Battle-Hardened, War Weary Ch. 08B

"I didn't hitch-hike. One of the housekeepers who worked for my grandfather had saw me walking alongside the road. She ended up giving me a ride to her apartment, which was in Brooklyn. She had taken care of me on that day. She fed me. She gave me some of her son's old clothes and checked my bruises and cuts to make sure that none of them were infected. She assured me that I will never return to that place ever again. She told me that she knew of a place that I could stay. I didn't care where she took me. I was content with her choice because I knew that I wasn't going back to that hell hole..." Ryan removed his right hand and scratched his left shoulder. "I had spent the night at Mrs. Laura's place and on the following morning, she had taken me to my great-aunt Athena's house."

"So, it was Mrs. Laura, who had taken care of you that night?" inquired Kali with a broad smile on her face.

"Yeah, it was Mrs. Laura," he said softly.

"And your grandfather and your mother didn't go to your great-aunt's house to pick you up?"

"Nope..." stated Ryan with his eyes closed. "My grandfather and my mother were afraid of Athena, which I found to be humorous. Athena was five feet-three inches tall, on a good day and she was smaller than a toothpick, but she managed to intimidate people who were bigger than her."

"Why didn't you return to Bainbridge Academy, after you moved in with your great-Aunt?"

"My aunt thought that I deserved a different type of way to learn. She thought that I was better off receiving an education by experiencing different things rather than sitting in a classroom and reading from a book. So, she withdrew me from school and we traveled the world."

"That sounds like it was fun."

"It was fun and I learned plenty of things. I had gone to Japan, the Philippines, Nigeria, South Africa, the Netherlands, Paris, Wales, and Brazil—

"I'm sure that you loved going there!" she pointed out.

He chuckled. "I did have fun in Brazil, but I did get a taste of how the 'others' lived."

"What do you mean?"

"I'd learned that the poor and the lower class in United States do not have it worse than the poor and the lower class in Brazil," he reasoned.

Kali lain back down and she pressed the front of her body against her husband. Her right arm and hand embraced her man's torso. The left side of her head rested on his bicep. She gave his shoulder a kiss. "You're lucky to have that experience."

"She also shown me her 'business side', when she would take me to different business meetings."

"What did she do?"

"She was an investment banker and she made several investments in different businesses as well," stated Ryan.

"Wow," sighed Kali.

"Athena was a philanthropist too. She donated her money to many charities. But she also put in work as well. She was missionary as well, which is why we lived in different African countries. What also made her special was her involvement in the Punk music scene. I remember that she would go to concerts and little shows and she would return back to our home with musicians and several kids..." Ryan chuckled. "She was an old woman who loved to wear black leather and different colors in her hair."

A memory that involved Ryan's great-aunt popped up in Kali's mind and it caused her to laugh. "I remember when she had shown up to our high school graduation wearing a pair of leather pants and she had pink hair..." She giggled again. "I remember some of the parents were upset that she was there."

Ryan stared at his wife while he chuckled. "Yeah, I remember that time. By then, Athena was very sick but the old lady was putting up a brave face. I knew that she felt like that she was living on borrowed time."

"What did she have?"

Ryan was silent at first. Kali knew that he was apprehensive about telling her. His jawbone twitched as he tightened its hold. His cheeks grew flushed. His eyes were closed and they were shut tight. It was as if he was shutting down.

She stared down at the comforter that was below her. "Rye, you don't—

"She was dying from AIDS," he informed her.

Kali assumed that the air in her lungs had disappeared and she was slowly suffocating. She had taken a swallow, which was feat itself. "She—

"She was diagnosed with the disease when I was fourteen years old. Her doctor said that she could've had the disease in her system for many years. She didn't know how she contracted the disease. She was very honest about that, when she told me. My aunt, despite showing me her 'best side', did have a dark side to her. She was diagnosed when we were staying in England. But, she wanted to be treated here in America. She thought that the medication here in the States were going to be better..."

Kali detected the sounds of sniffling a few seconds later. She looked away from the bedspread that was underneath her body and she stared at her husband's face. The vision that was presented before her caused her heart to pulsate hard. His cheeks were wet. She noticed a pair of tears had escaped from his closed eyes and were traveling down his face. Then she saw her husband's eyes open. The emerald-colored orbs focused on her. He smiled and chuckled as he wiped his cheeks with his hands.

