Raising the Limit-Book 1 - 17. Chapter 17

TC’s parents checked out the Sarasota area on Monday and then on Tuesday they rented a car and drove down to Naples to visit friends of theirs who had retired down there. When they returned they both were enamored of the area. Nicolas told TC that they might focus on purchasing a winter home down there. It was two hours from Sarasota, close enough for them to visit, but far enough not to be a nuisance. That suited TC just fine. He was gaining a new appreciation for the people who raised him and could now understand that they had truly wanted what was best for him and his sister when they were growing up, they just hadn’t gone about it in the best way.

TC’s parents were scheduled to fly home on Saturday. They made another trip to Naples on Thursday to meet with a realtor their friends had recommended. When they returned Thursday evening Nicolas and Helen told TC that they had signed a lease to rent a condo from February through April. They wanted to ‘test drive’ the area as their realtor had suggested. If they liked it then they would look at homes to possibly purchase.

The four of them got together on Friday for one last dinner. They went to a seafood restaurant on Main St and enjoyed each other’s company one last time before Nicolas and Helen left the following morning. TC was driving them back to Tampa for an eleven o’clock flight.

Once TC’s parents were gone things got back to normal and the next couple of weeks were busy for both the guys. It was the end of the month before they knew it.

Halloween was on a Thursday this year and David’s neighborhood was chock full of kids. He invited TC over to keep him company. They doused themselves with insect repellant, mosquitoes loved to target David and the wet, rainy season meant that the little fuckers would be relentless. Florida had mosquitoes all year round. A small price to pay for temperate winters.

It was a warm night so David set out a couple of camp chairs and a small table to set the big bowl of assorted candy on. The candy bowl sat atop its own bag of ice, chocolate didn’t fare well outside in the warm air. He had a cooler with beer and another bag with some snack food for them. He waved at the neighbors as one by one they came out to do the same. Trick or treating started when it was still light out, usually around six-thirty the first little goblins, ghouls, princesses and superheroes started to show up. David and TC had fun handing out candy and David didn’t even mind when older, teenage kids stopped by. He figured they were better off going door to door begging for candy than hanging out at the parks or empty lots drinking or doing drugs. Kids grew up so fast nowadays that if a few of them wanted to cling to a childhood ritual then so what? They’d get a taste of the real world in a few years anyway. Why rush it?

The trick or treaters finally started to taper off between eight and eight-thirty. By quarter of nine, they had packed up the chairs, moved the table back to the garage and brought the leftover candy inside. David usually brought it into work for his coworkers to finish off. He didn’t need the extra sugar and calories. Not that he didn’t hoard away a few bite sized Snickers and Twix for a rainy day.

TC was just gathering his stuff up when David’s phone rang. He saw that it was Renee. David answered, a sinking feeling pooled in the pit of his gut. Renee never called him this late.

“Hey Renee, What’s up?” he asked, hoping for the best.

His hopes were dashed when he heard Mike’s voice instead of Renee’s. “David, Lyssa’s been in an accident. She’s alive, but they’re arranging for her to be flown to Boston Children’s Hospital. Her leg is broken really bad and she has some burns too. We still don’t know the exact extent. Renee is a mess.”

David’s legs had given out and he had slid to the kitchen floor, his back against the refrigerator and started shaking. TC immediately knelt down and took the phone from him and put it on speaker. He had heard most of what Mike had said.

“Mike. I’ll have David there first thing in the morning. Please take care of Renee and keep us posted. Text us with updates when you have them please?” TC said.

“I will. She’s stable right now and we’re waiting for the helicopter to arrive. Renee is in with her, but she’s still unconscious. I’ll let you know where we’ll be when we get to Children’s.” he replied.

“Thanks.” TC ended the call and put his arms around David, who continued to shake like a leaf.

David’s breathing was rapid as he tried to retain control. TC stroked his back soothingly until at last the shudders came to an end.

“Go pack a bag. I need to make some arrangements, OK?” TC said gently, but firmly.

David nodded and stood up on legs that felt all rubbery. He looked at TC and said “Fuck! My little girl, TC. She has to be OK. She just HAS to be!”

“I know, but now is not the time to lose it. You need to stay calm, you heard what Mike said. She’s stable. That’s good David. Now go do what I told you.” TC told him sternly.

David merely nodded as he obeyed. He heard TC low voice as he called someone and was amazed at what the man was doing for him.

