chapter four
FALLING
“We shouldn’t invite her, all the trails aren’t open yet,” Rusty whispered to Summer.
“I bet she could handle it, you and Burke could teach her the basics in an hour,” Summer whispered back.
“No babe, I don’t want to deal with a newbie falling down. Let’s wait until they open up Lift One, Meadows is the easiest green. She should start there. We can go by ourselves and do the blues,” Rusty pleaded with Summer. “I don’t think they’ve opened any blacks yet,” he thought out loud, making a mental list of all the trails that were sure to be open. “But I’ll take whatever I can get.”
“We’ll talk about it after class, Rusty. Mrs. Beech is looking this way,” Summer warned.
We were in History class, watching a film on prohibition. Rusty and Summer sat in the back row debating whether or not to invite me to go skiing with them. I didn’t understand the entire lingo yet but I knew green trails were easiest, blue got harder, and black was a death wish for a beginner. It was the week after Thanksgiving and the day after our first heavy snowfall. Most of the mountainside was covered with a smooth, even blanket of fresh powder. But it wasn’t enough, apparently, because ski season was supposed to have opened on Thanksgiving day and the locals were getting anxious.
I listened to their exchange from the front row. That was one of the disadvantages of entering the school in October – you just had to take whatever desk was open. In History, all the back seats were taken, with Rusty and Summer back and center. Burke and Delilah sat directly in front of them.
I wondered if Burke was going to teach Delilah this weekend.
When the lights came on and everyone got up to make their way to the school wide assembly, I went over to them.
“Hey, don’t worry about it, guys. I can’t go this weekend anyway. Aunt Rachel wants an extra pair of hands in the shop. So, I’ll be working all day on Saturday.” I tried to smooth over the argument that I felt was brewing between Summer and Rusty.
“Oh, you heard us. Are you sure you don’t want to come?” Summer asked.
“I’m sure. You guys have fun on the blues,” I said, trying to sound like I knew what I was talking about.
“See babe, no big deal. We’ll take the gondola over Saturday morning,” Rusty said with a sigh of relief. He put his arm around Summer’s shoulders and they walked on in front of me.
Delilah and Burke followed right behind them. They were officially a couple now. Burke reached over and took hold of Delilah’s tiny hand with his full size one, as we all walked down the hallway.
“How did she hear us?” Summer whispered to Rusty. “We were in the back row and the movie was playing and everything.”
“Who knows, you’re loud sometimes babe,” Rusty answered.
“No way,” whispered Delilah “I could barely hear you and I was right in front of you.”
“You were probably lost in your tabloid trash mag again and I admit it,” Burke yawned, “I was sleeping!”
Oh crap! I did it again. I knew I could hear things at a greater distance than the average person. I was always forgetting to gauge the situation and decide if I should have been able hear a conversation or not.
All of my senses operated on different levels than everyone else’s. The traditional senses were all heightened: sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. The other six, little mentioned senses, were varied. I had a heightened sense of time and direction. I rarely needed to look at a clock and I always knew exactly where I was, which came in handy when I went exploring. My equilibrium and joint motion were completely average, hence falling and breaking my ankle. My sense of pain and sensitivity to temperature were both dulled. I knew when I should feel pain and was aware when I should be too hot or too cold, but it rarely affected me. A broken ankle felt like a slightly twisted foot. A cold day required a light jacket and my body didn’t pour sweat when it was hot. I shared most of these traits with James and Catherine.
“So... It’s the first weekend the ski lifts are running. I’m sure you guys will have so much fun on the slopes.” I smiled at the group as we sat down in the back row of the auditorium and waited for the assembly to begin.
“I’m not going yet,” Delilah chimed in. “Not until they open up Meadows. Rusty always says that’s the easiest one.”
“I’ll help you Dee, you can trust me. There’s always a green run open,” Burke pleaded, trying to convince her.
“No way bucko,” Delilah answered, unconvinced.
“My board needs some action.” Rusty was almost giddy.
“Mine’s trashed, time for a new one” Burke said.
I tuned them out as they continued on with their talk of snowboarding. My thoughts turned to Link. Our “friendship” had stalled. I hadn’t heard from him since a brief phone call a few days after our movie outing. He wanted to let me know he was leaving town for Thanksgiving. He promised he would call me as soon as he returned. I couldn’t help but wonder where he’d gone and was confused by my need to see his face again. I could count the number of times I had spoken to him on one hand. Why did I form this strange attachment to him so soon?
