TALA
West Loop to Lake Forest on a good, minimal traffic day is a healthy forty-five-minute drive. While Tala did not have to fight through a lot of traffic as she headed out of the city, she flew past every car going slower than fifteen miles above the speed limit. Every yellow light missed her by a margin, and she made it to Lake Forest in twenty-five minutes.
Frantic, she made her way to the ER and requested for her dad's location.
"Excuse me," out of breath, hanging onto the counter, "I was told my dad was in an accident. Theo Meyers. Where is he?"
The nurse started to type when a silhouette in uniform came from the doors behind her.
"Ms. Meyers?" the uniformed man said, "I'm Officer Phyllis. We spoke on the phone."
Her head whipped up, "Yes, that's me."
"Follow me, ma'am - your dad is this way."
It was a silent walk towards the ICU. Tala couldn't bring herself to ask what happened, fearing the worst. The officer, sensing her worry, also remained silent until they arrived at the window whereby Tala's father could be seen.
"Oh my god," Tala whispered, her voice faltering as she looked on to her father.
Theo Meyers stood six feet three inches tall, fairly toned as he worked out regularly and, by all accounts, healthy. Prior to his current job as a general contractor, he drove trucks for some years. Now, as he managed a handful of construction sites, it also required him to drive around frequently. As her father was an experienced driver, Tala was baffled that her father was now lying unconscious, intubated and covered in bandages.
"It was a three-vehicle pileup down 41." Officer Phyllis started, "A semi slipped on black ice and your dad was right behind it. He had to break hard, slipping on some ice himself and the car behind him slammed into him, crushing him in between."
In horror, Tala's tears fell. "He was crushed in between?"
"Yes ma'am."
"D-do we know h-how he's doing?"
The officer straightened, "I'm not able to provide those details but the doctor will be out shortly."
Silence.
A moment later, the officer shifted his stance, "Ms. Meyers, I'm terribly sorry to leave you, but I'm called to the other room. Will you be alright here? I'll see to it that the doctor comes to meet you."
She could only nod, unable to find any words. Tears were now streaming uncontrollably, Tala seemingly unaware that she's started crying. She continued to look at her father, without thoughts in her head.
It wasn't long until a woman in a white coat appeared and introduced herself, "Ms. Meyers? My name is Dr. Hostetler, I'm your father's primary."
She had one of the kindest faces, the kind anyone would want to see in a such a traumatic situation. She didn't smile or look apologetic – just sincere. Her voice was soft but firm; if she was feeling any big emotions, it was well-hidden.
Tala shook her hand, "How is he doing?"
"He's critical," the doctor sighed deeply, "lost a lot of blood and his right leg amputated."
Tala's eyes grew, "Amputated?" She didn't notice that when she was looking at him.
Dr. Hostetler nodded, "Yes, unfortunately we couldn't save it. We are monitoring his vitals now as he came in...in a really bad shape,"
"How bad?"
The doctor took a pause, careful with her words to not further upset the young daughter in front of her, "We received him with several glass shards in his torso. Most were not critical but one large piece did pierce through to his lungs."
Tala's color started to leave her body, the room spinning. The doctor continued, "Ms. Meyers, I have to be honest. I am not hopeful he will make it."
Tala fell to her knees and sobbed.
Dr. Hostetler could only help Tala get up and walk towards the waiting room. She set Tala down in a chair and squatted in front of her, "Ms. Meyers, is there anyone we can call?"
Tala shook her head. It was just her and her dad – no one else. Theo raised his daughter on his own when she was born and because his own parents died when he was young and being an only child, there was no other family to turn for help. He did his best providing for his young daughter – he told her stories of her mother, their love story and any little memories he had of her. He talked about his own parents, how he grew up, where he grew up.
There wasn't much he could speak to about his daughter's maternal grandparents; his wife didn't have a lot of information either. He had an understanding that she may have been left orphan, but he did know that she had land back in her home country, the Philippines. It wasn't a big lot, but he knew it was left for Tala as soon as they found out they were pregnant.
He meant to surprise her with it as a gift in her coming birthday; there never seemed to be a right time, but for some reason, he felt this was the year it would be appropriate to tell Tala she had land.
But now, Tala would find out some other way.
