Missing - Part IV

Philomena gasped. “That was my maiden name. It has to be him,” she said, smiling and crying at the same time. “But why didn’t he let us know he was alive?”

Edward shrugged. “I don’t know ma’am. The fact that he is alive is a miracle in itself. Most missing persons gone this long are never found alive, if at all.”

“Here is his room number Edward,” Alice said handing him a card with the room number on it. “Visiting hours end soon though, so you’d better hurry. I don’t know if there is a limit on his visitors though.”

“We look enough alike; maybe they’ll think we’re the same person if they don’t see us together,” Jerry said smartly.

“Jerry!” his mother said. “I’m sure they’ll let you both in to see your dad.” She shook her finger at them both. “No pulling that at school either. I’ve been asked if you were doing that by your teachers.”

The boys smiled at each other but didn’t say anything. 

Edward led them to the floor where Terry was lying covered with several blankets sleeping with an oxygen tube draped around his face forcing the oxygen-rich air into his nose. He rattled as he breathed. He looked gaunt under the covers with a very thin and pale face with dark circles under his eyes. His previously robust body had wasted away to half his previous weight. Machines beeped and blipped and numbers flashed in cycles sending information to the nurse’s station.

“Terry,” Philomena said. She took his hand gently in hers, careful of the IV line inserted into the back of his wrist. “Terry, it’s me Philomena. Please wake up Terry.”Her eyes filled with tears and she batted her lids to keep them at bay.

 He opened his eyes slowly and struggled to focus. “Philomena?”

“Yes, Terry; it’s me. I have the boys here too.”

He cried as he recognized his wife. “Philomena, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have stayed away. I thought you’d be better off without me.”

“Now, why would you think that?”

“This guy robbed me and hit me over the head and I woke up in the back of a truck. The driver was sure surprised when he found me. He put me in the cab and cleaned up my head.” He pointed to a place on his head where there wasn’t any hair. “I must be hard headed because it left a scar where that guy clobbered me. I heard on the radio that the cops had been led on a chase in my car and they thought I was dead. I just knew that was your way out. I mean, we were about to lose everything and I couldn’t find steady work. I thought you could collect on the insurance money and everything would be good.” He stopped talking when he began coughing, his body wracked with pain as he tried to hold his chest.

Philomena touched his hand when the spell eased. “Silly man. The insurance wouldn’t pay without a body and I wouldn’t have you declared legally dead without one either. I found a job and finished school. I have a better job now and we still have the house. Terry, we would have figured it out.” She used a cloth to wipe away tears from his face. 

The boys gathered closer on the opposite side of the bed careful of the cables attached to him. They smiled down at him.

“Oh my God, these can’t be my two boys, they were just little critters getting into everything and throwing toys all over.”

“Yeah, well, we kind got over the throwing stuff all over the place,” Jerry said. “Mom put the hammer down on us. It’s okay though. We don’t mind. She didn’t do so bad. Gary here is going to graduate top of the class.”

Terry smiled. “What about you?”

“Not so close to the top,” he answered with a grin, “But not too close to the bottom either. Mom isn’t riding me or anything, so I guess it isn’t all that bad.”

“I’m proud of you all. Philomena, you did such a great job with the boys. I don’t know how you managed it. I’m so sorry.” He turned to the social worker whom he recognized from the shelter. “How much trouble am I in?”

“I don’t think you’re in any trouble. Even if the statute of limitations wasn’t up, you weren’t the one driving the car. You didn’t even know about the chase until it was over. The insurance didn’t pay out so there shouldn’t be any fraud charges brought. You can probably just go home after you get out of here.”

Terry thanked him and tried to take a deep breath but only got wheezing and more coughing for the effort. A nurse came in and told them visiting hours were over for the afternoon and that they would have to come back in the evening. She had a bag of medication in her hand and changed it out on the IV machine. 

“He’s on some pretty strong antibiotics,” she told them in a mater-of-fact manner. “He’s pretty ill.”

“When do you think we’ll be able to take him home?”

“Who are you?” the nurse asked.

“I’m his wife,” Philomena answered.

“Oh, I’m sorry; I didn’t realize. I thought you were with the social services department.”

Philomena indicated her sons. “Surely you didn’t think they were.”

“I didn’t even notice them they were being so quiet. I’m so sorry. Actually, ma’am, even though we’re giving him the medications and keeping him on oxygen, he may not make it. He’s been living on the streets for a long time and not in the greatest of conditions.” She lifted Terry’s arm. “Oh no,” she said. “Someone should have checked him before they let anyone in.”