by Barbara Ebel
For a change, Sara was up before Danny. He silently watched her from the hallway, her hand tapping a pen on an open notebook and her casted-arm resting at her side. It appeared to be her school’s website up on her computer screen. Just like he couldn’t share all the voluminous intricacies of his job with her, it probably worked the other way around, too. She was a thorough and respected teacher, and his heart warmed knowing she was dedicated to her daily responsibilities.
He padded across the room and crouched alongside her. “Have a good day,” he said, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “I’m sorry I have to see about Rachel Hendersen tonight. It will be a long day in any case.” He tilted his head and pouted his lips. “However, I owe us all a celebratory dinner since I’ve taken over the group. We’ll have to arrange something for later in the week. Think about it.”
Sara nodded. “It sounds like she’ll need an expert surgeon. I’m glad you only work on the top of people’s heads. You’ve done enough for her and don’t need to put her face back together again, too.”
“Hmm. Point well taken. But hopefully, she’ll be okay. I bet Julia would be happier later on without a disfigured mom showing up at school functions.”
“You’re right about that. Kids do get sensitive about how their parents look. Okay, off with you. I have work to do and you’re a handsome distraction.”
Danny chuckled. The few minutes with Sara perked up his spirit and he left the house on a Monday morning with a cheery attitude about the rest of the day.
-----
Danny may have liked his old office but it wasn’t taking long to appreciate the extra space that Bruce’s office afforded. All his previous furniture and wall hangings had been moved in and he had room to spare. He decided he didn’t want any more clutter as he hammered a little nail in the wall above his couch and hung his Normal Rockwell fishing print. Propped against the wall for days, it was about time he put it up and admired it.
Danny and Jeffrey both had office patients to see all day while Matthew was at the hospital doing surgeries. As Danny was between mid-morning patients, he finished his decorating task and then called the maxillofacial surgeon who had assumed Rachel’s care. When he talked to the front desk staff, he simply asked if Rachel Hendersen was on their schedule. “Dr. Tilson,” someone responded, “she’s still on today’s add-on schedule. They probably won’t get to her surgery until after five.”
The news made his day easier to manage. He stepped into the hallway and Cheryl approached him with a bounce in her step and a wide smile. “One of your most colorful patients is here for follow-up,” she said while handing him a chart with ‘Varg Dagmar’ written on the tab.
“An accurate description,” he retorted.
“The patient after Mr. Dagmar is running late so you’ve got a few extra minutes to kill with him if you’d like,” she beamed.
Danny laughed softly and patted her on the back. “Go grab yourself a cup of coffee then.” When he went into the room, Varg already had words poised on his tongue.
“Dr. Tilson, the sequel’s not only started but it’s finished.” He grinned mischievously, drawing attention to his missing tooth from his boxing days.
Although Danny’s eyebrows arched up in surprise, he realized Varg also had a sense of humor. There was no way a book could be written in about a week, much less a sequel to the infamous Moby Dick.
“I’m thrilled that recuperating from your benign meningioma surgery was such a snap,” Danny kidded him back. “I’ve never before had a patient get so industrious after intracranial surgery. But I’m not surprised it’s you.”
“My recuperation was as magical as the first snowfall of a season only because I had the crème de la crème of all neurosurgeons.”
“You’re too kind.”
“Obviously, I did not really write a book.” Varg shook his head which made his ponytail dance. “I have never written a book, but there is some truth to the matter. I believe I could write a damn good one. So what I’ve done in this last week, especially since I couldn’t go to the gym or resume work, was outline the entire sequel.”
Struck with amazement, Danny said, “From his grave, Herman Melville may be pleased. I think you may do it justice.”
Varg smiled while Danny began examining him, sat on his stool, and jotted an old-fashioned SOAP note into his chart. ‘A’ stood for ‘assessment.’ He wrote down “no problems, fine recovery.” As Danny finished, Varg broached his next subject.
