Chapter 4 Sunday Morning
I woke up Sunday morning early around 7 a.m. I turned over to find Todd gone. He wasn't in bed. As a matter of fact he wasn't even in the room. I got up out of bed and called for Todd but he wasn't in any of the rooms. I looked and all of his clothes were gone. I couldn't imagine where he had gone. He didn't have any keys to my truck. I quickly got dressed and went down to the front desk. I asked the desk clerk if she had seen my friend. She said;" I saw him earlier this morning, he asked me to call him a cab. I said;" Did he say where he was going?" She said;" No he didn't tell me where he was going but, I think he talked to the bellhop, you might want to ask him." I said;" Thanks I will ask the bellboy if he saw which direction he was headed in. I approached the bellhop and asked him if he saw which direction the cab went in with my friend. He said;" I am not sure exactly where he was going but he got into one of the local cabs. I have the number of the cab company if you would like it." "I said thanks It would be great if you could give me the number I would really appreciate it." The bellhop said;" The number is 555-2500 and ask for Nate he is the dispatcher today." I thanked him and asked the desk clerk if she could tell me where the nearest Pay Phone was. She told me that the pay phones were out in the vestibule. But she said that she could dial the number for me and I could pickup the phone on the wall in the lobby. I thanked her and she dialed the number for me. The phone on the wall rang and I picked it up. I said;" My name is Russ Morgan one of my friends by the name of Todd got picked up this morning at the Hilton Hotel can you tell me where that cab was going?" The dispatcher said:" Well to be very honest the driver said that they were on the way to Fort Dicks but I should have heard from him by now. Is there any number where I can reach you?" I said;" Yes, my cellular phone number is area code 111-555-4162 I can be reached at number at anytime." The dispatcher said;" O.K. I will call you the minute I hear from the driver." I said;" Thanks so much I really appreciate that. I will be waiting for your call." So, being as though we have to check out by noon today, I went upstairs and packed my clothes and went down to the front desk to check out. The valet brought my truck up front And I jumped right in and headed for the base hoping that when I got there I would find Todd and find out why he left. I was on The New Jersey Turnpike and I had traveled about 15 miles when my cell phone rang. I picked it up and answered the call. It was the dispatcher from the cab company. He said" Mr. Morgan?" I said;" Yes this is Russ Morgan." He said;" Mr. Morgan I don't quite know how to tell you this but I got a call from the N.J. State Police. They reported that the cab that your friend Todd was in an accident the cab slid off the highway and went down an embankment." I said;" Oh My God was anyone hurt?" He said;" Yes both my driver and your friend were taken to Fort Dicks to the Army Hospital there. They were only two miles from the base when they had the accident." I said;" TTTHanksss for the information I really appreciate the call." By now I was in tears driving the truck. I pulled into the next rest area just to compose myself and then I headed on down the road to the base. By now I was about 5 miles for the exit to get off the turnpike. I was driving at a good rate of speed but trying to drive as careful as possible. I got off the exit and headed down the highway to the base. It is only about 3 miles from the turnpike. I arrived at the army hospital on base in about 15 minutes. I parked the truck and ran inside and went to the reception desk and asked if Todd was here. The nurse at the desk said;" yes, he is here but he is in critical condition. Are you family?" I said;" No but he is my best friend and I just have to see him." The nurse said;" Ok you can go up he is on the fourth floor in bed 26 by the window in the intensive care room.
I ran to the elevator and of course it seemed like an eternity until I got to the fourth floor. The door opened I flew over to the nurse's station and ask where Todd was. The head nurse said;" Sir are you family?" I said;" Todd is my best friend and I just have to see him." The head nurse said;" Sir your friend is in very critical condition and he is not expected to live through the night." I broke out in tears and asked her to take me to his bed. She led me into his room and he was so banged up that I could barely recognize him with all the wires and tubes that were stuck in him. The nurse said;" you can only stay 10 minutes. You are welcome to come back but visitors to intensive care unit are limited to 10 minutes every hour." I said;" okay and thank you." I reached over and picked up Todd's hand and I started to cry uncontrollable. I asked him if he could hear me, but he couldn't talk with all the tubes. He did however squeeze my hand. I said;" I am here for you Todd. And I will be here all night if you need me to be." He squeezed my hand again and I sat down beside him and just held his hand and cried. I couldn't believe that this was my friend lying here in this bed and there is nothing that I could do. I was watching the meter that was attached to Todd and his heart rate kept dropping. The alarm on the meter kept going off and one of the nurses came over to reset the machine. I said to her;" Is it ok that this machines alarm keeps going off?" She said;" Well it is not a good sign but your friend is stable now. I am not sure that he is going to make it through the night he is very weak." I said;" Can you tell me what's wrong with him." She said;" Only family members can get that information from the doctors." I said;" Miss I am his only friend and his family lives in Idaho. I would really appreciate it if you could set up a meeting with the doctor that is handling my friends care." She said;" She would see what could be done and get back to me." I said;" Thank you" and continued to hold Todd's hand. About five minutes went by when the head nurse came by to tell me that I had to leave but I could come back up in an hour. So, I went downstairs to the coffee shop and tried to eat something, but I wasn't too successful. So I had a container of orange juice and just sat there thinking about Todd. Of course when you are made to wait to do anything the clock hands don't move. I finished up my juice and I went back upstairs to the fourth floor. They had a waiting room just off the intensive care unit. I checked in at the nurse's station just to let them know that I was back and to please notify me when I can go back in the room. They said they would call me when it was time. I sat down on one of the overstuffed chairs in the waiting room and just broke down in tears. There wasn't anyone else in the room. I heard the announcement for a code blue in intensive care and I knew what that meant. It meant that someone was in distress and needed immediate care. About 10 minutes went by when the head nurse came in and