What About Charlie? (20 page)

Charlie looked away, feeling ashamed of herself for treating him so coolly and questioning his motives. After all, he did stay here with her last night and was here with her right now. That should tell her something.

Looking back at him, she opened her mouth to apologize. The pain was getting to her. She needed to set things right and take the high road.

Before she could speak, the door opened and Alan walked in. Despite the tense atmosphere surrounding them, Alan smiled, ignoring it. “How are you feeling, Charlie?”

He nodded. “That’s understandable, especially what you’ve been through. When I leave, I’ll instruct the nurse to give you some more morphine.” Looking at her he said in a very business-like tone, “Charlie, before I do that, I need to talk about your injuries and your prognosis.”

Alan’s face had turned very serious. Glancing at Evan, she saw that, he too, had suddenly turned very serious, before her eyes turning from friend to physician. Fear sliced through her. Was this something doctors normally did, or was there something wrong? Something was wrong she thought in a panic. Something terribly wrong.

“Unfortunately. Charlie, you’ve sustained a very serious injury that will require months of rehabilitation. This is a life altering injury, at least in the short-term. You’re going to need daily therapy. You’re going to need assistance with everyday activities. It’s not going to be easy.”

“Will I walk again?”

“Yes, you’ll walk. But how well? I don’t know. There’s a possibility you may have to use an assistive device like a cane or a walker to do so. A lot of this hinges on you, Charlie. It’s essential that you remain strong and determined mentally as well dedicated to your therapy. That is the key.”

“Alan, I have to work. I have bills to pay. How am I supposed to pay for this?” Tears slipped down her cheeks. “I don’t even have any insurance. I can’t do this.”

Her eyes snapped up to Evan’s. “Don’t worry?” She was almost yelling. “It’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one lying in a hospital bed with a broken hip. You’re not the one who’s being told you won’t be able to work or live a normal life for months. You’re not the one being told you may never walk again without a cane!”

Evan looked longingly towards Charlie’s hospital room door. He wished with all his might that he could take this load off her shoulders, but he knew Alan was right. Everything was up to Charlie.

****

Charlie smiled, genuinely glad to see her friend. It had been roughly an hour since Alan and Evan had left. The sun was setting and she was feeling sleepy from her morphine injection.

“How did you find out?”

“Evan called me early this morning. I knew something had to be terribly wrong for him to call me. On the way over, I stopped by your apartment. I didn’t know what exactly you’d need, but I did my best.”

“Thanks, Amy. I’m sorry to put you through so much trouble.” Tears pooled in Charlie’s eyes.

“Oh, Charlie…” Amy squeezed her friend’s hand.

Charlie shook her head. “It’s this whole situation. I’m going to be in here for a week. I won’t be able to walk – at least normally – when I get out. I can’t work. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“You have money saved up, don’t you?”

Charlie nodded. “It’ll cover about two months of bills. I’ve got my rent and utilities. I won’t have a car payment since my car got totaled. The insurance will pay it off.”

“You’re not asking, Charlie. I’m offering. I want to do that for you, if need be. You’ve done so many things for me during my tough times. I want to do the same for you.”

Charlie smiled, feeling blessed and fortunate to have a friend like Amy.

“What did you bring in the bags?”

Amy picked one up out of the chair next to her and started emptying the contents. “A toothbrush, toothpaste, brush, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, makeup, perfume, tampons and maxi-pads…” She paused and looked at Charlie. “I didn’t know if it was your time of the month. From what I recall it’s usually around this time.”

“I should start next week.”

“Well, we’ll keep these here just in case.”

Amy picked up the other bag. “I brought you bras and underwear. A couple nightgowns, shirts, sweat pants, socks and your tennis shoes on Evan’s suggestion. I also brought some goodies to eat – chips, cookies, candy. I tried to bring everything you’d need. I didn’t miss anything, did I?”

“No. It seems like you’ve gotten everything. Thanks for doing that, Amy. It means a lot.”

Amy patted Charlie’s hand. “Now let me get all this stuff put away and then I’ll get you fixed up.”