“I have given your possible real estate needs extra thought, Doc. I have some beauties to show you on Center Hill Lake. Repaying you doesn’t just translate into dollars. It translates into sharing each other’s skill and expertise, just like the American Indians used to barter. Or the fact that my Norwegian heritage is based on a farm culture with scarce resources and a harsh climate. My ancestors were dependent on honesty, sharing, trading, and hard work. You’ve done your part for me, now I’ll do my part for you.”
“You have given me some ideas, Mr. Dagmar, and I’m not overlooking them. My ex-wife and I are in a transitional process so I’ll mention it to her.” He rolled forward a few inches. “Now, the important part that you’re waiting for,” he said. “You may resume your real estate activities, but please take it easy as much as possible this week. That also goes with your resumption of health activities.”
“I can go to the gym?”
“No heavy weights. Don’t go over ten pounds this week,” Danny said, to which Varg rolled his eyes. “No, no kidding. And do only about half the time and resistance of any cardiac workout such as running on a treadmill.”
“Okay, Doc. That’s a promise.”
Danny hesitated. There was one more thing but his patient may not be amenable. “Would you agree to see a psychologist by the name of Marlene Bowen for a battery of tests? It would be a substantial method for me to correlate my surgical findings as well as the angiogram?”
“Sure, Dr. Tilson. You are the second most important person when it comes to what’s inside my head.”
With a sigh of relief, Danny exited the room and went straight to X-ray where he pulled up Varg’s post-op angiogram. It still perplexed him as much as his dream after the tornado.
“Hey,” Jeffrey said, poking his head in the room. “How’s your morning going?”
“In this field we’ve chosen, there’s never a dull moment. Wait until the years start stacking up on you and you’ll be saying the same thing as me. ‘Just when you think you’ve seen it all…’”
As he pointed to the screen, Danny said, “Take a look.”
Jeffrey only took a step in his soft sneakers and immediately took his ‘stance,’ as Danny thought of it. He rested an elbow on his other hand and put his hand near his mouth as he instantly recognized the peculiarity of the radiograph.
“All that extra left temporal circulation? Who have you got here? A Martian?”
Chapter 11
Overhead, the Knoxville sky was a canvas of wispy white clouds sprinkled amidst the blue as Evan Parks bounded up the county jail steps to pay Leo Ramsey a call. He loved nice weather, especially on a Monday morning, and it boosted his attitude for what he had in mind.
Inside, he stopped at the front desk. “Evan Parks,” he said, hoping his full uniform would give him a pass. “I was one of the officers who did a search at Leo Ramsey’s place and arrested him last week. I’d like to have a few words with him.”
“No problem. The prosecuting attorney is in that room over there,” he pointed. “He just had a few words with him, too.”
Evan stroked his mustache and thought about it. “I’ll go speak to the attorney first.”
Evan went over to the small cubicle. “Officer Parks,” he said extending his hand. “I arrested the defendant.”
“Kirk Thompson,” the stout attorney responded.
“Based on what you have so far, what kind of outcome are you looking at for Leo Ramsey?”
“Short and to the point,” he said dryly. “I lik
e that, Officer. I think I’m on the winning side.”
As the attorney shoved papers into his briefcase, Evan continued. “In case you need this information, I know someone who recently dated the accused. Perhaps there is some unusual dating history with her that you can fish for but there’s more which may help substantiate the guy’s despicable character. You may even consider separate charges.”
Kirk’s interest piqued and he stopped fiddling with papers. “Such as?”
“This woman was living with him for a while and she had an infant from a previous romantic entanglement. It seems the baby ended up getting cigarette burns and broken bones from being in Mr. Ramsey’s care while the mother went to work.”
“The plot thickens,” Kirk said. “I can use that or work it in because, more than likely, this woman you’re talking about will have to testify or be subpoenaed, especially if I determine there is something incriminating regarding date rape or drugs which she can add to the case.”
Evan nodded, reached into his pocket and handed Kirk his card. He also wrote down Rachel’s name and number. The two men walked out.
