Chapter 34

The beds at County General left a bit to be desired, but a least my copay wasn’t killing me, not yet. I will have hit my annual allowable max pretty soon though. I worried about that.

I’d been sleeping. I’d forgotten my book—I hated the damn television—so there wasn’t much else to do but sleep. But then, my state of lethargic boredom came to a screeching halt.

My eyes fluttered open and she was sitting there in a currently not-in-use wheelchair.

“Daddy, can we talk? Please?” said Selena Grimes. I shook my head, but decided to answer her.

“If you want to apologize for insulting me or blame me for keeping you in the dark, forget it,” I said.

“Okay, I understand, I won’t do those things okay? And yes, they were on my list,” she said, but she was kind of smiling. I let her weak attempt at humor slide.

“Dad, it’s clear to me, and I think to you too, that I didn’t know you. Not in the least,” she said.

“Hmm,” I said.

“But, I kinda do now. And boy do I want to get to know you better. I mean a lot better,” she said.

“Who’s your one and only daddy?” I said. I was certain I knew the answer to that one, and I still was not in a mood to share my fatherhood, nor would I ever be.

“You,” she said. Okay, she’d surprised me.

“And what about the other guy?” I said.

“He’s my beloved stepdaddy,” I could see she was bracing for the storm. But in point of fact there would be none. I was satisfied if what she said turned out to be a true thing.

“Okay, then we can talk,” I said. She relaxed, visibly relaxed.

“Daddy,” she squealed.

“Selena, do not blame your mother. It was a very bad man that did what he did, and he’s gone now, forever gone,” I said. And my baby cried some more.

“Okay, dad, okay, I understand. I do,” she said.

I’d been given some drug or other, and I was kinda sleepy, but I was going to tough this one out. I wanted to talk to her. I wanted to talk to her very badly. But, I was getting really sleepy again. I had to get it out, what I needed to say.

“Selena, I might fall asleep, the meds,” I said. “Do not leave me. I need to talk to you. Okay?”

“Okay, daddy. I’ll be right here. I promise,” she said. I nodded, and then I was out, gone.

It was quite a while later that I awoke. I was not quite surprised that she was still sitting there.

“I think it’s wearing off,” I said, kinda slurred actually.

“Dad, they say you’re going to be okay, but only if you do as they say and take the meds and all of it,” she said. You have to do what they say daddy. You’ve got to give me the chance to get to know you. You can’t die! Okay?” she said.

“Maybe,” I said.

“Maybe! What maybe!” she said. I waved her silent, weakly waved her silent.

“I need to talk to your stepdad. Think you could help me out there?’ I said.

“Well I—sure—yes,” she said. “I’ll call him right now. Okay?”

“Yes, call him. See if he can come by.

The man came in and he looked depressed.

“I did not know she was going to out herself,” he said. “Honest to God I did not know it!”

“I know. It was clear to me that it was spur of the moment. But it’s done now and over with. And, Selena has told me that Jack is also in the know. I hope he’s the last. I didn’t go inside all of those years just to have it blow up in my face, or hers,” I said. He nodded.

“Okay, and I will see to it,” he said.

“But that’s not why I asked to see you,” I said.

“Oh?” he said.

“There’s a woman. Someone I’ve seen and know a little about but haven’t really met,” I said.

“Huh? A woman you’re interested in? Huh?” he said. I had to smile.

“Not the way you mean,” I said. “It’s a woman who was here last week and when I was here a couple of months ago too. She’s in the same situation as me, and about the same degree or level of progression. I mean of the AIDS.”

“Okay, but you don’t know her or what all? What does she have to do with anything? I mean lots of people have AIDS. And, lots of them are women,” he said.

“True, but her situation for some reason struck me. Her kids were here with her, three of them. She’s a single mom. She’s in tough,” I said.

“Okay, so...” he said.

“You want me to accept your help, I mean the medical thing and all, right. I mean still...” I said.

He tendered me a queer look. “Of course!” he said. “John Michael, you just have to get your head outta your ass and accept what I can do for you. I owe you. Victoria owes you. We need you to live and be happy and start over and well ... live!”

“Okay, but on one condition,” I said.

“Condition? What condition? I’ve told you and Victoria’s told you: there are no limits!” he said.

“Okay then, I’ll let you save me. But, you have to save the woman I’m talking about too,” I said. The man took on a I can’t believe it look.

“What’s the woman’s name?” he said.

“Don’t know, but nurse Diane does. She was nurse to both of us. She’s on duty now too,” I said.

“You really have never actually met the woman have you?” he said.

“No, I was telling you straight,” I said.

“But, you want me to save her,” I said. I nodded.

“Seeing her and her crying babies ... I don’t know; I wanted to do something. I can’t but you can,” I said. The man nodded.

“Okay, I’ll look into it. Nurse Diane, you said,” he said.

“Yes,” I said.

“You got him to accept our help!” said Victoria. Her mouth was hanging open a mile.

“Yes, well, sort of,” he said.

“Let me guess. It’s conditional: we’ve got to leave him alone,” said Victoria.

“No, the condition is that we have to help a woman, one he’s never actually met,” said Nathan.

“What? What are you talking about!” she said.

“He’s seen her, she was in the hospital in the room next to his. Her name is Florence Rogers. She has three kids including twin teenage girls and a nine-year-old boy. And, she’s a single mom, and poor as a church mouse,” he said.

“Well, and if he’s never met her how do you know all of this?” she said.

“The two of them had the same nurse, Diane Tandy. What all I know, which is more than he knows, I got from her,” he said.

“And, if we do save this woman, he’ll lighten up in terms of his own care,” she said.

“Yes,” he said. The look on the woman’s face across from him was actually conspiratorial.

“Victoria? What are you thinking?” he said.

“I’m thinking that we finally have some leverage here,” she said.

“Leverage?” said Nathan.

“Yes, but the good kind. The man is into saving people. He saved me, he arguably saved his Henrietta, and he saved you—and now this new woman.

“Nathan, tell him the woman will get the best care available, just like him. But, he needs to accept the ten million and join the family. And, I mean really join the family even with me in it,” she said.

“Uh-I don’t...” he started.

“Nathan, okay, you can back off it he starts to get hinky, but I really think that this could be the turning point, the real one. We’ve got to go for it. I’ll do it if you’re too chicken,” she said.

“Chicken! Me! You are kidding right?” he said.

Well it was Sunday, and I had it off. And it was Sunday, and a I got a visitor. The visitor? The big man himself. I answered the door to my first-floor apartment; the Taitano only had two floors. I was in apartment 109A.

“Hello, Nathan,” I said. My tone was neutral. I waved him in.

“John Michael,” he said, nodding me his greeting.

“I’m guessing you’ve looked into things, the things we talked about,” I said.

“Yes, her names Florence Rogers. Three kids, as you supposed. She is indeed an AIDS sufferer. And, her current situation is similar in most respects to your own,” said Nathan Grimes. “She’ll be okay if she does what the medicos say.”