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.

The phone calls started about 11 a.m., calls from some of those students in Walter’s Freshman science class. Some wanting to talk with Walter and see how he was doing, and some wanting to see if they could come see him after lunch. When Walter asked, “Mom, can I have visitors after lunch,” Terry was about to put her foot down and tell him, no. But she thought back to what Walter asked her, to do some things for himself. So instead of giving a resounding, “NO,” she simply said, “If you feel up to them visiting.” Of course Walter felt up to having visitors, after all, he’d missed two and a half days of school. Which meant two and a half days of not seeing anyone at school. So Walter told those who want to come by, “Sure, but I can’t have you stay long. The doctor wants me to get plenty of rest.” When everyone heard he had doctor’s orders, they were more than amicable in agreeing not to stay long.

Terry had fixed grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and soup for their lunch. The talk around the dining room table was light when the phone rang. Walter and Shelby had just tucked into their sandwiches, so Terry answered the phone. “Hi Terry, it’s Brigette Stokes.” Terry covered the mouthpiece of the phone and mouthed to Walter, “It’s your science teacher.” Walter still had a mouth full of sandwich so pointed to his mom to take the call.

“Hi Brigette, how are you?” Terry could tell by Brigette’s voice that she wasn’t doing very well. “Um, Terry, and I’ll understand if you say no, but I’d like to come over and see Walter. Talk with him, tell him how sorry I am for what happened to him.” Brigette’s voice had betrayed her as the tears were flowing down her cheeks. “Brigette, you have nothing to apologize for, none of this was your fault. Walter is fine, though a few pints shy of a full load.” Several napkins flew Terry’s way because of what she said. “But yes, I think Walter would love to see you and talk with you for a while. We have to limit visits because his doctor wants him to get plenty of rest this weekend before he returns to school on Monday.” There was silence for a moment, before Terry heard a whispered, “Thank God. I’m glad to hear that. Um...okay, right. I’ll be over around 2 this afternoon. Would that be okay?” Terry was nodding her head as she answered Brigette, “Yes, Brigette. Around 2 this afternoon will be fine. We’ll see you then, okay? Bye now.”

It was around 1 p.m. when the show started, as Walter put it. Actually he told his mom, “Well, mom. Here come the clowns.” Terry playfully swatted him on the arm as Walter sat himself down on the couch, getting as comfortable as he could with the still healing cuts in places he didn’t know he had. And in some places he wasn’t going to talk about. Terry had set a glass of water near him as his classmates started to arrive along with others in school. True to their word, each stayed only about ten minutes, after finding out he was okay and would be back in school on Monday. When 2 p.m. rolled around, it seemed all the students who were going to visit had visited, and the next knock on the front turned out to be by Brigette Stokes, Walter’s science teacher.

Terry had been answering the door and when she opened it to Brigette, she could tell the woman had been crying. And still was. She took Brigette into a hug, whispering, “Brigette, it wasn’t your fault. Walter will be fine. Come on, come in and see for yourself.” Brigette let Terry guide her into the house, and Terry kept her arm around Brigette’s waist. When Brigette saw Walter for the first time after the accident, she didn’t realize just how much he’d been cut by all the broken glass. He was wearing pajama bottoms, because they were loose on his legs, so she couldn’t see the cuts and sutures on his legs and hips where he fell into all the glass. But she could see the cuts on his face and arms, some minor and some sutured. It was a good thing Terry had a hold of Brigette, because she burst into tears upon seeing Walter. Walter slowly got up off the couch, walked over to Brigette, put his arms around her and while hugging her said, “Mrs. Stokes, none of this is your fault. It was my stupidity that got me into all this. Please, Mrs. Stokes, come sit down. Please,” he pleaded before Terry helped Brigette to the couch.

