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Package Deal(46)

By:Kate Vale


“That, too, will heal. But we won’t know what sort of effects she’ll have from that injury, not for some time.”

Amanda’s brain seemed to kick in and she found her voice. “Are you saying she’s brain-damaged, she won’t be normal again?”

“No. I’m saying that the brain injury, the bruising she sustained, may result in loss of memory and, temporarily, some cognitive skills, but we won’t know until some time has passed. She probably won’t remember being hit by the car. We’re keeping her sedated so she doesn’t move, so she can rest. We have to give her time to heal. Time while she’s here and after you take her home. She’s going to need lots of time. At this point, we don’t know how much.” The doctor looked over at the monitors, where lights blinked in counterpoint to the rhythmic beeping of the other machines. “You can stay with her as much as you like, except when we’re doing tests. You should probably go home at night. You’re going to need your rest, too.”

Amanda frowned and shook her head. “I’ll stay.” Her voice was steady now, firmer, resolve returning. “I’m staying. Right here. I’m not leaving. Not for a minute.” The look in her eye when she gazed back at the surgeon dared him to try to remove her. Marcus squeezed her shoulders. She took it to mean he agreed with her.

The surgeon looked like he was about to say something.

Before he could do so, Marcus asked, “When do you expect to reduce the sedation so she wakes up?”

“We’ll do that gradually. We don’t want her reacting to the pain when she does wake. Kids tend to thrash around and we don’t want that to happen. It could be days, or maybe just hours. We’ve already started the process and thus far, things are proceeding normally.”

“The police may want to talk to her,” Marcus continued, remembering what Mike had told him about accident investigations.

The doctor frowned. “That will have to wait until she is fully conscious. And … her mother will want to be with her—to give them permission—parental consent, since she’s a minor. I understand she ran into the street into the path of the car?”

Amanda looked up. “She knows not to do that. I don’t understand why she would have done that. And she knew I was only going to be gone for a few minutes.” She started to weep again, remembering. “I shouldn’t have left her. This is all my fault.”

The surgeon looked at Marcus and then at Amanda. “Mrs. Gardner, you can’t take on that responsibility. Cecelia needs you to be strong for her.”

Amanda rubbed her daughter’s arm and started to whisper to the unconscious child. She stopped. “She squeezed my hand!” She looked at the surgeon. “She must be waking up.”

“No. She’s not awake, not yet. But at some level, she recognizes that you’re here. That’s good.Feel free to stay as long as you like.And, when you decide to go home, just let the nurses know to call you whenever they notice a change. You know her best.” He left the room.

“Squeeze my fingers again, Cece. Mama’s here. Everything’s going to be all right, sweetheart.”

Marcus turned to her, keeping his voice low. “Amanda, hon. There’s something I have to do. Will you be okay if I leave for a while?”

Her eyes never left Cecelia, but she nodded. “Yes. Tell the nurses I’m not leaving. No one’s getting me out of here.”

“You made that clear to the doctor. He’d be a fool to try. I’ll be back later.” He kissed her cheek, and left Cecelia’s hospital room.



Marcus went back to Amanda’s house. The front door was still open. Like when Cece ran out? He took a seat on the couch and let his eyes roam the room, taking in details, looking for anything that might tell him what had spooked Cecelia. He was sure something must have driven her out of the house when she was expecting both him and her mother in minutes. It was a while before he spied the student paper on the floor, picked it up, and put it on the end table. He rose from his seat, opened the door and looked out, trying to visualize what Cecelia must have done. She knew not to run in the street. He went into the kitchen, made a cup of coffee and drank it.

Marcus called Gregory Hillier, who said he would arrange coverage for Amanda’s classes.

“I don’t think she’s going to be in any shape to teach for the next couple of days, at least.No one knows how long it will be—the doctor didn’t say much.” He paused and gathered himself, afraid his own suspicions might be revealed in his words. “One other thing, Greg. I found a student paper at her house. Would it be possible for me to check to see what class he’s in? Maybe he was at her house before the accident.”Maybe the student knows something.