Chapter 12: Meeting Pinky

I was on my way back from asking Alice if she would teach me to dance. At first she had given me that look she makes when her serve is off the mark by twelve inches, and then it changed to the same satisfied smile she has while shaking hands at the net with an opponent she has just defeated.

After discussing what kind of dance I needed to learn, I didn't know, and why the need was urgent, Debra Simmons was the reason, she agreed to give me my first lesson. But she said we couldn't do it there at her house, not with a curious two-year old under foot. We would have to find someplace else. Also, there was the matter of my shoes; the sneakers I was wearing were unsuitable. We decided to use one of the visitor's cottages. Alice said she would bring the music and meet me in front of the cottages in ten minutes.

Molly was the only one in the house when I got there, Mr. Oldham and Susanne having left early to play golf. I hadn't seen Ned since the night before when we watched the football game tape he had made. Molly was reluctant to give me the key to one of the cottages, not because she thought Mr. Oldham might object to me using it.

"I haven't cleaned them since the last people left Mr. Sammy," Molly admitted.

"It doesn't matter Molly. Alice is going to teach me to dance. We're not going to eat off the floor or anything," I argued. I must have sounded convincing too because Molly went into the pantry and came back with a key.

"This is for the one in the middle," she said, handing me the key. "I'll be right over and make up the beds. Don't you go looking for dust, you hear me?"

I didn't waste time trying to convince her it wasn't necessary to change the bedding or worry about any dust that may have collected in the past week. Once Molly makes up her mind about something it's impossible to make her change it. I walked out the front door and across the street wearing my uniform shoes and hat, walking because I didn't want to ruin the shine and taking the hat along because I needed to practice holding it while dancing.

Pinky's surprise attack was as much a surprise to him as it was to me. He may have been planning what he wanted to do to me without giving much thought as to how it would go down or to the consequences that would follow. When the opportunity presented itself he seized it.

Pinky must have spotted me running back to the Oldham house to get my shoes and the key to one of the visitors' cottages. Pinky and Edgar were waiting for me, hiding in the shrubbery that conceals the cottages from the street. Edgar was Ellen's brother but of course I didn't know that when his arms came around me and lifted me off the ground, pinning my arms at my sides. My hat went flying through the air.

All I could think of was protecting the shine on my shoes but that goal soon evaporated when the sharp edge of small diamond protruding from the ring Pinky was wearing on his right hand cut into my cheek, very near my left eye.

Pinky's left fist crashed into my chest, just above where Edgar's hands were knotted together.

"That's enough. You messed up his face. Let's get out of here," Edgar said.

"Not yet. Hold him still for one more. I'm going to teach him a lesson not to fuck my girl," This was followed by another right that bounced off of my shoulder before striking its target, my neck. My left eye felt like it was already swollen shut. I cautiously opened my right eye, and through blurry vision I could make out the anger in Pinky's eyes, which showed the puzzled frustration that comes with missing one's mark in life. I saw myself of a few weeks before in Pinky's eyes. I also saw his left fist coming hard as I kicked outward, catching both of his legs below the knees with the tips of my shoes. The backward swing of the kick dug my heels into Edgar's shins and he lost his grip for a moment. He recovered quickly, but not before my left arm popped free.

Pinky's punch landed with a thud on my chin. I hardly felt it because I had his bony neck in my grip. His attempts to dislodge my hand from around his throat were futile. I had him. I kicked my legs forward again, completely missing Pinky's legs but making up for it with the back-swing. Edgar's scream was a joy to hear. My heels must have caught both of his shins in the same place the first kick had landed. Pinky's arms had stopped flapping and his thin face ballooned out as my thumb bore into his Adam's apple.

"Let go of him," Alice shouted as she rounded the corner of the far cottage. That's the last thing I remember before I blacked out. When I woke up I was being rocked in the arms of Mollie who was sitting behind me on the ground, humming. "You lay still, Mr. Sammy. You've been hurt bad but Mollie's here. Don't you worry. Miss Alice went to get Mr. Ned. They'll be here before you know it."

I didn't see the blood right away. I was afraid to try to open my left eye. Everything looked fuzzy through the other one. My whole face hurt. I tried to move my head to relieve the pain but Mollie cautioned me to "Lie still." She was holding a pillowcase against my left cheekbone where Pinky's diamond ring had done the most damage to my face. Mollie resumed her humming; I let her rock me until Ned and Alice arrived with the car.

