Back on Solid Ground (27 page)

“Okay.  See
ya then,” Stacy said.

“I’m so glad
you’re not dead!” Holly exclaimed.

Stacy
laughed.  “Me too.  Hurry up and get over here.”

Stacy hung up
the phone and sat down just as a nurse walked in. 

“Good
morning,” the nurse said smiling. 

“Hi, Dana,”
Stacy said cheerfully.

“I’m here to
take out your IV.”

“Great!”
Stacy said.  She leaned back in bed and the nurse unhooked the tubes and
removed the IV from the back of her hand. 

“Do you need
some pain medicine?” the nurse asked.

“No.  But can
you get the doctor to write me a prescription for something.  I have a
girlfriend coming to pick me up,” Stacy said.

The nurse
stopped what she was doing and looked at Stacy like she was crazy.  “Did the
doctor release you?” she asked.

“No.  But I’m
fine.  I’m ready to get home,” Stacy said.  The nurse was about to protest, but
Stacy interrupted before she could say anything.  “I’ll sign the little sheet
that relieves the hospital from liability for my leaving against doctor’s
orders.”

The nurse
smiled at Stacy.  “I understand that you want to go home, Stacy.  But won’t you
at least wait until the doctor examines you this morning?  Just to be sure
you’re okay.”

“Not if he
doesn’t even come in until 11:00.   That’s four hours from now,” Stacy said.

“What if I
try to reach him at home and see if he can come earlier?” the nurse said.

“That’s
fine,” Stacy said.  “I’ll shower in the meantime.”

By the time
Stacy got out of the shower the nurse was back in the room.

“The doctor
is on his way,” she told Stacy.

“Excellent!” 
Stacy looked around the room.  “Shit, I don’t have any clothes!” She grabbed
the phone and redialed Holly.

“Hello,”
Holly answered.

“Why haven’t
you left yet?”

“It’s only
been 20 minutes.  I told you I’d be there in 45,” Holly said defensively.

“The emperor
has no clothes,” Stacy said.

Holly
laughed.  “Do you want me to go by your house or do you want to wear something
of mine?” she asked, then she interrupted before Stacy could answer.  “No, you
need to look cute because you’re going to be swarmed by reporters when you walk
out of the hospital.  I’ll go by your place and pick up some things.  What do
you need?”

“I have
nothing.  Nada!” Stacy said.

“All right. 
Any preference?  You want a cute outfit, or jeans, or . . .”

“Dammit,
Holly, just bring me some clothes!”

Holly
laughed.  “I am so glad you’re not dead!” she said, and she hung up.

Stacy laid
back down and waited for the doctor, but Holly got there first.  She burst
through the door with her blond hair trailing behind her, and screamed when she
saw Stacy, then she threw the clothes on the bed and hugged her.

“Oh my God! 
Look at your face!” she said in horror. 

“It looked
worse yesterday.”

Holly
bombarded Stacy with questions:  “So what happened?  Where have you been, and
who took you, and how did you get away?  The news reports said you were in Colombia.  What the hell?”

Stacy stopped
her.  “I don’t want to talk about it here.  I’ll tell you everything when I get
home.”

“Oh, all right!”
Holly said.  “But you need to put some makeup on before you talk to those
reporters.”

“You think
they’ll be back this morning?”

“Be back? 
They never left,” Holly said.

Stacy groaned
just as the doctor came in.  He looked at Stacy, then he looked at Holly. 
“Partners in crime?” he asked.

Stacy and
Holly both laughed.  “Are you mad at me?” Stacy asked.

“No,” he
laughed.  “How do you feel?”

“A lot
better.  I can walk without getting dizzy; I’m not nauseated any more; and look
how much the swelling has gone down,” she said, pointing to her face.

“Your face
looks a lot better,” he said.  “I’m going to let you go home because I know
you’d leave anyway, but I want you to take it easy.  No driving for at least
the next few days, no exercise, and a lot of rest.  Your body has been through
a hell of a lot in the last week and it needs rest.”

“Okay,
doctor,” Stacy smiled sweetly.  “Thanks for taking care of me.”

“It’s been my
pleasure,” he said.  “You know, there’s still a mob of reporters out there.  We
could sneak you out the back way if you want.”

“No.  I’d
rather get it over with so they’ll leave me alone.  In fact, will you tell them
that you have released me?” Stacy asked.

