Page 27 of Letters Book Two
“No, you aren’t. But, you do need to stay here, Lucas. Perry needs you to stay.”
“You know him?” I stared into his face as he smiled the most angelic smile I had ever seen. “You’re an angel, aren’t you?” I asked.
“Sort of. I’m still helping someone I love deeply. I want to help you too.” He freed his feet from the sand and let go of my hand. I didn’t see him move, but he was suddenly twenty feet down the beach, fading away.
“Wait! Wait! You didn’t tell me about the favor?”
He stopped and turned back to me. He held a hand up, urging me to stop. “Stay there please. Fight. I need you to stay and fight, Lucas.”
“I will. I promise I will. But, who are you?” I asked, willing him to not leave. I felt safe with this stranger. I was sure God had sent him for me. “Can you stay with me for a while? Please?” He shook his head. “But, I don’t know your name? Who are you?”
“You know who I am, my friend... you know.”
I whispered, “Jack?”
He melted into the surf as my feet reappeared and I felt myself being lifted off the sand.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: Perry
“Ican’t go in there alone, Chad. Please don’t make me.” Chad guided the black, rented Tahoe into an available space outside Hilton Head Hospital. He had been with me since the helicopter picked us up at the estate and took us to Kennedy International in New York. From there a private jet flew us to Hilton Head Island airport, a small regional airport that could land the midsized jet. From the moment of Mrs. Howard’s call to us pulling up in front of emergency, it had been less than eight hours.
Chad had spoken with Mrs. Howard at least every thirty minutes of the journey until just before we landed. The last hour or so, she had not been picking up. I was alarmed and feared the possible reasons. From those conversations, we knew that Mr. Howard and the unknown to me, Clint Bowers, were both out of surgery. Both men had lost a lot of blood and were still unconscious in the ICU. The next twenty-four hours were going to be touch and go. The staff had not been in contact with her concerning Lucas because he was still in surgery.
“We can sit here as long as you need, Perry. However, Lucas is in there, and the sooner you’re at his side, the better it will be for him. He needs you now. You can get through this,” he said, still holding my hand from when he reached for it after we parked.
He was right, I knew it, but I was frozen in place. Fear had me in its embrace and refused to let go. What if I went in and had the same conversation with a doctor that I’d had less than a year ago. Like Jack, Lucas was dangerously close to dying. I didn’t make it to Jack in time, but I was here now, I could be with Lucas. “I’m afraid if I go in, he’ll die.” I placed my hand over my mouth to try and stifle a sob. “Like Jack did.” Too late, the sob escaped, and I doubled over. Chad had his hand on my back and was quieting me.
He leaned into my ear. “Listen to me, Perry. That’s not Jack in there. Yes, Lucas could die, but right at this very moment, he’s alive. You are going to sit up and get your shit together, my friend. Do you understand me?”
He was right. Jack was dead before I was able to get to him. Lucas was not dead.Lucas is not dead. I could do this. I have to do this.“You’ll stay by my side?” I asked, lifting my head and turning to Chad.
“Every step of the way. We have your future to rescue, mister. That boy in there is your future.”
Chad called Mrs. Howard to let her know we were there. She said she’d meet us in the OR wing. All three victims were located in one area or another of the operating rooms and ICU.
I had only met Mrs. Howard a couple of times that summer, but I recognized her immediately as she walked toward us. The polished and regal woman I remembered was not this woman. She was disheveled and pain was etched on her face. “Mr. Jackson, thank goodness you’re here,” she said, raising a hand in distress.
I reached for her hand to steady her, and she fell into my arms. I held her against my chest as she tried to compose herself. “Please, ma’am, call me Perry. I’m terribly sorry about your husband. How is he?” She pulled back from my embrace, her face plagued with emotion. Her eyes filled with tears as she tried to get the words out, her mouth opened and then closed again. “Mrs. Howard? What has happened?”
“He’s passed,” she whispered.
Chad quickly moved to my side and held me up. “He’s... what... no, he can’t be,” I said, a familiar fear gripping my heart.Mr. Howard is dead?Hello darkness, my old friend.I felt the numbness creeping in and stood staring past her and down the hall. Lucas was down that hall somewhere.Was he going to pass too?Chad grabbed both of us by the hand and led us to a waiting area and out of the hall traffic. He placed us in chairs and knelt in front of Mrs. Howard and held her hands in his. I guessed from the looks of my body language and her face, he decided to take control. I sat stunned into silence.
“I’m Chad, ma’am. I’m the one that has been speaking with you all day.”
“I know, son. I recognize your voice. Thank you for everything.” She dropped her head and stared at her hands that were in his. “It has not been a good day, Chad.”
“I am so very sorry about your husband, ma’am. Can I call anyone for you? Can I do anything for you?” Chad asked, looking directly into her wet eyes.
“There is no one to call now. Ed was all I had. Him and my grandson, Lucas.” She reached for her handbag that she had placed at her feet and grabbed a handkerchief. She straightened up and held her head high, slowly drawing in a breath. “I cannot afford to grieve right now We cannot lose Lucas. That boy has to live.” I watched their movements as if from a distance, isolated from the words and this world. They continued a conversation, but I had moved on and into one of my grief protection zones, alone in my mind.
I sat stunned and unable to move. I was in the clutches of a possible breakdown. I had been here before. I had felt this overwhelming shock before. It wasn’t lessened by my experience. In fact, it was worse. My body recognized this feeling. I knew the routine by now. No need to run. You can’t cheat death. I had tried once before and failed miserably. I closed my eyes, willing myself to another realm.Jack? Can you hear me, Jack?I needed Jack to handle this one. I was far too weary to attempt a second round.
I felt a hand slide into mine and opened my eyes. Chad and Mrs. Howard were still beside me, holding hands. I looked down at mine.Who was holding mine?I heard his voice as clear as I hear my own thoughts.“I’m here. You need to focus now, Perry. You can do this. Promise me.”Jack? You’re here?
Some crazed or possessed look must have crossed my face because Chad gave me a quizzical look. “What?” he asked.
“It’s Jack. He’s here,” I whispered, thinking Jack was about to join us for a reunion.
