Between Heaven and Helen

By Elissa I. Burr

We literally meet thousands of people during our lifetime. Only a few of those will truly impact our lives. This is the story of how seven individuals are intertwined in this web of life; and how they all will become caught between heaven and Helen.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rocket Science Productions LLC
• Release date: Jul 11, 2012
• ISBN: 9781937121587

Book preview

Prologue

The car barreled down the road. He could feel the tires slipping towards the soft dirt on the shoulder like a magnet, but he didn’t care. He knew his life was over. The life he created was being destroyed, and the life he so desperately longed for was an impossible dream a lifetime away. Once again the tires slipped. The car pulled hard to the right. His left hand on the wheel, his right on the bottle of dark liquor he had almost finished off. Then he saw it, the same thing that brought him to her all that time ago.

1949

Chapter 1

The light came out of nowhere. Just as he turned the corner, it flashed into his face and it was blinding. The huge car was swiftly turned from a graceful, curved steel frame into a mass of mangled metal, but all he could see was the glaring light, bright as a sun. Just as quickly as it blinded him, he was in blackness.

He slowly opened his eyes, just to be blinded again, but he quickly realized that he was no longer in the car. A small yet powerful light held by a grey haired man in a white coat was now causing the offensive brightness. He was disoriented from the crash and was being spoken to in a strange language by the grey haired man. The next person who spoke to him was a large woman, also in white. She wore a small, angular cap, as white as her uniform, perched on top of her head. She had a pleasant smile, and eyes the color of the sea. She also spoke a language he couldn’t understand. She reached down and stroked his forehead gently, nodded slightly, and then walked away.

As his eyes began to focus, he recognized this absolutely white environment as a hospital. Realizing where he was, he immediately tried to sit up and attempt to slide off the bed. Before he could even lift his shoulders off the pillow, the room began to slowly turn. Then as the spinning became faster, his head fell quickly back to the pillow. It felt as if it weighed fifty pounds, and his eyes were once again shut. This time, he didn’t see a light again for eight days.

Chapter 2

Helen was on her way home when she stopped to smell the tea roses in Mr. Pritz’s garden. This was a simple pleasure she allowed herself every evening as she walked home from her work at the hospital.

Hello dear, called Mr. Pritz as he came dawdling out of his house carrying a pair or garden clippers.

She pulled her nose out of a beautiful pink rose and looked around. Her head was intoxicated by the perfume of the blossom. Oh hello! she called back with a wave to Mr. Pritz. He was wearing his usual plaid pants and suspenders. She often laughed to herself when she saw this because Mr. Pritz was the thinnest man she knew. He must have had a 27 waist, but still insisted on wearing suspenders. His baggy shirt billowed in the breeze of the late afternoon. What a beautiful evening!," Helen called to him in a loud voice, even though he was only a few feet away. Mr. Pritz insisted he wasn’t going deaf, but everyone in the small town where they lived knew he was. Helen obliged him by raising her voice so to not make him feel incapacitated.

Yes, it is! he called back. Helen winced with the booming sound that came back at her. His voice had actually hurt her ears this time. She thought he might have lost a bit more of what little hearing he had left.

Before Helen could see what he was doing, Edward Pritz had clipped a rose, and held it before her. A beauty for a beauty, he said with a coy smile.

Helen blushed and then said with a rather harsh, but playful tone while wagging her index finger at him, I told you to leave these to grow!

You love them so much, he shrugged slightly, and what’s one rose when it makes you smile like that? yelled the old man.

She knew she wasn’t a beauty as Mr. Pritz said she was. In fact she was what most men would consider quite plain. Compared to her cousin Marcia, who she grew up with, she was quite plain indeed. Thank you, she said in a normal tone of voice.

Mr. Pritz saw her lips form the words, and supposed she was just whispering out of embarrassment.

Helen said her goodbye with a wave and slowly walked home to her small house on Juniper Street, all the way taking long inhalations from the beautiful rose she had been given, and lamenting why she wasn’t as beautiful as this rose.

Chapter 3

Helen entered her new patient’s room quietly. She had on her white uniform and cap and her nurse’s shoes that squeaked slightly as she walked. She crossed the room slowly, observing the man only known as John Doe. He had a bandage wrapped around his head, but she could see his thick raven hair above the dressing. He had a chiseled face and hadn’t been shaved since he arrived in the hospital. His beard was already growing in bushy, but she could see how handsome he was through the facial hair. On his chart, she read that he had been involved in a car accident and had lain here comatose for eight days. After he woke up, he was unable to communicate. Her best friend Lana was the nurse who first discovered this. As she looked at his chart, Helen recognized Lana’s beautiful script, describing in detail what had transpired on the eighth day of John Doe’s stay in the hospital.

