Daniel’s brain is dense with the fog of confusion. Rare and brief moments of clarity provide glimpses of his bleak new reality. He can neither move his right-side limbs nor speak. He is now imprisoned within his own body.
Over time, the faces of the hospital staff hurrying in and out of his room become familiar. He develops favorites among the nurses. The pretty blonde whose soft touch and floral scent remind him of Ruthie. And the heavyset woman with caramel skin and a voice as sweet as honey who reads to him from the Bible when he can’t sleep during the night.
Hugh is the only one of his children who visits Daniel. To his credit, he never misses a day. But sometimes Daniel wishes he would leave. Hugh goes on at nauseating length, criticizing his siblings’ ineptness. Sheldon has formally taken a leave of absence. Charles never shows up for work. And Casey is too afraid of her own shadow to be of any use to him. While his criticism infuriates Daniel, in this condition, he’s powerless to take up for his other children.
“I’m divorcing Laney,” Hugh admits during a late-afternoon visit. “For the girls’ sake, I’m letting her stay in the house. I’ve moved back into The Nest for the time being. I can help you get back on your feet when you come home.” He squirms in his chair. “You won’t believe it, Dad. She’s having an affair with Bruce. Totally blindsided me. I thought we had the perfect marriage.” He scrunches up his face and makes crying noises, but no tears spill from Hugh’s eyes.
Daniel has a hard time believing this about Bruce or Laney. He never understood what Laney saw in his oldest son. Then again, Hugh was somewhat likable when they married. And he could be charming when he tried. Something happened to him over the years to turn him into an ill-tempered, vindictive jerk.
Hugh stands, as though preparing to leave. “Under the circumstances, Dad, I’m not sure I can continue to work with Bruce. Once we launch the new varietals, I’m going to let him go.”
Daniel groans his protest, but Hugh either doesn’t hear him or ignores him as he exits the room.
A few days later, Hugh tells Daniel about the changes he’s making to Daniel’s renovation plans. “I’ve given the new tasting room a different look. Your modern rustic vibe isn’t cutting it for me. We need something trendy and edgy.”
Heat flushes through Daniel’s body. He doesn’t want an edgy tasting room.
Hugh sits back in his chair, crossing his legs. “And the terrace expansion is all wrong. If our goal is attracting a younger crowd, we should incorporate an outdoor bar with a wide-screen television. A sports bar is exactly what this town needs, a hangout for locals to watch football games in the fall and the Masters Tournament in the spring.”
Daniel’s heart races and his blood pressure alarm sounds. Since when is attracting the younger crowd a priority? He’d envisioned a casually elegant restaurant with farm-to-table cuisine where sophisticated patrons can drink wine and enjoy the beauty of their surroundings.
A nurse rushes in to reset the alarm. She wags a finger at Hugh. “If you’re going to upset the patient, I’ll have to ask you to leave.”
Hugh holds up his hands in surrender. “Sorry! No more business talk. I promise.”
As soon as Daniel shows the slightest signs of improvement, the doctors transfer him to a rehabilitation facility over in Hope Springs, and Hugh’s visits drop off to every few days.
The rehabilitation facility is worse than anything Daniel has ever experienced. To describe the staff as negligent is an understatement. Hours pass between visits from nurses. Three excruciatingly long days go by before an orderly wheels him down for his first physical therapy session. The process is painful, and the therapist incompetent, and Daniel returns to his room feeling utterly hopeless and helpless.
That night, he reaches the depths of despair. He can’t tell anyone how he’s feeling, anymore than he can get up from his bed and walk out of this wretched place. He’s ready for the afterlife, even if that means a fiery encounter with the devil.
The next day, when Hugh arrives to find his gown soiled and bed soaked with urine, he immediately places a call to Daniel’s concierge doctor. “Dr. Harmon, this is Hugh Love. I need your help. We have to get Dad out of this rehabilitation facility,” he says and explains about the unacceptable conditions.
