ANOTHER YEAR... MARCHing on (Part 155g)

ANOTHER YEAR… MARCHing on (Part 155g)

I felt someone from the bank should go with Alice but the ambulance people wouldn’t let anyone other than family ride with them. So… I gave Bret the keys to my car and told him to follow them to the hospital and I’d call the family. Having Bret go was the best chance of finding out anything as he knew quite a few people who worked there what with his wife having been a nurse there for many years.

As for Peggy, Jerry had gotten her back on her chair and with Laura, Lori and Liz they had calmed her down. After reaching Alice’s mother and updating her I joined the group hovering around Peggy. When it was apparent that she was injured (physically) I had the others get back to finishing up their work for the day. It was after 4pm and the general proof should have been done but wasn’t. I asked Peggy to join me at my desk. She was, initially, reluctant but it was probably the look on my face that told her she better do it. She followed me, riding her chair, face first, up to  the railing. I was next to my desk and turned around to see her still in the chair. Again, it must have been the look on my face that got her to get up and approach the side chair beside my desk.

I opened by asking if she was OK. She waited a few seconds before she answered with a comment about being embarrassed. However, she continued, saying that she knew she was wrong but that she’d been riding the chair like that for months and nothing had ever happened. She said it was sort of fun scooting back and forth from place to place in the chair. I’d watched her do it, on and off, and thought it was kind of cute, something that a young girl would do. I looked at her and it was hard to fathom that she was just 19 and both a widow and the mother of a one year old. She stated that she never did it when there were people in the lobby. Then I asked why she’d decided to go across the floor backwards. For the first time since she sat down a bit of a smile appeared as she said she could go faster that way. I remember taking a deep breath. It was obvious she was concerned about Alice and also that she was going to be scolded. I knew it was an accident so told her that her chair riding days were over. I told her that Bret was at the hospital and would let me know how Alice was doing. She asked if we didn’t hear anything before we left for the day if I’d call her to let her know. Of course I said I would and told her to go finish up her work so we could all go home.

I’d forgotten about my quick glimpse of her when she was being lifted off the floor. I’d seen a bit of discoloration between her legs and, as she walked away I could see that it had expanded to the size of a saucer across her butt. She made about six or so steps before she remembered and put one hand across her backside… but it didn’t hide much. I’m sure she wanted to sit back down on her chair when she reached it but after what I’d told her all she did was look sheepishly back over her shoulder as she grabbed the back of it and pushed it towards the drive up window area. What had been a very slow day had turned to be somewhat exciting… in more than one way.

I called Elle to tell her I’d be late and how I had to wait for Bret to get back with my car. She, in turn, told me she was supposed to go to a meeting next door to talk about the variety show Phyllis had proposed. I asked her why she was going and her answer was to hang up the phone. Typical! It was almost 6pm when Bret finally called with Alice’s mother there with him. Alice still was in her probationary period at the bank and didn’t have hospitalization. and The woman was frantic as the family didn’t have insurance. The mother was concerned about the cost of being in the hospital and I made an ‘executive decision’ and told her the bank would cover it. When I got Bret back on the phone I told him he could sign the necessary papers as he was an officer of the bank. It wasn’t until after that was settled that I found out about Alice.

There were no broken bones but there was a contusion on her hip and they said she'd have a large bruise. She also had a severe headache. They were keeping her in the hospital overnight for observation purposes. Bret got back to the bank soon after the phone call. While waiting for him I called Peggy. The first words out of her mouth… “I’m SOOOOO embarrassed!”. At that time I was thinking about Alice and it didn’t register that Peggy was talking about her wet spot. It took a few seconds to get on the same wave length and when we did she was probably even more embarrassed. When I told her Alice wasn’t going home she realized that she was ‘off topic’ and I could almost hear her embarrassment. After hanging up the phone I wondered what it would be like the next morning when I saw her.

At home I found the lights on but nobody home. Elle did leave a note that she’d taken the girls with her when she went next door to meet with Phyllis. Even though she’d hung up on me I did find my dinner in the oven so I didn’t go hungry. It was shortly after that she and the girls returned. I decided it would be best to not ask about what had transpired. After getting the girls put away for the night she wanted to hear about “the accident”. Since she knew Peggy she was more than casually interested and I was happy to avoid any mention of Phyllis and the variety show.

The next day Bret, Jerry and I tried to figure out just what had happened. We knew Peggy had pushed off from between the two fire safes heading back across the floor to the drive up window area. Laura had been the one closest to where the collision took place so she filled us in. Using Peggy’s chair (a secretarial chair, on casters) we had Corrine, who was about the same size as Alice, stand in the place where Peggy had collided with Alice. Pushing the back of the chair into Corrine’s side the metal frame was right at her hip bone which explained the contusion. Peggy admitted that she’d pushed off especially hard so as Alice walked by the opening she had no idea of what was coming her way. When we finished we were confident we could explain it to both Alice and her parents. 

To be continued…