"Arlie,
I'm home," Jerry Sandquist called out. "Where are you?"
"Down here," came his
wife's voice from the basement. "I'm doing laundry."
"Need any help?" Jerry yelled
down the stairway.
"I'm good. What don't you check
on that casserole in the oven? We're going to have dinner in about fifteen
minutes."
The fragrant aroma suddenly came to
him. Black bean and wild rice, a favorite. "I'm on it. The kids around?"
"Sly's up in his room. The
girls should be back from the Anderson's any minute."
Jerry walked through the kitchen of
their two story 1920's home, turned to the left, and yelled upstairs to remind
Sly that he had a soccer game that evening. Wouldn't do for the coach and one
of his players to be late. Sly yelled back that he didn't need to be reminded.
Jerry smiled to himself, appreciating the security and familiar noisy activity that
came with having a family. He and Arlie had purchased the house nearly thirteen
years ago, a couple of years before Sly was born. They'd been slowly restoring
it ever since. Jerry loved the strength and feel of the thick stucco walls, the
warmth of the aged woodwork and the memories he and Arlie were building with
their family, eleven year old Sly and the nine year old twins, Kari and Olive. The word security
floated through his brain again. He loved the life he had and wouldn't have it
any other way. He busied himself in the kitchen, putting the final touches on
dinner and thinking back to how the day at work had gone.
Jerry was forty five years old and worked
for Heartland Controls, a large corporation headquartered in downtown
Minneapolis that manufactured and sold the controls used to heat and cool homes
and commercial office buildings. He'd been a loyal employee for over nineteen
years. At work he was on the team that developed courses and trained the
company's sales reps and installation technicians. Today, Monday, had been the
first day of a five week long sales class that he was conducting. It was also
the day that Heartland's president had sent out an email letting his employees
know that the company was going to be reorganized and that some people were
going to be fired. Well, downsized
was the way it was put. "We thank you for your years of service," the
memo had stated, "But due to these challenging times, we will be forced to
downsize to better serve the interests of our shareholders. We are sure you
will understand our need to take these drastic measures in order to stay profitable
and competitive." What the hell? Jerry thought as he read the memo, and right
away started thinking that due to his seniority and higher salary he might be one
of those who'd be laid off. The rumors had been circulating for months and now
they appeared to be coming true. It had made for not the best day in Jerry's
life.
After reading the memo Jerry walked
down the hall to the office of his manager, who happened to also be a friend. Steve
McMillian put it this way, "Well, at least we'll get a fairly decent severance
package if either of us is let go. It could be worse."
Jerry frowned, "Worse than
losing your job?"
"Yeah, we could just get fired.
Then we'd get a big fat zero."
"Thanks for the positive spin,
old buddy," Jerry said, looking out of Steve's office window, watching the
cars on the freeway streaming by and suddenly wishing he hadn't quit smoking
two years ago. "Spoken like a true company man."
Steve laughed, "Hey, that's
what I get paid for."
Jerry stood up, smirking at his
friend's attempt to lighten the mood. "Yeah, really." What more could
he say? He headed toward the door, "Well, I've got to get over to the
class room."
"Entry level sales?"
"Yep. Five weeks." He
shook his head. "A long time."
"His boss smiled at him.
"You'll do fine, man. Enjoy it. Who knows, it might be your last class
with the company." Jerry left just
shaking his head. Sometimes Steve could be a real jerk.
He
headed down the hallway, through a set of swinging doors and into the area of
the building where the training classes were held. A year ago Heartland
Controls had spent a lot of money remodeling this part of their facility. The
halls were wide and well lit. The classrooms were big and comfortable. He had
set the room up in a U-type arrangement and twenty comfortable chairs were set
at the tables for the students who were coming in from all across the country.
The company put them up in a hotel in downtown Minneapolis and bused them out here
to the corporate headquarters. Jerry checked his watch. 8:20 am. The bus would
deliver the students in ten minutes. He sighed and busied himself, enjoying the
last few moments of peace and quiet that he would have for the next eight
hours.
The
students arrived and the morning passed quickly. At lunch he called Arlie and
told her about the memo. "Kind of sucks, doesn't it?"
Arlie was philosophic, "Well,
yes it does, but it's not the end of the world you know."
"Easy for you to say, you're secure
at Collier."
Arlie laughed, "In this day and
age, no one is secure."
She was right and Jerry knew it.
"Let's talk more when I get home. After soccer, Ok?"
"Sounds good. I'll see you. I'm
off early so I'll be there when you get there."
Jerry smiled. His wife had a way
about her that he still found becoming. "Ok, love you."
"Love you, too."
The afternoon portion of the class
went by fine but at the end of the day Jerry was ready to go home. All his life
he had been slightly introverted, and although he was good at his job, he found
interacting with the students exhausting. He was looking forward to his evening
with his family. Just being around his wife and kids helped him recharge his
batteries. He left the office around 4:45 pm and drove west into the bright sun.
He made his way to the parkway that wound around a couple of the lakes the city
was known for. The day was warm and cloudless, with the sky a gleaming robin's
egg blue. It was the first week of October and the trees were in the midst of
changing to their fall splendor of oranges and yellows and reds. Jerry rolled
down the window of his little Ford Fiesta letting in the aroma of crushed leaves
and freshly mown grass. The temperature was in the low sixties, he guessed, and
it would be a perfect night for soccer. He felt himself relaxing. He punched
the power button on the car's radio and switched it to CD. Soon the sounds of
Bob Dylan's classic album, 'Highway 61 Revisited' filled the car. He smiled,
thinking of how much he loved the CD, one given to him by his dad on his twenty
first birthday.
