It was wonderful to be out of the ICU at last, to be in a room that did not contain a heart monitor or some other piece of equipment that reminded everyone of how close Daniel came to dying. The bandages were still there, as were the minister’s physical reminders of his brush with death, but it was still a relief to be in the quiet room, away from the ever-present sense of death and dying that hung over the Intensive Care Unit. It was also great to be allowed to eat food rather than have nutrients pumped into him via an IV--even though the hospital food couldn’t come close to that at the Widow’s Walk.
Daniel was alone at the moment, Alex and his parents having gone to lunch. The first therapy session to improve his memory and other impaired mental skills had been that morning. The therapist, Anne Baker, had praised Daniel continually, telling him often that he was doing very well. But when he tried to pin her down on how long it would be before he was back to his old self, or if that would ever happen at all, she had told him that it was too soon to tell. His physical therapy was scheduled for 2 p.m. A part of Daniel dreaded the upcoming therapy, knowing how distressing it would be to be shown again how his physical abilities had been impaired. But without the therapy, he would never get better, so he would just have to try to ignore how it made him feel and concentrate on doing the best he could.
The phone rang, startling Daniel. There had been no phone in the room in the ICU, so he hadn’t thought about the fact that he now had one available to him. When he called Hope the night of the meeting, he’d had to beg one of the nurses to temporarily bring a phone in.
The minister answered the phone.
“Daniel!”
“Arnie? Well, how are you?” Daniel greeted delightedly.
“That’s what I should be asking you,” his friend replied. “I just found out that you had an accident. I’ve been trying to get hold of you the last few days, and when I kept getting no answer, I got worried and called the Widow’s Walk. Molly told me what happened.”
“I’m sorry, Arnie. I should have gotten word to you. I didn’t think about it. My mind has been a little preoccupied since the accident.”
“Daniel, are you all right? Molly told me that you almost died, a head injury.” There was deep concern in the rabbi’s voice.
“I’m fine, Arnie. It was a close call, but I’m doing a lot better,” Daniel replied, choosing not to trouble his friend with his worries about the therapy.
There was a moment of silence. “Okay, so what aren’t you telling me?” Arnie abruptly asked.
Startled, the minister said, “Why do you think I’m not telling you something?”
“Oh, come on, Daniel. We’ve been friends too long for me not to recognize that sound in your voice when you’re holding something back.”
Daniel sighed. “I guess I can’t slip anything by you.”
“Nope. So, what’s wrong?”
“How much did Molly tell you?”
“She told me about the storm, Dylan, and the tree. She said that you suffered a bad head injury and had to have surgery, but that things went well, and you were on the road to recovery.”
“Well, it’s that recovery part that’s the problem. There was some . . . some brain damage, Arnie.” Daniel drew in a shaky breath. He hadn’t realized that it would be so hard to tell his best friend about his problem.
There was another long silence. “Daniel, I am so sorry,” Arnie then said, the anguish clear in his voice. “How bad is it?”
“Not nearly as bad as it could have been, but there are things I can’t do now that I could before. Among other things, there’s some trouble with my memory retention. There are also some physical problems, particularly when moving my hands quickly, like when trying to catch a ball. I’ve also lost a big chunk of my memory of what happened in the two weeks of my life before the accident.” Daniel had tried not to let the depth of his upset over these things get into his voice, but he didn’t think that he’d succeeded.
“What do the doctors say about the chances of a full recovery?” Arnie asked, his voice gentle and caring.
“They’re hopeful. They say it’s likely that all of my lost memories will return and that, with therapy, there’s a good chance I’ll regain much if not all of my impaired abilities. But I’ve heard about how things can be with brain damage, how it can take years for people to get back to how they were before and that many people never fully recover. You remember Mrs. Dean after her stroke? She was never the same again and had to permanently quit teaching.”
“Daniel, when I was there last Christmas, you remember what you told me? You told me that I shouldn’t give up. Even though I was hurting and doubting even my own faith, you encouraged me not to quit. Well, that goes both ways, Daniel. I can’t say I understand what you’re going through, but believe me when I say that I do know what it’s like to feel powerless and inadequate.”
