Around 2:30 the next morning, Marci began to groggily become aware of where she was. Or should I say where she wasn’t. This wasn’t her bed or her room. She half-way tried to sit up but her arms wouldn’t quite cooperate.
A nurse came through the door. “Miss Hensley, it’s OK. You’re in a hospital,” she began as she came to her bedside.
“O-h-h-h,” she groaned as she fell back on her pillow. She managed a weak smile as she asked, “Am I OK? I….no, that’s not right. Wait a minute……did?”
The nurse patted her on the shoulder, “Miss Hensley, the best thing for you to do is get some rest and let that stuff wear off. We’ve had an IV going, so you might have to go to the restroom. Would you like for me to help you?”
Marci shook her head a little to try to clear the cobwebs. She stared at the nurse for a minute to try to focus her eyes. Then it hit her. “Oh. OH! Oh, yes, I need your help to get to the restroom.”
As Marci struggled to get up fairly quickly, the nurse hurriedly threw Marci’s arm over her shoulder and they half-way ran and half-way stumbled into the restroom. The nurse closed the door and said, “I’m going to the nurse’s station to get you some aspirin. Will you be OK for a few minutes?”
She heard a groan from inside the bathroom that sounded vaguely like a yes. Just to be sure, she listened quietly at the door for a moment before proceeding to the nurse’s station. She was back in less than two minutes. She called out to Marci, “Miss Hensley, this is Janet, your nurse, are you OK?”
“Yeah, I believe so,” Marci wearily answered. “But, please, don’t go anywhere. I need to ask you some questions.”
“I’ll be right here, Miss Hensley,” Janet assured her. “I have been assigned as your private nurse while you’re here. I’m going to straighten you bed, but just give me a call if you need any help.”
“OK.”
After a few more minutes, Marci finally stepped out of the bathroom. Janet came over to help her to her bed. She slowly made her way to the bed and gently sat down on the edge of it. “Oh, my God,” she moaned, “I am so glad that I don’t drink. They said that the after effects of the drug would be a hangover. U-g-g-g. Why do people drink if they know they are going to feel this way in the morning? O-o-o-o-o, people are so-o-o-o shtupid…..uh stupid.”
Janet smiled at her and said as she went to get her a glass of water to take the aspirin with, “You’re having a rough time, aren’t you. That was a mighty brave thing that you did, young lady.”
Marci started to cry and Janet sat down on the bed beside her and held her again. “That’s OK, just let it all out if you need to. Sometimes that’s part of the after effects.”
“No, no, it’s not just that,” Marci said as laid her weary head on Janet’s shoulder, “it’s just those poor helpless girls that that......” she spat the word out, “ungodly jerk practically destroyed their lives in just a moment of time.” She sobbed as she went on, “One minute…..their hopes are getting higher that….(sob) they might be able to pass a college course, and…and then they wake up sold to some pimp with a handful of embarrassing pictures and their lives almost in ruins.”
All Janet could do was to let her have a good cry. At times like this, after what Marci had gone through, a good cry was better than any aspirin. After five minutes, it was pretty well over. Marci admitted that her nerves were bungled but that she felt like she could go back to sleep pretty easily now.
Janet got up to leave but stopped as she got to the door. “Oh, I forgot to tell you,” she said, “Brian said that he had to go up to Washington to be in on the ‘sweep’ and he said you would know what he meant. Why he said that, I don’t know. The word is already out and newspaper people are looking for the ‘hero.’ Nobody’s telling, though. He said to remind you of your supper date Saturday night and that he’ll text you about it. Now get some sleep.”
As the door closed behind her, Marci was disappointed that Brian wasn’t going to be around. After all that had happened, she could have used his companionship. However, worry didn’t stop the weariness that enveloped her again and brought her into a deep, restful sleep.