TC called his business partner. Tom Wells. As soon as Tom picked up, TC launched into crisis moderator mode.

“Tom, I have a situation, I need to get David up to Boston tonight, early morning at the latest. His daughter has been injured and they’re taking her to Children’s Hospital. Could you make arrangements for a jet to be ready and let me know what time we can take off?” TC instructed.

TC and Tom’s company didn’t own a corporate jet outright. They didn’t have a need of one full time, nor did they have the funds. Instead they would charter a jet when the need arose. The normal procedure was to book the time needed in advance, but the company they always chartered from allowed for last minute emergency flights as well. Tom actually used the service more often than TC. TC used it two or three times a year when he needed to meet with high end clients somewhere.

Tom told TC he would call him in a few minutes, after he called the aviation company. The fact that he didn’t hesitate in the slightest just reinforced to TC what a great business partner he had.

He went into the bedroom to see David packing shorts and t-shirts into a suitcase. He gently stopped him and reminded David, “It’s almost November, babe. You need warmer clothes.” The endearment slipped out, unnoticed by either of them. David shook his head and unpacked the summer clothes. He then added a couple of pairs of jeans, kept the t-shirts, but added some long sleeved Henleys and a sweatshirt with the Tampa Bay Lightning logo on it. TC handed him socks and underwear.

Tom called back to say that the plane would depart at two a.m. The pilot lived about an hour from the airport and the plane needed to be refueled and the flight plan filed. They would be at Logan Airport by five and hopefully at the hospital by five-thirty. Tom had arranged for a car and driver to meet them when they landed.

It was only nine-thirty, so TC made David lie down for a while. He knew that neither of them would sleep, but he was hoping that David could at least rest. It was a futile thought, but David did manage to drift into that not-quite-asleep, still awake stupor that let his mind wander off from reality for a little while.

TC was worried. David had barely spoken a word and seemed like he was in the process of mentally shutting down. He needed to watch him carefully over the next several hours. He knew how easy it was to lose yourself in grief. Elliott’s absence still reminded him of that quite often.

At twelve-thirty TC roused David from the light slumber he had finally drifted into. They needed to stop at his condo so he could pack some clothes and toiletries before going to the airport. It was a quick stop, David stayed in the car while TC ran up to get his things.

When they got to the airport, instead of going to the main terminal, TC drove past the entrance and a half mile up the road turned into the entrance for the private aviation company they used. He parked in a small lot on the side of the building and grabbed their bags from the trunk, handing David his.

Inside they were greeted by the pilot. He took TC’s car keys and tagged them, dropping them in a lock box for safe keeping. If they flew commercial coming home, one of their employees would bring the car to them when they got back. Meanwhile it would be safe in the private lot.

The pilot had already done his pre-flight checks, filed his flight plan and had the contract for the flight ready for TC to sign. He stowed their bags onboard and told them to buckle up. The luxurious interior of the Gulfstream jet was lost on David. He barely registered the ten passenger seats, covered in fine leather and the sleek look of the wood and chrome finishes. He automatically snapped his seatbelt into place, effectively locking him into place. The pilot could be heard getting his takeoff instructions from air traffic control. There were no commercial flights to worry about this late, or early, depending on how one looked at it. SRQ had a curfew in place for passenger jets, but emergency take-off and landings were permitted. The Gulfstream was well under the maximum weight capacity allowed and the pilot had their flight classified as an emergency. Soon they were airborne, the lights of the greater Tampa Bay area fading below them. David just stared out the window silently.

The seats were arranged so that there was one on each side of the plane with five rows. Stowaway tables were strategically placed so that businessmen could conduct their work while in the air. TC had sat directly across from David and reached over to take his hand.

David pulled his eyes away from the window, and TC saw a glimmer of life in them. The worry was still there, but the empty look that he had when first getting on the plane was gone.

“Thank you.” David said.

“For what?” TC asked.

“Taking care of me. I sort of froze there for awhile. I’m so worried about my little girl. It’s hard to breathe when fear like this takes over.” David admitted.

“Taking care of someone is what I was put on this Earth for. It’s what I do. You’d do the same for me if the situation was reversed and you know it.” TC replied.

David squeezed his hand and gave him the tiniest of smiles. It was something. TC’s mind rested easier, knowing that David’s strength would be back in full force by the time they landed. It was a heavy blow that he had been dealt, and TC wondered if he would have been the same way if their situations had indeed been reversed. He had a feeling that David probably would have reacted the same way.

