Chapter 6: Leaving for Arkansas

Thursday, November 8th, 2007

I somehow made it to work without killing anyone. I’d been exchanging PMs with the girls all morning, leaving the phones free just in case there was an update, and we were all chomping at the bit to go. I had brought a suitcase with me, which is no easy feat on the commuter train in the morning, and was in my boss’ office by 7am.

“What’s up?” Andrew asked.

“I have a close friend in Arkansas who was in a car accident last night. She’s in ICU, and we’re all trying to sort out who can get out there to take care of her house and dog and…” I trailed off as tears threatened to overtake me. “Sorry. I’ve cleared my calendar of most things this week, and would like to take a couple days to go help.”

Before I could even finish my request, he was on the phone to his assistant. “Nancy,” he said, “Hath needs to get out to Arkansas as soon as possible. Can you book her something?” He put his hand over the mouthpiece. “Do you need a car?” I nodded. “How many of you are there?” I counted in my head and groaned. “There’ll be 6 of us flying in.” Andrew nodded and went back to the phone. “And she’s gonna need two cars at her disposal for,” he looked at me, “at least a week. Can you make that happen? Thanks.” He hung up the phone, and I swear to God, I wanted to hug him. He told me to take whatever time I needed, and to let him know if there was anything else he could do.

I went back to my desk and started making phone calls, explaining to people what was going on, and turning things over to my seconds-in-command. I may whine about my guys, but they do a damned good job, and I knew I could depend on them to help me out.

I PM’d Lucy and Stephanie my flight plans. The flight had a connection in Chicago, and Lucy was going to try to get on the same flight. Steph’s flight got in at about the same time, so we were going to all go together to the hospital.

I called David and let him know my flight plans. He sounded like he was on the road, so we didn’t talk long; I just told him about the Harem’s flight plans, and that Lucy was going to try to meet us in Chicago.

“I’ll take care of it,” he said. “How’re you flying?” I checked my itinerary. Nancy had booked me first class, and I told him so. “Great. I’ll make sure Lucy can sit with us. I’ll see you soon, darlin’,” he said, and was gone. At the time, I didn't register the 'us'.

The last call I made was to Sam’s phone. I was hopeful Cori had it, and she did.

“Hello?” a tear-clogged voice said.

“Is this Cori?” I asked.

“Yes, who is this?” The tears were clearing and I could hear steel creeping into her voice.

“This is Hath, one of the girls from the concert?”

“Goddess, right?” she asked, making me chuckle.

“Yeah, that’s me, although today, I’m Triple-G,” I answered, making her laugh a little. “I just wanted to let you know that Lucy, Stephanie and I are on our way.”

“On your way? Here?” She sounded incredulous.

“Yes. We’ll be in around 3, and would like to meet you in the lobby. We wanna see Sam, of course, but I’ll bet Diva needs some company. We’re coming to take care of the little things, so you and Nathan – that’s his name right? – don’t have to worry about it.”

Cori burst into tears. “Oh my God, I completely forgot about Diva! If anything happens to that dog, Sam will kill me.”

“Don’t worry about a thing,” I said to her. “The Harem is on the way, and we will take care of it. Now, how’s she doing?”

Cori let me know that there wasn’t anything new to report, but they were hopeful. Of course we’re hopeful. Sam is one tough broad, and I mean that in the best possible way.

As I was getting ready to leave, my phone rang; it was the security desk downstairs. David is downstairs in the lobby of my building, waiting on me so we can get to the airport. Gotta say I'm a bit shocked, but so damned glad I don't have to travel any of the trip alone. I impatiently waited for the elevator to descend the five flights to the lobby, and all but flew out the doors as soon as they opened. I man-handled my bag through the security gate and looked around. I heard a quiet “Hath” and turned toward the sound. There he was in a ball cap and sunglasses, long trench coat over jeans, sneakers, and a ratty T-shirt. I was never so glad to see someone in my whole life. I dropped my suitcase and rushed over, tears in my eyes.

“I am so glad to see you,” I said as he enveloped me in a hug. He smelled just as good as I remembered. “ What are you doing here, you crazy man?”

“I didn’t want you to have to travel alone,” he said, holding me tightly. “And I missed you.” He said that last bit so quietly, I almost didn’t hear him. Almost.

“I missed you, too,” I said. “Frankly, more than I thought I would.”

David laughed. “Me too.”

I pulled back to look at him. “Sam’s going to be alright, isn’t she?” I had tears in my eyes.

“Yeah, she’ll be just fine,” he said, smiling. “You look great, by the way.”

I looked down to see what I was wearing. Honestly, I’m lucky today was suit day, otherwise, there’d be no telling what I’d’ve thrown on this morning. I had a slim black skirt, slit on one side from calf to knee, with a fitted jacket, under which I wore a bright turquoise beaded cami. Sheer black hose and four-inch heels, along with silver jewelry completed the ensemble. “Thanks,” I said, self-consciously. My hair was pulled back in an elaborate twist that I was lucky to have pulled off this morning (thanks to having done it about a thousand times in the past), and light makeup concealed the dark circles under my eyes.

“Alright, let’s get going,” David said. Grabbing my suitcase, he led the way out to the car. The traffic gods were smiling on us, and we made it to the airport in record time. Since we were flying first class, and since David is who he is, we were able to bypass most of the lines and waiting, and were soon settled in the lounge. I so wanted a drink, but it was only 9:30 in the morning. I settled for coffee, and booted my laptop to send an update to the girls.

I let them know that there was a car waiting for us at the airport. We girls plotted on how to get in to see Sam – they only really let family in. We were planning to tell the nurses that we were her sisters. Our coloring and builds were all similar to Sam’s; I think we’d pass, and Cori would vouch for us. We’ll see. Right now, I just want them to call the flight already. I don’t do waiting well. Lucy doesn’t either; she PMd that her flight didn’t leave for a while, and the waiting was killing her. She said to give David a thank you kiss for arranging the flight. He said, “tell her you’re welcome, and I’d kiss her back but Richie would kill me.” He made me laugh. I told Lucy what he said, and she was laughing, too.

Finally, they called our flight. Since we’re first class, we got on first. David took the window seat and I sat in my seat fidgeting until he took my hand. “She’ll be OK,” he said.

I squeezed his hand and said, “I hope so,” then reached into my pocket for my rosary beads. They were old, having been a gift on my Confirmation more than 20 years ago, but they brought me comfort. David watched me finger and spin the beads without saying anything, content to just be there with me. Once we finally took off and got the all clear, I was on the computer, looking for updates. Thank god for the 21st century. If we didn’t have computers or cell phones, I don’t know how I would have stayed sane.

There was an update from Lucy: Jon and Richie had made it to the hospital. Richie said that Jon looks like hell and he’s worried. Looks like we’ll have one more to take care of. That’s fine by me. The busier we can be, the better it’ll be. I know that’ s true for me, and the girls and I are enough alike that it’ll be true for them. Besides, we’re Italian; it’s what we do. That and cook.