My Once and Future Love (38 page)

“No, no, no, he can’t do a signing next
Thursday. He’s going to be in New York.”

Dammit, that jerk manager of Jacob’s didn’t
fax the booking schedule to her again. I hated that guy. Asshole
treated women like they were cute little servants (assistants like
me) or commodities to be used until they dried up (the talent).

“No… The discs aren’t even back from the
printer’s, yet.”

It sucked being the middle man, uh, woman.
Would she call the printer for the label to check on the CDs? Nooo,
she
couldn’t be bothered.

“Lynn, you’re his publicist. You talk to his
manager. I’m just the walking Dayplanner.”

She complained some more about things out of
my control and reminded me what I already knew Jacob was scheduled
to do. Blah, blah, blah…
annoying
. I’d been handling his
career for three years--what did she expect me to do?

“Yeah…he’s there now. Okay…okay. Bye.”

Geeze, Louise—you’d think these people would
talk to each other! One of these days, she was going to have to
talk to the manager directly and stop using me as a message
service. If I ever got up the guts to say it to her face.

I pulled out of the gated driveway my boss
and I shared and headed toward downtown L.A.

Jacob’s leather jacket needed to be picked up
from the cleaners, his mother’s birthday was coming, I had to do
the grocery shopping because Maria insisted on denying him junk
food, and a signed contract needed to be dropped off at the post
office. He also wanted me to return a two-hundred-dollar pair of
jeans he didn’t bother to try on when he bought them.

“Come on, come on…”

This light was taking forever. Everything
needed to be done by four so I could accompany him to a press
event.

The light turned green and I stepped on the
gas pedal.

Never saw the car blowing the red until it
was too late.

****

It was Interview Day. Jacob sat in a suite of
a Beverly Hills hotel with the rest of the band to promote the
upcoming album release. Press junkets were always tedious, doing
hours of interviews with rarely a unique or interesting
question.

“At least the last chick was hot,” Bob said.
They chuckled and nodded. No question the girl was fine.

Jacob started to ask Beth for another bottle
of water, then remembered she wasn’t here. He snapped his fingers
to get the attention of some anonymous go-for.

“They’re ready,” his publicist said.

They wandered onto the makeshift set for the
camera interview with him center-front, one camera on the band and
the other on the interviewer.

“And…three…two…one… We’re here with Jake
Lindsey to talk about the release of
Personal Attention
.
After the amazing success of
Chances
, is there pressure to
come out even bigger on this album?” she asked.

“You look smashing today, Linda, by the way,”
Jacob said. She thanked him. “Uh, yeah, of course. You always want
to top your last effort. I’m not worried, though. You’ve seen what
the single did on the charts.”

“Right. Does it still surprise you when a
song takes off like that?”

He scratched his cheek, considering the
question. “Yes and no. We get a feelin’, you know? I mean,
sometimes you think they’re gonna love it and that’s not what they
latch onto, but everybody knows a hit when they hear one. It’s just
the nature of the experience.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Bob said. “He shits
bricks until the first numbers come in.”

“Dude, you can’t say that on film!” Dylan
said.

“It’s taped. They’ll beep me, won’t you,
honey?”

Linda the interviewer gave him a plastic
smile. “Moving on--”

A phone rang. Jacob’s cell. He pulled it out
of his pocket and looked at the display. “Sorry, gotta take
this.”

He walked into a different room of the suite
mid-protestations from Linda and his publicist.

“Hello?”

“May I speak with Mr. Jacob Lindsey?”

“Speaking, love. Who is this?” His number was
private and unlisted.

“Mr. Lindsey, this is Theresa Lopez. I’m an
ER nurse with UCLA Medical Center.”

A hospital? Why would a local hospital be
calling him? His mother was in London.

“Sir, Elizabeth Lawson has been involved in
an accident. She’s in--”

“Oh my God, what happened? Is she
alright?”

“Sir, Miss Lawson listed you as her emergency
contact. We need you to come to the hospital and--”

“I’ll be right there. Give me the
address.”

He scribbled the information on a napkin and
ran out of the suite to the lift. Footsteps pursued him. He turned
around to see Lynn with the band behind her.