I needed to get my mind off of Link. As soon as school was over, I planned to visit James over at the medical center. With his work schedule and my school schedule, I just didn’t get to spend as much time with him as I liked. I decided I would stop by the Chinese restaurant first and order some Orange Chicken to go. It was James’s favorite.
Later that day, as I waited in the restaurant’s alcove that faced the street, I looked across the way at A Step in Time. Catherine stood, just across the road, fussing with an outfit on a mannequin. She pulled at the skirt and readjusted the belt, striving for perfection. I told the guy behind the bar that I’d be right back and exited the restaurant.
“Aunt Rachel,” I called out as I carefully made my way across Colorado Avenue. There was a combination of slush, ice, and snow that formed a line and trimmed each side of the road.
“Hi, Emily, how was school?” Catherine was always so good at assimilating into our roles.
“Oh, fine, I guess. I’m getting Uncle Jason some Orange Chicken do you want me to get you anything before I head over to the medical center?”
“No, I’m good. Give him my love and ask him to show you what he’s been working on in the lab lately... if the opportunity arises. It’s very interesting,” Catherine sounded cryptic.
“Okay,” I answered, a little confused but would definitely ask now that my curiosity was piqued. “See you at home in a few hours.” I waved goodbye and made my way back across the street to pick up the food.
When I arrived at the medical center I found James in his office, filling out paperwork. He probably spent just as much time doing that for as he did actual doctoring.
“Hi, Uncle Jason.” I smiled at him as I entered the room.
“Hello, Emily. I smell something good.” His face brightened as the sweet, spicy aroma of the Orange Chicken reached his nose.
“Favorite dish for my favorite uncle,” I sang as I held up the bag from the restaurant.
“Gee, thanks,” he said with a smile.
“So, I bet the good bone breaks are just around the corner. I heard at school that they’re finally opening the lifts this weekend. Betcha can’t wait for some action,” I teased.
“I never wish hurt upon anyone. I’m just glad that I am able to help when I am needed,” James responded, a little too seriously.
I had just been kidding and stammered, “I-I know, I-I didn’t mean that you ...” I was interrupted by Mrs. Paxton.
“Dr. Johnston, I just brought Sammy Tyler and his parents into Room One. He fell down the steps outside his home and landed on a broken bottle. The cut is pretty deep, it’ll need a few stitches,” she informed him.
“Thank you, Sheila. I’ll be there in just a moment,” he answered her and she hurried away. “Emily, come with me. I’m sure the Tyler’s won’t mind if y
ou observe.”
We walked back to Room One where Mr. and Mrs. Tyler were sitting. Mrs. Tyler held little Sammy on her lap. His arm was wrapped in blood soaked gauze. His dirty, tear-streaked face showed the pain this little boy was truly in. His parents’ faces were filled with anxiety and fear. But their tension visibly eased when James smiled at them. He had such confidence, and a way of silently reassuring those around him.
After introducing himself, and explaining my presence to Mr. and Mrs. Tyler, James turned his attention to little Sammy.
“Sammy, looks like you’ve got a huge owie there. I’m going to take a peek at it. But don’t worry, you can stay with Mommy while I do it. All I want to do is take that big white band-aid off your arm. Is that okay with you?” James looked directly in Sammy’s eyes as he spoke. His mannerisms almost immediately brought calm. I had never seen it duplicated by any other person.
“‘S’not a ban-aid, see cod it gaaz,” Sammy sniffled and pointed to see, Nurse Paxton.
“Well, you are so right, it is gauze. Let’s take off the gauze. You hold your arm real still and I’ll be very careful.”
“K,” Sammy looked into James’s eyes, no longer afraid.
James leaned over and gently pulled the stained gauze from the gaping wound. I took a silent intake of breath as I stared at the three-inch long gash in this tiny boy’s forearm. The edges of the wound were farther apart than they should be. I knew, from years of watching James in action, it meant meticulous stitches would be needed and not just the staples that could so easily close smaller wounds.
“Mr. and Mrs. Tyler this is going to need quite a few stitches. I’ve found from experience that sometimes it is easier for a child if the parents are not around. You see, at times, a parent’s anxiety can transfer to the child. If it is alright with little Sammy here, I’d like to finish fixing his arm while you two finish your paperwork,” James turned to Sammy urging compliance with his eyes.
