Tracie Peterson (22 page)

“Is she all right?”

His immediate question piled guilt onto Tess’s fragile state of well-being. “I don’t really know. The woman said she was injured and needed us to come.”

“I’ll get there as quickly as I can. Did you call Justin?”

“He’s supposed to be on his way to the apartment. Could you call him and let him know what’s happened?” Tess questioned.

“Absolutely. We’ll get folks praying too. It’s going to be all right, Tess,” he said reassuringly.

“I hope so.”

At the hospital, Tess nearly went mad trying to locate where they’d taken Sherry. When she finally caught up with
someone who actually had seen the child, Tess begged for information.

“She’s in X-ray right now, Mrs. Holbrook,” the nurse said after Tess’s hasty introduction.

“Is she going to be okay?” Tess questioned.

“I’ll let the doctor know you’re here,” the nurse replied. “He’ll be able to tell you more.” She looked almost conspiratorial as she glanced over her shoulder and added, “I do know that she’s going to need stitches on her forehead.”

“Stitches?” Tess barely spoke the word.

“She suffered a blow to the head.” The nurse lowered her voice and added, “The wound isn’t all that bad, but it will have to be stitched. We’re also pretty certain her wrist is broken. Apparently she was defending herself by putting her hands up to ward off the blows of some type of weapon. Probably a pipe or something similar.”

Tess felt her stomach begin to churn. “Oh, Sherry,” she said, sinking down into the waiting-room chair.

“Are you going to be okay?” the nurse asked sympathetically. “Would you like some water?”

Tess shook her head. “No, I just want to see her.”

“Well, as soon as they’re finished with the X-ray, I’ll arrange for you to join her.”

Tess knew it was the best the woman could do. “Thank you.”

She watched the nurse stride off and felt helpless. In spite of the crowded conditions of the waiting room, Tess bowed her head and began to pray.

Father, I know I haven’t been the woman you would want me to be. I know I’ve failed to share Jesus’ love with Sherry, and I know I’ve done this purely out of selfish concern for my own pain. Please forgive me and please let that little girl forgive me. I should never have written her off the way I did. I feared her power over my life. I feared her taking away the baby I had waited so long to have. I feared everything about Sherry Macomber. But, Father, I know my fears are wrong. I
know they aren’t healthy, productive, or in any way related to you. I know that I have to be willing to let go of those fears in order to find the spiritual maturity and love that I have so long craved
.

She paused, straining to keep her emotions under control.
But, God, I don’t know how to let go. I’m back to being that scared and brokenhearted little girl whose mother didn’t love her. I’m back to picking up the pieces of my handmade flower vase
.

She thought of the Waterford vase Sherry had broken and instantly realized that it was this memory and not the sentimental value of the vase that had so devastated Tess. Why hadn’t she seen it then? She remembered her biological mother’s hatred for her in light of Sherry’s angry and pain-filled words, but she hadn’t put the two events together.

Broken pieces. Tess had had a lifetime of broken pieces. Now Sherry lay somewhere down the hall, possibly fighting for her life and the life of her child. More broken pieces.

“Tess?”

Tess looked up to find Laura Johnson. “What are you doing here? Did Brad call you?”

Laura looked confused. “No. We’re here for Darren’s lab work and chest X-ray. What’s wrong?”

Tess broke down, her shoulders trembling as her tears fell. “It’s Sherry. She ran away last night and someone beat her up.”

“Oh no,” Laura said, sitting down beside Tess. She put her arm around Tess’s shoulder and hugged her tight. “Is she going to be all right?”

“I don’t know. I only know that she took a blow to the head, and her wrist might be broken. Oh, Laura, this is all my fault.”

“How so?”

Tess looked into Laura’s concerned face. “She probably overheard my conversation with Brad. I said some awful things.”

“What makes you think Sherry overheard?”

“It’s the only thing I could come up with that would send her away. We didn’t have any fights yesterday. Sherry was tired and feeling irritable, but I swear I didn’t pick at her for it. I sent her to bed to rest, and I didn’t ask her to help with the laundry or—”

“Calm down, Tess. I believe you,” Laura interrupted. She patted Tess lovingly. “You can’t blame yourself for what has happened.”

