The Confession (6 page)

Running into the room,
Lydia stopped in
mid-step
when she saw the look on Adam’s
face. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“It’s Gail. A car hit her. Hurry up and
get dressed.”

The drive home took longer than
anticipated due to a bus accident on the expressway. Adam used this
time to call the hospital. “David, how is my daughter?”

“She’s unconscious Adam.
Her injuries are
severe
. I am prepping her for surgery to
repair her broken leg. She has multiple
contusions
and two
fractured ribs. I have the blood bank on alert. Gail has a rare
blood type, and I want to be prepared.”

“What? That’s not possible! Her blood
type is O Positive.”

“Her birth certificate has
O Positive; however, when I ran Gail’s blood work to prep her for
surgery, her blood type is AB Negative. I also checked your records
as well as Lydia’s. Both of you have Type O. I ran the test three
times. I think you know what I’m
saying,
Adam.”

“Check it again, David. Make sure you
are correct before you operate. Do you understand what I am
asking?”

“Yes, I
know
and I wish
I
were
wrong. I’ll run it one more time.”

Adam pulled onto the side
of the road as nausea gripped him with such force; it robbed him of
the ability to speak.
Lydia only heard part of the conversation, and she knew Adam was
upset.
Why were they talking about blood
types? Her heart thumped in her chest. “Adam, what’s wrong? You
look like you are going to be sick.”

Adam shook uncontrollably as the tears
flowed down his face. “David ran Gail’s blood work. Her blood type
is AB Negative. We both have Type O blood. Do you know what this
means Lydia?”

“Adam, you are scaring me. What does it
mean? I’m not a doctor.”

Adam shook his head in disbelief. “It
means that we are not Gail’s biological parents. It means that
there may have been a mix-up at the hospital. It means; were you
unfaithful to me Lydia?”

The implications of such a question hit
her like a sledgehammer. “I understand the need to ask me this
question; however, it hurts more than I can say that you would
think I could ever have an affair. There has to be another
explanation.”

Remorse consumed
him,
and he felt physically ill. “Honey, I’m sorry I hurt you. I
don’t understand how this could have happened. We need to see Gail
before her surgery, and we will figure out the rest of it later.
Gail needs us.”

A state patrol car pulled up behind
them. “Sir, may I see your license and registration?”

When Adam
showed him
his identification, he told the officer, “Our daughter is in
the hospital. I felt ill and pulled over
to
the side of the
road.”

“What hospital?” the officer said
kindly.

“University of Pennsylvania Hospital,
Philadelphia.” The officer was kind enough to give him a police
escort to the state line. Adam focused on his driving and remained
quiet. Lydia tried speaking to him several times, but he ignored
her. Adam snapped out of his stupor once they arrived at the
hospital. His parents and Bobby were still sitting in the waiting
room. When Margaret saw her son, she ran to him. “Thank God you’re
here. They won’t let us see Gail.”

“Wait here for a minute. I need to find
out what’s going on.”

When Adam returned to the
waiting room, the look on his face confirmed Lydia’s worse fear.
Walking over to her, Adam reached for her hand and practically
broke her fingers. The tension radiating down his arm was palpable.
She followed her husband into the ER. The familiar sounds of
clicking and beeping bombarded him as they walked towards the
nurse’s station. Adam lived in the ER, and for the
first time
, the sounds and smells made him sick. “My daughter Gail Brady
was admitted a few hours ago. I want you to add my parents, Colin
and Margaret Brady, and son Robert to the visitor’s
list.”

Adam took several deep
breaths as he approached Gail’s room. The curtains were open, which
gave the doctor’s and nurse’s the ability to see into her room. The
sight of her broken body made Adam ill. Lydia
choked
back a sob
as she entered her room. A quick scan of the monitors showed Gail’s
blood pressure and pulse
are slightly elevated
. Her skin felt
clammy and warm. She had two
IV’s
in her arm. Her leg was in
a temporary cast, and her ribs taped. Looking over the bed to his
wife, Adam once again felt the tears flow down his face. Lydia
lowered her head and kissed her daughter’s hand. Whispering, she
said, “Gail honey,
mommy,
and daddy are here.”

Adam felt the reassuring touch of his
mother’s hands on his shoulders. “Whatever is wrong, we will help
our little angel.”

Leaning in to kiss her
forehead, he whispered, “Mommy, gran, gramps and Bobby are here
sweetheart, and everything will be ok. We all love you so
much
and will be waiting here for you when you wake up.”

