note: this alternative ending and continuing series has been approved by the Original author, Melanie Brown
Chapter 6 The tragedy
“Chissy get up it's time for breakfast”.
“Ok mom I’m coming”.
Chris puts on a bathrobe and heads downstairs.
“Good morning dear”.
“Morning mom”.
“Please pass the syrup”.
“Look at him”!
“What, whats wrong with the way I look dad”?
“You know whats wrong”.
“You tell him Martha”.
“Your father is right you do look kind of frumpy you could have taken the time to get made up and put on some clothes”.
“Thats not what Im talking about and you two know it”! “He looks like a girl”. “Even in a bathrobe and not made up, he looks like a girl and I want to know when it’s going to stop”!
“I told you that I would get killed if anyone found out dad”.
“Well its killing me just to look at you”.
“You’re making this into to big of an issue dear”.
“To big of an issue your son is sitting there looking like a girl and thats not a big issue”!
“I’ve had it with you two, .... Ugh”!
“Whats wrong dear”?
“I dont know, I just don’t feel right”.
“Should I call the ambulance”?
“No I’ll be alright. I just need to calm down a little”.
Chris’s father falls out of his chair onto the floor while clutching his chest.
“Chrissy hurry call the ambulance”!
Chris makes the call then returns to the kitchen to see his father still on the floor and his mother looking very concerned. Finally in the distance Chris can hear the sirens and he goes to the door just as the ambulance arrives at the house.
The EMT’s come into the kitchen and begin to work on Chris’s father but after a short while they load him onto a gurney and into the ambulance.
“I’ll go in the ambulance with your father you wait here till I call”.
“Sure, ok, mom”. “Is he going to be alright”?
“I dont know dear”.
Chris stares out the front door as the ambulance pulls away at the same time he spots the girls pulling up in Joan’s car.
“What happened”? asks Joan.
“It’s my uh, uncle I guess he had a heart attack there taking him to the hospital”.
“That’s to bad we were going to ask you to the mall”.
“Sorry I can’t today Joan”.
“I have to stay here and wait for word from the hospital”.
“We can stay with you if you like, right girls”?
“Sure, no problem” they all say in unison.
“Ok then come in and have a seat”.
“I have to go put something on.”
Chris quickly goes upstairs and throws on a top and a pair of jeans then rushes downstairs.
“How did it happen Chrissy”? “I’m sorry maybe you don’t want to talk about it”.
“No, I guess it’s ok”. “Well we were arguing over breakfast and then suddenly he grabbed his chest and fell to the floor”.
“That’s awful Chrissy”.
“Yeah, and was all my fault”.
“How could it be your fault”?
“I can’t explain it right now but ever since I came here he’s been under a lot of stress I know it’s what caused the heart attack”.
Just then the phone rings and Chris answers.
“Hello, Ok I’ll get there right away”.
“Could you give me a lift to the hospital Joan”?
“Sure, let’s go”.
The girls pile into the car and head to the hospital. On this rare ocassion noone says anything on the way.
When they arrive at the hospital they head straight to the emergency room.
Reaching the waiting room Joan motions the girls to stop and says “We’ll be waiting here if you need us”.
“Thanks”.
Chris goes into the emergency room.
“I’m glad you got here he doesn’t look good”.
“Hi dad how you doing”?
“I’m dying and you come to me dressed like that”! “It’s this kind of crap that caused this heart attack, you and your fooling around”! “I just wanted someone to make me proud to carry on the family name and instead I get this”!
“I didn’t mean to dad”!
“That’s the problem you don’t mean anything you do”! “Get the hell out of here, now”! “I don’t want to see you ever again”.
Chriss starts crying and manages to stammer out “but,but”.
His father screams “Get Out”!
Chris runs from the room past the girls in the waiting room.
“Wasn’t that Chrissy that just ran by Joan”?
“Come on girls”.
Chris runs to the park across the street and sits on the bench crying.
Joan comes up and sits down beside her.
“You want to talk Chrissy”.
“No”!
“It might help”.
“Please Joan I want to be alone”.
Chris gets up and begins to walk around the park in no paticular direction.
Joan returns to the girls and says, “She’s pretty upset let’s just let her alone for awhile”.
It’s a beautiful day in the park. The birds are singing, the flowers are in bloom, children are playing, but Chris doesnt notice any of this. He just walks aimlessly for what seems like hours. .