The rest of the ride was spent either in silence or gentle, reassuring conversation. The pilot gave them notice when he was on the final approach into Logan. The eastern sky had started to lighten, giving them a muted view of their approach. TC was always awed when flying into airports on the water. From high up to his untrained eye, landing on the tiny strip of land seemed impossible. Logan had seen its fair share of near misses when it came to planes overshooting the runway, but as far as TC knew, only one plane had actually overshot the runway and ended up in the harbor. That had happened sometime in the early 80’s according to his recollection.

They landed without incident, both thanking the pilot for the safe flight as they descended the short stairway the pilot lowered for them. He wished them well and hoped for the best with David’s daughter.

The driver that Tom had arranged was waiting in the lobby area of the small, private terminal. He took their bags and stowed them in the trunk, then opened the rear door for each of them. The ride to the hospital was smooth, traffic moved steadily, just starting to build in volume, true rush hour time still about an hour away.

TC checked David’s phone and saw the text from Mike, letting them know the floor they were on and which waiting room to go to. The check in receptionist had already been informed of their imminent arrival and they would just need to show ID to get their visitor badges. TC sent a text letting Mike and Renee know they had landed and would be there soon.

After arriving at the hospital and going through the security desk to get their visitor badges they made their way to the elevators that the guard pointed out and followed his instructions to the surgical floor where Renee and Mike were camped out in a private waiting room set aside for families of those in surgery.

They stepped into the room and Owen was the first one to spot them. He jumped up from his chair and bolted across the room, letting David wrap his arms around his son as Owen sobbed “Daddy!”

Owen hadn’t called him that in years and David’s heart broke for his son who was obviously scared shitless that he was going to lose his twin sister. David held the boy while he cried. Renee came over slowly, lines of exhaustion etched into her face. None of them had slept more than a quick cat nap here or there throughout the night. David enfolded her into their embrace until Owen’s tears stopped.

They pulled apart and David asked “So what happened, and how is she doing?”

Renee motioned for him to sit down, which he and TC did, sitting together on a sofa while Renee and Mike sat opposite them on a matching sofa while Owen returned to the chair he had been parked on.

Renee steadied herself and relayed what she knew. “Lyssa, Kendra and their two other friends, Chelsea and Emily went to a Halloween party at the school. Emily was driving and apparently on their way home a little kid darted out into the street. Emily swerved to avoid him, but there was a truck coming the opposite way, one of those box trucks like Fedex or UPS uses. The driver couldn’t avoid them and they were hit head on. Lyssa and Kendra were in the back seat buckled up, thank goodness. The truck hit the front corner of the driver’s side. Emily didn’t stand a chance, she died on impact.” Renee needed to stop for a moment as she took in a deep shuddering breath before continuing, her tears threatening to fall once more. Mike stopped her and gently shushed her and took over, knowing that Renee had watched all of those girls grow up and to lose one hit home hard.

Mike continued for Renee, “The impact shoved the driver’s seat back so far it broke Lyssa’s leg in several places and trapped her in the backseat. Kendra and Chelsea got banged around pretty hard, both of them have lacerations and Kendall I think broke her wrist or arm. Sorry the details are fuzzy. Chelsea I think has a concussion and a nasty gash on her head. Emily. God damn it, I was joking around and teasing the girl just hours before.” Tears welled up in Mike’s eyes, Renee leaning into him, lending support.

Owen picked up from there, still visibly upset, but he was able to convey, “One of the surgical nurses comes in about every hour to update us. Lyssa is in surgery, they have to put some pins and rods into her. The impact somehow opened up part of the car under Lyssa and the leg that wasn’t trapped got damaged by part of the engine that got pushed back. The nurse said that it wasn’t life threatening, but she would end up with a pretty nasty scar. It’s bad enough that they’re going to have to debride it and watch out for infection. Someone should be here with another update soon.”

They let silence sink in as David and TC processed the information. Silence hung over them for the half hour until the OR nurse came to update them. Everything was progressing well, Lyssa was tolerating the procedure and the anesthesia without any difficulties. It was just a painstaking process for the surgeon as the damage to her leg was a little more extensive than he thought when he had seen her x-rays and scans. She told them that the surgeon anticipated another couple of hours before he would finish.

