Read Grimm's Last Fairy Tale Online
Authors: Becky Lyn Rickman
Grimm's Last Fairy Tale (11 page)
Her mood improved slightly, but she was still restless. She wanted to leave this place. She wanted the accident to never have happened. She wanted to talk to Jacob in the car with the breeze blowing through their hair and Jimi Hendrix blasting on the radio. She wanted her kids to know the truth and mostly she wanted to get on with treatment.
She had a series of tests and scans that morning and it flew by. She had only an hour to rest before lunch and she slept harder than she had ever done before, snoozing right through the vitals check.
Lunch was a lovely chicken salad sandwich with a cup of noodle soup and a slice of carrot cake. It was a feast and the one other highlight to the day.
She had just settled in for another nap when she heard that voice again. It was David Clark. She had completely forgotten about his visit.
He had a large bouquet of daisies and roses, her absolute favorite, but she showed only mild pleasure at it. She couldn’t let him off the hood that easily.
“Mr. Clark.”
“Ms. Austen.”
“How is Captain Wentworth?”
“He is well. Who is tending to your felines?”
“A neighbor.”
“So, have you devised any sort of punitive tasks for me to perform to compensate for the trouble I’ve cause you?”
“I’m still thinking on that account, but let me ask you this. What sort of attorney are you?”
“Mainly family law. Probate. Estates. That sort of thing.”
“Then it occurs to me that you might be the man to handle my will. I have not drawn one up as yet. It never seemed the time. Under the circumstances, it might be expedient.”
“Yes, of course, I could do that. And, of course, it would be non-gratis.”
“I would hope so.”
“How are you holding up? Are they treating you alright?”
“Yes, as well as anyplace I’ve been. Of course, up to this point, I haven’t had much in the way of medical care. Childbirths. Oh, and once I was in the hospital for pneumonia, but I was only 15 at the time. I guess I’m making up for it now.”
“Is there anything you would like? I wasn’t sure what to bring. I chose my favorite flowers. I hope they’ll do.”
“Daisies and roses? Yes, they’ll do. Thank you.”
“What are your favorite flowers?”
She couldn’t lie.
“Daisies and roses.”
“No!”
“Yes, I’m afraid so.”
“Ms. Austen, it would seem we have somewhat in common.”
“Don’t become too familiar, Mr. Clark. We are accident buddies, nothing more.”
“I never meant to infer anything, Ms. Austen. Please call me Dave.”
“It’s Margaret.”
“No, I’m pretty sure it’s Dave.”
“I think you know what I meant.”
“Just trying to introduce a little humor into the situation.”
Maggie smiled a little.
“A Big Mac.”
“Excuse me?”
“I would like a Big Mac.”
“Right now?”
“Yes, right now.”
“Would you like fries with that?”
“Oh, you are funny, aren’t you? No fries, but a vanilla shake.”
“I’ll be back in 15 minutes.”
He left the room and Jacob could hold his tongue no longer.
“What is this thing going on between you two?”
“Jacob, what is wrong with you?”
“It just seems that you are becoming awfully familiar with him.”
“We are going to be speaking to one another to settle the accident. We might as well do it in a civilized manner. I’m really a little surprised at your attitude over this. We are solid, Jacob.”
“I’m sorry, Margaret. It is so hard not to be able to talk as freely as we normally do.”
“Ms. Austen, are you alright? Who are you speaking with?”
“Oh, nurse, I’m fine. Really. I just talk to myself a lot lately. I live alone, you know. So it’s either me or the cats usually and they are not here right now. I’m fine.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to call the doctor.”
“Oh, I’m sure!”
“OK, then. Try to get some rest.”
“Will do.”
She waved the nurse out of the room and looked longingly at Jacob with a shrug of her shoulders.
She turned her head and looked out the window and through closed lips, much like a ventriloquist, she muttered.
“I’m sorry. I’ll speak with you later.”
Jacob made his way back to the dark green vinyl hospital visitor chair and put his chin on his hand and also stared out the window.
Frustration nearly sucked the oxygen out of the room.
The arrival of the quintessential burger brought her out of her doldrums. Her mouth literally watered at the sight of it.
“This is the only thing that prevents me from being a vegetarian.”
Mr. Clark smiled and watched her wolf down the treat and polish it off with the slurpy vanilla shake.
“Feel better?”
“I’m not sure. That might have been a mistake. We’ll see how it settles in my stomach.”
“Then I guess you won’t be wanting these chocolates anytime soon?”
“What kind are they?”
Maggie slanted her head and raised her eyebrows in feigned disdain. She had a weakness for chocolates and she had to fight back her curiosity.
“Half nuts and half truffles. I had them customize a box for you at the confectioners.”
Maggie could hide it no longer.
“How on earth did you know?”
“Know?”
“That these are my favorites? This is getting a little creepy.”
“Are you serious? I just guessed. I hoped you would like them. I wasn’t even sure about the nuts. So many people are allergic. These are also my favorites, so I took a chance.”
