Chapter 1
A late autumn snow was falling lightly, but it seemed heavier as the large 737 whistled through the bleak November sky. Laura gazed out her window as tears blotted her vision. She dabbed her eyes with the small white handkerchief that had been clenched in her hand since the flight began. She hoped she would be in time, but she feared the worst.
"You better get here fast," her brother implored her. "They don't know how long he'll last."
That dreadful call from her brother, Jim, woke her at three o'clock and she was on a plane to Cincinnati by five-thirty. One thing she was grateful about O'Hare was that they had flights everywhere at any time.
She called her brother right before she boarded and he said their father was still alive. But for how long? The doctors had warned them after his last heart attack that the next one would probably kill him. And they were right, up to a point. What they didn't know was that Paul Ballard wasn't going to let go of his earthly life until he saw his daughter one last time.
Thankfully the flight from Chicago was short, but it seemed like an eternity to Laura. Thousands of thoughts tumbled through her mind, mostly memories of her dad and their life together. Ever since she lost her mother three years earlier, Laura tried to visit as often as possible, but each visit never seemed to be long enough. Now, she regretted not being as close to him as possible. Maybe it wouldn't have happened if she were there. Laura sighed and put her head down.
She always knew how disappointed he had been when she decided not to join his company after she graduated from Northwestern University. Now, she was returning to see him for perhaps the last time. Was it worth it? Was it worth being a success without his help? This, she didn't know dabbing her eyes once again as she saw the Ohio River and the Cincinnati skyline below.
Laura continued to stare out the window as the plane began its descent towards the Greater Cincinnati Airport.
As soon as it was allowed, Laura hurried off the plane to the terminal where she found her luggage. As soon as she retrieved her two pieces, she was frantically dialing her brother.
"How is he?" she asked before he could speak.
"He's holding on. Where are you?"
"I'm at the airport. I landed just a few minutes ago. I'll grab a cab and I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Hang on, please," she said to herself, as a tear managed to escape rolling down her cheek.
"He'll wait for you, Laura," Jim said gently. "You know he will."
Laura's bottom lip trembled at the thought as she tried to remain composed. "I know," she said quietly.
The cab moved freely in and out of traffic as Laura sank into its cushions. The icy banks of the majestic Ohio greeted her as she looked out the window. She shivered at the sight. She hated cold weather and at times couldn't believe she settled in Chicago after living in Ohio for twenty-two years. A friendlier, sunnier southern climate would have suited her much better. The snow had stopped by then and they would be at the hospital soon....
"Hey mom, where's dad? I need to ask him something." Laura dumped her school books into a chair and went to the kitchen where her mother was.
"He's in the basement watching TV. Don't bother him. He's had a tough day and I think he's trying to take a nap."
Laura ignored her mother's request as she always did when she wanted to talk to her dad, and quietly went down the carpeted basement stairs
.
He always seemed to have time for her no matter how tired he was. She saw him asleep in his chair, but he looked different.
"Daddy?" His skin was an odd bluish-gray color.
"Daddy?" She shook him and received no response. It was then she noticed he wasn't breathing. "Daddy!!!" she screamed.
She ran to the stairs, screaming, "Mom call 911! Call 911....Call 911...."
Horns honking jolted Laura from her thoughts. They always said she saved his life that day by finding him when she did and then starting CPR. Her training when she was on the swim team came in handy that day. She wouldn't be able to save him from this one, though, she thought sadly. She could save him no more than how they saved her mother from cancer.
The cab stopped at the hospital entrance. Laura looked up at the grey brick walls and became even more depressed. What a terrible place to die, she thought. The driver helped her with her two bags. Laura paid him and tipped him for getting her there swiftly and safely. The two bags didn't weigh much and weren't bulky, so she had little difficulty walking with them in spite of her small build.
Walking through the doors, she looked left and right before seeing the information desk. The lobby looked almost as dreary as the outside, having little color other than a few pastels sprinkled here and there. It could have passed for a prison reception area, she thought ruefully. She went directly to the reception desk where an older woman sat.
"May I help you, young lady?" she asked pleasantly.
"Paul Ballard, please," Laura answered. She didn't know if he would be in the emergency room, intensive care, or where.
The woman checked her computer screen for a few seconds. "He's in room 4110 of the intensive care unit," the woman said. She wrote the number on a card for her. "Take the elevator to the fourth floor and turn left." She smiled at Laura who did not return it.
"Thank you, ma'am." Laura took the card and went to the elevator.
When the doors opened, Laura stepped in and pressed the button for the fourth floor. While riding, her thoughts went back to when her father had his second heart attack five years before. He wasn't expected to pull through that one, either. She could only hope the doctors were wrong this time, too, but in the back of her mind, she understood how remote that would be.
The elevator doors opened and Laura turned left and made her way towards her father's room.
When she entered the room, Jim and her other brother, Andy, were at the foot of the bed talking quietly. They saw their sister and moved to greet her. She dropped her bags and threw her arms around both of them and hugged them. It had been almost three months since she had been in town and she missed them terribly. She had tried to visit during Thanksgiving, but her job made it impossible. However, she had been planning to come to town for Christmas. She refused to miss that. They had always been a close family and that was another reason why her decision to stay in the Chicago area after graduation was painfully difficult.
"How is he?" she whispered.
"He's sleeping," Andy answered. "He drifts in and out, but he knows what's going on."
"What do the doctors say?" Her eyes were brimming with tears.
Both of her brothers looked down.
Jim said, "He may last until tomorrow, but they don't think so."
"Shit."
"Yeah." Andy looked at her, but said nothing more.
"Dad's been asking for you," Jim said.
"He has?"
Laura moved around them and went to the foot of her father's bed. He was sleeping, his breathing slow, labored, and shallow. She hardly recognized the man in the bed as her father, a veritable shell of the man she and her brothers loved. His eyes fluttered and soon his pale blue eyes could be seen under his heavy lids. Laura lovingly rushed to his side and took his hand.
Her father moved his head to the left and looked at her. "Laura?"
"Yes, dad, I'm here."
"It's about time!" he wheezed and managed a weak smile.
"You always have to pick on me, don't you?" Laura tried to smile back.
"I'm so tired." Her father fought to catch his breath.
"You go ahead and rest." She patted his hand.
"No. I have to tell you something."
"It can wait, dad. You need your rest."
"If I rest," he wheezed, "I may not wake up again. I have something to tell you." He sensed he didn't have much time.
"Okay dad," she said, choking on her words.
"I want you to take over the company."
