Keep Me As An Apple of Your Eye - 26. December 26 Boxing Day

Thursday, December 26

Boxing Day

5th Night of Chanukah

2^nd Day of Christmas

Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant,

and to his supplications, and cause Your face to shine upon

Your sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.

Psalms 43:3

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me two turtle doves.

from “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” The two turtle doves represent the Old and New Testaments.

The alarm went off at 4:30 a.m. Erick had forgotten to reset the clock after getting up early for Christmas Day. He turned it off, rolled over and snuggled close to Todd and went back to sleep. They awoke at 7 a.m. They were refreshed after such a busy Christmas Day.

They kissed each other, then had frowns on their faces from their morning breath. “Ooh, we ate too much spicy food yesterday.” They laughed and went to the bathroom to clean their teeth. This time Todd stood behind Erick and held him with one hand while he cleaned his teeth with the other. Erick was bent over the counter top when he felt Todd’s need pressing into him. He smiled and said they had all day to make love.

“Well, it is Boxing Day and since we are giving the servants the day off, I will fix breakfast.”

“Very good, my Lord. I will set the table but first I need a large mug of coffee and some Ibuprofen. The football hero is hurting this morning.”

“Food first or you will be puking all over the kitchen.”

Erick thought he knew better and popped 800 mg. In less than five minutes he was running to the bathroom where he hugged the toilet. He wandered back into the kitchen and Todd looked at him and smiled.

“Told ya. But when do you ever listen to your boyfriend?”

“Argh, I don’t which is worse: the pain, the puking or your knowing everything attitude?” Erick grinned at the last part of his statement.

“Sit in the dining room and food will be coming in a minute.”

Todd had put together a platter of leftovers from his mother along with fresh scrambled eggs and bagels. He grabbed the cream cheese from the refrigerator.

“Now, let’s try this again. Some food and then I suggest 200 mg. of Ibuprofen. You are such an overachiever.”

The telephone rang and Todd got up to answer it. It was a voice he was not expecting.

“Erick, your dad is on the phone.” Erick gave him a quizzical look and then smiled that his father was calling.

“Hi dad. What’s going on?” His smile quickly turned into a frown and then into fright.

“We will be there as soon as we can. Tell him I love him. Please tell him I love him. I will call when I figure out transportation.”

Erick turned and Todd knew it was bad news. Very bad news.

“Sit down and tell me what is going on.”

“It is Eron. He wasn’t feeling well yesterday. During the night he became very sick and my father called 911. They took him to the local hospital. They have now flown him to Boston. My parents are home packing and then driving to Boston. We need to pack and go.”

Todd’s mind immediately went to the practicality of putting things away and packing for their trip. Only he didn’t know how long they would be gone. It sounded serious but once they got to Boston, they would know exactly what was wrong and he would be okay.

“We do best when we have a plan. Erick, look at me, love. Help me make a plan.” Erick was standing and then Todd saw him slump to the floor in tears. Todd went down on his knees and embraced his partner. “We need to be strong for Eron and your parents. Erick look at me.” Erick looked up and Todd could see the fear in his eyes. “We need to be strong for your parents and for Eron. We have to do this together. Are you able to help me?” Erick nodded his head.

They sat down to make plans. Erick said he would make the flight reservations. Todd starting putting all of the food away. He also went to the bedroom to start sorting through clothes and packing suitcases. He heard Erick’s voice become shrill on the telephone.

“He is dying, I need two seats on a flight to Boston today. Please. I know it is a day after Christmas but surely you can fit us on the flight. My brother is dying.”

There was silence and then he heard Erick call someone a bitch. That wasn’t going well.

“Erick, let me try to get reservations. May I try?” Erick handed Todd the telephone. There were no airline seats available. Todd knew that it would be a nightmare to drive to Boston and with Erick driving they might not make it. He called Amtrak.

“Yes, the Lee Hall Station. We will be there. Do you have us booked on the Acela from Washington to Boston? Excellent. Here is the credit card number.”

“The train? The fucking train? We won’t get there before he is dead. My poor brother.” Erick slumped again. Todd realized that he would never be able to count on Erick during emergencies. But he wasn’t going to worry about that.

“We are picking up the train here at Lee Hall Station. We can leave the car at the station. In D.C. we will switch to the Acela which will get us to Boston. By the time you count driving to the airport, going through security and probable delays in Philadelphia we will get there at the same time. Erick, I love you and I know you can do this.”

Erick just nodded.

Todd had one more telephone call to make.

“Erick, I need for you to take a shower while I take care of something.”

As soon as Todd heard the water running, he called his parents and explained the situation. After talking briefly with his father, he heard his mother’s voice. “What train are you on? It doesn’t matter. I will call Amtrak. Todd, tell Erick we love him and will do whatever the two of you need. Take care, son.”

They arrived at the Lee Hall Station and Todd took care of the transactions. Luckily, he had cash left from his Christmas shopping. He hoped that he would be able to cash a check somewhere in Boston. He could have his father put more money into his account, if needed. His father would know what to do. They found a train car without too many people. Todd got Erick settled and shortly after that they got to Richmond. There was always a tedious trip to go through Acca Yards because many of the tracks had been there since the late 1800s. They pulled up to the Staples Mill Road Station and Todd looked out the window and saw his parents. Todd told Erick he would be back and walked to the front of the car where the steps had been lowered for passengers to get on. His father was standing there with an envelope he handed to Todd.

“Put that in your pocket. Don’t lose it. You will need it.”

His mother handed him a basket. Todd realized it was filled with food stuffs for them to eat. His mother also handed him a small envelope. “There are sleeping pills in this envelope. Erick may need them. It sounds like he is having a difficult time. As soon as Tayloe gets out of a mediation session today we will let him know.” They both kissed him and told him to call as soon as they knew something.

