Chapter Eight
I found Mom in the kitchen having just unloaded the last of the flowers. “If you are feeling up to it, I think it would be a good idea to send thank-you notes for all the flowers.”
Appreciative of the distraction, “Sounds good.” I hobbled awkwardly to the bouquet from Melissa that had been by my bed in the hospital. I pulled the card that was in the card holder and panic hit me. Max’s card wasn’t there! Where was it? The memory of hearing his answering machine and me throwing his card away came into focus. I was furious with myself. What an idiot! How was I going to call him? Max didn’t have my number. I hid the dread I was suddenly feeling so Mom wouldn’t see. “I’m going to go up to my room to write the thank-you notes, okay?”
Mom turned around, “It’s okay with me. Can you navigate the steps?”
“We’ll know in a minute. If you hear me falling, we’ll both know I can’t,” I replied with a smile, hoping my humor camouflaged my frustration. She chuckled back at me as I collected all the mini cards from the card holders in the flower arrangements.
“I’ve put all the cards and letters that came in the mail in your room. There must be fifty in the pile. I’ll run out and buy some more thank-you cards.”
I made it up the steps without incident. I lay on my bed and reached for my phone and dialed information. The automated attendant transferred me to a real person, and the directory assistance human cheerfully informed me of seventeen listings for Max Meyers in the Charleston area. Having no idea where Max lived, I asked, “Could you give me all seventeen numbers?”
The human stated, “I can give you five.” She rattled off the first five numbers of the seventeen. I dialed the first number and got an answering machine. I hung up without leaving a message, knowing that it wasn’t the same answering machine I had heard a couple days ago.
When I tried the second number, a lady picked up on the second ring. “Hi, this is Lauren, I’d like to speak with Max?” The lady answered, “This is Max.”
I know I sounded a little flustered when I asked, “I’m sorry, this is Max Meyer?”
She answered, “Yes, Maxine Meyer.”
“I am so sorry, I have the wrong number. We both hung up, and I called the other three numbers without hitting the jackpot.
Extremely frustrated with myself, I got ready to dial information again. I looked at the stack of unopened cards and all the cards I had pulled from flower arrangements. I found that I wasn’t feeling very thankful for anything and lay down on my bed. After a few minutes, I felt myself drifting off to sleep and did nothing to resist.
I found myself in a fitful sleep, with images of the shooter, of Max in my night-washed room, of Seth’s hurt look this morning, all mixed together. The dream of Max coming to me and telling me how urgent it was for me to find him, got all jumbled up with the events at the hospital, with the exchange between Seth and Max, Felecia worried about my heart monitor, then - a ray of hope. Doctor Gracie told me he had received several calls from Max. I awoke with a start, sitting straight up in bed. He must have Max’s number, or at least knew a way to contact him! I dialed information again, but asked for the number to the hospital this time.
When a receptionist at the hospital came on the line, I asked if she could connect me to Doctor Gracie. I was connected to his voice mail and left a message, “Doctor Gracie, I’m sorry to bother you. This is Lauren Davis, your gun shot patient, and I was hoping you could give me a call at your earliest convenience…” I left my number and sat back in my bed, thrilled that I’d soon have Max’s number.
I grabbed the stack of cards and opened each one. I was shocked that only five came from people I knew. I counted sixty-one from complete strangers. One message tugged at my heart more than any other.
Dearest Lauren,
I have no idea how to thank you. Fred is my son. You saved his life yesterday. No amount of money will ever repay your sacrifice, but I felt it necessary to do something. Please accept this as a small token of my appreciation and know that for the rest of my life I will remember what you did for my son and our family. I wish you a speedy recovery, and, if there is ever anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Love,
Maggie Lawrence.
Inside the card was a check for twenty thousand dollars.
