Serendipity: Update
A/N 1: Surprise bitch! I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me! Lol! I have something up at last! I’ll be very honest here, I started writing this after the MH 370 thing as a tibute to all those who became citizens of the sea but it has turned out to be something completely different. I haven’t written in a million years, so I might have totally lost the touch!
A/N 2: Yup, I took some liberty to tweak details of the event as it took place, of course for the sole purpose of humouring my muse, like always. Uhm, even the person they’re bitching about is completely a figment of my deluded mind!
A/N 3: Umm, so if by chance happen to read the whole thing, you’ll probably be like ‘What the frilly heck’ by the time you reach half of this extremely convoluted piece of my deranged and fevered mind. I don’t know what compelled me to write this, but I had to. I’m not too happy with the outcomes though, it’s probably because I have struggled with it for toooo long!
A/N 4: I haven’t even had the time to proof-read it, so a hundred sorrys for wrongly placed commas, full-stops, grammatical errors and blasphemies. I really really hope you like it, inspiration has been running low but I just needed to write something to ‘Let It Go’! Let me know if you like it! Thanks!
Rated: M
Amor Vincit Omnia
‘Omnia vincit Amor; et nos cedamus Amori.’
-Aeneid, Virgil
‘Yes sweet-pea, Mommy’s gonna be back by tonight and tell you the story about the brave Prince.’ Meryl cooed into the telephone to her five year old son Henry.
‘Mommy, will Mamie’s fever also come down when Daddy and you get back? She is so small and warm and red and tired from crying and she won’t listen to Nancy or me!’ Henry said with utmost concern in his voice.
Tears pricked at her eyes and her heart broke into a million tiny pieces when she heard about her year and a half old daughter’s plight. Don would always give her the partial truth so as to not worry her too much but hearing the worry and palpable fear in her son’s voice immediately catapulted her into the guilt trip.
Ever since she’d started shooting ‘Plenty’ she had made sure she went back home after every week of shooting and yet every Monday morning when she left home for work she was consumed with the guilt of leaving behind her little children in Don and the nanny’s care.
‘Uh-hun, Mames is gonna be fine sweetheart, we’re gonna make sure of that!’ she said wiping off tears from her face, ‘See you in a bit baby. Now be a good boy and give the phone to Nancy.’
‘Nancy, why didn’t you tell me Mamie has fever?’ Meryl squeaked, the tone of accusation ringing clear in her voice.
‘Meryl, it’s okay, it’s just a 24 hour bug thing I guess, don’t worry she’s fine. Don’t worry, please. You’re gonna be here in a while. Everything will be fine!’ she soothed. They had known Nancy ever since Henry’s birth. They didn’t require a live in nanny, but she’d come by and look after the kids whenever Meryl or Don had to go away for work. She was practically a part of their family by now and Meryl wouldn’t have left her children in anybody else’s care but hers.
‘Okay, okay...yeah..fine! Thank you and tell Henry and Mamie I---we-- love them!’
‘Yes, yes! They kno-I will tell them. See you both at night. ’ And with that Nancy disconnected the call.
Meryl hung up, wiped her tears and made her way towards the waiting area where Don, Tracey and the other members of the cast were waiting for their flight back to the US.
‘Mamie has fever; Nancy says it’s just a 24 hour thing. Don, you shouldn’t have come to pick me up. The children need us, atleast one of us.’ Meryl said while her husband wrapped her in his arms.
‘It’s okay darl, they’re gonna be fine. We’re gonna see them tonight. Okay?’ he said while kissing her right temple.
‘Mm..kay. I’m gonna go be with Tracey for a while, Sam was anyway wanting to catch up with you.’
‘Yeah, okay. I love you.’
‘Love you too.’
*******
‘Oh Meryl, I can’t tell you how eager I am to get back HOME AT LAST! I hope I could be as tight lipped and stoic as the British who never seem to miss anything in the world, ever. I miss the LA weather the most. There is no place like home!’ Tracey chimed as she sat down in her seat with two coffee cups in hand and passed one to Meryl.
‘Yes, indeed, there is no place like home.’ Connecticut, the kids and Don were her home and without any of them she felt incomplete, like now. She couldn’t wait to get back home and hug her children and immerse them in her love and protection and lay in the protective arms of her husband.
*******
Once they’d boarded the flight, Meryl let her worries take a backseat and tried to enjoy the last few moments with the cast. While Don was away chatting with the men, Tracey and she had a good time sipping on champagne and bitching about members of the crew. They spent a good amount of time cursing one of their associate producers who had turned out to be a prick and had hit on almost every female member of the cast. Meryl very proudly recounted the whole incident of her leaving the man dumbstruck with her sassiness-while he’d taken Meryl to be this shy and demure woman, she turned out to be a fierce lioness capable of skinning him and eating him alive. Tracey too had left him emasculated and they took immense joy in recounting their victories over this pretentious, sexist and arrogant ass of a man.
Halfway through their joyous incessant ramblings Meryl excused herself and got up to use the washroom.
Just as she was about to latch the toiler door a single shoe clad foot wedged in between to keep it for closing. For a moment Meryl was petrified and was about to screech in protest when a hand covered her mouth. Her eyes flew open as wide as saucers and her hands went up in revolt when the face of the havoc perpetrator came into view. He quickly shoved himself into the washroom and locked the door pinning Meryl up against the bathroom door.
‘Donnn, have you lost it?! You seriously will get us into jail! Don, we can’t, what are you do---‘ and even before she could finish her protests he had crushed his lips into hers and all that she could now manage were ‘uhhns’ and ‘aahs’.
‘Let’s give ’em something to talk about.’ Don whispered into her ear as he softly nibbled on her earlobe and kissed behind her ears.
‘Ohh-I-uhn-so I can vish-ualize-our mugshots!’ she said in a practical but almost breathless tone. She is making these little noises at the back of her throat which drives Don crazy.
He swiftly undoes one button of her navy blue silk shirt and exposes the lily white skin of her collarbones. He buries his face into her skin and starts planting feather soft kisses all along the length of her collarbone, biting down occasionally while she moans and faintly protests against his body, lust rapidly winning over prudence.
‘What are we---doing Donn? Have to be---quick-oh’ she says as she bites down on Don’s shoulder to muffle a scream when his hand reaches the waistband of her tights and tugs them halfway down her legs.
And then, then, all prudence goes to hell---swiftly, she works her mouth all over his face and neck while her hands very adeptly work at his belt and zipper.
Everything about this moment is needy-this, them in a small airplane washroom, craving each other’s touch, hot searing kisses, primal moans, feral growls, muffled screams, skin to skin---a desperate fervent need after weeks of separation, an assurance that no matter what happens, everything will be fine, that Amour Vincit Omnia.
However even before she can tug down his pants, he bends and then Meryl loses all coherence-because holyshit Don’s doing things down there and she can’t stand anymore, as if Don takes this as a cue and curls his hands around her perfectly shape derrière and props her up.
