Most often people talk about being in the right place at the right time. Maybe they achieved a beautiful photo of a sunrise, or the antics of children or animals. Maybe they found something someone lost and received a big reward when it was returned. But how often do they talk about being in the wrong place at the right time? If they do, it’s often about the death of someone or maybe witnessing a crime. And if this is the case, they are sad or horrified. Walter Williams often is in the wrong place at the right time, though his reaction to the incidents he encounters is much different than anyone would expect. And, life changing.

Marsha could see Walter was getting tired and told Terry, Shelby, and Peter, “Walter looks like he could do with some rest before lunch. Let’s go and let him get that rest, then you all can come back and have lunch with him here in his room; I’ll have three extra trays brought up.” Marsha actually had an ulterior motive for wanting the three out of Walter’s room, she wanted to talk with them out of Walter’s hearing. After telling Walter they’d be back for lunch with him, they followed Marsha out of the room, and into another room when she had signaled them to follow her there. She closed the door, had the three sit down and went into what she had to tell them. “I wasn’t lying to Walter about everything looking good, so far. But what I didn’t tell him was our concern about long term effects. You see, all of the chemicals he was exposed to are called inert chemicals, and if stored and handled correctly, are harmless by themselves. It’s just we don’t know how Walter will be affected by the combination of all of them on a human body. His body could expel everything as we hope, or some time, years from now, something more serious could develop.” Marsha saw the worry in Terry’s eyes and looking at her said, “I’m sorry to have to tell you that, Terry, but I won’t lie to you at any time. That possibility has to be considered. That’s part of the reason we’ll want to see him once a week for three months, then twice a month for six months, then once a month for a year. I hope you don’t think I’m goulish when I say, Walter has become a test case for this type of accident. We hope the data we collect will help us if/when something like this happens again. Now, you all can stay in this room and relax or go to the cafeteria and get something to drink. I’ll come get you when it’s Walter’s lunch time.”

Before Marsha left, she knelt in front of a tearful Terry and softly told her, “Terry, Shelby and Peter are worried you’re too wound up over what happened to Walter. As his doctor, I’m telling you he will be alright. Now,” and she pulled a pad from her lab coat pocket, and wrote on it, “I want you to get this prescription filled. It’s a mild sedative and will help you relax and get the rest you need.” Terry started to protest but Marsha actually put her fingers up to Terry’s lips before telling her, “Even I can see how wound up you are. And I’d guess you hardly slept last night, did you?” When Terry shook her head no, Marsha replied, “Uh, huh, I thought so. Listen to me Terry. You aren’t going to be any good to your son if you wear yourself out and end up here in the hospital. He doesn’t need that right now. He needs the mom I can see he dearly loves. Now, no more protest, get this filled,” she sternly told Terry, and handed Terry the piece of paper.

After Marsha left Shelby got up out of his chair, walked over to Terry, put his arm around her shoulders, pulled her into his side and suggested, “How about we go and get something to drink? I could kill for some coffee.” Terry nodded her head, let Shelby pull her up out of her chair, and with his arm around her waist and Terry’s head on his shoulder, walked out of the room; Peter was holding the door open.

Peter sat with Terry as Shelby went to buy everyone what they wanted. When he came back he was also carrying three pastries; he knew they all needed something to eat if only to take the edge off. Peter excused himself, walked a few feet away from Terry and Shelby, and made a phone call to Tina. When she answered he asked how things were going, then filled her in about Walter’s condition. He also asked her to get Brigette a message to call him when she had time, he wanted to let her know as well. Nothing was on fire, the students hadn’t run anyone up the flagpole, and with Walter likely coming home Saturday, he decided to be at school tomorrow, Friday. He went back to the table, sat down and started in on his pastry, not realizing how hungry he actually was. He hadn’t noticed it at first, but Terry now had a second pastry in front of her, as did Shelby. He laughed as Shelby lifted his arm from under the table and set another one in front of him. They all laughed at Shelby’s little joke, they needed to release their pent up tension.

It was 12:30 p.m. when Marsha came to get them so they could have lunch with Walter. As the four walked back to Walter’s room, Terry and Shelby noticed how close Peter and Marsha were as they walked ahead of them. Terry smirked, Shelby smirked, they looked at each other, and knew the other was thinking that maybe Peter found a woman he was interested in after the death of Pamela, his wife, five years ago from metastatic cancer. He’d never dated since. They didn’t know about Peter and Tina. Yet.

