Becca; Lost and Found by Noo Writer - HTML preview

7. Gideon

 

"Snap"

"You have got to be kidding me"

"Sweet Georgia Brown"

"SON OF A BISCUIT!!!"

The exclamations got slightly louder with each iteration, eventually prompting Mom to stick her head in the doorway.

"I take it we didn't win the Lottery, is that what I’m hearing?" she asked.

Burying his head in his hands and moaning theatrically, Dad replied "You know when you know you should do something good...but you don't want to?  But your conscience keeps telling you to do it...but you keep trying to strangle your conscience so it will shut up?"

"Oh yeah, I hate it when that happens" Mom said, lightheartedly, knowing simultaneously that something at least somewhat serious was bothering her husband, and that he would eventually tell her.

"Let me know who wins that fight" she called over her shoulder as she went back down the hallway towards the kitchen.  "And remember Lauren is coming over tonight - TACO TUESDAY!"

"AAARRRGGGHHH!" came the guttural reply.

…

"So do you want to tell us what prompted the wrestling match with your conscience?" she asked over the last of the salsa that night.  The fact that he hadn't said anything about it yet meant he needed a little push after all, and something told her it was something they all needed to hear.

Putting down his fork and sighing with defeat, Dad finally dished.  "I got a notice from the Bone Marrow Donor group today.  Apparently there is a patient in need of a marrow donation at Mt. Diablo Hospital."

"That doesn't sound earth shattering yet...I assume there's more" Mom prompted.

"Apparently the patient has a super rare marrow type" he said.

"And are you like the only match or something?" Seamus asked, assembling the dregs of everything on the table into one final taco as Dad nodded confirmation.

"Yeah, I remember when you donated marrow the first time you were sore for like a week."  Seamus reminded him gleefully.   "Good luck with that".

"Yeah, but that's not it.  It isn't THAT painful, and it’s been long enough that I’m cleared to donate again" he said distractedly, staring at Seamus's creation.

"It's the patient."

"Aren't they anonymous?" Mom asked. 

"Normally they are...but the director of the program got permission to break protocol and tell me who it is."

"Wow, now you've got me REALLY curious" Mom said, understanding that this really was important.

"Who is it?  The Governator?  George Bush? The suspense is killing me!" she joked, trying to loosen him up.

"Gideon Weaver" he said flatly.

"Oh snap" all four of them exclaimed in unison.

“Yeah, Snap.  Apparently:

a)he is still alive

b)he is in a bad way and needs both marrow and blood”

“Is his blood type as rare as his marrow?” Lauren asked.

“No, he is actually a ‘universal recipient’ for blood, but he has already used up a whole bunch of blood and they are running low at the blood bank.  So they are asking for volunteers to replenish the bank on his behalf, otherwise they may have to limit him as they can’t risk other patients by using all their reserves on him.”

“Sounds like he is in a REALLY bad way.  Did they say what happened?” Mom asked.

“Not in detail.  Something about a gunshot wound, but nothing more."

“Wow, that name certainly brings back memories” Mom said, allowing herself to travel back in time, 6 years in fact.  

She could still picture his admittedly handsome face, so young, so almost out of control, and yet so scared, in that YouTube video.  She hadn’t watched it in years, but would never forget the day she almost lost her husband and so joyously gained a daughter.

“Well, for his sake I hope they find a match soon.  I guess even someone like that..." Mom said, her voice trailing off as her thoughts forged ahead.

"Wait wait wait wait wait" Mom exclaimed.  

"Look at me, look me in the eye....you aren't actually thinking about DOING it!"

His silence was all the answer she needed.

"You ARE!  I know that look...are you kidding me?”

"You are going to give your own BONE MARROW to that...that... oh HELL NO...do you know what he could have done to you or to Becca?  NO FREAKIN' WAY!!!" she screamed.

General chaos ensued as everyone around the table, except Becca, started talking at once, processing the dynamics of this impossible situation.  She was silent, wearing a faraway look.

Becca suddenly gasped, literally pulling back from the table and placing her hands to her mouth like some old Hitchcock heroine.

