A Yonkers Kinda Girl

by Rose O'Callaghan

  Tito and Frank seemed surprised.

  Tony said, “Mrs. O’Dwyer is nuts. You can’t pay attention to what she says. Lilly is going to be OK.”

  “Has she opened her eyes?” Tito asked.

  “Yes. She even put her hand on my face. It’s hard to see her eyes, because she has two shiners and the bandage on her nose is so big. She has a small nose. I don’t know what’s keeping that bandage on.”

  “Mrs. O’Dwyer said her arm is smashed,” Frank said.

  “It is badly broken. It’s tied up to an IV pole that’s about eight feet tall, and she has a pin in her shoulder. But she is OK.”

  Tito said, “Why don’t you go home and sleep a while. I’ll wait here and call you if anything happens.”

  “Thanks, Pops, but she needs me. I’ll sleep tomorrow. Did you tell the boss?”

  “Yeah. He understands, and Hillary and Jay came by looking for Lilly. I guess the O’Dwyers aren’t telling anyone anything. Hillary and Jay decided you had eloped,” Frank said.

  “Not quite,” Tony laughed.

  “Your mother sent a couple of meatball sandwiches and apples and bananas and soda. There are your books and pens,” Tito said.

  Tony said, “I haven’t eaten since Lil brought me dinner at the station last night.”

  They sat with him while he ate.

  “Pops, did you speak to Nick?”

  “Yes, he came up. He said they found the cross I gave her.”

  “Did he say anything else? Do they have any suspects?”

  “He wouldn’t say,” Tito answered.

  Frank added, “Her brothers are going all over Yonkers to bars and things and listening for something.”

  As if on cue, Detective Leonard passed the doorway to the waiting room.

  Tony whispered, “That’s Leonard, the other detective.”

  Tony walked closer to the waiting room doorway and motioned for the others to be silent.

  Leonard met a pudgy woman coming out of ICU. “Are you the evening supervisor?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m Detective Leonard, working on the O’Dwyer case. Have the blood and tissue samples they got from under her nails come back.”

  “You’ll have to check the lab.”

  “They referred me to you.”

  “Wait here. I’ll call.”

  Leonard waited.

  The supervisor reappeared. “The tissues samples have been frozen. They’ll need other samples to compare it to. They think the tissue was from a man’s face because of the size of the follicle openings, his beard. Also to have so much tissue she must have left large gashes on his face. The blood type is probably A. It is difficult to determine because of the scant amount. Miss O’Dwyer is type O. The bruising on her knuckles is offensive bruising. She has a broken toe where she kicked him. She fought for her life. The semen and pubic brushings are at the state police lab. That’s hospital policy.”

  “When can I talk to her?” Leonard asked.

  “She is still semi-comatose. She only responds to her boyfriend. When she is fully awake, we’ll have a psychiatrist visit her. Then you can. That’s the procedure for a psychologically endangered juvenile.”

  “When will that be?” Leonard sounded frustrated.

  “She is doing remarkably well for her type of injuries. Her nurse seems to think she’s quite spunky.”

  “Have they gotten specimens from her back? The blood on the whip came back before we even found her.”

  “They haven’t gotten specimens from her back. That’s almost impossible since she can’t be turned side to side because of her crushed shoulder. The nurses will get a sample when they can, but they will not put her total recovery in danger for evidence.”

  “All right. I’ll be back tomorrow.” Leonard walked by the waiting room door.

  Tony sat down. “Whipped? I didn’t know about that.”

  Tito said, “They said they had samples before they found her. I don’t understand.”

  “It must have been that place on Warburton. I never thought to ask what they found there. All I could think was her falling three stories.”

  Tito told Tony about the sanitation worker who had found her.

  “He called me, back at the incinerator. He said ‘you won’t believe this, you won’t believe this.’ Then he said, ‘I forgot to call the cops.’ He’s a new guy, about nineteen. The driver sat in the truck. He didn’t want to know.”

  He looked at Tony, sitting with his head down. “Son? Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, Pops, sure.” Tony never lifted his eyes.

