Excerpt from my book, Racing With My Shadow
Phil and I talked on the way to Palmetto General Hospital. I told him about my riding career. I think it was more to reassure myself of who I was (without Pablo), than to tell him anything.
He probably thought I was just another lunatic who imagined stories about themselves. I’ll bet he had heard a lot of those. He just smiled and nodded.
“How do you get from the Palmetto Hospital to Palm Springs North?” I asked casually, changing the subject.
Phil gave me directions, which I quickly memorized so that Grandma and I could make a quick getaway. I needed to get back to the condo to get the spare keys for the Jeep.
I hoped that Grandma was following us, but was afraid to look out the back door window. Phil might think I was trying to escape and handcuff me. I would need my hands free once we got to the new hospital.
At Palmetto General Hospital, the entrance lobby was packed. “Wait here,” Phil said as he went to check me in. I guess he trusted me. A few minutes later, Grandma came through the entrance.
“Grandma, you made it!”
She came over to me. “It wasn’t easy. But I stuck right behind that ambulance. I wasn’t letting you out of my sight,” she said, giving me a reassuring hug.
“Listen, as soon as the guard leaves, I’m sure we can make a break for it. They don’t know me here. They won’t be watching me.”
Grandma smiled and nodded. I think she liked the excitement. My grandmother, my accomplice. Wasn’t she great?
Phil came back over to us. “They want to see you inside. Come with me.” Oh, no.
“I’ll be right back, Grandma. If not, come and find me, okay?”
“Okay.” Grandma looked worried now.
I decided to act completely normal so they would trust me without a guard. If they left me unattended, it would be easier to get away.
I sat down in a little room, and Phil bade me farewell. “Well, my job is done now. Good luck.”
“Bye.” Leave, leave, so I can escape.
Too late. A woman entered the room. “Hi. We’re going to evaluate you, but we’re very busy. You’re going to have to wait a while. Would you mind waiting outside in the waiting room until we call you?”
Would I mind??? I would LOVE it!!!
“No, that will be fine.” I left the room casually. I spotted Grandma waiting for me and slowly walked over to her. I didn’t want to raise any suspicions.
“Let’s go slowly, Gram.” Phil was gone, and nobody was watching for me. Everyone seemed preoccupied. “Okay. Now. Nice and slow.”
Grandma and I left through the same doors I had come in. It was pitch black outside. When we hit the parking lot, I broke into a run. “Where’s your car, Gram?”
She stuck right by me. “Over there.”
We reached her car and got in quickly. Grandma was a bundle of nerves. I must say, I was a bit shaky myself. I kept expecting some massive guards to come running after me.
“Where do we go?” Grandma asked, starting the car and backing out.
I scrunched down in my seat. “Just get out of the parking lot and onto the highway. Then it will be safe.”
When we go to the highway, I sat up and sighed. What a relief! Following my memorized directions, we made it back to the condo in one piece.
“Come upstairs with me, Grandma. I’ll get the spare set of keys for the Jeep. Do you think you could run me back to Mount Sinai Hospial to get the Jeep?”
“Okay.” Grandma wasn’t too keen on my housekeeping. “Karen, you have to keep the house straightened up. What if somebody stops in?”
“I know. But nobody ever visits. Things have been so crazy anyway. I haven’t really cared about housekeeping recently.”
“If you want to keep a man, you have to keep the house nice,” she said simply.
“I know, Grandma. I haven’t done a very good job lately—of keeping a house or Pablo.”
I pulled Grandma away from the dishes. “Come on. Let’s go. I’ll do the dishes when I come home.”
Grandma seemed happy about that. And I promised her I would clean up the whole apartment, for good measure. I honestly didn’t care about the mess; it was a statement of my life.
When we arrived back at the hospital, it was late. I got the creeps. I hated the place.
“Grandma, I’m afraid they may still be looking for me. They may have someone watching the Jeep. They may know by now that I escaped from the other hospital.”
She looked worried again.
“Listen. This is what we’ll do,” I said. “Pull over.”
Grandma pulled the car over, waiting to hear my idea.
“I will sneak over to the Jeep. Don’t go any farther. Wait here until I pull out, okay?”
“No, Karen. I’ll do it. They may be watching for you, like you said. They won’t be watching for me. I’ll get the Jeep and bring it around to you.”
“You would?” She was definitely the best grandmother in the whole world. She was the greatest friend I could have right then. She believed in me, and that’s what I needed to restore my faith in myself. That’s what I needed more than anything.
“Yes. Now, is there anything I should know about driving it?”
“No. It’s an automatic.”
Grandma got out and I moved into the driver’s seat of her car. I gave her last minute instructions.
“I’ll back the car up and meet you on the other side of the building, by the traffic light. That’s where we’ll make the switch. You don’t know how much this means to me, Gram. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
I leaned out the car window and kissed her. Then she turned and snuck off toward the Jeep. My heart pounded as I watched her sneak between the rows of cars. I kept seeing her head pop up as she looked around in the dark.
I’ll bet she’s more nervous than I am….I should have done this…what if they catch her? I guess she can always say that she came to get the Jeep and that she doesn’t know where I am…at least they won’t lock HER up….
The Jeep was parked near the building. The bright lights from the hospital windows illuminated my grandmother as she nervously fumbled with the keys. What’s taking her so long to get the door unlocked?
I sighed with relief as I watched her get up into the Jeep. If it weren’t for my nerves, the situation might have been funny. My heart pounded as I prayed. Please, God, don’t let them catch us!
Now she had found the headlights. They went on, piercing the darkness of the parking lot. Oh, God, hurry up!!!
Now the Jeep was backing slowly out of the parking space. Good! I drove to the other side of the building where we would meet. At the light, I pulled over and looked in my rear-view mirror. Grandma was right behind me, pulling over, too.
I got out and went over to her. She was shaking from the excitement of our little adventure.
“Oh, Karen, I was so nervous. I kept thinking they would see me.”
“You did great, Grandma. Now, go home and don’t worry about a thing. I don’t know what I would have done without you!” (I’d be locked up in Palmetto General Hospital with nobody to rescue me!)
“Call me when you get home, Karen, so I’ll know you’re safe.”
“I love you, Grandma. You’re the best!”
“This was the most exciting thing I’ve done in ages,” she said, smiling. “Now, get going!” She nudged me to get up into the Jeep. “Hurry up, so they don’t come looking for us. And call me the second you get home.”
She kissed me, and I watched her get back into her car. The light turned green, but she didn’t go. I flicked my headlights to signal that I was right behind her. Mission accomplished, we both moved out.
On the way home, I did some thinking. I was so lucky to have Grandma. There was nothing like someone who knew me and believed in me. Family. It was worth everything. I never appreciated that simple fact before.
I thought about Mom. I missed her. She had always believed in me, too, but Pablo said…
I shuddered imagining what it would be like to be alone in this world. But then it hit me. I was alone. Pablo was gone.
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