Uncorked (25 page)

“Yes. She’s his mom.”

“Mr. Mariani has been involved in
a car accident. He’s at Sharp Memorial.”

Chella almost fainted, losing her
balance at the sound of the officer’s words. For a few seconds, he steadied
her, bracing her by her shoulders. When she regained her composure, she asked,
“Oh God. Is he going to be okay?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have that
information, Ma’am.”

“Oh my goodness, I have to get
over there now.”

“If you like, I’ll be happy to
take you.”

“Thanks. Just give me a sec.”

Without hesitation, she excused
herself, whispered to Craig what was wrong and headed to the hospital with the
officer. She fidgeted nervously, biting her thumb nail as they drove.

“Were you able to reach his
mother?”

“I’ve tried her, a number of
times but haven’t been able to reach her.”

Moments later, the officer pulled
up in front of the hospital. After quickly thanking him, she ran through the
emergency department, looking for information.

She was told he’d have to speak
with Dr. Forrester. Within minutes, a tall fifty-something, silver-haired man
appeared.

“How is he, Doctor? Is he going
to be okay?” Chella asked hysterically.

“It’s hard to say right now.
Mitch suffered a severe blow to the head, and he still hasn’t regained
consciousness. We’re doing some tests now to make sure there isn’t swelling or
bleeding on his brain. The next few hours are critical. If he doesn’t show
signs of regaining consciousness soon, it could be an indication of more
serious problems.”

“What does that mean?”

“Let’s not speculate, yet, but
this is very serious.”

“No,” Chella cried. “There must
be something that can be done.”

“I’ve given him some medication
to treat his symptoms that I’m hoping his body responds to. We’ll know if it
helps within the next few hours.”

“Can I see him?”

“Sure.”

She cried as she saw Mitch’s
lifeless body on the bed. Memories of the accident with her parents flashed in
her mind. They hadn’t been lucky enough to make it to the hospital. They were
pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. One moment they were driving down
West Point Loma Boulevard talking about the therapy session she just had, and
the next second a dump truck crushed their vehicle because the driver ran a red
light. Chella remembered the way her mom’s body was curled around the airbag in
the front seat. She knew her mother was dead. By the time the fire department
cut Chella out of the car, they would not allow her to see her dad. The blood
dripping from his side of the car told her why. She never got to see her dad’s
face. His body had been so badly injured, he had been cremated. She prayed to
God that Mitch’s outcome would not be the same.

She wasn’t sure she wanted to
call Liz, but deep down she knew it was the right thing to do. She’d need to
let Charlotte know, as well. She and Emily were expecting him the following
morning.

At the sound of Liz’s voice at
the other end of the line, Chella tried with all her might to pull herself
together. She clenched the cell phone. For a few seconds, she was unable to say
a word.

“Hi Liz, its Chella.”

“To what do I owe this
displeasure?”

“Liz, for five minutes can we put
aside our differences? This is about Mitch.”

“What is it?”

“He was in a car accident this
afternoon.”

“Is he going to be okay?”

“I hope so. They’re running tests
right now.”

“I’ll be on the next flight out.”

“I’ll see you then.”

After calling Charlotte, Chella
sat beside Mitch and held his hand while she prayed aloud. She wasn’t ready to
lose Mitch, not now.

“Mitch, you have to be strong.
You have to make it through this. You have to fight, for your Mom and for Emily
and for me. Mitch, please don’t go. I love you so much. I don’t know what I’d
do without you. I just found you, and I’m not about to lose you now. God,
please, I beg you to see him through this.”

Chella fell asleep
holding Mitch’s hand.

She awoke to a door shutting. Dr.
Forrester was in the room as well as Liz. Chella was unsure of how to respond
to her presence.

“Hello, Liz,” Chella said
politely.

“Doctor, I’m Liz Mariani, Mitch’s
mom. Is my son going to be okay?”

“He seems to be responding to the
medication. His vitals have improved, and his heart rate has stabilized. I
think it’s just a matter of time before he becomes conscious.”

“Thank God,” Chella responded
with relief.

“Chella, you know you really
shouldn’t be here. At a time like this, Mitch needs to be surrounded by his
family.”

“He wants me here,” Chella
replied quietly.

“Doctor, I’d like you to insist
she leave.”

“Your son has Chella Noon listed
as his next of kin. She has as much right to be here as you do.”

“Liz, please.”

“I don’t want to be in the same
room as you.”

“You two had better come to some
sort of compromise. Otherwise, I’ll have security throw both of you out.”

“Liz, why don’t we take turns
with him every half hour?”

“Ms. Mariani, I think that’s a fair
compromise,” Dr. Forrester said, glaring at Liz over the rims of his glasses.

“Fine,” Liz replied, pouting like
a five-year-old child.

“It’s nine o’clock. I’ll leave so
you can be with him. Can I get you anything to drink or eat?” Chella asked her.

“No,” she replied coldly.

Chella looked at Dr. Forrester,
smiled then left the room. A few moments later, he followed her.

“Ms. Noon, is there anyone we can
call to stay with you? You shouldn’t be alone right now.”

“I’ll be fine, thank you.”

“If you like, you can speak to
one of our counselors.”

“I appreciate it Dr. Forrester,
but I’ll be all right.”

He smiled at her then left. She
sat on a bench outside Mitch’s room. The flashing light on her phone grabbed
her attention. She had many missed calls, several of them from Detective
Carter. She wasn’t sure why he was calling. Aaron had been arrested. She was
about to call him but her phone rang. Detective Carter’s name appeared on the
screen.