That stopped everyone cold.

Slowly, deliberately, staring intently at her Dad, she quietly asked him "You didn’t tell them did you?"

The silence around the table deepened.

"No sweetie" Dad said, just as quietly.

The silence held for a few more moments, broken by Mom sitting down next to her husband and looking expectantly in his eyes. "What honey?  What didn’t you tell us?" she asked, more curious than she had ever been in her life.

Dad breathed in and out deeply, with a faraway look of his own. "The video from that night...it ended with me and Becca starting to walk out of the alley" he said, continuing to stare at a place that was nowhere in the room.

"Yessss" Mom said, wondering where this was going with this.

"Well, that wasn't the last thing that happened.  As I walked by the leader of those thugs, Gideon Weaver, I said something to him."

No one prompted him, knowing he would continue when he was ready.

"I told him that even though he thought of himself as being a bad guy, I saw something good in him, and that no matter what, because he did this for us, he had earned something good."

"And that's why you need to do this" Lauren said, putting her hand on her Dad's shoulder.   "I get it Dad.  And good on you." she finished, looking at Becca, knowing what she would find in her sister's eyes.

Mom stood up again, pacing, stammering "Oh honey...I...I...I honestly don't know what to say.  I know how you are, and because you said that to him, you feel like you have to do this."

"But before you decide for sure, think.  Besides the pain, there is some risk, and if you do this for him, you won't be able to donate again in case someone else needs it...and what about Becca?"

"Mom, it’s ok" Becca said quietly.

Total silence again.

"Dad’s right.  Of all the ways that could have ended...look at the way it did.  I know Gideon’s the one that started it, and who knows what he had originally planned...but I got out of there, WE got out of there, because of him, and the odds of that were pretty slim.”

“If it had been any other thug...I don’t think it would have ended the way it did" she finished quietly, head held high, with a strength and confidence that took her Mother's breath away.

She crossed the kitchen and wordlessly enfolded Becca in a hug, and was soon joined by the remainder of the Holt clan, including two dogs who would not be left out.  Lots of tears and sniffles as a result of this abrupt reminder of what didn't happen that day, as well as what did.

"Hey Mom, do we have any of that chocolate cake left?"  Seamus said, breaking the spell, prompting laughter and searches for Kleenex.

The next morning as breakfast was winding down, Dad was surprised to see Lauren drive up.  

“Morning Fam” she said cheerily as she walked in, snagged a cinnamon roll and sat down in her customary chair all in one well practiced motion.

“Good morning sweetie” Mom said giving her a half-standing/half-sitting one armed hug as she brought the coffee pot to bear on Dad’s mug.

“What brings you around so early kiddo?” Dad asked around chews of his Saturday waffle.

“We’re in” she said simply, leaning over toward Becca first and then Seamus for fist bumps.

“In what?” Dad said quizzically.

“Becca texted me last night that she was going to give blood today while you do the marrow thing.  So we’re in” she explained, as if this were the most natural thing in the world.

All conversation stopped.  All movement stopped.  It seemed like the world itself might have stopped.

“Becca, honey, you’re going to give blood for Gideon Weaver?” Mom asked emotionally, sitting down and looking hard into her daughter’s eyes.

“Well, I started thinking about it more last night, and I realized just how bizarre that whole thing was.  And just how small the odds were that he did what he did, letting us go.  Since then my whole life has changed.  I mean, literally, every single thing about my life has changed because of Dad, and you, and you guys” she waved toward Lauren and Seamus.

“And it all started then and there.  So I feel like this is the universe giving me a chance to balance the scales.  Up until now it has all been coming TO me, and this is my chance to give it back, even in just this little way.”

Mom sat in silence, absorbing what her daughter had said, feeling the truth of it, trying on the 'right' of it like an old coat rescued from the back of the closet.  She felt something give way inside her, some boulder that had been blocking part of her soul that rolled away in that moment, allowing more love, more light, and something else to flow freely where she realized now it had been stagnant.  

