Linda stayed with Louise while Bob went to call the school. He was relieved that Linda had convinced Tina and Gene to stay home for the morning. Talking to Louise was rough and Bob was grateful his other children didn't have to hear Louise's account of what happened. It wasn't nearly as traumatic as Bob was expecting, but he was still livid. Linda was flat out furious.
"Thank you, for calling Wagstaff School. How may I help you?" Ms. Selbo greeted.
"Ms. Selbo it's Bob Belcher. Uh can I speak to Principal Spoors please?" Bob questioned.
"He is out for the day. I can direct you to Mr. Frond." Ms. Selbo sighed.
"Whatever" Bob sighed. Principal Spoors was almost eighty years old. He was well passed the retirement age and pretty burned out. It wasn't uncommon for him to miss entire weeks of work. The only reason he kept his job was because nobody besides Mr. Frond wanted the position and he was grossly underqualified.
"What can I do for you today, Bob?" Mr. Frond greeted in a far too friendly fashion.
"Uh I know we were supposed to meet today but our lawyer won't be able to meet until Monday afternoon." Bob explained.
"Do you really need a lawyer, Mr. Belcher? Louise did something she knew was dangerous." Mr. Frond questioned.
"Look I am not supposed to talk to you without the lawyer present. I know Louise took a risk but this severe of an injury should not have happened from the way she fell." Bob explained.
"Very well." Mr. Frond sighed.
"Uh one more thing I am going to need the Barbash's present and they should have their own lawyer." Bob stated.
"Why on Earth would the Barbash's need a lawyer?" Mr. Frond demanded.
"According to Louise she fell when Chloe pulled her hat off mid drop." Bob explained.
"Pfft" Mr. Frond scoffed.
"Excuse me?" Bob demanded.
"Look Bob, Louise has a history of misbehavior. Chloe by contrast has never gotten in trouble in her life. Louise was already in trouble when the accident happened. I am not saying her fall was not an accident but are you sure Louise didn't stretch the truth. She and Chloe have been fighting for months now and Louise doesn't exactly think about consequences." Mr. Frond clarified.
"The last thing I am going to say without my lawyer. Is that we questioned Louise and we made it clear that her lying would have serious consequences. We believe her." Bob insisted.
Linda paced around the hospital courtyard. She was furious. She could not believe what Chloe had done to her baby. She could not believe that the school was not taking them seriously. She was furious and wanted to make somebody pay. She wanted to break down, but she knew she could not do it in front of Louise. Hot tears poured down her cheeks as she gritted her teeth.
"Waaaahhhh!" Linda screamed, throwing her hands up in the air.
Several heads whirled around at the sound of her outburst, but she did not care. She was too angry to care. Her phone rang and snapped her back to reality. She yanked it out of her pocket. Hoping that it was that lousy school of Chloe's parents. She didn't care what Bobby said. She wanted to give them a piece of her mind, lawyer or not. It wasn't the school or Chloe's parents. It was Gayle. Gayle who was visiting Gloria and Al down in Florida that week.
"What is it, Gayle?" Linda demanded.
"Linda things are not going well here. I need you to come down to Florida." Gayle insisted.
"I can't leave right now Gayle." Linda sighed.
"Why not?" Gayle demanded.
"Gayle, I have some tough news. Can you get mom and dad, and put me on speaker?" Linda questioned.
"OK" Gayle sighed.
"Hello Linda, Gayle said you had news." Gloria greeted.
"What is it?" Al questioned.
"Guys, there was an accident yesterday. Louise was in an accident at school on the playground." Linda explained.
"Is she OK?" Gayle asked.
"She is paralyzed. We don't know much now, and I am not sure how much Louise wants me to share." Linda explained.
Linda had told her parents and Gayle about Louise. Bob realized he could not put off telling his dad any longer. Things were definitely better between the Belcher men now, but it was still hard for Bob to talk to his father about certain subjects. Big Bob was working on being more open, but he was still unpredictable. Bob had no idea how he would take such unfortunate news. He might be supportive, but he might completely shut him out. Either way there was no more avoiding it.