‘I’ve missed you...your smell’ he sounds as if he’s in bliss while his tongue works deftly on her clit while she moans and huffs.
‘I hate..no time’ he says lapping at her juices so fervently like a man being offered water in a desert and that alone makes her almost come. Then she can’t take it anymore and pulls him by his hair and order him ‘In me. Now.’ she whimpers, he complies, of course.
She’s slick and ready when he enters her, and everything runs in rhythm---flows like molten gold-feelings, smells, warmth, love-satisfaction, completeness---him inside her---steady rhythmic thrusts, soothing almost, a feeling of safety---faster more needy thrusts and then a transition from limbo to heaven-the climax, the end of the act and bliss.
Both of them are left reeling for a while as the plane maneuvers through the clouds. Meryl was still writhing under him from the after-effects of the orgasm struggling to get her breathing and bearings back when Don whispered 'If we get caught, tell them you are ill, although you might want to do something about your freshly fucked look!'He smirked and kissed her temple while buttoning up his shirt.
'You're gonna be the death of me someday! I want to hate you so bad' Meryl said breathlessly as she inhaled her husband's unique scent.
'Now go, and don't get us caught. I'm gonna straighten up a bit before making an appearance' she said while playfully patting her husband's chest.
*******
They were lucky enough to not get caught and soon had joined back their friends in all their merriment and frolic.
This quick session of love making was not a mere desire for sexual satisfaction----it was a spiritual need for contact, and warmth and love, and they were glad they had decided to go ahead with it inspite of the fear of getting caught because if it was one thing that John's death had taught Meryl it was to seize the moment-live it and not let go of everything precious that you have-even for a moment!
*******
They had only been served dinner when Don realized something was wrong, gravely wrong.
The airplane suddenly seemed to have changed altitudes and an engine near the cockpit started emitting a ghastly sound.
Don’s first instinct was to run to Meryl’s seat because he knew how scared she was of flying and how she still got a little panicky while takeoff and landing. However the signals were glowing in neon red that were not supposed to leave their seats at any cost.
Don only prayed that it would pass of as a minor something and everything would fall back into place.
*******
Meryl and Tracey had been sipping on wine and still whining about the associate producer when a young air stewardess emerged and started shrieking out orders to stay put in their seats and use the oxygen masks if asked to do so.
Suddenly an engine to the right of their seats started rattling and the lights in the entire wing went off.
Panic had set in like wild-fire and everyone around Meryl seemed to have gone bonkers. They had been strictly forbidden to leave their seats and all she could do was turn back again and again to get a glimpse of her husband. There was no place she’d rather be than in the protective arms of husband safe in their Connecticut home.
Her thoughts immediately went to her two little children waiting for them at home. No, there was no way that anything could happen to them. Not now. Not when the children need them so much. Not when Mamie has fever and Henry’s only learning how to play the guitar.
Their entire life is ahead of them, she’s still not done half of the things she’s planned with Don-have a dozen more kids, climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower, scream ‘I love you’ while on the ferris wheel at the London Eye, build that home in New York, go see the Taj Mahal, get their children married and cry a river each time, get to call Don ‘Grandpa Gummer’, kiss in the middle of a street at 80, fight with their walking sticks and so many of those things that Don and her had discussed on numerous lazy Sunday afternoons.
And yet she knows, she has the premonition that something bad is going to happen and all she’s gonna be able to go is stand back and look at the ruins.
Everything, after that initial announcement seems to pass in a blur- she can hear a baby’s cry, someone yelling in the distance, the pained shriek of some woman and all the while Tracey seems to be talking to someone, or was she talking to her?
Nothing mattered anymore, not when one mis-step could drive them towards their grave, nothing mattered, except Don and the children and how she can’t give up on this, not so early, not when it’s only the beginning.
So she prays, something she never does, something she doesn’t believe in, she prays to some unknown presence for faith and courage and sheer good fortune, to come out of this unscathed.
She looks back again to get a glimpse of that head of curly hair, those piercing electric blue eyes. On the one hand she would’ve hated to see Don out of his seat endangering his life and on the other it’s only a glance she craves for, one fleeting moment.
She listens vaguely to some announcement about an ‘Emergency Landing’ which makes her feel safer. Any moment they’d land and she can see Don again, can go back to her family, even if she gets delayed.
However that’s not what has been ordained because a moment later everything goes into frenzy.
*******
Don can feel it in his bones that things are not right anymore.
The pressure seems to be fluctuating and the lights are gone and it seems like he’s signed up for a roller coaster ride.
He knows nothing about flying or pilots or how they fly a plane but he knows this much that things are out of control and that’s bad. Very very bad.
He tries to think of all the worst possibilities and closes his eyes and shakes his head knowing all the while frivolous prayers won’t help. Then, then all of a sudden there is a tremendous noise and a huge sweeping motion, a sense of descent and then black. Darkness.
He sees a familiar house, yes that’s their Connecticut house-no no, that’s his in-laws house. Where’s Meryl-oh there she is-in white, pure white, angel of light, and she’s holding something-that’s Henry yes and pre---pregnant she’s pregnant---that’s Mamie in there, and Henry is running in the field of their-no it’s Africa, green and lush---Meryl’s feeding Mamie, and that’s Mom there too, and Meryl’s running towards him---wrapped in colours---she’s crying-screaming----smoke consuming her----darkness. Black.
*******
It feels like somebody is hammering nails into her forehead and it feels all woozy and surreal as she flits in and out of consciousness. She can hardly register things yet-faint noises like the constant buzzing of a bee, an engine trying to start up or is it a tractor, shouting, screaming more shouting and then temporary silence and then all of it again. There is also that smell-a damp acrid mossy smell, soot and a metallic taste, iron maybe. Her head throbs again and she will give a millon dollars to anybody who decides to chop it off. She can swear by that.
Slowly, slowly she opens are eyes and for a moment everything is a haze, a green-blue dirty haze, so she blinks,thrice, almost forcefully as a shot of pain explodes through her head. She tries to sit up painfully from whatever position she is in and looks around blearily. It’s mostly all green everywhere and bleary from some kind of a smoke.
Something heavy is lying on her left hand so she looks down and is horrified to see the half mangled body of Celine, the assistant art editor for the movie---she’s bleeding from her forehead and her hands and legs are in an awkward position, all twisted and turned in a horrendous way and she’s unconscious.
Her mind is still extremely fuzzy about what’s going on and her headache is like death warmed over, so she squeezes her eyes shut and that’s when it all comes back-the flight, Henry’s call, the engine breaking down, the frenzy, the sharp pain, Don---Don---and then everything goes to hell.
She can’t see Don anywhere around her as she scans her eyes frantically throughout the area-there are quite a few people around her, some conscious, some unconscious and there is lots of wailing and sudden shrieks of pain and grief. She can sense death looming overhead but she can’t feel Don’s presence because she knows whenever he’s around and she needs to find him so she wills herself to move and stand up.
