Chapter 12: Well and Truly Fucked

Lupi Skyped with me later that evening. I gave her Froggy’s contact information and asked her to pass it on to Davee. Her anxiety was palpable and I tried my best to put her at ease.

“Alex, you need to let Remi take care of you,” she said suddenly. Her eyes were big with worry and her voice was intense. “The best way you can protect her is to keep her as close as possible to prevent any suspicion that she is not attending to all of your needs.”

After we said our goodbyes and disconnected, I asked my Pinay housemaid to join me in the bedroom. She was hesitant as she stepped into the room so I got up and led her to the empty side of the bed.

“Remi, I know you and Lupi have spoken of this,” I said as I sat next to her. “I want you to sleep here with me for the duration of my stay.” She kept her eyes downcast and I could feel her apprehension. “I know you are expected to attend to my sexual needs but that will not be necessary. I will be kept in a coma for the next week or so and I need you to remain here as much as possible to feed Applejack and keep everyone updated on my progress.” I reached over and stroked the black and white furball curled up in the center of the bed.

Before turning in for the night I was asked to shower with a surgical cleansing body wash that smelled like iodine. When I returned to the bed Remi was tucked under the blankets and turned toward the middle, petting the cat. I lay on my side facing her and tried to put her at ease with a smile.

“Would you come back to the States with me if you could?” I asked.

“I have dreamed of that ever since I got here,” she replied. “I would go anywhere to get away from this place.”

“I don’t care what it takes, Remi, I will not leave here without you. I promise.” I didn’t know how yet but I was determined to keep my word. And I had friends in low places.

It was early when they came for me and wheeled me across the compound to the operating room. I was placed on a reclining exam table while they started my IVs and prepared me for the OR. Dr. Esposito stopped in and gave me a pep talk before the anesthetist pushed a syringe of something into one of my lines, that had me feeling really good in no time. I was vaguely aware of the hustle and bustle around me as ECG electrodes were attached to my chest and a blood pressure cuff began squeezing my arm every couple of minutes. The last thing I remembered was someone asking me to count to ten...

The next 7 days basically didn’t happen for me as I was essentially ‘dead’. Or about as close to it as you can be without having someone there to put death in reverse and pull you back. They insist that there were several times every day when they lightened my sedation enough to assess my neuro status, and I was in fact able to follow commands when asked to. But I don’t recall any of it. And for that, I am grateful because having your backside unzipped so that they can tear out your bones and replace them with a polymer-titanium erector set ... Yeah, I don’t want to remember that part.

I was lying back in a firm bed with my head raised about 30 degrees, getting used to swallowing and focusing my eyeballs, when I first remembered seeing familiar faces again. Dr. Esposito hovered like a momma bear for the first day and then turned me over to the rest of his team for recovery and convalescence. Remi and Froggy were there too and they Facetimed me with Lupi and the kids briefly just to put them at ease and assure them that the worst was over. Hah! Like they had ever recovered from something like this.

As for pain and discomfort, I was troubled at first by the lack thereof. I felt immobilized and stiff but I couldn’t say that I was hurting terribly. Unlike that nightmare experience in the German hospital where they never seemed to give me enough pain medication to take the edge off. Dr. Hiroshi Tanaka (Dr. Esposito’s senior resident) explained this to me as one big motherfucker of an ablation. They essentially fried every nerve that left my spinal cord from my shoulders to my ass. Those nerves would likely stay dead for several months, giving me time to recuperate and get used to my new spinal column. I had an epidural catheter in place so they could numb the spinal cord itself as needed. I also had two IV catheters taped against my forearms but there weren’t any IVs going into me at the moment.

After poking and prodding me from head-to-toe Dr. ‘Tommy’ (as he preferred to be called—why I don’t know. He hinted that he felt he shared some resemblance to Tommy Lee Jones when, in fact, he didn’t — but ‘Tommy’ it was) suggested ‘we’ get up out of bed and take a stroll. I blinked and regarded him with an incredulous expression that spoke volumes. Have you ever tried to have a logical argument with an Asian man who has more PhDs than fingers (and thought of himself as Sam Gerard from ‘The Fugitive’)?

