19 A Hearing
Charlie Stevenson contacted me at 8:17 to tell me I would have to come to the courthouse for an emergency hearing. Mrs. Learned had filed to have herself appointed as the legal guardian. Charlie had gotten the judge, Samantha Connors, to consider both claims together. She agreed that the matter needed to be resolved immediately and scheduled the hearing for nine.
The cousin’s lawyer argued that Doctor and Mrs. Learned would be best positioned to take care of Mr. MacGregor. They were relatives with a home in Fairbanks, and they had made arrangements for in-home care.
The judge had a copy of my paperwork in front of her. It was properly signed, witnessed, and notarized. Mac had initialed the paragraph which stated I would become his legal guardian if he should become incapacitated. Judge Connors asked me directly why I had not made the legal situation known earlier.
“Your Honor, before I respond to that question, I wish to notify the court of an important development.”
She nodded.
I continued, “I spoke with Mr. MacGregor’s son yesterday afternoon. He wants to take over the care of his father. He is prepared to fly up here. I believe he is arranging for a lawyer in Fairbanks.”
“I was not aware he had children,” the judge complained. “The filings don’t mention any living relatives other than Mrs. Learned.”
“They are mentioned in the will that was part of the package I turned over to my lawyer.”
She shuffled through the papers, found the will and scanned it. “I see.”
“Mr. MacGregor fostered the idea that his children had abandoned him. I took his word for it. After the operation to remove the tumor, I felt his children needed to know what was going on. His son returned my call yesterday.”
“What agreements did the two of you reach during your conversation?”
“None. I urged him to get a lawyer in Fairbanks and investigate senior care options near his home in Melbourne.”
“Didn’t you have a similar conversation with Mrs. Learned’s husband?”
“I offered my services.”
“It seems like you want a piece of the action no matter who wins,” the judge scoffed.
“I feel responsible for Mr. MacGregor’s well-being. I want to make sure he is properly cared for. Neither his son nor his cousin has any experience with a situation like this. I am offering to help out.”
“Is it fair to assume that you will be out of work once Mr. MacGregor is settled?”
“My position has always been temporary. I have a job and a home waiting for me in St. Louis.”
“What are Mr. MacGregor’s plans for the future.”
“We didn’t discuss them.”
“You drove across the country with a man you knew to be in poor health and never talked about what he would do when the trip was over?”
“The obvious thing would be to get him settled in Florida with his children, but he claimed they didn’t want him. He has friends in Annapolis. He could move into a senior living facility there. I told him he could come to St. Louis and live at the senior home where I worked.”
“But he didn’t tell you what he was going to do?”
“He changed the subject.”
“Why did you agree to this stunt in the first place?”
“He walked into the diner where I was working one night. He asked me to sit down with him while he ate. Over dinner, he told me he was driving across the country in an RV. I could see he was in poor health. That made him a danger to himself and everybody else on the road.”
“You just dropped everything and took off with a stranger out of a sense of civic duty?” Her voice oozed sarcasm.
“I liked him. The trip sounded exciting, and I was ready for a vacation.”
“Would you give me a number where I can reach the younger Mr. MacGregor?”
I jotted the number on a piece of paper my lawyer slid in front of me. The bailiff took it to the judge. She looked it over and nodded. “Was the trip worth it, Ms. Graham?”
“In spades. Did you know there is a ferry that sails up the Alaska coast?”
She smiled. “I’ve taken that cruise.”
“Now, I have too.”
Her smile broadened. “Is there someone here from Fairbanks Memorial?”
A twenty-something brunette stood. “Dr. Marie Sutherland, Your Honor.”
The judge asked, “Can I arrange an interview with the patient?”
The woman said, “Yes. He’s conscious and coherent.”
“That was fast.”
“I would say his recovery borders on the miraculous.”
The judge grinned. “We will take a fifteen-minute recess.”
