Karen Yuletide sat as close to her fiance Peter Talbot as the economy class seats on their emergency flight to San Diego would allow. Peter kept a comforting arm around her the entire trip as Karen rested her head on his shoulder and told him stories of her childhood, the good and the bad.
"The last time I ever saw my father was the final day in court," recalled Karen. "The judge was favorable to granting the divorce between them, when he asked about custody concerning me. A chill went through my entire body when my father answered, Let the bitch keep her. I never wanted the brat!"
"How old were you?" asked Peter.
"7? 8? I know it was the summer before I started second grade, but I don't remember whether or not I had my birthday yet."
"You've never even at least spoken to him over the phone, or exchanged e-mails?" Peter asked, shocked that a parent could just up and disown their child like that. He didn't always agree with his father, but they were close.
"Personally, no. Mom's always dealt with his lawyer, but usually over late alimony or child support payments. I do remember having to go back to court before school started that fall because mom wanted to go back to her maiden name, Yuletide, and wanted me to change my name too. He may have had a hand in your creation, but I'm not about to let him take any credit for the one good thing that came out of my marriage, she told me. Whatever we make of ourselves from this point forward is despite him, not because of him."
"What was your name before that?" wondered Peter.
"Chaplin," replied Karen, before going on to tell Peter stories about the struggles of a single mother trying to raise her daughter the best she could on her own.
"It wasn't always the best of times," Karen said to finish her reminiscences as their flight prepared for landing in San Diego, "but we got through them, together. And now..."
Being the taller of the two, Peter kissed the top of his fiance's head as the plane touched down.
Walking through the airport with just the hastily packed travel bags they had, Karen and Peter were surprised to see a police officer holding up a sign that said YULETIDE/TALBOT.
"We're Yuletide and Talbot," Peter said, approaching the officer.
"I'm Officer Milner*" the man said, folding up his hastily, handmade sign. "We'll have to take my personal car since officially I'm off duty, but I'm your ride to the hospital."
"Thank you Officer," said Karen, as the trio started walking out of the airport. "Has there been any news?"
"Not that I'm aware of ma'am. Your mother was still in surgery when I left the hospital and went back to the station long enough to clock out for the night. I can tell you that my wife is a nurse there, and when she told me of your transportation request..."
"Is she the one I spoke to over the phone?" wondered Karen.
"Maybe. I'm not sure who called you. Anyway, I can tell you that there was no foul play involved. Other than the heart attack, both the trucker and his semi were in good shape before the accident. Unfortunately, he was found dead on the scene in his truck cab," revealed Milner.
"Poor man," replied Karen.
Arriving at the hospital, Milner parked in a Visitors space, then Karen and Peter got out of the back seat of his sedan.
The off duty officer then escorted them directly to the Nurses Station at the front of the Intensive Care Unit.
"Hi honey," Milner said, addressing the lady behind the counter. "This is Karen Yuletide and her fiance Peter Talbot," as they showed her their Moon Lake College Student IDs along with Karen's California driver's license and Peter's from Washington state.
"How's my mother? Monica Yuletide?"
Nurse Milner called up the information on her computer and said, "Miss Yuletide is still in Surgical Recovery at the moment. I'm afraid she's listed in serious condition however, because her injuries were quite extensive."
"How... extensive..." Karen asked, even as the color drained from her cheeks.
"Both arms and legs were broken despite the deployment of her car's airbags, because the auto was mercilessly squeezed between the concrete guard rail and the semi. She suffered cracked ribs and a punctured lung, but fortunately her heart was physically undamaged from the actual crash. Thankfully the x-rays showed no physical damage to her neck or spine. She obviously won't be able to walk unassisted for quite a while, but unless there is hidden nerve trauma we haven't discovered yet, Miss Yuletide should recover her mobility in time. Your mother is in a medically induced coma because the attending physicians were concerned about a hairline fracture on her skull, along with the possible risk of internal injuries to the brain itself. Fortunately, there was no actual damage to her eyes and no immediate signs of brain swelling, so hopefully we got to her in time on that matter."
"You mean–"
"Considering the traumatic experience your mother went through, there is always the possibility of at least short term memory loss. How severe any mental injuries might be remains to be seen."
"When can I see her?" Karen wanted to know.
The ICU nurse looked at her computer monitor again and said, "It will be at least another half hour before she's brought up from Surgical Recovery. You can wait in the ICU Waiting Room until she's brought up, but all you'll actually be able to do tonight is just see her wheeled into her room and sleeping," advised the nurse.
"That's okay. We're not going anywhere," Karen replied, while reaching out and taking Peter's hand in hers.
Nurse Milner pointed to a room at the end of the hall opposite the Nurses Station and all the ICU rooms.
Her husband escorted them to the door and said, "I'm sorry we had to meet under such circumstances, but if you need anything that my wife or I can assist with while you're in San Diego..." as he handed Karen one of his cards.
"Thank you," replied Karen, before Milner walked away.
"I guess all we can do now is sit and wait," Karen said, but as she reached out to open the ICU Waiting Room door, Peter grabbed her hand.
"I'm here, my love. For you. Now and forever," he told her, placing her hand against his heart.
"I know darling," Karen replied with a weak smile, before giving him a brief kiss.
As they opened the door and went inside, the couple were surprised to see a red haired woman slumped within one of the waiting room chairs. The woman was sound asleep, but from the streaks under her eyes, the new arrivals could see that she must have cried considerably to reach that point.
"Poor soul. I wonder who she's here for," Karen whispered, as she and Peter took a couple of seats together away from the other person.
But despite the fact they were trying to be as quiet as possible, something about their presence in the room stirred the woman back to consciousness.
"What? Who—" the red haired lady said in a start, looking around to get her bearings.
"We're sorry to disturb you," Peter said, "but we were told to wait here until there was news about—"
"Karen Yuletide," the woman said, staring at her.
"Yes? Do I know you?" Karen asked, unable to recall the face in her memory.
"No. We've yet to meet, although I'm sorry we have to do so now under the circumstances," said the red haired woman, as she reached for a tissue from a box sitting in a chair near her. "I've seen pictures of you. Your mother raves about you all the time so I feel that in a sense, I already know you," she added, trying to clean her face the best she could.
"I see," said Karen, figuring that this woman was a co-worker of her mother. "But I'm afraid that—"
"Oh, sorry," said the other woman, extending her hand. "My name is Joanne Howard. I'm your mother's fiance."
TO BE CONTINUED...
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*I will not deny or apologize for my love of classic television.—tmw.