"I know it's not the kind of
music you usually listen to," his dad had said. Jerry had been a Replacements
and Beastie Boys fan, "But give it a chance. It'll grow on you."
And it did. Ironically, the album
was recorded fifty years ago this past August and it still had the power to
move people. There was something strangely satisfying about the audacity of the
words of the songs and the driving force of the music. Jerry had liked it when
he'd first listened to it, and he really liked it now. Especially in light of
the morning's memo about layoffs. The music gave him a kind of uplift to his
spirits. By the time he got home, his mood was considerably lighter.
And now, during dinner, the tension
of the pending layoff situation was overshadowed by the clamor of his family as
the kids vied for their parent's attention. His two daughters were going back
and forth with their mom about having a sleepover the weekend after next. Jerry
listened to the banter only adding that if
they were allowed to have their friends spend the night there were going to
have to be firm rules in place, which was met with much eye-rolling on the part
of Kari and Olive. Arlie winked at Jerry and said, "Listen to your father.
We aren't going to have a situation like last time." Which silenced
everyone. The memory a late night phone call from one of the girl's parents asking
why on earth their daughter was calling them at 1:00 am because she had
forgotten a favorite pillow...Well, that just couldn't happen again.
Sly was quiet. He had just started
sixth grade and was still getting used the new middle school which was much
larger both in building size and student population than the grade school he'd
previously attended. There were at least five hundred more kids to contend
with, plus his grade was the youngest of the three grades in the school. The
adjustment was looking like it was going to be difficult and take some time. He
as at a stage in his life were his moods went up and down, and Arlie and Jerry
were continually learning to deal with them.
After dinner, the kids cleared the
table while Jerry and Arlie did the dishes. "Are you coming to the
game?" Jerry asked his wife, who shook her head, no.
"I was planning on it but I've
got some paperwork to go over." She motioned toward Kari and Olive who
were on their way back outside and over to their friend's house next door.
"Plus, I've got to talk over this sleepover situation with the
girls."
Arlie's job often required extra
hours spent in her home office or visiting with clients after hours out in the
field but that was fine with both her and her husband. She was a case worker at
Collier, a local non-profit that helped unwed mothers map out a future for
themselves which often included adult education classes and work study
programs. She was a hard worker and committed to helping her 'girls' as she
called them, succeed.
Jerry understood. "That's fine.
I'll cheer for both of us." Then he asked, kiddingly, "You think the
girls will want to go with me?"
"Ah...No," Arlie laughed.
"Not a chance."
Jerry, again, was aware of how much
he appreciated Arlie and his family. They made him feel grounded, focused,
giving him a reason for living. He looked out the kitchen window and caught a
glimpse of his daughters skipping down the sidewalk, their long dark haired
ponytails bobbing. A year after they were born, Jerry had hit a rough patch.
Things at work weren't going well. He really wasn't happy with his job and life,
in general, was getting him down. He'd started having the occasional drink
after work to 'ease the stress' as he called it but, over time, the drinking
started getting out of control. Eventually one Saturday night he'd fallen down
the stairs while drunk out of his mind. After getting her sister to come over
and stay with the kids, Arlie loaded him in her car and drove him to the
emergency room at the hospital. It turned out he had a cracked a bone in his
wrist and had dislocated the middle toe on his right foot. Even worse, while
sliding down the steps he had broken one of Arlie's prized Fiesta Ware
pitchers. When she got him home, which about three in the morning, she said
simply, "Either you stop drinking right now or you're out of here, pal. You
can find someplace else to live and act stupid for all I care. I don't need
this crap and neither do the kids." And that had been enough for Jerry. The
loss of his family would have been too much to bear. He'd been sober ever
since.
"Alright, I'll cheer for the
home team."
"You'd better. You're the
coach."
"Coach Jerry, that' me,"
he laughed again, putting the dish towel away. "I'll go get Sly and hit
the road. We have to pick up Luke on the way."
The way it worked in Minneapolis
when it came to soccer was that there was a city wide series of tryouts over
the course of a weekend the middle of September. The best players were chosen
and put on teams that traveled around the area playing other 'elite' teams. The
players that were left formed the 'park board' teams. These teams weren't very
skilled, but the kids just wanted to play soccer. Jerry had been coaching for
three years, ever since Sly had 'found his niche' as Jerry liked to put it, in
park board soccer.
Jerry called upstairs for his son.
Sly bounded down the steps. "I'm all set, dad," he said. "Who
are we playing again?" For some reason the kids on his team had chosen the
name Tortoise's for their team's name. Jerry thought it was great because it
showed they had a good sense of humor. He got a real sense of joy being with
his son and coaching him and his team. Sly was tall and thin and liked to keep
his dark brown hair cut almost like a buzz cut. His choice of clothing was
usually some variety of baggy shorts and
the closest athletic shirt he could grab out of his dresser drawer. He wore
them as often as he could and would probably wear them throughout the winter if
his parents gave him a chance, which they didn't. Tonight he had on his team's
uniform of a red shirt and shorts with black and white strips around the edges.