After Brigette was seated, Terry went to the kitchen to get Brigette a glass of water, and the box of tissues. Shelby had been sitting nearby but hadn’t said anything until Brigette had wiped her eyes and had a good drink of water. “Brigette, I’ve been talking with Peter, and he with the investigators. And they’re not sure yet, but they think there was something wrong with all those shelves other than Walter standing on one and leaning on the others. It will take them some time for them to be sure, but based on their preliminary inspection, they think those shelves had been over stressed long before you took over the class. Until they can do a microscopic exam and speak to your predecessor, they won’t give a definitive answer.” Shelby’s words seemed to help cheer Brigette up, a bit. They didn’t keep count of the number of times Brigette apologized, but each time she did, they stressed it wasn’t her fault. And not to play the ‘if I only had’ game with herself, as she kept saying, “If only I’d kept an eye on everyone this wouldn’t have happened.” As Brigette was taking another drink of water from her glass, Terry and Shelby saw the smirk form on Walter’s lips before he said, “But hey, Mrs. Stokes. At least now with all these cuts, I finally match my reputation of being a cut up in class.” Terry and Shelby rolled their eyes before they both groaned. Brigette, on the other hand, had been drinking water from the glass Terry gave her, and spit water, choked, and laughed all at the same time. Spraying Walter and the couch. When she finally stopped choke-laughing, she told Walter, “Williams, that is by far the worst of your word plays yet. But, young man, it’s good to hear them again.” And she leaned over and gently hugged Walter, before saying it was time she left.

As Brigette got up from the couch, Walter tried to be a good host and get up with her. But Terry and Shelby saw how tired he looked and asked him to stay where he was, they’d see Brigette out. The three talked a bit more at the front door before Brigette, feeling much better, walked to her car, got in and drove home. When Terry and Shelby returned to the living room, Walter was stretched out on the couch, sound asleep. Shelby covered him with the afgan they kept thrown over the back of the couch, and the two quietly left the room. Fours hours later, both parents heard the toilet flush, before Walter walked into the kitchen. “Sorry about falling asleep when Brigette was here, but I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer.” Shelby walked over to Walter, put his arm gently around Walter’s shoulders, and told him, “Walter. Your body has been through a lot in the past few days. It’s going to need time and rest in order to be as it was before all this. You don’t need to apologize for getting tired. Now come and sit down, mom has supper almost ready.”

The rest of their Saturday was quiet, with the three watching TV that evening and Walter just taking it easy. Walter was sitting in one of the easy chairs and Terry and Shelby had settled themselves into a cuddle on the couch. Terry glanced over at Walter, who was sound asleep, and nudged Shelby, using her head to indicate Walter. “That kid, I don’t know how he’s made it all these years going through all the things he has,” Shelby softly told Terry. “Come, on,” Terry said as she untangled herself from Shelby, “let’s get him to bed.” Terry gently woke Walter, telling him, “Hey kiddo, how about we get you to bed?” Walter didn’t argue, as he once would, as he let both of his parents help him out of the chair, and take him to his bedroom. Shelby stayed with him as he used the bathroom, allowing Terry to tuck him into bed. She kissed him on the cheek before saying, “Sleep well, my little warrior.” Walter never heard his mom call him her ‘little warrior,’ he was asleep before his head had found a comfortable spot on his pillow. Shelby held Terry as the two looked down on their sleeping son. “Honey, I sure hope what Walter told me is true, about his feeling this was the last of his unexpected accidents.” Shelby pulled Terry closer and whispered back, “I think he’s right.” Terry gave Shelby a funny look as she whispered back, “You too?” Shelby simply nodded.

Both parents had kept an ear open as they slept, in case Walter needed them. So while Walter appeared better rested than the day before, they were a bit shabby. Terry and Shelby heard the toilet flush and knew Walter was up, so they too thought it was now their time to ‘rise and shine,’ as best they could. Terry and Shelby had just walked into the kitchen, as Walter was already getting out the needed pans to cook scrambled eggs and bacon. When Terry saw what Walter was doing she started for him, in order to stop him from exerting himself. But she only took half a step, before Shelby grabbed her arm, shook his head, and pulled Terry back towards him. He turned his head to whisper in Terry’s ear, “He’s doing fine. Don’t overreact.” Terry stood where Shelby had stopped them, not exactly happy with her husband, even though she knew he was right, and saw Walter was doing okay and was taking things slow. Walter turned to go to the fridge when he saw his parents and said, “Hi, good morning. Ah, would one of you mind getting the eggs and bacon out of the fridge? I’m afraid bending over isn’t what it once was, right now.”