“Sure,” he
said.  “The nurse has your prescription for pain medication.  And don’t
hesitate to call me if you have any problems.”

“Okay.  Can I
go?”

“When the
paperwork is complete, you are free to go,” the doctor said.

Stacy shook
the doctor’s hand.  “Thanks again,” she said.

Holly was
searching through her purse and pulled out her makeup bag. 

“I’m not
putting on a bunch of makeup.  You won’t even be able to see it through these
bruises.”

“Well you
need lipstick for sure,” Holly said.  “This one’s a good color for you,” she
said handing her a lipstick.  “And you need to dry your hair.”  Holly looked
around for a blow dryer and when she didn’t find one she disappeared into the
hall.  Stacy was at the sink brushing her teeth when she returned.  Holly handed
her the dryer and Stacy dried her hair.

“You got your
hair cut!” Holly said.  “It looks great.  When did you do that?”

“It’s part of
the story,” Stacy said, without enthusiasm.  Stacy got dressed and put on some
lipstick and looked at herself in the mirror.  “That’s as good as it’s going to
get,” she told Holly.

“You look
great!” Holly lied.

By the time
the paperwork was complete, it was after 9:30.  The nurse came into Stacy’s
room with a wheelchair and Stacy looked at her like she was crazy. 

“I’m not
getting in that thing,” Stacy said.

“It’s
hospital policy,” the nurse said.

“Well, I have
my own policy,” Stacy said, “and it prohibits me from riding in a wheelchair
when I’m perfectly capable of walking on my own two feet.”

Holly felt
sorry for the nurse. “Oh, just ride in the damn thing, Stacy.”

“You ride in
it.  I don’t need it any more than you do,” Stacy said.

Holly crossed
her arms.  “Is this the nurse who called the doctor at home at 7:00 o’clock
this morning and had him come down here to examine you before you checked
yourself out?”  

Holly raised
her eyebrows and Stacy sat down in the chair and the nurse wheeled her down the
hall, into the elevator and out through the lobby.  The automatic doors slid
open and the nurse wheeled Stacy out into the sunlight. 

Stacy was
stunned.  There were hundreds of people gathered outside to welcome her home. 
Some had signs and banners, some had balloons, some had flowers.  And they all
started shouting and applauding when they saw her.  She recognized a few faces,
but most of them were complete strangers.  The reporters had set up a makeshift
podium and the nurse wheeled her up to it and Stacy stood up and gave her nurse
a hug. 

“Thank you,
Dana,” Stacy said.

“You’re
welcome.  I enjoyed being your nurse,” she said smiling.

Stacy took
Dana’s hand and held it up and in her weak voice she spoke into the microphone.

“This is the
best nurse in the whole hospital,” Stacy said, and the crowd fell in love with
her instantly.   The nurse squeezed Stacy’s hand then let go and moved out of
the way.  Stacy looked out at the crowd and started to cry.

“You people
are incredible,” Stacy said, wiping her eyes.  “And I don’t know what I did to
deserve this wonderful welcome, but I’ll tell you what, it feels good to be
home.”  The crowd exploded with cheers and applause, but Stacy continued. 
“This has been the longest week of my life and these last few days especially
have been very difficult for me.   It’s going to take time and a lot of rest
before I can feel like myself again.”

Stacy
addressed herself to the media in the front row.  “I’m standing in front of you
today to answer your questions, with the assumption that by doing so, you will
respect my privacy and let me get on with the healing process.”

The crowd
cheered and someone yelled out, “Yeah!  You people leave her alone!” and
everyone clapped and cheered again.  Stacy smiled and when they quieted down,
one of the reporters shouted, “Tell us about your abduction.”

Here it
comes
, Stacy thought. 
The hounds from hell.

“I only
remember bits and pieces of the time I spent in captivity,” Stacy said.  “But
I’ll tell you what I remember.  You obviously know that I was abducted during
the bank robbery last week, so I’m not going to go into that.  After leaving
the bank, I was put on a plane and flown out of the country.  I had been taken
to Colombia, but at the time I didn’t know that.  I had been shot during the
bank robbery and was in and out of consciousness for several days, so I have
very little recollection of anything that went on during that time,” Stacy
said.

“Where were
you shot?” someone asked.

“In my side,”
Stacy said.

Another
question:  “How did you manage to escape?”

