Caffrey Flashback

Chapter 23: Wake-up Call

Peter and El got about four hours' sleep when the beep of a text message woke them. Peter reached for his phone, read the message and said, "It's from George Knightley. He says Neal's about to wake up."

"Let's go," said El, knowing Peter would want to be there, and they dressed in record time.

The Caffreys and Winslows arrived around the same time as the Burkes. Peter, Henry, Noelle and Irene went into Neal's room. At the instance of the doctor, only four visitors would be allowed in his room, leaving El, Edmund, Graham and George clustered in the corridor beyond the room. But with the curtain left open, they were able to hear.

When Neal opened his eyes shortly before 8am, everyone had something to say to him. El could hear "He's awake" and "Welcome back" and "How are you feeling?" and "Stay with us now." The voices were all hushed, but it still seemed to overwhelm Neal, who flinched and screwed his eyes shut.

"Mr. Caffrey, please open your eyes again, just for a moment," Dr. Emma Woodhouse insisted. When he opened them only a fraction of a second and whimpered, the doctor shooed everyone out of the room, insisting they were irritating her patient.

But Elizabeth watched a very tired George Knightley enter the room, place a hand over Neal's eyes and say, "It won't be as bright this time, I promise. One more try, Neal. We'll give your eyes a chance to adjust."

The doctor glared at George, but kept her voice calm as she encouraged Neal to answer a few questions and then looked at his eyes, presumably checking his pupils. He quickly fell asleep again. The doctor left the room and told the group to stop loitering in the corridor and to wait in the room that was designed for that purpose until they were told that they could return. They followed her instructions, but not before a grumpy George told her she should work on her bedside manner.

El was glad to see that George went back home to catch up on his sleep. Peter started what promised to be a long call with his team about the latest developments in the Highbury case. Henry seemed to be doing some male bonding with both of his grandfathers. And Noelle and Irene were headed down the east corridor.

Now that Neal seemed to be firmly on the road to recovery, Elizabeth supposed she should go to work. She certainly shouldn't spy on his family. But she had as much curiosity as any Caffrey, and it wouldn't hurt to grab a muffin before going to the gallery. And the cafeteria happened to be down the east corridor.

Also down that corridor was a chapel, and that's where El saw the women. They sat on a pew, and Irene held a sobbing Noelle, rocking her slightly while saying something in a comforting tone.

Deciding they deserved some privacy, Elizabeth continued on to the cafeteria where she purchased a muffin to go, and then she walked back toward the waiting room to say goodbye to her husband. Of course, that meant walking by the chapel again. The storm of tears seemed to be over. Noelle was wiping her eyes, as was Irene.

"Is everything all right?" Elizabeth asked, walking into the chapel. "I thought the doctor said Neal will be fine."

"Exactly," said Irene. "Now that he's out of the woods, we can stop being strong and have a good cry."

"I see," said El, sitting beside Irene. There was something almost magical about the woman, as if she were followed by a ray of sunlight even in the most dismal circumstances. She had a classic, ageless beauty, with an air of mischief that made you like her instead of being jealous of her. "Oh, I'm sorry," El said after a moment. "I don't mean to stare, but you look so familiar."

Irene beamed at her. "You watch old movies, don't you? Classic musicals or comedies."

"Yes, I love both."