Dr. Sutherland came over and extended her hand. “Kate, I’m Marie.”
“Kate?”
“You are Nurse Graham, Ms. Graham, or Kate, depending on his mood.”
I shook her hand. “How is he really doing?”
“Quite well. He’s cantankerous and demanding. I’m sure he’ll be able to go home by the end of the week.”
“Good. Now we just have to figure out where ‘home’ is.” I was glad to hear Mac was doing well, but it hurt that I couldn’t visit him.
“Dr. Weizman wants you to come by her office.”
I felt my lips curl into a sardonic smile. “So I can review her report?”
Marie kept her cool. “She’s changed her mind.”
I raised my brows. She continued. “We talked to Dr. Yang. He asked about you. He told us how impressed he was with the way you handled things.” She grinned. It was tight-lipped, but her eyes twinkled. “And Mr. MacGregor has made a remarkable recovery. That means you did a good job of maintaining his health before the seizure.”
“When?”
“She asked that you drop by after the hearing.”
Judge Connors returned to the bench and announced her decision. “This hearing will be continued in three days. At that time, Mr. Donald MacGregor Jr will present his case for being the legal guardian. In the meantime, the court will appoint a social worker to evaluate the elder Mr. MacGregor. The court appoints Ms. Graham to be his legal guardian until further notice. Fairbanks Memorial is hereby ordered to grant her unrestricted access to her client.”
##
As I walked out of the courthouse on my way to the hospital, I realized I was famished. I ordered an Italian sub. There are better nutritional choices – when you aren’t starving. I got a lemon-lime soda, pretending that was a healthy choice because of the vitamin C. For the first time in days, I could relax and enjoy a meal.
Mac smiled when I walked into his room. It was all I could do to keep from crawling into bed with him. I stood next to him and held his hand.
“When can I get out of here?”
“Give it a couple of more days,” I said, “that was a serious operation.”
“I haven’t got time to be lying around in a hospital bed.”
“Why?” I eyed him suspiciously. “You got plans? You got somethin’ goin’ on I don’t know about?”
He laughed. “No, but I can think of a hundred things I’d rather be doing.”
“Like what?”
“We could drive down the coast,” he suggested. “I’ve always wanted to drive Highway one.”
“What about Melbourne?” I countered.
He glared at me with jaw clenched. “Ain’t gonna happen.”
“We have to talk about what is going to happen.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
I looked up at the ceiling to hide my tears. “You need to find a place to settle down. Traveling around in that RV is too hard on you.”
“On me or you?”
“Both.”
“You can quit if you want.”
“Where would that leave you?”
“I’ll figure something out.”
“I will never quit on you. We’ve been through that. But it’s not like before. You can’t drive. You can’t even take care of yourself. You need help – a lot of help.”
He looked away. His breath came in short angry puffs. When he turned back, he grumbled, “We wouldn’t have this problem if you had let me die like I was supposed to.”
I bit my lip and fought back tears. “I couldn’t do that.”
He stared at me. When I could no longer stand it, I said, “I’ll stay with you as long as you want me, but you need to decide where you want to settle down.”
“I guess I don’t have a choice.”
“There was a hearing this morning. I’m in charge for now so, you have some choices. When the hearing reconvenes, Don Junior will be there with a lawyer. The court will probably put him in charge of making those decisions.”
“Why is he getting involved?”
“I called him.”
Mac let go of my hand. “Get out,” he growled.
“He’s your son. I had to tell him sooner or later.”
“He hasn’t been my son for years. Now he’s going to be my boss?”
“He came to Anne’s funeral.”
“He and his sister showed up the night before the funeral. They came into the viewing just in time to pay their respects. Then they went off and got hotel rooms. They attended the funeral service and the burial. Afterwards, they hung around the reception, visiting with their friends. They left without even saying good-bye.”
“Oh.”
“Go,” he barked. “Get out.”
I shook my head, but there were no words. I turned and left the room.