“I know, Arnie, and I’m not intending to give up. I’m going to fight as hard as I can to get back to the way I was before. It’s just . . . hard thinking about what it’s going to be like if I don’t fully recover.”
“You’ll do fine,” Arnie said with conviction. “I know you, Daniel. No matter what you have to deal with physically, you’ll be all right. You’ll still have what means the most to you: your church, your family and friends, and, most importantly, God.”
Daniel smiled, his friend’s words making him feel better. “Thanks, Arnie. I guess someone just needed to help me get my priorities straight. You’re right. No matter what happens, I’ll still have what’s most important to me.”
“Speaking of what’s most important, are their any new developments between you and Alex?” Arnie asked teasingly.
Daniel gave a long-suffering sigh. He’d made the mistake of letting slip how much he liked Alex in a phone conversation with Arnie shortly after Steve Kramer’s visit to Hope, and the rabbi had been bugging him about it ever since.
“Are you ever going to give up on this?” the minister asked in exasperation.
“Of course not--at least not until you’re married,” his friend replied, a grin in his voice. “So, stop stalling. What’s going on in the Romancing Alex Stone department?”
Daniel sighed again. “There is no romancing, not yet.”
“You mean you haven’t even kissed her yet?” At the long silence from Daniel, Arnie crowed. “Ah ha! So, you have kissed her!”
Feeling heat come to his face, Daniel muttered a plea under his breath for patience and deliverance. “Yes, we did kiss. Are you happy now?”
“Utterly delighted,” Arnie responded. “Now, give me the details.”
“Arnie, do I ask you about the details of your love life?”
“No, but that’s because I don’t have one at the moment. I remember in high school, though, that every time I got interested in a girl, you were all over me with questions and more than a little teasing.”
Unable to deny that, Daniel gave in and told his friend about his parents’ visit and what happened in the church the night Alex came.
“We’ll get back to this thing about your father wanting you to join his ministry later, but, right now, I want to know why nothing’s happened between you and Alex since then.”
“This happened less than a week before the accident, Arnie. I was busy with repairs and helping the islanders. There hasn’t been a chance to continue things with Alex, which I’m actually glad about. I don’t remember much of what happened during that time. Thankfully, I got back the memory of kissing Alex in the church, but there’s a good chance that if things had continued right afterwards, I wouldn’t remember all of it, and I definitely want to remember all of that.”
“So, if you have these gaps in your memory, how do you know that you haven’t kissed Alex again?”
“Because she told me so.”
Daniel could almost hear Arnie’s eyebrows lift in surprise. “She told you?” the rabbi said.
“She was here when I suddenly remembered what happened in the church. I was a bit stunned, and I asked her if we’d kissed since then.”
“I see.” The smirk was evident in Arnie’s voice. “So, did she seem disappointed when she admitted that you hadn’t kissed since then?”
“Okay, Arnie. How about we give this topic of conversation a rest,” Daniel said, beginning to feel very uncomfortable.
Arnie sighed. “All right, Daniel. You win. I just have one more question for you about this. Do you love her?”
“Yes,” the minister replied without hesitation. “I love her with all my heart.”
“Does she love you?”
“You said you were only going to ask one more question.”
“I lied.”
Daniel paused. “I think she does. I hope she does. But I can’t really know for certain. I know she cares a lot about me. We’re friends, good friends. And, sometimes, when she looks at me. . . .” The minister shook his head, even though his friend couldn’t see. “I guess I can’t really know for sure until . . . well, until she tells me.”
“I think, my friend, that you’re going to have to tell her first.”
“Yeah, and I will, but not now, not with me stuck in this hospital. When I go home, I’ll be ready to move forward.”
“That’s good to hear. I only ask one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t forget to invite me to the wedding.”
Daniel couldn’t help but laugh, even though he was blushing again. “There couldn’t be a wedding without you, buddy. If that actually does happen, I expect you to be my best man.”
“I would be honored, Daniel,” Arnie said softly. The two friends shared a moment of companionable silence. “Okay, on to the next subject. Your dad wanted you to be partners in Cooper Ministries?”
“Uh huh. His doctor had told him he needed to slow down. He’s taking medication for his heart. Dad wanted me to join him. He’d always intended for me to eventually be his partner, but after that stunt I pulled, both of us had doubts that it would ever happen. But Dad was pleased with what I’ve accomplished here and decided that it was time for me to take my place at his side.”