Another nurse came in and restocked the supplies for the Keurig coffee maker in the room. A steady intake of caffeine had kept everyone somewhat sane throughout the night. TC had made sure that David had a steady supply. They were all tired, but no one could sleep.

Renee had been watching her ex-husband off and on throughout the morning and after the nurse left she turned to TC and asked “Would you and Mike mind taking Owen down to the cafeteria to get some breakfast and bring back something for me and David?”

David tilted his head, neither he nor TC or Mike mistook the request for what it really was. She wanted to talk to David alone and was being polite. TC nodded and Owen didn’t need to be told twice. None of them were actually hungry, but they all needed to eat something so they didn’t get cranky.

As soon as the three left, David looked at Renee and went “OK Ren, spit it out, what’s on your mind?”

Renee smiled at the use of her old nickname. She never stopped loving David, the love merely morphing from romantic to platonic. “I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am that you’re here. I think I would have lost it if you weren’t able to be here. You and TC? He’s really good for you. I’m happy you finally have someone to take care of you. You always spent too much time taking care of everyone else.”

“TC’s a good friend,” David commented.

“Are you sure he’s just a friend? You two look more like a couple to me.” she remarked.

“TC and I will never be romantically involved, we both need something different. He needs someone to take care of all the time. I can’t give up my independence to the level he needs. It’s what we figured out in college.” David told her.

“But you are involved with him? Sexually?” she pried.

If it had been anyone else, David would have ended the conversation right there, but Renee knew him better than anyone, maybe even TC, so he replied “Let me put it this way. TC is showing me how to let go of some of that control that I always have to have. Also, if either of the two guys I had ever let top me before actually knew what the hell a prostate was, my life probably would have been a whole lot different.”

Renee barked out a laugh at that statement and David chuckled. The moment of levity was just what they needed to ease the stress that was like a vise, squeezing them tightly. She stood up and so did David, meeting in the middle to wrap their arms around each other, now the comforting embrace of good friends, rather than a lover’s hold.

“I now understand what you said regarding independence. When we were married, I didn’t realize how much control you needed. I guess we both have a stubborn streak when it comes to getting our way and the older I get, the more I realize that I need to have some semblance of autonomy and not let other people make decisions for me.” she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

That’s how the three others found them when they returned, a breakfast sandwich for each of them, bacon, egg and cheese on a bagel. TC smiled at David, silently letting him know he would never get between him and Renee. Mike had a similar smile on his face that he directed at Renee.

TC turned on the TV in the room to one of the morning news channels to pass the time. It was close to eleven o’clock when the surgeon came to talk to them. They had gotten a couple of other quick updates and knew that the surgery was winding down.

The surgeon’s name was Dr. Hadley. He looked like he was in his late forties, maybe fityish. His brown hair was threaded with gray and his eyes were starting to show signs of wrinkle at the corners. After introductions were made he asked them to sit down so he could give them a full report on Lyssa’s surgery.

He spoke with confidence as he told them, “Alyssa’s surgery went very well. She had several breaks in her left leg as well as a severe gash, which I’ll get to in a minute. From the reports that we received from the EMT’s the best that we can figure out is that when the front of the car was struck, Alyssa’s leg was forced back and downward by the impact. Apparently the car that they were in was rather old and the floorboards in the back were rusted nearly all the way through from years of salt exposure in the winter.”

Owen chimed in and told them “Emily’s car was a 1995 Toyota Corolla. It was a piece of shit. We called it the Corroda. There were three floor mats on both sides of the backseats covering the holes.”

David and Renee shot Owen typical parent glares at the use of profanity but Dr. Bradley gave a knowing smile. He must have kids of his own.

“Well, that piece of shit, as you call it, probably saved your sister’s leg.” he stated. You see, when the impact occured it drove the front end of the car into the back. Alyssa’s leg was driven back and downward. If the floor had been solid, more bones would have shattered. Instead her foot pushed through the floor, giving the leg room. The impact still caused it to break in several spots, but other than one break, the entire thing didn’t splinter and scatter fragments all over the place. Here, let me show you. You don’t have to look, but the images are disturbing, especially if you are squeamish about such things.”