She registers a sharp discomfort near her right abdomen and her hand flies directly to it and it’s drenched in-she looks down and sees her blouse drenched in blood, but there is no time to panic or feel the pain nor tend to the wound. Because inspite of feeling being run over by a truck, inspite of her half torn blouse, inspite of the deep gashes on her body, inspite of her bleeding forehead, she needs to find Don. And all else can go to hell, because he’s always been and always will be most important piece of her life’s puzzle. Period.
So she scrambles to her feet, clutches one hand to her bleeding abdomen and steers herself forward, except she doesn’t know where to go. She can see many of her cast and crew members and people seem to have gotten medical supplies from somewhere and are helping each other. She would go help too if she could and although technically she can she first needs to go find Don and makes sure he’s alright.
The horrors surrounding her terrify her to no end-there are people with broken limbs, dislocated bones, things jutting out from everywhere, cries of pain, bodies as pale as the dead and just splotches of red and flesh amongst the green everywhere. She decides she is lucky enough to escape relatively unscathed and again she wonders about Don.
So she ignores everything on her path until she stumbles into Tracey who’s helping Roy set his dislocated leg. She looks almost fine too, lots of bruises and scratches but nothing too serious. Roy on the other hand looks worse for wear and in need of immediate assistance. She feels partial relief flood her body just by knowing that Roy is fine. She almost feels guilty at having forgotten about him in her frenzy of finding Don.
Roy’s almost semi-comatose but he manages to lift a hand towards Meryl who takes it and squeezes it gently, he mouths ‘Don’ and she can already feel tears forming in her eyes ‘I don’t know as yet’ she gestures. The moment is cut short as Tracey all but flings herself into her arms ‘Oh Meryl, we were so worried. I’m so glad you’re alright!’ her voice cracks but she keeps holding onto Meryl until she notices how tense and uncomfortable she is. Only when she lets go does she see her bleeding abdomen and emits an audible gasp.
‘Oh my, you’re bleeding.’ She looks at Meryl’s face which is streaked with tears because of the pain Tracey thinks, ‘Oh dear! Come I’ll clean it up, I have lots of first aid here. Let me just hold Roy for a while longer till this is set in place.’ And with that she tugs at Meryl’s hand who seems to be in a complete trance.
Meryl doesn’t move from her spot, instead she shakes her head vigorously and cries out, ‘NO! I need to find Don!’
Tracey’s never seen Meryl this way-they’re becoming great friends, but the look in Meryl’s eye is new-she’s seen her crack jokes, seen her laugh, worry, be utterly in love with her husband but never has she looked so lost, so wild with pain, so devastated. And that’s when Tracey realizes that the tears are not for the physical wound but for the emotional one she is going through---she fears the worst-what if?
What if? No that can’t be it! Don is alive, he has to be and she will help her friend find him somehow.
‘Yes, we’ll find him sweetheart, but just let me clean your wound a bit, it’s dangerous.’ She takes her by her hand and sits her down while all Meryl can do is make faint protests because she’s too weak to do anything else. And too sleepy.
Tracey tries to hurry up the process as much as she can while Meryl keeps chanting ‘Need to find Don’ more faintly with every passing second.
When she’s all done Meryl looks exhausted, the wound on her forehead has stopped bleeding and it doesn’t appear to be too deep, but Tracey can’t let her fall asleep because they don’t want concussions and besides they have work to do.
She gives Roy a last glance who nods and gives a thumbs up, looks at Meryl and then at Tracey and asks them to proceed.
‘Come on Meryl, we can go find Don now.’ She lightly manoeuvres her off the ground and Meryl sways for a moment before regaining balance and surges ahead without Tracey’s help.
Soon however they have to slow down because as much as this fierce woman is courageous she is also fragile and petite and can hardly take big steps, the wound cannot possibly help much of course but they go ahead anyhow.
They walk and walk and shout out his name and then walk some more, but there is no trace of Don and with every step Meryl takes she loses more and more hope.
Tracey’s heart breaks to see her like this- she looks like a wounded animal, all broken and ashen and pale, her eyes full of terror and apprehension, gleaming with unshed tears.
She walks along in a trance and then suddenly starts running and crying all at the same time screaming out Don’s name. Tracey’s heart breaks for her friend and she just wants to find Don, in whatever condition it maybe.
Then it’s as if God listens to her and she can hear Meryl running ahead towards some sort of an alcove in the woods and chanting Don’s name almost painfully.
She runs ahead to see Meryl already bending down over a prone figure and kissing a bloodied face profusely.
‘Oh Don, Don! Please wake up darling!’ she says as she cups his face with her hands and runs her hand through his hair.
From what Tracey can see, it doesn’t look good---his face is mostly all bloodied and through a tear along his pants he can see he is bleeding near his knees too and there is flesh because the skin’s come off and the bone’s almost jutting out at a weird angle.
But Meryl doesn’t seem to be paying much heed to that, her attention is confined to waking him up, to look into those wonderful electric blue eyes again, to hear him say ‘Meryl’ in that deep mellifluous voice of his and do those other weird things that only he can do which pacify and soothe her.
Tracey runs back to whichever nearest spot she can find to collect medical supplies and help because God knows Don needs one desperately.
By the time she returns with a nurse and medical supplies in hand she can see Meryl trying to do up Don’s wounds with a piece of her blouse and crying profusely while he lay in her arms still unconscious.
‘ Trace..he’s not waking up! Oh God what am I gonna do.’ Meryl was almost hyperventilating and choking on her sobs which almost scared Tracey who hastily added, ‘Meryl it’s gonna be fine. We have Fiona here. They’ve sent doctors from the state hospital here at Loire, we are somewhere on the border. She’ll take care of as much as possible. Ambulances cannot come here sweetheart but they’re making arrangements to get us out of here soon. Now let her help.’
Meryl had only heard half of what Tracey was saying but acquiesced when the doctor made an attempt to move her and make space so that he could look at Don’s injuries.
She was only half aware of everything going around her because as she went through scene after scene in her mind’s eye-memories, one too many that they’d made over the years each happier than the next, and for all that everything was worth in the world, she was ready to give everything up to be with Don again.
Now more than any other time in her life, she had to believe ‘Amour Vincit Omnia’,that she will not allow her love-their love to fail-it was enough to sustain her and it would have to be enough to sustain him-she wouldn’t let go of him this easy.
While Fiona worked on setting his knee with whatever limited supplies they had and Tracey helped clean up his face Meryl just sat there gazing at his face willing his eyes to open.
‘I have done whatever’s possible right now. We’ll have to take him into surgery once we’re airlifted. He’s lost a lot of blood, so it might take some time for him to wake up. He’s..he’s out of danger but we’ll need to operate on him as soon as we can.’