The something else was forgiveness.  She realized in that moment that she had been holding on to a whole lot of anger toward Gideon Weaver, for what he had done, and what he had almost done.  As a wife and mother she had felt justified holding on to that anger, because he was the one that was wrong.

But now, sitting in her cozy kitchen with the smell of cinnamon in the air and the love of her family a palpable force surrounding the table…she realized it was time.  It was time to let go and regain the part of herself that she had held hostage with that anger. 

As she had done so many times in the past 6 years, she marveled at her youngest daughter’s spirit, absolutely humbled that she had such a capacity for goodness.

Mom let out a trembling sigh and wiped the tears from her eyes, looking around at the faces of her precious family.  She knew that they were giving her space to process all this, and that they would support her no matter how she chose to react.  She was not embarrassed by the realization that she was the last one to open her heart to Gideon Weaver, she was just unbelievably grateful that she was surrounded by a family that had already done so.

“I’m in"

The world started turning again, and all of the Holts took the breath they had not realized they had been holding.  Dad leaned over and whispered quietly in his wife's ear. 

“I love you” was all he said.

“They give you cookies after you donate blood right?”  Seamus asked as if on cue, still chewing a mouthful of breakfast while planning his next snack.

…

“We’re looking for a patient here, a Gideon  Weaver” Dad told the very senior citizen sitting at the Information Desk.  Her “I’m A Volunteer Just Ask ME!” name tag told them this was Gertrude.  Seriously.  Gertrude.

“Let me see young man…ok, Gideon Weaver is in room 402.  That’s in the ICU, up on the fourth floor.“  

“Thank you maam” Dad replied, wondering when he had last been called ‘young man’, and really, when he had last actually been around someone old enough for him to qualify as a young man.

Clan Holt headed over to the elevators and crowded in with a couple of nurses, getting off at the fourth floor as directed.  It had been Dad who had said he wanted to meet Gideon Weaver before donating his marrow, and the others had agreed.  Whatever happened would not change his decision; right was right in this case as in most others.  But he did want to see for himself.

As they approached room 402 they were greeted by a uniformed guard.  He was actually a city policeman, Dad noticed as they got closer, not a hospital security guard.  Not sure what to do as they reached the door, Dad greeted the cop politely.  

“Good morning officer”.

“Good morning indeed sir. What brings you up here this morning?” he asked, eyeing the crowd of Holts that had gathered behind Dad.

“Well, we were hoping to see the patient in this room.  Is that allowed?”

“No sir, not right now.  He’s unconscious, doc says he slipped into a coma last night, so they won’t let anyone in except the docs and the nurses” he explained.

The Holts glanced at each other in alarm, hoping their mission was not too late.  

“OK, thank you, Officer...."

"Solomon.  But most folks just call me Sol."

"OK Sol" Dad said with a smile, "I guess we’ll go then” he added as he turned to leave.

“Do ya know him?” Sol asked , stopping them mid-turn.

“What?” Mom asked.

“Do you know him, the guy in the room.”

“Not really” Dad said quietly.

“He’s a bit of a strange one he is” the cop said conversationally.

“Do YOU know him?” Dad asked, wondering about this new development.

“I’ve been a beat copy in the lower avenues for coming on 15 years” he replied comfortably, appreciating the company after a long and boring night in front of the door.

“When I first started there was a big group of kids used to play stickball in the alleys and vacant lots.  This one” he said, motioning over his shoulder to the closed door of the room ”was kind of the leader, always picking the teams and refereeing the games, keepin’ it fair.”

“That must be a tough neighborhood for kids to grow up in” Dad said, encouraging the talkative cop to continue his story.

“Tough as any.  Most of those kids ended up in trouble one way or another, but this one, I never had to book him. Warned him off a few times, but he always learned his lesson.”

“Did he have any family?” Mom asked, now caught up in the tale as well.

“No parents, least when I started, raised by an Aunt I think it was, till she died too.”

“What happened to her?” Lauren inquired.

“She owned a dry cleaners, and some gang bangers shot her while cleaning out the register one day.”

“That’s terrible!” Mom said.

“Hit him hard, too.  He started gettin’ a little rougher then, which ain’t a surprise.  Usually happens when these kids lose whatever home they might have had.”

