When Worlds Collide

Officer Deb stayed with us throughout the ER visit, waiting patiently for us as they took Beanie for x-rays, and never complained about the long delay in getting them read. She and I occasionally chatted, but most of the time she spent scrolling through her phone, as I stared into space, wondering how Katie was doing without us.

Poor Katie must be a wreck, wondering what was happening with her sister and me. I just hoped Mike had scooped her up and let her 'babysit' his kitten. That would keep her occupied until we got home. I called his phone a dozen times but it kept ringing to voicemail, and no one was picking up at the camp store.

Mom called while Beanie was in the X-ray department. "Hey, Mom. How are you holding up?"

"Now that all the planning has been done, it's hitting me," she said through teary sobs. "Do you think you and the girls can come down this afternoon?"

Oh, boy. I wasn't certain it would be safe to drive without sleep tonight, but she sounded miserable. I couldn't tell her no. "Um, sure, Mom. It will be a while before I'm off work and I'll have to feed the girls at home and collect our things for the week. It'll be late when we get there. Is that okay?"

"I'm so sorry to be such a baby. I hate you to drive at night, but Joanne and Rabbit are in Ithaca for a concert and I'm feeling, like. I don't even know how to describe it. Empty. Scared. Sad."

"Oh, Mom. I wish I was there right now. I'm so sorry. We'll be there as soon as we can." I promised.

"Baby, stay off Route 81, okay? It's a mess right now and I don't want you to break down on a busy highway."

"I was planning on taking Route 11. It'll be safer," I told her.

"Love you, Warrior Princess. See you soon," she said and ended the call.

Warrior Princess. If she only knew just how suited I was to that title right now.

Thank God my phone had been in my jeans pocket and didn't seem damaged by its dunk in the lake. Without my wallet, it was my only connection to the outside world. Suddenly, I realized something.

"Deb, I have a picture of my license on my cell. Can I use that if I get pulled over before getting my real license back?"

"Pull it up and show me."

I scrolled through my images and showed her.

"It's a clear picture. You can explain what happened and have them call the police station in town. They can vouch for you. You aren't going to try and drive tonight, are you?" she asked, her face wrinkled with concern.

"I have to. My Dad passed away Friday morning and my Mom doesn't sound good at all. She's really hurting."

"Oh, boy. I hope your adrenaline keeps you awake. How far are you driving?"

"Binghamton," I replied.

"Oh, boy. Professionally, I would not advise it. Personally, I understand that sometimes you do what you have to."

"I know. Oh, here comes the Beans. The nurse is laughing, so that's good." I said.

"This girl! Oh, my. What a cute, little story-teller she is," the nurse laughed.

"Mommy! I told her about the snake in the van and it was a vuum cleaner. She said I'm a comdiam," Beanie told me proudly.

"Comedian. You're a comedian, Beans," I corrected.

"Yeah, one of them," she said.

"We won't know the results of the x-rays until Dr. Phillips comes by. Here is a voucher for the cafeteria. Why don't you wait for him there? I'll take your cell number and call you when he's available," the nurse said, passing me a sheet of paper with a $20.00 total for the cafeteria.

"Uh, okay. Deb, are we holding you up? I heard there was an apartment fire in town. Do you need to get back?" I asked, embarrassed for taking so much of her time.

"No. Don't worry. Everything is being covered by the Staties. You are my only assignment for today and I prefer this to chasing down the arsonist who set the blaze."

"Oh, no. Someone deliberately set an apartment house on fire?" I exclaimed.

"Well, not like they poured gasoline and threw a match on it. But, someone has been making meth there for a while and it finally caught up with them," she explained.

We trudged to the cafeteria together, Beanie's and my sneakers squishing and leaving puddles in our wake. Thrilled with the farty noises from her shoes, Beans began stomping down the hallway, giggling hysterically.

"Listen, Mom! My shoes are pooting!"

"Very funny, my little comdiam."

I let her pick out whatever she wanted to eat from the shelves in the cafeteria and grabbed a ham sandwich and a fruit salad for myself. Situating her at a table with Deb I went back to the cafeteria and poured a coffee for myself and Deb. When I returned to the table, Beanie was plowing through a plastic cup of rice pudding and licking a chocolate ice-cream bar at the same time.

My cell buzzed again, it was the nurse, "Hello, Mrs. Graves? This is Susan, your ER nurse. Dr. Phillips said there is no break or fracture in the wrist bones and just to keep an eye on it in case of swelling or more soreness. You can leave anytime you need to. We're all set here."

Lucas

I had no idea when the owner of the ratshit Toyota was going to discover his car missing, so kept my eyes on the driveways and shops along Route 11, hoping to find a replacement before this one got too hot.

My hands were killing me, so I pulled into a Days Inn parking lot, driving around to the back of the building, to give myself a break. The gauze had stuck to the creases in my fingers, pulling off the newly formed scabs when I tried to change it. Damn. I hadn't cried since I was twelve years old; the last time my old man hit me with his belt. The last time he hit anything except the pavement. Fucker.

Shit. I couldn't drive another mile until the stinging let up. I pushed the seat all the way back and stretched out. Four o'clock. Plenty of time to make my exit from New York. I was a hundred miles from the lake and will be home free tonight.