Hugh is sitting close enough for Daniel to hear Jason’s voice over the phone. “I’m sorry to hear that, Hugh. I will report your experiences to the medical board. Unfortunately, your next closest choice for a rehabilitation facility is in Charlottesville.”
“That won’t work. I’m taking Dad home. Today.”
Jason doesn’t hesitate. “I’ll contact his neurologist and make arrangements for his release.”
Daniel closes his eyes and says a prayer of thanks.
Jason continues, “I can order an ambulance to transport him back to Lovely, but you’ll need to organize nurses and therapists to care for him at home. As soon as we hang up, I’ll text you a link to a list of potential providers.”
“Thank you, Dr. Harmon. I owe you one.”
Hugh crosses the room to the door and begins barking orders at the nurses out in the hall. Within minutes, Daniel is wearing a clean gown and lying on fresh sheets.
For the next two hours, Hugh places numerous phone calls as he plans for Daniel’s at-home care. At five o’clock, the ambulance arrives to transport him to Love-Struck. An hour later, he is resting in his own bed at The Nest.
Hugh lowers himself to the edge of the mattress. “Don’t get too comfortable up here. This is only temporary until we can set up a hospital bed in your study. You can’t navigate the stairs in your condition. Being on the first floor will make it easier for everyone.”
Daniel is too grateful to argue. He’d sleep in the stable if it meant staying at the vineyard.
They hear footfalls on the steps, and Claude appears in the doorway. If the nursing assistant is angry with Daniel for lying about his cancer diagnosis, he doesn’t show it.
Shooing Hugh out of the room, Claude gives Daniel a thorough sponge bath, dresses him in his favorite paisley silk pajamas, and tucks his comfy covers in around him.
Daniel falls into a deep sleep, and when he wakes the following morning, Marabella is setting a breakfast tray down on his nightstand. She scowls at him. “I may be back, but I’m still mad at you. You’d better not lie to me again, Mr. Love. You hear me? I mean ever.”
Daniel dips his head in a slight nod, the left side of his mouth turned upward.
“I loved working for Miss Ollie and Mister Sheldon. But with the baby on the way, they need someone younger than me.” She chuckles. “I’m too old to care for an infant. I’ve raised my children. And yours too.”
She sits down beside him on the bed and gently spoons oatmeal into his mouth. “Claude and I are gonna take care of you. When we’re done, you’ll be as good as new. But you gotta listen to us, do as we tell you,” she says as she continues to feed him.
Daniel moans in pleasure. The oatmeal is the best food he’s had since before his stroke. He’ll do anything to keep Marabella in his kitchen.
A delivery van from a home medical equipment company arrives midmorning with a hospital bed and various other paraphernalia geared toward invalids.
Daniel thrives under Marabella’s and Claude’s strict supervision and excessive pampering. Within a few days, he’s sitting up on his own in a wheelchair, although his speech and the use of his hand is slow to return. His mind is clearer every day, but with too much spare time to think, he obsesses about his future.
Daniel’s neurologist is pleased with his progress when he goes for his checkup appointment the last Wednesday in October. “If you keep up the hard work, you can expect a full recovery.”
Daniel suspects his time as head of the vineyard has come to an end. He will need to determine his successor.
Hugh talks increasingly about the changes he’s making at the vineyard, changes that don’t sit well with Daniel. While he’s forever beholden to his son for saving him from the godawful rehabilitation facility, he’s not willing to turn over his life’s work to someone who doesn’t share the same vision for the vineyard. Daniel would like to maintain the grace and serenity of the property while Hugh aims to turn it into Disney World.
Casey would be a good choice, if only she weren’t so young and new to the industry. Charles is out of the picture. He doesn’t have enough sense to come in out of the rain. Sheldon would be Daniel’s choice. He’d love to see a merger between Love-Struck and Foxtail, but he doesn’t think Ollie would ever go along with it.
An idea takes seed in Daniel’s brain. Why not make his children an offer they can’t refuse and see who rises to the occasion with the most dignity?