19- Till We Meet Again
Jason Fute carried his five and a half year old daughter through a barn at the Saratoga Race Track. His girlfriend, Jessica Michaels, was riding in a race that afternoon.
“Hey Jas!” she exclaimed. He smiled and put Beth down, giving Jess a long kiss.
“Hello beautiful,” he murmured. She smiled and stroked Law’s cheek. Law was Sam Giran’s horse, and Jess was riding her because Sam couldn’t race anymore and Cotey had decided not to anymore.
“She’s being good today. Sam keeps saying how great we’re going to do, and he’s probably right,” she said. Beth smiled and hugged Jess tightly.
“Hi Jessi! Are you going to ride against all those other horses?” she asked in awe. Jess smiled and picked the little girl up.
“Not all of them, just a few. You’re going to see me down at the winners circle,” she whispered in her ear. Beth giggled.
“Yeah! Daddy bought me breakfast this morning, and I got to ride Magic.”
“That’s great kiddo,” she said, putting her down. ”So she’s doing better?” she asked. Jason nodded. Magic had sprained her shoulder before they had all gone to the Bahamas, and hadn’t been able to be ridden.
“Yeah. She cleared a foot and a half today with Beth on board.”
“A foot and a half huh? Bethy you’re getting to be a pro,” she said, tousling Beth’s curly hair. “I need to go get into my silks, and then get read. I’ll see you guys after the race,” she said, giving Jason another kiss. He smiled.
“Till we meet again,” he said. She smiled and walked off toward the jockey’s locker room.
Jess waved toward the stands before asking Law to canter. She went into a two-point and gazed at the gates. Suddenly Law reared up.
“Easy girl,” she murmured. The mare loaded very hard, trying to back out of the gate and rearing up. Jess began to have second thoughts about the race, but soon calmed when they were loaded. The bell rang and law broke clumsily. She stumbled, but Jess held her head up. They caught up to the field of horses and moved past them, but on the far turn Law began to drift out. Jess felt her left arm cramp, and couldn’t stop the mare. She looked under her arm and saw another jockey trying to urge his horse past her.
“Look out Michaels!” he called. She yanked on her left rein as hard as she could, and Law moved in sharply. She stumbled again, and went down. The world went dark, the sound of hoof beats echoing in Jessica Michaels’ head.
Jason paced back and forth in the ICU waiting room. It had been almost three hours and they still hadn’t heard anything. Cotey stood up, putting her hands on Jason’s shoulders.
“Sit down and relax,” she told him sternly. Jason stared at her evenly.
“You want me to relax?” he whispered, his tone angry. Cotey nodded slowly.
“Yes, because your pacing is driving me crazy.”
“You’re going crazy? I love her, and you’re going crazy? Damnit Cotey you don’t know what crazy is.” Sam stood and moved Cotey out of the way.
“I know you’re upset Jas, but you aren’t talking to my wife that way,” he said.
“I’ll talk to anyone however I damn well please. My girlfriend is sitting in the hospital after getting run over by a field of eight horses.”
“What the hell happened?” a voice demanded. They all turned and saw Mr. Michaels standing with his girlfriend Missy.
“Jess had an accident,” she began. The man shot her a withering look and then turned to Jason.
“I know that. What the hell happened to Jessi, and you better tell me the truth.” Jason stepped forward.
“She got run over by the field today. She’s still in surgery, and the doctors haven’t told us anything yet.” The man sat down wearily, putting his face in his hands.
“I can’t lose her,” he whispered. Missy sat down next to him, putting her arm around him as she started to cry.
“She’ll be ok, I know it,” she murmured. He nodded but said nothing. A doctor stepped into the room quietly, and Jason was the first to see him.
“How’s Jessi? He demanded. The doctor sighed, shaking his head slowly.
“She doesn’t look good. She’s not responding to us, but she’s in stable condition. She has some pretty major head trauma… but we’ve relieved the pressure on her brain. Her left knee was shattered, her right ankle was broken in three places, her left wrist was fractured, and her right shoulder was dislocated… and along with that she has severe contusions all over her body. She will probably make it through, but it’s not going to be a speedy or pleasant recovery.”
“What about riding?” Cotey asked softly.
“It’s going to be practically impossible. With both of her legs sustaining such serious damage, I highly doubt she’ll be able to race again. Jumping will likely be out of the question. Flat work will be extremely difficult. Her knee will need several more surgeries to fix it… so will her ankle.”
“I want to see her,” Jason and Mr. Michaels said in the same voice.
“She’s not awake yet, and she doesn’t look too great,” he warned.
“She’s alive,” Jason said. He turned and walked down the hallway slowly, his head hung.
Jess was surrounded by machines, all doing something to monitor her condition.
“Jessi, can you hear me?” he asked quietly. He didn’t get an answer. With a sigh he said, “You’re going to get through this… you’re too strong not to. Everyone out there is pulling for you. Beth and the twins are at home, and they’re praying for you too.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead gently, then looked at her for a long moment. Her face, neck, and shoulders were badly bruised. She was covered in casts and gauze. Jason sighed, turned and left.
Beth was still awake when Jason got home that night. His mother was standing in front of the sink, washing dishes.
“Jason, how is she?” the woman asked, her eyes red from crying. Jason plopped down in the nearest chair, raking his fingers through his rumpled hair.
“She’s not awake yet, and the doctors are saying she might never be able to ride again,” he explained. Mrs. Fute sighed.