"What-the-fuck is wrong with me and these fucking tears?" he chuckled, displaying his uneasiness. "It seems like I've been crying almost every day!"

"And that is a good thing because it shows that you are being honest with yourself. You might lie to other people and withhold information like..." She gently rocked her head side-to-side and frowned up her face. "...I don't know..." She shrugged her shoulders. "...honeymoon locations..."

"OOOOOOHHHHH," groaned Ryan, "THAT'S LOW, BABY!" He began to laugh.

"...but you shouldn't lie to yourself, baby," she finished saying. She stared at Ryan and presented him with a smile.

"You really want to know where I am taking you, huh?" he asked.

"Yes!" she said to him while nodding her head.

"I'm not telling you. You're going to have to wait and see, baby" he informed her. Ryan changed his posture on the bed. He rolled onto his left side. He presented his back to his wife.

"Ryan!"

"Yes, honey?" he said as if he didn't notice his wife's slight discomfort.

"I need to know where we are going," she told him. "I need to know because I need to know what kind of clothing that I need to bring."

"You need to bring something that is perfect to wear in the warm weather. Now..." He glanced over his right shoulder. "...that is all I am telling you." He turned his attention over to the other side of the bedroom.

"Ryan!" she giggled.

"Goodnight, baby" he said to her.

Kali let out a grunt that expressed her frustration. She heard Ryan laugh. She plucked his right shoulder. "You're a poopy-head," she grumbled.

Her husband laughed. "Goodnight baby, I love you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" she grumbled as she lain down on the mattress.

Ryan let out a hearty chortle that echoed in the grand bedroom.

******

Kali was wading through the murky sea that borders between the conscious and the sub-conscious. She wanted to wake up but she couldn't even manage to open an eye. She tried to prep her brain to work harder at forcing her body to respond. She knew that she needed to move because her limbs and appendages were releasing painful tingles, due to lack of circulation.

'Come on girl, it's time to get up,' her brain stated. 'Come on. Come on, let's—

"It's time to wake up," she heard herself say. Her voice sounded rough as if she had a sore throat.

'See, your lips moved! Now, open your eyes, so we can get ready for work!'

Kali gingerly rose her right hand and brought it to her face. Her fingers tingled and the delicate joints ached as she rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes. The feeling in her fingers returned as she rubbed her face.

'Mmm, that's better' she silently moaned.

She dropped her hand down to her side. Despite her eyelids being heavy, Kali opened her eyes. She was immediately greeted by a bright light. There were aches bursting in her eyes. The pain traveled to her skull.

"Got-damn it," she groaned.

She brought both hands to her face and she rubbed her eyelids. She massaged the thin layer of skin until the aches disappeared.

'Okay, let's try again.'

With caution, she slowly opened her eyes. The large, bright light became smaller as she opened her eyes. She discovered that the offending item was a lamp that was mounted above the bed. It shone directly on her.

'What the...? I don't have a lamp above my bed.'

She noticed that her mattress felt different. The bed sheets weren't soft and didn't smell like her. Plus, the mattress that she was laying on was harder than her Sealy Pillow Top mattress.

'Fuck, this bed feels like it is covered in plastic. It feels like one of those college dorm room beds. It feels like a hospital bed. A hospit—OH MY GOD!'

Kali's upper body lifted a few inches off of the mattress. She was pushed back down, when a large amount of pressure forced her back down. The heavy pressure was resting on her torso. She let out a groan and then a low cry. She was afraid. She was residing in a hospital. The last time she was staying in a hospital, she was a kid.

Her hands reached up to her chest to remove a bit of the pressure. Her thin fingers ended up tapping a hard object that was made up of plastic. 'What the hell...?' Her fingertips pushed at the object but it wouldn't budge. She needed to see what was strapped to her chest. She lifted her head and shoulders up off of the mattress. She peered down her body. The sight that welcomed her caused a strong shiver to run down her body.

"What-the-fuck?" she wondered out loud.

Horrified, Kali glared at the large, protruding lump that sat on her stomach. It was covered by the hospital-standard bed sheet and blanket.

"What-the-fuck is this?" she gasped.

