WISHBONE (11 page)

Too good to be true, no?

That’s not nice.

Don’t think in this way.

He glanced at his watch. Rachael had not called him in for dinner, but he had been gone longer than he suggested he would. He shut down the computer, closing up shop to spend the rest of the evening with his wife.

Julien came over the loft’s edge onto the ladder just as the coop’s door slammed shut behind him. Holding on tight, he looked back over his shoulder down at the coop. Once again, there was nothing to see and no sign of Sarah. The door to the coop seemed untouched and the chickens inside were silent. 

She’s in there now.

She must be.

Still clutching the top of the ladder and determined to catch her this time, he rushed to descend. He heard the crackling sound, but before he could react, a loud snap followed and the rung broke beneath his weight. By the time, he realized what was happening, his right leg had slipped through the ladder, catching him in midair and slamming him upside down, his back slapping against the rungs below him. He froze motionless, trying to regain his bearings as he dangled high above the ground. Braced only by one bent knee and trying to not look down, Julien inched his arms slowly to his sides. The wood continued to creak, echoing in the silent barn as he attempted to grab hold of the ladder’s frame. Without warning, another loud snap sounded and several more rungs gave way, dropping Julien to the floor below.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Too bright…

The intense fluorescent lighting stung Julien’s eyes.

“Julien… Julien wake up baby.” Rachael held his hand and gave it a light jostling. 

Julien’s eyes fluttered and Rachael cupped her palm above his eyes to block the light until he could adjust. 

Rachael rambled nervously, “Oh Jules, I was so scared. How do you feel? Are you okay?”

Her words came at him too quickly; her voice was an irritation. He pulled his hand away from hers and motioned for her to stop. He attempted to focus, blinking and looking around at their surroundings. Someone else was there, moving around the room and coming closer.

“Mr. Grenier, I’m Dr. Lind. The sedation will wear off pretty quickly now.” He chuckled.

What is he laughing at?

Who is that?

The words slowly registered. Julien’s tongue felt like thick-wadded cotton, obstructive and dry in his mouth.

Docteur…?

He narrowed his eyes and tried to get a good look at the man. He was older, heavy-set, easily in his mid-seventies, with stark white hair grown to his shoulders and a frizzy white beard resting halfway down his broad chest.

Rachael took Julien’s hand again. “I was so scared, Jules.” She pressed her lips to his knuckles.

Oblivious, Julien attempted to lift himself onto his elbows but succeeded only in teetering awkwardly to the side and nearly rolling off the table. The doctor and Rachael scrambled to grab him, forcing him to lay back.

“Give the sedation a little more time to wear off.” Dr. Lind winked and patted Julien’s shoulder. “Do you know where you are Mr. Grenier?” 

Lind’s voice was booming.

Too loud.

Still disoriented, Julien ignored the question.

Rachael intervened, blurting, “You fell Jules…from the ladder in the barn.”

Julien stared at her, baffled and struggling to translate her English; his mind reverted to thinking in French.

La porte a claqué…The door slammed. 

La jeune fille…The girl.

L'échelle…The ladder.

Out of nowhere, the doctor shone a thin light into Julien’s eye and he turned away. Lind paid no mind and checked the other eye. This time, Julien shoved the doctor’s hand away.

Lind smiled at Rachael. “Let’s give him a few more minutes to wake up and I’ll explain everything to him.”  He chuckled again.

The doctor handed a paper cup of water to Rachael. “Small sips and try to keep him still,” he instructed. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to fill a prescription for you to take home…get him through the night.” He stepped away, leaving the door open behind him.

Julien motioned for the water and Rachael allowed him a few sips. The anesthesia was dissipating.

He cleared his throat several times. “If he laughs again, I’ll kill him.” Julien grumbled.

Rachael found this quite amusing. “He’s very nice,” she whined.

“Now we know what Santa Claus does the rest of the year,” he retorted; his tone riddled with sarcasm.

Rachael giggled; she had been thinking the same
.
She slapped a hand over her mouth embarrassed by the outburst. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Okay?

I don’t feel okay.

  Rachael remembered him at the base of the ladder again. “I was so scared,” she admitted for the third time.