"Thank you, for calling Big Bob's diner." Big Bob greeted.
"Hi dad, it's me." Bob replied.
"What can I do for you, son?" Big Bob questioned.
"Dad something's happened. Louise got hurt at school yesterday. Uh I know that sounds mundane, but it was really bad this time. She fell off the monkey bars and is paralyzed from the waist down." Bob explained.
"Bobby" Big Bob gasped.
The rest of the weekend passed in a blur. Louise was still resting a lot. Though they did start trying to keep her awake more. Bob stayed nights at the hospital. While Linda and the kids traveled back to the apartment. Teddy had maintained his offer to pay for a hotel, but apparently there was some sort of convention locally and every hotel room was booked. All Teddy could find was the hotel on Ocean Avenue and one half an hour away in the other direction. Bob felt a twinge of regret, knowing how good that convention could be for business. Even if it wasn't actually in Seymour's Bay. The regret was soon replaced by guilt. His child was in the hospital with a life altering injury and all he was concerned with was money. What was wrong with him?
Eventually Monday rolled around. Much to their chagrin, Bob and Linda decided it was best that Tina and Gene return to school. Louise was awake more, but they had started her on physical and occupational therapy. Both of which took a lot out of her, but mainly the Belchers wanted to maintain some normalcy.
"Your dad and I are meeting with the school and Chloe's parents at three. As soon as we are done, we will go to the hospital." Linda explained.
"Are you really suing the school and Chloe's parents?" Tina gasped.
"We don't want to but if we have to. I mean if Louise landed on something that the school legitimately did not know was there. We will not take action but if my inclination is correct and they did know. Then we are going to have to." Linda explained.
"What about Chloe's family? They are rich like Fishodor rich. Are we going to try to get all their money?" Gene asked.
"No, we wouldn't do that. Honestly, we just want enough to pay the medical bills and getting the apartment modified." Linda explained.
"I think we should take the Barbash's money. Then we can rule the school." Gene sighed.
"Gene!" Tina warned.
"Well, that's your stop. I will see you guys this afternoon." Linda announced parking in front of the school.
Tina and Gene nervously made their way through the halls. School was weird without Louise. What was weirder was knowing she would not be back in a day or two. It would be at least another two weeks before Louise returned on what would either be a modified schedule, or she would be using the same robot Tina had used a few months back when she hurt her ankle. Missing Louise was weird, but the whispers were stranger. By now everybody knew what had happened to Louise. The Belchers were the talk of the school.
"Please tell me it's not true!" Rudy cried running up to Tina and Gene, taking a puff from his inhaler.
"Yeah T-Bird please tell me this is one of those crazy rumors and that Louise isn't crippled! Wait crippled isn't polite but please tell me she doesn't need a wheelchair. Not that being paralyzed is bad." Zeke rambled.
"It's true, Louise is paralyzed." Tina confirmed.
"Oh no!" Rudy cried.
"She's going to be OK." Gene assured.
"Tina, Gene I am so sorry." Zeke gasped.
The dreaded time of three o'clock rolled around. Bob and Linda parked outside the school and headed inside. David was waiting for them in the corridor. He looked the way he did on his billboard in town. Average height with curly blonde hair cut neatly short. He wore a gray suit and dress shoes. Unlike his billboard he was not smiling but instead had a solemn look on his face.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Belcher, my name is David Holloway. I will be taking your case. Should you choose to pursue one." David introduced.
"Hello Mr. Holloway." Bob greeted.
"It's nice to meet you. I mean not under these circumstances but how else would you meet a lawyer?" Linda rambled.
Ten minutes later Bob and Linda were sitting around a conference room with David, The Barbash's, Mr. Frond, and Principal Spoors.
"Principal Spoors, Mr. Frond, Mr., and Mrs. Barbash. I want to assure you that my clients are not seeking a huge dollar amount. Just medical expenses and renovations to their apartment to accommodate Louise's needs. On the schools end they also want to ensure that no accidents like Louise's occur again." David explained.
"If they are not after money then why the hell are we here?" Mr. Barbash demanded.