Ned drove while Alice sat in the backseat with me, holding a fresh pillowcase to the cut and telling me everything was going to be okay. They stayed by my side in the emergency room while my cut was stitched, x-rays were taken, my chest was taped and my other wounds were attended to. My ribs were sore but not cracked or broken. I kept asking when I could resume football practice. Alice joked that I should start slow, suggesting that dancing would be a good choice.

They gave me some pills for the pain and when they began to work I started feeling better and wanted to go home. I even said it that way, wanting to go home rather than calling it the Oldham house. But the doctor on duty was reluctant to release me until he was certain there was no internal head injury. I was moved to a small room off the emergency room and offered lunch, which I rejected. I didn't think I would be able to move my jaw, not even enough to swallow soup.

The police came to interview me, privately. A very attractive blond officer kept me focused on the questions her partner, a grizzly-looking older guy was asking. He started with the preliminary stuff, my name, where I lived and how old I was. I wasn't sure what name to give him, but when the blond smiled encouragingly at me I told them my name was Sammy Oldham. He then wanted descriptions of my attackers. All I could say about Edgar was that he was big. I hadn't seen his face. I described Pinky as thin with dark eyes, and having shoulder length greasy looking hair. I added that there could be bruises on his chins and a red mark around his neck.

"Did either of them say anything?"

"Yes sir, they both said something."

"Let's start with the one that was holding you. Tell me what he said," the older cop said.

"He told Pinky that he had messed me up enough. He wanted to leave."

"How do you know his name was Pinky? Did the bigger one call him that?"

"No sir, it had to be Pinky by what he said."

"And what was that," the older cop persisted. "What made you think his name was Pinky?"

"He said he was going to teach me a lesson for what I had done with his girl. Only that's not exactly how he put it."

"Tell us how he put it as closely as you can remember," the older cop sounded impatient. I looked at his partner for guidance. Her hair was wrapped around her head and rolled into a ball on top. I wondered how she could wear her uniform hat with all that hair and that caused me to think about what happened to my own hat. She took my hand in hers. "Tell us what he said Sammy."

I was having trouble talking anyway. My jaw hurt every time I moved it. But repeating what Pinky had said in front of the blond was making it even harder for me to talk. "He said that he would teach me not to fuck his girl," I said, looking at the male officer. I felt the blond officer squeeze my hand.

"What would make him say that? Do you know his girl?"

"Yes sir, she works sometimes on weekends at the house," I said, fearful now that I would get Ellen into trouble.

"And did you do what he accused you of, fuck with his girl?"

"Yes sir but he knew about it. Pinky told her she could. I think he even set the price."

The cop looked at the blond and let some air escape from his lips. I hoped he was giving her a signal to leave the room but she squeezed my hand again and didn't move.

"Sammy, did you pay this girl for sex?"

"Yes sir but only the first time. She knew I didn't have any more money."

The cop coughed and turned his head to the wall for a few seconds. I thought I saw the blonde's lips curl but only for a second. When the older cop turned back to me she was just as composed as him.

"How old is this woman?"

"I don't know sir." I had never thought about how old Ellen was. "She's older than me but not real old."

Mr. Oldham entered the room without knocking and demanded to know what was going on. The police officers must have recognized him because they both stood up, the blond releasing my hand. They tried to explain that they were questioning me to ascertain the identity of my attackers. Mr. Oldham told them that Ned and Alice knew my two attackers, to obtain the names from them.

"How are you Sammy?" Mr. Oldham asked as he stepped near the bed. Susanne came in too, taking the blonde's place on the other side of the bed.

"Gee, Mr. Oldham. Did Ned call you? I'm sorry you didn't get to play golf. I'm okay, you didn't need to come."

"Nonsense, we wouldn't miss this for anything. It's not often that we see you incapacitated," he smiled to show he was joking but Suzanne still scolded him, "JOHN, how can you be so cruel?"

Mr. Oldham excused himself, saying he wanted to speak with the officers. Suzanne stayed with me, wanting me to tell her everything that happened. But I guess she could see that answering the police officers' questions had tired me out. She let me rest.

Later that afternoon the doctor let me go home with the proviso that I was not to be left alone over night and that I return to the hospital if any complications arose. I was feeling much better and just wanted to get out of there. Mr. Oldham insisted that I ride with him. Suzanne rode with Ned and Alice. This seemed like a strange arrangement until we were alone in the car and he began to talk.