“I don’t know what happened. One minute I am on the ladder and then—” A sudden twinge of pain cut his words short.

Rachael’s eyes grew wide. “Are you okay?”

Julien nodded. “I want to sit up.”

Rachael was about to stop him when Lind returned.

 “He can probably sit up now, but stay close by him just in case.” He placed a small white paper bag on a counter and approached the table where Julien lay. 

Lind had obviously overheard Julien’s request and Rachael hoped he had not also heard his potshots.

Dr. Lind pressed a button and the hydraulic table began to hum. Julien’s upper body slowly tilted forward.

Julien looked down upon the cast encasing the entire length of his left leg. He dropped his head back against the pillows; his temples began to pound.

“Well Mr. Grenier, you took quite a fall.” The doctor pulled up a tall stool up beside him and took a seat. “I’m sending you home for the night in what’s called a back slab—it’s a temporary cast. It should hold you together just fine until you get to Schenectady tomorrow morning.”

Schenectedy?

Heck of a time for a trip…

Lind fiddled with his pen and giggled inappropriately once more. “I’m giving you a referral to see Dr. Roman Ptak.”

Rachael interrupted, “Dr. Lind says he’s the best Orthopedic Surgeon in the area.”

Lind continued, “You have a mild concussion, multiple fractures in the leg…” He smiled. “…and I’m sure the rest of you is pretty sore as well.”

He jotted a note in Julien’s chart. “You’ll go home with pain medication for tonight. I would avoid any food or water after midnight…I’m sure Dr. Ptak will have to repair that leg surgically and he might want to do it right away.”

It was Julien’s turn for nervous laughter. He looked down at himself in disbelief. 

Lind went on, “I was able to reduce some of the fractures, but he’ll need to reinforce my work with a few nuts and bolts…”  He winked and clicked his tongue.  “…he’ll have you up and walking in no time.”

Julien looked at Rachael who knew immediately what he was thinking. She bit down hard on her lip to fend off a grin.

Dr. Lind got to his feet. “Let me show you.”  He turned on the light board illuminating Julien’s x-rays. “If you reach down to feel it, the front of this cast is padded well but soft, while the back is plaster and rock solid…it will allow for any swelling overnight, but be extra careful not to bang into anything and whatever you do, don’t fall.” His belly lurched as he chuckled some more. “Have you ever used crutches before, Mr. Grenier? I can give you a quick lesson.”

Julien looked away from the disturbing x-rays. “They don’t strike me as very complex.”

Rachael shot him a warning glance.

The doctor laughed yet again. “No, I suppose they’re not. You’ll figure them out. No user’s manual required.” He took no offense to Julien’s petulance.

He entered a closet off the far side of the room and reappeared with a pair of metal crutches. He scanned Julien and guessed at his height then adjusted their length with a few quick snaps. He leaned them against the far end of the table. “Let that I.V. finish dripping…a few more minutes, and you folks can head home.” He nodded and left the room.

Rachael placed the white bag containing a bottle of Vicodin in her purse. “Can you please be nice?” she asked.

“He laughs after everything he says,” Julien said. “It makes me angry. There is nothing funny ‘appening here.”

“I guess you have the right to be grumpy tonight.” She leaned forward and kissed him.

He pulled away from her. “Please Rach, not right now, okay.”

She frowned. “Hey…why are you so pissed at me?”

He glared at her and said, “I feel like shit. Just give me some space.”

“Okay.” She rubbed his stomach and made excuses for his behavior. “It’s the anesthesia. We’ll get you home and comfy as soon as that’s empty,” she said while looking at the IV bag.

“I don’t know what ‘appened. The ladder, it is very sturdy. The girl…she keeps coming and going and coming and slamming the doors.”

“Uh…I would be very kind to Sarah.”  Rachael folded her arms.  “If it wasn’t for Sarah, god knows how long you would have been laying there in the barn.
You
made me take that Xanax…
remember?
I crashed…out cold. She was the one who came running in and woke me.”

“So she
was
in the barn.”

“Yes, and thank god for that!”

“You saw her,” he questioned. “You spoke to her?”