"We don't have any other family," Tala said, fighting further tears from falling. "How much time do I have left with him?"
Before Dr. Hostetler could answer, like a sick joke of fate, Theo's monitor started to alarm - signaling a flat line. Instantly, she ran out – leaving Tala in a state of shock, quivering as she struggled to find the strength to walk out of the waiting room.
Several nurses along with Dr. Hostetler rushed in, yelling for things that Tala didn't understand. They all seemed panicked, she observed, and suddenly her heart dropped. The sound of the flat line overpowered the silence of the entire floor, and it was going on for far too long. When she saw that neither of the staff were panicking any longer, she fell to the floor.
The wails of the Chicago wind did not compare to Tala's that morning.
..................................
In the days that followed her father's death, the skies cried with her. It is uncommon for rain to be so frequent in February, but the weather seemed to understand Tala's heartache, and so it grieved with her. On the day of the burial, it did not rain, but it was uncharacteristically dark. Tala had not cried all day, likely her tear ducts could no longer produce such sadness. But her heart remained turbulent and lament.
Theo may not have had blood family anymore, but he certainly had friends – all of whom watched Tala grow up. Everyone showed up to the burial and the reception in their black clothing, adding to the grayness of the day. Theo had a house in the suburbs, where Tala decided to host a small reception, in theory, to celebrate her father's life. Family friends, neighbors, and co-workers showed up and for a brief moment, Tala couldn't help but feel grateful.
She moved out of that house a little three years ago, leaving Theo alone. It was Theo's idea for Tala to move out. Commuting from the suburbs to downtown every day for work was beginning to be more and more inconvenient for Tala, and so Theo suggested to look for a place closer to her job. Tala wasn't open to the idea in the beginning, but she secretly wished she didn't have to wake up at the crack of dawn just to avoid heavy in-bound traffic.
"Tala," a soft voice whispered from behind, "how are you holding up?"
Tala turned; she had been staring at the food laid out. She couldn't help but feel like running away – after burying her father, the last thing she wanted to do was participate in small talk.
"Hi Pam," she gave the lady a light hug, "I'm hanging in there. Thanks for coming."
Pam clicked her tongue, "Nonsense, we are all here for you. Whatever you need, honey, okay?"
Before Tala could answer her, another person joined the conversation – Joe, the next-door neighbor who was always way too nosy. Harmless, but nosy.
"Hey, kid," Joe slid into the conversation, "just wanted to offer my condolences."
Tala smiled, "Thank you Joe – to all of you, I'm grateful to see you all. It's been a while, and I'm sad it's under these circumstances that we're meeting again."
They both shook their head and Pam responded, "Oh honey, we're happy to see you regardless."
"So," Joe began, and Tala suddenly felt as though whatever was going to come out of Joe's mouth was not something she wanted to discuss, "what will happen to this house?"
What indeed – she didn't know either. Afterall, she hadn't expected her father to die so suddenly. How was she to know what will happen to his assets? She wasn't quite sure what all her father has to begin with.
Someone interrupted the conversation before Tala could respond; she was silently thanking the stranger, as she may have said some things to Joe she would regret later.
"Um, Ms. Meyers?" a man wearing black-rimmed round glasses cleared his throat. He had a distinct accent that Tala couldn't quite place. "Apologies for interrupting but my name is Noli Aguinaldo. May I speak with you?"
What a strange man, Tala thought to herself as she nodded, excusing herself from Pam and Joe. She felt at ease with the gentleman and yet, she could not remember how he and her may have met. He seemed to know who she was; surely, she's met him in the past.
"I'm so sorry Mr. Aguinaldo, if we've met in the past, I can't remember," Tala smiled, extending her right hand for a shake.
Noli lightly shook his head, "No, no it's okay. We have never met, but I needed to ask you to come to my office this week."
Tala cocked her head slightly, "In regard to what?"
Noli looked as confused as she was, "Ma'am, did you have your birthday yet?"
"No," Tala shook her head as a suspicious eyebrow raised, "my birthday isn't until March."
Pushing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose, he nodded, "Okay, we have some things to discuss, Ms. Tala. Your inheritance, especially land in Laguna."
"Land? In wh—Laguna?"
"Yes, ma'am. Laguna – where your mother is from."