on solid ground. The shore wasn’t far now. Or was it just an illusion?
Fearing he would be lost to the river, Josh lunged with his hands for the shore and a hand struck the ground. Silt compacted under his fingernails and he stopped swimming. His knees sank and touched down on the riverbed. To his relief, his head was still above water. He crawled like a babe on all fours and collapsed at the river’s edge, his head barely clear of the water. He expelled air from his chest in sharp, short breaths. Stars twinkled in his blurred vision and remained there even when he closed his eyes. He wanted
the sour taste in his mouth to go away. He was happy to be safe, but too tired to show it. Now that he had done what was necessary, his body relaxed and his bladder emptied its contents into the river.
“Yeah, piss on you,” he murmured hoarsely to the
river, smiling.
A buzzing rang in his head. The noise continued to get louder and he closed his eyes to put it out of his mind, but it increased in volume and voices joined it.
He felt the water swell and shunt his body along the shore. He listened to the voices as he fell into the welcoming arms of unconsciousness. He was safe.
CHAPTER TWO
“Mr. Michaels … Mr. Michaels … Some people are here to see you,” the soft voice said.
Josh opened his eyes. Kaleidoscopic images that
made no sense came into view. His world twisted and turned, objects meshed into others to make new ones.
Slowly, everything locked into place.
He was in a white bed in a white room. A man
dressed in a white lab coat stood over him with a benevolent smile that exposed straight teeth. In the distance, a disembodied voice mumbled inaudibly. A
scrubbed-clean freshness filled the air, but the sour taste remained in his mouth.
“Are you Saint Peter?” Josh said.
The man blurted out a laugh. “I’ve been called many things, but no, I’m not Saint Peter. I’m Dr. Robert Green—and you’re not in heaven, you’re in Sutter Memorial Hospital.” ,
“How did I get here?”
“You were very lucky. Two guys in a boat found you on the riverbank,” Dr. Green said, still smiling.
“I don’t feel very lucky.”
“I would say you are. You swallowed quite a bit of the Sacramento River, which is not exactly the cleanest water you can drink. That means your stomach is going to be upset for awhile. I’ve put you on a course of antibiotics to kill any organisms swimming inside you
that should be swimming in the river. Other than that, you just have some superficial bruising.”
“When will I be allowed to leave?”
Josh started to sit upright, but winced. His body told him where every bruise was hiding. The doctor helped his patient up and moved pillows for support.
“I want to keep you in tonight for observation, then you should be okay to go home. Anyway, like I said, some people are here to see you.”
Dr. Green turned his head to indicate two people
waiting expectantly by the door to the private room.
Kate and Abby rushed to his bedside. Kate smiled
weakly with a furrowed brow, but Abby smiled
brightly at her father.
For Josh, it was easy to produce a big smile. Kate and Abby were the most important people in the world to him. Seeing them from the hospital bed, he saw them through new eyes.
Kate looked beautiful. She was the only woman he
knew who could make jeans and a tank top look sexy.
Her shoulder-length straw-colored hair hung loose around her face. Her beauty was at the crossroads of youth and maturity, creating a sensual fusion of what was and what was to come.
Abby was a reflection of her mother, possessing the same straw-colored hair, although hers was drawn
back into a ponytail. She was his little girl, but Josh knew she would break his heart one day when she became someone else’s.
“Hey, hon,” Kate said from the side of the bed. She hugged and kissed her husband.
“Daddy, you’re alive!”
The matter of fact statement made the adults in the room laugh.
“Abby!” Kate flicked a look at the doctor and Josh.
“Don’t say things like that.”
“Well, she’s not wrong,” the doctor said in Abby’s defense.
Abby looked at everyone, unaware of the impact of her remark. Quickly, she forgot about it and stood close to Josh’s bedside.
Josh had never been so happy to see them and his
smile extended into a broad grin. The pressure of the grin on his face squeezed out a couple of tears.
“I’ll leave you all alone for awhile, but I’ll be back in a few minutes to check up on you. Remember, you still need rest, so please, no excitement.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Kate said.
Dr. Green smiled pleasantly and left the room.
“Oh, Josh, what happened?” Kate said.
“Somebody forced me off the fucking road and into the river.” His anger spewed out at the recollection of the incident on the road.
“Josh … Abby.” She indicated their daughter with her eyes. Kate disliked bad language spoken in front of her.
“Don’t say bad words, Daddy,” Abby said.
“I’m sorry. Daddy was mad, but I shouldn’t say
things like that. Forgive me?”
“Yes.” Abby scrambled onto the hospital bed and
hugged him.
He felt her small arms wrap around him as tightly as they could and he hugged her back. He ignored the ache from his bruises in favor of the affection. It felt like he’d been away from his family for a lifetime. He released Abby from his embrace.
“You’re going to have to let Daddy go now, hon,”
he said.
“The police are waiting outside to talk to you,”
Kate said.
They were the last people he wanted to talk to right now, but if he wanted that son of a bitch caught, he’d have to talk to them.
“Wheel them in,” he said with a frown.
Abby broke from the hug and snuggled herself next to Josh.
“Come on, Abby. Let’s get the police officers. You’re going to sit with Uncle Bobby while Daddy and I talk to the policemen.”
“Is Bob here?” Josh said.
“Yeah, he brought us. He’s waiting outside. They
won’t let him in since he’s not family.”
Bob Deuce had been Josh’s friend since they were
twelve. “Tell him thanks for coming.”
Kate helped her daughter down from the bed after
she had given Josh a kiss. He promised to tell Abby all about the accident when he returned home. They left and Kate returned with two uniformed officers.
The officers stood at the end of the bed. Kate sat on the bed next to her husband. The officers introduced themselves as Brady and Williams. Brady did the talking and Williams took notes. Brady was in his mid
forties and a good thirty pounds overweight for his six feet. He fixed Josh with a piercing look, like he was the guilty one. Josh thought he probably had too many people lie to him over the years. Williams was a young, well-groomed black man who looked as if he’d been out of the academy a couple of years and lacked the case-hardening that came with the position.
“Could you tell us what happened, Mr. Michaels?”
Brady asked.
“I was driving back home on Highway One-sixty
two when a car overtook me approaching the river.”
“What speed were you doing, sir?” Brady interrupted.
“Sixty-five.”
Brady nodded to Williams, who made a note of the
speed.
“And are you aware of the speed on that road, sir?”
Brady inquired.
“Yes. It’s not sixty-five. If you want to give me a ticket then do it, but do me the courtesy of letting me tell you what happened,” Josh responded. His irritation blistered at the attempted slap on the wrist for speeding.