Message Received (14 page)

“I guess I’m confused,” the doctor said.

“Yeah, I get that,” Brady acknowledged.  “Okay,
anyway, my granddad’s name is Ike.  Can you at least nod if that’s the name of
the man you saw earlier?”  Brady abruptly frowned.  “Hey, wait a minute.  When
was he here?”

The doctor shook his head, as if fearful of
divulging something he shouldn’t.  Brady pulled out his license, in order to
prove his surname matched Ike’s.  “Look, see.  I’m Brady McKinney.  My granddad
is Ike.  We’re worried about him because he takes blood thinners and has to
have his blood checked one a week, in order to determine…”

“I know,” the doctor said, and then appeared to
relent.  “Okay, since there are obviously extenuating circumstances, and since
you showed me ID…”  He made a worried face but began talking.  “Your granddad
had blood work done this morning.  I’ll be contacting him with the results.  I
got the definite impression he’s taking his health concerns seriously.  He seemed
relieved to hear that if he continues traveling, I’m able to call ahead to
other medical clinics if need be, in order to arrange for his blood work.”

Brady sighed with relief and turned to Amanda. 
She nodded encouragingly.  At least they knew Ike would be taking his
medications per his doctor’s instructions.  “Thank you, Doctor,” he said, and
then took Amanda’s elbow again and began walking toward the exit.  He abruptly
stopped, as if remembering something of importance.  “Hey, did I hear
correctly?  They’re going on a cruise?”

  The doctor nodded.

“Of course they are,” Brady murmured.  “One more
thing, doc…”

“Yes?”

“When were they here?”

“They left about two minutes before you got
here.”

“Ike, just look at the size of the ship.  It’s
huge!”

“You really don’t get a sense of the size until
you’re up close, do you?” he observed.

“You don’t,” Liz agreed.  “Oh, look, they’re
putting out the gangway.  This is so exciting!”

Ike checked his watch.  “Liz, we have plenty of
time before we depart.  Why don’t we grab lunch?” 

His cell phone suddenly trilled in his pocket. 
He checked the screen and didn’t recognize the number.  He remembered he was
expecting a call from the medical clinic.  “Hello.” 

“Mr. McKinney, this is Megan from the urgent
care clinic in Cocoa Beach.”

“Oh, yes.  How are you?”

“I’m well, thank you.  Hey, I wanted to tell you
that your blood work indicates you should remain on your current dosage of
blood thinner medication.  Oh, and the doctor wanted me to remind you that you
need to be sure to have your blood work done same time, not necessarily same
place, next week.  If you are still in Cocoa Beach, please don’t hesitate to
stop by here.”

“Will do.  Thank you,” he said cheerfully.

“Oh, Mr. McKinney, the doctor would like a word
with you.  Hold on, please.”

He heard a bit of rustling on the end of the
phone line, and then the doctor began speaking.  “Hello, Mr. McKinney.  Blood
work looks fine.  Hey, uh, well, I have to ask you a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you have a grandson named Brady?”

Ike gave a surprised gasp.  “I do.  Is he … all
right?”

“Oh, yes, he’s fine.  Well, as far as I know. 
Anyway…”

“Is Amanda okay?” he asked worriedly.

“Well…”  The doctor couldn’t divulge anything
about Amanda’s ear infections, due to privacy laws, but he realized that Mr.
McKinney might very well have gotten a misimpression about the young woman. 
But what could he do?

“Look, as far as I know, they’re fine,” the
doctor said.  He couldn’t say more.  “But they are looking for you and
apparently, the woman you’re with.”

“Wait a minute!” Ike cried, as understanding
dawned.  “Brady and Amanda are in Cocoa Beach!?”

“Er  … yes.”

Ike didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.  He
turned to Liz, who was standing beside him, puzzled.  “Liz, the kids are here.”

“
What
?”

He turned his attention back to the phone call. 
“Hey, doctor, thanks for letting me know.  Oh, another thing.  Do they know
we’re about to go on a cruise?”