“Oh, but I can and I do. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t kept Sherry at arm’s length, like you said. If I’d done things differently . . .”

“You’d have no way of knowing that the scene would be any different than it is,” Laura replied. “Tess, instead of wasting time blaming yourself, just put it to prayer. Sherry is now in the best possible place, with all the care and attention she could need. The only thing you can do to help the situation is pray.”

Tess nodded. She knew Laura was right.

“Mrs. Holbrook?” The same nurse who had disappeared moments before, now reappeared. “Sherry is out of X-ray now. You can come sit with her if you like.”

Tess nodded. “Yes, I want to be with her.” She looked to Laura. “Please keep praying for us.”

“Of course. Let me know what happens. I need to go figure out what they’re doing with Darren, but I’ll try to locate you afterward.”

“Thanks, Laura.” Tess suddenly realized that God had perfectly ordered Laura’s appearance at the hospital. Laura’s companionship and promise to pray gave Tess a peace she’d been missing since the hospital had first called.

Following the nurse into a small room, Tess found herself unprepared for the sight of Sherry’s beaten face. Tears instantly came to her eyes.

“Oh, Sherry. You poor baby,” Tess said, reaching out to touch the girl’s arm.

Sherry looked up at her through swollen eyes. Puffy and
bruised, her face hardly resembled the angelic features Tess knew to exist.

“Are you the mother?” a man said, coming into the room. “I’m Dr. Bervert.”

“I’m Sherry’s legal guardian,” Tess replied.

“We have paper work for you,” the man told her, motioning to the nurse. “And right now I need to get her head wound treated. So if you’ll just step outside . . .”

“No!” Sherry moaned out the word in a desperate manner. “Don’t go.”

Tess reached for her hand. “I won’t leave you.” She looked to the doctor. “I want to stay. I’m not weak stomached, and I won’t cause you any problems.”

He looked at Sherry and then to Tess and nodded. “Okay by me.”

Tess squeezed Sherry’s hand and felt flooded with concern for this wounded child’s fears. “It’ll be all right, Sherry. I’ll be right here. I’ll hold your hand the entire time. You just squeeze my fingers when you’re afraid, and I’ll pray extra hard. Oh, and Laura is praying. I just saw her outside.”

“Laura’s here?” Sherry asked. Her swollen lips caused the words to be mumbled.

“Yes.” Tess decided not to explain the situation further. Let Sherry assume they were here for her all along. There would be time to explain later.

The stitching went quickly and Sherry hardly flinched when they stuck her several times to deaden the area. Next, the doctor moved Sherry to a different area and yet another physician came in to address the problem of Sherry’s wrist.

“I’ve arranged with a good orthopedic doctor, Dr. James Seymour, to see her and set the wrist. She’s in a temporary splint right now. The break isn’t bad—in fact, it should heal rather quickly; however, we need to let the swelling go down before we can put on a permanent cast.”

“I’m so glad,” Tess said, breathing a sigh of relief.

She felt a strange protectiveness for the child. Sherry was
her responsibility, and to see her so wounded, so pained, caused Tess to completely reevaluate the situation and her own emotions. She did care about Sherry. She cared about her suffering and her fears.

By the time they’d finished, the doctor announced that Sherry looked to be in good enough shape to go. A nurse walked in as if on cue and handed the doctor some papers. She started to say something to Tess, but Sherry interrupted.

“What about the baby?”

“Sonograms look good,” the doctor replied. “You’re a very lucky girl.”

Sherry looked away and said nothing. Tess knew her heart—knew that she felt anything but lucky. “My husband is somewhere here in the hospital,” Tess said, realizing that she’d given Brad very little thought.

“He’s outside,” the nurse offered. “He got here just a minute ago.”

Tess breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.” She looked at Sherry. “I’m going to go get Brad. I know he’s worried about you.”

“You won’t be gone long, will you?” Sherry asked, the fear still evident in her voice.

Tess smiled. “No. I won’t be gone long.”

She was as good as her word, bringing Brad back with her. He looked at Sherry with such a loving look of concern that Tess momentarily wondered if he’d come to care for the child more than he’d let on.

“You look like you went ten rounds with the local boxing champ,” he offered with a smile.

“I wouldn’t have lasted ten rounds,” Sherry said, trying to smile. “Agh. That hurts.”