One of the sutured cuts was just at Walter’s right waste line, where a jagged piece of glass had cut a deep gash, and was causing him a bit of pain if he had to bend over or twist. He found this out as he bent down to take the pans out of one of the lower cabinets. “Sure, sweetheart,” Terry told him, as Shelby let her go to get what was needed out of the fridge. “How are you feeling today, kid?” Shelby asked, as he pulled out plates, glasses and silverware to set the table. “Well, dad,” Walter started, taking the eggs and milk from his mom, thanking her, and setting them next to the stove. “I’m still sore, and have to be careful how I sit and move, but I feel more rested than I did yesterday.” He then put the bacon in one pan, turned on the burner below the pan, cracked the egg shells and emptied the contents into a bowl, before adding a bit of milk, salt and pepper, and stirring until everything was well mixed. As Terry watched, hovering just behind him, Walter took a fork and turned the bacon, getting a plate down and putting paper towels on it to drain the bacon. Once the bacon was out of the pan, he poured the egg mixture in the pan, stirring it into the bacon grease. He kept his eye on the eggs, and when it was time started stirring them until they were as fluffy as his family liked. Walter turned off the burner, took the now scrambled eggs out of the pan, put them into another bowl, picked up the bacon place, turned and said to his parents, “Madame et monsieur, breakfast is served.” Terry had taken the butter and jellies from the fridge as Shelby was in charge of the toast. Both chuckled at Walter’s antics, very glad they still had him to hear his antics. Both could see after Walter fixed breakfast that he was going to need a rest, and shooed him out of the kitchen after they’d finished breakfast. They both, almost at the same time, told him to go and rest, watch TV or read. Walter didn’t argue, and soon they heard the TV showing one of Walter’s favorite programs. When they finished clearing the table and had the dishes and pans washed and put away, they too went into the den to watch TV only to find Walter sound asleep in one of the easy chairs. They settled onto the couch, cuddled, and joined Walter. The TV being ignored. This would be the pattern for the rest of Sunday, meals then napping. All three had had three very exhausting days. Walter more than his parents, since he was the one who was put on dialysis and had blood samples taken every half hour. And was the one who came into contact with more chemicals than he should have, with lasting effects still unknown. When bedtime came, Shelby and Terry had no trouble getting Walter up to bed. Shelby again stayed with him in the bathroom, and Terry tucked him into bed. And as he had the night before, he was asleep before his head found that comfortable spot on the pillow. After Terry and Shelby left Walter’s room, it was Terry who pulled Shelby into their bedroom, kissing him passionately before she closed the bedroom door. It was 9:30 p.m. when they fell into bed, and a little after midnight before they fell asleep.

Terry and Shelby awoke earlier than normal, and got out of bed an hour later. While Terry went to the kitchen, Shelby went in to wake Walter; it was going to take him longer to get ready for school, until everything healed. As he had been doing, Shelby stayed with Walter in the bathroom, helped him put on all of his clothes, then picked up Walter’s backpack and followed his son to the kitchen, where Terry had a simple, but filling, breakfast ready for her two men. They had talked last night, Shelby telling Terry he would take Walter to school because he wanted to go into the office early. He needed to fill his partners in and wanted to talk with Tom. Walter did seem better this Monday morning, he didn’t seem as tired and was moving a bit better, still favoring some of the cuts he sustained. Terry’s men kissed her goodbye, before going out to Shelby’s car. “How are you feeling this morning, Walter?” Shelby asked this before starting his car, he wanted to make sure Walter still felt he could return to school. “Dad, if you don’t start the car, the wheels can’t roll and you can’t get me to school on time.” That was all Shelby needed to hear from his son, as he started the car’s engine, backed out of the driveway and headed to the high school.

There seemed to be quite the commotion when Shelby and Walter pulled up in front of the school doors. As Walter was about to get out of Shelby’s car, Shelby told him, “Son, please take it easy today. It’s your first day back and you’re still recovering. If someone wants to carry your backpack, let ‘em, they mean well. And if you’re allowed to leave class early to make your next class, do it. Your teachers mean well too. Promise me, Walter, that you will take it easy.” Walter leaned over and hugged his dad before telling him, “I promise,” and got out of Shelby’s car. Shelby stayed a few minutes and watched Walter walk up to the group who had gathered around the school doors. And as he watched, he saw student after student either hug Walter or shook his hand, welcoming him back to school. Shelby wiped his eyes before leaving the school and heading to his firm.