“But you refused.”
“Yeah. I didn’t want to do my preaching to a camera. I love my life here on Hope. I love my church, my congregation. I love the people here, and not just the ones I preach to. I couldn’t be happy doing what Dad does.”
“How did your father take your refusal?”
Daniel sighed and told Arnie about what happened when he refused his father’s offer. He then went on to relate what took place the next morning at church.
“Well, I’m glad that your dad saw some sense, Daniel, but I have to say that he’s still wrong about a lot of other things. But then, you already know how I feel about that.”
The minister smiled faintly. Arnie had made no secret over the years about his opinion of Cliff Cooper’s attitude regarding his television ministry and Daniel.
“Things have changed, Arnie. They’ve changed a lot. Dad and I, we’re really doing good now. We’ve been talking a lot since the accident. Everything’s out in the open now. I think that we’re finally going to be a real father and son from now on.”
“Daniel, that is so good to hear. There were times when I really wanted to tell your father off.” Arnie paused a moment. “This sudden change in his attitude. Was it because you almost died?”
“Yeah, I guess it was,” Daniel admitted, a little reluctantly. “I guess it made him see things clearly for the first time.”
“What is hidden by a calm sea may be revealed in the storm,” Arnie said quietly.
“Huh?”
“An old saying. It means that what we fail to see when things are going along all right, may suddenly become clear to us when adversity strikes, like your dad realizing how badly he’d been treating you all your life when he almost lost you. The saying also means that, sometimes, things that are hidden during the good times are uncovered when things get bad, like someone showing their true colors when the going gets tough. How true that is.”
“Well, I guess this ‘storm’ made a lot of things clear, and not just for Dad. It made me realize that I shouldn’t wait to pursue my relationship with Alex. Life is far too short.”
“You’ve got that right. Well, I’ve got to get going. How much longer are you going to be cooped up in that hospital?”
“I don’t know yet, at least another week and a half.”
“Well, I’ll call you again in a few days, see how things are going with your therapy.”
“Okay, Arnie. It was great talking with you . . . and thanks for everything.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Daniel. I’m your friend, and friends are supposed to help each other.”
Daniel said goodbye and hung up the phone. Not long afterwards, Alex and his parents returned.
“Hi. Arnie just called,” the minister told them.
“He did? That’s great. How’s he doing?” Alex asked.
“I’m afraid that we didn’t really talk about him. He was more concerned with talking about me. I should have called him and told him what happened.”
“Well, you’ve had a lot to deal with,” Bonnie pointed out. “It’s understandable that you’d forget to call him.”
Daniel nodded. “I’m glad he called, though. He made me see some things more clearly.”
“What things?” Alex asked quietly.
“That, no matter what happens in the future in regards to my physical condition, I still have what’s most important to me, the things that really matter. I still have the people I care about, still have my church, and I still have God. Everything else is secondary.”
Alex, Bonnie, and Cliff smiled at him, Daniel’s father nodding his head.
“You’re right, Son,” Cliff said. “As long as you have God and the people you love, then you have all you really need. It took me a long time to realize that, and I don’t intend to forget it.”
They all chatted quietly until the time came for Daniel’s physical therapy. Sensing that Daniel might be uncomfortable having him there, Cliff excused himself to go make some arrangement over the phone regarding his schedule when he returned home, which would be that evening.
Alex and Bonnie accompanied Daniel to the room where he’d begin his physical therapy. Expecting something more strenuous, the minister was surprised when all they did were some mild exercises to strengthen his muscles and improve his coordination.
“You’re doing good, Daniel,” said the therapist, Lowell. “I think by Saturday or Sunday we’ll have you in the pool.”
“Pool?”
Lowell nodded. “The buoyancy of the water allows patients to stand and walk when they might not be able to do so otherwise. I’ll have to clear it with your doctor first, of course. We don’t want to push things.”
Even though the therapy had been relatively mild, Daniel was still feeling a little tired when he was taken back to his room. Bonnie tucked him in as if he were a child.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“I’m good, a little tired, but just a little,” Daniel replied.
