Chapter 3

3

     Jordan slept late that Saturday, not in a particular hurry to get up and face the day. When she finally did get up, she glanced at herself in the small mirror by the door, revealing a disheveled head of hair, dark circles under her blood shot eyes, and a rather grumpy expression on her face. Jordan leaned closer into the mirror, peering into the reflective surface and she raised her hand to touch the glass. Maybe, she thought to herself, all mirrors can… no! She snapped herself out of it and stuck her tongue out at her own reflection, teasing the person staring back for being so darn foolish.

     “Good morning!” her mother bubbled as she burst into her room with clean sheets and pillowcases. “I need you to make your bed up before you do anything today, Jordan, and your father asked that you cut the grass in the front yard this morning as well.”

     “Umph!” Was all that Jordan could muster as she staggered to the bathroom for a quick shower. The warm water from the showerhead beat down on her, slowly bringing her back to life. She lingered under the steady stream, dreading her chores ahead of her, wishing that she had feigned sickness to just stay in bed. After all she really wasn’t feeling too well considering the twenty minutes of sleep she managed to get last night. She also had to check in on Bethany later- a chore that Jordan looked forward to, especially since she had so many questions about the mirror.

     Once showered, she changed into her oldest pair of jeans and T-shirt, made up her bed to keep the peace, and then made her way to the kitchen for a quick bite to eat.

     “Great!” She glowered as she realized that there was no milk. “I’m the only child in this household; you’d think there would be some milk around here!” She grumped.

     “Well, look who woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” her dad chuckled as he entered the kitchen, toting his golf clubs. He was all decked out for a day of golfing and Jordan knew that nothing would rain on his parade.

     “Well, would you at least pick up some milk on your way home today, dad?”

     “Sure honey. Have a good day today, and don’t forget about the yard. If you’ll cut the front, I’ll do the back later this afternoon.”

     “Sure dad, score one for the Gipper,” Jordan quipped, remembering some phrase along those lines from history class.

     “That’s my girl, cheering up already.”

Jordan’s dad kissed her on top of the head and whistled some long forgotten tune as he ambled toward his beat up station wagon in the driveway.

     As Jordan crunched on dry cereal, washing it down with some cold orange juice, she could hear her mother from somewhere above her clanking and clunking away. She was forever coming up with some new cleaning or redecorating project. God knows what she was into today.

     Sighing heavily, Jordan trudged to the garage and wheeled the lawn mower out onto the front walk. She filled it with gasoline and was just about to start it up when she heard a siren wailing in the distance.

     Shielding her eyes with her hand, she scanned the horizon to see if the siren would come their way and sure enough it did. An ambulance burst over the hill, heading straight toward her. A prickling sensation of fear crept up Jordan’s spine. It will go on, she assured herself. It always passes by.  She turned and glanced toward Bethany’s house in time to see the nurse burst from the side door, standing at the sidewalk, waiting.

     Without another thought, Jordan spun on her heels and sprinted toward Bethany’s house.

     “Please, God, No. Not now. She was fine yesterday.” Her heart beat wildly in her chest and she gasped for air as she flew past the nurse into Bethany’s house, ignoring the nurse’s demand for Jordan to halt.

     Jordan stumbled up the curved staircase, nearly stepping on Candles as she burst into Bethany’s room. At first, she thought everything was okay; Bethany lay on her sheets, a small smile on her face, hands resting across the bedcovers, eyes closed. Trembling, Jordan edged closer to the bedside.

     “Bethany?” She whispered. No response. Candles wrapped in and out of Jordan’s shaking legs, purring loudly and wanting attention.

     Jordan shooed Candles away and knelt beside Bethany taking one of her hands into her own. Cold. Lifeless. Panicked she jumped up and placed her head onto Bethany’s chest listening for a heartbeat. Nothing.

     Jordan began to cry as she stepped back from the body. There was no rise and fall from her chest, no breath from her nostrils, no laughter. It was over. Bethany was dead. Jordan fell to the ground weeping and was quickly brushed aside by the paramedics who burst into the room with the night nurse.

     “No life-saving measures are to be taken, “the nurse barked as the paramedics began taking out their equipment to revive Bethany.

     “What!” Jordan yelled, jumping to her feet. “Of course you have to save her. It’s your job!”

     “Jordan,” the nurse said, smoothing her voice into a more comforting level, "Bethany has a living will, honey, that directly states that no life saving measures are to be taken in the event of her death. We have to honor that. It was her decision.”

     “But she wasn’t dead when she made that decision. She’s dead now! What if she changed her mind at the last moment! We would never know!”

     Suddenly, Jordan’s mother was in the doorway and Jordan, like a helpless child turned to her pleading for help.

     “Mom, please! Make them help her! Bethany is dead and they won’t revive her.”

     Without saying a word, Jordan’s mom strode across the room, took Jordan by the hand and led her from the house. She put her arms around her as they walked back to their own home, comforting her the best she could. Jordan had never experienced death before and Bethany had been like a grandmother to her. Both sets of Jordan’s grandparents had long been dead before Jordan was old enough to even know them. She had lived a pretty sheltered life and Jordan’s mother knew that this was the first of many hard life lessons that she would have to go through.

     Together mother and daughter ended up in Jordan’s bedroom, where she crawled beneath the covers sobbing. “It’s just not fair, mom. She was fine when I left her last night. Why wouldn’t they save her?”

     “Jordan, Bethany had a living will. People just don’t want to be hooked up to life support. That’s no way to live. Bethany has lived a full life and she has touched the lives of many people, including yours. Take the gift that she gave you and give it to others. That’s what the circle of life is all about.” She paused here, turning Jordan to face her. “Honey, we are not meant to exist forever. It is the way of life.”

Flopping back onto the bed, Jordan buried herself beneath the covers, peeking out to see her mother wringing her hands. Doing what she did best, her mother piped up and said,”I’m going to make you some cookies and cocoa. You lie down and rest. I will peek in on you in a little bit.”

     Jordan watched her mother leave and she pounded her pillow with her fist. Bethany was dead and Jordan had lost a true friend.