Peter and Pamela had been trying to conceive since a year after they were married. Both wanted a big family, so when Pamela failed to get pregnant they went in for fertility testing. Their phone rang at 6 a.m. the following day, with the doctor telling Pamela he wanted to see them now. The urgency in the doctor’s voice caused the couple to simply use the toilet, dress and head to the doctor’s office. They didn’t have to wait, once they told the receptionist who they were. Once in the doctor’s office, he got right to the matter, didn’t sugar coat anything, but simply told the couple the reason Pamela couldn’t conceive. She had cancer, and they believed it was metastatic cancer, but would need to do more tests to be sure.

The additional tests confirmed their beliefs, Pamela did have metastatic cancer. She was then rushed to Oncology, where they did more tests before immediately starting her on chemo. Thirty days later Peter, his friends and family attended Pamela’s funeral. She never had any symptoms that anything was wrong. Never had any pains, or signs that something was wrong until they had the fertility test done. By then even the chemo medication couldn’t combat what had taken over her organs.

Peter was a mess for weeks after the funeral, until his Assistant Principal, Tina, visited him one evening after school. Peter could see she was pissed, she had the look he’d seen on her before, and lit into him once she was in his home, literally kicking his butt verbally. It was that night he learned Tina’s brother had been killed several years ago by a hit and run driver as he was crossing a street. And it was seeing how hurt Tina still was over the death of her brother that snapped Peter out of the funt he was in, if only to comfort Tina at that moment. He returned to school the next Monday.

Walter wasn’t blind either as he saw Marsha and Peter walk into his room, followed by his parents. The three could see how the two were standing, how they looked at each other, and when Walter looked at his parents, he gave a head nod towards Peter and Marsha and raised an eyebrow. He watched as both of his parents nodded their heads, Terry showing she had her fingers crossed. It was a few moments later when their lunches arrived and Marsha excused herself to go have her lunch. Walter, Terry, and Shelby watched how the two parted ways, and smiled when Peter turned towards them and saw the three smiling. “WHAT?” He basically yelled, as Terry walked over to her brother, hugged him, then told him, “Don’t let her get away.” Peter laid his head on his sister’s shoulder and cried, the memories of losing Pamela overwhelming him at that very moment. “Peter,” Terry softly said, “we can see how interested you two are in each other. Isn’t it time you start sharing your life with someone again? You’ve been alone for far too long. Eat, then go after her. Please?” She kissed him softly on his cheek, gave him a tissue she pulled from the pocket of her slacks, and watched as he nodded his head and told Terry, “Yeah, you’re right, I have been alone too long. But all of you are wrong about Marsha and I, she’s just an interesting woman to talk with.” He took a deep breath before saying, “I already have a girlfriend, one I hope to marry.” By the look on Walter’s, Terry’s, and Shelby’s faces, you’d think they were watching some murder mystery, until Peter said, “It’s Tina.”

It took a moment for the three to process the name Peter spoke, but when they did, Walter had a smile on his face, while Terry and Shelby had shocked expressions on their faces. It was Shelby who asked, “Um, Tina like in your Assistant Principal, Tina?” Sheepishly Peter nodded his head, before Terry asked, “How long have you two been going together?” Walter put his hand over his mouth to keep from giggling, he was enjoying seeing his Uncle act like a kid who got caught cutting into the dessert for dinner. Peter was looking down, shuffling one foot, then mumbled, “Several months. We started as friends after Pam died, Tina actually pulled me out of my depression. And it wasn’t long before we became more than friends. I’m planning to ask her to marry me.” He looked at Walter, who was almost giddy with glee, and told him, “And you, kid, keep this to yourself. Alright? Please?” Walter just nodded, then held his arms out to his Uncle, who came over and the two hugged. It was Walter’s turn to speak, as he told Peter, “I’m really happy for you, Peter.”

Walter’s lunch tray had been set on the portable table, rolled up in front of him. Terry and Shelby each took a tray and the two chairs in the room. Walter took one look at what he was brought, made a face before telling his parents, “Well, one nice thing eating at the hospital. I won’t gain any weight, not with this stuff.” His parents, and Peter, chuckled along with him as the four had a quiet lunch together.

When Peter arrived at school the following day, Friday, Tina swore he was walking on air. She saw him after Walter got hurt, how scared he was and worried for his sister’s family. Today, though, he was happy, almost giddy, as he walked into the office, kissing Margot on the cheek and telling her, “Good morning, Margot,” before going into his office. Margot looked at Tina then did a slow turn to look at Peter’s back as he walked into his office. “Now what do you suppose got into that lout, Tina?” Margot asked, as she continued to stare in Peter’s direction. Tina chuckled as she told Margot, “Um...love, Margot. Love.” Margot turned back to look at Tina, giving her a stink eye before Tina nodded her head and repeated what she just said. “Well, I’ll be. It’s about damn time some gal roped that bull,” Margot said as a real smile grew on her face. And Tina agreed. She didn’t tell Margot that Peter had called last night, telling her he told his family about her, and his plans for their immediate future. They’d talked about marriage before, about how they felt towards each other, and the problems their jobs might pose if they were married. Peter had scoured all the rules and regulations, but couldn’t find anything about his and Tina’s situation. There might be those who felt they’d work better at separate schools, but there weren’t any rules against married couples working at the same school.

