“Is there a reason that things happen the way they do or is everything random?”
Death was sitting there in one of those waiting room seats. You couldn’t see him, but he was always there. Life was in the ER, too, but she was in where the action was, working with the doctors and nurses. I suspect that when Death decides it’s time to take someone, he walks into one of the cubicles where the doctors are struggling to keep someone’s heart beating. Then, even though Life has put up a good fight, Death slides her off to one side. He smiles his skeletal grin, inexorably embraces the patient with his long cold arms, and bestows a final, icy kiss.
I don’t like emergency rooms because, in the end, you can’t negotiate, bribe, or trick Death into leaving you or a loved one alone. When it’s your time, it’s your time.
The emergency room waiting area had changed a lot since I was fourteen. It had become more “friendly.” The chairs were certainly more comfortable than I recalled. There was a flat-screen TV on one of the walls. There were toys for small children in a brightly colored plastic box on the floor. But the magazines were still out of date, which made me really nervous.
When I got there, a half dozen people in twos and threes were sitting quietly around the room. Caroline was seated alone in a corner. She was staring out a window that overlooked a courtyard. “Hey, honey,” I said. “How’s your dad?” She turned and looked up at me. I could see the red rims around her eyes. Her face seemed even thinner and paler than before. Caroline looked absolutely haunted. “I don’t know.” Her voice turned high and squeaky. Then her lips quivered, her face reddened, and she hid her tears behind a crushed-up ball of over-used tissue. I leaned down and put my arms around her shoulders. She stood up and we hugged each other, much like what her father had done for me so many years before.
Just this morning, Kevin had told me that Caroline hadn’t cried since her mom died. He’d thought that maybe his daughter had been squeezed dry, that Joanna’s death had left the girl in a permanent state of shock. But here she was, sobbing uncontrollably in my arms. I knew what she was afraid of. She’d already lived through the tragedy of losing her mother. Being in an emergency room again for her dad was plain horrifying. Death wasn’t a stranger to this little girl. I dried her eyes with another ball of used tissue, but this one I found at the bottom of my bag.
“What happened, honey?” She swallowed. “Right after you left this afternoon, Dad came into the house and fixed himself a drink. He and I talked a little bit about how you guys had gone out to Connor’s Landing to pick up a deposit check. He showed it to me; he was really proud. He said to keep an eye on the time because we were going to Poco Loco for dinner in a couple of hours. But all the while he was talking to me, I could see sweat was dripping off his forehead. “I asked him if he wanted me to turn up the air conditioner. But he shook his head, wiped his face with a paper towel, and then took his drink into the living room. I’d stayed in the kitchen to get some ice water from the refrigerator when I heard him fall.”
I felt fear clutch at the hairs on the back of my neck. “He fell?” She slowly nodded. “I ran in and saw him struggling to get up off the floor. He couldn’t get to his feet. His face was really red and all scrunched up like he was in a lot of pain. He had one hand over his stomach like it was hurting really bad, so I took his other hand and tried to help him, but he couldn’t straighten up. He let go of me and just lay on the floor, groaning.
I dialed 911. He kept trying to tell me not to call an ambulance, that he was okay. He just needed a few minutes and the pain in his stomach would go away.” “But it didn’t.” “It always has in the past, but not this time,” Caroline whispered.
“This has happened before? Has he seen a doctor?” That was when I realized that Aunt Ruth was standing behind me. “Kevin hasn’t been to a doctor in years,” she stated flatly. I spun to see her staring at me with an expression of both disdain and fear. “Hi,” I offered, not knowing what else to say. “To answer your question,” Ruth said, “yes, this has happened before. But it’s never been this severe.”
~~~~
Geneva Chase is a woman who you will remember even after days or months... She is a strong woman, yet she has been an alcoholic in recent years... She has loved and lost through divorce. But most of all she's a Crime Reporter that has become the most important part of her life... Until...
This book is one of the best character-driven that I've read. Yet, intuitively I was able to pinpoint those who had performed one of the most horrendous crimes ever. In fact, the ending of the book revealed exactly what had occurred. It was when I decided not to continue reading the series. Even though I ranked this book high and do recommend to some people... For me, it is purely based upon what is happening in America where people are being murdered right before our eyes and ignored by the government as if the victim is at fault...
On the other hand, reading this book was indeed one which required me to ponder and considr the way in which the author interwove the personal within the overall story...
Genie had been called to a murder scene by a detective with whom she had bonded. In turn, she would take his wishes as to how and when she actually reported what she had learned. But she had an exclusive on this murder which involved six people and she intended to keep it...
Genie was going to AA, although as you read, you may not believe that she has made any type of commitment to the process. But she had seen somebody there that she knew...
It was a good friend from her early life, a man now who had been with her through all the turmoil which occurred when her mother had died. Now she saw that he also was an alcoholic. Who also was not willing to give up drinking... But they did meet and become close. He had been married, but his wife had died from cancer--a terrible death that had been drawn out and his daughter had been right there seeing exactly what had happened. But Caroline had never cried. Her aunt had forced her to go into counseling. It was felt that she also watched how badly her Dad had been traumatized and had held back on her own loss to be there for her Dad.
Readers will learn of many different crimes that seem to occur around an actual "Random Road" location. Theft of homes of the rich section of town, a rumor of a sex club somewhere in an old home, and, even a hookup for Genie with a married man. Nothing that should surprise anybody these days, unfortunately.
But all of these crimes are all tied together, and little by little Genie is working with her detective friend to pull the facts together... While at the same time, Genie is falling in love with the friend she had reacquainted with who now was living nearby... Kevin had admitted that he'd been in love with her as a teen, but had never pushed it... He had also loved his wife dearly, but also realized that he'd continued to love Genie throughout those years... But every time they were together, they would decide to have a drink or two as they grew more involved...
They had both agreed they wanted to be married and were moving in that direction... The only thing was that, Kevin had gone to the hospital. The doctors had explained that his liver was almost gone and his time for living was in...the...months...
It was quite natural, therefore, that the issues of death and dying came into the book... Genie and Kevin started to talk about their beliefs, their awareness of God--His existence... It is this that I found the author had achieved exactly what was required of the two characters to be thinking. Kudos to Kies for the personal lives of all characters seemed to be reveal at exactly the appropriate time... An amazing achievement in itself, in my opinion. This is Book 1 of a series. The writing is excellent! The overall plot was up-to-date for today's world, while at the same time, taking a deep dive into how each of us can or could or should react to the randomness of life events...
There was one thing that happened at the end that I felt was not random. Even then, I "think" I agreed with the author's closing, albeit a climax that was not a happy ending... or was it? As I sit writing, I find myself not sure that I might one day go out and see what Genie is doing in Book 2 of the series... Was the random events through this book leading to a life change for Genie? My curious mind, maybe, wants to know more... Do check it out!
GABixlerReviews
News!
Another shooting in Minnesota by Feds
Don't know anything more at this time
Governor Told Trump to GET OUT!
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