Shock overtook me. How should I write a thank-you note for this one? Could I even keep this money? I’m sure my parents would say no. I set it aside as I opened the rest of the cards. I was shocked by how many cards from strangers came with cash and checks. One from a car dealer said I could have any car on his lot at cost. All the inscriptions were much the same, calling me a hero, saying how brave I was, or thanking me for a friend or a loved one who had been in the restaurant during the robbery. It was overwhelming, and all told I had received more than twenty-five thousand dollars from grateful strangers.
I began writing thank-you notes, but after ten handwritten notes, I realized that this was something I would have to pace myself for. I had been at it for a couple hours, and my hand was throbbing. When the phone rang, I picked it up on the first ring, hoping to catch it before Mom could.
“Hello,” I responded into the receiver.
“This is Doctor Gracie from Saint Joseph’s. Is Lauren available?”
“Hi, Doctor. This is Lauren. Thanks for calling me back!”
“Lauren, are you okay?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Safe and sound at home. I have a weird request for you. Max Meyers was the paramedic who got me to the hospital. Do you know how I can reach him?”
There was an audible sigh on the phone. “Lauren, I’m not an answering service. I’m very busy.”
“Doctor Gracie, I’m so sorry to ask, but I needed to ask him something about what happened at the restaurant, and I misplaced his number. I tried information, but I don’t know if he’s listed, and there are a ton of Max Meyers in the area. You mentioned that he called you a few times that first night, so I hoped you knew how I could reach him.”
Unenthusiastically, Doctor Gracie responded, “Hold on, I’m sure I’ve got his number here somewhere.” He did find it and gave it to me. I thanked him profusely and assured him I was fine.
I dialed the phone immediately. It wasn’t the number I had called before; it must have been his cell phone. Max picked up on the second ring. “This is Max.”
A thrill rang through my voice. “Hi, Max, it’s Lauren.”
Nothing. Silence. Did I dial the right number? “Hello? Are you there?”
“Hi, Lauren, you must’ve made it home okay.” His words were something close to monotone, and I knew he was still stung by Seth’s words this morning.
“Yeah, a couple hours ago. I’m sorry about this morning. I was thrilled to see you, but unfortunately I didn’t have time to talk to Seth alone before you arrived.”
“Yeah, I got that. So did you talk to him?”
“Seth drove me home, and on the way I broke it off officially with him.” There was a hopefulness in my voice that this would somehow fix the hurt I knew I had caused.
More silence, then Max asked, “So how’d he take it?”
I thought about it for a second, realizing I was so focused on convincing him that I was really serious, it didn’t occur to me how well Seth took the news. “Actually, he took it very well. He didn’t raise his voice or call me names or anything like you see on TV. He argued with me a little, telling me that I didn’t know what I was saying. But in the end he understood.”
“How clear were you?”
“I was very clear, and if you don’t mind I’d rather not talk about Seth, other than to say I’m sorry for our abrupt departure. I was just so thrown I didn’t know what to say…so, like a coward, I didn’t say anything at all. Are you mad?”
“Not mad, just…I wasn’t sure what I should have said. I wasn’t expecting to have your boyf
riend tell me he was all set for the next fifty years because you were okay.”
“Well, you said to call you when I was single. So…I’m single and I’ve officially called.” I was clueless as to what to say after that. Maybe something to the effect of you rocked my world and I wanted to see if you could do it a second time? Or you are the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen?
A stiff laugh came back on the line. “Well, I’m glad you are single. I’m a little worn out from last night. Do you mind if I call you later before I go to work? Maybe about 6 o’clock?”
Excitement zipped through me. He wasn’t holding my inability to speak at the hospital against me. “I’ll be waiting. Do you have my number?”
“You just called me, remember? It’s in my phone. I’m glad you called. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Okay, bye.” I set the receiver down and looked at the clock: five more hours. What would I say? I guess I had plenty of time to figure it out.
About two o’clock Mom came upstairs with another bag of mail, a snack and a drink. “How’re you feeling?”
“I’m good. Holy crap, I haven’t finished the thank-you cards from this morning yet! How many are in there?”
My mom smiled, “I stopped counting after one hundred. It is really amazing that so many people are sending you cards.”
