Crossroads (26 page)

I cleared my throat and tried to sound
cheerful, “Hi, Mom! How are you?”

“
Hi, honey. Are you
okay?”

Immediately I was furious with Patty.
How could she just lie to my face? “Yes, I’m fine. It’s nothing.
Who called you?”

“
Andrew called
me.”

As soon as I heard his name, I felt
bad for thinking Patty was lying. I was glad that I was thinking it
and didn’t say it out loud. I should have figured that Andrew would
have called since he was our camp leader. She immediately changed
the subject, which I thought was strange. I thought she would beg
me to come home; instead her voice sounded different. “Mom, what is
it? What’s wrong?”I asked as I walked further away from my tent to
get more privacy.

“
I tried calling you many
times.”

“
I’m so sorry. I forgot to
take my cell phone with me,” I said.

“
Honey, I don’t want you
to worry. Everything is fine. It’s just that she is in the
hospital, and I—”

I didn’t let her finish. I immediately
knew. “How is Gamma? And just tell me the truth.” I sounded
firm.

“
She had a stroke, a
massive stroke in her brain. She is in a coma. I don’t think she’ll
make it.”

As she spoke, streams of tears fell
down my cheeks, much like the waterfall I had seen earlier. Guilt
pounded through me, knowing that Gamma would have been against me
going camping and that Mom and I had told her that I was sick. I
lied to her so I could go. Had I stayed, I would have been with her
the whole time. She needed me, and I wasn’t there for her. Could I
ever forgive myself for this?

“
Honey? Claudia? Are you
there?”

“
Yes.” It was all I could
say without sounding like I was crying.

“
I know you’ll be home
soon, and I’m sure Gamma is waiting for you to say good-bye. I know
this is hard, honey. She had a wonderful life. We all have to be
happy for her. She’ll be in a much better place. I’ll see you when
you come home…okay?”

“
See you at home,” I said,
my voice trembling.

As soon as I hung up, Patty ran toward
me and held me tight.

“
I’m sooo sorry!” she
whispered.

I knew I didn’t have to say a word.
Everyone already knew. I was too busy elsewhere. I felt guilty for
not being there for her, and I would feel worse if I didn’t get to
her on time. I realized at that moment that everybody was already
packed to leave. They were just waiting for my return.

Patty had already packed my bags for
me while I was on the phone with Mom. What would I do without her?
What would I do without Gamma? With Gamma on my mind, I immediately
sat at the same seat on the bus. I knew it would happen someday,
but not now and not like this, when I was not with her. It felt
like a dream. Was Gamma really in a coma? I closed my eyes and
tried to come to terms with reality. Just then, I heard a voice. It
was Austin.

“
Claudia, Andrew said it
was fine for me to take you home since I can get you there faster
in my car.”

The idea of riding with Austin didn’t
appeal to me, but it would be faster than the bus. I looked at
Patty questioningly. She nodded and motioned for me to go. “I’ll
call you later,” she said. Then she grabbed my wrist when I was
halfway out of my seat. “Don’t worry about your bag. It will slow
you down. I’ll drop it off later.”

“
Okay, thanks,” I said, as
I headed out of the bus.

“
Drive carefully, Austin.
Remember you are fully responsible for her,” Andrew
said.

“
Yeah, yeah, yeah!” Austin
replied back. “Talking like a true leader.”

“
Thanks, Andrew,” I said.
I was glad he was sensitive to the urgency of my situation, and
then I felt terrible again for not following his rules. “I’m sorry
about not—”

“
Don’t worry about it. I’m
sure you had your reasons. Anyway, I hope you get to see her in
time,” Andrew said sincerely, placing his hand on my
shoulder.

“
I hope so
too.”

“
Let’s go, Claudia, before
the bus gets there before you do,” Austin said. He opened the car
door like a gentleman, and I got into his black Infiniti Coupe. It
was sleek, and the body of the car looked futuristic. Everybody was
looking at me from the window of the bus, including Patty who was
waving and smiling. We drove for a little while before Austin broke
the silence.

“
Sorry about Gamma,” he
said tenderly.

“
Thanks,” I
said.

He continued. “I know what it feels
like to lose someone.”

“
You do?” I asked
curiously.

He stared straight into the window and
sighed. “My dad passed away, many years ago.”

“
I’m sorry to hear
that.”

“
That’s okay. I’ve learned
to deal with it. We all have to in order to move on with our lives.
I’m sure my dad didn’t want me moping around for him. He would want
me to be happy and continue with my life while I hold on to his
memories.”

“
You’re right, but it must
have been extremely difficult.”

“
You have to grieve. It’s
part of the healing process. I cried. I cursed. I was a bit
rebellious at times, and I didn’t make things easy for my mom until
I realized that she was feeling the same as me. She had lost her
husband. I was being too selfish thinking about what I had
lost.”

“
So it’s just you and your
mom?”

“
Yeah.”

“
Brother or
sister?”

“
Nope. Only child. Thank
goodness I have good friends. Andrew was there for me. I’m lucky to
have a friend like him.”

I knew what he meant. Patty was the
same way for me in many different ways. I only hoped that I was the
same kind of friend for her as well. The motion from the car made
me sleepy, especially since I had hardly slept at all the night
before. As my thoughts turned to Gamma and Michael, I drifted off
to sleep in the soft leather reclined seat, and the sounds from the
cars on the highway faded.