“Doc you gotta be kidding me!” I complained. “Even Tommy Lee Jones isn’t dumb enough to try to walk right after waking up from surgery.”

“Actually, he went to Harvard,” Tommy replied calmly as he lowered my bedrail and made a sweeping motion toward my feet. He grabbed my opposite arm and helped me swing over the side to a sitting position. A brief wave of vertigo passed through me but I was over it quickly. “And your surgery was seven days ago, Mr. Bishop. You are in fact just waking up after sleeping all week.” I had to admit the wiry little bastard had a strong grip on me.

He pulled a four-legged walker over to the edge of the bed while a pretty Hispanic girl in a bright summer dress bent over me and wrapped a thick white strap around my waist before tying it off tightly like a karate belt.

“A fall would really jack up the healing in my back, don’t you think?” I grumbled as he and the surprisingly strong girl each grabbed me by the strap and an arm apiece.

“Hmm, probably not,” he replied, “your back is much stronger than you are now. And the floor is only just there, so it’s not as if you would fall all that far.”

“Shouldn’t we maybe ... Whoa!” I gasped as they lifted me to my feet like a rag doll. I swayed for a minute as my weight settled over my legs and I felt my knees shaking slightly.

“Reach forward and grab the walker,” ‘Connie’ (short for Consuela) said firmly and I instinctively obeyed. I was too surprised to be standing upright to be offended at the treatment.

“Very good Mr. Bishop,” Tommy congratulated me, “now take a step, you pick the foot.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s a good idea Doc,” I hedged uncertainly. My arms and legs were starting to shake harder.

“Oh, c’mon Bish,” I heard Froggy growl from the corner, “stop being such a pussy!”

“Senor Bishop!” Connie blurted, “You need to look up and breathe. Stop looking at the floor. You are not going to fall!”

She was so sweet just a moment ago ... I lifted my gaze and saw Tommy gazing at me intently. He nodded and I swallowed as I lifted my left foot and slid it forward. There was still no pain, just a light feeling of dizziness and a sense of fragile weakness.

“If you can stand, you can step,” he encouraged and indicated my other foot. I collected myself and slid it forward beside my other. “If you can step, you can walk.” I straightened and looked around the room. “The journey of a thousand miles began with those two steps, Mr. Bishop,” he said smugly.

“Come on Alex,” Connie coaxed me from behind, “one more step.” She just wanted to check out my bare ass! After the third step, they helped me shuffle around until I was facing the bed and then coaxed me back over to it so that I could shuffle around again before sitting me down. “That was very good Senor Bishop,” she said warmly and rewarded me with a glance down her blouse as she bent over me once more to remove the strap. It was only fair, she got to see my ass, why shouldn’t I stare at her tits?

Once I was back in bed a wave of fatigue swept over me. “Jesus that took it out of me!” I breathed closing my eyes.

“I have to say, it was impressive to see you move so well just on day eight,” Tommy confessed as he tapped away on his tablet, before slipping it back into his white coat pocket. “The media guys had a bet going.”

My head spun as his words sank in. “Say what?” I stammered as I regarded him suspiciously. He smiled benignly. “You didn’t think I could walk?”

Connie smirked as she rolled up her strap and moved toward the door. As I followed her out with my eyes, I noticed the camera crew on the other side of the window. “He wasn’t even sure if you could stand,” she retorted as she left.

I turned and glared at the wiry Asian man standing beside my bed. “What the fuck Doc? Are you trying to prove a point to the audience at my expense?” My outrage was partially dampened by my exhaustion. “I take it you don’t typically get patients up this quickly?”

He shrugged and didn’t look remotely remorseful. “Typically, we like to see you void and move your bowels on your own first,” he said tacitly. “But the only point I was proving was to you.” He pointed at my forehead, “In there ... Now you know you can do it, so there is no reason to doubt yourself moving forward. Do you understand?”

‘Fucking jap bastard and his fucking logic. Whatever Dr. Spock ya fucking... ‘

“So would you like a cup of coffee?” he asked.

‘Okay, maybe he wasn’t such an asshole... ‘

Later that day they moved me back to my residence and put me in my nice, firm, huge, bed. I fell asleep instantly and stayed unconscious until later that evening when Applejack decided to rouse me by bumping his head into my face repeatedly.

