The Perfect Night

If you tried to tell Marc Miles that anyone’s life was better than his, he would have laughed. He really had it all. He came from a well-off family and went to a private all boys’ school well known for its hockey team, a team that Marc had starred on for the past two years and now he was heading into his senior season. He had the grades to go to just about any college he chose and several were lining up to recruit him. But college was low on his list, below hockey, his family and his girlfriend. He had met her the year before at a school dance, and the two had hit it off. They hadn’t started dating until the end of their junior year, but at this point, he felt like they were married. She had told him countless times that she knew they would get married and he had no reason to doubt it. Everything was perfect when they were with each other and neither of them saw any reason they wouldn’t spend the rest of their lives together. Every free second Marc had he spent either with Mary Sierpe or talking to her. She was his everything, and she was the reason no one could ever convince him his life wasn’t perfect.

It was the Friday before hockey season started, which meant any other responsibilities he had were put on hold. Marc would have plenty to deal with as soon as Monday rolled around and Coach had him for the next five months. This weekend was for him, it was the last one that could be that way for awhile and he intended to savor it. One of his friends was having a party at his house that night, and his plan was to pick up Mary at around ten and then head over to the party.

His parents were going to be on the town for the night, and his house was going to be empty. He was an only child, and he planned on utilizing the freedom that night. He had mentioned the situation to Mary the day before, and she seemed excited enough. Everything was going just fine.

It wasn’t that he hated his parents or even that he wanted to get away from them like many of his friends. Tonight was just an extra opportunity and he considered Mary family now anyway. In most circumstances he would have put his mom and dad first on his list of priorities. They had been there for him since day one, and they represented exactly what he wanted in life. They weren’t rich, but he didn’t care about that; he admired the strong moral family they had created. They loved each other; Marc, his mom and his dad, they all meant the world to each other.

His parents didn’t go out too much with each other. They usually didn’t have time. Both his mom and dad worked and when hockey season rolled around, they spent every weekend night at his games. Tonight was going to be as good for them as it was for him. They were going to a play followed by a late dinner. His mom had been excited all week about the dinner. It was at one of the supposed best restaurants in the city, but Marc had never heard of it. His father was equally as excited about the play they were going to see. It was right off Broadway and his father loved plays, but Marc had never heard of it. Even though he had no idea why the two were so excited, he was happy for them. After all, what was there not to be excited about tonight?

Marc made it though the last class without opening his backpack, and he rushed down to the varsity locker room to get changed. He spent the next few hours working out. He didn’t put too much effort into it; after all, he certainly didn’t want to be tired for the night’s festivities.
On his way home, Marc’s cell phone rang. The screen on the front of his new flip-phone read, Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Mary calling.’ He answered the call to hear the voice of one of Mary’s friends on the other end.

“Hey Marc,” the voice said in an excited, girlish tone.

“Hey, what’s up?” replied Marc, unsure exactly whose voice it was.

“Not too much. How `bout you?” Marc could tell she was having fun with this little conversation. After all, what could be more fun to a teenage girl than talking on someone else’s phone to someone else’s boyfriend?

“Not much either. Pretty excited for tonight. Hey, is Mary there?”

“YaâÂ?¦ ummm she’s right here. Bye!”

Marc could hear the phone being handed over to his girlfriend. “Hey, baby!” she said. “Have fun talking to Jess?”

Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½That’s who it was,’ Marc thought. Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½I knew it was Jess.’ “Of course I did,” he said.

She turned the phone slightly away from her ear and said in the other direction, “Jess, I told you he knew who it was!”

Marc couldn’t help but chuckle at the comment. “So, are you excited for tonight, babe?”

“Ya huh. Jess and I are going shopping and then to her house. So I’ll meet you at the party around eleven, ok?”

“Sounds good. My parents are definitely out tonight, so it should be perfect.”

“Ok, well we’re almost at the Mall, so I got to go. See ya tonight.”

It wasn’t exactly the response that he had wanted to the opportunity for the two of them to be home alone, but it would do. “Bye Mary, love you.”

