KACE. Having what we hold dear to our heart pulled from our grasp puts things - all things - in perspective. Not knowing when or if the object we love will be returned allows us to truly understand just exactly how deeply that object was embedded in our life.

“I need to know what’s going on,” I begged.

“I’m sorry ma’am. You’ll just have to wait until someone can see you,” the nurse responded.

“Is there someone else I can talk to?” I asked frantically.

“No. There is no one else. I’ll have a doctor come see you as soon as someone knows something,” she said over the top of the nurse’s station.

I put my hands on my hips, looked down at the floor, and wanted to cry. I refused to become weak. I needed to be strong for Shane. I looked up and down the hallway as I saw someone running toward me.

Thank God.

Ripp.

I held my arms out in front of me and flapped my hands.

As he picked me up from the floor and into his arms, I felt comfortable. I was no longer alone. I felt so helpless and incapable up until Ripp arrived. After a moment of holding me, he lowered me back down onto the floor.

“I got here as soon as I got your voicemail. You didn’t answer your phone,” he gasped for breath as he spoke.

My eyes began to well with tears.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I began to cry.

I wiped my eyes and took a breath, “He just. He. We were in my mother’s new house. He just woke up from a nap. We started looking at stuff in a footlocker full of my old junk. He seemed really weird. But he stood up, and pulled his dog tags off. It was like he wanted them off. And then he just collapsed. When the ambulance got there, he was…” I started crying and couldn’t continue.

“It’s okay Shorty. I’m here until they release him. So, what happened when the ambulance came?” Ripp asked as he hugged me lightly.

I thought about what Shane was doing and I began to tremble, “He was just in a ball on the floor. Like he was…”

“Uhhm, like his brain didn’t work anymore. He didn’t blink or talk or anything,” I sobbed.

“Oh. Fuck. What are they saying now?” he asked as he released me and wiped the tears from my face.

“Nothing. She won’t tell me anything,” I said as I pointed to the nurse’s station.

“Stand over there,” he said as he motioned to the other side of the hallway.

Confused, I stepped to the other side of the hallway. As I leaned on the wall I studied Ripp. Dressed in his cargo shorts, sneakers and a tank top, he was rather intimidating to those who didn’t know him. He turned to the nurse’s station, gripped the edge of the desk top in his hands, and took a deep breath. As he started talking, his voice was very matter-of-fact and direct.

“I’m Mike Dekkar, Shane’s brother. I need to know what his status is. He was brought in by ambulance,” he said to the nurse as he leaned onto the top tier of the station.

The nurse took a breath, sighed, and looked up at Ripp.

“Sir, I told his wife a moment ago I don’t know. If you’d like to go wait in the waiting room, I’ll have an answer for you in a little while. I’ll have someone come see you in a bit,” as she finished speaking she looked down at her keyboard.

Ripp sharply knocked on the countertop with is knuckles three times to get the nurses attention. Annoyed, she looked up. Ripp immediately started again.

“Listen, I don’t have a little while. I have about this much fuckin’ patience, lady,” he held his hand in the air and snapped his fingers loudly.

“Look at me,” he demanded as he stepped away from the raised counter.

He pointed at himself from head to toe. His arm, neck, and leg muscles rippled as he pointed his finger up and down his muscular body.

“Do I look like a guy you want to piss off?” he stepped toward the counter, leaned against it, and flexed his chest muscles.

“This mother fucker is full of doctors. Find one. Go find one and get him to go find my brother. And then find out what the fuckin’ deal is or I’m going to start knocking mother fuckers out…” he whispered loudly.

He turned his head from side-to-side and surveyed the hallway. After realizing the entire corridor was empty, he turned toward the nurse and finished his sentence.

“Cold.”

She looked up into Ripp’s eyes.

“Sir, I’ll call security,” she said as she put her hand on the phone at the lower desk.

“Call ‘em. Fuck yes,” he said as he rubbed his hands together.

“Call ‘em. I’ll knock them the fuck out too. It’s what I do. I knock motherfuckers out. Cold. Call security, and while you’re at it call the fuckin’ cops. Tell ‘em to send the S.W.A.T. team. They’ll need all the help they can get, because I hate fucking cops,” he was starting to become a little louder and was having a difficult time whispering.

“Your best bet is this, lady. Find a doctor and find out what the fuckin’ deal is. In the next ten God damned minutes. We’ll be in the waiting room, waitin’,” he pushed himself from the countertop and stared.

“C’mon, Shorty,” he said as he held out his right hand.

I leaned away from the wall and stepped toward him.

“Why’d you make me stand over there?” I asked as I reached for his hand.

“I didn’t want you to get any debris on you if I started breaking shit,” he said as we walked down the hallway toward the waiting room.

“Ripp?” his hand in mine, I looked up toward his face.

“Yeah, Shorty,” he responded as he angrily stomped his way toward the waiting room.

I needed comfort, reassurance and some form of confirmation everything was going to be alright – including me. I felt all jumbled up inside. The man I loved dearly was in the trauma unit in the hospital and I didn’t know what was wrong or how to fix it.

“I love you,” I said, still holding his hand in mine.

He stopped walking and turned to face me.

“Shorty, I love you too. You’re my brother’s girl. Any time he’s gone, I gotta take care of ya. It’s just how we do it here in Texas,” he smiled.

And he immediately started walking again.

How we do it here in Texas.

Knocking motherfuckers out.

Cold.