Dr. Bradley had a tablet with him and he brought up Lyssa's x-rays and MRI images. There were clearly three breaks.Her lower leg had a clean break in the middle of her tibia. Her femur was a mess. David couldn't imagine the force it must have taken to cause the damage that he was looking at. His stomach clenched and his heart lurched at the thought of his little girl experiencing so much pain. Looking at Renee, he saw that she was white as a sheet and similar thoughts must be going through her mind.

“As you can see, there are two breaks in her femur. The one toward the top is a fracture that didn’t go through the whole bone. The break in her tibia, the lower leg, just needed a few pins to secure it. Our problem child number one was this one.” he pointed to the area a couple of inches above her knee. “This break shattered the bone and splintered. Think of a tree that has a branch ripped off in a storm. The edges were uneven and chunks of bone had sheared off. It’s like putting a puzzle together once you’re in there. She’s now being held together by pins, screws and metal connectors. We have an external fixator in place to stabilize that part of her leg. That will stay in place for seven to ten days and then we’ll bring her to surgery again to remove it and put on a hard brace to keep everything from moving around.” Dr. Bradley explained to everyone.

Mike interjected at this point and inquired, “What about the damaged calf we were told about. Someone said she hurt part of her leg.”

Dr. Bradley set them straight and replied, “The damage mentioned was a severe gash in the left calf. When her leg got pushed through the rusted out floorboard the jagged edges shredded part of her calf, tearing out a pretty big chunk of muscle. It actually reminded me of a shark bite I treated during my residency in southern California. I had to call in a vascular surgeon and he managed to graft some of her thigh muscle from her good leg and repair some of the damage. She still has a chunk of meat missing, but the muscles that are left should enable her to walk pretty close to normal. I’m going to be brutally honest here, Lyssa has a tough road ahead of her. Rehabilitation is going to take time and I can guarantee it’s going to be painful. She’s going to need your support. I’m confident enough to tell you that she’ll walk again, even run and dance, but she’ll never break a world record in the hundred meter and starring in Swan Lake is probably out. She may have a permanent limp as well. Only time will tell. Do you have any questions?”

Other than a few general questions about what they could expect in the long term, they were all too tired to think.

Dr. Bradley finished up by telling them “This is the point where I tell families to go home and rest, or go back to the hotel. Alyssa will be in recovery for a couple of hours and then we’ll have her pretty well sedated for the rest of the day. We’re going to send her to ICU for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours to monitor her for infection, especially in that gash. We cleaned it out the best we could, but the wound hasn’t been closed. We’ll do that when we can be sure bacteria aren’t still lurking there. Once she’s moved from recovery to ICU you can go see her, two a time for twenty minutes. Jen here can give you some information on hotels in the area that we have negotiated rates with. If you have any questions, call my service and I’ll call you back. Jen will give you the information. Take care and I’ll see you later.”

They all thanked him as he left and the nurse who had filled up the coffee supplies earlier and who had checked on them periodically came in. She had a paper for them that had information about accommodations close to the hospital. Jen informed them that they had negotiated rates with the hotel two blocks down from the main entrance. The rate was $75.00 a night, which was unheard of for a four star property in downtown Boston. Jen explained that the hospital had a program which subsidized the rates for the families of children who were admitted. It was often a severe hardship for low and middle income families to stay close to their child, especially for a prolonged stay. They also owned two townhouses that could accommodate five to six families that couldn’t afford to stay at a hotel, even with low rates. The hospital staff recognized the importance of having family close by during recovery.

Jen told them to show the letter to the front desk at the hotel so they could receive the discounted rate. She then told all of them firmly that she didn’t want to see them back at the hospital for at least five hours. It would be that long at least until they had Lyssa out of recovery and settled into a bed in the ICU. David and Renee left their contact information and Jen promised to text them when Lyssa was ready for visitors.

The weary group walked the two blocks to the hotel. Check in was quick and easy. Mike and Renee upgraded to a two bedroom suite so Owen could have some space of his own. He had gone through more than any sixteen year old should in the past twenty-four hours. David and TC had a one bedroom suite right across from the others. They parted ways at the doors and agreed to set their alarms for five o’clock, which was four hours away, then head back to the hospital no later than six, giving themselves time to get cleaned up.

In their room David kicked off his shoes, stripped down to his boxers and pulled the covers back, flopping on the bed face down. TC undressed as well and slid in next to David, rubbing his back gently until he felt the tension ease and the man’s breathing turn into soft snores. Only then did he allow himself to follow David into slumber.