Fioana’s firm yet comforting voice seemed to have pulled Meryl out of her reverie because she looked up at her blankly and said ‘Thank you so much. I’m..we’re grateful.’ And although she’d gone from hysterics sobs to deathly silent within moments Fiona understood the woman’s pain. She put her hands on the woman’s fragile shoulders and looked into her face. She still looked stricken, but now that she knew her husband would live there was something in her eyes, a glimmer of hope which made Fiona wonder whether it was her or his wife that had allowed him to fight for this long inspite of having lost so much blood.
‘You’re very lucky, he’ll be fine. He’s very lucky too. Take care, I must get going.’ Because she still had a million others to cater to and save. But in that moment Fiona realized that the fact that she had just saved ‘Meryl Streep’s husband’ had completely slipped her mind. She realized that grief and tragedy and sorrow is same across all classes, races and genders. And so is love and humanity. Today she had been thanked by a woman, just like her, because she had saved her husband. And only that mattered. Nothing more.
*******
In the end a bevy of airplanes had somehow landed and managed to transport all the passengers into the city where they were taken to the Centre Hospitalier Chateauroux.
Everything had been a mess since they’d set foot on the airplanes. There was too much blood and destruction and pain, too much pain. There had been deaths and people had been able to do nothing about it. Nothing.
Just that, this feeling of helplessness that Meryl had felt when she wasn’t able to wake Don up had been so similar to when she had lost John, and that had straightened out her priorities pretty much instantly. Just like this incident would too. Again.
As she sat next to Don’s unconscious form taking in all the grief and the reality of the situation she realized that man is powerless. Particles of dust. And that moments shape up your life, each one counts. So she kisses him once on the forehead, and then again and again and again almost fervently, just to make it count. Doesn’t matter if he doesn’t know, she knows and that’s all she needs for now.
*******
When they reach the hospital Don and Roy as well as many others are wheeled into the OT while Meryl and Tracey are taken up to the emergency wards where their wounds are dressed.
Meryl knows she’s got a thousand phone calls to make and tell people she’s alive..they’re alive-that they haven’t let their kids down but she can’t think clearly because of a hundred tranquilizers and she instead flits between wakefulness and sleep.
The room is deathly silent when she wakes up 3 hours later feeling like absolute shit and probably looking a hundred times worse. She heaves herself up with great effort because it’s been an eternity since she’s seen Don’s face. She sways for a moment, then steadies herself and makes her way towards the reception.
‘Madame you’re not supposed to be out of bed.’ The nurse says half star-struck and half concerned for the woman’s safety.
‘I have to see my husband..Don Gummer. Room no.?’ And the finality with which she says it makes the nurse almost cringe and she realizes Meryl Streep, actress extraordinaire is in no mood to take anybody’s shit.
‘Ma’am..it’s..he’s in,’ she looks into the register to double check the room no, ‘Room 503.’
‘Thanks.’ She turns to go but turns back again, ‘Can I make a few phone-calls? I need to--’
‘Yes, of course, sure.’
And with that Meryl makes a couple dozen phone-calls to her brothers and parents and in-laws. As predicted they’d been out of their minds worried sick for them and the national TV hadn’t been of much help with updates and information. Mary and Jane had of course started howling over the phone which had been Meryl’s undoing too.
Harry and Dana had offered to fly to France to which Meryl had out rightly refused saying ‘I don’t want more people on the plane to worry about.’ And that had shut everyone up. They wondered how they’d endure travelling by plane sometime in the future.
She made the last call to Nancy.
‘Hey! Nancy. It’s Meryl!’
‘Oh my God Meryl oh goodness. I’m so glad, oh God this is really you. Are you alright? And Don? I didn’t want to scare the kids but I saw the news and I spoke to your family and none of us knew anything. Oh Thank God!’
‘Yes, yes I’m...we’re fine. We’re at this hospital somewhere in France, Don’s well, he’s okay! The kids..Nancy I..just..I want to talk to them.’
‘Yes oh sure! Henry’s been miserable, he’s been asking after you guys and refused to go to sleep, but I told him you’re gonna be there when he wakes up in the morning. That soothed him, but it’s okay I’ll wake him up or...’
‘No it’s okay...no..no, no wake him up. I just---’
‘Yes, don’t worry, hold on.’
‘Hey mommy! Where are you? I miss you!’ a half sleepy Henry answered.
And just that was enough to raze the flood barriers.
‘I’m fine Gippy and Daddy will be..is too. We got stuck in the middle of somewhere baby, we’ll take a little more time, but we’ll be there. I promise.’ She sobbed.
‘Hey mom, don’t cry. I don’t miss you that much, it’s okay, I’ll manage if you promise to come back soon. Mamie doesn’t even have fever anymore!’
‘That’s very good news bug! I miss you a lot..I love you sweetheart.. I love you!’
‘Me too! I will sing you my new song when you’re back!’ he already sounded sleepy now that he’d heard his mother’s voice.
‘Yes, yes.I love you.’
‘He’s already sleepy Meryl,’
‘Yeah, umm, Mamie, can I listen to her voice?’
‘Meryl, she’s sleeping. She’s alright.’ Nancy said in a condescending voice.
‘I know, I just..I’m sorry but please.’
Meryl knew the stupidest thing she could do was to wake up a sleeping child that too when she had been ill a while back but after everything she just had to.
Mamie started crying as soon as Nancy woke her up and put the phone to Mamie’s ears.
‘Oh my sweet girl, O darling. I’m so sorry, I had to listen to your voice sweetheart! I love you very much.’
‘Daaah!’ Mamie somehow seemed to recognize her mom’s voice and stopped crying.
‘Yes baby! Daddy loves you too. Always remember that.Goodnight sweetheart.’
And with that she put down the receiver-relieved, happy and at peace. Now she only needed one more thing.
‘Room 503 you said.’ And even before the nurse could answer she added ‘Umm, I’m sorry about earlier. It’s just--’
‘It’s okay Ma’am. We understand.’
Don was still unconscious when she crept quietly into the room and pulled up a chair to sit by the bed. She was still physically completely drained but being here, with him mattered more to her than anything in the world ‘It’s about time Don. Let me see your eyes already. Fun time is over, get your ass back to the real world’ she smiled and looked at his face and kissed his forehead while tracing her thumb over his eyebrows.
*******
She woke up to the faint beeping of a machine and even breathing. She’d apparently fallen asleep on the tool itself. She jerks her head up swiftly when she feels a hand squeeze hers gently.
And everything in the world seems alright again. She stares into the endless pools of blue which stare back ardently, sincerely and steadily. And although his face is covered in bruises and his eyes are bloodshot Meryl can’t remember him looking more handsome
‘Oh Don, you’re awake. You’re back.’ She kisses her hand and then his lips and he kisses back with all the strength he can muster and then kisses her closed eyelids as she cries against his lips.
She pulls her face away to look at him again, to drink him in again, and he mouths ‘I’ll always come back to you.’