“Mom, most of the cards have money in them, a lot of money.”
“Really? Well, that’s nice, Dear. Make sure you send a note to everyone.” She said this almost dismissively, and I wondered to myself if I should really tell her how much. She would find out eventually. “So far I’ve gotten nearly twenty-five thousand dollars.”
“What?”
“Yeah, I can’t believe this! So if you get to the store, I’m definitely going to need more thank-you cards.”
She picked up the pile of opened cards and read a few of the messages, then flipped through all the cash and checks. “Wow, wait until your dad hears about this. By the way, Gwen stopped by a few minutes ago. She told me you and Seth had some sort of fight?”
Oh brother, here we go – I should have expected Seth to send his mom. “No, not really a fight, I just told him I didn’t want to be his girlfriend anymore and thought it was time we dated other people.”
“Oh, Lauren, you two are so close. Did something happen?” I so very much wanted to blurt out, “Well, yes, I happened to meet a man who made me feel like I was holding a live electric wire.” Obviously, I thought better than to use that approach. There was no way she would understand.
“No, nothing happened. I just had a lot of time to think at the hospital and thought it would be good if we saw other people.” Knowing this was not going to go over well, I looked away pretending to be preoccupied with the new stack of cards.
“When you say other people, do you have anyone in mind?” Her tone was accusatory, and I knew I would either have to lie or confess. I am such a horrible liar, I decided it would be better to come clean.
“Well, kind of. There’s this guy, Max Meyers, that I would like to go out with.”
“How do you know him?”
“He’s the paramedic who came to the restaurant. He stopped by to check on me, and we hit it off.”
“You and Seth have been close for so long, I think you should really think this through before you make any rash decisions. Gwen told me he’s really upset.”
“Mom, I don’t want to date Seth anymore. I never really wanted to date him in the first place. The longer I drag this on, the harder it’s going to be on him. He’s a good friend, and I don’t want to keep pretending that he’s my boyfriend.”
“Lauren, you need to talk this through with Seth. I’ll invite him over, and you two can talk for a little while.”
“Mom, no. If you call him now, he’ll think I changed my mind, which will just make it harder on him later.”
Mom nodded and walked out my door. Wow, two for two. I was worried that either Seth or Mom would be hysterical when I told them. Maybe they’re scared of getting me angry because of my leg? Or maybe because I kicked them both out of my hospital room? Whatever the reason, I’m glad.
Rachael came by mid-afternoon. She looked like she was digging for information, so I was sure Seth had asked her to come investigate.
“So, how are you feeling?”
“I’m okay. I’m going to have to go back to school tomorrow and am dreading trying to hobble through the hallways.” The doctor had offered me a note but this was my last semester and I didn’t want to risk graduation.
“Look on the bright side. You’ve got a built-in reason for being late to all your classes.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“I talked to Seth today.” I was right; she was digging. “He said you broke up with him this morning. Why? And don’t tell me it’s complicated!”
“No, not complicated. I just think we should date other people, that’s all.”
“Other people? Are you crazy? You two are perfect for each other. If you let him go, another girl’s going to snatch him up.”
It would be in bad taste to say that I was pretty sure I had already found a replacement. “If you’re volunteering, I say go for it.”
“Be serious, Lauren.”
“I am serious. You have a great personality, you’re beautiful, Seth and you are already close. I think you two would be a great couple.”
“Lauren, I’m serious. You need to work this out before somebody realizes he’s available. I’m not one of them, but there are hundreds of girls who would kill to be dating Seth.”
“Well then, that’s good news. No one will have to kill anyone. He’s available now. Maybe you could help convince him to put himself out there? I know he won’t listen to me, but he may listen to you.”
Rachael stayed a little longer but was taken by surprise that I had no interest in keeping things going with Seth. I guessed that she felt the need to go brief him on everything I’d told her.
After dinner I caught myself watching the clock. I knew Max told me he would call me, but I couldn’t wait any longer. I went up to my room and dialed his number, half expecting him not to answer.