"We're playing the Jaguars," Jerry said. To which Sly replied,
"Cool." Jerry could tell his son was in a good mood when he offered,
"Maybe we'll finally win a game." Jerry laughed, "Well you know
what I always say..." Sly rolled his eye good naturedly, "It's not
whether you win or lose, he chanted, "but how you play the game." This last part they
recited together. Laughing, Jerry grabbed a bag of soccer balls from the front
hall closet and they headed out the door. Arlie watched them leave thinking how
great it was that Jerry and Sly spent time together like they did. Then she
sighed and focused her attention on getting some work done before the girls got
home. There was always something, she thought to herself, work, kids or life in
general, but, then again, she wouldn't have it any other way.
Jerry and Sly drove over to get Luke and from
there went to the field where their game was to be played. Jerry really liked
this particular soccer field. It less than a mile from their home and was next
to the outdoor stadium where the local high school football team played. There
was also a park nearby with a play ground and tennis and basketball courts. It
was usually busy with kids playing and parents sitting on benches monitoring
the younger ones and tonight was no exception. Jerry loved it. He loved the
activity, the sense of joy on the faces of the kids and the overall atmosphere
of fun and good times. He felt the cares of his work situation drain even
further away. He got out of the car and headed toward the sideline calling out
to kids on his team as he went. When they were all gathered together he sent
them out to the field to warm up. He checked his watch. 6:15 pm. The game
started in fifteen minutes. He looked around, staying hi to the few parents
that usually showed up. Behind him the sun was getting low in the west,
throwing shadows across the field. The warmth of the day was dissipating as the
air cooled. It was going to be a great night for soccer. He called out to his
players. "Ok, gang, come on over here. I'll give you your positions."
A few minutes later the referee blew his whistle and the game began. And thirty
minutes later Jerry was in an ambulance, speeding toward the nearest hospital.
Sly had been inadvertently kicked in the head. He was unconscious and needed
medical care. Fast.
SkyView Hospital was only three
miles away, but the ride seemed to take an eternity. Jerry sat with Sly in the
back while a paramedic worked on him, talking into a transmission device
connected to the hospital. He told Jerry that his son's vital signs looked good.
"His blood pressure is within range and his heart rate is slightly elevated,
which is to be expected." He pulled back Sly's eye lids. "You say he
was kicked in the head."
Jerry told him about the quirky
accident out on the field where Sly had stumbled and fallen into the path of a
player who was lined up a shot on the goal. Sly took the full force of the kick
in his head. He collapsed to the ground, out cold. While Jerry comforted his
son, another parent had called 911. The ambulance arrived quickly in less than
ten minutes. Jerry was thankful for the help and skill of the paramedic working
on Sly. "Is is going to be Ok?" Jerry asked, his voice choked with
fear. The guy gave Jerry a grim smile. "We're doing our best. We really
need to get him into the emergency room."
Jerry looked out the back window
suddenly aware of the wailing siren. He knew right where they were going. It
was the same hospital where all of his children had been born, about three
miles from where they lived. In a minute they had raced into a receiving area
and parked at the emergency entrance. A team of blue suited doctors and nurses was
ready for them and Sly was quickly placed on a gurney and wheeled through a
pair of swinging doors and down a short hallway into an emergency bay. A nurse
took Jerry aside and lead him to a desk where he did his best to answer
questions having to do with everything from insurance to Sly's health history.
Jerry glanced at his wrist watch. It had been less than a half hour since Sly's
accident. It seemed like a lifetime.
He had called Arlie from the field
while waiting for the ambulance. When he was done filling out paper work, he
called her again. She was on the way. "I called my sister and had to wait
until she got here. She's with the kids now. I'll be there in less than five
minutes. How's he doing?"
"The doctors are working on him
now." Jerry glanced in the direction they had taken Sly. "Just hurry
up. I think he'll be Ok." He was trying to calm his wife. He had no idea
how his son was doing.
"I'm almost there."
Jerry hung up and went to the desk.
"Any word on my son?"
The nurse checked her computer
screen. "He's still in emergency. The doctor will be out shortly."
She gave him a look. "Are you alright?"
Unconsciously Jerry had started pacing
back and forth, grinding on a thumb nail. He had all he could do to keep from
losing it. "Of course I'm not alright. It's my son in there." He
snapped at her.
The nurse seemed to sense that this
guy was about to come unglued. "Is anyone coming to be with you?" she
asked, her voice calm and in control.
That seemed to settle Jerry a little.
"Yeah, my wife."
"That's good," she said, soothingly.
"Why don't you go sit down and wait for her?" She indicated the
chairs in the waiting area nearby. "The doctor should be with you
shortly."
"Ok, good." Jerry said,
paused and then added, kind of shrugging, "Sorry about that."
She gave him a tight smile.
"Your son will be fine. We are very good at what we do here."
Jerry appreciated her tone. She was
trying to be helpful. But as he turned away from her and walked almost in a
daze toward the waiting area, he had the fleeting desire again, for the second
time today, of wanting a cigarette. He took a deep breath and tried to get a
grip on himself. Just then Arlie burst through the door and ran into his arms.
He held her close. "He's going to be alright," he told his wife.
"We'll get through this together."
After a moment she asked, "How
did this happen?" Arlie was shaking with tension, but still had it under
control.
"Let's sit down over here. I'll
tell you about it."