And like that. Just like that Meryl feels alive again. Like the missing part of her is back again, it no more feels like somebody is trying to tear away at her soul.
“I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.”
― Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnets
Leave me some love!!!
A/N 2: Yup, I took some liberty to tweak details of the event as it took place, of course for the sole purpose of humouring my muse, like always. Uhm, even the person they’re bitching about is completely a figment of my deluded mind!
A/N 3: Umm, so if by chance happen to read the whole thing, you’ll probably be like ‘What the frilly heck’ by the time you reach half of this extremely convoluted piece of my deranged and fevered mind. I don’t know what compelled me to write this, but I had to. I’m not too happy with the outcomes though, it’s probably because I have struggled with it for toooo long!
A/N 4: I haven’t even had the time to proof-read it, so a hundred sorrys for wrongly placed commas, full-stops, grammatical errors and blasphemies. I really really hope you like it, inspiration has been running low but I just needed to write something to ‘Let It Go’! Let me know if you like it! Thanks!
Rated: M
Amor Vincit Omnia
‘Omnia vincit Amor; et nos cedamus Amori.’
-Aeneid, Virgil
‘Yes sweet-pea, Mommy’s gonna be back by tonight and tell you the story about the brave Prince.’ Meryl cooed into the telephone to her five year old son Henry.
‘Mommy, will Mamie’s fever also come down when Daddy and you get back? She is so small and warm and red and tired from crying and she won’t listen to Nancy or me!’ Henry said with utmost concern in his voice.
Tears pricked at her eyes and her heart broke into a million tiny pieces when she heard about her year and a half old daughter’s plight. Don would always give her the partial truth so as to not worry her too much but hearing the worry and palpable fear in her son’s voice immediately catapulted her into the guilt trip.
Ever since she’d started shooting ‘Plenty’ she had made sure she went back home after every week of shooting and yet every Monday morning when she left home for work she was consumed with the guilt of leaving behind her little children in Don and the nanny’s care.
‘Uh-hun, Mames is gonna be fine sweetheart, we’re gonna make sure of that!’ she said wiping off tears from her face, ‘See you in a bit baby. Now be a good boy and give the phone to Nancy.’
‘Nancy, why didn’t you tell me Mamie has fever?’ Meryl squeaked, the tone of accusation ringing clear in her voice.
‘Meryl, it’s okay, it’s just a 24 hour bug thing I guess, don’t worry she’s fine. Don’t worry, please. You’re gonna be here in a while. Everything will be fine!’ she soothed. They had known Nancy ever since Henry’s birth. They didn’t require a live in nanny, but she’d come by and look after the kids whenever Meryl or Don had to go away for work. She was practically a part of their family by now and Meryl wouldn’t have left her children in anybody else’s care but hers.
‘Okay, okay...yeah..fine! Thank you and tell Henry and Mamie I---we-- love them!’
‘Yes, yes! They kno-I will tell them. See you both at night. ’ And with that Nancy disconnected the call.
Meryl hung up, wiped her tears and made her way towards the waiting area where Don, Tracey and the other members of the cast were waiting for their flight back to the US.
‘Mamie has fever; Nancy says it’s just a 24 hour thing. Don, you shouldn’t have come to pick me up. The children need us, atleast one of us.’ Meryl said while her husband wrapped her in his arms.
‘It’s okay darl, they’re gonna be fine. We’re gonna see them tonight. Okay?’ he said while kissing her right temple.
‘Mm..kay. I’m gonna go be with Tracey for a while, Sam was anyway wanting to catch up with you.’
‘Yeah, okay. I love you.’
‘Love you too.’
*******
‘Oh Meryl, I can’t tell you how eager I am to get back HOME AT LAST! I hope I could be as tight lipped and stoic as the British who never seem to miss anything in the world, ever. I miss the LA weather the most. There is no place like home!’ Tracey chimed as she sat down in her seat with two coffee cups in hand and passed one to Meryl.
‘Yes, indeed, there is no place like home.’ Connecticut, the kids and Don were her home and without any of them she felt incomplete, like now. She couldn’t wait to get back home and hug her children and immerse them in her love and protection and lay in the protective arms of her husband.
*******
Once they’d boarded the flight, Meryl let her worries take a backseat and tried to enjoy the last few moments with the cast. While Don was away chatting with the men, Tracey and she had a good time sipping on champagne and bitching about members of the crew. They spent a good amount of time cursing one of their associate producers who had turned out to be a prick and had hit on almost every female member of the cast. Meryl very proudly recounted the whole incident of her leaving the man dumbstruck with her sassiness-while he’d taken Meryl to be this shy and demure woman, she turned out to be a fierce lioness capable of skinning him and eating him alive. Tracey too had left him emasculated and they took immense joy in recounting their victories over this pretentious, sexist and arrogant ass of a man.
Halfway through their joyous incessant ramblings Meryl excused herself and got up to use the washroom.
Just as she was about to latch the toiler door a single shoe clad foot wedged in between to keep it for closing. For a moment Meryl was petrified and was about to screech in protest when a hand covered her mouth. Her eyes flew open as wide as saucers and her hands went up in revolt when the face of the havoc perpetrator came into view. He quickly shoved himself into the washroom and locked the door pinning Meryl up against the bathroom door.
‘Donnn, have you lost it?! You seriously will get us into jail! Don, we can’t, what are you do---‘ and even before she could finish her protests he had crushed his lips into hers and all that she could now manage were ‘uhhns’ and ‘aahs’.
‘Let’s give ’em something to talk about.’ Don whispered into her ear as he softly nibbled on her earlobe and kissed behind her ears.
‘Ohh-I-uhn-so I can vish-ualize-our mugshots!’ she said in a practical but almost breathless tone. She is making these little noises at the back of her throat which drives Don crazy.
He swiftly undoes one button of her navy blue silk shirt and exposes the lily white skin of her collarbones. He buries his face into her skin and starts planting feather soft kisses all along the length of her collarbone, biting down occasionally while she moans and faintly protests against his body, lust rapidly winning over prudence.
‘What are we---doing Donn? Have to be---quick-oh’ she says as she bites down on Don’s shoulder to muffle a scream when his hand reaches the waistband of her tights and tugs them halfway down her legs.
And then, then, all prudence goes to hell---swiftly, she works her mouth all over his face and neck while her hands very adeptly work at his belt and zipper.
Everything about this moment is needy-this, them in a small airplane washroom, craving each other’s touch, hot searing kisses, primal moans, feral growls, muffled screams, skin to skin---a desperate fervent need after weeks of separation, an assurance that no matter what happens, everything will be fine, that Amour Vincit Omnia.
However even before she can tug down his pants, he bends and then Meryl loses all coherence-because holyshit Don’s doing things down there and she can’t stand anymore, as if Don takes this as a cue and curls his hands around her perfectly shape derrière and props her up.
‘I’ve missed you...your smell’ he sounds as if he’s in bliss while his tongue works deftly on her clit while she moans and huffs.