“Love you too, bye-bye.”

This conversation couldn’t have been much more typical for the two. Perhaps if Jess hadn’t been there, they would have talked longer, but they wouldn’t have really said anything more.

When Marc got home, he left his backpack in the car, grabbed a cold Coke and sat down in front of the TV. There wasn’t much more to life than this, and it was certainly working well for him. He didn’t really move for the next few hours, save to get some more soda and to answer the occasional call asking him how pumped he was for the party.

Around 9:30 p.m. he was more excited then he could remember being since last year’s state hockey championships. He turned off the TV and ran upstairs to take a shower and get ready for his night. He stayed in the shower for a half an hour and spent nearly as long deciding what to wear. He felt weird doing it, but that night he had to be looking his best. It was his final real night out before the long period of darkness called hockey season.

Having brushed his teeth, put on cologne, and put on his best Friday night clothes, he was ready to leave around 10:45 p.m. Perfect, he thought. He would arrive there about fifteen minutes late; the party should be really going by eleven. So the party should be ready for him by the time he got there.

At 11:15 p.m. exactly, he pulled into the long driveway and parked behind Jess’s car. Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Perfect,’ he thought again. Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½She just got here.’ From where he parked he could see the lights from the house and could hear the music clearly. The bass was making the ground beneath him shake as he approached the door. When he opened it, he was immediately greeted by one of his best friends. In his friend’s hand was the second most important thing about the night. Beer.

His friend told him there was plenty in the backyard so Marc went straight back. There was plenty of beer alright, significantly more than Marc had remembered seeing at other high school parties. He grabbed a cup and drank it down without stopping. He picked up a second cup and did the same. He then picked up one more in each hand, and went to search for objective number two of the night: Mary.
By the time he found her he had already finished his right hand cup and began drinking the left. She was talking with Jess and she immediately turned toward her boyfriend and hugged him. “Hey baby. Here do you want this?” She held up the beer in her hands.

“Is that yours?” he asked.

“Yeah I just picked it up, but you know I don’t drink. I knew you’d want it.”

“Oh, thanks baby,” he said as he quickly finished the beer he had left and took the cup from her hand and began drinking that.
“No problem, let’s go dance.”

Dancing wasn’t exactly Marc’s favorite thing, but the alcohol was starting to get to him and he wouldn’t have objected to much at this point. Led by Mary, the two spent the next hour or so dancing until they both were exhausted.

Marc made the first move to take a break. “I’ll go get us some more beer,” he said. He returned to the backyard and talked a bit with his friends as he picked up two more cups and started walking back to his girlfriend. He had already finished his and when he held out the other to Mary she said he could have it.

He gulped down the second cup and gave Mary a kiss, thanking her. “So, let’s get out of here, babe. I told you my house is empty tonight; let’s not waste it.”

She only protested slightly with her face but said, “Ok, let me just say bye to Jess.”

“Alright, I’ll meet you at my car,” he said as he began walking in the other direction. Before he reached the door he tripped and fell twice, only to be helped back up by extremely happy and gregarious partygoers. He needed a little bit of help to get the door knob to turn, but made it down the front porch stairs without much of a problem.

He made his way slowly towards his car and Mary soon caught up with him and put his arm over her shoulder. With her help he had little trouble making it the rest of the way to the car, but couldn’t quite figure out the keyless entry buttons. Mary helped him once more and he got into the driver’s seat with ease from there.

“Off we go!” said the ever more excited Marc.

Mary held out her left hand and showed it to her excited boyfriend. “Look what I drew!” In a pink sharpie marker Mary had drawn an arrow going through a heart and in the heart it said:

M.S.
&
M.M.
4EVER

Mary was a fairly talented artist and she made the simple design look very detailed and fine.

Marc smiled and stared right through the hand held in front of him, “That so nice baby,” he slurred.

For the first time Mary questioned her boyfriend about his ability to drive as he backed out of the driveway at twenty miles per hour. “Honey, are you sure you are feeling ok?” she said.