“At one
point, I had been taken to a roadside motel.  There were only two men guarding
me that day and when one of them left, I overpowered the other one and sought
help from a motel guest.  The man drove me to the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.”

“How did you
overpower your guard,” asked another nosy reporter.

“I don’t feel
comfortable talking about that,” Stacy answered.

“Did he do
that to your face?” someone yelled.

Her hand
instinctively went to her cheek.  “Yes,” Stacy said.

“Do you know
who your abductors were?”

“No.  Other
than they were Colombian,” she said.

The questions
were coming one right after the other.  “What happened when the man took you to
the Embassy?  How were you treated?” another reporter asked.

“I don’t
remember.  I was unconscious when I got there.  The FBI  agent said that I told
the people at the Embassy my name and that I had been taken hostage in the bank
robbery in San Antonio.  But I have no recollection of that.”

“How many
people were involved in your abduction?”

“I’m not
sure.  I think three, maybe four,” Stacy said.

“How does it
feel to know that everyone thought you were dead?” said a reporter directly in
front of her. 

Stacy looked
right at him. It was such a stupid question, but she decided to give him a
break.  She smiled at the reporter and said, “I read that my funeral was
nice,”  and everyone laughed.  “Honestly, it’s strange to think of people
mourning me.  I don’t know, it’s kind of flattering,” she told him, and before
anyone could shout another question, Stacy continued.

“If you don’t
mind, I’m really tired and I’d like to get home now,” she said, and she looked
down at the reporters daring them to ask her another question.

“Thank you
for your time, Stacy, and welcome home,” said the reporter who had asked the
stupid question. The other reporters chimed in with their thanks and support.

“Thank you
all again,” Stacy said, and she blew a kiss to the crowd then turned away from
the podium and grabbed on to Holly for support.  “I’m not feeling so great. 
Where’d you park?”

“Over here,”
she said, and she held on to Stacy as they tried to make their way through the
crowd.  People were handing her bouquets of flowers and cards as she passed and
by the time they got to the car, Stacy and Holly both had their arms full. 
They got in Holly’s car and Stacy leaned back in her seat. 

“I feel like
crap,” she said.

“You probably
should have stayed another day,” Holly said. 

“Probably,”
Stacy admitted, “but I need to get home.”

The men were
still drinking in the restaurant, when Ramos got a call from one of his men. 
He talked for no more than 15 seconds and hung up the phone. 

“That was one
of my men.  He said that one of the television stations here is about to replay
an interview your girlfriend gave earlier this morning.  Let’s see if we can
pick it up on a television in the lobby,” Ramos said. 

The men got
up and moved into the lobby.  None was sober and they were loud and obnoxious
as they made their way from the restaurant to the lobby.  Ramos went up and
started flipping through the channels on one of the TVs until he got to the
right channel, then he turned it up loud and they all stood there and watched
as Stacy was wheeled out of the hospital.  The camera zoomed in on Stacy and a
woman’s voice translated Stacy’s words into Spanish as she spoke.

The five men
were fixed on the TV for the entirety of the interview.  The camera panned back
and showed the shot of Stacy leaning on Holly for support.

“I wonder who
the tall blond is,” Eli said and Jason nodded. 

When the
report was over, Ramos put his arm around Niki’s shoulder and smiled.

“I’d kidnap
her myself,” Ramos said.

“And I’d have
to kill you,” Niki said, slurring his words.

Jason slapped
Niki on the back.  “Well, you were right.  She covered for us.”

“I told you,”
Niki said.  “How long do you think I have to wait before I go get her?”

“I don’t
know,” Jason said.  “A month or two?”

“That’s what
I thought too,” said Niki.  “I need a drink.” 

“What about
Corazon?” Jason asked.

“He’ll be
there tomorrow,” Niki said.  He turned to Ramos, “Let’s get some rooms here
tonight and we’ll go after Corazon tomorrow.”

Ramos laughed. 
“Did you think I’d take you there tonight?”

They moved
from the lobby to the bar and the waiter brought five beers and a bottle of
tequila over to the table.   All eyes in the bar were on the table of rowdy
men, some of the patrons laughing at them and others looking on in disgust. 
There was a table of women sitting next to them and Eli went over and started
up a conversation with one of them, and Carlos soon moved over to their table
as well.   Niki, Jason and Ramos continued to drink and be obnoxious until
finally a manager came to their table.