CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Ellie spent another hour at Linda’s unpacking her clothes and settling in to the upstairs bedroom that Linda had designated as hers. She had already decided that she was going to stay there that evening, and she wanted to go back and get Skipper to start getting him oriented to the house as well.
Ellie saw a disconcerting sight as she pulled onto her street. A police squad car was sitting in front of her house, and a police officer was talking to her landlord. As she drove past, turning to pull into the driveway that served also as a mock parking lot, she saw the landlord point at her car.
Ellie was getting out as the police officer approached, and she felt a sense of dread in her stomach.
“Mrs. Coulter?” the police officer said.
“Actually it’s Ms. these days. But yes, I’m Ellie Coulter,” she said, trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach.
“Jake Coulter your husband?” the officer asked, ignoring her “Ms.” comment entirely.
“Ex-husband, yes,” she said. The feeling of dread was threatening to overwhelm her now.
“Your ex-husband was in a car accident about an hour ago, Ms. Coulter. He’s in critical condition. It was quite a serious accident. I think you may want to head over to the hospital.” The officer’s tone was devoid of emotion. His aura was green with shade of blue. No distress there. He had obviously delivered news like this many times.
Ellie felt like she had been kicked in the gut. “I just saw him,” she whispered. She fell back heavily against her car.
“Why don’t I give you a ride over there?” the officer said. Ellie could only nod. She allowed the officer to guide her to the squad car, and barely noted the people who had come out onto the street to see what the commotion was about.
The ride to the hospital was a blur. She found herself in the center of the emergency room with doctors and nurses rushing around her. The officer pushed her toward the desk where a nurse was manning the phone and pointing different patients in different directions.
The nurse looked up at her. “I’m looking for Jake Coulter,” Ellie said faintly. “He was in a car accident.”
“You family?” the nurse asked, starting to scan the computer.
“He’s my husband.” Ellie didn’t even bother with the distinction at that point. She couldn’t believe that she and Jake had just spoken a few hours before in the most candid and truthful conversation of their entire relationship, and now there was the possibility that he would be ripped out of her life in a cruel and unexpected way.
“He’s in surgery now,” the nurse said. She pointed down the hallway. “There’s a waiting room down there on the right. I’ll make sure the doctor knows you are here in case they need you to sign something.” Then the nurse answered the bleeping phone and was immersed in other duties.
Ellie had no choice but to go to the waiting room. Everywhere she looked people had either orange, pink, or red auras. Her muscles felt tense as she felt like she was absorbing all of that anxiousness and pain.
The waiting room was painted in a cheerful yellow, but Ellie found no comfort in the bright color. The chairs were an olive green, some plastic, some with cushions. A TV that looked like it was a remnant of the 1960s, antenna and all, was playing a game show in the corner. Ellie sat on one of the cushioned chairs.
There was one other person in the room, a woman who looked to be in her fifties. She was crocheting, with a bag of yarn sitting at her feet. Her eyes were red-rimmed, but she appeared calm. Her aura was purple. She glanced in Ellie’s direction, and then refocused her attention on her crocheting. Ellie was grateful that it didn’t appear any conversation was expected.
After a few minutes, and after replaying the earlier conversation with Jake again in her head for the tenth time, she realized that she was forgetting someone. As much as she detested Jenny Marks, if she was with Jake now, she probably didn’t even know anything was wrong. After searching her pockets and purse, she realized she had left her cellphone in her car. Ellie went in search of a telephone.
As she was crossing the corridor, she saw David walking down the opposite hallway with a chart in his hands. He looked up and caught Ellie’s eye. A surprised smile flashed across his face.
“Ellie, hi. What are you doing here?” he asked.
Ellie brought a hand up and leaned heavily on the wall. “Jake was in an accident.”
“Jake? Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” he said. “How did you find out?”
Ellie didn’t have the strength to deal with that question yet. She dissolved into tears. “I just can’t believe it. He followed me over to Linda’s today and we finally talked about everything, right down to why he’s been acting like a crazy person the last few weeks. I think both of us felt really good about it, like we had been able to resolve our issues once and for all. And then he left, and he got into the accident on his way home.”
David immediately pulled her into his arms. “He followed you over to Linda’s?” he asked.
Ellie realized David’s question was covering another question that he didn’t ask. “Yes, but oh, it wasn’t like that. I mean, at first I thought it was like that, but we talked and he explained everything to me and even though I didn’t believe him at least I could see that he believed it and that was what was wrong with him,” she said through sobs.
“I thought you had a restraining order out against him.” There was strong disapproval in David’s voice.
“It was a misunderstanding. That’s all. He wanted to tell me about his dreams and make sure everything was okay with me. Kinda like a closure thing, I think,” Ellie said, starting to push away from David. “He wasn’t trying to get me back, if that’s what you’re thinking. In fact, he’s with someone else now. I was just trying to find a telephone so I could call her actually.”
“Sounds like it’s been a pretty eventful afternoon,” David said evenly. Ellie wasn’t sure how to interpret his response. His aura had turned a chilly shade of ice blue.
“Regardless of how things are with us now, I still don’t want anything bad to happen to him,” Ellie said in a short, clipped voice.