“Oh yeah. I’m fine; I just want to get home. So the night can really begin.”

Mary seemed to be somewhat relaxed by this explanation and she settled back in her seat a little bit. She had seen Marc drink before, but he had never gone too far. He knew what he was doing and she was safe beside her future husband.

From in her purse she heard her phone ring and she took it out to see who was calling. The Caller ID read “Todd.” It was her ex-boyfriend who had been calling her ever since she started going out with Marc. He claimed to have a real problem with the guy, but Mary saw Todd as simply unsociable. She muted the ringer and put the phone back in her purse. She looked up at Marc; thankfully, he hadn’t heard the phone ring.

The phone call made her do a quick mental comparison of the two boys. The only two she had ever loved, but they couldn’t have been much more different. Todd was also an athlete, but given the choice would pick school over sports any day. Marc was the opposite in that regard, but at least he knew how to have a good time. Mary couldn’t remember if Todd had ever gone with her to a party but he certainly didn’t drink there if he went. Mary obviously didn’t drink either, but the one thing she loved to do was dance, and she discovered it was hopeless to get a boy she liked to dance unless he was drinking. Marc was perfect for her. He wasn’t an angry drunk or a quiet drunk; he was funny and nice. The perfect guy to be around. She looked over at him smiling.

It was very dark and the leaves on the street made it less than perfect driving conditions. They were driving on Chagrin River Road, well known for its windy and hilly form. Marc was only driving about five miles per hour over the forty mile per hour speed limit. Perfectly safe.
He took one turn just a little too wide and didn’t notice the headlights coming from the other direction. He didn’t really hear the horn either. He accelerated through the turn as he always did. The world soon became a vacuum void of all noise, all emotion, all reaction and all sensation. The two chunks of metal melted into each other until they fit perfectly together as one. Marc closed his eyes and thought about nothing. He felt nothing and he had no need to feel anything. Marc just kept his eyes lightly closed and let the universe continue.

The police and the ambulances arrived on the scene around the same time. The people who lived nearby that had come out to the street because of all the noise had never seen so many flashing lights before. It was an amazing sight. Four ambulances arrived on the scene. The EMTs ran toward the two cars and pried open the bent doors. With the help of firemen, they checked the pulse of the two people in each car. Four ambulances had arrived on the scene; only one left with its lights still flashing.

The ER was not particularly busy for a Friday night, but there certainly weren’t many free doctors. When the ambulance arrived there was only one doctor available. His name was Jack Dinel and he was in his first few months of residency. He normally worked with a more experienced doctor, but the situation was urgent and there was no one else available.

When the stretcher was brought in, he ran over with a group of nurses behind him. “What do we have?” he said, just like they did in the movies.

“Caucasian Male. 18. Head-on collision with another car. There’s a laceration on his left shoulder and he’s lost a lot of blood. His passenger and the two in the other car didn’t make it.”

Jack immediately grabbed the cart and ran it over to a free space with the nurses as he checked the heart rate and began shouting commands. He put the patient on an IV and hooked him up to a heart monitor. He ordered an oxygen mask for the boy who was beginning to have trouble breathing. Jack started to apply pressure to the wound, attempting to stop or at least slow the bleeding.

He needed help, but there wasn’t any available. He was alone and this boy’s life rested in his hands. Jack did everything he had been trained to do. He gave every medicine necessary and took all the steps towards closing the wound, but it was just happening too fast.
Marc’s heart rate was beginning to get irregular and Jack told the nurses to ready the defibrillator. He shouted voltage commands and ripped open the boy’s already torn and bloody shirt. Over and over again he applied the electrical current to the fading body, watching the minimal effect it had on the monitor screen above.

The doctor continued to push the defibrillator with all his might, as he looked up to see the gradually slowing line on the screen above. He shouted directions to the nurses as he threw the machine aside and began attempting CPR. The nurses all stopped what they were doing and took one small step back as they watched the young doctor attempt to breathe life into the boy’s body. The oldest of the nurses, Faith, lightly put her hand on Dr. Jack Dinel’s shoulder until he turned his head upward. Pausing for the first time since Marc entered the ER, he stared at the dull screen in front of him. After four years of medical school, he knew what it meant. But Marc was his first one. There was nothing that could have prepared him for the steady flat green line on that screen and in an instant his whole life changed.