Peter spent time with Tina, catching up on everything from the past two days. As he found out, the school was still in one piece, with a few minor problems taken care of. He then told Margot he was going to speak with Brigette Stokes, and talk to her first period class. He again kissed Margot on the cheek, getting a fake swat from Margot, before actually skipping out of the office. Margot reached up and felt where he’d kissed her on the cheek. She also wiped a few tears that threatened to roll down her cheeks. She muttered to no one in particular, “That man will make that gal a fine husband.”

Brigette Stokes was in early to her first period science class, so Peter had a chance to tell her everything before the students arrived. When the first bell rang, he sat back and let Brigette conduct her class after the second bell. After Brigette had taken roll, she turned the class over to Peter. “Morning everyone. I wanted to let all of you know that Walter is going to be alright. The doctors put him on a dialysis machine that was able to filter out the majority of the chemicals that enter into Walter’s bloodstream. He was run through a very detailed decontamination process, which washed out all the cuts he sustained from the broken glass. Most of the cuts were superficial, but he did have several deep cuts that had to be closed with sutures. Now, we still don’t know why the accident happened, the lab everything was taken to is still processing it all. But it’s more important that Walter is going to be alright and returning to school on Monday, if everything still looks good on Saturday, when he will be released from the hospital. He will be under restrictions because of the sutures. He will have to see the doctor once a week for three months, then twice a month for six months, then once a month for a year. I won’t lie to any of you, there are still some unknowns. While the dialysis machine was able to filter out the majority of the chemicals, and his body is doing more, the doctors still have no idea how much of the chemicals he absorbed through his skin. And that’s why the scheduled visits. They’re hoping, given time, his body will eventually rid itself of everything, and Walter will be back to his normal self.” Several students laughed, and one who knew what Walter’s normal self was, said, “Principal Stepel, don’t you mean his normal accident magnet self?” Peter laughed because of what Patsy said. “You’re probably right, Patsy. We can only hope this will be his last Wrong Place at the Right Time.” Peter thanked the class for their attention, and Brigette for letting him have the time, left the classroom and took the long way back to his office. Thinking about his time here as a student and the girl he met, while here, who became his wife.

There were a few problems that Peter had to solve during the rest of the day, nothing unusual though. And when the last bell of the day rang, and the students had all gone home, or to practice, and he’d finished his work, he quickly left the office and headed to the hospital. Wanting to see how Walter was doing today.

When he arrived on the fourth floor, he found Marsha doing paperwork and looked around for Terry, being told by Marsha she was with Walter. As the chance presented itself, Peter asked Marsha frank questions about Walter, and his chances of having his normal life again. Marsha understood the reason for Peter’s questions, and looking around, to make sure Terry wasn’t near, told Peter, “It’s as I told all of you yesterday, we just don’t know what’s in his future. I imagine you saw the mess after the accident, so you likely saw what happened to those bottles of chemicals. Chemicals Walter was lying in and which covered his body. I’ve tried to put an upbeat spin on all of this, for Terry’s sake, but, Peter, things could get interesting down the road. We honestly don’t know.”

Marsha went back to her paperwork and Peter went to Walter’s room. Terry, Shelby, and Walter only smiled at each other as Peter came bouncing into Walter’s room, each giving the other a knowing smile. The old Peter was back. The happy, energetic man who they’d missed these past five years. And Terry secretly hoped nothing would go wrong for him, she dearly loved her brother.

The old Peter they all knew was back because he’d finally told them about Tina, and his plans to marry her. He no longer had to worry about hiding their relationship for fear of what the three would say. The three made it plainly clear how happy they were for him.

When Saturday finally arrived, Peter picked up Terry and Shelby and drove them to the hospital. It was 9 a.m. Marsha had called the lab first thing, they would have taken another blood sample around 7 that morning. Walter, Peter, Terry, and Shelby only heard her say, “That’s great, thanks,” before she hung up the phone. She then started checking the sutures for the deeper cuts, and Walter’s chart. She played it up big, or tried too, as she frowned, picked up the backpack, solemnly walked over to Terry, tried to look sad as she looked Terry in the eyes before telling her, “Terry, I hate to say this,” and saw immediately it was a mistake, as Terry’s eyes filled with tears.

