She hung up the phone then climbed the stairs to her bedroom. Behind the closed door, she pulled down the shades and knelt in the darkness beside her bed to pray.

The clock over the nurse's station showed it was after ten, and Doctor Thomas had just begun to make rounds. The two ladies sprang to their feet when he entered Jerry's room. Ann had turned on the overhead light to disperse the darkness and shadows that had danced around in her imagination during the night.

"Good morning, Doctor Thomas," Ann said in a valiant effort to sound hopeful.

"Good morning, Mrs. Blackmon. I've reviewed your husband's chart and the good news is he remained stable through the night. The other good news is the surgery relieved the pressure on his brain, but he is still comatose. He had a severe fracture on the left frontal quadrant of his skull. There's swelling in his neck from the impact, causing pressure on the spinal cord at the base of his brain. If he awakens from the coma, he may be paralyzed and lose his ability to speak."

"If he wakes up? Are you saying there is a possibility he won't?"

"We just can't tell with this type of injury. We can treat his other injuries. Broken bones can be put back together. But we can only monitor injuries to the head and spinal cord, relieve the pressure, and hope it can heal on its own. The brain is the most powerful and complicated organ in our bodies. He's a strong and healthy young man, which is in his favor.

"We just have to watch and wait. I'll check in on him every day. I a.s.sure you, Mrs. Blackmon, we're doing everything we can for your husband. We'll transfer him to a private room in the trauma wing and keep him under observation twenty-four hours a day. You'll have more privacy and the accommodations for a prolonged stay. The best thing you can do right now is go home, see your children, and get some rest. He's in good hands." Doctor Thomas excused himself and left the room to visit his other patients.

"Sylvia, we can't go home and leave him here. What if he wakes up? I have to be here!"

"We should take Dr. Thomas's advice," Sylvia said. "There isn't anything we can do for him, and sitting here watching isn't doing either one of us any good. And anyway, I can't drive that Jeep back to Winston by myself. The roads are cleared now, so let's go home, freshen up, and spend some time with the children. We can come back later this afternoon. It's the sensible thing to do. We can plan how we are going to do this in a relaxed atmosphere, without all the distractions."

"I just don't feel right leaving Jerry. You're his mother. You should understand that."

"I do, and because I'm his mother, I know we're going to be here for him, but we need to take care of ourselves, too. You have two children at home worried about you. You need to be there for them."

"Okay, but we're coming straight back with suitcases and get a motel room until he wakes up and we can take him home."

"Fine. Let's get our coats and get on the road."

Ann pulled on her heavy parka then leaned over and kissed Jerry and whispered, "We'll be back just as fast as we can."

Chapter 39.

"The Shops were reduced to skeleton crews to service the few remaining steam engine. Their job was finished."

Telling the children Anxious to see Libby and Ricky, Ann leaped from the monster Jeep as soon as they pulled into the driveway and landed hard on her right foot. It rolled over, and pain like molten lava shot up her leg. Fortunately the thick blanket of snow padded her fall. Heavy winter gloves spared her hands being ground up by the gravel that paved the driveway beneath the snow.

"Are you okay?" Sylvia scurried around the Jeep and slipped in an effort to help Ann to her feet. Sylvia's feet flew out from under, and she landed sitting down next to Ann.

In spite of her pain, Ann laughed at the two women's predicament.

"It's a good thing I have all that extra padding back there," Sylvia said, laughing and pulling herself up on one knee. "Give me your hand, I'll help you up."

"Okay, but I can't put any weight of on my ankle."

Sylvia put Ann's arm over her shoulder and wrapped her right arm around Ann's waist then the two women hopped and wobbled up the steps and into the house.

Both her children were waiting to greet her.

"Mommy's home, and I've missed you so much," she said as she limped through the front door and knelt down. Libby and Ricky ran into her outstretched arms and smothered her with hugs, almost knocking her over.

"What in heaven's name happened?" Alice asked, coming into the foyer from the kitchen.

"I turned my ankle when I jumped down out of that d.a.m.ned Jeep," Ann responded.

Ann limped into the living room, where a crackling fire warmed her back before she sat on the couch. Sylvia scurried around and located a stool to elevate Ann's ankle.