To Jack, death always seemed to be something that was there but never here. The world of death seemed to take place just out of his reach. As a medical student he saw plenty of cadavers and there were people dying all around him, but this was much different. Marc had died with Jack’s hands upon him and nothing the young doctor could do would separate the two souls. In that instant, their two souls intertwined.

Staring for a moment longer, he collected his thoughts and realized that surrounding him were all four nurses, all with hollow faces full of understanding. Beyond them he saw the world was continuing; patients, doctors, and surgeons rushed back and forth with a purpose. But in this little corner of the world, the purpose had been slowly drained away. A hush came over the universe as his eyes fell once more to Marc’s lifeless face.

Jack’s mind filled with everything he had done in the past ten minutes. He traced over every step in his mind, trying to find the mistake he had made. But when he tried, something strange happened to the young doctor; for the first time in his life he could not figure out the answer. He had no idea what he had done wrong and as he continued to try and figure it out, he began to question why it had to happen. Jack knew there were few questions as difficult to answer as this and none more dangerous to his career as a doctor. He had been taught well in medical school that a real doctor had to move on. It is impossible to save everyone, and this Jack understood perfectly. But why couldn’t he save Marc? He didn’t have to save everyone. He had to save Marc.

Maybe one of the nurses made a noise, or maybe his own mind realized he was spending too much time looking into the eyes of his victim. Either way, he looked back up and said in the most professional and deepest voice he could manage, “Call it, I guess. 1:57 a.m.” He shouldn’t have said “I guess.” He knew he shouldn’t have said “I guess.” But there was something about ending the boy’s life with Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Call it’ followed by a three digit number that didn’t seem right to him. “I guess” sounded like Jack was a fake doctor, like he didn’t know what he was doing. “I guess” meant that Jack didn’t know that Marc was really dead; Jack was just “guessing” he was. But for some reason, the doctor felt a little bit fulfilled by saying “I guess.” It didn’t make everything ok, and it certainly didn’t bring the boy back to life, but those two words made the world of difference for the young doctor.

One of the nurses grabbed a clipboard from nearby the monitor, and wrote down the time of death with a black Bic pen. She finished and let her arms drop to her sides with the clipboard and the Bic still in hand. The nurse maintained the empty look of regret as she stared at Jack along with the other three nurses. The four formed a circle around the doctor still with his right hand resting on the boy’s ribs, and they stared. They stared in an empty way. It wasn’t mocking, it wasn’t curious, it wasn’t respectful, it wasn’t awestruck and it certainly wasn’t kind. Somehow, all four pairs of eyes seemed to look beyond both victims, one more obvious than the other, and onto the next patient only a few minutes away.

Jack was inexperienced when it came to this situation, to say the least, but he soon spoke up. “Don’t just stand there,” he said in a panicky voice. “One of you call his mom, his dad. Get them down here. Don’t you understand, we just lost a boy. Nothing to you maybe, but for God’s sake he is the world to those two.” His tone faded off and he began to realize how out of place his comments were. He was a doctor now and he needed to act like it.

He watched the reactions of the nurses to his words. To his surprise they neither took offense nor ran to call the parents. But as he looked into their eyes he could tell they were becoming even further away from the situation. Jack wondered if this was the solution, if the way to get beyond emotion was to ignore reality. They remained in silence for a few more moments until Faith put her hand on his shoulder one more time and signaled to the other nurses they could leave. The other three began to walk away as they all gave him artificial sympathetic looks and began to think about their next patients.

Faith waited until Jack turned to look directly into her eyes. Her eyes were a soft gray, and as the doctor looked at her, his eyes were a fading blue. She patted him on the back once and said, “I’m sorry, but the other car, the two people he killedâÂ?¦” She paused a moment before continuing, “they were his parents.”