unspoken story.
Usually a quiet man that spent his days teaching, Egon had become overly quiet and reclusive, often retreating into his old lab and locking the door behind him. Winston had, on more than one occasion, heard him weeping behind that closed door in the firehouse.
When Egon had emerged his face had been taunt with worry and fear. Winston had seen that face before, when Egon's wife had been killed ten years ago. Egon had sported that same face for the week that Echo had been in the hospital and now he knew too how the man had felt firsthand.
The train started to slow down and Winston offered Echo his hand. Echo held onto his hand as she stood up and placed her feet apart. Winston knew that she was a real New Yorker as she swayed with the train as it ground to a halt.
Winston let go of Echo's hand and let her lead the way off of the train as he followed behind her to the stairs that led to street level.
It was good to be back in the city and around familiar things. They were going to St. Luke's Hospital on 1111 Amsterdam Avenue. Iris and him had traveled these same subways for many years before they had left New York City, but if he let his guard down Winston would find himself much like Egon was four years ago. Worry and fear had been Winston's constant companions now for the past month. Now it was coming to a close thanks in part to Egon's daughter.
Doctor Echo Spengler had been the answer to Winston's prayers. She had diagnosed Iris' problem in a few short hours.
Winston took his sunglasses out of his ABU jacket's chest pocket and placed them on his face as they emerged into the sun from the subway. Walking down Broadway, with Echo by his side, they headed for 114th Street.
"Echo, why didn't the military doctor's find this sooner?" Winston asked.
"I don't know," Echo replied as she turned her face to look at her uncle. "I can't speak for them. Maybe they just didn't think to look for cancer again in her reproductive system."
"But you did."
Echo turned her face away from Winston to look for traffic before they crossed Broadway.
Sighing, Echo answered Winston, "It was the first logical place for me to look. Vaginal cancer is a rare cancer if it begins in the vagina, but knowing Iris' history it wasn't that unlikely for the uterine cancer cells to spread if her chemotherapy didn't get them all."
Winston nodded his head as he waited for the traffic on Broadway to come to a stop so that they could cross the street. He knew that Echo was going to be performing Iris' surgery. Echo would be removing part of the vagina, a partial vaginectomy. She hoped that a radical vaginectomy wasn't necessary.
"Iris will have to undergo radiation therapy this time," Echo had told him.
"Why not chemotherapy?" Winston had asked her.
"Chemotherapy isn't useful on this type of cancer," Echo had replied.
The light turned green and Winston and Echo crossed Broadway and headed down 114th Street for St. Luke's Hospital. A short time later they crossed Amsterdam Avenue and Winston held the door open to allow Echo to go first into the hospital. They stopped at the front desk so that Winston could pick up his visitor's badge before they headed down the hallway to the bank of elevators.
Echo pushed the up button to call the elevator down. She knew that Winston was worried and she didn't know how to put his mind at ease. The military doctors had missed diagnosing Iris' cancer and she knew that had made Winston upset. She had no way of explaining the other doctor's mistake. She didn't know what the other doctors were thinking when they hadn't given Iris a pelvic exam. Was it that they were 'older' doctors and didn't think that Iris needed one after having a hysterectomy? She didn't know and she didn't want to try and guess. Echo only wanted Iris better for Winston's sake.
The elevator's doors opened and Echo stepped inside, Winston following. Winston had taken his sunglasses off when they had come through the hospital's doors. Echo could now see his large, dark brown eyes that had lines under them. She knew that Winston had gotten little to no sleep on the trip up here from Brandywine, Maryland.
Her father had been called on Monday late afternoon to be told that Winston, Iris, and Shelly were coming to NYC. They had been at home when the call had come and Echo had told Winston to have the military transport drop them off at St. Luke's Hospital, where she worked part-time, after Winston told her that Iris was still sick.
Echo had then gone downstairs to the computer and had 'Skyped' Iris' doctors. They had videoconferenced with her and had file transferred all of Iris' records and test results. For two hours Echo had gone over all of Iris' records, lab tests, radiographs, and even her MRI. The only thing that she hadn't seen was a pelvic exam and pap test.
When Echo had arrived at St. Luke's Hospital the first thing that she had done was to give Iris a pelvic exam and pap test. The pap test had come back with vaginal cancer cells. Now that Echo knew what she was dealing with she had taken a biopsy during a colposcopy and had the sample sent STAT to the lab. While Echo was waiting for the results Doctor Paul Stringham had performed another MRI for her, this time concentrating on Iris' pelvic region.