“I’m glad you caught me,” Kirk said. “The defense attorney is getting ready to go before a judge and try to get Ramsey out on bond. This guy may be walking the streets any day.”
They shook hands again and went their separate ways. But within five minutes and after a strong request, Evan was inside the jail cell with Leo. The officer who let him in walked quickly outside and waited at the water cooler.
Even inside jail, Leo’s thinning hair was slicked over with a water-soluble product. Realizing that Rachel must pick out men with decent looks and physiques, Evan noted Leo’s toned body and chiseled features. But he’d think more about Rachel’s issues later. Right now, his primary reason for being there was retribution for an innocent baby as it may be the only payback Leo Ramsey gets for what he did to Julia.
Evan didn’t want Leo to be left with any facial evidence: no broken nose, no black eye, and no purple discoloration. With one deep breath and without so much as a ‘hello,’ Evan caught Ramsey unprepared.
He wheeled the hardest right-fisted blow possible into the man’s crotch, turned around, clinked the cell door closed and rubbed his knuckles.
-----
It hardly seemed possible that Danny was entering the surgical preop area where Rachel awaited surgery. “Can I come in?” he announced himself on the other side of the drapes.
“It would be my pleasure,” came Rachel’s voice, though not as smooth and sweet as normal. Danny knew her tone was merely a result of her mouth and jaw injuries but he noted that she was turning on the charm before he even opened the curtain. Was she trying to subterfuge him?
An anesthesia nurse was just leaving as Danny walked in.
“Dr. Tilson, I am so glad you’re here. Would you please tell her to give me as much pain medicine as possible now so it’ll be working when I wake up from surgery?” Danny let the remark slide as the nurse rolled her eyes and left.
Rachel’s face looked more beat up now than it did at first so he tried not to have a dismayed expression as he pulled a chair alongside her stretcher.
“You went ahead and had me sent here,” she said angrily. “I was an emergent trauma patient and they’ve already taken twenty-four hours to get me to surgery.”
“You should have some insight, Rachel. The bones to be fixed aren’t causing a life-threatening problem right now and the slowing down of the bleeding is a good thing. And it’s worth it to wait for this particular doctor.”
“Is my daughter okay today?” she asked in a more civil tone.
“I’m sure of it. And, just so you know, you are fortunate to have this surgeon. Many times they wire patients’ mouths shut after this type of operation but he doesn’t do that. Imagine, if for the next month, you could only drink liquids through a straw?”
She gave him a piercing look, blotting blood from her mouth into a towel. “Like that little comfort is supposed to make me feel better? I can’t believe this has happened. It’s like one thing led to another.”
“It’s called a domino effect. I am skilled in it.”
Rachel waved his comment off, the IV tubing going with her. “What would you know? Anyway, for your information, I never got so much as a phone call from Evan Parks today.”
“I can’t help you there. My focus is on our daughter. You should have told me what happened.”
“Ha! I not only got paid off by Leo but he’s going to get his own form of date rape when he’s convicted and behind bars,” she smirked as if Danny wasn’t even there.
The curtain parted; attendants came in and wheeled Rachel away. Danny sat an extra moment and buried his head in his hands, concentrating. He wanted to learn how to pray spontaneously but how was he supposed to converse with a higher power?
In a world of thieves, con men, and liars, Rachel would come out on top. Perhaps, he prayed, You could give her extra attention and mold her into a better person?
-----
On the way home, Danny called to tell everyone he was bringing a treat, which qualified as a bribe. So maybe it would guarantee he’d see them all before they went to bed.
He stopped at an ice cream parlor which featured eighteen homemade flavors and asked for five pints ranging from mint chocolate chip to summer wild berry.
At home, he wasn’t sure if his family was happier to see him or the content of the containers. They spooned out samples of each flavor into bowls and gathered around the cocktail table in the great room. As Danny sat on the ottoman leaning forward, he let Dakota sample some from his fingertips.
