Where the Sea Meets the Sky

Chapter 20

            I started to cry when I saw his face. He was intubated, his chest moving up and down artificially. He was so skinny, his skin hung off his skull like someone had sucked all of the muscle out. His eyes, sunken in their sockets, were taped shut. There was an I.V. taped to the inside of his elbow, administering some clear liquid. A tube ran out from under the covers and into a bag filled with yellow liquid, which I could only assume was urine. A machine started beeping erratically. I looked around for its source, frightened. A large, busty nurse hustled in. She went around to the other side of the bed and pushed some buttons on a monitor, silencing the beeping. She turned to me.

"Who are you?" she asked in a heavy accent.

"I am his daughter," I sniffed, wiping my eyes. Her face softened and she came around to the other side of the bed.

"Oh, honey," she said, helping me to the chair in the corner. "Nobody tell me you coming up," she said in broken English as she sat down on a little stool. "He in very serious condition. He just come out of surgery. They found him on island. He was very close to death. They found him just in time." She patted my arm and stood up. "I send doctor in, yes?" I nodded, wiping my nose. She left and a couple minutes later, a young Filipino doctor stepped into the room.

"Are you Emmy?" he asked. His voice was deep, and had a hint of an accent. I nodded. He sat down on the stool in front of me.

"Hi, my name is Dr. Peters, the doctor on your father's case. He was found a couple of days ago on a little island about fifty miles from the coast. He was in septic shock from infection and was very weak from lack of food and water. His left ring finger was missing and severely infected. He was transported here, where we did a debridement of his hand. He was placed on the transplant list because his kidneys are in the first stages of failure. I think that we got to him in time to stop any other organ damage." He patted my shoulder. "I am so sorry that this happened to your family. Do you have any questions?" I nodded and cleared my throat.

"When are you going to extubate him?"

"Probably in the next day or two. We are going to keep him here in the ICU until we can get him some kidneys. He is on the top of the list and he has a very common blood type, so hopefully, it shouldn't be a long wait." I nodded. He held out his hand for me to shake. I took it. He left the room, nodding to Andy on his way out. Andy came over and bent down to me, wrapping his arms around me and kissing the top of my head. We sat there for a couple minutes before he pulled away. I stood up, wiping my eyes. I stepped over to Charlie, looking at his sunken face. Andy pushed the stool over to me, so I could sit down.

"Hey, Charlie." I said, my voice tight. I patted his arm. "How are you doing?" I asked him, my voice cracking. Suddenly I broke down, dropped my head into the covers next to him, crying.

"Why did this happen to me?" I cried. I sobbed for several minutes until I felt tired and tried to calm myself down. Andy came behind me and began rubbing my shoulders.

"Do you want to go get something to eat?" he asked, kneeling down next to me. I sniffed and nodded. I didn't want to leave, but I was feeling lightheaded from all of the crying. I hadn't eaten since we had gotten on the plane. I stood up and squeezed Charlie's arm. We walked out into the hallway and back to the elevator.

We found the cafeteria pretty easily. Andy had been practically living in different hospitals for the past month or two. I ordered a greasy-looking piece of pizza and a bowl of chicken and rice soup. Andy got a salad from the cooler and a smoothie for us to share. They had outdoor seating, so we found a table shaded by a palm tree in a quiet corner. I set my tray down and bit into my pizza. I chewed on the hot, gooey mass, savoring the taste. After I finished my pizza, I ate the soup and took a couple sips of the smoothie. When we were done eating, we took our garbage to the trash.

On the way back to the elevator, we passed the gift shop. I wasn't ready to go back up to my father's room, so I stopped to look at all of the overpriced cheap gifts and trinkets. There were buckets of flowers dyed in garish shades of pink and blue. I picked up a soft gray stuffed rabbit. It was so cute. It had a large blue ribbon around its neck and its tail was big and fluffy. I dug around in my pocket and pulled out some bills to hand to the cashier. She handed me back my change and the rabbit that she had wrapped in tissue and placed in a paper bag. I took it from her and walked over to where Andy was waiting.

"Ready?" he asked, taking my hand. I nodded and we walked over to the elevators.

The light was waning, and both Andy and I were getting sleepy. We went back to my father's room. I told him about what happened after he disappeared. He was still sedated, so I didn't know if he could hear me or not. Andy was watching T.V. with the volume turned down really low. I stretched and patted his shoulder, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Do you want to go get a hotel room?" I asked. "I can't bear to spend the night in the hospital."

"I am so glad you said that," he replied, clicking off the T.V. I stood up and took Andy's hand, pulling him up. I whispered goodbye to Charlie and let one of his nurses know that I would be back in the morning. We took the elevator down to the 1st floor and out to the parking lot.

I looked around at the surrounding businesses to see if I could find a hotel sign. Andy pointed across the street at a neon sign for a hotel. We walked across the street and through the glass front doors of the hotel. Inside there was a small check-in area with a hallway leading to the rooms and the gym. A little man came from the office in the back. He wore a white dress shirt that hung out of his pants. The name tag on his shirt read 'Chad'.

"Hello, how can I help you?" he asked in a slow, drawling voice.

"We would like a room, please," said Andy, leaning on the counter.

"How many nights?"

"Um...we're not sure. Can we pay by the night?" asked Andy, looking at the man.

"Sure, but it will be fifteen dollars extra for each night." The man said.

"Seriously?" said Andy raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, kid, seriously. Now, do you want the room or not?" he said, looking very bored.

"Uh, yeah, I guess," said Andy, taking some money out of his pocket.

"We only take credit cards," he said, typing something into his computer. Andy sighed and looked over at me. I shook my head and stepped up to the counter, pulling my credit card out. I was not in the mood for this.

"I would like a room with a king size bed, please." I said starting to get angry. The guy smirked and took my credit card and swiped it.

"Sign here," he said, placing a pen and the receipt on the counter. I scribbled my signature and shoved to back to him. I snatched the key card from his hand. "Your room number is 203."

"Thanks." I said shortly, and stormed down the hallway. Our room was on the top floor. When I opened the door, there was a huge bed taking up most of the room. There were fluffy white sheets on the bed, complete with mints on the pillow. The bathroom was just your typical hotel bathroom. On the counter, there were little bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and lotion lined up in a little row. I sat on the bed and flopped back into the sheets. I was exhausted. I got up and changed into some sweatpants, brushed my teeth, and climbed under the fluffy sheets. I waited for Andy to shut off the lights. He climbed into the massive bed and I cuddled up next to him.