Sweet Serendipity (29 page)

Rebecca was dumbfounded. She didn’t know how to respond to any of it. She turned to Jack.

“Should we call a lawyer? I wish Tasha was still here. They can’t do this, can they Jack?”

He looked over the paperwork and shook his head.

“Unfortunately, Becky, it looks like they already have. I’ll put a call in to my lawyer and see if they can look over the paperwork.”

He pulled out his phone and walked down the hall to make his call.

Carol walked over to the nurse’s station to give them copies of the paperwork which in turn made her Adam’s guardian.

Rebecca walked back inside and didn’t know how to say goodbye to Adam. Riley looked at her mother and knew something was wrong. Ethan stood off to the back of the room so he stayed out of the way.

Jack walked in and looked pale. He walked over to Rebecca and squeezed her arm. “Hey buddy, the hospital is going to move you to another room. They need to keep an eye on you for a couple days to make sure that you are alright. They will run a few tests and you’ll get a chance to rest your body. From what I understand there is all kinds of games to play including video games.”

Adam looked from his father to his mother.

“Are you sending me away because of what I did?”

Rebecca grabbed her son and hugged him tight.

“Never. You just gave everyone a scare, sweetie. Before they can release you, they need to know that everything still works. We won’t be able to see you for a couple days, but I promise you, we will be waiting when they let us in.”

“I want to go home. I don’t want to take any stupid tests. I just want to go home.” His eyes filled up as his lip began to quiver. Rebecca felt as though someone was squeezing her heart.

“Hi folks. I hate to say this, but we are moving him now.” The nurse came in and began to remove his I.V. She turned toward Rebecca and Jack.

“There is some paper work that needs your signatures on it, and then we can begin.”

They slowly said their goodbyes and walked out into the hall. Adam was crying out for Rebecca. It took Ethan and Jack to keep her from running back in there to her son. Jack shook his head, “we can’t interfere. We could get arrested if we go against the orders until the evaluation is done.”

“I can’t do this Jack. I almost lost him yesterday. I can’t do this.”

She wanted to hit someone. She wanted to scream out. Jack looked to Ethan and Ethan understood without words what he needed to do. He wrapped her in his arms until she calmed herself down. She finally lost her fight. She took a deep breath and they all walked out of the hospital together.

Jack turned to his daughter, “do you want to come with me?”

“I just want to go home to my own bed, Dad. Maybe we can meet up later for lunch or dinner.”

He kissed Riley on her forehead and then gently rubbed Rebecca’s arm. He patted Ethan on his back and climbed into his truck. Rebecca and Riley climbed into Ethan’s BMW and they set out to Rebecca’s house.

They entered in through the kitchen. Riley hugged her mother, “I’m exhausted and just want to lie in my own bed. I’ll see you guys in a while. I love you mom!”

“I love you too Riley.”

Riley left the room and closed her bedroom door.

Ethan walked up and wrapped his arms around Rebecca. “Can I get you anything? Are you thirsty or hungry?”

She had her head resting on his chest. She could hear the comforting sounds of the rhythm of his heartbeat. “I just want to lie down with you. I just need to be held.”

“You got it!”

He led her up the stairs and she kicked off her shoes. He climbed on her bed and pulled her into the crook of his arm. She closed her eyes and loved the slow movement of his breathing. It soothed her.

“Remind me to thank whoever cleaned up the kitchen when all of this is over.”

She closed her eyes and fell into a deep, stress-induced sleep.

The phone startled Rebecca out of a deep sleep. She looked at the clock and it read four in the afternoon. “Hello” she answered. She couldn’t hear a word that was being spoken.

“Slow down Tasha what are you trying to tell me?”

“I’m trying to say that my cancer has not progressed. It has not gotten worse. Don’t you see that Tong Ren is working, it really is. Micah and I are doing it on a daily basis now. I swear to you Becca it’s healing me.”

“That’s wonderful news Tasha. I’m so happy to hear it. When are you going back again?” Becca asked.

“I go back in three weeks. Unless, of course if I should feel worse. I know that won’t happen.”

“That’s great news Tasha. I am absolutely stunned. It is a miracle.”

“It’s not a miracle Becca, it’s the Tong Ren. I swear it has changed my life. The doctors had all but given up on me, and now….there is no denying what the tests say.”

“There was silent moment. “So, what is happening with Adam?”

Rebecca sighed. “They are evaluating him over the next….” She looked at the clock. “The next sixty four hours now.”

“That’s tough. What happens after that?”

“I’m not sure yet. It depends on what they come up with. I just want this to be over. It’s killing me to know I can’t even talk to him. I just want to hold him and tell him that it will be alright.”

Ethan kissed her on her shoulder and left her to talk to her friend.

“You know, he’s a tough cookie. He’ll be just fine.”

“Why didn’t I see this coming? How could I not realize my own son was depressed?”