Sammy’s parents’ eyes opened wider. I could immediately perceive their fierce disapproval of James’s plan. They wanted to stay with their son. But before they could open their mouths to protest, a little voice broke through the silent tension.
“‘S’okay, Mommy. You go an be back soon,” Sammy stated with a calm smile.
The Tylers still looked completely unsure of this plan but Sheila Paxton tried to reassure them.
“I know you are apprehensive, but I gotta tell you that Dr. Johnston is the best I’ve seen. As you well know, I’ve been here almost fifteen years and he’s the best. Just come on now. If Sammy wants you back sooner, then Emily here will come get you. Won’t you, Emily?”
“Right away, I promise,” I answered with sincerity.
The Tylers left and James turned his attention to Sammy.
“I’m going to wipe your cut with a red medicine that will take away the pain and help me fix it,” James said.
Sammy just nodded his little head, his eyes still held no fear. James took a chain out from under his shirt that held two keys. The first key opened a locked drawer, from which he extracted a small metal box. The second key unlocked the box. From inside the box he removed a two-inch square, sealed packet that resembled an antiseptic wipe. I knew exactly what it was the second he tore open the packet. I could immediately smell the blood, James’s blood, mixed with something else. I couldn’t make out the other aromas that fused with the distinct fragrance of James’s unique blood.
“Now turn your head Sammy this will hurt less if you don’t look while I am doing it,” James instructed the boy.
He took the wipe and gently worked it up and down the length of the cut. Sammy took an audible gulp of air as his open skin registered the pressure. But his shoulders soon relaxed and his face remained calm as the substance being wiped on his arm severely dulled his sense of pain. I watched in a stupor as the edges of the wound grew closer together. James opened another wipe and again rubbed the gash. The edges came even closer. By the end of the third application there was a dark pink line of a scar where just a few minutes before existed a tragic injury to this little child.
“All done Sammy, you are the bravest boy I have ever met!” James praised, as he wrapped the arm snugly with fresh gauze and taped the edges shut. “No more falling, okay?”
“K,” Sammy solemnly promised.
When his parents came back in the room, Sammy was all smiles. He ran to hug his mom first and then his dad, who scooped him up into his arms.
“Keep the dressing clean and dry for a week. If you feel it needs changing before that time then please bring him in to see me and I will change it. I used self-dissolving stitches that will disappear into the skin. He should be all healed up by the time you remove the bandage,” James instructed them.
The Mr. and Mrs. Tyler thanked James and left to take Sammy home. He was in desperate need of a bed. The poor little guy had passed out on his father’s shoulder within moments of being picked up.
“So, that’s what Catherine wanted me to see,” I whispered to James when we were back in his office with the door securely closed behind us.
“She mentioned that to you?” James questioned.
“No, she just mentioned that I should ask you to show me what you were working on. What was mixed with your blood? I couldn’t place the scent.”
“Oh, a number of things. I’ve been working for some time to find a solution that would effectively combine with my blood without completely diluting its healing powers. I’ve tried various chemicals and elements in nature. Some solutions wouldn’t mix, the blood would separate. Some were too thick and pasty and when diluted were useless. I think this one is pretty good. It only took three applications for the wound to heal. I’d like to lessen the dosage.” James’s face came alive, his mind already planning his next full day in the lab at home.
I’d never tried to heal anyone with my blood. Catherine had done it a few times, but clearly James was the one with a passion for it. He was pretty sure my blood would work similarly to the way his did. But I was unwilling to try. The one time I had used a knife to pierce through my skin, to draw blood, was the one time I had given up all will to live. I was still ashamed that I had done such a selfish and foolish thing. The memories of the events leading up to that moment still haunted me. I shook my head to push the memories away, banished into the corners again.
I left James to his work and walked out to the parking lot. I needed to go home. I had a math test to study for.
The SUV chirped as I pushed the button on my keypad to unlock the doors. A second chirp echoed the first, and I scanned the parking lot in anticipation. There it was, Link’s doppelganger of a vehicle, and there he was, waving. I ran over to where he stood, forgetting the recent weather change. My shoe caught a slick patch of ice, and there I was... falling.
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