“What the fuck, over?” I growled at him. I tried to reach up and pet him but my arm was too stiff to move. “Ugh!” I groaned. At the same time, I realized that my teeth were floating. “Oh, goddamn!”

Remi appeared and touched my face with a cool hand. “Alex, are you okay? Are you in pain?” she asked softly. “Is everything alright?”

I groaned again and managed to lift my right arm enough to pull my cover down from my neck. “Yes,” I sighed uncomfortable, “no! I...” I looked at her helplessly, “Remi, I’ve really got to piss bad!”

She nodded and turned away from me to fetch a small plastic urinal. “It’s okay. Here, I will help you,” she said as she pulled back my covers and lifted my gown away. I felt her warm fingers grasp my penis and gently position it within the neck of the container. “You can go now.”

I was flushed from her touch and tried to let it go but nothing happened. Fuck, I felt like my bladder was gonna explode! I felt the head of my bed rising as she pressed the remote button. The pressure lessened somewhat and I felt a small stream of urine trickle out of me.

“Just try to relax and let it go,” she said softly, “I have your dinner ready when you are finished.”

Just the word ‘dinner’ set my stomach rumbling loudly, causing her to smile at me.

“The cook told me that you have to try liquids first so she made you a creamy soup of squash and lentils,” she added. I realized that she had distracted me enough that I began flooding the basin. “I have to admit that I tried it and it is very good. She said it is rich in fiber and nutrients to help you build back muscles and strength.”

My eyes were closed and I lay my head back with a heavy sigh of relief as the pressure in me subsided.

“Hold on,” she said suddenly. “You need to stop for a second so I can get the other bottle.” I looked down as she removed the full jug and positioned a second for me to continue. I filled it completely before I was done. She then produced a warm moist wash cloth and proceeded to wipe me down. Her gentle touch sent shivers through me as she carefully wiped my scrotum as well as my entire shaft which began growing in her hands.

“Oh jeez,” I mumbled embarrassed as my erection swelled and began twitching as she dried me off. I closed my eyes and swallowed. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

For her part, Remi pressed her lips tightly together as she tended to me. Her eyes tried to avoid my face and crotch. “It’s okay,” she murmured in response and moved away to dump out my bottles and wash her hands. When she returned, she replaced my gown and covered me back up, with my arms free. She looked sanguine when she returned moments later, with a tray. Her long cream-colored gown matched her hijab and offered a dramatic contrast to her mahogany-toned skin as she placed the tray in my lap and sat on the edge of the bed beside me.

The squash soup was tepid and delicious. Maybe it was because I was starving, but I eagerly allowed her to spoon-feed me and wipe my chin as I devoured every drop of the entrée. My belly attacked it like a school of piranhas and we both grinned at the noise. Applejack came over to sniff the tray once before deciding his own fare was better and left us. I tried not to make a face at her first attempt to make coffee but she could tell. “It is bad, isn’t it?” she asked sadly.

“Darlin’,” I replied taking her hand in mine, “I have had much worse and been grateful for it.” She smiled timidly as I finished the cup. “If I could get up, I’d show you how I make it, but for now I’ll just talk you through it.” Her next pot was perfect!

She brought my laptop over and set it on my lap. I forced myself to work through the stiffness in my arms and shoulders as I opened it and began going through my messages. There were too many to tackle in one sitting, mostly from well-wishers that Davee forwarded to me. He also wrote me a long note talking about the book and his ideas for it. But I was tired and distracted so I put it aside and opened Skype.

Lupi’s smile brought instant peace and harmony to me as I gazed upon her beautiful face. The twins and Jasmine joined the picture quickly and my heart swelled at their bright innocent and loving expressions. Which came to a screeching halt when Didi demanded, “Where’s Applejack?” I choked on my coffee at her simple but effective dissertation on the psychology of a seven-year-old.

“I love you too, you little pirate!” I laughed. We chatted about nonsense for several minutes before the girls were assured that I was okay and became bored enough to flee back to their own devices. I set my cup down and felt guilty as I looked back at my fiancé.