He heard the doctor sigh.  “Look, I’m sorry.  I
didn’t mean to divulge anything about you or your travel plans to anyone.  Your
grandson was leaving the exam room and overheard me give your lab orders to
my…”

“It’s all right,” Ike assured him, but froze as
he processed the doctor’s words.  “Wait a second, doc.  Why was Brady in an
examination room?  Is he hurt?  Or Amanda?  Is it Amanda?”

“No one is hurt,” he reassured him, and wished
he could get off the phone.  He was walking a fine line when it came to privacy
laws and seemed to get himself in a deeper mess every time he opened his
mouth.  “Look, I have to go.  If you need any additional information, you
should call your grandson,” he finished in a rush.  Click.

Ike stared at the phone in his hand.  “Liz, the
kids are in Cocoa Beach,” he said, shaking his head.  “Doesn’t that beat all?”

“I heard,” she said with a wince, and then
smiled.  “I guess they really do care about us.”

“Yeah.  I guess so.  Uh, Liz, they were at the
clinic, and happened to overhear the doctor give my lab orders to his
assistant, but apparently, they were there to see the doctor…”

“Why?” Liz gasped.

He shrugged.  “I don’t know.”

“I’m going to call Amanda right now.  Ike, we
can’t take a cruise if one of them is hurt or ill.  We just … can’t.”

 “I know, honey.  You’d better make that call.”

She hurriedly dialed Amanda.  She picked up on
the second ring.  “Have you left on your cruise, Grandma?” she asked pointedly,
without preamble.

“Honey, are you all right?” Liz cried.  “Is
Brady all right?”

“Oh, we’re fine,” she said dismissively.  “It’s
you and Ike we should be talking about.”

“Amanda, why were you at that clinic?  Tell me.”

“Oh, I have ear infections.”

“Oh, honey.  Not again.”

“Yeah, it’s my lot in life.”  She refrained from
mentioning that they had probably started on the beach, when she and Ike had
sent her and Brady there to apparently, bond.

“Oh, I know.  It’s just not fair.”

“Uh, we’re getting off track here, Gram.  Hey,
so, you know we’re in Cocoa Beach then?”

“Yeah, the doctor sort of told us.”

“That doctor has kind of a big mouth,” Amanda
observed.

Liz chuckled.  “Sounds like he was in a tough
spot.  I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“Yeah, so Grandma, why’d you go on the lam?”

She chuckled.  “I didn’t go on the lam.  I went
on vacation.”

“You should have told us,” she scolded.  “Brady
and I have been losing our minds with worry.”

“Oh, honey.  That’s sweet.  You do care.”

“Of course we care, Gram.  What made you think
we didn’t?”

“Well…”

“Don’t answer that,” Amanda moaned.  “I know. 
I’ve been neglecting my entire family lately, haven’t I?”

“Well, the truth is, yes.”

“Grandma, I’ll make it up to you,” she promised.

“Oh, honey.  It’s okay.  But Amanda, I really
don’t have time to talk.  Ike and I are going to get lunch, and then come back
here and try to be first in line to get on the ship.  We want to get a picture
of us taking that first step onto the gangway, and then we want a photo of us
at the top.”

“Well, yeah,” Amanda said chuckling, and then
shook her head.  “Grandma, are you sure you should go?  What if you get
seasick?”  She suddenly remembered her grandmother had recently flown for the
first time.  “Oh, Grandma, how were your flights?  Were you scared?”  She
braced for her answer. 

“
I loved them
,” she cried.  “I can’t wait
to fly again.  On the flight to our first layover, we hit turbulence.  The
plane was bouncing like a basketball and it was so
fun
!”

Amanda was silent for several long seconds. 
“You’re kidding, right?”

“No, it was exciting!”

“Uh huh.”

“Oh, honey, that’s right.  You hate flying,
don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do,” she agreed with a sigh.

“Hey, where are you right now?  Maybe you and
Brady can meet us for lunch?”