“Well, I think you should get some sleep.”
“I’m okay, Mom. I don’t want to go to sleep until after Dad leaves. This is the last day I’ll have with him for a while.”
Bonnie smiled, thinking how wonderful it was that the two most important people in her life had finally found each other. “Well, how about if you just nap for a little while until your father returns?”
“You’ll wake me up when he gets back?”
“Cross my palm and spit on it.”
Daniel grinned and relaxed into the pillow, his eyes closing. It wasn’t long before he was asleep. Alex and Bonnie went to the waiting room.
“Cross my palm and spit on it?” Alex repeated. “I’ve never heard that saying.”
Bonnie chuckled. “When Daniel was little, he heard that old saying, ‘cross my heart and hope to die’ and started using it when he was promising or swearing something. Well, I didn’t like that phrase, so I asked him to stop. A while later this new phrase just popped out of his mouth. I asked him about it, and he said that he saw two kids do a spit shake. You know, when you spit into your palm, then shake hands to seal an agreement. He asked them what it meant, and when they told him, he decided to mix the two phrases together and come up with his own.”
Alex laughed, thinking about how adorable Daniel must have been as a child.
Bonnie studied Alex for a moment. “Would you mind if I asked you something rather personal?”
“Um, no, I guess not.”
“Dylan’s father. What was the story with him?”
“Oh.” Alex shifted in her seat. The question had taken her by surprise, though she realized that it shouldn’t have. Bonnie knew about the relationship between her and Daniel, and it was only natural that she’d want to know something as important as the details about the man who fathered Alex’s child, especially since Dylan was born out of wedlock.
“Well, I guess you could say it started when my father walked out on us,” Alex began.
“Your father walked out on your family? How dreadful. How old were you?”
“Six.” Alex sighed. “Things just weren’t the same after that. I had a lot of unresolved issues, and by the time I hit my mid-teens, I was really rebellious and bitter. The moment I graduated high school, I took off for college in Miami, wanting to be as far away from Hope as possible. I met Steve there, and it didn’t take long for me to fall head over heels in love with him. I . . . ended up getting pregnant. We were going to get married, had the marriage license and everything. But then Steve got a call for this big assignment out of the country. He’s a photo journalist. Steve decided that he just couldn’t pass it up, so he left. After that, he just kept going from assignment to assignment with no breaks in between. It was months before he came back to Florida. By then, Dylan had been born.”
“He didn’t even come home to be with you when your son was born?” Bonnie asked, appalled.
Alex shrugged, not wanting to dwell on that. “After Dylan was born, Steve visited every once in a while, a few days here and there, but, most of the time, he was off somewhere taking pictures. It had been necessary for me to quit school because I needed to get a full-time job to take care of Dylan. Then, when Dylan was six, I found out that my mom was very ill. I came back to Hope to care for her. She died a few months later, and I chose to stay on Hope and run the Widow’s Walk.”
“And Steve?”
“We didn’t see him again until a few months ago when he came to Hope, wanting to renew our relationship.”
Bonnie shook her head, looking sad. “All those years. What made him come back?”
Alex sighed again. “It’s a long story. He’d been on assignment in Kosovo, and seeing all the death and destruction had gotten to him. He’d finally decided that he wanted a family, a home. He, um, proposed to me.”
Bonnie’s eyebrows rose questioningly. “And?”
“And I thought about it. It would have given Dylan a father, something I knew he really needed.”
“What about what it would have given you, Alex?”
Alex laughed briefly. “Funny thing is that I was thinking more about what it would mean for Dylan than what I’d get out of it. I guess that should have clued me in on what my feelings were. Yet, even though I thought it would be the perfect solution, something held me back from saying yes.”
“What finally made up your mind?”
“Finding out the truth. I overheard a phone conversation Steve had with his editor. The guy wanted him to take a job in Columbia, and Steve did not say no. I knew then that he’d never change. His job would always be most important in his life. Dylan and I would never be more than second place.”
Bonnie sighed silently, seeing the similarity between Alex’s story and how it used to be with Cliff. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Alex. It must have been difficult for you. Was this what held you back? A subconscious feeling that Steve hadn’t changed?”