"Mr. Barbash, Louise tells us that Chloe pulled her hat off in the middle of the dead man's drop. We believe this is what caused Louise to lose her balance and fall." Bob explained.
"Chloe is this true?" Mrs. Barbash questioned.
"Well, it's true but I only took off Louise's hat. Because she taped it down. Because she did not want it to fall off. Because she does not want us to see what she looks like. Which is a lie and lying is bad." Chloe moaned.
"It is a little strange that Louise doesn't like losing her hat. I mean she is nine years old. Isn't she?" Mr. Barbash commented.
"Mr. and Mrs. Barbash, Chloe, the reason Louise wears her hat all the time. The reason she is allowed to wear it at school. Is because when she was three years old our restaurant and part of our apartment caught fire." Bob explained.
"Ohh was Louise burned is she a scarred freak?" Chloe laughed.
"No, she was not home. She was at school, but she had forgotten her hat. I was bringing it to her when the fire broke out. Louise accidentally overheard us talking to the Fire Marshall and learned that I would have been killed if I had been working when the fire happened." Bob explained.
"It was stressful for all of us, but Louise was especially upset. The hat became sort of a security blanket to her. We've tried to wean her off of it, but she still has fears." Linda added.
"We have discussed the hat enough. Now let's move on." David insisted.
"If only, Louise could do that." Chloe muttered.
"Excuse me?" David questioned.
"I just wanted to remind everybody that the only reason our Chloe was playing with your Louise. Was because Louise bullying out Chloe." Mrs. Barbash commented.
"Yes, it was that strange policy from the school." Linda confirmed.
"And Louise has been tormenting our Chloe for months." Mr. Barbash added.
"From our understanding Louise is merely defending herself. This first started because Chloe was calling Louise a baby. Because she did not want to do Dead Man's Drop," Bob explained.
"Well, we all know Louise is a filthy liar and a bully. Need I remind you that we were doing the forced buddy thing. Because she hurt me." Chloe reminded.
"Yes, she threw an eraser at our daughter's head. It is a miracle we are not in here trying to sue you because she gave Chloe brain damage." Mr. Barbash insisted.
"I doubt an eraser could cause brain damage." Linda laughed.
"Especially because Louise isn't exactly blessed with good aim." Bob added.
"It didn't disable me, but it did hurt me." Chloe whimpered.
"Excuse me?" Bob questioned.
"Our Chloe is a model and the bruise that your little hell spawn gave her cost her, what would have been a very lucrative contract." Mrs. Barbash explained.
"The doctor said the bruise could be there for weeks. I feel so ugly!" Chloe sobbed.
"I know dear, Louise is a psychopath and her being paralyzed is a gift. Now maybe she won't be able to torment her classmates so much. At least she finally got some karma. I just wish she did not have use of those awful hands and her dreadful mouth." Mrs. Barbash assured.
"You BITCH! Come over here and say that to my face!" Linda cried lunging at Chloe's mom.
"Linda!" Bob cried pulling Linda pack.
"Well, I see where she gets it." Mrs. Barbash scoffed.
The Barbash's were dismissed soon after Linda's outburst. Principal Spoors and Mr. Frond escorted them out. Leaving Bob and Linda alone with David. David confirmed what Bob and Linda already knew. They needed to take Chloe's parents to court. They had hoped to avoid the hassle of a court case, but Chloe's parents had ruined that plan. They knew they would most likely be taking the school to court as well. Though they hoped the school would be easier and settle out of court.
"Now that the Barbash's are gone. I would like to know what object caused Louise's paralysis?" David questioned.
"Object? How do we know that it was not the ground. Louise did have her back arched." Principal Spoors asked.
"Louise said that she felt a rock or piece of cement at the point of paralysis." Bob replied.
"Shit" Principal Spoors sighed.
"Excuse me?" David questioned.
"As I am sure you know two years ago Wagstaff was gifted a generous grant to remodel our playground. Up until that point we had an old-fashioned metal jungle gym. That was cemented into the ground. Well, we had trouble removing one of the cement blocks. So, we ended up covering it over with fill dirt and rubber padding. Then playground sand." Mr. Frond explained.