The officer looked off at some distant memory for a few moments, coming back to continue his tale, now fully engaged in the role of story teller.

“Right about then we had that bit of trouble down in the avenues, you might remember it, even made the papers” he said, looking at Dad expectantly.

“Yes, I remember seeing something about that area a few years ago” Dad said quietly.

“Well, Gid here was involved in that a bit, nothing that got him locked up or anything, but the Mayor put a lot of extra cops on the streets for a few months so folks would think we were really cleaning it up, ‘count of all the publicity and all.  Made it hard for the gangs to do business, so they gave him a hard time for a while, blamin’ him.”

“What did he do?  How did he survive?” Mom asked, her Mom genes taking over.

“That’s just the thing.  He stuck around, actually got a straight job.  Worked for Denny down at the auto body on 35th.  I used to see him sweeping the floors, cleaning up and whatnot, always wondered how long he would last.”

“How long did he?” Seamus prompted, fascinated by the twisty tale.

“Still there.  Denny took him in and started showin’ him the ropes. Last I saw him, he was a full on mechanic, working in the garage in the back.”

“Sol, do you know what happened, how he got injured?” Dad asked, trying to sort through all that he had heard.

“Gang fight, like usual down there.  Talkin’ got to pushin and pushin got to shootin and by the time me and my partner got there all hell had broke loose and there was a lot of blood and a few bodies.  Pardon me Maam, didn’t mean to offend the young ones” he added, tipping his cap to Mom.

“Gid here took three in the back and one in the belly.  Didn’t think he was going to make it.  Doc last night said things didn’t look too good.”

“Well, I guess that type of thing can happen if you run with those kind of people” Mom said sadly.

“Now wait Maam, I think you misunderstood me.  Gid wasn’t IN the fight.  He was workin’ in the shop when he heard all the shooting.  From what Denny said, he ran up front and grabbed all the customers that were in the waiting room and got ‘em in the back so they wouldn’t be hit by any strays or anything.”

“Is that when he was shot?” Seamus asked.

“No, he got em all safe tucked in back in the service bays and went back to lock the door.  He saw someone out on the street that was hiding behind a garbage can, right in the field of fire you might say." 

"Denny told me he just yanked that door open and ran out there, right in the middle of it all, grabbed ‘em and pushed ‘em back inside.  That’s when they got him; he was holdin’ em in front of him, shielding em, when he got hit in the back.”

“Oh my…” Mom said, tearing up as she imagined the scene.  “What happened to the person he saved?” she asked.

“She’s fine.  Pretty shook up, but her parents came and got her while we were sortin’ through the mess and took her home.  Not a scratch on her after all that.”

“It was a girl?” Becca asked, chiming in for the first time.

“Sure was” the officer said, focusing on Becca.  “Matter of fact, she looked a lot like you.”

The Holts stood in stunned silence, absorbing everything they had learned about the man they had regarded as a monster all these years.

“So why are you guarding him?” Dad asked, wondering why the cop was there.

“Oh I’m guarding him alright.  Not to keep him from escaping; to protect him in case any of those gangbangers decide he might be a threat as an eye witness.”

The Holts were silent once again, each lost in their own thoughts.

Becca walked up to Sol and quietly said “Me and my Dad, we do know him, just a little bit”.

“I kinda figured you did” he said gently.  “We get the YouTube on the computer down at the station”.

“Can I see him, just for a minute?” she asked, straightening her shoulders, holding her head high, that look of resolve that her family knew so well settling in to her features.

“I kinda figured you might” he said.  “Is that ok with you?” he asked, looking over at Mom and Dad.  “He aint lookin’ real good right about now.”

Mom came over and put her arm around Becca’s shoulders.  “Are you sure honey?  I know what we learned today changes a lot, but I’m sure you still…it might bring back some bad memories.”

Becca turned and looked at her Mom with a clarity and maturity and determination that was new even to her.  “Mom, I stopped having nightmares about that day years ago.  So many good things have happened since then, you guys have loved me so much, there’s no room for bad memories anymore.”