“Jake, where are you going? We’re in the
middle of an interview!”

“Hospital.” He looked over her head to Bob.
“It’s Beth.”

“Go. I’ll handle this.”

Jacob nodded to his best friend and stepped
past the open doors of the lift. He punched the Lobby button and
prayed the car would go straight down. Outside, he jumped in the
limo and gave Marty the napkin.

“On it, sir. We’ll be there in minutes.”

****

Jacob ran into the hospital lobby, his boots
skidding on the tile. A bodyguard and Marty the chauffeur trailed
behind him.

He reached the E.R. admittance desk and
demanded, “Beth Lawson—where is she?”

“Sir, if you’ll just--”

“
Beth. Lawson
. She works for me and
they told me she was taken here.
Where is she?
”

Please, God, be alright. She had to be all
right.

The girl at the desk looked up from her
computer finally and recognized him, her eyes widening. “I-I’m
sorry, Mr. Lindsey. Uh, ‘Lawson’…did you say?” She typed the name
into her search engine. “She’s up in surgery now, sir. They can
answer your questions.”

“
Thank
you.”

She cowered and nodded, calling “next” once
he stalked away to the elevators.

He repeated the process upstairs, rushing to
the desk and demanding to know Beth’s status.

“I’ll have a doctor speak with you as soon as
they can, sir,” the nurse said. This one wouldn’t be cowed by his
intimidation.

“Fine. Where can I wait?”

She pointed down the hall.

He couldn’t sit, popping back up a second
later and pacing, running his hands through his hair every few
minutes. The smell of the place filled his nose with disinfectant
and illness.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine, sir,” Marty said.
“I’ve heard they got good doctors here.”

“They better be. Beth…she’s…important. God, I
don’t even know how to reach her parents.”

“They, uh, probably got contact info from her
purse, right? Miss Beth has that book.”

“Right, right… What is taking the doctor so
long?” Jacob had never been described as patient, and what little
he had was wearing thin.

He spotted a man in blue scrubs coming their
way and ran to meet the doctor.

“Mr. Lindsey?”

“Yeah.”

“Miss Lawson listed you as her primary
emergency contact.”

“She’s…” He couldn’t put it in just a few
words. “We’ve known each other since we were kids.” But why did she
pick him over her family?

The doctor nodded and guided him to a row of
chairs. “Perhaps we should sit.”

“Just tell me how she is.”

“Miss Lawson was broad-sided in her car by
another vehicle running the red light. The car struck the driver’s
side. She suffered head trauma, a broken left humerus—the upper arm
bone, a compound fracture of her left femur, and internal bruising
from the seat belt--”

“But she’s going to be okay, right? You’ve
repaired the damage?”

“Her arm is in a cast and the leg was
repaired in surgery. What concerns us is the head injury. We won’t
know until the anesthesia starts to wear off if she will wake up
immediately or not.”

“What does that mean?” Was it possible she
wouldn’t open her eyes again?

“Concussions are…unpredictable. Miss Lawson
could wake up in a few hours, a few days, or longer…we have to wait
and see.” He patted Jacob’s shoulder, trying to be reassuring. “A
nurse will come get you once Miss Lawson has been moved to a
bed.”

“Give her a private room. Anything she needs.
I’ll pay for it.”

The doctor nodded and left, leaving Jacob
with a heart constricting with worry.

He never told her he got through university
by thinking “what would Beth do” when it got hard. They ran in
different circles at high school, but more of his free time
belonged to her than anyone else. And then there was that one
summer…
no, focus on the present, mate
.

He owed her a portion of his success. She was
his right arm, his oldest friend, his sidekick. Doing this without
her…wasn’t something he could fathom anymore.

It felt like days before they finally let him
see her.

“Bethie…” he whispered.

She looked so small swaddled in casts and
bandages. He cautiously approached the bed, afraid of touching
something he shouldn’t, and slid his hand under hers and squeezed
it.

No response.

He didn’t know anything about pulse rates or
heart rhythms, but the numbers on the monitor didn’t seem bad. Her
forehead was wrapped in gauze and he could see bruising spreading
down her left cheek. It was the first time he’d seen her glasses
off in years. There was a stabilization collar around her neck,
probably to treat whiplash. Her left arm had a hard cast from
shoulder to wrist, and her leg was wrapped in gauze and stabilized
in a Velcro cast thing. Probably so they could check the
stitches.