“Oh, Terry, I’m sorry, I was trying to play all this up but goofed. I’m so sorry.” Marsha hugged a distraught Terry before telling her, “He’s doing fine, take him home. Get Walter dressed and I’ll have a nurse come afterwards. I’ll go get the release papers started, come to reception when you’re ready.” The tears flowed from Terry’s eyes, as she heard Walter could come home. But Marsha wasn’t finished, as she released Terry and turned to Walter. “Walter, everything looks good and I’m going to kick you out of here.” She walked over to stand right near him and told him, in no uncertain terms, “Listen to me good, young man. You are not out of the woods just yet. Your body has gone through a tremendous event, one I hope you never go through again. You need to rest the remainder of the weekend, give your body a chance to build itself back up. Do not do anything that puts a strain on all your stitches. Do not exercise until we tell you it’s okay. Maybe short walks, but with someone.” Walter interrupted Marsha by asking, “What about school? Can I go back to school on Monday?”

Marsha gave Walter a serious look before telling him, “Walter, it depends on you. If you’re completely honest with your parents come Sunday, and if you’re feeling well enough to go back to school on Monday, then I see no reason you can’t. However, if you feel like crap Sunday but tell your parents the opposite, just so you can go back to school, and end up back here, you’re going to miss a lot of school while you recover right here in the hospital. Do you follow me, young man?” Walter could see Marsha was not playing around, she was deadly serious. He also realized then how much she really cared about him, she might one day become his Aunt. “Yes, ma’am, I understand.”

Before Peter and Marsha left Walter’s room, Marsha told Terry and Shelby she didn’t want Walter walking to school or riding the bus to school until she gave the okay. For the time being, it would be best if they took him to school and picked him up afterwards. Just for a couple of weeks, she thought, just until his body has had time to settle down, and the deeper cuts had time to heal.”

Terry and Shelby were so happy Walter was going to be released, they gently pulled Walter into a group hug, before someone cleared their throat, causing the three to look towards the door to see a nurse standing there. “Pardon me for breaking up a wonderful site, but I need to unhook Walter from the monitors so he can get dressed and go home.” With that said, Terry and Shelby stepped back to give the nurse room to work, after which she turned back the covers over Walter and helped him get out of bed, before saying she’d be back when Walter was dressed. Shelby closed the room’s door, as Terry removed Walter’s clothing from a backpack and helped Walter get dressed. Once the door was opened again, the same nurse was back with a wheelchair, and with a smile on her face, pointed from Walter to the chair. Walter got the message and sat down in the chair, as the nurse then took him and his parents to reception, so he could be signed out of the hospital to go home. Once they reached the reception desk, Marsha took the time to give Walter another speech before his parents signed the release forms and the six headed to the elevators and down to the parking lot, where Peter pulled his car to the curb so Walter wouldn’t have to walk far.

Peter was careful driving them home, trying to miss any divots in the road, and bringing the car to as soft a stop as he could when they had to stop. Once Peter helped Shelby get Walter into their house, and left, tiger mom raised its head when they got into the house. She immediately went into super protection mode, having Walter sit down, not work on any school work he wanted to get done, before Walter cried out in a way Terry had never heard. “MOM! I’m okay. Please, stop being overprotective. I know you’re worried about me and I love you for it, but please, let me do a few things for myself.” It was only then that Terry saw what she was doing, and sitting down next to Walter, gently pulled him into her and cried softly on his shoulder. “I was so afraid we’d lost you, Walter. I’m sorry,” she said to him before pulling back and looking into his eyes. “But I do want you to take it easy the rest of the weekend. Understand?” Terry asked, as she wiped tears off first her cheeks then Walter’s. “Yeah, mom, I understand. And I love you bunches too.”

Terry could see that Walter was thinking about something, and found out what it was as he told her, “Mom. Don’t ask me how I know, ‘cause I’m not sure myself. But it feels like my days of unintended accidents have come to an end. I think this is the last one.” Terry studied Walter’s face for a moment, then had the same feeling herself. Walter saw the frown on his mom’s face and asked, “What is it, mom? Something wrong? I have jelly on my face, or something?” Both Walter and Terry laughed at his levity, before she replied with, “More like something, Walter. Something tells me, too, this is the last accident you’ll be involved in. And like you, I can’t explain how I know. Enough of our silliness, you get some rest while I fix you something to drink and snack on. Okay?” Terry’s last words got a nod from Walter, as Terry got up from the couch and went into the kitchen. Terry didn’t see the look on Walter’s face as he thought about what his mom just told him, about her also knowing his unintended accident days were behind him. He muttered to himself, “I wonder how we both know the same thing?”