He had awoken with a start. Lana was in the room checking his IV when he finally came out of his coma. She said in her notes that the patient had a panicked look in his eyes, just as he did in the ER, and had tried to get out of bed. Lana, as petite as she was, could easily push him back into his pillow. The man’s muscle tone was almost non-existent at that point. He finally laid back and accepted that she was there to help.

Once again, he heard a language he couldn’t understand. John Doe’s mouth opened and closed with intention. He wanted so desperately to speak, but the words trapped inside would not, could not, come out.

Lana then had an idea, and rushed out of the room. Her footsteps pounded at an alarming rate. She came back into the room, flinging the door open and almost threw a pad of paper and marker onto John Doe’s lap. Write! she said excitedly. Write your name! She thought herself to be quite brilliant with this idea.

The patient picked up the marker, and the only thing he did was to hold the tip to the page, making a larger and larger ink spot the longer it sat on the paper. Lana grabbed the marker out of his hand and wrote A, B, C to show him what she wanted him to do. Then she wrote her name in block letters: LANA.

That’s my name, Lana, pointing to her chest. Now you write your name. She handed the marker back to him with the pad of paper. He put the tip of the marker down, and all it did was bleed again. Lana tried to reach for John Doe’s hand again, but when he looked at her, something beyond frustration was in his eyes. He quickly threw the marker and the pad of paper across the room, and put his hands up to his temples. His eyes were shut tight.

She backed towards the door, slowly, and was trembling. Ok, perhaps we’ll try again tomorrow, Lana said softly in a quavering voice. She closed the door quietly behind her.

John Doe cried for the first time since he had been in the hospital.

Later that day, Lana had met with Helen in the cafeteria as she always did when they shared a shift.

What’s wrong? Helen asked with a genuine concern in her voice.

Oh, it’s just this patient I saw today. He’s not the nicest one, and I thought I was doing well and… she trailed off.

Everyone has days like that, Helen had said, taking Lana’s hand softly in hers. Not every patient is going to be a Homer.

1945

Chapter 4

Homer Greeley was a widower when Lana met him. His wife of just two years had died suddenly of a brain aneurism. They worked the farm they owned together, and were as in love as any couple could be. Some referred to them as childhood sweethearts, but in reality they had met in high school, when a pretty new girl caught Homer’s eye on the first day of 10th grade. He had never felt a flutter in his stomach before when he looked at any of the other girls in his class, but this girl was different. Her blond curly hair glistened in the sun like spun gold, and her smile made his heart race. He didn’t know how he would ever gather the courage to ask her out, but he did know one thing; she would be his wife one day.

The day after Lisa and Homer graduated high school, they had a small ceremony in Homer’s backyard and became Mr. and Mrs. Greeley. They were deliriously happy for the two short years they spent together. Lisa had never been on a farm before, but learned very quickly the workings of the homestead. Homer started teaching her the most basic tasks, like feeding the chickens and slopping the pigs.

After months of begging by Lisa, Homer finally agreed to teach her how to use the tractor in the fields. He chose a sunny day on purpose because that was his favorite kind of weather to work in. They had spent hours in the fields together, but Lisa never could grasp how to use all the levers at the right time to complete the task at hand. Since they were still in their honeymoon phase, they both found her mistakes to be quite humorous, and Homer would often kiss Lisa to stop her from apologizing for, as she put it, Messin’ everything up.

That night after being on the tractor all day, Lisa felt an incredible pain on her face. When she looked in the mirror, she realized that her pale skin had been no match for the relentless sun that had been beating down on her all day. When she came out of the bathroom to show Homer her red face, he laughed, but quickly covered his mouth to try to contain the snicker.

You look like one of those clowns I saw at the circus as a kid! He blurted out and roared with laughter.

Lisa put her hands on her hips and her scowl quickly turned into giggles that were in competition with Homer’s. She leapt into his arms and started hitting his chest playfully. It’s not funny! she tried to say without letting her voice break.

Yes it is! Homer yelled and roared even louder. Lisa again punched Homer’s chest with her tiny, balled fists, as he carried her to the bedroom.

The next day, the redness had diminished considerably. Now Lisa looked like she was just blushing constantly. After breakfast, she headed to town and came back in time to share lunch with Homer. There was a bag sitting on his chair when he came back into the house for his sandwich and coffee.

What’s that? he asked pointing to the bag.

Why don’t you look in it and see, replied Lisa.