“God, pet, I’m sorry this happened to you
while runnin’ my stupid errands. You’re too good to me, Bethie, all
the time, and I probably don’t pay you enough. Please wake up,
alright? I need you here--” There was a knock on the open door.

“Mr. Lindsey?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Dr. Bodner. I’ll be Miss Lawson’s
primary physician.”

Jacob got up and shook his hand. “Like I told
the other one, expense doesn’t matter. Give her your best. Is she
waking up soon?”

“That’s what I came to talk to you about. All
signs point to her being able to reach consciousness, but it’s like
her body refuses.”

His stomach dropped. “She’s in a coma?”

“No…that’s the odd thing. Her level of brain
activity says she’s asleep.”

“Asleep.”

“And yet we can’t rouse her. Was Miss Lawson
on any medications that you know of?”

“No. I don’t think so.”

“Hmm. How was her mental state prior to the
accident?”

“What do you mean?”

“Has she been depressed, distant, acting
unusual…?”

“As of this morning, she was fine. Same as
ever. What are you implying, Doc?”

Dr. Bodner scribbled a note on his clipboard.
“The more information I have, the better I can treat her, son.
Visiting hours end at eight o’clock.” He left the room, closing the
door.

Jacob took to the chair and held her hand
again. “What a quack. Could you believe that guy? Thinkin’ you’re
hiding in your head… You’re too much of a workaholic. Don’t listen
to him, love. He doesn’t know you like I do.”

But the day went on and Beth didn’t move.

****

“Hey.” Bob walked in with a guitar case in
one hand and flowers from the gift shop in the other.

“Thanks for bringing it. Who are those from?”
Jacob had called and asked for his guitar, thinking music might
bring Beth around.

“Us. Lady downstairs said they’re tulips.” He
set the case on the floor next to the chair. “Reach her family,
yet?”

“Her father’s flying in. Should be here
tonight. The desk folk are pretty good at trackin’ people down.”
Jacob opened the case and took out a red Taylor acoustic. “Paps
downstairs?”

“You know it. When Jake Lindsey runs out of
an interview, everybody hears about it.”

He sighed and plucked a few strings with his
thumb, checking the tuning. “None of their business this time. Did
we release a statement?”

“Yeah, Lynn was on CYA duty last I saw. We’re
all laying low ‘til you decide what you wanna do.”

“Thanks.” Jacob smiled up at his friend. His
bandmates could always be counted on and he needed that more than
ever.

“Got your back, man. Well, I should go.
Lynn’s not letting us out of appearances just ‘cause you’re
MIA.”

Typical. Though Jacob would put money on his
manager doin’ the pushing. Business always came first.

He softly played until a nurse came in to
shoo him out for a few minutes. It was too far of a walk to get
outside where he could smoke, so he found the cafeteria and a cup
of coffee. This started a routine of sitting a while, stretching
his legs while a nurse did their thing, then the disappointment of
still no change in Beth.

Her father arrived around six.

“Elizabeth?” He crossed to the bed and glided
a hand over her hair, just brushing the brown strands. “What
happened?”

“Beth…Elizabeth was in a car accident. Her
arm and leg were broken and they did surgery on the leg fracture.
She bumped her head, too. We’re waiting for her to wake up.”

Mr. Lawson squinted his eyes at Jacob in
recognition. “Aren’t you the neighbor boy? Jake…Lindsey, was
it?”

“Yes, sir.” He’d always felt intimidated by
her father. “She, uh, works for me now.”

“Oh? She didn’t tell me that.”

“Yes, for three years, now. She…didn’t tell
you?” That was odd. She and her dad were close back then.

Her father stared at the light blue blanket
covering her. “Elizabeth and I haven’t spoken in a while…since her
mother’s death. She sends cards, but…”

“Mrs. Lawson died?
When?
”

He always liked her mother. She treated him
like one of her own and was a dear friend of his mum’s. He knew she
was sick at one time, but when Beth never told him the outcome…