“I’ll let you lick the bowl when I’m finished, Dakota. I’ll even leave you some, you are such a good boy.”
“I’ll vouch for the pistachio almond,” Casey said. “So, did you stay until Rachel got out of surgery?”
Danny nodded. “And I talked to the surgeon. He put three titanium plates vertically along her maxilla. Two on one side and one on the other. The orbital fractures he couldn’t do anything about and they’ll heal on their own.”
Sara sat in the leather chair behind Danny. “How exactly did he get the metal on the bone?”
“He went from inside her mouth through the upper lip. She’ll be bruised and banged up for a few weeks. However, since she’s stable as a rock, now she’s treated almost like a surgical outpatient and he anticipates discharging her tomorrow after morning rounds.”
“The whole thing sounds gross,” Nancy said, waving her plastic spoon.
Casey made a fist and playfully targeted her upper arm. “That’s why you’re not going to let something like that happen to you.”
“I don’t plan on it, especially if Mom and Dad are going to let me start dating this year.” She let the statement hang like a question and picked a spoonful of dark chocolate.
“I’m sure that will be fine,” Sara said, rubbing Danny’s shoulder.
“Casey and I have been discussing something the last few days and it would be a good time to bring it up,” Mary said. “We know Sara’s getting the house repairs completed and the two of you have considered building something new. But we have a suggestion.”
Finishing his ice cream, Danny put the empty bowl on the carpet for Dakota and held it in place as he looked up at his sister and Casey.
“Do you know it’s becoming more popular,” Mary asked, “for extended families to live together; to even add on other living arrangements like a mother-in-law residence? We know you can afford building a new house so the money’s not an issue. However, Mom and Dad only had the two of us and we’re really close.” Her eyes twinkled as she continued.
“Look, the downstairs of this house isn’t even used,” she said. “It’s huge and it wouldn’t take much to convert it into a total living area for you and Sara. The girls, too, if they don’t want a bedroom upstairs. We can get rid of the pool table down there. There’s a great big bedroom and two other rooms. One of the smaller rooms can become a b
edroom and the other one a work or computer room. There’s enough of a kitchen, but you can add to it if needed.” She looked at Casey, hoping he’d pitch in.
“A contractor could easily make a separate entrance to the downstairs,” Casey agreed. “And, practically speaking, we can all mostly use this main floor as we see fit. You two could add a flat screen TV down there. Anyway, I think you get our drift.”
Danny replied, “You two have obviously given this a lot of consideration. Any initial thoughts?” he asked Sara.
“I love you all and, if we didn’t all get along like we do, I’d say no right off the bat. If Danny and I build somewhere else, we know we won’t see each other as much. As it is, all of us are gone most of the day except for you, Mary, since you work at home.”
“Julia would continue to have an extended family, too,” Danny said. “And I may have something to add to our discussion. A patient of mine has been giving me sales pitches to buy a place on a lake. What if I bought a lakefront property as a second home for all of us? It could be a getaway from Nashville.”
“Now we’re talking,” Casey said.
“Okay, we’ll discuss it more, but let’s consider it our present working plan.” Danny raised his eyebrows and looked around at each of them. Everyone nodded, even Nancy.
“By the way, tonight it was ice cream but tomorrow we’re going to the gym,” Casey said as Danny got up.
“I’m not on call,” Danny said, “so I can’t give you any excuses.”
He headed upstairs with Sara and Dakota close behind. Stopping in Julia’s room, he wished he’d had a chance to read her a book before she’d gone to sleep but her mother had come first.
-----
Danny didn’t interrupt Garret Archer as he walked into his room and watched him scarf down a folded piece of toast which was crammed with eggs.
“I’m glad to see you have an appetite,” Danny said.
Garret looked embarrassed and swallowed with a gulp. “Yesterday was the first day I started to eye the junk they bring in here. Today …,” he stopped, looking for his words. “I’m just desperate. I’m sure you wanted me to start eating because you’re sending me home, right?”