He passes by some boys playing a game of baseball when suddenly the ball drops in front of him. From the field he can hear someone yelling, “Hey little help”!,
Chris picks up the ball and absently stares at it for awhile then again the voice calls “Hey over here toss it back will ya”. Chris turns to face the ball field spots the boy yelling and tosses into his waiting glove. Upon catching the ball he yells “Hey nice toss you can be on my team anytime”.
Finally tired he sits down on a bench next to a elderly man
“Hello Chrissy”.
“Hi.. Walter right”?
“Yeah haven’t seen much of you lately”. “You don’t look to happy”.
“I’m not”.
“You want to tell me about it or should I guess”?
“I’m not really in the mood Walter”.
“Well since I saw you run out of the hospital earlier this morning and since you were crying I would say you had someone in there in big trouble”.
“What do you sit here all day and stare at people”?
“What else do I have to do”?
“As I was saying its probably your father and he had a heart attack”.
“How did you know that”?
“You learn a few things with age, and sitting outside a hospital all day staring at people”.
“I figure he’s not doing well and he blames you for it”.
“Yeah thats right Walter”.
“And if I’m not mistaken you blame yourself to”.
“How could you know that”?
“So you’ve been walking around feeling sorry for yourself and bad about your father”.
“Am I right”?
“That’s it exactly Walter”.
“Well my question to you is what are you going to do about it”?
“What do you mean, what can I do about it”?
“It seems to me you can continue to wallow in self pity or you can go back to the hospital and make what little time he has left as happy as possible”.
“I guess you’re right”.
“By the way I’m not going to ask you about the get up but I figure that’s what your father was blaming you for”. “Kind of different but each to their own”.
“Uhh, thanks Walter”.
Chris thinks to himself, “he knows, but how”?
“In case you were wondering Chrissy I haven’t seen to many girls that could throw like that before”.
Chrissy returns to the hospital.
The girls are still in the waiting room.
“You waited”? “You didn’t have to do that you know”.
“We promised to help you and we will”.
“Thanks”.
Chris’s mother comes into the waiting room.
“Chrissy good your back he’s been asking for you”.
Chrissy renters the emergency room.
“I see you came back”!
“Yep”.
“You know I said some pretty mean things to you earlier Chris”.
“I know and you were right it is all my fault”.
“No, I was wrong you didn’t cause this it was me, you know how I love junk food and I never execise I brought this on myself”.
“But my dressing up must of caused some of this”.
“I won’t lie Im not to thrilled that you’re doing it but it’s really up to you”. “I can’t live your life”. “If this is the way you’re going to live all I can do is help however possible”.
“Oh dad”.
“Oh, one more thing before it’s to late, I am proud of you no matter what I said before”. “You should know that and oh yeah I love you Chris”.
“I love you to dad”.
“Ugh, I think maybe you should call the nurse”.
Chris comes out of the room screaming “Nurse! Nurse”!
“Stand back miss”:
The nurse then talks into speaker: “Code blue room 123 Code blue”.
Suddenly doctors, nurses, and orderlys converge on room 123.
One of the nurses says to Chris: “I’m sorry ou’ll have to wait outside” and shows him to the door.
Time seems to go on forever as they wait for some word. Ocassionally someone goes in with another piece of equipment but no one comes out. Then just as suddenly as it began it ends and the staff of the hospital floods out of the room. The looks on their faces tells the story the doctor in charge comes over to talk to Chris’s mother.
“I’m sorry we tried everything we could he was to far gone I’m really sorry”.
Chirs’s mother begins to cry and asks the doctor, “Can we see him”?
“Sure go right in”.
Chris’s mother goes into the room.
“Damn you why did you have to go and die on me”! “We still had a lot of things to do together now I have to do them alone”! “Damn you”!!
She finally breaks down crying and after a short time out of the room and heads to Chrissy.
“Are you alright”?
“I’ll be alright eventually, you can go in if you want”.
Chris now goes into the room
“I don’t exactly know what to do here dad”. “What am I supposed to say”? “You know I loved you and you said you loved me so how am I supposed to deal with this”? “All I can say is that I’ll make you proud of me somehow”.
Chris comes out of the room crying
“Chrissy why dont you go home I have to stay here for awhile and do some things”.
“Come on lets take Chrissy home girls”.
“Thank you girls youve been a big help”.
Chrissy and the girls get into the car and head home.
There is total silence in the car all the way until they arrive at Chris’s home.
“I’ll call you tommorrow Chrissy”.
“Yeah, ok, thanks Joan”.
Chris walks into the house up the stairs to his room plops onto the bed and cries himself to sleep.
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