Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love

BOOK: Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love
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Eleven Days:

An Unexpected Love

 

by

Lora Lindy

 

 

No part of t
his
book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
with
out written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. T
his
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

 

Copyrighted @ Lora Lindy, 2012

 

[email protected]

 

 

Ot
her
Books by Lora Lindy

 

Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love (August 2012)

The Party Line (October 2012)

Mutt and Maude (December 2012)

The Wall (March 2013)

Thirty Days: The Hunt for Angelino Marquit (May 2013)

Seven Days: The Revenge (June 2013)

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 39

Chapter 1

October 5, 10:42 p.m.

 

"Sharon, I've received the test results from the lab," said Dr. Kemper lowering
his
head, not wanting to look into
her
tear filled eyes. They were swollen like
she
had lost the first round of boxing
with
Muhammad Ali. Willingly, he distracted himself by looking at the papers he held in
his
hands, flipping the pages back and forth on the clipboard. He wanted to make sure he didn't miss anything. No matter how many times the gray haired elderly doctor delivered bad news, it never got any easier.

Sharon's face turned pale as
she
looked at the doctor waiting for him to continue about the news of
her
husband, James.
Sharon
could tell by the look on
his
face the news
was
not good.
Her
heart started racing, and
she
shifted from one foot to the other. When he didn't finish
his
sentence,
she
snapped at him. "Spit it out, what are the results?"

He took a deep breath and as
he exhaled
his
cheeks puffed out, like he
was
trying to w
his
tle. "The MRI shows James is brain dead, and there's nothing medically we can do. The machine is breathing for him and it's the only thing keeping him alive.
Too much time passed
after
his
heart attack before he got help. Those few minutes deprived
his
brain of oxygen. I'm sorry Sharon I wish I could give you better news."

"I do too." Sharon
lowered
her
eyes to
her
beloved husband. Thoughts of him raced through
her
mind.
She
recalled when they met, their first date, their marriage, and the birth of their children. Tears ran down
her
cheek when
she
remembered the birth of thei
r first child, Kismet.
His
head came out
pointed and lopsided and James said. "Look he's an alien, honey is there something you want to tell me?" The doctor laughed
for ten minutes.

Dr. Kemper coughed and
she
snapped back to reality. "You will need to decide when you want to turn off the machine. I'm sure you'll want to talk
with
family members about the details. Also, you'll need to let everyone know so they can come say their goodbyes." T
his
was
the part he hated the most, when the loved ones discussed what should be done, they never agreed. Some didn't want him to suffer, and some wanted him hooked up to the machine forever.

"Can I have over night to
think about what to do
?"
She
needed time alone to think. Picking the day and time to let
her
husband die
was
not a choice
she
wanted to make, tired or not. Thoughts raced through
her
mind about the sorrow t
his
decision
would
make, especially for
Lana
. Even though they were cousins, they had been best friends for decades. Now in a fleeting
moment,
his
life would end
. T
his
decision
would
be a crushing blow to
her
and all the family.

"Absolutely, you take all the time you need. I'll come by in the morning and check on you, and answer any questions you might have."

"Thank you." Sharon picked up
her
coat and kissed
James'
cheek. "Good night doctor and I'll see you in the morning." The last few days
with
only a few hours of sleep caught up
with
her
. Knowing
her
own body,
sh
e
needed rest.
With
out rest
she
might
doubt any decision
she
made.

"Good night Sharon and
try
to get a decent night's sleep." He
was
never shocked by how distraught spouses acted. Some
would
scream at the top of their lungs and others
would
laugh. Most cried and were afraid to make any decisions, and they let the doctor spoon feed them through the process. Sharon
appeared to be
the quiet type and always wanted to be alone to think about what to do.

They both walked out of the hospital room
with
out saying another word, but
she
did glance back at
her
husband one last time.

Sharon started
her
car and looked up toward James' room.
She
couldn't leave. Even though
she
needed rest
,
and time alone to think,
she
would
have to make time later. Right now
she
needed to
spend the last few hours
with
her
husband of thirty-one years. The walk to
his
room
was
routine, and the nurses just nodded their heads as
she
passed.
Sharon
pulled the covers back and crawled in next to him.

Chapter 2

October 7, 3:42 a.m.

 

F
orty-seven year old
Lana
Andrews sat in a chair in the hallway of Citizens Memorial Hospital, waiting to say goodbye to
her
cousin James.
His
unexpected heart attack disarrayed
her
entire life, everyone's life. All the loved ones, teary eyed, went into
his
room to say goodbye. Some
would
go in alone and others went in as groups.
Lana
wanted to be alone.

Fidgeting in
the orange hard
chair and waiting for all the immediate family to arrive,
she
reminisced how James had always been at
her
side. How he had he
lped
her
get through
her
rough divorce
. When
she
divorced, James helped
her
move, he went to court
with
her
, and he even went head to head
with
the ex. No matter what happened in
her
life, h
e always stood by
Lana's
side
.
She
looked down at the tile floor and the pit of
her
stomach hurt, dreading the next hour.

The
last person left the
death room.
Lana
took a deep breath and walked in, trembling.
Her
hands shook as
she
reached down and took
his
limp hand.
Lana
spoke
with
a soft tone, a w
his
per. "James, I know you can't hear me, but I need to say goodbye. I love you so much and I will miss you. I will miss your guidance, love, and talks. If I could give you my heart to make you strong, I
would
. I'm sorry I
was
n't there for you when you needed me most."
She
choked up for a few seconds then finally murmured one last word. "Goodbye."
Lana
reached down and kissed
his
cool cheek. For several seconds
she
looked into
his
cadaverous face hoping for some telltale sign of life, but nothing.

Lana
took the sleeve of
her
sweater and wiped away
the
tears as
she
looked around
his
death room. It
was
not a typical hospital room,
more like a Martha Stewart home. All the furnitur
e
had been stained
with
a dark mahogany color
, and the bedspread and walls were different shades of green. But what stood out the most were the wall hangings. People painted pictures, framed them, and hung them on the wall. To
her
surprise, they were happy pictures of trees and flowers.
Are they trying to put me in a good mood?
She
thought. T
his
would
be
James'
death room, and
she
didn't want to forget a thing.

BOOK: Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love
2.09Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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