Jerry filled her in on how the
accident happened and brought her up to speed with what the status was up until
now. Just as he was finishing a doctor came through the door and came right
over to them. He introduced himself as Doctor Patel. "Are you the boy's
parents?" He asked, indicating back toward the emergency room behind him.
"Yes. Sly. Our son." Jerry
answered.
"Is he going to be Ok?"
Arlie asked, nearly breathless with worry.
The doctor took a moment to look
them both in the eye, nodding his head in the affirmative. "We believe
he's going to be fine. He has what appears to be a severe concussion. We've
done a scan and although there is slight trauma to the brain, we believe he
will recover normally." What's this
We believe non-sense? Jerry was thinking. He gave his head a shake to calm
himself and tried to focus on what the doctor was saying. "Your son is under
observation and resting in his room right now. You can go and see him as soon
as you'd like." It sounded like Sly was going to be fine. Jerry and Arlie
almost wept with relief. The doctor took a moment to let it sink in and then
added, "Let me fill you in on what needs to happen next."
Ten minutes later, Jerry and Arlie
were at Sly's bedside. He was on the fourth floor in a single room with the
drapes drawn even though the sun had set an hour ago. The lights were low. There
was quiet, soothing music coming from some hidden speakers. The nurse who took
them to the room explained that this area of the hospital was actually used for
hospice care. "We just want the patients to be a comfortable as
possible," she explained. "It's really quite peaceful." She
spoke with a hushed voice and smiled an encouraging smile. "Your son is
going to be fine," she said. "We'll take good care of him." She
motioned for Jerry and Arlie to sit down." Use this if you need me."
She showed them the call button."I'll be right down the hall."
Jerry watched the nurse gently close
the door as Arlie went to Sly's bed. She bent over him, kissing his forehead,
brushing her hand over the white wrapping around his head. Jerry moved next to
her and put his arm around her shoulder. He didn't know what to say. Together
they stood next to Sly. He looked so peaceful. He was connected to wires
monitoring his vital signs and tubes for nourishment and elimination of wastes.
Jerry felt a tear forming. His poor son. He felt like lying down next to him to
comfort him. Two hours ago all the poor kid had wanted to do was play some
soccer and have some fun. Now this. He sighed. "Arlie, why don't we sit
down? Let's talk about what we need to do."
Jerry pulled a chair up for his wife
and one for him. They sat and watched over Sly, each with a hand on him, trying
to come to grips with what had happened. Trying to come up with a plan that
would help them get through the time it would take for their son to regain
consciousness and eventually come home. Would things ever return to normal?
Jerry watched Sly's rhythmic breathing, gently rubbing his hand on his son's
arm. He hoped so, but doubted it ever would. God, was he strong enough to help
his family get through this? Was Arlie? I guess we'll find out, he thought to
himself and he reached over with his free hand to rub his wife's back. Just
then the nurse came back in to check on Sly. Giving Jerry and Arlie a glance
she must have noticed something. "You two could probably use some
rest," she said. "If you want, we can make that up for a bed," she
indicated the couch up against the wall by the window. "One of you can
spend the night." Which seemed like a good idea. And that's how it came
about that Jerry spent that first night with Sly, resting on the couch, while
Arlie went home to take care of the girls.
Much later, Jerry would reflect on
how easily he and Arlie adjusted their lifestyle to fit the circumstances they
now found themselves in. Maybe easily wasn't the right word. They did what they
had to do to get through the day to day ups and downs of having their son in
the hospital recovery room, unconscious yet still for all intents and purposes
looking like he was asleep, while all around him life went on. Went on as best
as it could, as far as Jerry was concerned.
The commitment Jerry and Arlie made
to each other that first night at the hospital was that one or the other of
them would be with Sly every night until he regained consciousness. Which
seemed like a reasonable idea initially. But Sly didn't recover right away. He
remained unconscious for that first week and then into the next. Finally, after
the second week, the decision was made to spend their nights at home with Kari
and Olive, who, of course, needed their presence and support. Arlie was adamant
about making sure the girls lives remained as normal as possible. "We've
got to help them through this," she said to Jerry more than once. He
agreed with her one-hundred percent.
One of the problems Jerry was challenged
with was balancing his work schedule with making time to be with Sly. His
manager was sympathetic to his circumstances, but still needed him to be at the
office and teach the class. He put it to Jerry this way, when Jerry talked to
him about it the day after the accident. "I can give you a few days off,
but you've got to take care of business here." He shook his head,
indicating the tough position this put Jerry in. "With layoff's eminent,
you need to be aware that the more you act like a team player, the better your
chances are of staying with us."
Jerry had hoped for a better
outcome, maybe a period of extended time off, but it didn't work out that way.
He wasn't surprised. After all, it had become apparent to him over the years
that the corporate bottom line was what mattered the most. The employees...well,
they didn't matter all that much. "Yeah, I hear you," was all Jerry
could say. "Don't worry. I'll cover the class." And he did. He missed
one day, that Tuesday, the first full day Sly was in the hospital, but he was
at work teaching every day after that. Arlie's company was more flexible. She
could work from home, which she did as much as she could. Between them, they
were able to adjust their work schedules, but underneath it all was the dull,
sickening reality of their son's situation. He remained unconscious. And as the
days went by, even though the doctors were encouraged by Sly's vital signs, and
were encouraging in their conversations with Jerry and Arlie, the strain of the
situation was sometimes hard to bear. A typical day centered around making time
for one or the other of them to be at the hospital for at least a total of
eight hours, usually, on the average, four hours for each of them. Then there
were work commitments, taking care of the girls and the general time spent
running the household. Arlie's younger sister, Becky, was a god send. She was
single and had the freedom to come over and help out with watching over the
girls when needed. "Whatever I can do to help," she said, whenever Jerry
or Arlie tried to thank her, "You guys just do what you need to do to get
through this." Which was easier said than done.