After leaving Richmond, Todd realized they really hadn’t eaten breakfast before the telephone call. It was past lunch time. He made Erick eat something and then forced a sleeping pill on him.

“We will need to be alert when we get there. Sleeping on the train will be good for you.”

Erick swallowed the pill, kissed Todd, took his hand and shortly was asleep. Todd was wide awake. He had a porter help him when they switched trains at Union Station in Washington. Todd was very generous with the tip. His father had given him an envelope of cash money. In the envelope was also a note to let Todd know if he needed more money to call and he would have it put into his account. While Erick was awake Todd fed him some dinner from the food basket. Erick said he was feeling better but wasn’t sure how things would be in Boston. After passing Providence, Todd woke Erick and told him they needed to freshen up before arriving at South Station. They took turns using the small bathroom on the train. When they reached the station, Erick was back to his energetic self and was chomping at the bit to get off the train. Todd had everything planned.

“We will take a taxi to the hospital. I have made a reservation for a car tomorrow. We are both too tired to try to navigate Boston tonight.”

Todd found a taxi and told the driver to take them to Tufts Medical Center. The boys were both well dressed and the driver thought there was a less of a chance of getting stiffed on the fare. It was after midnight when they walked into the patient area. Erick dropped his suitcase and ran across the room and hugged a couple. Todd knew they were Erick’s parents. Todd organized their belongings and walked over.

Erick made an introduction and Todd shook their hands. They seemed very reserved with him. After such an effusive welcome for Erick from his parents he was trying to make sense of this very reserved couple. Erick’s parents were attempting to tell him about Eron’s problems but Erick was inpatient and kept pushing for more information. In a moment of exasperation, Erick walked to the nurse’s station and asked if he could speak with a doctor. The nurse’s mouth fell open and she didn’t know what to say. She had just seen this same patient who was in a coma yet he was standing before her in a sports jacket. Erick realized the confusion and told the nurse that it was his twin brother in the bed. She blinked a couple of times and then let out a big breath of air.

“You scared me for a second. I didn’t know what to think. Let me page the doctor who is following him. Have a seat and he will be here in a few minutes. He is with another patient right now.”

Erick noticed all of the Christmas decorations that were placed everywhere. He pulled out his kippah and put it on his head. Todd did the same. The Emmanuelsons were surprised that Todd would have a kippah.

“Erick and I did not have a chance to celebrate Chanukah tonight. Could we do that now? There are no candles to light but we can pretend there are.”

Just at that moment, a doctor walked up. He heard what Todd had said.

“I have a Chanukkiah in my office if you would like to go there. I never had a chance to celebrate either.”

After instructing the nurse to put their suitcases in a safe place, Dr. Hirsch led them through a set of doors and they were in an office space. He opened his office door and they saw the Chanukkiah sitting in the window.

“If you look directly across, there is Eron’s room.”

Erick grabbed Todd’s hand in a mighty grip. “We are praying for Eron.”

All five of them said prayers in a combination of English and Hebrew for Eron. They focused on the word compassion. They thought of the kindness and compassion of the doctor who was providing care to Eron. Dr. Hirsch focused on the kindness and compassion of the nurses he worked with. He knew they were the backbone of the medical care system and without them he could not do his job. The candles were dying down when Dr. Hirsch said they should go see Eron. It was way past visiting hours but Dr. Hirsch led them down the quiet hallway. He whispered to them and said it would be a short visit and then he would sit with them and give an update. When they arrived at Eron’s room they saw three nurses attending him. The doctor asked the family to stay in the hallway for a minute while he checked to see what was going on.

“Apparently prayers work. Your Eron scared the nurses because all of the monitoring levels changed a few minutes ago. Instead of coding, this is the reverse. He is awake. Let the nurses finish and then we will go in.”

One by one, the nurses left and all three did a double take when they saw Erick. Finally, Erick giggled and Todd knew that another hurdle had been jumped.

When they entered the room, Eron was lying awake. He had a loopy grin on his face as he said that there were two of each of them. He didn’t know that he had been unconscious. He only knew he had been feeling bad and laid down to take a nap. He wanted to know where he was.

Dr. Hirsch introduced himself and said they would only be there a few minutes. “I will send nurses back in to look after you. We will see you tomorrow.”

“I need to talk to my brother.” They all left including Todd after he got Erick seated. They went to the waiting room where Dr. Hirsch gave them an update. He looked at Todd and asked if he could remember everything to tell Erick.

“Yes, but he will still want to talk to you. I am just a mathematician and he doesn’t put much stock in us folks.” Todd laughed after he said that.

“I put a lot of faith in people like you. Without your knowledge we wouldn’t have most of this expensive equipment we use to treat patients like Eron.”

Erick came out and, as predicted, wanted to hear from Dr. Hirsch exactly what was going on. After getting an update, Erick said they needed to find a hotel to spend the night. Luckily, Mr. Emmanuelson had made reservations at a hotel down the road and had checked them in for the night. He handed Erick a room key. After finding two taxis they were delivered to the hotel. They kissed good night including Todd this time and went to their rooms.

Todd took charge as soon as they entered the room. He never thought of himself as a caregiver but he was living into the role. After they took showers and cleaned their teeth, Todd handed Erick a sleeping pill.

“I don’t want it.”

“Yes, you do.”

At that point Todd put the pill on the end of his tongue so that when he kissed Erick good night he could push it into his mouth. Erick smiled and took his medicine. Todd crawled into bed and spooned his boyfriend. Neither of them moved during the night as angels watched over them and Eron.

“Hymn of the Cherubim”

Peter Illich Tchaikovsky

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPlK5HwFxcw