She looked over at her Dad, sharing a knowing smile “Dad told Gideon that he had earned something good that day.  It’s time to repay that debt, and I am so grateful that all of you are in this with me.  I feel so whole, so strong, like I am so ready to do whatever has to be done. “

She walked over to the door, alone, looked at the officer and said in a clear and determined voice that left no doubt and brooked no argument.

“If we are going to save this man, we need to know what we’re up against."

 The Holts filed in and took positions around the hospital bed.  The lights were low, making the colored readouts of the various pieces of medical equipment stand out.  The only sounds were the beeping of the equipment and the slow, shallow, raspy breathing of Gideon Weaver.

He looked like death, literally, his face ravaged by the battle his body was fighting.  The bags under his eyes deserved to be checked in at the nearest baggage counter.  The strapping man who Becca had been so afraid of for so long seemed so small, so vulnerable, and yes, so afraid.  She watched him for a few minutes, her family giving her time to process.

They saw the change in her, the moment when she shifted from looking inside and started pushing everything bad away once and for all, moving on to the task at hand.

They all watched in fascination as she approached the bed, reached out, and pinched Gideon’s exposed forearm.  

Mom gasped in horror, thinking this might somehow push him over the edge, and only relaxed when the bedside monitoring equipment showed no changes.

“That’s for scaring the crap out me asshole” she said, putting her hands on her hips and giving him her best angry glare.

The assembled group gaped open mouthed in shock, only to recover and burst out laughing at the totally unexpected antics of the youngest Holt.  This weird bit of levity totally broke the somber spell that had transfixed them all since entering the dark and dreary room.

Becca, clearly enjoying the thoroughness with which she had turned the tables on her family, grinned hugely as they quieted their laughter.

Stepping even closer to the bed rail, she leaned over and kissed Gideon’s cheek gently. 

“And that is for NOT doing what I was afraid you would.  And for that other girl who is home with her family, safe, just like me.”

There were no dry eyes in the room now, as the remaining Holts unconsciously assembled in a semi-circle around Becca, arms linked, supporting her.

“And this” she said, placing her hand gently over his heart “is a promise from all of us to get you well.  Cause if you mess with one Holt, you get em all”.

Lauren disengaged from the family huddle and stepped up next to Becca, also putting her hand on his heart.  “I promise”.

Seamus managed not to disconnect anything as he stepped up, “We got this bro”.

Mom and Dad, for what seemed like the millionth time in the last 6 years, simply looked at each other and grinned in amazement at what their kids had done.  They approached together, and holding hands, touched Gideon together.  

“Whatever it takes” Dad said, leaving no room for doubt.

Mom leaned over and whispered gently in Gideon’s ear “Thank you.  And I’m sorry.”

As the clan filed out, Sol noticed that something in the room seemed different. It seemed brighter, and if he didn’t know better, he would swear that Gideon had the hint of a smile on his face.

“That’s some family you got there” he told Mom and Dad as they passed him on the way out.

“You don’t know the half of it Sol” Mom said proudly, shaking her head.  “Not even close”.

After separating to make their respective donations, the family congregated near the lobby information desk again.  By unspoken agreement, they headed back up to the ICU to check in on Gideon. 

"How ya doin' old man?"  Seamus asked his Dad, noticing the slight limp.

"Fine for now, but when the anesthetic wears off...I'm gonna wonder why I thought this was such a good idea.  Why do they have to use that huge needle, and right in the butt cheek!" he moaned.

As they got off the elevator they knew right away that something was wrong.  There were way too many people zipping around Room 402, and the expressions were much too grave for anything other than bad news.

"What's going on?" Mom asked the nearest nurse.

"Are you family Maam?"  the harried nurse asked in a rush.

"Yes" Mom said simply.

"Well then try to squeeze in to say good bye, because it doesn’t look good."

The five Holts managed to infiltrate the room, dodging the numerous doctors, nurses and technicians that swarmed around the bed.  

Beeps, curses, and the desperate cry of "Ready? Clear!" followed by the unmistakable sound of electric shock paddles thumping an unresponsive body were swirling around the room, making it impossible to think clearly or tell what was happening.