  Terry came to the waiting room. “Tony, she’s slipped a little. She’s in a pretty deep coma now. Remember what I said. It’s like waves. She came so close before; now, her brain needs to check out awhile. Don’t get discouraged.”

  Tony nodded. He said goodnight to his father and brother and went to see Lilly.

  The shift change destroyed Tony’s belief that all nurses were kind-hearted. The eleven-to-seven nurse didn’t treat Lilly cruelly, but she didn’t treat her like a person either. She let Tony stay and help. There was a lack of gentleness.

  She came in at two a. m. “There’s a phone call at the desk for you.”

  Hillary was calling to ask how Lilly was and how Tony was doing. He asked her to bring a picture of Lilly to the hospital.

  “A small one I can tape to the headboard. I don’t think this nurse thinks she is a person. They shouldn’t handle my Lilly that way.”

  Hillary said sure. She went up to Jay and hugged him. The band members had finished playing and were doing their ritualistic procrastination about going home.

  Jay said, “You called? How is she?”

  “He sounds awful. He said they are being rough with her. She’s so bad off, and he doesn’t trust them enough to leave her. We have to bring a photo of her.”

  The Sullivans arrived at the hospital and found the ICU. They went in uneasily and asked the woman at the desk where they could find Tony. She pointed to Lilly’s room. Jay and Hillary had not expected to see Lilly, and neither wanted to go inside. Tony dozed in the chair beside the bed. Hillary took a deep breath, went into the room, and walked to the head of the bed, where she taped Lilly’s smiling image. Jay followed her in.

  Lilly opened her eyes.

  “Hi, Lil. It’s me, Hillary.”

  Lilly reached up and touched Hillary, and Hillary burst out crying. “You’re really in there. Lil, you’re so tough.” Hillary took her hand and kissed it.

  Tony woke up. “Hi, Hillary, Jay. That’s a nice picture. Have you been here long? Lilly… when did you wake up again?” She put her hand on his and closed her eyes.

  “How long was she awake?’

  “Only about a minute.”

  “Still, it’s getting longer.”

  Hillary said, “She’s so hurt!”

  Tony motioned her to silence. They walked out to the corridor.

  “She hears almost everything.”

  “How long are you going to stay?” Jay asked.

  “I have to be here to talk with a doctor about complications. I don’t trust this nurse. The three-to-eleven nurse was great, but the alarm on her cardiac monitor went off at midnight and this one never came in to check. I’ll see how she’s doing after I see her doctor. If only one of the O’Dwyers would come for a few hours. I don’t know how long I can stay awake.”

  Hillary said, “I could stay with her. You could go home. I’ll call you at seven to get you up. I’ll stay right with her and talk to her. She’s my friend.”

  Tony thought aloud. “It’s three-thirty now. By the time I go home and come back it won’t be worth it. I’ll sleep in the waiting room. Wake me at seven fifty five.”

  They walked back to Lilly. The nurse was taking her blood pressure. She had a pen and paper on a clipboard to record it. Lilly took the pen and guided the clipboard down. She wrote across the vital sign sheet: I OK go sleep love you and pushed it to Tony. Tony took it and nodded.<
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  He addressed the nurse. “This is Hillary, Lilly’s sister. She’ll stay with her while I sleep in the waiting room.” He kissed Lilly’s hand.

  “Call me when you’re ready,” Jay said to Hillary and kissed her.

  Tony pushed a sofa next to a table and lay down with his legs on the table. He slept soundly.

  ********

  Lilly was transferred out of ICU on her sixth hospital day and the day before Thanksgiving. She went to a private room on the pediatric floor with a large window overlooking the Hudson.

  The day was as disappointing as it was exciting. She took her first walk. She felt like a president with her entourage. One nurse’s aide held her chest tube bottle and right arm. Another guided her “arm on a stick” with her own arm wrapped gently around Lilly’s waist. A third followed up in the rear with her IV and a wheelchair in case she became too tired. She also graduated from bedpans and commodes to actually using a bathroom.