‘I hate..no time’ he says lapping at her juices so fervently like a man being offered water in a desert and that alone makes her almost come. Then she can’t take it anymore and pulls him by his hair and order him ‘In me. Now.’ she whimpers, he complies, of course.
She’s slick and ready when he enters her, and everything runs in rhythm---flows like molten gold-feelings, smells, warmth, love-satisfaction, completeness---him inside her---steady rhythmic thrusts, soothing almost, a feeling of safety---faster more needy thrusts and then a transition from limbo to heaven-the climax, the end of the act and bliss.
Both of them are left reeling for a while as the plane maneuvers through the clouds. Meryl was still writhing under him from the after-effects of the orgasm struggling to get her breathing and bearings back when Don whispered 'If we get caught, tell them you are ill, although you might want to do something about your freshly fucked look!'He smirked and kissed her temple while buttoning up his shirt.
'You're gonna be the death of me someday! I want to hate you so bad' Meryl said breathlessly as she inhaled her husband's unique scent.
'Now go, and don't get us caught. I'm gonna straighten up a bit before making an appearance' she said while playfully patting her husband's chest.
*******
They were lucky enough to not get caught and soon had joined back their friends in all their merriment and frolic.
This quick session of love making was not a mere desire for sexual satisfaction----it was a spiritual need for contact, and warmth and love, and they were glad they had decided to go ahead with it inspite of the fear of getting caught because if it was one thing that John's death had taught Meryl it was to seize the moment-live it and not let go of everything precious that you have-even for a moment!
*******
They had only been served dinner when Don realized something was wrong, gravely wrong.
The airplane suddenly seemed to have changed altitudes and an engine near the cockpit started emitting a ghastly sound.
Don’s first instinct was to run to Meryl’s seat because he knew how scared she was of flying and how she still got a little panicky while takeoff and landing. However the signals were glowing in neon red that were not supposed to leave their seats at any cost.
Don only prayed that it would pass of as a minor something and everything would fall back into place.
*******
Meryl and Tracey had been sipping on wine and still whining about the associate producer when a young air stewardess emerged and started shrieking out orders to stay put in their seats and use the oxygen masks if asked to do so.
Suddenly an engine to the right of their seats started rattling and the lights in the entire wing went off.
Panic had set in like wild-fire and everyone around Meryl seemed to have gone bonkers. They had been strictly forbidden to leave their seats and all she could do was turn back again and again to get a glimpse of her husband. There was no place she’d rather be than in the protective arms of husband safe in their Connecticut home.
Her thoughts immediately went to her two little children waiting for them at home. No, there was no way that anything could happen to them. Not now. Not when the children need them so much. Not when Mamie has fever and Henry’s only learning how to play the guitar.
Their entire life is ahead of them, she’s still not done half of the things she’s planned with Don-have a dozen more kids, climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower, scream ‘I love you’ while on the ferris wheel at the London Eye, build that home in New York, go see the Taj Mahal, get their children married and cry a river each time, get to call Don ‘Grandpa Gummer’, kiss in the middle of a street at 80, fight with their walking sticks and so many of those things that Don and her had discussed on numerous lazy Sunday afternoons.
And yet she knows, she has the premonition that something bad is going to happen and all she’s gonna be able to go is stand back and look at the ruins.
Everything, after that initial announcement seems to pass in a blur- she can hear a baby’s cry, someone yelling in the distance, the pained shriek of some woman and all the while Tracey seems to be talking to someone, or was she talking to her?
Nothing mattered anymore, not when one mis-step could drive them towards their grave, nothing mattered, except Don and the children and how she can’t give up on this, not so early, not when it’s only the beginning.
So she prays, something she never does, something she doesn’t believe in, she prays to some unknown presence for faith and courage and sheer good fortune, to come out of this unscathed.
She looks back again to get a glimpse of that head of curly hair, those piercing electric blue eyes. On the one hand she would’ve hated to see Don out of his seat endangering his life and on the other it’s only a glance she craves for, one fleeting moment.
She listens vaguely to some announcement about an ‘Emergency Landing’ which makes her feel safer. Any moment they’d land and she can see Don again, can go back to her family, even if she gets delayed.
However that’s not what has been ordained because a moment later everything goes into frenzy.
*******
Don can feel it in his bones that things are not right anymore.
The pressure seems to be fluctuating and the lights are gone and it seems like he’s signed up for a roller coaster ride.
He knows nothing about flying or pilots or how they fly a plane but he knows this much that things are out of control and that’s bad. Very very bad.
He tries to think of all the worst possibilities and closes his eyes and shakes his head knowing all the while frivolous prayers won’t help. Then, then all of a sudden there is a tremendous noise and a huge sweeping motion, a sense of descent and then black. Darkness.
He sees a familiar house, yes that’s their Connecticut house-no no, that’s his in-laws house. Where’s Meryl-oh there she is-in white, pure white, angel of light, and she’s holding something-that’s Henry yes and pre---pregnant she’s pregnant---that’s Mamie in there, and Henry is running in the field of their-no it’s Africa, green and lush---Meryl’s feeding Mamie, and that’s Mom there too, and Meryl’s running towards him---wrapped in colours---she’s crying-screaming----smoke consuming her----darkness. Black.
*******
It feels like somebody is hammering nails into her forehead and it feels all woozy and surreal as she flits in and out of consciousness. She can hardly register things yet-faint noises like the constant buzzing of a bee, an engine trying to start up or is it a tractor, shouting, screaming more shouting and then temporary silence and then all of it again. There is also that smell-a damp acrid mossy smell, soot and a metallic taste, iron maybe. Her head throbs again and she will give a millon dollars to anybody who decides to chop it off. She can swear by that.
Slowly, slowly she opens are eyes and for a moment everything is a haze, a green-blue dirty haze, so she blinks,thrice, almost forcefully as a shot of pain explodes through her head. She tries to sit up painfully from whatever position she is in and looks around blearily. It’s mostly all green everywhere and bleary from some kind of a smoke.
Something heavy is lying on her left hand so she looks down and is horrified to see the half mangled body of Celine, the assistant art editor for the movie---she’s bleeding from her forehead and her hands and legs are in an awkward position, all twisted and turned in a horrendous way and she’s unconscious.
Her mind is still extremely fuzzy about what’s going on and her headache is like death warmed over, so she squeezes her eyes shut and that’s when it all comes back-the flight, Henry’s call, the engine breaking down, the frenzy, the sharp pain, Don---Don---and then everything goes to hell.
She can’t see Don anywhere around her as she scans her eyes frantically throughout the area-there are quite a few people around her, some conscious, some unconscious and there is lots of wailing and sudden shrieks of pain and grief. She can sense death looming overhead but she can’t feel Don’s presence because she knows whenever he’s around and she needs to find him so she wills herself to move and stand up.