"Good news Echo," Paul had told her, "looks like Stage I. You caught it in time."
Echo had gone into Iris' hospital room where Winston and Shelly were waiting.
"Winston," Echo had said, "I need a word with you in private."
Winston had left Iris in Shelly's care and had followed Echo out of his wife's hospital room and down the hall. Opening the door to Paul's office that she shared with him, Echo let Winston walk through the door before she had closed it behind her.
Neither one could sit and Echo had placed her back up against the door as she told Winston what was wrong with his wife.
"Thank you," Winston had said nodding his head, "Thank you for saving her."
The elevator doors opening pulled Echo out of her thoughts. Stepping out of the elevator, Winston followed Echo to his wife's room. He watched as she greeted the staff at the nurses' station on the way down the hallway.
Echo's light brown hair bounced slightly when she moved as Winston watched her back. She had certainly grown into a beautiful, fine looking, young woman and he knew that Egon was proud of her and everything that she had accomplished so far in her life. Echo stopped before Iris' room to allow him to go inside first. Smiling Winston stepped past her to see Iris sitting up in bed with Shelly in a chair by her side.
"Hi Winston," Shelly said looking up from the book that she had been reading.
Winston quickly crossed the room to kiss his wife and ruffle his daughter's hair.
"Winston," Iris said as she saw Shelly trying to duck away from Winston's left hand, "Shelly is not a little girl. She doesn't like that."
"Sorry," Winston replied as he turned to look at Shelly taking his hand away from her head.
"Thanks a lot Winston," Shelly replied as she reached up to touch her hair with her right hand, "now it's all messed up."
"Shelly," Echo replied by the door, "why don't you come with me. I'll show you where you can freshen up."
Shelly placed her open book, cover up, onto the chair so she wouldn't loose her place as she got up off the chair to follow Echo.
"Iris," she said halfway to the door, "I'll finish reading when I get back."
"Not a problem," Iris said waving at her daughter with her left hand, "Winston can read to me while you are gone."
Winston watched as Shelly and Echo left the room and then turned to pick up the black book from the chair before he sat down. He knew that Iris loved being read to when she didn't feel well.
"So," Winston inquired, "where are you two?"
"Shelly just finished reading chapter twenty and was starting on the next one," Iris stated as she closed her eyes.
Winston quickly scanned the book until he found what he was looking for and started to read to Iris.
Iris opened her eyes and told him that Shelly had read that part already.
"Alright," Winston said looking over the top of the book at her, "give me a clue where she left off."
Iris leaned back on her pillow and closed her eyes before she answered him.
"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain."
"Iris," Winston said placing the Bible into his lap, "why are you wanting Revelations read to you now? I figured you wanted stories of healing and life."
"I can't explain it Winston," Iris said sitting up and opening her eyes. "I feel as if something awful is about to happen."
"What?"
"I don't know, but I have a strong feeling that the conflict between right and wrong are about to do battle and our salvation is at stake. But this time, however, there can be no neutral players. You either side with good or with evil."
Winston reached out and took Iris' right hand into his left one. They were both a religious pair and if Iris was worried, so was he. Winston knew that this went deeper than Iris' upcoming surgery. They had talked about this briefly on the trip up from Maryland. Winston knew that Iris was worried about leaving him.
"You're not going anywhere," Winston told her.
"Yes I am," she replied.
"Winston there is a time for everything," she stated and looked out the military transport's windows, a tear in her eye.
Winston could see the tear in Iris' eye now as she laid her head back on the pillow and turned her face towards him.
Weakly smiling she said, "I love you, Winston."
"I love you too," Winston said as he leaned forward to place his head next to Iris' on the bed.
Iris leaned forward and kissed her husband before pulling away.
"Promise me something," she asked.
"Anything."
"Place Virginia Iris flowers on my grave ever year on my birthday."
"Iris…," Winston started to say before she cut him off by placing her index finger of her left hand on his lips.
"And…," Iris said removing her finger, "that you will bury my body in the state of Virginia."
"Iris you are not going to die today," Winston whispered into her ear.
"No, maybe not today," she replied, "but someday, soon. Winston this time is different. I can feel it. I am going to be positive about the surgery and radiation therapy but…," Iris trailed off.
Winston nodded his head and released her hand to place his arms around her, pulling her close. It was hard to say goodbye to Iris, but he knew that putting off meaningful conversation with her was perhaps the number one source of regret for most people. But Winston couldn't bring himself to talk to Iris about it, just like he couldn't talk about it on the trip up to New York City. How could he find the right words to describe his deepest feelings for her? The pain of someday losing Iris was going to shatter his heart. Iris, who Winston loved and cared about deeply, was someday going to be taken away from him and somehow, in the mix of emotions, the entire situation seemed unfair.
