Past Forward- A Serial Novel: Episode 16 (15 page)

People scre
amed. The A.D.A. dove for cover, whipping
out her cell
phone to call for help
,
while a court officer raced to Chad
’
s assistance.
Pandemonium reigned
,
but Chad
became
unaware of his surroundings.
The burning in his chest and hand made it impossible to think or concentrate.
He felt sweat trickle down his face in several places and wiped it away.
His hand, streaked with blood, told him that his face was cut
—
probably in several places.

By the time the ambulance arrived, the entire courthouse was cordoned off and police
crawled
everywhere.
As the paramedics loaded him into the ambulance, Chad insisted on speaking to the A.D.A.
but the paramedic couldn’t comply.
“Sorry, they’ve got her under protection.

Chad closed his eyes and grabbed the paramedic’s arm. “
Tell her…
” He swallowed hard. “Tell her I said
do
not
call my wife
.”

“
Man, she
’
s gonna
—”

“
Do
not
call Willow.
We have a good lawyer.
I
’
ll use her
.”

“
Mr. Tesdall?
”
The face above Chad
’
s head swayed drunkenly.

“
Have you been drinking
,
sir?
”
Chad
’
s voice sounded strange to his own ears.

“
No, but you
’
ve been medicated
.”

He struggled to sit up and then sank back against the pillows.
“
I was shot.
I can
’
t believe I was shot.
I remember now
.”

“
It was a through and through.
Not sure how it
missed yo
ur heart
and arteries
,
but it did pierce the lungs, break a rib, and your hand took the full impact of the phone.
I
’
ve never seen one like it
.”

As the doctor explained his injuries, Chad struggled to remember something he needed to ask.
“
Did anyone call my wife?
”

“
I knew the EMT got it wrong.
He said you refused
.”

“
I did.
So no one called?
”

The doctor nodded eyeing Chad curiously.
“
Mind telling me why you don
’
t want her to know?
You can
’
t hide an injury like this
.”

“
I have an unusual wife.
She
’
d rather hear it from me.
Just trust me on that.
I need to speak to my parents immediately. If they see it on the news
,
they
’
ll call and
—”

The longer Chad spoke, the more clear his thinking became.
“
Man
,
what do you have me on?
”

“
Your PCA has morphine if you need a boost
.”

“
I have to avoid it as much as possible.
I need to be able to drive tomorrow
.”

“
Well, you
’
re not going anywhere tomorrow.
The surgeon has more work to do on that hand
,
and we can
’
t risk infection or pneumonia.
The EMT managed to prevent a pneum
—” the doctor altered his explanation at the sight of Chad’s confusion. “—
um collapsed lung
.”

Chad wanted to ask more questions
,
but drowsiness overtook him
. B
efore he could speak, he slept.

Rain still poured down on the farm the next morning
.
The thunder and lightning
had abated,
but in their place a steady rain
drummed on the roof—rain
that the farms nearby needed
and
Willow dreaded.
Work was always so messy in the rain and usually meant the need for scrubbing floors.
The one job she truly hated was scrubbing floors.
She
’
d scrub the toilet, wash walls and windows, or beat carpets but floors
…

Ditto protested her stall in the barn
,
but Willow was unmoved
despite
several attempts to butt her out of the way.
The chickens protested as well
,
but Willow opened side panels to allow fresh air and left the birds in the dry coop.
Nothing was more pathetic looking to her than a drenched chicken.
The sheep and cow had plenty of fresh rainwater and seemed uninterested in crossing the pasture to say hi.

A new thought occurred to her as she stepped up on the porch.
She did not want to drip muddy water all over the house as she entered.
She did
not
want to scrub those floors.
No one was home, there was no reason not to simply drop her clothing out the back door and take it to the barn that evening.
Just to be certain that no one had arrived while she wasn
’
t looking, Willow walked around to the front of the house, nodded in satisfaction, and hurried to the back porch again.

Giggling gleefully, she raced through the house, upstairs, into her room and grabbed her most comfortable shorts and halter-top.
Even with the rain, it was very warm and her favorite cool clothes sounded like the epitome of comfort.
She stood for an indecent amount of time in the shower allowing the hot water to pound her muscles an
d then slowly turned it to cold,
cool
ing
her off again.

Before she hurried downstairs to make herself something for breakfast, Willow grabbed a wrap dress she
’
d made the previous summer.
Now that Chad lived there, people stopped by sometimes.
Not often, but how embarrassing it would be to be caught running around in clothes that covered so little.
It was one thing for her to wear them for herself or even while Chad was sleeping but quite another when others were around.
The dress would look lumpy but she
’
d be covered.

She remembered a wedding gift that Marianne had been so excited about.
“
Just put your meat and vegetables in it, add a little water, turn it on low, and let it cook all day.
It
’
s perfect for hot summers in your house
.”

At the back of the pantry on the top right corner shelf, she pulled down her four and a half quart crock-pot and carried it to the kitchen counter.
Carefully, she slit the tape open and pulled the appliance from its protective Styrofoam blocks.
An instruction manual sent her to the chaise as she read every word before trying to use it.

She stepped onto the back porch to take it to the summer kitchen and paused.
The yard was full of mud she
’
d be drenched and filthy by the time she got back to the house.
The sight of the floodlight on the barn reminded her that the electricity was on in the house.
She could use it and stay indoors.
Chad would be amazed to come home to a meal cooked with an appliance inside the
house
!

The clock chimed nine by the time she had her food arranged in the pot and it turned on in the corner of the counter.
She glanced at the phone charger and saw her phone was fully charged again.
No messages.
It must have been an exhausting day.
Poor Chad, he
’
d be
worn out
by the time he got home.

Willow filled a bowl with Wheaties, poured her own milk over it, and took a bite.
“
Now that is good,
”
she murmured to herself and shuddered remembering the horrible taste of the milk Chad preferred
over
Ditto
’
s contribution.