Josephine Cox - The Broken Man

He watched as Mr Hendon, still ahead of them, turned into what looked like the main office. His interest was heightened when he drew alongside the office and he saw the surgeon earnestly talking with two official-looking people.

As Phil glanced in, one of the officials caught sight of them passing by the window. He then beckoned his colleague, and she looked out of the window, directly at young Adam.

Phil’s concern intensified. Discreetly, he put his hand on Adam’s shoulder and hurried him along.

‘Who were those people?’ Adam asked. ‘Why were they looking at me?’

‘They probably heard our clattering feet hurrying along, and were curious,’ he reassured Adam.

Phil, however, felt decidedly nervous. He was in no doubt that the officials were interested in the boy. Also, they had appeared to be engaged in deep conversation with the surgeon. Maybe it had nothing to do with Adam or his mother, but Phil had a bad feeling, which he could not shake off.

He glanced at the boy. Such an innocent; his young heart filled with loathing for his cowardly father who had left such a trail of devastation in his wake. And now, he was so afraid his mother would never get well again. Yet through all his crippling unhappiness, Adam gave no thought to himself. Nor did he realise the precarious position he had been put in by his father’s abandonment of him.

At the door of the recovery room, Matron peered in through the glass panel. ‘Don’t forget, a few minutes, that’s all,’ she warned.

After Adam gave an appreciative nod, she turned the handle and pushed open the door to usher them inside.

Phil and the boy were shocked to see the small, vulnerable figure lying in the high bed, her face turned away and her two arms wrapped in thick, stiff plaster. There was a kind of pulley over the top of the bed, with support-joints stretching down; two ends attached to the root of the pulley, and the other ends attached to the plaster-encased limbs, which were very slightly elevated above the patient.

Phil’s interest was immediately drawn to the heart-tracking machine.

‘Carefully now.’ Matron accompanied Adam to the bedside, where she sat him down on a chair right beside the bed and close to his mother, whose badly bruised face was turned towards him. She appeared restless, intermittently shifting her head back and forth, and making a low, whining sound, much like an animal in pain.

Unsettled by this sound, Phil fixed his troubled gaze on the heart monitor; he was greatly relieved to see the screen showed a steady beat.

Taking a seat beside the boy, Phil rested his arm on the back of Adam’s chair, while his sorry gaze also travelled the visible dark bruises on Peggy Carter’s body. Deeply unsettled, she appeared to be unaware of their presence.

‘Mum?’ With a shaky voice, Adam called out twice. ‘Mum, it’s Adam. I’ve come to see you.’ Reaching up, the boy tenderly clasped the tip of his mother’s fingers where they jutted from the plaster cast. ‘Phil’s here too, Mum. He’s been looking after me.’

When the tears rolled down his face and his voice began to tremble, Phil slid a comforting arm around him. ‘Easy, son. You remember what the doctor said: your mum might not be able to speak, but she might possibly be able to hear you. So, just try and tell her the things that are in your heart. Let her know that everything is all right, that she’s not to worry about you. And tell her you’ll be here to see her often, until she’s well enough to come home.’

So that was what Adam did. He told his mother how very much he loved her. ‘I’ll be so glad if you can get better really quickly, and then you’ll be able to come home and we’ll be together, and I’ll take care of you until you’re strong again.’

Both Phil and Adam were astonished when her eyes flickered open and she looked straight at her son. Her lips were moving, but when she attempted to speak, the mumbled words were lost in a choking sound.

‘What’s wrong with her?’ Appealing to Phil, Adam began to panic.

Quickly now, Matron crossed to the bed. Leaning to examine her patient, she told them, ‘It’s all right. She’s trying to say something, but she’s not yet fully awake.’ She glanced up at Phil. ‘Another moment, and you must take Adam back so she can get her rest.’

As Matron moved away to check the machine readings, Peggy attempted to speak again. This time, Adam drew closer, trying to decipher the incoherent whispers.

With great tenderness, he wrapped his hand about her fingers. For a moment he was silent, painfully reliving what had gone before. Presently, with his other hand he reached out to stroke her thick, wayward hair. ‘I love you, Mum. I want you to come home, so please get better soon.’

Peggy heard his every word, and she so wanted to rest, but she had to know first. In a snatched breath, she asked him, ‘Is he … here?’

Relieved to hear her voice, Adam leaned closer, his voice small. ‘If you mean Father, he ran away like a coward, and he never came back.’ Anger consumed him. ‘ He did this to you, didn’t he?’

‘Sssh!’ Her voice shivered with fear.

Exhausted, she momentarily closed her eyes. She was not afraid for herself, but for her only child. She needed to take care of him, this precious boy, who had seen bad things that no child should ever see.

‘Mum!’ Adam leaned closer. ‘Don’t be afraid, because if he comes back, I won’t let him in. Phil’s taking care of me, and we’ll be all right till you come home. We really will …’

When she made a slow, deliberate movement to touch his face, he realised she was anxious to say something else.

‘Don’t talk, Mum. It will be all right,’ he assured her. ‘I’ll take care of everything until you get home. If he comes back … I’ll tell them what he’s like …’

Deeply distressed, Peggy’s furtive whispers were for her son’s ears only. ‘No. Don’t say … that.’

‘But he hurt you, Mum. He did!’

‘Please … promise me.’ Exhausted, she fell back into her pillow.

‘All right, Mum.’ Adam stood up and, gently laying his face on hers, he reluctantly put her mind at rest. ‘I won’t tell,’ he whispered, ‘I promise …’ He found it hard to believe it was what she wanted, but he would keep his promise.

All he needed was for his mum to get better.

‘Love you … Son.’ Relief shadowed her face and now she was silent again.

‘Mum?’ Cradling her face, he was shocked at how cold she was. ‘Mum!’

There was no response.

‘Mum! Wake up … Mum!’

Matron hurried across the room. One glance at Peggy and she pushed the panic button. ‘Take the boy away now!’ she said to Phil.

Glancing at Peggy’s face, Phil was afraid. ‘Come on, son. We’d best do as Matron says.’ Deeply shaken, he led Adam away. As they hurried out the door, a number of medical staff were coming up the corridor at the run.

Keeping a strong hold on Adam, Phil quickened their steps. He did not want even to consider what might be going on in the recovery room.

Quickly now, he took Adam down the long corridor and into the waiting area where they had previously been.

Adam fought against him. ‘I have to go back … my mum needs me.’

‘They’re taking care of her, son.’ Phil kept a tight hold on Adam. ‘They’ll let us know how she is, soon enough.’ After seeing her so pale and empty, Phil secretly feared the worst.

IN THE VISITOR’S room, Phil anxiously paced the floor. Occasionally, he paused to look through the window into the corridor, but there was no one in sight.