asked me to come to her office. I went with her and she told me;" Sir your friend has just passed away and did I have any phone numbers for his family in Idaho." I was crying so hard I could barely talk. I said;" I don't have the numbers on me but I could get them from the base." I asked;" if I could go in and see Todd" And she said;" the nurses were just unhooking him from all the tubes and that I could go in and see him in about 10 minutes." I was so out of control crying that the nurse asked the doctor on duty to give me a shot to calm me down. I said;" I wouldn't be needing a shot I am allergic to a lot of medicines and would prefer to just sit and try and relax." So the nurse said;" Ok I will call you when it is ok for you to see your friend." The nurse came in and told me that it was ok for me to go in and see Todd. I was quite nervous because I had never really been in a hospital right after someone died. I really wasn't sure what to do. So I went in the room and they had the curtain closed around Todd's bed. I opened the curtain just enough to get inside and then I closed the curtain. Todd looked terrible. He must have really gone through some torture. His face was all cut up and there were cuts on his arms also. I went over to the bed and I picked up Todd's hand and I started crying and talking to him like he could almost understand what I was saying. I was just about to lean over the bed and give him a kiss when he grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I couldn't believe that was happening and then all of a sudden I sensed shaking and I heard a voice. I realized that I was waking up from a deep sleep. There was Todd sitting up in bed trying to wake me up. He said;" Hey what's wrong?" I said;" Your not going to believe what happened in this dream." I said;" First I need a hug, then I will tell you about my dream." "Todd I dreamt that I woke up and you were gone with all your clothes and all. And the girl at the front desk said that she called a cab for you and you left. Then I went downstairs to find out from the desk clerk if she saw you. And she didn't know where you were going but that I should talk to the bellhop, she said that you talked to him. So I went to talk to the bellhop and he said that when the cab left it was headed south. I got the number of the cab company from the desk clerk and she called them for me." I was talking to the dispatcher and he said that he didn't yet hear from the driver yet. So I asked him to call me on my cell phone when he heard from the cab. I was on the turnpike coming back to base when the cell phone rang and it was the dispatcher at the cab company calling to tell me that The New Jersey State Police had called him and said that the cab was involved in a serious accident. And that they had taken the driver and you to the Army base Hospital and that you were in the intensive care unit. So I rushed back to the base and went to the hopital to see you. I was only allowed to stay but 10 minutes per hour so that's what I did. The head nurse came in and said that I would have to leave and then come back in an hour. I went downstairs to the coffee shop and tried to eat something and have a cup of coffee. I was done and went back up to the waiting room by the intensive care room. I heard one of the nurses calling a code blue and it was for your bed. So after about Ten minutes or so the head nurse came into the waiting room to tell me that you had passed away. I asked if I could see you but she said that the nurses were unhooking all the tubes and wires and that I could go to see you in about 5 minutes. So I waited in the waiting room until one of the nurses came out to get me. You were a mess man. You had cuts and bruises all over your arms and face. I started to cry and I picked up your hand and then what I thought was happening was that you were still alive. Except that it was you sitting here holding my hand and you woke me up. I really thought that you had died. I am so glad that it was just a dream I don't know what I would do without you. I love you so much." Todd said;" I love you more. And I don't know what I would do without you. You are such a big part of my life." So we just laid in bed and held one another and I was crying at the time and Todd just hugged me as tight as he could. We kissed and held one another for about « hour. Then we decided to pack our bags and put them in the truck and go into the restaurant downstairs for Breakfast. We ate our meals and then jumped into the truck and headed back to the base. We wanted to get back a little early because we both had to do laundry before morning came and we had no uniforms to wear. I pulled over in the rest stop just before our exit. I pulled into the back corner of the lot so that we could say our goodbyes before getting onto the base. So we sat in the truck and hug and kissed one another and we told one another how much we liked this time together. So we headed back onto the highway and back on the way to the base. I pulled into the base and let Todd off so he could go to his barracks, which were in the beginning of the base, and mine were almost to the rear. I parked the truck and went into my barracks. I put my bag down on the bed and Bill Robinson who I was with in the shower the other day was in his cot and he asked me;" So how was the weekend away from this shit hole." I said;" I had a great weekend and can't wait for the next weekend pass. By the way how was your weekend?" Bill said; it was ok but the person that I was supposed to go see was in a accident and he was intensive care." I said;" So what does your friend do for a living and how did he end up in intensive care?" He said;" his friend is a cab driver and was returning to camp with one of the other soldiers and slid on the ice and the passenger and him were hospitalized at the base hospital." I said;" Oh MY GOD, I had that very dream last night." Bill said;" I can't believe that. What a coincidence, that's scary man." I said;" what was the soldier's name do you know?" Bill said;" it was one of the guys from across the camp." I asked around and found out that the guy was in intensive care and he died." I said;" that's pretty scary because the dream that I had the guy died also." What a weird feeling I got in my stomach. So I said to bill;" Well I have to go over to the Laundromat and do some wash because I don't have any more uniform shirts clean." So he said;" Ok take care see you later." I said;" ok I will catch up with you later. Off to the Laudromat.
That is the end of Chapter Four folks. I will be writing more about these two guys in Chapter Five. If you haven't been there yet my website address is: http://xdjpaul.tripod.com there are three of my other stories. And there are 3 stories that a buddy of mine wrote. I hope you enjoy the stories. Please by all means email me at: djpaul@surfree.com with any comments good or bad about these stories. And by all means please sign my guestbook so I can tell whom you folks are.
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DJpaul