“Because he is at that age, Becca. It’s all hormones and puberty. No one would have suspected this. It is certainly not your fault.”

“I feel like a failure as a parent. I feel like I can’t protect them.”

“You are a fabulous mother. You always have been. What happened to Brian was nobody’s fault, and what is happening with Adam is not your fault. You need to realize this yourself or you’ll be no good to your son.”

“Alright, I know. I need to be strong. The next two and a half day are going to be very long.”

“It’s what you have us for, and Ethan. Take advantage of it. I have to run now, Ashlee is calling through. I love you and keep your head up.”

“Tasha, I’m really glad that you are doing well. It’s wonderful news.”

They hung up the phone and she crawled out of bed. She poked her head in Riley’s room, and Riley was still sound asleep. So, walked down the stairs and into the kitchen where she smelt a delicious aroma emanating from the kitchen. She walked in with her arms across her chest and forced a smile on her face when she saw Ethan wearing the apron her kids had given her for mother’s day.

Ethan looked over at her and struck a pose.]

“How do I look?” He had one hand on his hip and a spatula in the other pointed up in the air. Rebecca couldn’t help but laugh at how easy it was to be around Ethan. Riley came bombing down the stairs and stopped short when she spotted Ethan’s pose.

“Nice! That’s a very becoming look for you, Ethan.” She hugged her mother and walked to the refrigerator. Ethan never faltered. He took Riley’s comment to mean that she accepted him.

“If you ladies don’t mind, you can sit at the table and dinner will be done shortly. I have prepared crispy fried chicken with roasted red potatoes and asparagus on the side.”

Riley licked her lips. “Sounds great!” she commented.

Rebecca grabbed some napkins and silverware and set the table.

Ethan served the dishes and sat at the table. Riley dug right in. She stuffed a potato in her mouth and barely bothered to chew. She cut a piece of chicken and popped it into her mouth. “Oh my god Ethan this is to die for.” She looked over at her mother, “he is a total keeper. He paints, he cooks, and he’s super sweet. If you don’t marry him mom, I will.”

Rebecca nearly choked on her asparagus as she listened to her daughter ramble on. Riley covered her mouth and blushed.

“Sorry, was that too much?”

Ethan winked at her and smiled gently at Rebecca. She hadn’t really thought of marriage at all. She knew that she loved what she had with Ethan, but it was still so new. She picked at a piece of chicken and placed it in her mouth.

The next two days dragged on. Riley started her senior year in high school. She was a day late in returning, but the school understood with what had happened with Adam. Rebecca had to call Adam’s school and explain that she was hoping he’d be able to start within the week. They told her to just take care of him. Ethan had to go back to work at the gallery. He started classes for young artists in the afternoon so she didn’t hear from him until later in the evenings.

Emily was busy training her new employee, whom she was thrilled to have on board. The woman would drastically free up Emily’s time so she could be around for Andrew more.

Tasha was all consumed with the healing center, and Tong Ren. She was planning on meeting the man who created the concept of Tong Ren therapy, his name is Tom Tam. She wanted to learn from the man himself. It was all that Tasha would talk about other than Micah who seemed to have changed her life too.

Rebecca did what she always did when she had something on her mind, she wrote. Using the confusion and pain she herself was living through, she jotted it all down on paper. She did a lot of reading on childhood depression. She wanted to know everything she could so that when she walked into the doctor’s office she would have a full understanding of what lies ahead for her son.

She stood by the window in her study and looked out at the pond, the pond that nearly took her son’s life, the pond that will always serve as a reminder, day in and day out of her child trying to take his own life. She backed away from the window and looked around the room. The room held nothing but memories. Not many good ones, heartache and sorrow. She knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to sell the house. She didn’t want to be reminded of Brian’s death. She wanted to remember him as her angel. She didn’t want Adam to see the pond and then be thrown right back into the depressed despair that consumed him. She wanted something new, something that would only hold new memories, good memories. She sat back down at her computer and Googled real estate agents. She picked up the phone and dialed.

Jack met her at the doctor’s office. They entered the room together and were shown to some seats. The woman told them that the doctor would be in soon to talk to them. Rebecca sat and fidgeted with the handle on her pocketbook. She was nervous. Jack looked at her and tried to give her a supportive smile, but on the inside he was just as nervous as she was.

The doctor entered the room with Carol Woods in tow. They took a seat across the table from them. Rebecca noticed how professional they looked, and it made her worried that she wasn’t going to like what they had to say.

“I know the last three days have been difficult for the both of you,” the doctor began. “We had a chance to run some tests and speak extensively with your son, Adam. He is in perfect health. There is no lasting damage from his incident. We have come to the conclusion that he suffers from depression and we feel that at this point he needs to begin a medication regimen.”

“You want to drug my ten year old?” Jack asked with a flip tone.

“I understand your apprehension, but he has already been cutting himself and he did try to commit suicide.” Carol said.