The Coffin Maker

Chapter 26

James Blackwood felt the outsider in the waiting room at the Abbott Northwestern hospital. The Pacocha and Craig families were hugging each other, sharing tears of joy over the rescue of their daughters while they awaited word from the medical staff. Siv Craig detected Blackwood's awkwardness during the family affair, standing off to one side, gazing out the window. She recalled the afternoon two weeks earlier when Ailsa came to the farm and bluntly stated that she was in love with the forty-one year old widower. She understood her daughter's physical attraction to the tanned, lean athletic looking man, salt and pepper hair, a face that grew increasingly handsome under scrutiny. However, Siv Craig was glad she had not shared Ailsa's disclosure with her husband who was more of the opinion that Blackwood was the sole reason for the dangers heaped on his daughter.

The frosted glass door of the second-floor waiting room opened and two doctors stepped through, one garbed in the ubiquitous white coat of the profession, the other in an open neck, small check sport shirt. The coated doctor introduced himself as a family physician, his colleague a clinical psychologist.

"The good news is that physically, we expect both young women to fully recover," said the general practitioner, "albeit a somewhat longer recovery for Riley who is in an advanced stage of malnutrition. In normal circumstances, the body provides the brain a continuous supply of glucose. Through lack of food, Riley reached the stage we call ketosis. Simply put, her liver began converting energy for her brain from muscle and fat. Once we adjust her protein intake and restore her electrolyte balance, she will be on the road to a full recovery. Turning to Ailsa, her main requirements are rest and regaining her strength. I expect she can go home in a few days."

"The greater concern for both women," said the psychologist "is the state of their mental health. Both women are physically unharmed, but emotionally bruised. I am particularly concerned about Riley whose captivity was of longer duration. She will require regular counseling to help her deal with denial, depression, and memory problems; some of the challenges she faces require a long convalescence. You may discover that both women withdraw from family and friends while they struggle to regain footing on the path of their former lives. It is important that you allow them, on their own time, to choose the moment when they are willing to talk about their ordeal. In the meanwhile, they require the love and support of family members."

"May we see them now?" asked Riley's mother.

"Only family," said the psychologist.

Siv Craig saw disappointment flood James Blackwood. She watched him draw breath and consider a plea to the doctor before he abandoned the idea out of respect for the families. She thought about speaking out but was fearful her husband would disapprove and it was not the time for an embarrassing scene. The families followed the doctors down the hall. She looked back into the waiting room at a dejected James Blackwood.

Siv Craig sat on the edge of the hospital bed, hugged her daughter and smothered her head in kisses. "My baby, my baby is safe," she said repeatedly.

"Let the girl breathe, Siv," said her husband.

The first thing out of Ailsa's mouth surprised her father but not her mother.

"Where's James?"

"He's down the hall in the waiting room," said Siv Craig. "I'll get him." She made to leave when her husband grabbed her arm.

"The doctor said 'only family'."

"Oh, what difference does it make?" she said wrenching from his grasp and exiting the room. She hurried down the hallway to the waiting room, but Blackwood had already gone.