Arlie used her love of exercise to
help relieve stress and went out running once, sometimes even twice a day. She
also used her network of friends to talk with. She was doing what she needed to
do to stay strong. Jerry sometimes talked about how challenging the situation
was to Steve at work, who was his closest friend, and occasionally he was on
the phone with family members. But his brother and sister both lived in different
states, so seeing them wasn't an option. His parents were both dead, having
been killed in a head on car accident on an icy highway out west of the city ten
years earlier. He went for long walks when he could, usually through the
neighborhood, or around one of the city's lakes. During those times it felt
good to be outside, freeing up his mind and breathing clean, fresh air. Although
he didn't want to, he decided to give up his coaching job and turned it over to
one of the parents whose kid was on the team. He was committed to spending
evenings with Sly, but tried in other ways to keep things as normal as possible.
Maybe that was why he kept listening to that Bob Dylan CD whenever he was in
the car. He liked the music. It was raucous and slightly crazy, and, in its own
way, uplifting. Especially the last song, 'Desolation Row'. The more he
listened, the more he became attached to it. The music gave him strength. Made
him feel hopeful. Helped him cope with dealing with the tragedy of his son's
accident.
Strangely, though, instead of
drifting apart, which can happen in a situation like this when great pressure
is put to bear on the core of the family, Jerry and Arlie and the girls came
together. He and Arlie focused as much attention as they could on the girls,
taking time to talk to them, answering any questions about Sly that they might
have. They tried to have dinners at 6:00 pm, giving the family a sense of normalcy
and a time to talk. Kari and Olive seemed to appreciate it. Jerry and Arlie also took the girls to visit
their brother as often as they wanted, which was usually every other day.
'When is Sly coming home?' was the
question the twins asked most often. As the days turned to weeks, the question
started to become rhetorical.
"Let's just keep our thoughts positive,"
Jerry told the girls. "The doctors said he could wake up anytime." He
used the sleep analogy with the girls a lot. But the reality was that Sly
wasn't sleeping. His unconscious state was perplexing to the doctors who were
doing the monitoring but they remained positive when talking to Jerry and
Arlie.
"Your son's vital signs continue
to be good," Dr. Patel would say to them. "That's all we can hope for
right now." Jerry and Arlie made a pact that they'd let the doctors worry
about Sly while their responsibility would be to continue to visit him every
day and do everything they could to keep the girls spirits up and to keep their
family strong.
In some ways the time went by slowly,
in others it went by fast. October ended and November began. Through those
weeks Sly had lots of visitors. Friends from school, friends of Jerry and
Arlie's. One of the most poignant visits was when Joshua Alverez stopped by
with his mom and dad. Josh was the kid who had inadvertently kicked Sly in the
head and caused the injury. He'd come with his parents on the first Saturday in
November when both Jerry and Arlie were spending the afternoon together with
their son. Josh came hesitantly into the
room with a vase of brightly colored flowers. He seemed unsure of what to do.
"Hi Josh, good to see you,"
Jerry said with a smile. He had coached Josh the year before and liked the boy.
He was a good kid who worked hard and did the best he could. He never caused
any problems and Jerry was sincerely glad to see him. "Come on over here."
Arlie took the vase and put it the
table next to Sly's bed. She greeted Josh's parents. "Thanks so much for
coming," she said. "The nurses say it's good for Sly to have
visitors, and have activity around him." Arlie made small talk with Josh's
mom and dad while Jerry explained to the poor kid that what happened wasn't his
fault. It was just one of those things that sometimes just couldn't be avoided.
By the time the three of them left he hoped that Josh believed him. It would be
a huge burden to carry around if he didn't. Jerry made a mental note to contact
the family later in the near future to see how Josh was doing.
But as the days passed there was still
no change in Sly's condition. Soon it was the middle of November. Jerry's class
ended at noon on a Friday and he was cleaning up the classroom when Steve came
in.
"How'd the class go?"
"Fine," Jerry said,
packing up the laptop he used for presentations. "I think they got what
they needed." Jerry distractedly played with the dri-erase pens he used on
the white board. "It'll be nice to have a break."
"That's what I wanted to talk
to you about," Steve said, causing Jerry to give him a questioning look.
"Let me help you finish up here and then let's go have a chat."
Five minutes later they were walking
back to Steve's office. "Have a seat." He motioned for Jerry to sit
down. This can't be good was what Jerry had been thinking ever since his manger
had come into the classroom.
"What's up?"
Steve looked Jerry straight in the
eye. "First of all, why don't you fill me in on how Sly's doing?"
Jerry had only sporadically kept
Steve appraised of Sly's progress. "Well, his condition is still not
changed."
"He's in a coma, right?"
"Yeah. Think of it as a deep
unconscious state. He doesn't appear to hear anything and is unresponsive. But
his vital signs are good.
"How long can he stay like
that?"
Jerry grimaced. "He could wake
up tomorrow. He could out for years."