“I’m sorry sweetheart. She’s going to pull through… she’s a strong girl,” she assured him. Jason nodded, then looked up as Beth came into the room. She was frowning, her eyes dark.
“Where’s Jessi?” she asked. Jason held out his arms and pulled her into his lap.
“She’s still at the hospital kiddo. The doctors are making sure she’s alright.” Beth snuggled closer.
“She’s going to be ok isn’t she?”
“They think she will,” he said. Beth took a deep breath and then looked up at him with big blue eyes.
“She won’t be like Mommy will she?” Jason shook his head, choking back tears.
“I hope not sweetheart,” he said.
Days passed slowly, and Jess was still unconscious. Jason spent at least an hour a day in her room, sometimes longer. There was little change in her condition, other than that she was off the machines that helped her breathe. After almost a week and a half, the doctors began to get worried.
“Mr. Fute, if she doesn’t wake up soon the assumption is that she has extensive brain damage,” the doctor told him one afternoon. Jason shook his head, taking Jess’s hand.
“She’s going to be fine,” he muttered. The man sighed.
“If that’s what you want to believe, ok. I’m just warning you like I warned her father. Jessica has been unconscious for a long time. It’s highly unlikely that she will come out of this the same way she went into it.” Jason felt something squeeze his hand, and he glanced down. Jess was gazing up at him with cloudy eyes, a smile on her face.
“Hey Jas, how’ve you been” she murmured.
Almost three months later Jess shook her head, not understanding the full meaning behind the doctor’s words.
“Miss Michaels did you hear me?” the man asked. Jess glanced at Cotey, then her father.
“I heard you, but I don’t think I believe you. The only way that I’d stop riding was if I was dead. I’m not. I’ll be able to ride again Doctor Jacobson, you can bet your job on that.” The doctor looked at Cotey, then at Mr. Michaels. Cotey frowned and took her hand.
“Jess, maybe he’s right. You were very badly hurt in this accident, and you’re still just starting to recover,” Cotey said quietly.
“It’s only been three months. My wrist is almost perfect, and my shoulder is ok. My ankle is in an air cast now, and I don’t need any more surgeries. My knee is in a much lighter cast now. All I need is more time to heal,” she insisted. Mr. Michaels stood.
“Jessi, you shouldn’t get your hopes up. Your knee and ankle aren’t going to be able to handle the same stress as before. Your wrist won’t be able to either,” he said.
“You should all be on my side, supporting me so I can work toward riding again. You’re all acting like you’re against me!” she exclaimed. Cotey stood beside Mr. Michaels.
“It’s not that we don’t want you to ride again Jess, we just don’t want you to get thinking that you’ll be able to, then be disappointed in the end.” Jess stood carefully, taking her crutches in her hands.
“I’m going to show you that I can do this. I’ll ride again. Maybe I won’t ride exactly like I use to, but I’ll ride again. I’ll be in physical therapy. Tell Jason he can pick me up at three.”
“I thought I was picking you up,” Mr. Michaels said. Jess shook her head, her blonde ponytail flopping back and forth.
“Not today. If you don’t believe in me, I don’t want to be around you,” she muttered, crutching slowly from the room.
Jess walked down her front steps carefully almost a year later. Jason’s car was in front of the house, and he was sitting in the driver’s seat.
“Hey hon, how’s your knee?” he asked when she got into the car. She smiled, leaning over to kiss him.
“It’s a little sore, but it’s been rainy lately.”
“Achy eh?” he muttered, glancing at the full leg brace. She shrugged.
“Yeah.” Jason turned, going toward the track.
“What were you doing that made it so sore?”
“Nothing unusual,” she answered, glancing away.
“The truth Jessi,” he pressed.
“Riding,” she whispered. Jason had just pulled into the parking lot, and screeched to a halt.
“Riding? What the hell are you trying to do? Make it worse?” he demanded. Jess got out of the car, slamming her door angrily and starting to walk slowly away.
“No! Damnit Jason, the doctor said at least two years without riding. I can’t go that long.”
“Yes you can. You won’t be able to do it at all if you push things now.” She kept walking, her head down. Jason caught her wrist, pulling her back into him.
“Let go!” she demanded. He loosened his grip and then took her shoulders gently.
“I’m sorry. I’m just worried about you.” She shrugged as they walked into one of the barns.
“Why?” she muttered, patting a gray thoroughbred on the neck.
“Because you still haven’t even asked what we’re doing here,” he said.
“Well you sort of distracted me. You got me so upset that I couldn’t…” She stopped talking, gazing into the stall they had stopped at. A candle lit dinner was set up on a small table in the center of the stall.
“So what do you think?” he asked. She smiled, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly.
“This is beautiful,” she said. They went into the stall and they each sat down. Soon someone brought them dinner. When they were done eating Jason moved to her side.
“Jess, I was wondering if…” She watched him carefully, then felt tears well in her eyes as he sank to one knee and reached into his pocket.
“Jason?” she asked, letting it hang in mid air. He smiled, holding out a velveteen box that held a beautiful engagement ring.
“Jessica Michaels, will you marry me?” he asked. She nodded, tears falling down her cheeks.
“Yes… absolutely,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around him. He smiled and kissed her.
“I love you Jessi,” he said, sliding the ring on her finger.
“I love you too. Come on, let’s go visit the horses.” He helped her to her feet and then took her hand, leading her out of the stall. They walked up the aisle, neither one noticing Patrick Giran lurking in a dark corner, a smug smile on his face.