She registers a sharp discomfort near her right abdomen and her hand flies directly to it and it’s drenched in-she looks down and sees her blouse drenched in blood, but there is no time to panic or feel the pain nor tend to the wound. Because inspite of feeling being run over by a truck, inspite of her half torn blouse, inspite of the deep gashes on her body, inspite of her bleeding forehead, she needs to find Don. And all else can go to hell, because he’s always been and always will be most important piece of her life’s puzzle. Period.
So she scrambles to her feet, clutches one hand to her bleeding abdomen and steers herself forward, except she doesn’t know where to go. She can see many of her cast and crew members and people seem to have gotten medical supplies from somewhere and are helping each other. She would go help too if she could and although technically she can she first needs to go find Don and makes sure he’s alright.
The horrors surrounding her terrify her to no end-there are people with broken limbs, dislocated bones, things jutting out from everywhere, cries of pain, bodies as pale as the dead and just splotches of red and flesh amongst the green everywhere. She decides she is lucky enough to escape relatively unscathed and again she wonders about Don.
So she ignores everything on her path until she stumbles into Tracey who’s helping Roy set his dislocated leg. She looks almost fine too, lots of bruises and scratches but nothing too serious. Roy on the other hand looks worse for wear and in need of immediate assistance. She feels partial relief flood her body just by knowing that Roy is fine. She almost feels guilty at having forgotten about him in her frenzy of finding Don.
Roy’s almost semi-comatose but he manages to lift a hand towards Meryl who takes it and squeezes it gently, he mouths ‘Don’ and she can already feel tears forming in her eyes ‘I don’t know as yet’ she gestures. The moment is cut short as Tracey all but flings herself into her arms ‘Oh Meryl, we were so worried. I’m so glad you’re alright!’ her voice cracks but she keeps holding onto Meryl until she notices how tense and uncomfortable she is. Only when she lets go does she see her bleeding abdomen and emits an audible gasp.
‘Oh my, you’re bleeding.’ She looks at Meryl’s face which is streaked with tears because of the pain Tracey thinks, ‘Oh dear! Come I’ll clean it up, I have lots of first aid here. Let me just hold Roy for a while longer till this is set in place.’ And with that she tugs at Meryl’s hand who seems to be in a complete trance.
Meryl doesn’t move from her spot, instead she shakes her head vigorously and cries out, ‘NO! I need to find Don!’
Tracey’s never seen Meryl this way-they’re becoming great friends, but the look in Meryl’s eye is new-she’s seen her crack jokes, seen her laugh, worry, be utterly in love with her husband but never has she looked so lost, so wild with pain, so devastated. And that’s when Tracey realizes that the tears are not for the physical wound but for the emotional one she is going through---she fears the worst-what if?
What if? No that can’t be it! Don is alive, he has to be and she will help her friend find him somehow.
‘Yes, we’ll find him sweetheart, but just let me clean your wound a bit, it’s dangerous.’ She takes her by her hand and sits her down while all Meryl can do is make faint protests because she’s too weak to do anything else. And too sleepy.
Tracey tries to hurry up the process as much as she can while Meryl keeps chanting ‘Need to find Don’ more faintly with every passing second.
When she’s all done Meryl looks exhausted, the wound on her forehead has stopped bleeding and it doesn’t appear to be too deep, but Tracey can’t let her fall asleep because they don’t want concussions and besides they have work to do.
She gives Roy a last glance who nods and gives a thumbs up, looks at Meryl and then at Tracey and asks them to proceed.
‘Come on Meryl, we can go find Don now.’ She lightly manoeuvres her off the ground and Meryl sways for a moment before regaining balance and surges ahead without Tracey’s help.
Soon however they have to slow down because as much as this fierce woman is courageous she is also fragile and petite and can hardly take big steps, the wound cannot possibly help much of course but they go ahead anyhow.
They walk and walk and shout out his name and then walk some more, but there is no trace of Don and with every step Meryl takes she loses more and more hope.
Tracey’s heart breaks to see her like this- she looks like a wounded animal, all broken and ashen and pale, her eyes full of terror and apprehension, gleaming with unshed tears.
She walks along in a trance and then suddenly starts running and crying all at the same time screaming out Don’s name. Tracey’s heart breaks for her friend and she just wants to find Don, in whatever condition it maybe.
Then it’s as if God listens to her and she can hear Meryl running ahead towards some sort of an alcove in the woods and chanting Don’s name almost painfully.
She runs ahead to see Meryl already bending down over a prone figure and kissing a bloodied face profusely.
‘Oh Don, Don! Please wake up darling!’ she says as she cups his face with her hands and runs her hand through his hair.
From what Tracey can see, it doesn’t look good---his face is mostly all bloodied and through a tear along his pants he can see he is bleeding near his knees too and there is flesh because the skin’s come off and the bone’s almost jutting out at a weird angle.
But Meryl doesn’t seem to be paying much heed to that, her attention is confined to waking him up, to look into those wonderful electric blue eyes again, to hear him say ‘Meryl’ in that deep mellifluous voice of his and do those other weird things that only he can do which pacify and soothe her.
Tracey runs back to whichever nearest spot she can find to collect medical supplies and help because God knows Don needs one desperately.
By the time she returns with a nurse and medical supplies in hand she can see Meryl trying to do up Don’s wounds with a piece of her blouse and crying profusely while he lay in her arms still unconscious.
‘ Trace..he’s not waking up! Oh God what am I gonna do.’ Meryl was almost hyperventilating and choking on her sobs which almost scared Tracey who hastily added, ‘Meryl it’s gonna be fine. We have Fiona here. They’ve sent doctors from the state hospital here at Loire, we are somewhere on the border. She’ll take care of as much as possible. Ambulances cannot come here sweetheart but they’re making arrangements to get us out of here soon. Now let her help.’
Meryl had only heard half of what Tracey was saying but acquiesced when the doctor made an attempt to move her and make space so that he could look at Don’s injuries.
She was only half aware of everything going around her because as she went through scene after scene in her mind’s eye-memories, one too many that they’d made over the years each happier than the next, and for all that everything was worth in the world, she was ready to give everything up to be with Don again.
Now more than any other time in her life, she had to believe ‘Amour Vincit Omnia’,that she will not allow her love-their love to fail-it was enough to sustain her and it would have to be enough to sustain him-she wouldn’t let go of him this easy.
While Fiona worked on setting his knee with whatever limited supplies they had and Tracey helped clean up his face Meryl just sat there gazing at his face willing his eyes to open.
‘I have done whatever’s possible right now. We’ll have to take him into surgery once we’re airlifted. He’s lost a lot of blood, so it might take some time for him to wake up. He’s..he’s out of danger but we’ll need to operate on him as soon as we can.’