"Yeah, I've heard about those
kind of cases." He paused, then asked, "You seem to be holding up
Ok."
Jerry gave him a slight smile.
"We're doing our best." For some reason he really didn't feel like
getting too personal with Steve. "Arlie's been a saint, and her sister is
really helping out. The girls are doing as well as can be expected." He
didn't really have anything else to say.
"I'm glad to hear that,"
Steve replied, his eyes wandering toward the window.
Jerry felt the whole conversation
was getting somewhat stilted. "What's really going on? he asked, starting
to get angry. "Am I going to get laid off or what? Is that what this is all
about?"
Steve held up his hands in a
surrender pose, "Hey, calm down, Ok? I'm just curious." He stopped
and looked at Jerry. "I do care you know."
Jerry understood. It was hard for
people to relate to what he and Arlie were going through. "Sorry. I'm just
a bit on edge."
"Yeah, I think I get it. I just
wanted to touch base. You've been busy with the class and all."
"So anything about the layoffs,
then?" Jerry asked, wanting to move the conversation along.
"No. Nothing. We're safe so
far."
"Well, that's something."
Jerry said, getting up. "So, if that's all, I've got to go over and sit
with Sly for a while."
"Yep, that's it. I just wanted
to touch base with you and see how things were going."
"I know. Thanks, I appreciate
it. I'll see ya' on Monday."
Steve watched Jerry walk out the
door and down the hall. He just hadn't had it in him to tell his friend the
chances of layoffs were getting stronger every day. He'd made a snap decision
to wait on telling Jerry until maybe next week. His friend really had more than
enough to worry about. He'd at least give him the weekend. Monday would be
there soon enough.
Jerry left the office and by the
time he'd got to his car he'd forgotten about the meeting with Steve. Instead,
all of his thoughts were focused on going to see Sly. This afternoon he was
going to the hospital with a plan. He'd talked to Arlie about it the day before
and she didn't think it was too crazy. "Yeah, do whatever, Jer. You never
know." His plan was to play some music for his son. Not just any music,
either, but that Dylan CD he'd been listening to ever since Sly's accident.
The room his son was recovering in
was intentionally kept calm and quiet. Soft music usually was playing through
speakers in the ceiling and the nurses had told Jerry that the sounds were
supposed to be soothing to the patients. "You just never know with people
in a deep unconscious state like Sly's in," a nurse once told him.
"The music really can't hurt."
In fact, the nurses and doctors
encouraged Jerry and Arlie to talk to Sly and read to him, anything to provide
some stimulation that could jump start his brain into working again. Jerry and
Arlie were all for it. Sly had been reading 'Hardy Boy' mysteries when he'd
been injured, so Arlie read those to him when she visited. She also talked to
him, telling Sly what was going on at home. Jerry would read the sports section
of the local newspaper out loud as well as any other articles out that he felt
Sly would like. The whole idea, really, was to provide some real life sounds
that Sly might respond to. One evening a week ago Jerry brought in a little
boom box and played some of the music that Sly liked to listen to but it didn't
cause any change. Sky just lay peacefully resting as if he were sleeping.
Jerry got the idea to play 'Highway
61 Revisited' a few days after that when he'd gone for an early morning walk
around the neighborhood and had started thinking about his parents and how much
he missed them. I wonder what mom and dad would do about Sly? He was asking
himself, as he walked from street light to street light, shuffling through
leaves blowing down the sidewalk. Sly was only two years old when his parents
died, but Jerry felt he could see a bond forming between the three of them.
They would have been super grandparents, he thought to himself. Neither his brother
or sister had kids. He felt sure his mom and dad would have been very attentive
to Sly and his sisters.
Jerry started smiling as he walked
thinking about how the future could have played out differently. He remembered
what it was like for him when his dad gave him Dylan's CD for his twenty-first
birthday. The sentiment from his father to him had been touching yet at the
time hadn't seemed all that dramatic. As the years had gone by, however, and as
Jerry became a father with a family to care for, the sentiment had grown and
become clearer. Maybe I'll just play it for Sly. Kind of a gift from me and my
dad to him, Jerry was thinking. Why not? Nothing so far seemed to be working so
why not give it a try? And that's what he decided to do.
Jerry was both nervous and excited
as he drove to the hospital. The late fall afternoon sun felt warm against a
steel blue sky. The temperature was in the mid thirties and the trees were bare
of leaves. Thanksgiving was less than two weeks away. He couldn't imagine what
it would be like if Sly wasn't with them to share such a quintessential family
holiday. But the reality was that Sly's condition still remained unchanged and Jerry
was prepared for more of the same. Trying not to let his expectations get too
high, he took the boom box and the CD up to Sly's room and plugged it in. He
talked to his son while he busied himself, getting things ready.