  She was glowing with newfound dignity when she had her first shock. Leaving the bathroom, she caught site of herself in the mirror. She had never realized how important or ingrained her pretty self-image was until that moment. She stood for a full minute wondering how Tony could keep coming back. Her intellectual mind had told her the face would have the same black and blue bruises as the rest of the body, but it was a shock to see the reality in the mirror.

  Frank came to visit carrying a stuffed gorilla. “He looked a lot like Tony. I thought you could cuddle with him.”

  Frank was full of stories about school, especially the art class they shared. His chatter about everyday activities made her feel un-freakish. She could have kissed him. Frank left for work and met Hillary coming in the door.

  Hillary brought a fresh batch of photographs of the band, Lilly and Tony, and East Hampton. She also provided girl talk. Lilly looked at the photos of Hillary’s parents and Jay in East Hampton and reflected on how much more content Hillary was since their return.

  Hillary’s fear of a rift with her parents over Jay had never materialized. The morning after her parents had arrived, they had called Jay and Hillary into the living room. Mr. Carruthers started, logically, at the beginning.

  “When Hillary was born, we always wanted the best for our daughter. We were fortunate enough to be able to provide the best clothing, schools, toys, trips, and the best of everything. Look around. This is what Hillary has always had and expected.

  “She, sneakily, informed us of you and your marriage plans and schemed to hold off our meeting until the wedding. We understand why. She counted on our social pride not to cancel the wedding at the last minute. Hillary was obviously correct. We spent many long hours worrying and decided she must love you very much to risk everything. We wondered if that love was reciprocated. The happiness in Hillary’s face is apparent, even to us, her skeptical parents.

  “We would like you to be able to provide for her as we have been able to do. We did some checking and know any man with a seventh grade education who is able to extend beyond his backyard has some inner resources. We would like to help you cultivate these resources. As it is, you are not ready for college due to the gaps in your educational background. We contacted an education department and mapped out a study plan. If you took one English course, one history course, and then a math course at a community college, you could begin college next autumn. You could start the courses in January and use the intervening four months to be tutored. Your tutelage would continue until at least next September.

  “I would not only be pleased to supply your tuition, books, etc., I would be immensely relieved to do so.”

  Mr. Carruthers finished, hoping to perceive a positive reaction from Jay.

  Jay stood, “I’ll have to think about it.” He walked out of the room.

  Hillary resisted the urge to follow after him, also the urge to hug her father. The first would have put pressure on Jay. The latter would have seemed if she was taking sides against him if Jay decided against the plan. Hillary heard Jay leave the house. She hesitated and then decided to stick to her first instincts and back off.

  Her mother came to her. “Being a wife can be difficult.”

  Hillary smiled wistfully and nodded agreement. She went to the basement and developed photographs. She got lost in her work and didn’t come up for a couple of hours.

  Hillary went through the kitchen and found Jay alone in the dining room. He was reading the label on the underside of a piece of china.

  “I didn’t know what he was planning,” Hillary told Jay. “No matter what you decide, I’ll be your wife.”

  Jay put his arm around her. “I know that Hillary. But how would you feel if one of our children had a serious problem and we couldn’t afford to fix it. This is new to me. I’ve always paid my own way. I’ve never taken anything from anyone. I’ve been pushing music for years and not getting anywhere. I’m going up the beach a ways and sleep under the stars. I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”

  He kissed her on the tip of her nose and then they kissed. Hillary watched her husband go. She felt as though she would hold her breath until the next morning.

  She woke at eight-thirty with her husband seducing her. She wanted to ask his decision but was wise enough to respond first and question later.

  Jay took the offer with a wrinkle for his pride. He’d go to college but not live in their Bronxville home. He’d keep playing in the band.

  “I’ll support Hillary in a nice little rat trap, and you can pay for school.”

  Hillary surprised them by adding, “I could get a job at a camera store or for a photographer. Maybe, I’ll take a couple of college courses.”

