Secrets in the Lowcountry--The River (10 page)

“Ho
w
’s the cyclist?”
Jeff asked
, anxious to change the subject
.

“She broke her ankle in several places
, but beside that, she’s fine.
I’m going to spend
the night here
w
ith Dad. I’ll be back early tomorro
w
.
”

“No, you stay there. Your parents need you.
”

“Oh, d
id the DNR mention anything about the cooler?”

“They managed to sna
g it and are bringing it back.
They told me someone
w
ould come by around eight tomorro
w
, bring the cooler to see if
w
e can identify it, and give us all the details a
nd their plans for the search.
I’ll handle the authorities.
If the
y tell me
anything of importance, I
’ll
call.
”

“But, Rod
…
”

“There’s nothing you can do here for Rod.
Everything that can be done is being done or
will
be done.
As I said, if
any ne
w
s comes in, I’ll call and leave a message.
Trust me
.
”

She sighed. “I’ve al
w
ays trusted you.
You’ve al
w
ays been there for me,
regardless of
w
hat I d
id or didn’t do.”

He
w
anted to say, ‘that’s because I love you’, but instead said, “That’s because
w
e gre
w
up togethe
r and I’m your best male friend,
”
he
managed
in as light a tone as
possible
.

“You’re my best friend,
period
.
I have to go.”

“Tell your dad, I send my best,” he said.

“No,
w
e’re in the South
.
I’ll tell him you’ll say a prayer for us.”

He chuckled quietly.
“That
too.”
He
w
as definitely back in the Lo
w
country.
“
B
efore you or your dad call back asking about your guests, Miss Mary arriv
ed and is taking care of them.
No
w
, hang up and get back to your dad.”

“Yes, sir.”
Her voice sounded lighter to him.

“I’ll see you tomorro
w
.”

“Good night,” she said.

“N
ight.”

She disconnected
. H
e stood for a fe
w
moments holding the
silent
phone in his hand
w
ishing that he could be holding her in his arms.

“Are you Taylor
Harris
?” th
e round, unpleasant,
looking
w
oma
n demanded as she marched into the
empty
hospital
w
aiting room.

Taylor,
w
ho had finally managed to nod off, sat up and tried to clear her mind.
“Yes.”
W
ho
w
as this
w
oman?
The
w
oman
d
idn’t dress like a nurse. A
n inch of dark roots sho
w
ing through he
r streaked blonde hair plus a thick layer of
br
ight make-up, including
dark eyeliner
that had run
,
clearly announced she
w
asn’t.

“I’m Ms. Ella Mae Lee. Y
our mother destroyed my daugh
ter
’s life
!” the
w
oman said harshly.
“Your daughter’s dead?”
Taylor
jumped up
still trying to
chase the mush from her brain.

“No, but she might just as
w
ell be. Her life is over thanks to your mother,” Ella Mae Lee asserted.

“I’m sorry.” Taylor rubbed her gritty eyes. “Could you please start over?” she said in an apologizing tone, “
I’m
not quite a
w
ake.”

“Ho
w
can
you
sleep
w
hile
my daughter’s body lies broken?
”

Taylor
shook her head, hoping this
w
ould clean her mi
nd
.
“Your daughter
i
s the cyclist that my mother hit?”

“Of course, she
i
s. T
ha
t ‘accident’ has destroyed my fifteen
-year-old daughter’s life!
Y
ou and your family
will
pay for this!”
W
ith that, she turned on her
heel, the flip-flops clicking against the linoleum floor as she
marched out.

Gathering her
w
its about her, Taylor started to
w
ard the nurses’ station just do
w
n the hall, but before she reached it, she sa
w
a nurse
she recognized
coming in her direction. “Excuse me
Rose,
but a
w
oman by the name of Ella Mae Lee just ap
proached me about her daughter.
She told me that her daughter’s life is over.
I asked if the girl had died
. She replied that
she might as
w
ell be
dead
.”

The older
w
oman,
w
ho had taken care of Taylor’s mother during one of her ‘episodes’
,
stopped and glanced around quickly.
“
I probably shouldn’t tell you, but I’ve kno
w
n your fa
mily and especially your fa
ther for years. He’s a good man
and doesn’t deserve all this trouble
.
” She vie
w
ed the area one more time.
“
According to Ms. Lee, her daughter’s gymnastic career is over because of the accident.”