They stared at one another and Jacob rolled his eyes. What was this thing that was developing between the two of them? Was this some game he was playing to try to lessen the damages she could lay claim to from him? It didn’t matter. He was intrusive and he needed to leave Maggie alone and let her rest.
Jacob signaled to Maggie behind David’s back by slicing his horizontal hand across his throat, his way of letting her know she needed to cut this conversation short and get an afternoon nap.
Maggie smiled and winked at Jacob and continued to chat with her visitor. Clearly she was enjoying the attention she was getting from this stranger. She had gone from a wish of never having anything to do with a man to being the recipient of the kindnesses of two.
“So, Mr. Clark,”
“David, please.”
“So, David, what is going to happen here with this case? Despite your generosity, you were clearly negligent. What are the potential repercussions?”
“I was arrested and released on my own recognizance. A hearing will be scheduled in which you will be asked to testify, I’m sure. You speak your peace. A judge decides my sentence. I may lose my license. I may spend some time behind bars. It just depends on the judge. It may affect my association with the bar.”
“And what if I don’t press charges?”
Jacob’s eyes shot darts at her. Was she serious or was she taunting one or the both of them?
Again, she smiled over David’s shoulder.
“It’s a hypothetical question. I’m just curious.”
“The truth is, Maggie, may I call you Maggie? The thing is, I broke the law. This isn’t a civil case. Your testimony might or might not weigh in on the judge’s decision. If you, then, chose to, you could file a civil suit against me and collect damages beyond what you will receive from the insurance company.”
“I see. Very interesting.”
She smiled like the Cheshire cat. She was milking this.
“Do you have children, David?”
“I do. They are, of course, grown and on their own. I have two boys and a girl. I am still waiting on grandkids. They seem to be dragging their feet. I believe it is some sort of retribution for something I did to them as teenagers. Who knows?”
Maggie chuckled.
“Mine are the opposite. They breed like little bunnies. I have a brood and they are producing their own broods as fast as they can.”
“I guess that must be a tribute to the way you raised them. They must like family if they want their own.”
“No, they are just bent on showing me how to do it properly. They seek every opportunity to point out my inadequacies by correcting them in their own households.”
“What a terrible thing to say.”
Jacob was gaining some insight into Maggie’s assessment of her life as a mother. He wasn’t sure if she really felt she didn’t do the kind of job he esteemed her to have done, or if this was another attempt at self-deprecating humor. Either way, he felt it was in poor taste for her. He squinted one eye to let her know.
“It was part humor, part truth. I do have one child that tells me time and again what a terrible job I did and how much better she could have done and will do with hers.”
“And your husband?”
“Two exes. The stories behind those marriages are too weird for color television.”
Maggie was bringing out all the charm and wit she had been storing for so long in that trunk of safety.
“Well, David, it was lovely to see you again. I’m almost glad you ran into me, but not really. I need to rest now. Would you mind showing yourself out? I have given the butler the day off.”
“No, of course. I’ll be off then. You rest and maybe I could stop in again tomorrow. Same time?”
“With pink grapefruit?”
“Pink grapefruit it is!”
“Oh, this has got to stop,” Jacob muttered under his breath. “I must find a way to nip this in the bud!”
He could no longer refrain from speaking out.
“You don’t have to respond in any way that will make the staff suspicious, but I would just love to know what is going on in that little calico head of yours. I have watched over you your entire life and you have always been so humble and most of the time so beaten down and now I am looking at this person who has become almost too self-assured. You are playing with someone whose gross negligence put you in the hospital. What am I missing? Oh, yes, I know. I am missing Margaret. Have you seen her?”
Maggie’s face turned downward and tears began to trickle at first and then came the great deluge.
“Oh, Margaret, I am so sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
She did not speak. She only stared at him through red, puffy eyes.
In came some cute little Nurse Nancy to the rescue.
“Ms. Austen, what is it? I saw you crying on the monitor. Are you in pain? Do you need some medication?”
“No, I’m fine. I just had a bad memory. I guess I
was
sort of remembering the accident.”
“Oh, well, that’s actually a good thing, I think. Do you need for me to call someone for you to talk to?”
“No, actually, I think I’d rather be alone, thank you.”
Her eyes turned to Jacob as she said those words. He understood and he disappeared.
In a mixture of complete bewilderment and shame, Maggie cried herself to sleep.
in which Maggie pines for Jacob,
tries to dismiss real affection, and a
trek is once again commenced
The rest of the day limped along with the usual interruptions for medical assessments and Maggie found herself missing her bosom companion terribly.
That night, she tried calling him softly without moving her lips, but he must not have heard her, because he did not come.
She did not rest well, and when the morning sunlight peeked in through the blinds on the window, she glared back at it as if to chase it away.
“You didn’t sleep well, did you?”
It was a man’s voice, but it was not Jacob’s.
“Oh, Dr. Franklin, I didn’t hear you come in.”
“I haven’t been here long. I was just waiting for you to stir. How are you today? The nurses tell me you had an episode of talking to yourself and a little bout of painful memory. Would you like to talk about either of them?”