Red White and Black

Chapter Twenty Seven

Abbie

Abbie fidgeted in an attempt to find a comfortable position in the lumpy chair. She already knew it would be impossible; it seemed hospitals thrived on creating discomfort for visitors. Wouldn't it be just as easy, she reasoned, for them to build a chair in which a person could actually sit comfortably as opposed to these torture devices that surely had their origins in the Spanish Inquisition?

At least Grandma seemed comfortable.

Tethered to a host of machines and gadgets, Grandma looked ready to be launched into orbit in one of those Gemini rockets. Abbie smiled knowing Grandma would be tickled by that one and they'd share a laugh--if she had been awake. But she hadn't moved nor said a word since they had wheeled her back from her tests. It was cause for concern and the doctors and nurses could say nothing helpful or encouraging. In fact, it was tough to get them to say much of anything.

Now with evening approaching, Abbie began to wish there was more room on the bed. She could easily curl up next to Grandma and nap, even if only for a bit. And she wasn't exhausted just because it was getting late. No, the stress of the last few days had worn her down to a nub. The arguing and fighting were bad enough but the overt hatred and ugliness she saw in people she cared for made her feel ragged and all used up. Her very own father had been acting like some backwoods hillbilly redneck and he had progressed way beyond the level of embarrassment he typically caused.

She cringed, remembering her last conversation with Markus, realizing she had trampled all over his pride with all the grace of a stampeding herd of elephants. He had been hurting and worried and she had been nothing but thoughtless. And the more she thought about it, she couldn't blame him for his response. There had to be a way to make things right, to put everything back together again. But it all seemed so convoluted and ready to burst into flames like a spark igniting a forest fire after a long dry spell. She buried her head in her hands wishing the exhaustion and despair threatening to overwhelm her would just go away. Why can't life be simple and we learn to get along?

"Abbie, darlin', what you doin' here?"

She looked up and had to smile. There stood Sadie in the door, able to draw a smile out of even the sourest of people if given half a chance.

"Oh, Miss Sadie, I'd hoped Grandma would be awake and I could keep her company. But all I'm getting is depressed."

"Things is tough. No doubt about it." Sadie sat in the other chair--one equal in discomfort to its partner--so that Abbie had to look across Grandma's prone form to see her. "Sometimes I feel like giving up but that just ain't no way to live. Gotta keep puttin' one foot in front of the other else you find yourself stayin' in one place and goin' nowhere."

Abbie noticed Sadie was struggling to maintain composure as though all the burdens of the world were weighing on her. "Something wrong Miss Sadie?" Her suspicions were confirmed when tears welled up in Sadie's eyes.

"Oh my, I am so sorry. I can't believe I'm sittin' here blubberin' like a baby when you already got more grief than one girl oughta ever have to handle."

Abbie walked around the bed and knelt, taking Sadie's hands in her own, surprised at how rough and calloused they were. "Sometimes I feel like a fool, a selfish fool and I get to feeling sorry for myself, forgetting I'm not the only one hurting."

Sadie smiled. "They's lots of heartache and pain, that's for sure. Plenty to go around. And yes, you're right, something's wrong." She told the whole story of the plot on Sammy's life. "And right now you need to get on back home and warn your daddy. Looks like he's in danger and it breaks my heart to see a boy I've known his whole life go bad."