“Well, she kind of grunted and flipped out until I realized she wanted me to follow her to the barn. I was trying to wake you, but you wouldn’t wake up and your leg…Jules, I can’t describe…” She tried to shake the vision and her eyes filled with tears.

Julien was not in the mood for the melodrama. “Just tell me what happened…about the girl.”

“It was bad, Jules. I was so afraid you had broken your neck…or your back….”

He glared at her, “But—
the girl
…Sarah?”

“I called 911 and our cell phones are still registered to the city address, so there was this whole big mess of confusion and they finally got me to emergency services in Gilboa. It took forever Jules, but it was either here in town or an hour’s ride to the hospital. I guess it was bad enough that the paramedics felt you needed to be stabilized immediately.” She caught herself panicking again, regained control and continued, “They waited around here for a while, but eventually Dr. Lind told them they could go.”

“Rachael,” he tried again to get his wife to focus. “Sarah…was she with you?”

“Oh…no,” She shook her head, trying to remember. “I’m not sure what happened to Sarah. Once she got me to the barn…I honestly don’t think I ever saw her again.”

A sudden burst of pain coursed through Julien.

Rachael grabbed his arm. “Are you okay?”

He nodded as the worst of the pain gradually decreased, replaced by a steady throb. 

Dr. Lind returned with a clipboard. He took one look at Julien. “Pain?” he asked. 

Rachael nodded.

Lind stepped closer saying, “I’ll give him another shot of Morphine to get him through the ride home. You can give him one of the pills around midnight.”

As if reading Julien’s mind, Rachael looked at her watch. “8:55.”

“…at night?” Julien had no idea how long they had been in the medical center.

Rachael smiled, “Yes, night time.” She brushed the hair from his eyes.

She had to be in the barn when I fell…

It has not been long enough time for all of this to happen.

She was there when I fell, and went for Rachael right away.

Dr. Lind handed Julien the clipboard. “Your autograph, please?”

Julien scanned the release form briefly then signed the bottom. Dr. Lind set it aside then removed the I.V. needle from the back of Julien’s hand, replacing it with cotton and tape.

         Julien pumped his fist several times until the doctor stopped him. “Don’t.”

“Well, Mr. and Mrs. Grenier, I wish we could have met under better circumstances.” The doctor brought the pair of crutches around to Julien’s right, excusing himself past Rachael. “My wife told me that you were good people. I’ve been meaning to take a ride up to your place…introduce myself. You know how time gets away from you…”

“Your wife?”  Rachael asked. They had met only a handful of people in town and she could not predict who his wife might be.

Julien slowly sat forward, trying to figure out how to get up from the table.

“Estelle. You also have my daughter up at your place taking care of the coop, Sarah.”

Rachael’s jaw dropped.

         Julien choked, but the pain quieted him in an instant. 

“You’re Sarah’s father?” Rachael grasped the doctor’s arm, all aspects of formality disappearing between them.

He smiled, “Yes, that’s how I knew to come to the office. I was here waiting for you before the ambulance reached your property. Sarah came running home and I called the Gilboa dispatch and told them to bring you right to me.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “You’re one of us now.” He beamed. “I wouldn’t allow them to take Mr. Grenier just anywhere.”

Lind began cleaning up his equipment and added, “My sister-in-law, Arlette Vandermark, sold you the house.”

Julien’s head was spinning now. He thought he might get sick right there on the table, but he regained composure. He felt very weak and his neck and back ached.

The doctor noticed Julien’s struggle. “That’s quite a bump on your head Mr. Grenier. Let me help you.”

Julien stared at the man, eyes locked on him, astounded, as the doctor helped him from the table. For all his eccentric oddity, how could this man, a physician, be married to that backwoods woman they met on the porch several weeks ago?

         Lind looked up to find Julien staring at him, “Is everything alright, Mr. Grenier? Do you need to lie back down?”

Rachael tried to diffuse the situation by distracting the doctor, asking, “You said he can have one of the pills around midnight, right?”

Dr. Lind held on to Julien, but turned his attention to Rachael, “Yes, and keep food light and nothing after midnight just in case. He can have a small amount of water in the morning with the medication.”