The Actor by Douglas Gardham

Author:Douglas Gardham [Gardham, Douglas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781938908668
Publisher: iUniverse
Published: 2014-05-13T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 29

Ethan’s Timeline

May 1991

“Please, Ethan, wake up,” Christa cried. “You have to wake up.”

Ethan opened his eyes and looked into Christa’s horrified face.

“Ethan,” she whispered, tears running down her tired, grief-stricken face as she cradled his head in her hands. “You’re okay? Can you hear me?”

He felt lousy. His body ached. As his eyes focused, he noticed he was in unfamiliar surroundings. Then he heard Robbie’s voice.

“You’re in the hospital, buddy,” Robbie said, his face moving into Ethan’s field of sight. “You fell and knocked yourself out. It’s been a while.”

His clothes felt wet. Christa was holding his hand. “Can I have some water?” Ethan whispered, his voice cracking. His mouth was parched.

“Sure,” Christa said from somewhere close by. “Here—take some of this.”

A large glass of ice water with a bent straw came into view. Christa helped him insert the straw between his lips. Cool water flowed into his mouth. It was the best-tasting water that had ever passed his lips.

“Hey, bud, slow down,” Robbie said, patting his right arm. “There’s lots where that came from.”

Christa pulled the straw and glass away. “That’s enough for a minute, babe.”

“We thought we’d lost you there, Eth,” Robbie said.

“You gave me a real scare,” Christa said. She was close to tears. “You weren’t moving, and your body was burning up.” She reinserted the straw in his mouth before he was able to reply.

Again, he took a long draw from the straw. The water tasted glorious as it trickled down his throat. An intravenous tube was fastened to his arm. “Where am I?” he asked, pulling away from the straw. His voice was rough and scarcely above a whisper.

“You’re at the medical center,” answered an authoritative voice. Ethan turned his head to see who had spoken.

Ethan watched as a doctor approached him from the right side of the bed.

“Relax, Mr. Jones,” the doctor said in a direct, professional manner. “How are you feeling?”

“I’ve been better,” Ethan croaked, the sudden coldness of the water in his throat making it difficult to speak clearly. He hacked up some phlegm.

“I would agree with you, but if it’s any consolation, I think you’re through the worst of it.” The doctor paused for a moment and lifted Ethan’s right arm to take his pulse. He placed his open palm on Ethan’s forehead. “You’re still warm, but you’re looking a sight better than you did when you came in. Can you turn your head a bit? I need to take another look at that cut.” Ethan winced as the doctor examined the side of his head. “I know this won’t make you feel any better, but I think it’s a good thing you fell and hit your head.” He jotted something in the chart.

“Why?” Ethan asked.

“You’ve an acute case of food poisoning,” the doctor answered, peering at something in Ethan’s report. “Likely a bad case of salmonella. I understand you were out and had shrimp for dinner.”

“Yes, in a burger.”

“Well, that’s likely where you picked it up. You were quite

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.