“Of course not, I’m sorry,” David apologized. “I just wasn’t sure what this meeting this afternoon meant. With you being here and all, maybe you two had decided to try to work things out.”
If the circumstances had been different, Ellie would have laughed with relief. “Oh, no, David. If anything, we both felt that maybe we could be friends after all.”
“I’m sorry to hear about the accident,” David said. “Is there anything I can do?”
Ellie was relieved to see David’s natural blue aura return. “He’s in surgery right now. That’s all I know,” Ellie said. “Can you see if you could find anything else out? I’m sure his girlfriend would like to know too.”
“Sure, I can do that. No problem,” David said. He kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Thanks, David,” she said.
“If you want to wait in the waiting room, I can take you to a phone when I get back and you can call her,” he said.
Ellie nodded, and felt better. David would find out Jake’s progress, and she could get Jenny here so that when Jake woke up, he’d find someone he loved next to him. Ellie felt that would be best. She headed back to the waiting room to wait for David’s news.
The crocheting woman looked up only briefly at Ellie’s return before turning her attention back to her work. Ellie sat for a moment and then stood, starting to pace the room. The bright yellow of the room mixed with the antiseptic smell that could only be found in hospitals assaulted Ellie’s senses, and she started to feel nauseous. She sat back down again and put her head between her knees, trying to calm her stomach. After what seemed like an eternity, she heard soft footsteps out in the hallway.
Looking up, she expected to see David. Instead, she found herself staring into Jenny Marks’ dark blue eyes.
“I knew it,” Jenny spat with hateful disdain
. “I knew he was going to see you. You are the reason he’s here. Whatever has happened, it’s all your fault.”
Ellie felt the full brunt of Jenny’s venom, as if the screaming red aura wasn’t enough. Then she saw something that shook her to the core. Jenny Marks was beautiful; Ellie had always thought so, which was one reason she always suspected something was going on even when Jake denied it. Jenny was petite, with long blond hair that fell in soft waves down her back. She was only twenty-two but had the worldly look of someone far older than her age.
Ellie had liked Jenny when they had first met. Jenny was bubbly and vivacious, and it was easy to see why men were drawn to her. But after Jake showed considerably more interest, Ellie had cut Jenny off, refusing to be hoodwinked into being friends with someone that she knew she couldn’t trust.
But today’s Jenny’s beauty was enhanced with a bloom of color across her cheeks that Ellie knew came from the bump around her mid-section that Jenny was now holding protectively. Jenny Marks was pregnant.
“Jenny, I’m sorry,” was all she could manage to sputter.
“I thought he was finally over you. I thought we could finally move on with our lives.” Jenny’s eyes welled up with tears. “But these last few weeks he’s been secretive and he’s been drinking again. He had been so happy when he found out we were going to have a baby.”
Jenny’s words cut Ellie to her soul. Jake had been excited about having a child. He had said that he had figured things out and gotten his act together. It was because he found out he was going to be a father. Ellie couldn’t help the tiny tendrils of anger that welled up inside her. She did the quick calculations again and arrived at the same conclusion. With how far along Jenny appeared to be, it had happened before Ellie and Jake split up.
“The least you could have done was wait to get knocked up until after the divorce was final,” Ellie retorted.
Jenny drew herself up to her full height, all five feet two inches. “I’m sorry for the way it happened, but I’m not sorry for loving him. You two weren’t going to work out, that was obvious to everyone.”
“That didn’t give you the right to have an affair with my husband,” Ellie said.
“That’s in the past now. I thought this all was behind us,” Jenny said with a dismissive toss of her head.
“Well, that makes two of us, Jenny.” Ellie crossed her arms across her chest and started to say more when she saw David appear behind Jenny. Ellie instantly regretted her last words. That part of her life was over. She had no idea how much he had heard, but his face was blank and the ice blue aura had returned.
“David, how is he?” Ellie asked.
He looked from Ellie to Jenny, clearly uncertain of how to proceed.
“This is Jenny, Jake’s girlfriend,” she said, gesturing in Jenny’s direction.
“Fiancée,” Jenny corrected her.
It was another detail that Jake had left out.
David slowly shook his head. “I’m sorry, Ellie. Jenny.” He nodded in Jenny’s direction, but kept his eyes on Ellie. “Jake passed away on the operating table. His wounds were just too severe.”
Jenny’s face twisted into a grotesque mask of pain, and she slid to the floor weeping. Ellie could only stand there. “I don’t understand how this happened,” she said faintly.
“I spoke to Jake’s doctor. The only thing they can speculate is that Jake fell asleep at the wheel. He collided with a truck that was carrying timber in the back. One of the beams pierced his windshield, and a piece of glass became imbedded in his throat. Unfortunately, he lost a lot of blood, and we were never able to revive him.” David’s words were careful and cautious.
Instantly Ellie thought of Jake’s dream. He had died a bloody death due to a wound to the throat. Jenny’s weeping turned into hysterical sobs.
David turned his attention to the weeping woman at his feet and gently pulled her up. Jenny clung to him, and David was clearly uncomfortable. His eyes pulled at Ellie’s, but she could only stare at the spectacle. She felt cold inside.