"If the block was covered then why is my daughter paralyzed?" Bob demanded.
"Over the summer we had a leak in our sprinkler system. That resulted in a large amount of our playground being excavated. The area near the current jungle gym was ne of them. We had to remove the rubber cover and fill dirt. We intended to remove the block, but the repairs took longer than anticipated and school was due to start. We reburied the block, but we were past our playground budget. We could not afford another rubber cover. We added fill dirt and intended to remove the block over Christmas break. We did not foresee this accident occurring." Mr. Frond explained.
"Are you telling me that our daughter is paralyzed because the school did not want to keep the playground closed for the first few days of the school year?" Bob demanded.
"It was an honest mistake." Principal Spoors argued.
"No! It was stupid! You could have taken the kids to the park down the street! Or even just kept them on the other side of the playground! Louise's condition was completely avoidable!" Bob snapped.
"Mr. Belcher, please." Principal Spoors begged.
The meeting was a disaster and the Belchers wanted nothing more than to see Louise again. Though the drive to the hospital was filled with more unpleasant conversations. There were still many decisions to be made. Currently, however, they were wondering about putting Louise through a major surgery. They were wondering if a colostomy bag was right for Louise. Ultimately the decision was up to Louise. It was her body after all. It was a hard decision for Louise. Bowel movements were a difficult subject for her. On one hand a diaper would mean constantly facing her fear of public pooping, but a colostomy bag was not much better. She did not love having a bag of poop permanently attached to her stomach. The family was discussing the pros and cons. Hoping they would be able to help Louise make her decision. Soon the family was back at the hospital standing around Louise's bed along with one of the nurses.
"Ohhh" Louise moaned rubbing her stomach.
"Are you OK, Louise?" Bob asked.
"I think I have to poop," Louise whispered.
"You have to poop, or you are pooping?" Nurse Harris
"I have to. I think." Louise replied.
"She thinks she has to poop but I thought you said she was incontinent." Bob commented.
"Louise's particular injury is harder to gauge. As we told you it occurred almost exactly between her top Lumbar Vertebrae and her bottom Thoracic Vertebrae. Her injury is more unique than most. It is possible that she did not lose bowel control." Nurse Harris
"Yeah, that's fascinating but I definitely have to poop!" Louise cried.
"Let's get you to the bathroom." Nurse Harris declared.
"Thank you" Louise moaned.
"Now we would like to observe to see if this is true bowel control or a random occurrence. It could be constipation." Nurse Harris explained.
"As in watch me poop? NO WAY!" Louise cried.
"Louise has a shy colon." Bob whispered.
"I can't. I will just poop my pants. IN PRIVATE!" Louise cried.
"Nurse Harris, could I observe?" Bob asked.
"Sure but take notes." Nurse Harris insisted handing Bob a clipboard and pen.
Bob carefully lifted Louise the way he had been instructed and carried her into the bathroom. He closed the door and set Louise on the toilet. Now it was time to play the waiting game and pretend he was not watching his daughter poop.
"Ugh! This is so embarrassing!" Louise cried.
"This is nothing. One time I had to poop in front of your grandparents." Bob recalled.
"So, you pooped in front of Grandma Lily and Pop-Pop. Most parents potty train their children." Louise scoffed.
"Not my parents. Your mom's parents." Bob sighed.
"You? How? You hate pooping in public." Louise questioned.
"Remember last year when your mom and I went down to Florida for your mom's God Mother's funeral?" Bob questioned.
"Yeah" Louise replied.
"Well one day when we were staying with your grandparents. There was a tornado warning, so we all had to go to the bathroom. Well, it was around four thirty and soon I had to have my meeting, but we were all in the bathroom. Your mom told me just to get on the toilet. She thought her parents were asleep. They weren't and they saw and heard everything." Bob explained.
"OK you win this one pops." Louise asked.
"Louise did you just poop?" Bob questioned.
"I did! I can control my poop! I can control my poop! Oh My God, what has my life become?" Louise laughed.