Alice went back into the kitchen then returned with a pan of heated water spiked with Epson Salt. Ann tried to relax as she soaked her ankle in the hot salt water solution that took away the throbbing pain and replaced it with the burning sensation from salt water.

"Do you know where I've been?" Ann quizzed the children, signing for Libby.

"To visit Daddy in the hospital," Ricky said.

"That's right. Daddy got hurt really bad in an accident and is unconscious."

"What is that?" Libby signed.

"He's asleep, silly." Ricky spoke slowly, looking straight at Libby as he signed. "Like when you get hit on the head with a baseball and it knocks you out."

Amazed at her young son's comprehension of the term, Ann continued. "That's right, Ricky, he got a real hard knock on his head when the truck rolled down the mountain into a big tree."

"Wow! Daddy rolled his truck down the mountain?"

"He did," Ann said softly.

A stern glance from Alice conveyed her message. That was enough. She didn't think they needed to know the gory details about the tanker and fire that burned the truck driver.

"Can we go see him?" Ricky asked.

"Let's wait until Daddy feels better, and then you and Libby can go for a visit, okay?"

"Okay, but I hope he wakes up soon, I miss him," Ricky said.

Ann pulled her children close and hugged them tightly so they couldn't see a tear escape from her br.i.m.m.i.n.g eyes.

"You two go play while Mommy, Nanna, and Grammy visit," Alice said, ushering the children out of the room.

Ann dabbed her eyes dry while Sylvia brought fresh coffee. The three women planned just how they were going to handle things in the coming weeks.

But Ann noticed someone was missing. "Where is Marie?"

"Ronnie came by for her," Alice said. "She wanted to go home. We asked her to stay, but she felt like she was intruding."

"I hope she'll be all right," Ann said. "Maybe she can go back up with us some time to check on her sister. I'll call her later. Right now I need to get a shower and pack some clothes."

"You need to soak your ankle for another thirty minutes before you try to walk on it," Alice advised. "And just how long do you intend to stay up there? You have two children who need their mother."

"Until he's well enough to come home, and I don't know how long that will be. Do you mind keeping the kids?"

"My keeping the kids isn't a problem. They need their mother, and you still have a job. Can't they transfer him down here where there can be some semblance of a normal life?"

"I don't know, Momma. We have to take it one day at a time," Ann answered, annoyed at Alice's question. "I just can't leave him up there. The doctor said it would be helpful if I talked and read to him. Sometimes that helps to bring people out of a coma. Sylvia can stay here and help you with the kids."

"Wait a minute," Sylvia said, "He belongs to me too, and I intend to stay with him as long as it takes."

"I wasn't suggesting you two shouldn't be at his bedside. I just thought you might ask the doctor if he could be moved down here to make it easier on everyone."

"If you could see him, you wouldn't ask a question like that. He's in bandages and casts from his head to his feet and hooked up to a room full of machines. He isn't even breathing on his own. I doubt if the doctor would even consider moving him anytime soon."

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking how much more convenient it would be if he were in Winston instead of way up in Boone, that's all."

A phone call broke the heated conversation. Ann thought it was probably Ronnie wanting to know when he would get his Jeep back. She wanted to thank him for the Jeep and for taking Marie home, but she couldn't move.

"I'll get it." Alice grimaced as she pushed herself up from the chair and walked stiffly toward the phone.

"h.e.l.lo, this is the Blackmon's residence...Yes, she's here, just a moment." Alice took a deep breath. "Ann, it's for you. It's the hospital."

Ann's face turned ashen white. Sylvia uncoiled the cord so Ann wouldn't have to get up to answer.

She lifted the phone up to her ear. "This is Ann Blackmon." Her voice echoed through the room.

"This is Nurse Melany Bowers from the hospital. It might be best if you can come back as soon as possible. Your husband's heart is out of rhythm, and he is not responding to efforts to stabilize it."

"I understand. I will leave right away. Thank you." She leaned forward and cradled her face with her hands.

"What is it, Ann, what did the nurse say?"

Ignoring Alice's question, she asked her to call Ronnie to bring her car back and pick up his Jeep and to be sure to thank him.