Suddenly the activity ground to a halt, the stench of failure hanging in the air.

"Two minutes, no response.  I'm calling it" the doctor said, putting his stethoscope in the pocket of his lab coat and turning away from the bed, professional dejection etched in his face.

The Holts stood speechless, rooted to the spot as the hope they had just been feeling only minutes before evaporated, leaving them staring blankly at the body on the bed as a nurse pulled the sheet up over Gideon's face.

Seamus was the first to stir, literally leaping into action as the trance broke.

"Not today" he said, grabbing Becca by the hand and sprinting over to the bed.

"Young man, you can't..." one of the nurses said as they approached the bed.

"Zip it, we're going in" he said, ignoring her complaints.

The doctor also tried to keep them away from the bedside.  "This is a medical facility, you can't touch the..."

"Look doc, he's dead, right?  He is literally dead.  What could possibly happen if we give it one more try?" Seamus argued hurriedly.

The doctor raised his hand as if to grab Seamus's shoulder, and found himself staring instead into the unblinking eyes of Seamus's dad.

"Not your problem anymore doctor.  Leave us be" he said, not knowing what his kids were doing, but knowing it had to be done.

The doctor hurrumphed, turned sharply and strode purposefully out the door.

Seamus was a whirlwind, positioning Becca next to the bed and placing her hand on Gideon's chest, like when they each promised him their help.

Reaching out he grabbed Lauren's hand, and wrapped it around Beccas.  Without a word Mom stepped up and grabbed Lauren's other hand, forming a small human chain.  

Seamus took his Mom's free hand in one of his, and motioned his Dad to come take the other one, completing the Line-O- Holts.

"Dad, you gotta do your thing."

In response to his quizzical look, Seamus continued "If there was ever an orphan that needed some Dadding, it's him.  Whatever you pulled out of the universe for Becca...we need some more.  It’s gonna end with her, but it’s gotta start with you".

Dad immediately understood what Seamus meant.  He had no idea what or how, but knew that he would do whatever he could to keep his word using whatever the universe had given him.

"Gotta be now people" Seamus said once they were all assembled and engaged, no room for doubt or hesitation in any heart. 

The nurse and handful of other staff that remained in the room looked on in uncertain wonder, knowing this was not standard procedure by any stretch of the imagination, but not daring to intrude.

Seamus looked at his youngest sister and nodded firmly. 

"Your show Sis.  Not sure what to tell you, but I know there's something left to try.  Don't think, just do it."

Becca nodded her understanding, not questioning his direction, instead focusing her thoughts and emotions and everything else on the point where her hand touched Gideon's still chest.

"Come on...come on...come on... " she chanted, eyes closed, face contorted with the strain.

Nothing.

She started moving her hands, touching the top of his head, his forehead, his cheek, then back to his chest, pushing and prodding, trying to will the dormant heart to beat.

Nothing.

Becca knew that their borrowed time was up and she had only one more chance.  She squeezed her eyes shut and reached down her right arm with her mind, sensing Lauren's essence where their hands joined.  

She felt a light buzzing where they touched, and she went with it, focusing on the contact and feeding it, imagining crackling white energy flowing through the Line-O-Holts, getting stronger and stronger until she knew it was time.

Without thinking about what she was doing, she raised her free hand and brought it down hard on Gideon's chest, punctuating each word with what amounted to a punch as she yelled:

"Come  

Back

To

Me!"

On the final word, a number of things happened simultaneously.

Becca felt her arm thrown back, as if Gideon's chest had exploded with an electrical charge.

The medical monitors that were still hooked up to his hands and arms went haywire, their digital displays and wavy lines running at random before they all went dark, tendrils of smoke rising from the back of one. 

And Gideon's formerly lifeless body spasmed once, his upper body rising off the bed, half way to a sitting position, before crashing back down.  

The otherwise utter and complete silence was broken only by his gasping breaths.

The sound of their hitherto-dead patient breathing in great gasping gulps galvanized the remaining staff into action, as they set aside their astonishment and