EARTHQUAKE - Chapter 23

Mary’s days at the rehab center were busier than she would have believed. There were group exercises, classes with required readings and quizzes, sessions with a counselor, physical therapy, weekly examination by a doctor, and sessions with a prosthetic technician.

Beginning next week, Mary would have to wear a leather sleeve on her stump. If there was no swelling, irritation, or skin breakdown, they would start adding weight to the sleeve until they had a rod that reached the ground. She was warned at least once a day that she should not put any body weight on her stump.

Mary worked hard and the people working with her gave her as much as she wanted and a little bit more. It was refreshing to work with a patient who had such grit and determination.

Mary had a hard time finding time to do so, but she sent emails to Shawnda and Shawanda and one of them sent her the email address for Helen Brumstel. Mary was determined to write a happy, chatty message to Helen at least once a week. She really missed the Kindle because she had to wait until a computer was free in the library. She decided to ask Karl to get her one.

It was really wonderful to see Karl and Dana again.

Karl told her that the original project to start up farming at Wesson Farm had been abandoned. He and the other men would concentrate on clearing the rubble and debris in Victoria so that at some time in the future it can be rebuilt. He doubted that the job would take more than three months.

“Good,” cried Mary. “We will both be finishing about the same time. We can start a new life together.”

 Some of the worry lines on Karl’s face faded and he smiled at Mary.

“You surely know how to encourage me and get me started down the track,” he said.

Dana noticed that her mother was wearing shorts and a blouse.

“You got some new clothes, Mommy.”

“Yes, when they brought me here I was in a hospital gown and nothing else. I couldn’t go to exercise classes or any place else dressed like that. One of the aides got a $200 money card for me from the Red Cross. She got my sizes and then went to Walmart and bought me some underwear, a pair of sneakers, socks, some sweatshirts, and shorts, and even a cotton nightgown. It makes me feel more like a woman to have some clothes to wear.”

Dana told her mother how nasty Mrs. Stauer was to her.

“Melodie said that we would be out of their house before next Friday. She and Clifford leased a three bedroom apartment. One of the bedrooms will be for me until you and Daddy have a place.”

That was bitter for Karl and Mary to hear.

Mary said to Karl, “If we can afford it, would you get a Kindle for me? I would also need a money card with about $100 on it so I can put some games, books, and music on it. I think you can get one for a little over $100. Wait until the next time you come. Leaving it at the reception desk might be a temptation to someone.”

As soon as Karl and Dana left, they went to Walmart to buy a Kindle for Mary. Karl talked to the sales associate and bought the model he suggested. He asked him to set it up for him. The associate showed him how to put a pass code on it, and how to put his credit card number on it so that Mary could buy apps, music, books, and games.

On Sunday after they went to church they would bring the Kindle to Mary during visiting hours.

Going back to the Stauers’ Dana said to her father,

“I have been feeling sad and guilty about something.”

“What is that, Dana?”

“I ran away from that shelter in Ferndale. The girls were mean and so were the counselors. It worked out all right for me, but I left my best friend Rosalita alone with those nasty girls. Then I get to thinking about her mother and the other Mexican women. There is no one there who understands their language except Rosalita.

“Those women have lots of problems. They have lost any papers they had to show that they have a right to be in this country. Several of them have husbands who were taken away from Victoria by rescue teams. They are probably in a hospital but their wives don’t know which ones. The ones whose husbands died, what will become of them and their children. What will become of Rosalita?

“Who will bury the men who died and where will they be buried. Grandad had a preacher preach over his coffin. Will they have a priest and will their family see them buried?”

“Young lady, you have raised some difficult questions. I promise you that I will pose them to Clifford.”

The next day they returned to the country church and ate at the crossroads diner.

When they went up to see Mary, she was delighted with the Kindle. Karl told her that, rather than buy a money card, he had put in his credit card number. Anytime she bought something at the Kindle store, she would have to type in her password. He whispered it in her ear and she blushed.

When he took Dana back to the Stauers’, Karl spoke to Clifford.

“Dana was talking to me about her friend Rosalita and how guilty she feels that Rosalita is still in that shelter that Dana ran away from. That got me to thinking. Shouldn’t Wesson Farm take some initiative in helping the widows and orphans of its former employees get settled someplace? They will need a Spanish speaking legal assistant to help them straighten out their status with the immigration authorities and getting assistance from Human Services.

“Several of those women saw their husbands lying injured on the ground. The rescue team took them off in a helicopter. They have no idea what hospital their husbands are in and no way to get there if they knew.

“I just think that in a tragedy like this that a company has some responsibility to help the survivors and their families.”

“I’ll talk to Mr. Stauer, Karl.”