"I have to pack," she said through quivering lips and red, irritated eyes welling up tears. "I need to get back up to the hospital right away. The nurse said Jerry's heart rate was out of rhythm and they were having difficulty in regulating it."

"But, you can't drive with that ankle!"

"Momma, just get me an ankle wrap. I took a first aid course at work and know how to wrap it so I can walk."

Chapter 40.

"Many of you were sent to other locations to finish out your retirement, a reward for your many years of loyal service."

The bitter end The black, cold ribbon of asphalt was walled on each side with six feet high snow banks dirty from traffic spraying slush. Ann's ankle throbbed from keeping constant pressure on the accelerator to keep her Ford Falcon from losing momentum climbing up the mountain. Ann leaned forward urging the small engine on.

She thought she might change her mind and take Jerry up on his offer to buy her a new car when he gets well. But, her car was special. It was her first car, and she bought it with her own money. It would be hard to let it go. For now, though, she just wished it would climb faster than fifty miles an hour with the gas pedal pressed as hard against the floor as her ankle could stand.

Ann focused straight ahead, concentrating on the monotonous onrushing center line. Neither she nor Sylvia were in a conversational frame of mind. A fitful night without much sleep and the turnaround trip back to Boone had taken its toll on the two women. Their emotions were raw, liable to flare out of control with the slightest provocation.

As cars snaked their way up the mountain, her subconscious flashed back to Patrolman Knox leading them to the hospital only hours earlier. It seemed to have happened days ago. She wished out loud to Sylvia that Officer Knox was there to escort them again so they could be with Jerry sooner.

The sudden upward motion of the elevator pressed down on Ann's already nervous stomach, making her feel nauseated. She breathed in, slow and deep, and stared at the blinking floor numbers to combat motion sickness. Her body tensed when the bell for the fifth floor sounded.

Frozen with fear, she was herded through the open doors by anxious visitors behind her.

Jerry had been moved to the Critical Care Unit where he was monitored by a staff specialized in head trauma. Unfamiliar with this floor, the mother and daughter-in-law followed signs, often confusing, until they found the nurse's station.

"Good afternoon, I'm Ann Blackmon. Can you tell me where Jerry Blackmon's room is?"

"Mr. Blackmon is in room 513." Looking at Sylvia, the nurse asked, "Are you family as well?"

"I'm his mother."

"Family members are only allowed fifteen-minute visits at a time. Visiting hours are from one until four and from seven until nine."

"But we just got here!"

"Those are the rules."

Sylvia put her arm around Ann. She turned her away from the nurse and walked her toward room 513.

"Try to calm down, honey. It's three forty-five and we don't want to waste a minute. After we finish this visit we can go find a motel, have a relaxed dinner, and come back tonight. How does that sound?"

"I just don't think I can take much more before seeing Jerry. I promise I'll behave." Ann managed a weak smile at her mother-in-law and gave her a hug. Jerry's accident had brought them closer together and she enjoyed having her support, especially now.

The hall speakers blared without warning. "Code Blue, Code Blue!"

Ann and Sylvia cringed, clutching each other, not knowing what to do. The piercing speakers careened off slick walls like hail on a tin roof. They moved from the center of the hall to make room for a team running toward them pushing a crash cart and shouting, "Clear the way!"

"Oh my G.o.d, Sylvia, they're going into Jerry's room," Ann shrieked when the cart and crew turned into Room 513.

She ran and tried to follow the crash team into Jerry's room until a nurse stepped in front of her and blocked the doorway. "I'm sorry ma'am, you can't come in here!"

"d.a.m.n it, I'm his wife, you have to let me in there!" Ann tried to push by the nurse.

An orderly responding to the Code Blue saw the confrontation and pulled Ann away from the door. "Please calm down. You would only be in the way. You can go in as soon as he's stabilized, but until then you must stay out here. There is a waiting room just down the hall, you can wait in there."

"I'm not leaving this spot," Ann said. "Do you understand that? I'm staying right here until I can see my husband."

"Fine, but I must ask you not to enter the room until the doctor speaks to you and says it's okay. Will you do that for me?"

Ann reluctantly stepped across the hall. She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. Her fury showed in a scowl directed at anyone coming or going into Jerry's room.

Sylvia had lost her calm demeanor by this time and was unable to be the peacemaker.