"Hey there, buddy," he
said, placing the boom box on the table next to Sly's bed. "How're you doing
today?" Jerry told his son about his class finishing up and his talk with
Steve. No response. He checked his watch. It was 5:00 pm. He had about 45 minutes
before he would leave and go home for dinner. He and Arlie were going to come back
later that night with the girls and spend more time with Sly. He told his son
all of this. Again, no response. Finally Jerry was ready. He'd told the head
nurse what he was going to do, and she said that it was fine as long as the
door was closed, so he did that. Then he pushed in the CD, pulled up a chair
and sat down next to Sly as a hard rim shot on the snare drum started off 'Like
A Rolling Stone'. Jerry's mind suddenly was flooded with memories of his dad. "Here's
a CD that my dad gave me, buddy," Jerry said to Sly. "I thought you
might like it. This first song was his favorite song of all time. What do you
think?" Jerry brushed his hand over his son's forehead and then touched
his shoulder. His son looked so peaceful. He had been unconscious for thirty
two days. Jerry studied his son's face. His cheek bones were more prominent
since he'd been in the hospital, and his skin had lost the healthy look it'd
had from all the time he'd spent outdoors in the sun. Jerry rubbed Sly's
shoulder gently. He felt a need to be close to his son. To have some sort of
connection. The CD played on, 'Tombstone Blues' and 'It Takes A Lot To Laugh,
It Takes A Train To Cry'. Jerry was barely listening to the music. Instead he
was remembering bits and pieces of times he and Sly had spent together: shooting
baskets, carving pumpkins, riding their bikes around the cities lakes. All
Jerry ever wanted was to be a good father to Sly and Kari and Olive. He loved
his girls, but there was something special about his relationship with his son
that he treasured. The closeness he felt with Sly. The connection to something
greater than himself. He couldn't believe that he may not have a chance to build
a future with his son and to be his father and to be a part of helping Sly grow
into an adult. 'Ballad Of A Thin Man' segued into 'From A Buick Six' and Jerry
lightly tapped the fingers of his right hand to the up tempo music as he
caressed his son's arm with his left hand. Still no movement from Sly. Nothing.
But Jerry wasn't even watching his son right then. Instead his thoughts were
turned inward, reliving a lifetime of memories that he had with his boy.
Memories that were as strong and clear as if they had happened just yesterday.
"Do you remember the time we
went to the Black Hill's during the summer a few years ago?" Jerry started
talking. "You and I went for that hike behind the cabin we rented and we
came upon that buffalo?" Jerry laughed. "Boy were we ever
startled."
He kept talking, kept bringing up
things he remembered doing with Sly. The first model airplane they'd built
together. Times they'd gone ice skating at the local rink and Jerry had shown
Sly how to shoot a hockey puck. More memories. More times, he now realized,
that were among the most special in his life. 'Just Like Queen Jane
Approximately' and 'Highway 61 Revisited' rocked through the little boom box.
Behind him, out in the hall, one, then a few more nurses came and stood looking
in on Jerry and his son.
"Sad, isn't it?" one said,
out loud to no one in particular. "It sure is," came a response.
Through the door 'Just Like Tom Thumbs Blues'
reached its conclusion. Inside, Jerry seemed like he was in a trance. He had
talked quietly to Sly throughout almost the entire CD. Only one song remained.
He became silent, just caressing his son's face with a touch as gentle as the
breath of a baby, sighing in the dreamless sleep of a new born. Jerry, too,
sighed. This wasn't going to work. He looked at his watch. He should get home and
help Arlie get dinner ready.
The acoustic strains of the last
song started up. A gentle, yet forceful riff that was the beginning of the last
track on the CD, 'Desolation Row', Jerry's favorite. He was looking toward the
window, just about ready to stand up and get ready to leave when he felt, or
sensed, rather, a movement. He looked to his left where his hand was lightly touching
Sly's arm. His son's eyes were moving
under his eyelids. Jerry watched, holding his breath. Suddenly in his mind he
had visions of Sly getting better. He saw a life ahead full of new experiences
that the two of them would share together. Could it be true? Was Sly really
coming back? Was it too much to hope for? And in that instant Sly opened his
eyes and blinked, taking a moment to focus, and in that moment Jerry realized
that whether it was the music that did it, or something else, it didn't really
matter. All that mattered was his son was awake. His son was back.
Then Sly said looked at him and gave
a weak smile, "Hey dad. Where am I?" And Jerry leaned in and hugged
his son, tears forming, and said, "You're in the hospital, buddy, but you're going to fine. You're going to be just
fine."
And he kept hugging his son until
the nurses came in and pried him away to begin running tests. They'd been
watching from outside, and really, as they told each other later, couldn't
believe what they had seen. Sly had woken up. He had recovered.
The first thing Jerry did was call
Arlie. The second thing he did was hug his son again.
Well, as you might imagine, the next
few days were pretty hectic. They were marked by visits from doctors who did
tests and scheduled more tests, nurses monitoring Sly's condition even more
carefully than before (if that can be believed), and visits by family and
friends. A reporter even showed up, since Sly's unconscious state had made the news
when it happened. It was all pretty crazy as far as Jerry and Arlie were
concerned. All they wanted was for their son to come home and for the family to
get back to a normal life.
"Well, I'm not sure how normal
it's going to be," Dr. Patel said late Sunday afternoon. "Although he
appears to have made a complete recovery, we are going to have to keep a
careful eye on your son." Jerry thought he detected a slight smile on the
face of the normally taciturn doctor. All the people watching over Sly had
become attached to him in their own special way.
"When can he come home?"
Arlie asked.
"Well, his appetite seems to
have returned," Dr. Patal said, which caused Arlie to smile, "And
he's talkative and alert." He checked his records. "If all goes well,
he should be able to leave here in the next day or two. You live fairly close
by, right?"
"Yes. Just about three
miles," Jerry said. "Takes about ten minutes to get here."
Dr. Patel smiled, "Well, let's
hope it doesn't ever have to come to that."