Brad looked to the doctor. “Can you give her something for the pain?”

“In her condition, we don’t want to give her anything too strong,” the doctor replied.

Sherry frowned and looked away. The action wasn’t lost on
Tess. She fought to understand what Sherry was feeling. Was she angry because the baby caused her to be in pain, or was it something more? Tess thought of her own lack of concern when she’d first heard of Sherry’s mugging. Hadn’t the baby been her first thought? Hadn’t knowing that the baby was safe been more important than knowing of Sherry’s condition?

“We’ll just have to do whatever it takes to make her comfortable,” Brad said, reaching out to give Sherry’s good hand a squeeze. “Won’t we, Tess?”

“Absolutely,” Tess replied in a strained voice. “Whatever it takes.”

****

Sherry settled into her own bed with a sigh of relief. Her head was killing her and Brad had just gone to the store to buy tea bags and Tylenol. He and Tess were being so nice to her, and because of her injuries and weakened condition, Sherry didn’t have time to question their motives.

“Are you hungry?” Tess asked.

Sherry shook her head. Food didn’t even sound good.

“Would you mind if I sat with you for a few moments?” questioned Tess. “There are some things I’d like to say—to explain.”

“Sure, go ahead,” Sherry replied. She couldn’t help but be curious about what Tess wanted to say to her.

Tess sat down on the edge of the bed. “Does this cause you more pain—I mean, if I sit here?”

“No, it’s okay.”

Tess nodded. “Good. I want to talk to you about last night.”

“I already told the police that I can’t remember much. I was going to find the Aznars’ boat and see if I couldn’t sneak on board and spend the rest of the night. After I got down to the marina, I really don’t remember much else.”

“I understand,” Tess said. Her expression was sympathetic. “I don’t want to talk to you about that. I want to talk to you
about what made you leave. I have a feeling you left because of things you overheard me say. Is that true?”

Sherry didn’t know whether to admit it or not. She didn’t want some big lecture about eavesdropping, and neither did she want Tess lying and saying she didn’t mean any of it.

“Please, Sherry. Just tell me the truth.”

Sherry nodded. “Yeah, I heard you talking with Brad.”

Tess looked down at her folded hands. “I kind of figured that. I owe you an apology. I should never have said those things. It’s important to me that you understand why I said what I did.” She looked up at Sherry and for a moment said nothing more. Finally she took a deep breath and continued. “I want to be completely honest with you. I cherish honesty, and I feel that people need to be open and honest in order to better their relationships.

“The things I said last night were completely related to my fears. I know you overheard some of the conversation I had a while back with Kim. She thinks our arrangement is a horrible mistake. I guess down deep in my heart I’ve worried about it being a mistake as well. Then Laura made me see some things that I didn’t want to see, and now that I see them, God won’t leave me alone about them. Last night I was really struggling with my conscience, my heart, and even my soul.”

“Why?” Sherry asked. She couldn’t imagine that this woman with her husband and pretty things should struggle with much. They had plenty of money and a really nice home—why should she have any worries?

“I had to come to terms with the fact that I was afraid of you. I’ve been afraid since we first heard about you.”

“Me? Why are you afraid of me?” Sherry questioned. The very idea seemed laughable.

Tess smiled. “I know it might seem silly, but believe me, it’s a very real emotion in my life right now. I know I’ve held you at arm’s length. I know I’ve done nothing to help you get close to me or me to you. I figured it was best for all parties concerned, but mostly I figured it was better for me that way.”

Sherry knew exactly what she was talking about. She had learned to protect herself from others long ago. The thing that surprised her, however, was that this woman felt the same need that Sherry had felt.

“When you came here, I knew you wouldn’t be here for long. I knew that if I cared about you—really cared—it would break my heart when you left. I figured if I could keep a distance between us, it wouldn’t hurt at all. I’d have the baby to raise and you’d have the rest of your life to focus on. I thought it to be a rather simple and neat little package. Now I see that’s not the way it was ever meant to be.”

“Why not?” Sherry asked.

“Because I know God doesn’t want me to be like that. He brought you into our lives for a reason. He knew you needed us and that we would need you. I don’t know all the whys and wherefores, but I do know that this entire matter is something that God has controlled from the start.”