“Hi, Detective. I’m sorry I
didn’t pick up any of your calls. Mitch was involved in a car accident this
afternoon.”

“I know. That’s why I’m calling.
Ms. Noon, I need you to be careful. This accident was no accident. The lug nuts
on his car were loosened.”

“Oh my God. Who would do that?”

“We still haven’t found Mr.
Stewart’s accomplice.”

“Why would this person continue
to do this? Aaron has been arrested.”

“It’s possible he might have paid
them, or this person might have a vested interest in Mr. Stewart’s cause.”

“So now someone’s on the loose,
just as dangerous as Aaron, but we have no clue who it is?”

“I’m afraid so, Ms. Noon.”

“Can we make arrangements to have
Mitch’s room on guard at the hospital? I’ll pay for it if I have to.”

“Sure. I can arrange for that.”

“Mitch’s mother is here and Mitch
doesn’t want her to know what’s going on. Under no circumstances can she know
why the room is under guard.

“I’ll ask them to be discrete. I
know this may be of less importance now, but your parent’s case has been
reopened.”

“I really appreciate that,
Detective. I’ll see you when you get here.”

As she ended the call, she looked
up and saw Craig standing over her.

“Hey,” she said, smiling at him.
She stood.

Craig pulled her into his arms.
“How’s Mitch?”

 “He’s still unconscious, but the
doctors say he’s responding well to the medication, and it’s just a matter of
time before he wakes up.”

“That’s great news.”

“I just found out this wasn’t an
accident, Craig. Someone loosened the lug nuts on his car.”

Craig cursed. “Who did this?”

“We still don’t know who Aaron’s
accomplice is. Evidently, they’re as dangerous as he is.”

“Chella, you have to be careful.”

“I know. The police are on their
way with a guard for Mitch’s room.”

“Why aren’t you in there now?”

“Mitch’s mother is in there. She
hates me. She even asked the doctor to throw me out.”

“So you can’t see him?”

“I can. Mitch had me listed as
his next of kin. I didn’t even know he did that.”

“That still doesn’t explain why
you’re out here,” he said holding her hand and sitting with her on the nearby
bench.

“She can’t stand being in the
room with me, so we’re taking turns to see him every half-hour.”

“Is that really necessary? Why
can’t you two put whatever differences you have aside at this time?”

“I’ve tried. You’ll have to ask
her that question. I just don’t want to fight with her in front of Mitch while
he’s trying to recover. He doesn’t need negative energy around him right now.”

“I understand. I’ll stay with you
for a while if you like.”

“Really? Maggie wouldn’t mind?”

“She’s out of town. Visiting
Bobby in Seattle.”

“How is Bobby?”

“Making his dad proud. He’s about
take the bar next week.”

“That’s great,” she said
solemnly. Her mind had drifted back to thinking about Mitch on the other side
of the wall.

“Have faith. He’ll be okay.”

 “It’s almost my turn to go in.
Don’t be surprised if she makes a fuss about you being here.”

“Don’t worry. I can handle
myself.”

Moments later, they entered the
room. Surprisingly, Liz did not make a scene. After Chella introduced her to
Craig, she quietly left the room.

“Craig, I’m so scared that I’ll
lose him. I love him so much.”

“I know you do, Sweetie, but
he’ll be okay. Especially with you by his side.”

Chella smiled at his comforting
words.

“The cafeteria is around the
corner,” said Craig. “Why don’t I go get you a cup of coffee or something to
eat?”

“Maybe just some tea or coffee.
I’m not hungry.”

“Chell…” Mitch’s voice croaked
quietly from behind.

“Mitch!” Chella shouted with a
mixture of excitement and relief. She hugged him, almost afraid to let go.

“Hey, Mitch,” Craig said.

“Craig.” Mitch managed a weak smile.

“Had to check on my girl.”

“Your mom’s here, too,” said
Chella. “Would you like me to get her?”

“Not yet. What happened?” his
voice cleared more with every word he uttered.

“I’ll give you two a moment
alone,” Craig said and left the room.

Chella sat in a chair next to
Mitch, holding his hand. “You had a car accident.”

“All I remember is one minute,
driving down the San Diego Freeway and the next, I’m here.”

“Sweetheart, you lost control of
the vehicle and hit the median.”

“Is my mom on good behavior?”

“Mostly. By the size of her
suitcase, it looks like she’ll be moving in.”

“Did you call her?”

“I did. I thought she should
know. I called Charlotte as well. She knows not to expect you.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m so happy to see you,” she
replied, kissing his hand. “You scared me.”

“I have a massive headache, and I
feel like a freight train ran over me, but I’ll be fine.”

The door burst open, and Liz
stormed into the room.

“You couldn’t let me know he was
awake?”

“Mom, I wanted some time alone
with her. I asked her to wait before calling you.”

“Chella, would you mind
explaining to me why the cops are outside?” Liz demanded.

Mitch looked at Chella curiously.

“Maybe because Mitch was in an
accident today.”

“Mom, can you please leave us for
a moment?”

“Mitch, I...”

“Mom! Don’t fight me right now. I
need a moment alone with Chella.”

Reluctantly, Liz left the room.

“What’s going on?” said Mitch.

“Nothing you need to worry
about,” Chella replied, barely able to keep eye contact with him.

“You’re lying to me.”

“You’re supposed to be resting.
I’m going to get Dr. Forrester,” she said, heading toward the door.

“Chella, tell me.”