Fioana’s firm yet comforting voice seemed to have pulled Meryl out of her reverie because she looked up at her blankly and said ‘Thank you so much. I’m..we’re grateful.’ And although she’d gone from hysterics sobs to deathly silent within moments Fiona understood the woman’s pain. She put her hands on the woman’s fragile shoulders and looked into her face. She still looked stricken, but now that she knew her husband would live there was something in her eyes, a glimmer of hope which made Fiona wonder whether it was her or his wife that had allowed him to fight for this long inspite of having lost so much blood.
‘You’re very lucky, he’ll be fine. He’s very lucky too. Take care, I must get going.’ Because she still had a million others to cater to and save. But in that moment Fiona realized that the fact that she had just saved ‘Meryl Streep’s husband’ had completely slipped her mind. She realized that grief and tragedy and sorrow is same across all classes, races and genders. And so is love and humanity. Today she had been thanked by a woman, just like her, because she had saved her husband. And only that mattered. Nothing more.
*******
In the end a bevy of airplanes had somehow landed and managed to transport all the passengers into the city where they were taken to the Centre Hospitalier Chateauroux.
Everything had been a mess since they’d set foot on the airplanes. There was too much blood and destruction and pain, too much pain. There had been deaths and people had been able to do nothing about it. Nothing.
Just that, this feeling of helplessness that Meryl had felt when she wasn’t able to wake Don up had been so similar to when she had lost John, and that had straightened out her priorities pretty much instantly. Just like this incident would too. Again.
As she sat next to Don’s unconscious form taking in all the grief and the reality of the situation she realized that man is powerless. Particles of dust. And that moments shape up your life, each one counts. So she kisses him once on the forehead, and then again and again and again almost fervently, just to make it count. Doesn’t matter if he doesn’t know, she knows and that’s all she needs for now.
*******
When they reach the hospital Don and Roy as well as many others are wheeled into the OT while Meryl and Tracey are taken up to the emergency wards where their wounds are dressed.
Meryl knows she’s got a thousand phone calls to make and tell people she’s alive..they’re alive-that they haven’t let their kids down but she can’t think clearly because of a hundred tranquilizers and she instead flits between wakefulness and sleep.
The room is deathly silent when she wakes up 3 hours later feeling like absolute shit and probably looking a hundred times worse. She heaves herself up with great effort because it’s been an eternity since she’s seen Don’s face. She sways for a moment, then steadies herself and makes her way towards the reception.
‘Madame you’re not supposed to be out of bed.’ The nurse says half star-struck and half concerned for the woman’s safety.
‘I have to see my husband..Don Gummer. Room no.?’ And the finality with which she says it makes the nurse almost cringe and she realizes Meryl Streep, actress extraordinaire is in no mood to take anybody’s shit.
‘Ma’am..it’s..he’s in,’ she looks into the register to double check the room no, ‘Room 503.’
‘Thanks.’ She turns to go but turns back again, ‘Can I make a few phone-calls? I need to--’
‘Yes, of course, sure.’
And with that Meryl makes a couple dozen phone-calls to her brothers and parents and in-laws. As predicted they’d been out of their minds worried sick for them and the national TV hadn’t been of much help with updates and information. Mary and Jane had of course started howling over the phone which had been Meryl’s undoing too.
Harry and Dana had offered to fly to France to which Meryl had out rightly refused saying ‘I don’t want more people on the plane to worry about.’ And that had shut everyone up. They wondered how they’d endure travelling by plane sometime in the future.
She made the last call to Nancy.
‘Hey! Nancy. It’s Meryl!’
‘Oh my God Meryl oh goodness. I’m so glad, oh God this is really you. Are you alright? And Don? I didn’t want to scare the kids but I saw the news and I spoke to your family and none of us knew anything. Oh Thank God!’
‘Yes, yes I’m...we’re fine. We’re at this hospital somewhere in France, Don’s well, he’s okay! The kids..Nancy I..just..I want to talk to them.’
‘Yes oh sure! Henry’s been miserable, he’s been asking after you guys and refused to go to sleep, but I told him you’re gonna be there when he wakes up in the morning. That soothed him, but it’s okay I’ll wake him up or...’
‘No it’s okay...no..no, no wake him up. I just---’
‘Yes, don’t worry, hold on.’
‘Hey mommy! Where are you? I miss you!’ a half sleepy Henry answered.
And just that was enough to raze the flood barriers.
‘I’m fine Gippy and Daddy will be..is too. We got stuck in the middle of somewhere baby, we’ll take a little more time, but we’ll be there. I promise.’ She sobbed.
‘Hey mom, don’t cry. I don’t miss you that much, it’s okay, I’ll manage if you promise to come back soon. Mamie doesn’t even have fever anymore!’
‘That’s very good news bug! I miss you a lot..I love you sweetheart.. I love you!’
‘Me too! I will sing you my new song when you’re back!’ he already sounded sleepy now that he’d heard his mother’s voice.
‘Yes, yes.I love you.’
‘He’s already sleepy Meryl,’
‘Yeah, umm, Mamie, can I listen to her voice?’
‘Meryl, she’s sleeping. She’s alright.’ Nancy said in a condescending voice.
‘I know, I just..I’m sorry but please.’
Meryl knew the stupidest thing she could do was to wake up a sleeping child that too when she had been ill a while back but after everything she just had to.
Mamie started crying as soon as Nancy woke her up and put the phone to Mamie’s ears.
‘Oh my sweet girl, O darling. I’m so sorry, I had to listen to your voice sweetheart! I love you very much.’
‘Daaah!’ Mamie somehow seemed to recognize her mom’s voice and stopped crying.
‘Yes baby! Daddy loves you too. Always remember that.Goodnight sweetheart.’
And with that she put down the receiver-relieved, happy and at peace. Now she only needed one more thing.
‘Room 503 you said.’ And even before the nurse could answer she added ‘Umm, I’m sorry about earlier. It’s just--’
‘It’s okay Ma’am. We understand.’
Don was still unconscious when she crept quietly into the room and pulled up a chair to sit by the bed. She was still physically completely drained but being here, with him mattered more to her than anything in the world ‘It’s about time Don. Let me see your eyes already. Fun time is over, get your ass back to the real world’ she smiled and looked at his face and kissed his forehead while tracing her thumb over his eyebrows.
*******
She woke up to the faint beeping of a machine and even breathing. She’d apparently fallen asleep on the tool itself. She jerks her head up swiftly when she feels a hand squeeze hers gently.
And everything in the world seems alright again. She stares into the endless pools of blue which stare back ardently, sincerely and steadily. And although his face is covered in bruises and his eyes are bloodshot Meryl can’t remember him looking more handsome
‘Oh Don, you’re awake. You’re back.’ She kisses her hand and then his lips and he kisses back with all the strength he can muster and then kisses her closed eyelids as she cries against his lips.
She pulls her face away to look at him again, to drink him in again, and he mouths ‘I’ll always come back to you.’
And like that. Just like that Meryl feels alive again. Like the missing part of her is back again, it no more feels like somebody is trying to tear away at her soul.
“I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.”
― Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnets
Leave me some love!!!