  Jay and Hillary had returned from the Hamptons with a respectful understanding with her parents. Hillary had then found a job in a camera store.

  She showed Lilly the last photos from the summer. Lilly caught her breath when she saw Colleen and Mike in one. She was feeling shunned by her family.

  Patrick and Daniel went to school and work and had managed to avoid the hospital altogether. Her mother had had to force herself to visit. She had only made it for a short time on Monday. Ann and Colleen had been expected to arrive home for Thanksgiving on Tuesday. Lilly had waited for them all Tuesday, then Wednesday. She listened for them, imagining every set of footsteps to be either Ann’s or Colleen’s.

  Hillary was planning to cook her first holiday meal and left early to get started.

  Dr. Caper came in and undid the chest dressing. He said, “I think you can get rid of this tube now.”

  Lilly had dreaded the removal of the chest tube. She had imagined racking pain, but she actually experienced nothing much. He told her she’d have to go to X-ray to make sure her lung remained expanded. She borrowed a pen and paper and left a note on her bed to her sisters, asking them to wait.

  Tony was waiting when she returned from X-ray. He had a present. She fumbled one-handed, but he had to open it. It was a harmonica.

  “I was leaving my last class this morning, and I went through the student center. The music department was having a sale.”

  His thoughtfulness touched her. She wanted to kiss him, really kiss him, but she thought he’d cringe from the creature from the black lagoon. A nurse came to help her into bed and then left. She immediately kicked off the covers and saw a fleeting grimace on Tony’s face. She thought her heart would stop.

  He had to get back to work. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Angel. Can I bring you anything?”

  “Just yourself.”

  Their exchange sounded tinny to him. He tried to shake off the awful feeling that seared through him as he was walking out to the elevator. He’s seen the bruises on her inner thighs, starting at the knee and extending up beyond where her Johnny coat ended. Those bruises ripped at him. They made the rape portion of the attack real. It was something he couldn’t talk about to anyone, yet could not resolve himself. He didn’t blame her or feel she was repulsive, but there was an emotion he had to identify and then vent.

/>   As the elevator door opened, he realized the hurt he had seen in her face. He turned around and walked back to her room. He heard her sobbing before he went inside. He leaned against the door a minute and then went in and took her in his arms. He didn’t know the words to say, so he held her. He rubbed her head gently. He was afraid any touch would damage her more. She finished crying and mopped her eyes and nose. He kissed her gently on the mouth. She touched her tongue to his lips. He moaned and really kissed her.

  He breathed into her ear, “Lillibelle, I really have to get back to work, but we’re going to be all right now.”

  It wasn’t until he was driving to work that he realized “that feeling” was exorcized. He felt free.

  Mike McGrath was waiting at the station. The boss’s nephew, who was on the pumps, said, “You sure take a long dinner, huh?”

  Tony loved ignoring him or calling him by the wrong name. This time Tony chose to ignore him. He started working on a car. Mike handed him a wrench.

  “McGrath! Hey man. When did you blow into town?”

  “Last night. You’re a tough guy to get ahold of. What’s going on?”

  “Not much. How’s school?”

  “Great. I’m in a dorm. It’s OK though. How’s Lil?” Mike asked innocently.

  “Getting better. They took out the chest tube today. She is going to be OK.”

  Tony looked up and saw the confused look on Mike’s face. “Didn’t you see Frank or anyone?”

  “I called, but there was no answer. I went to the park with Colleen. We talked about school, but she never said anything about Lil.”

  Tony told Mike all.

  Mike sat on the parts counter saying, “That’s unbelievable, but you seem OK.”

  “Lilly and I are survivors. If this had happened a year ago, I don’t know what it would have done to us, but we’ll get through it. Things are getting better. She’s recovering. Her memory is messed up though. Last night my uncle Nick, the detective, and another detective went to speak to her. She didn’t recognize Nick. He said his full name. She said hello. Nick told her he was my uncle, and I guess she was shocked. She said, ‘Have I met you before?’ She didn’t remember him at all.”