Homer picked up the bag and pulled out a large brimmed straw hat. Honey, what’s this for?

So, you never look like a clown, Lisa replied with a giggle. I surely won’t ever get out there again, but I saw how much you sweat in the fields, and I thought this would keep you cool.

Homer put the hat on and made an effeminate gesture with his hands under his chin, palm sides down. How do I look?

Lisa laughed. You look lovely darling!

Thank you honey. Homer grabbed Lisa and kissed her. Pulling slightly away and tapping the top of the hat with his hand, he said, I really love it, and I love you.

From that day onward, Homer never rode his tractor without his straw hat.

Lisa had learned how to balance housework with farming, but all the while she kept her beauty. Even when she came in filthy from slopping the pigs, Homer still saw that girl he first fell in love with in 10th grade. Her eyes were bright and her smile vibrant as ever as she would run to Homer’s open arms, covered in mud – and possibly something more nefarious – and wrapped her arms around him, dirtying him enough to ensure they would both have to take a bath immediately. Her giggling was infectious as she led him to the bathroom, her small soft hand wrapped around his calloused, enormous mitt, and ran the water for a bath for them to share.

He often thought about those days after Lisa had died as he sat at the dinner table eating in silence. He also thought, perhaps too often, about the day he came home from the hardware store, and found her on the floor. Her left pupil was dilated and a small amount of drool was coming out the side of her mouth. He checked for a pulse on her neck, and then began to softly weep. This quickly became sobs of emotion that felt like it lasted hours. After he was able to stand up from his weakened state, he picked up the phone and asked the operator to send for an ambulance. He then quietly knelt by Lisa’s lifeless body, stroking her beautiful golden hair, and said goodbye.

As a farmer, Homer knew that crops and livestock wouldn’t wait for him to grieve. He had to get on with his day and try not to think about his dead wife. The first few days passed, and he was sure his heart would break from the pain. The evenings were the worst. When there was no sunlight to allow him to work and nothing was able to distract his mind, thoughts drifted to the days of when he was wooing Lisa. The nights they would spend just laying in the backyard of her small house and staring at the infinite stars. She tried to count them one night, but she fell asleep on his shoulder. That was the first night he knew he truly loved her.

He also would think about the night he proposed to her. It was the night of their senior prom.

When he picked her up at the house, her mother was the one who greeted him. Lisa’s father was, according to her, long gone. Her mother never remarried.

She welcomed Homer with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. My, don’t you look handsome tonight Homer.

Thank you, ma’am, Homer said shyly. He had only met Lisa’s mother a few times before, but he knew he liked her very much. She was warm and very beautiful for her age. She’ll be right down, she said with a smile.

Homer sat on the edge of the couch in the small parlor. A few minutes passed and then he heard the small click of ladies’ shoes on the staircase growing ever closer. He was so anxious about this night, he almost didn’t get up from the couch. Then as he heard her step onto the floor, Homer slowly rose from his seat on the edge of the couch, and turned to find Lisa…floating. The high-heeled shoes she borrowed from her mother gave her the appearance of a girl who was slightly hovering above the ground.

His breath caught in his throat. You, you look… he paused slightly. …amazing, he said in a loud whisper.

Thank you. Lisa blushed like a schoolgirl. Even though she and Homer had dated for two years, she still blushed when he gave her a compliment. He loved that about her. He had never in his life seen a princess, but couldn’t imagine anyone, royalty or commoner, being more beautiful than his Lisa was at this very moment. She was his princess, and he planned on treating her like one tonight. Her pale blue dress made her eyes sparkle, and he pinned a white rose corsage on her left shoulder. He extended his elbow and guided his princess out to the awaiting carriage that was masquerading as Homer’s beat up truck. He opened the door and lifted her onto the seat. She felt as light as a feather in his strong arms. He could see her cheeks redden even in the twilight of the evening, and his heart raced as he went around to the driver’s side of the truck and drove his princess to the prom. But in his mind, they were off to the grand ball.

After the magical night of dancing and laughing, he whispered to Lisa that he wanted to go out for some fresh air. She, of course, indulged him, once again taking his arm. Her eyes immediately went skyward as they always did in the evening. She adored looking at the stars. When she was young, her mother told her the stories of the constellations and pointed them out to her on warm summer nights.

Oh darn, the stars aren’t out tonight, she said with disappointment in her voice. They had stopped walking, and were directly under a street light now. Homer then reached in his pocket and fumbled to secure the ring he had bought her between his thumb and forefinger.

No, the stars aren’t out tonight, but I was able to bring one down to earth for you. His hand was shaking as he presented the tiny diamond ring to her. "Will