Charlie sat in a chair facing the window, looking out over the stark bareness of Forest Park. It was Sunday, and she watched two small children, along with their parents, build snowmen, enjoying the cool, crisp morning.

Melancholy washed over her. It was difficult to watch. Only two days ago, she’d been walking, looking forward to a bright future. But now it was safe to say her future was uncertain to say the least. Bitterness enveloped her.

Why did this happen?

Why did this happen to her?

The past two days had been pure hell. The pain had been excruciating at times. Alan would only prescribe mild pain pills because stronger pills would have sedated her. As he explained, it was important for her to be up and alert. The first morning after surgery, she received her first physical therapy session. They made her get out of the bed and walk to a chair and sit. Tears had come to her eyes because of the pain. Today, the therapist came in and had her do the same. Now she was in a chair, waiting for the therapist to come back into the room to help her to her bed.

What am I going to do, she thought with despair. She finally realized what it meant to be truly alone. She could depend on no one to help her, be there for her.

Of course, she had Amy, who was a lifesaver. But Amy had her own life, her own problems. And there was Evan. He’d been there for her throughout the ordeal so far, but she wasn’t even sure she wanted him here. His presence made things so confusing.

She signed and looked at the flowers on a table next to her bed. There was a bouquet of daisies from Evan and a bouquet of pink roses from Evan’s parents. Charlie had been shocked when she’d first seen the roses. Why were they sending her flowers? She’d only met his mother very briefly on one occasion and surely they must know she and Evan had terminated their relationship.

“Ms. Johnson?”

Charlie looked towards the door. A delivery man was bringing in another vase of mixed flowers and a potted plant in a decorative planter.

“Do you have any particular place you want me to put these?”

“Please put them on the table here beside me.”

After he arranged them on the table and left the room, Charlie plucked a card out of the shiny green leaves of the potted plant. She read the card and smiled. It was from her coworkers. They knew how she liked plants. Carefully replacing the card, she removed the card from the mixed flowers. They were from Adam. Charlie leaned back and sighed. How had Adam found out? On the morning after her accident he had been scheduled to take an early flight to St. Thomas for a photo shoot. Ken from work must have called and told him.

Why did this have to happen? she thought angrily. Why?

There was a knock on her hospital door and Charlie looked towards it with a scowl. In came her therapist who was very pretty, short, and blonde. She was the sunniest person Charlie had ever met and Charlie despised her for it. She hated the woman’s voice, her cute, perky figure, and the way she seemed to glide across the room. She was in no mood to deal with someone like her.

“We need to get you started using a walker today, so I went and got one.”

Charlie merely stared at the walker. Realization hitting her like a slap in the face. She would have to use of those things to walk? Up until that point she hadn’t realized what having a fractured hip meant. Now the cold reality was there in front of her. It terrified her.

Panic and a cold chill ran through her. She wanted to be away from this place. If she could have, she would’ve run out of the room – to where she didn’t know. She wanted this all to disappear. She wanted the walker and this woman out of her room. She wanted it all gone. Oh, please let this be a bad dream!

****

Evan pinched the bridge of his nose. Frustrated, he tossed his pen onto his desk. He couldn’t seem to focus on anything. Charlie dominated his thoughts night and day. He was very worried about her. She had a very long and arduous road to recovery ahead.

However, what worried him most was her mental attitude. She was no longer the Charlie he had known. Her smiles and laughter, which, at one time had been so natural and frequent were now gone. He wasn’t the only person to notice it. Alan had noticed it too. As far as her recovery was concerned, it was a dangerous trend. The single most important thing a patient should have is a good mental attitude, determination to recover. Charlie lacked that and the consequences scared the life out of him.

“She won’t work with the therapist. Today she kicked her out of the room. I’ve tried talking to her, but she won’t open up. A staff psychologist went to see her. Charlie even said less to her, basically telling her ‘if she needed her help she’d call, now please leave’.”

“I had been hoping that her coolness was solely directed at me. What do you think we should do?”

“You know as well as I she’s going through a natural process that a lot of people go through when coming to terms with this sort of injury. It’s something we should help her work through. I think you should talk to her.”