Peter had called the night before to make sure Walter hadn’t changed his mind about coming back to school on Monday. When he found out he was still coming, he told Shelby he wanted to talk with Walter first thing when he arrived at school. After Walter made it through all the well wishers, he headed directly to the school office. Margot saw him come into the office and told him, “He’s expecting you, go right in. And Walter,” she added as Walter had walked past her desk, “it’s good to have you back.” Walter smiled at Margot before saying, “Thank you, Mrs. Dwater, I’m glad I could come back.” Walter knocked on Peter’s office door and went in after Peter called, “Come in.” After Walter closed the door Peter pointed to a chair in front of his desk. After Walter had sat down Uncle Peter went to work. “How are you feeling? I realize you’ve just been grilled by the same question, but your Uncle needs to know.”

Walter looked at his Uncle, and his Uncle saw the smirk form on Walter’s mouth. That smirk had always signaled Walter was about to say something that would sound innocent but would guarantee either laughter or groans, or both. “I feel fine. I’m more rested than when I came home Saturday, and am following Marsha’s orders to take it easy. And who’s idea was the welcoming committee this morning? I didn’t know that many had thought about me.”

Peter got up out of the chair behind his desk, walked around to the front of the desk, turned the second chair there to face Walter, sat down and looked at his nephew. “Walter. You don’t realize how much you affected each of those kids’ lives. More than half of them grew up with you, watched as everything happened to you and how you reacted each time. You gained their admiration because of how you reacted. You never treated any of them with anything but kindness and care. You helped them when asked, and never put any of them down for any reason. And since you’ve been here, in high school, those who got to know you, and saw those unintended events, and how you reacted, also grew to admire you for the character you displayed.” Peter stopped speaking as he gathered his thoughts. When he spoke again it wasn’t something Walter was expecting. “Walter, you may not see it, but you have been a Godsend to this high school. In the few weeks you’ve been here, and made it through the events, and your reactions, the students are all acting differently. Oh, there still are those who think they are the cock-of-the-walk, but the majority are more outgoing, helpful to each other, and if something occurs to them, have a different attitude in how they react. Walter, believe it or not, you’ve been a lighthouse for everyone.” And here Peter lowered his voice in a sonspitory way. “And between you and me, even ol’ Margot has softened a bit.” That caused Walter to laugh, since he knew how Margot was when he first came to high school. Margot had no trouble taking the ‘F’ out of fun at one time.

Peter then went on to tell Walter all of his teachers knew his condition, and if he needed any help just let them know. Peter would normally scruf Walter’s hair before saying goodbye or have him go to class. Instead he gently laid a hand on Walter’s shoulder before telling him, “I know you’ve already heard this from Marsha and your folks, but you are to take it easy today, and for the next few days. Ask for help, don’t get all bull headed, as you usually do, and think you can’t do things on your own. Because if you end up with the nurse because you got bull headed, and tried to do something you shouldn’t right now, I’m going to be really pissed you didn’t follow doctor’s orders.” Peter then told Walter he better get to class. Walter made it to his locker and then his first period class, science, just as the first bell rang.

When he walked into class he wasn’t expecting anyone to be there except Mrs. Stokes. What he saw as he walked in was a room full of students, those he usually saw during class. He’d was stopped dead in the doorway by what he saw, but wasn’t expecting everyone to stand up and applaud for him. It was their way of welcoming him back. Walter found he had something in his eye that had to be wiped off, before walking to the desk he normally sat at. They were still applauding as the second bell sounded; Walter found it hard to see through wet, blurry eyes. Brigette got everyone to finally settle down and took roll. She asked Walter to see her after class so she could give him the assignments he’d missed. And to see when he could come in after school to do the hands-on experiments he’d missed. Walter just nodded his head, and Brigette carried on.

The rest of his day went well. He had volunteers help him get to his next classes. While in the halls, other students gave him the right of way, so as not bump into him. At lunch, the boy Walter helped off the floor, then gave his lunch to, helped Walter get his lunch and even bused his tray. No one said it, but they all could see how tired Walter would get going from class to class, doing better once he was in class and had a chance to rest during class.

As the days passed, they could also see Walter improve, so the help he had been receiving slowly leveled off, until they could see he was back to his old self and didn’t need their help anymore. They knew he was back when he let go with a few of his word plays during a few of his classes, garnering the groans and laughter they needed. No one had said it when Walter came back to school, but almost everyone had missed him being in school. He had a habit of brightening people’s days.