“What is the matter sweetheart?” she asked.

I confessed to her my reaction when Remi assisted me with peeing earlier. She looked surprised for a moment and then smiled at me warmly.

“Alex, why do you always trouble yourself over a normal and healthy reaction?” she asked me calmly. “I understand, and I am not remotely concerned about it...” she paused, then her mouth opened wide. “Oh dear, you made a mess on her gown and hijab, didn’t you?”

“NO!” I cried out defensively. “I never even...” My face was burning as Remi came into the bedroom with concern on her face. I gazed at her sadly. “I just wanted to let you know before it slipped out when you talk to each other. Here she is now,” I patted the bed and she hesitantly moved to her side before climbing up and sitting with her legs crossed beside me. Lupi immediately began speaking rapidly to her in Tagalog. I could tell by Remi’s horrified expression what they were discussing.

‘Oh, just fucking great!’ I simmered as they talked.

Later that night I woke up and found myself confused and lonely. It was pitch black and I could feel Applejack’s weight on my lower legs. I reached across and felt Remi’s warm body beside me. I rubbed my hand down her arm and she sighed before turning to face me. “Is everything okay Alex?” she asked softly, reaching over to touch my chest.

“Mmhmm,” I mumbled closing my eyes again, “it is now.”

She moved closer to me and I felt her breath on my neck as I drifted back to sleep.

It was still very early when I awoke suddenly to another urgent call of nature that made me groan in frustration. In the dark, I had no idea where the bottle was and could barely turn over to search for it.

“What’s the matter, Alex?” Remi asked softly from beside me.

I rolled back to supine with an exasperated sigh. “I’m sorry, babe. I really have to pee again.”

I felt her weight shift as she slipped off the bed. I could sense her moving around the room and then she was beside me once more, removing my covers and pulling up my gown. I felt her soft fingers take my penis gently and slip it inside the plastic neck of the urinal. When I was finished, I felt her step away and eventually heard a toilet flush. When she returned, she once again gently wiped me down with a warm wet washcloth, which once more caused me to sprout a rock-hard erection that twitched and pulsed as she dried me off.

I was surprised when her hand remained on my hard penis with a tight grip, and then she began stroking it. I gasped and moaned. “Remi, no ... you don’t have to ... Ooh Agh!” I gasped as her warm mouth engulfed my swollen head and began sucking on it while her tongue swept back and forth across the tip. “Oh God!” I shuddered and felt her lower herself further, sucking my entire cock past her lips. “Ugh! Remi, stop! You don’t have to do this!” But my words were betrayed by my hand as it crept up to her cloth-covered head and began pressing her further onto me. The power of her suction was nearly painful as I began thrusting my hips against her, rocking back and forth. She pulled her mouth back and resumed stroking me with her hand as she caught her breath. When she resumed sucking me, I lasted another five seconds before I bucked my hips and cried out with my climax. I came hard into her mouth and she choked, pulling away but continuing to grip my cock to milk it for all she was worth. I grunted loudly as I jerked my hips launching several more jets of cum into the darkness.

As I gasped for breath, I heard her cough several times before she rose and went back to the bathroom. When she returned, she once more wiped my flaccid pecker and belly with a warm washcloth. I must have messed up her scarf because when she returned to bed moments later, I felt her hair against my face as we spooned. “Thank you,” I murmured into her hair as I held her close.

I could feel her smile when she said, “You are welcome, that was from Lupi.”

Breakfast was nothing to brag about but like any experienced Jarhead, I chewed through it and soldiered on. At least there were no restrictions on coffee. Still, I would’ve taken an MRE (even the five fingers of death) over the unsweetened liquified cornmeal they gave me. When I was finished, I remained in bed and reviewed all of the emails that I had received during my ‘black’ period. Davee was exuberant regarding my third book and returned the entire thing to me with notations and flags all through the 300 + pages. As I looked it over, I grudgingly had to admit that he had a knack for editing, and even offered some excellent suggestions now and then. His first and most surprising suggestion was to divide it into two books and when he suggested further developing specific areas, he even thought we could make it three. There was way too much material for me to go through in one sitting so I sent it to my cloud server and continued going through my mail.