The Save Game

Chapter 3

Sal sat with his head in his hands.

"She's married? Like married married?" He asked in disbelief. "This is why I don't bother with relationships."

"Sal, I ran into Allison and Murr downstairs this morning. When she said she was here to see you, I asked if the two of you were together. She said no. I don't think she thought what you two have is a relationship." Jackie sat beside him, keeping an eye on her twin boys as she spoke.

"It wasn't. She and I just met. We were in the same place at the same place and just hit it off." Sal looked up at the doorway, wishing she would just come back and tell him it was all a joke.

"There's something you should know. But it's easier to understand if I show you instead of tell you." Jackie said.

Sal looked at her, waiting to see what she had to show him.

Just as she looked like she might say something, Joe and Murr walked in the waiting room.

"How's he doing?" Joe asked Jackie.

"We haven't gone back yet today. We still have about 20 minutes until visitation. But the doctors say he's had some positive improvement through the night." She told him.

"Why don't you let Bessy and I take the boys tonight?" Joe rustled the boys' hair as he walked by.

"Are you sure?" Jackie glanced at the two mini Brian's that sat quietly coloring in the books she had brought for them.

"Absolutely. My little squirt and your two little squirts will have a blast. And it will give you some time to take a breath." It was rare that Joe could be serious, but Jackie was thankful for it today.

"Do you and Murr mind watching them for a few minutes? I need to show Sal something." She stood when Joe nodded.

Jackie motioned for Sal to follow her. When they were in the hallway, she walked to the elevator.

"Allison and my brother, well half brother, met about ten years ago. They were both pretty heavy into drinking and drugs." She pushed the up button on the elevator and continued talking when the doors opened and they stepped inside. "I'm not judging. I had some pretty rough times in my life too. You all know I was no angel. Anyway, those two leaned on each other through everything. Four years ago, they married each other. Allison was pregnant. Paul wanted to do the honorable thing, even though he'd never done anything honorable in his life. Allison's parents hated everything about what she'd done with her life and Paul was no exception."

The elevator stopped on the twelfth floor and the doors opened. Jackie stepped off in front of Sal and turned to the left, waiting for him to catch up.

"She miscarried from all the drugs. It was the lowest point in her life and it was enough to force her to get help. She cleaned up her act but Paul never could crawl out of the hole he was in. Right after Brian and I married, he overdosed. Allison came home and found him."

"Oh my god." Sal stared at Jackie as she continued the story. "This was the friend she lost to an overdose?" He asked.

Jackie nodded.

"He was brain dead. Nothing the doctors could do for him." She stopped in front of the last door on the hallway. "Allison grieved for him but she knew that he wouldn't want to be a vegetable. She signed the papers to have him taken off life support."

Jackie pushed the door open and walked in. Sal followed her, still unsure who they were going to see.

When he had made it all the way in to the room, he saw Jackie lean over the bed.

"Hi, Paul." She patted his hand.

The body laying in the bed, connected to wires and tubes, was thin and pale.

"I don't understand." Sal shook his head. "If she signed the papers, why is he still here?" He leaned against the wall and tried to picture what a healthy Paul would have looked like.

"His father decided that having his son laying in the hospital like this was more beneficial than burying him. He went to court and had the judge put a stop to Allison's decision. She fought the case for a year but when she ran out of money.....actually her parents stopped helping her pay for the court case, she had to give up." Jackie pulled the curtains open in the room. "She loved him Sal. It killed her inside to see him like this, even if it was at his own hands."

"Can't his father see that his son is dead?" Sal asked, angry that someone was causing Allison pain. He wondered if this was one of the reasons he'd found her on the rooftop last night.

"His father hasn't set foot in this hospital since the day Paul was admitted." Jackie's face showed her discontent with the man that claimed to love his son. "So, you see, Allison is stuck. She can't fight the court any longer. She's married to a dead man but she can't claim widow status because the hospital can't issue a death certificate."

Sal crossed his arms, trying to process everything.

"She would have told you, Sal. I know she would have. It's just really hard for her." Jackie sat on the edge of the bed.

"Does she come visit him?" Sal asked.

"I don't know for sure, but I think so." Jackie tried to explain when she saw the hurt on Sal's face. "Not because she expects him to get better or that she thinks their life will ever be normal. I think she visits because she feels sorry for what he has to endure. She knows this isn't what he wants and she feels like it's her fault."

Sal watched Jackie straighten a few things on the bedside table. When she was done, she clasped her hands in front of her and stared at her half brother.

"I'm sorry. You shouldn't be dealing with this. Not when your own husband is lying in a coma himself." Sal walked over to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Brian's going to be okay, Sal. I can feel it." Jackie wiped a tear away from her cheek. "He's too stubborn not to be."

She leaned her head on his shoulder, hoping that she was right about her husband.

"It's almost visiting time." Sal glanced at the large, round clock on the wall opposite of them. "You don't want to miss it."

Jackie nodded, straightening her body and wiping at her eyes.

As Sal led her out of the room, he glanced back at the man laying in the bed. He hadn't realized how deep Allison's hurt and anger went.

"She'll never be okay, Sal. If any part of you thinks that you want anything to do with her, just know that she will never be fixed." Jackie and Sal stepped onto the elevator. "You can't save her. People have tried. I've tried."

Sal understood what Jackie was saying, but he refused to believe it.

"Maybe someone needs to try harder." He pushed the button to take them back to the fifth floor as a smile slowly formed on his face.