Chapter 17

“
Claudia! Claudia!” It was
Gamma calling me, but I couldn’t see her. Where was I? My vision
cleared as I looked around, only to realize that I was at the same
unpaved road. It suddenly came to me that I was at the Crossroads.
Why were we here? Then I heard Gamma’s voice again.

“
Claudia!
Claudia!”

“
Where are you, Gamma?” I
yelled.

I started walking around in circles,
looking for her. I was about to give up when I saw her at a
distance, inside the field.

“
Gamma?” I shrieked in
disbelief.

She walked toward me with a horrified
look in her eyes. Her expression frightened me.

“
Run, Claudia!” she
yelled. “You don’t belong here.”

My mouth dropped in shock from what I
had seen and heard. I didn’t want to run. I wanted to hold her. She
said it again, but this time with more urgency.

“
Run, Claudia! They’re
coming for you.”

I did as told. I didn’t know why I was
running or whom I was running away from, but my heart was pounding.
All of a sudden, I couldn’t breathe; I grabbed my throat, gasping
for air.

“
Wake up, Claudia.” I
recognized his voice. Austin was shaking me. “Are you all right? It
must have been some dream.”

I roused from sleep and realized we
were still in his car. “Yeah…um…sorry…didn’t mean to scare you like
that,” I replied as I sat up, feeling embarrassed. I quickly rubbed
the back of my palm to my mouth to make sure that I wasn’t
drooling.

“
It’s okay. It looked like
you couldn’t breathe. I thought I was going to have to do CPR on
you.” He winked with a smile.

“
Very funny,” I said,
fixing my hair.

“
Well, here we
are.”

He had driven me to the hospital
instead of my house. I couldn’t remember what I had asked him to
do, but I was glad we were at the hospital because this was where I
wanted to be. “Thanks, Austin.” I dashed out of the car, anxious to
see Gamma. “I really appreciate it.” I closed the car door behind
me. I was just about to walk away when he rolled down the
window.

“
Glad to help. I would go
in there with you—”

I interrupted because I didn’t want
him to feel like he had to act like a gentleman and walk me in. He
had done enough. “No, don’t worry. I should face this alone. I
wouldn’t want you to see me…” Searching for the right words and
anxious to get going, I said quickly, “You know what I mean. See
you later.” I took a few steps, but he wasn’t finished.

“
Claudia, I’m not saying
that she is going to die, but you have to prepare for the worst
too.”

I nodded, half listening. “You’re
right,” I said quickly.

“
You can call or text me
anytime,” he said.

“
Thanks,” I replied and
walked away quickly. I didn’t mean to be rude, but I was anxious to
get to Gamma before it was too late.

I took a deep breath and headed toward
the hospital entrance. I felt tiny approaching this huge building.
I glanced at all the windows and wondered which room was Gamma’s.
In the middle of the hospital building was a big and bold sign that
read General Hospital. A person would have to be blind to miss it.
A security guard at the entrance stopped me and asked what the
purpose of my visit was.

“
I’m here for Gamma, I
mean, Lucy Reed.”

I was so used to calling her Gamma
that I had almost forgotten her real name. I was also quite shaken
up by the fact that I was actually here, which meant that it was
real. As I was waiting for him, I squinted for fear that he would
inform me that I was too late. Instead, he gave me a long plastic
strip.

“
Please place this on your
wrist. Here, I can help you. Go straight through the door, hang a
right, then a left. And a lady will be there to help
you.”

“
Thank you,” I said,
feeling relieved.

He gave me some hope that I was not
too late, but then I wondered if he even knew anything about the
patients in intensive care. As I walked further in, I discovered I
was alone. There weren’t any other visitors. For a hospital this
big, I would’ve expected to see many more; however, it was dark and
I was sure visiting hours would be ending soon. Go straight through
the door, hang a right, and then a left, I repeated his
instructions over and over in my head so I wouldn’t forget. Every
which way I looked was a corridor leading to another hallway. It
was like a maze in here. A lady was behind a counter, seemingly not
very busy.

“
Yes…?” Her voice
lingered, as she looked up at me, appearing to be annoyed. “May I
help you?” she asked in a rather snobbish manner.

How rude! I thought. No wonder people
don’t like going to the hospital. “I’m here to see Gamma, I mean,
Lucy Reed.”

“
Who?” she asked again,
looking irritated.

“
Lucy Reed.”

She quickly looked at her chart,
flipping through a few pages. “Fifth floor, room 512,” she said,
pointing straight ahead.

“
Thank you,” I said, as I
moved ahead anxiously.

The long hallway seemed endless as I
stepped out of the elevator. Curiosity got the best of me as I
quickly glanced at the occupied rooms. I couldn’t help but feel
depressed by the ambiance, although it was comforting to observe
the families caring for their elders. My mom always reminded me to
see Gamma as much as I could. Her words were strongly embedded in
my head, “Be good to those who are alive, because what good is it
when they are dead?” It made more sense to me now, knowing that it
may be the last time I would see her. I wanted to be able to tell
her and show her how much she meant to me.

The numbers read closer to 512; I was
almost there. I could feel my heart racing. I concentrated on the
room numbers, afraid that I would pass her room. As if my heart
wasn’t racing fast enough, it started beating even faster and
louder, so that I was certain the nurses could hear my anxiety
attack. Finally—room 512. Apprehensively, I walked in; it was a
sight I hadn’t prepared myself for. Gamma looked lifeless and
motionless. She was hooked up to an IV, with an oxygen tube in her
nose, and a tube running down her throat, forcing her mouth
open.