“Actually, the doctor put me on three days of
bed rest.  I guess my ears are pretty bad.”

“Oh, Amanda, how are you going to fly home if
your ears are badly infected?”

“I won’t,” she said succinctly.  “I have to
stick around Cocoa Beach until I’ve finished a round of antibiotics, and then
if the doctor gives the okay, I can head on home.”

“I should be there taking care of you,” she
murmured.  “Oh, I should cancel my cruise.”

“No, Gram, don’t do that.  I’m fine.  You’ve
come all the way to Florida, so you may as well enjoy it.”

“Oh, honey, I wish you could enjoy your time in
Cocoa Beach too.”

“You and me both,” she muttered.  “Ow!” she
cried, when she felt a piercing stab of pain in her right ear.

“Here, Amanda,” Brady whispered.  “Take this
pill.  It’s been nearly four hours since the last one.”

“Thanks,” she whispered back.

“Was that Brady?” Liz asked.

“Yeah.  Poor guy.  He’s stuck here with me.” 
She took her voice down a notch.  “Gram, I tried to convince him to leave me,
but he won’t.”

“He’s a good boy,” she said approvingly.  “It’s
not every man who will nurse a sick person.  Heck, I got a toothache and your
granddad disappeared.”

“Grandma!” Amanda chuckled.

“I’m kidding,” she said.  “He left for a pack
of…”

“Grandma!”

“All right.  All right.  I’m kidding.  He left
because he was a sorry excuse for a man.”

Amanda sobered suddenly, and then sighed.  Her
beloved grandma deserved some fun.  “Grandma, you have a wonderful time on that
cruise.  Take a million pictures to show me.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be all right?  If
you need me, I will cancel.”

“No, don’t you dare.  Frankly, I wish I could
join you, but I have a horrible case of vertigo, and don’t think I could risk
getting seasick on top of it.”

“Okay, honey, I’ll call you when we get back.”

“Okay.  Love you.”

“Love you more.”

***

 “The grandparents are about to climb the gangway,
and you’re stuck here with me,” Amanda said guiltily, as she cast a glance at
Brady.

He was sprawled out on his bed, watching
television.  “I’m fine,” he told her, without looking at her.  He aimed the
remote at the movie currently playing.  “Have you seen this one before?” he
asked.

She shook her head.  “I don’t think so.”  She
rose slightly and pounded her pillow.  She fell back against it.  The pain in
her ears was excruciating and every time she made a sudden move, the room began
spinning. 

“Do you need anything?” Brady asked, now looking
at her.

No.  There’s nothing you can do.  The room is
spinning.”

“You have vertigo?” he said with a wince.

She nodded and the spinning intensified.

“I’ve had it a time or two,” he said, and sat
up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.  “We should have asked the
doctor if you can have a motion sickness pill.  Wait a minute…”  He rose and
crossed the room to his carry on luggage.  “I may have some with me.  I’ve been
known to experience a bout of motion sickness when I fly.”

He rummaged through several side, zippered
pockets on the luggage and finally found what he was looking for.  He pulled
out a small box of pills and checked the date.  “Hey, they’re still good,” he
announced, apparently surprised.  He poked two pills through the silver
packaging and crossed the room to give them to her.  “I’ll get you water.”

He returned with a cup and she swallowed the
pills.  “Thanks, Brady.”

“Not a problem” he assured her and checked his
watch.  “So the grandparents are climbing the gangway as we speak?”

“Yes, and you should have gone with them,” she
announced, as if an idea had just come to her.  “Shoot, Brady.  Why didn’t we
think of that?  You could have gone on the cruise with them, rather than
sitting around here with me.”

“Hey, I signed up for this job,” he announced.

She gave a bewildered face.  “You didn’t sign up
for anything.”

“Well, regardless, I’m not going anywhere. 
Heck, this is kind of relaxing.  I’m sorry you’re sick, but this is the most
downtime I’ve had in years.  It’s kind of nice to have a legitimate reason to
kick back in a dark room and vegetate.”