Father Mallard volunteered at the
hospital twice a week and I want to continue the visitation. It
would be an excellent opportunity to reach out to some of my
parishioners. Sunday afternoon would be my first visitation, and
honestly, I embrace the opportunity of helping those less
fortunate. Father Mallard and I discussed his routine, and he gave
me a notebook with patient names and room numbers. Visiting with
the waiting family members will be my first stop. It startles me
when I see my entire family in the emergency waiting room. “What’s
happened? Why are all of you here?”

I stand next to my mother
while Adam fills me in on what has happened to Gail. When Adam
tells me what room she is in, I ask everyone, “Come with me,
please.” My heart aches as I look down at my beautiful niece. She
looks fragile, and honestly, like a little girl. It’s
hard seeing
anyone injured, but it is especially difficult
when it is a family member. We may not be close, but she is still
my brother’s child. I stand next to Gail’s bed and anoint her with
holy water. With a trembling hand, I gently run my hand over the
top of her head. I recite the prayer for the sick, anoint my niece
with holy water and bent down to kiss Gail’s forehead.

A few minutes later, a
nurse approached Adam. “We do not have enough AB Negative on
reserve. We have contacted HUP requesting five
pints of whole blood
. We need at least two
pints of whole blood
before we
can operate.”

The look on
Adams'
face concerns me. He glances at Lydia and leaves the room. I
look over to Lydia and she is crying. It troubles me seeing her
upset and I offer my assistance. I turn to the nurse and say, “I am
AB Negative.. I would be more than happy to donate blood for my
niece.”

“Thank you, Father Brady.
As soon as we run a cross-match, we can operate on Gail. The
remaining reserve should be here within the next two hour. The
cross-match should only take ten minutes. We have
a
machine that speeds up the process. If you would please follow
me, I will take care of you.”

I follow the nurse to an empty room and
sit on the gurney. The nurse follows me into the room.

“If you would lie down Father, I will
start the IV. If you feel dizzy or nauseous, please tell me.” She
places a stress ball in my hand. “Squeeze this while you are hooked
up to the IV. It will help to speed up the donation. There is juice
on the table should you feel thirsty.”

I lie
on the gurney as the nurse hovers over me.
The process does not take long, and my mind is focusing on the
ball in my hand. Thirty minutes later, the nurse has collected two
pints of blood. It makes me a little sick seeing my blood in a bag.
A few crackers and grape juice
take
away
nausea.

Thirty minutes later, David asked to
speak to Adam. “I don’t know how to say this Adam. We ran the
necessary donor tests on Father Brady’s blood. Adam, as you know,
the machine that we use is foolproof. Gail and Father Brady’s blood
is an exact match. Based on this, John Brady is Gail’s
father.”

All of the
color
left Adam’s
face,
and he crashed
to
the floor. The
agonizing sobs that ripped through him felt like fire. His wife had
sex with his brother. His wife was unfaithful, and the love that he
felt for her died. He felt
hollow
as if his life force
suddenly left him.

“Adam, are you ok?” The concern in
David’s voice brought Adam back to the present.

“No, I’ll never be ok.”

The hours passed slowly, which gave
Adam a lot of time to think back. He furiously tried to remember
anything that would have passed for infidelity, but there were too
many gaps in his memory. Being a resident in training sucked up all
of his time. He continued to watch Lydia out of the corner of his
eye. Her face was flaming red, which was a sure sign that she was
upset.

Walking over to his mother, Adam sat
down and rested his head on her shoulder. The simple gesture
brought back many memories. He reached out to hold her hand. He
felt like a little child running to Mommy when he had a problem.
Now he needed the comfort of his mother’s hand holding
his.

Straightening in his chair,
he once again looked at Lydia. She had fallen asleep leaning
against his father. Several minutes later, he went up to his
office. Still reeling from the shock, Adam went to his file cabinet
and retrieved Gail’s medical
records
. How had he missed this
all of these years?

Slowly, he looked through
her file. The birth certificate clearly showed Gail’s blood type as
O Positive, which is obviously incorrect. How could the hospital
make such a huge mistake? Both he and Gail were Type O. Upon
further
investigation;
Adam came across
old
test results dating back several years when Gail had her
tonsils removed. Scrolling down the report, and to his horror, AB
Negative glared back at him.
How did I
miss this?

I am not Gail’s
father.
A myriad of emotions ripped through
him.
Oh, God, she is not my baby
girl!
Adam covered his face with his hands
and cried a river of tears. In one awful night, he lost his
daughter. Turning his chair towards the window, he shut off the
light and closed his eyes.

When he never returned to the waiting
room, Lydia sent him a text message. His phone vibrated against the
glass top of his desk. Adam looked over to see that Lydia sent him
a text message

Where are you?

I’m in my office.

Why? What has happened? Is
it Gail?

Gail is still in surgery. I
am reviewing her medical record. Can you come up now? I need to
speak to you.