Jerry and Arlie went home that Sunday
night encouraged. If all went well they'd have their son home by mid-week. That
night, for the first time since the accident, Jerry and Arlie were able to fall
into bed and sleep together, safe in each other's arms, knowing that despite
the odds, their son would soon becoming home.
In the morning they awoke refreshed.
Jerry left for work and played the 'Highway 61 Revisited' CD, turning the
volume up high. He was in a great mood and humming to himself when he got to
Heartland and headed up to his office. He didn't have a class, all he had to do
was write reviews of the students whose class had just finished. He stepped
into his cubicle, slipped off his jacket and turned to sit down at his desk. He
then noticed the message light on his phone blinking. Frowning, he picked up
the receiver. The only message was from his manager. 'Hey old buddy, Steve
here. Sorry to lay this on you, but could you come into my office when you get
this? I've got some bad news.'
Well, at least he didn't try to
sugar coat it, Jerry thought to himself has he walked down the hall. That maybe
counted for something.
The long and the short of it was
that Jerry was going to be laid off. The decision had been made over the
weekend. The company was downsizing and he was one of about twenty five
employees that were chosen to be let go. "It's the first wave,
Jerry," Steve told him. "I'm sure there will be lots more."
Which really didn't make Jerry feel any better.
The first thing he did when he got
back to his cubicle was to call Arlie and fill her in on what had happened. She
took it surprisingly well. "Just a sec, I'm here with Sly. I'm moving out
to the hall." Jerry heard her get up and say to Sly, 'Be right back,
buddy.' After a few moments she came back on, sounding thoughtful,"You
know this might work out for us."
"What do you mean?" It was
the last thing Jerry figured she'd say.
"Well, the doctor was just
here. You know that Sly's recovery is going to take a long time. Even though
he'll be home, he'll have to go back for checkups and go to physical therapy. There's
going to be a hundred things to coordinate. It's going to take up a lot of
time."
"And you think maybe I could take
over and be house-husband or something like that for a while," Jerry
filled in.
Arlie laughed. "Well, yeah. Something
like that. What do you think?"
Jerry thought for a few moments. A
lot was happening right how. He was out of work but the company had him covered
for half a year's worth of salary. He could take the time to get his feet on
the ground and consider his options. But mainly, though, he could be with Sly
and help him with his recovery. In a way getting laid off was kind of a gift.
At least it was one way of looking at his. Finally he said, "Not a bad
idea. I've got almost six months of severance coming."
"Beside, it'll give you a
chance to think about what you may want to do next."
Jerry paused, thinking, then asked,
"It wouldn't bother you? Me not working?"
Arlie barked a laugh, "Not so
fast, pal. You'll be working. A lot. Taking care of Sly won't be easy. You'll
have your hands full. It'll be a full time job, and then some."
Even though he'd had only a few
minutes to think about it, Jerry was beginning to like the idea. "It's got
strong possibilities. Let's talk later tonight." He paused, thinking, then
added, "We still set to bring him home on Wednesday?"
"Yep. Looks good."
"Look, I've still got a few
things to take care of here. You going to be there for a while?"
"Yeah."
"Ok. I can get out of here in a
little while. Met you at Sly's room?"
"Sounds good." Arlie
paused, then said. "Hey, Jer, don't worry. We'll get through this. Look
what we just went through."
"I know." Jerry smiled
into the receiver. "See you in a bit. I'll call when I'm on the way."
"Ok. Love ya'"
"Love you, too."
Jerry had a ton of paperwork to get
started on. His layoff quickly spread through the office so he had people
stopping in and out wishing him well. Jerry took their overtures with a grain
of salt. Most of them were just happy it was him and not them that was getting let
go. But that's the way the corporate world worked. He didn't hold it against
them. In fact, after the shock had worn off, he was actually starting to accept
his new situation. He'd been with the company for nearly twenty years. That was
a long time. In the back of his mind he'd considered the possibility he'd be among
those let go ever since that first memo had come out. Maybe, like Arlie said,
he should take some time to consider his options. Sounded like a plan. Besides,
the best thing was for he and his family to get back together and to build back
the family structure that had been tested by Sly's accident. Spending time
helping Sly get better and his family heal? Well sure, that was something he
could see himself doing.
After about an hour he left work.
His last day was scheduled to be in two weeks but Steve told him he could leave
whenever he wanted. Right now he was thinking that tomorrow would be it, his
final day. That way he could be all set to bring Sly home from the hospital on
Wednesday and get started on helping with his son's recovery.
He got in his car and headed for the
hospital. He decided to take the parkway around the lakes. He'd be there in
twenty minutes. Just enough time to listen to that special song again. Jerry
smiled. He punched 'play' and set the tuner to song number nine. Desolation
Row's driving guitar and arcane lyrics came on and filled the car with music.
Jerry happily sang along. The song was still playing when he pulled into the
parking lot of the hospital. Jerry was humming it as he walked into Sly's room
where Arlie was sitting next to him on his bed. They were both smiling. "Hey
gang," Jerry said, his voice upbeat. "Let's figure out what we need
to do to get ready to leave here on Wednesday and go home."
Sly laughed as Arlie answered,
"We already have."
Jerry laughed, too, then, with a
sense of relief, believing that maybe things really would work out for the
best. He'd do everything he could to make sure they did. "Great," he
said, sitting on the bed next to his wife and son, "What's the plan?"
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