Her vision became blurred as the tears filled her mauve-colored eyes. Her right hand reached down to her stomach. She placed her palm and her fingers on the large bulge. She prodded at the bulge in hopes that the lump would fall off of her torso. The lump was hard and unrelenting. Then she realized that she felt the lump being prodded, whenever her fingers would poke the lump.

'Oh my God, it's...'

Her right and left hands dipped underneath the blanket and the bed sheet. Her fingers grabbed the hem of her nightgown and she grabbed a hold of the clothing. She drew the fabric over her legs and stomach. Once the fabric was gathered around her waist and underneath her breasts, she grabbed a hold of the blanket and the sheet. She pushed the bed linen off of her body. Her eyes came in contact with the large, brown lump that was her bared stomach. She stared at the bulge and her assumption was confirmed, she was pregnant.

"Oh my God," she gasped.

She observed her stomach once more. There was a black strap that was around her stomach. Thanks to her knowledge of medical equipment, she knew that the strap was used to keep a fetal heart monitor in place. She saw that there were two monitors pressed against her stomach. Then she picked up the sounds of the equipment. She listened to the 'thumping' sounds that were her children's heartbeats.

'I'm pregnant,' she concluded. 'How did I get pregnant? Who...?' The answer to her question was answered, when a mental image of his face popped into her mind. 'Oh no...' Her mind had gone blank. Her heart raced to the point that her chest began to ache. Her fear caused her body to tremble. She tried to remember the events that led her there. She didn't remember anything. She was met with nothing. 'I can't remember. Why I cannot remember? I can't...' She felt a sensory overload. She needed to get out of there. She needed to go home. 'No, no, no, no, I can't be here.'

Using her arms' strength, she pushed herself up. She felt her stomach's weight shift in an uncomfortable way. She groaned. She glared down at her stomach. She listened to the melody of her babies' existence.

'I'm pregnant...'

Her hands held onto her stomach. She squeezed at the bulge. She hoped that if she squeezed tight enough that her current condition would burst like a water balloon and then disappear.

'I have to get out of here.'

She proceeded on disconnecting all of the equipment that was attached to her. Her nimble fingers carefully removed the intravenous devices from her left hand. She reached for the devices that were hidden underneath her hospital gown. She unlatched the fetal heart monitor as well as her own monitor. The room was filled with the sound of loud beeping. The sudden noise caused her to flinch. She glanced across the room and stared at the door. She knew that a nurse was going to come to the room to investigate, so she had to work fast. Kali grabbed a hold of the cords and pulled them from underneath her gown. She tossed the items onto the bed. Her fingers ran along the Velcro strap that lined her belly, in search for the clasp.

Her peripheral vision caught movement that occurred on the right side of the room, fifteen feet away. She fully glanced in that direction and she saw a nurse standing in the doorway.

"Mrs. Whittler, please calm down!" the nurse instructed with a calm voice.

Kali chose to disregard the woman's instruction. She continued to free herself from the equipment. Suddenly, she felt a hand touch her left arm. She jerked her arm out of the nurse's reach.

"I NEED TO GET—

"Ma'am, I need for you to calm down," the nurse repeated.

"I CAN'T STAY HERE!"

"Ma'am... Please, Mrs. Whittler—

'What-in the-hell did she call me?'

Kali stopped with her struggling and glared at the woman. "What did you say to me?" Her tone of voice was low in volume, but the hostility still remained.

The nurse stared at the patient with a confused expression on her face. "I..." the nurse whimpered. The woman blinked her eyes a few times, as well as, bite her bottom lip for a second. "I said that you need to calm down, Mrs. Whittler. You need to calm down because of the babies."

"Why did you call me that?" asked Kali. Her voice was terse, even though she didn't feel angry now. At that moment, she felt bewildered, scared and vulnerable. She also felt weak. She tore her attention away from the nurse and she stared straight ahead. She stared at the door. She noticed that the door and the room began to spin slowly.

"Because..." she heard the nurse say. "It is your name."

"My..." she sighed.

She was light-headed. She felt as if she was submerged in a large body of water. She felt as if she was floating and was weightless. There was no sounds. Suddenly, her vision was greeted with a bright light and then she was welcomed with darkness as the sight of the room was turned off.