“I thought that’s what it was. That’s what I told myself. But I know now that wasn’t all of it.” Alex looked over at Daniel’s door. “It was Daniel. He’s what kept me from saying yes to Steve. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was already in love with him.” Realizing what she’d just said, Alex blushed and darted a glance at Bonnie, then looked down at her lap, chewing her lip.
Daniel’s mother reached out and patted her hand. “It’s all right to say out loud that you love him, Alex. It’s not a secret, not to me. It didn’t take me long to see how much you love him.”
Alex gave her a slight smile. “Thanks. I do love him, more than I could ever have loved Steve. He’s nothing at all like Steve. He’d never abandon the people he loves for his own sake.” Her smile became tender. “You must be very proud of him.”
Bonnie returned the smile. “Yes, I am. I always have been. He’ll forever be my little boy, even when he has kids of his own.”
Alex’s smile broadened, her head nodding in understanding. “I think I’ll feel the same way about Dylan. I guess that’s just the way it is with mothers and their sons.”
The two women heard a sound and saw Cliff appear from around the corner. He had an odd expression on his face.
“What’s wrong, Cliff?” Bonnie asked.
“Oh, um, nothing. Just thinking. How did things go with Daniel’s therapy?”
“Very well. The therapist was pleased with how well Daniel did.”
“That’s good news. Is he asleep now?”
Bonnie nodded. “But I promised him that we’d wake him up when you returned. He doesn’t want to miss any of his time with you since you’re leaving tonight.”
Cliff smiled at his wife’s words. “Well, then let’s go wake him up.”
The rest of the afternoon was spent with Daniel. Several times throughout their conversation, his eyes grew heavy with fatigue, but he fought it off, not wanting to sleep through any of his remaining time with his dad. At around 3:30, Brian had called, saying that he and Nub wouldn’t be able to make it over there today, but would come tomorrow.
Finally, the time came for Cliff to leave. He was surprised by how much it hurt to think that it was going to be over a week before he’d see his son again. Putting on a smile, he looked down at Daniel.
“So, we’ll see you again a week from Monday, Daniel. If you want to talk at any time, just call. You know my cell phone number.”
Daniel swallowed the lump in his throat. “Thank you, Dad. Thanks for being here. It’s meant a lot to me.”
Cliff reached out and gave Daniel’s shoulder a squeeze. He then looked at Alex. “Alex, I’m leaving my son in your hands. If you need anything at all, just call.”
“Thank you, Cliff. I will.” She looked over at Daniel, grinning. “I’ll try to keep him out of trouble.”
Cliff chuckled, seeing Daniel’s look of embarrassment. “I’m sure you’ll try your best.” He returned his gaze to his wife. “Bonnie? Would you like to walk me down to the car?”
Saying goodbye to Daniel again, Cliff walked out of the room with Bonnie. They remained silent until just before they got to the waiting limo. Cliff then turned to his wife.
“I overheard most of your conversation with Alex,” he revealed. “I apologize for eavesdropping. I hadn’t intended to, but when I heard you ask her about Dylan’s father. . . .”
“I see,” was all Bonnie said, choosing to wait and see what her husband had to say about what he’d heard.
“I have to admit that another of my preconceptions was shattered by what I heard. When Daniel told me that Alex had Dylan out of wedlock, I assumed . . . well, I believed some less than charitable things about her. I had no idea the circumstances were like that.” He sighed. “I know that you must have thought about the similarities between this Steve person and me.” He held up his hand when Bonnie opened her mouth to speak. “It’s understandable that you’d think that, Bonnie. I’m ashamed to admit that I was like that man in some ways. I failed to see how precious family is, and I put my work above everything else. Unlike him, however, I’ve awakened to the truth.” His lips turned up in a smile. “I’m glad that Daniel’s found a woman to love him. He certainly deserves it. I think she’ll be good for him.”
Bonnie smiled brightly. “I think so too, Cliff, both her and Dylan.”
They walked the rest of the way to the limo. The driver got out and opened the back door. Cliff turned back to Bonnie and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“I’ll see you on Tuesday,” he said. Giving her hand a squeeze, he then got in the car.
Bonnie watched the limo pull out of the parking lot and drive away, a smile still lingering on her face. She then turned and made her way back to her son.