Speaking was an easy task, but finding the right words to say to Iris were not. It was so much easier to learn about Iris' illness then to speak to her about the averred future. And how was he suppose to tell Shelly? Shelly who wanted nothing more than a family again, only to have it taken away.
Winston sighed. No he couldn't do this, not now. Not when they were so close to getting Iris better, yet Iris felt that something was going to happen. Iris had had these feelings before. First it had been about the voices in her apartment's bathtub, then it was Eden getting killed. That had been the worst. Iris had a disturbing dream about Eden two weeks before she was killed in the Twin Towers. No one could console her and Iris hadn't told a soul about what she had seen. "Was this time the same as then," Winston wondered as he held Iris close to his chest. Would Iris not tell a soul what she was feeling until it was too late? Winston hoped not as he heard the door to Iris' room open. The time had come for her surgery.
Winston released Iris to see Shelly plop herself down on the end of Iris' hospital bed. Her hair that he had ruffled was now combed and back the way she liked it. Echo came to a stop before Winston.
"Do you need a few moments alone before I send the nurse to take you upstairs?" Echo asked Iris.
Iris, being a retired nurse, knew what Echo was talking about. She knew that an hour before her surgery she had to go to what Iris referred to as "pre-op". The preoperative holding room was where she would be given an intravenous catheter and her family most likely would be asked to wait in the surgery waiting area.
Once Iris was in the operating room she knew that she would breathe oxygen through a mask as the anesthesiologist gave her medication through her catheter that would quickly put her to sleep. She had assisted with enough surgeries in her lifetime to know what to expect. When she was fully asleep Echo would start her surgery.
After her operation was over, Echo would let Winston and Shelly know how she was doing while Grace, her nurse, and Paul, who was a doctor, would stay by her side in a post anesthesia care unit or recovery room.
Iris had insisted that Grace and Paul be with her during and after her surgery. Even though Paul was not a surgeon by trade, Iris wanted her old roommate's husband to take care of her, just like he had done the night when she had been attacked by Eden's dead boyfriend.
Grace and Paul would monitor her blood pressure and heart rate as well as check on her bandage and incision. Iris also knew that Grace would ask her questions and instruct her to take deep breaths and to cough from time to time. This was to help remove congestion from her lungs and prevent pneumonia.
Iris had been through this before with her hysterectomy.
After Iris' hysterectomy she had a PCA. PCA stood for patient-controlled analgesia pump that allowed Iris to get a safe dose of pain medication through her catheter with the push of a button. She had requested this from Echo during her exam and Echo had agreed. She knew that Echo was concerned about her comfort and didn't want her in severe pain.
Iris turned to glance at Winston who smiled at her in return. She knew that he wasn't going to tell her what she should do. That wasn't his place. She was the only one who knew when the time was right for her surgery.
"Echo," Iris said looking away from Winston and towards her instead, "can you give me ten minutes alone with my family?"
"Of course," Echo replied as she turned and walked across the room.
Winston turned his head to watch as Echo closed the door to Iris' room behind her.
"Winston," Iris said, "can you please read me Psalms Chapter 23 before my surgery?" she asked as she closed her eyes and laid back on her pillow.
Winston turned his face back to his lap as he picked up the Bible and flipped back until he found what Iris wanted.
"The Lord is my shepherd," Winston started to read, "I shall not want."
Shelly joined in to recite the words while Winston read them aloud.
"He restoreth my soul," Shelly and Winston said together.
Iris now joined in with them,.
"Yea, thought I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…," Winston trailed off leaving Shelly and Iris reciting alone.
He could do this. No matter what happened in the end, Winston would get through it. With or without his love. He glanced up from the Bible, a tear falling from the corner of his eye, and looked at his daughter sitting on the end of the bed. Shelly caught his eye.
"I will fear no evil…," Shelly trailed off as she too stopped reciting, worry filling her face as she stared at her adoptive Father's face.
Only Iris' voice was left.
"…for thou at with me. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life," Iris finished alone.
Winston knew that Iris' suffering drew her apart from worldly cares and brought her closer to her family and what was really important in this life.
Husband and children were foremost in Iris' mind as she felt the love from those around her. She would get through this with their help and support, but she also knew something was coming. Something from long ago. Iris just couldn't put her finger on it quite yet.