Taylor looked horrified.
“Is it?”

“O
nly her doctor kno
w
s for sure. T
he breaks in her foot
will
heal,
but
…
”
Rose
stopped.

“Oh, my gosh!”
Taylor stood rooted to the floor.
Her drunken mother had destroyed another person’s life.

Ro
se’s face reddened as if she realized
w
hat she’d said. “Please don’t quote me. I spoke from friendship and I shouldn’t have.”

“Of course, I
w
on’t. I’m sorry I put you in this position. I
w
on’t even mention it to my dad.” Taylor surveyed the area looking for him.
“
Have you seen my father or do you kno
w
w
here he might be?”

“He’s
just gone in to see your mother,
”
the nurse’s professional voice replied.

“Is there any change
w
ith my mother
?” Taylor push
ed
all other thoughts aside.

“
Unfortunately, that
’s
w
hy I came to find you. T
he doctor says
you might go in and see her to
say your good-byes
.
”

Taylor s
w
allo
w
ed hard.
W
ith a very heavy heart, s
he
w
alked to
w
ard the ICU room.
S
he stared in
through
the glass
w
indo
w
.
Her father stood next to the bed holding her mother’s hand
,
directing
all hi
s attention on his dying
w
ife.
His expression sho
w
ed
the love that
he constantly gave to his
w
ife, even
thou
gh she often didn’t deserve it,
filling his face.
Stop that,
your mother’s dying.

Gathering her strength
and forcing her negative thoughts aside
, Taylor
w
alked in and joined her dad.
He put one arm around her. S
he rested h
er head against his shoulder, each trying
to c
omfort the other, and each trying
to
fortify
the other.

“I’ll move to the other side so that you can hold her hand,” he offered
, before kissing the side of her bro
w
.

“No, I
’ll
go.
You stay.”

W
ith
w
eighted legs, Taylor moved to the opposite side, took her mothe
r’s hand in hers and squeezed;
no response. She
tried to shut out all the
equipment
and the noises they made. Looking at her father, she asked,
“
W
hat did the doctor say?”

“She probably
w
on’t last until morning.” Martin’s eyes filled
w
ith tears.
They fell on his arm unnoticed.

Giving her mother’s hand another squeeze, Taylor slid around the bed, joined her father, placed her arm around hi
s
w
aist, and hugged him tight.
A second or t
w
o later, the heart monito
r beeped
. T
he line flattened.
S
taff came running an
d immediately started to
w
ork.
Taylor and her father move out of
the
w
ay.

The medical team
checked all her mother’s
vital
’ signs, and then
the doctor said, “She’s gone.”
The
medical team
began removing the lifesaving equipment.

Martin bent
do
w
n and kissed his
w
ife
’s
hand.
W
hen the
nurse removed the
tube from her mouth, he placed another kiss gently on her lips.

Taylor c
ould only stare at her mother. Anger raged inside of her. Memories of the embarrassing situati
ons her mother had caused
during
Taylor’s
lifetime came rushing back. She
fought against
them
until
she remembered the teenager,
w
hose li
fe her mother had just ruined.
Even in death, you continue hurting us and others.

* ~ *

Someho
w
Taylor managed to drive herself and her dad home. By the time they arrived at the house, the sun sto
od slightly above the ho
rizon, casting a pinkish glo
w
on
the sky.
As they mounted the steps,
sounds of people talking and even a little laugh or
t
w
o hit her. S
he recoiled
,
w
ishing
she could sneak up the back stairs and
hide in her room.
One
peek
at her father
told her
he shared her desire.
W
ith h
er mother
dead and her fiancé missing
, h
er nightmare rolled on.
W
hen
w
ould it end? S
he squared her shoulders and mentally tried to prepare herself to face her friends
.
The door stood open
,
w
ith only the screen preventing
them from
w
alking inside. Before she could turn the knob, Jeff ope
ned the door and held it
w
ide.
She
eyed
him. H
e shook his head
no ne
w
s. Her father
edged
passed her, shook hands
w
ith Jeff and proceeded to the dining room
w
here the sounds originated.