“I don’t know,” said Augie with a hesitating tone. “I would have to look up the word electronify, because I’m not sure that’s a word.”
“I like that word, so I am gonna use it,” Colleen said with a wink.
“I would wink back, but I am a little sore.”
“So whaddya say, Augmeister? How about working with us?”
“I am gonna have to respectfully decline, Colleen. I really appreciate the offer, though.”
“Aww come on,” said Colleen dejectedly. “We really need the help.”
“You said Joan runs a tight ship? I doubt she would want me messing around with her system.”
“Augie, you should see the look of despair on her face at the mere mention of migrating everything to Peachtree. Seriously.”
“Then why migrate it if it works so well? Everybody gets stressed come tax time anyway, right?”
“True, but she is the one that came up with the idea. Personally, I could give a rat’s ass either way, as long as the bills are paid on time and the books are kosher, but she insists everything would eventually be easier.”
“Well, she is right about that. Peachtree is pretty easy once you learn the guts of the software. But my problem is that I have a thick head.”
“How is that a problem?”
“I won’t be able… I don’t—” Augie sighed as she searched for the right words.
“Oh, I get it,” said Colleen. “It’s a pride thing, isn’t it? You think that I am making this up so you don’t think I am offering charity, is that it?”
“I didn’t say that, exactly,” said Augie.
“There’s a lot you didn’t say, but I think that’s on your mind in one form or another.”
“You got me there, Colleen. In the back of my head, I can’t help but think you feel sorry for me. That puts us on different playing fields, and I don’t like that.”
“Two things,” said Colleen. “First of all, I do feel sorrow when I see your busted up face, but don’t mistake it for feeling sorry for you. I feel sorrow because I don’t think any woman should ever have to endure a beating, even if she has it coming.”
“See? I—”
“Now let me finish,” Colleen interrupted. “I feel sorrow because it tells me there are men who feel that beating a woman is acceptable in some twisted way or another. It doesn’t mean I feel sorry for you exactly. Secondly, when it comes to pride and charity and all of that, you can just forget about that line of thinking. Carlos and Joan both would tell you that anyone who works with us on the Triple C works hard, and gets paid very well. The ones that don’t pull their weight get weeded out by the ones that work their asses off. I don’t believe in picking up the slack for a lazy ass, and neither do the hands that work with us. And before you can say no again, notice I said work with us instead of for us.”
“I’ll bet the people that work with you love you, don’t they?” Augie asked endearingly.
“Well, I would say that they respect me first and foremost, because I never send anyone to do a job I wouldn’t do myself if it came down to it, and they know it. Mom doesn’t understand it when I grab a shovel and clean a few stalls. She understands the work, but has never done it. Chase’s father had a different way of doing things, and Mom’s job was to raise Chase and keep a good house.”
“I wouldn’t know how to do that, either,” said Augie.
“Ah, but you would learn, right? You would draw on your experience and know what not to do in most situations. It’s all about adaptability, and I know that to be one of your strengths. If you didn’t know how to adapt, I suspect you would be in even worse shape than you are now.”
“How can I argue with that?”
“You can’t,” said Colleen. “I can think of a million reasons for you to come live and work with us, but I can’t think of a single reason not to.”
“Well, let me give it some thought, okay Colleen? I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop and give me a reason not to take you up on your offer. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: just when I think there’s light at the end of the tunnel, it turns out to be a runaway freight train headed straight for me.”
“Times change, Augie. Things change. Mull it over, and you’ll see that fate brought us together. I need you and whether you need me or not, only you can decide. I need your brain, your sense of humor, and I need your friendship. A girl gets lonely working with a bunch of men and a mother hen that worries about everything.”
“I don’t think I would get lonely surrounded by a bunch of hot cowboys,” Augie said. “Shit. I still can’t wink.”
Colleen chuckled and smiled. “So you’ll think about it?”
“I will think about it. I just need to sort out a few things in my head.”
†
Jim puffed his smoke and ashes floated to his chest. The TV weather girl droned on and continued to mispronounce the word “temperature” as she warned of the coming heat wave. Jim’s hand throbbed, and his earlier exploits with Min only made it worse.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Jim snuffed his cigarette in the ashtray and waited. Another knock.
“What the hell?” he whispered.
“Hello? Are you in there?” Min’s voice called through the door.
Jim felt uneasy. Something wasn’t right. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.
“Hey!” Min yelled and knocked again.
Jim’s heart rate increased. He stood up, approached the door, and peered though the peep hole. Min looked disheveled. Even moreso than when she left.
“Are you in there?”
Jim yelled, “Hang on a minute!”
Min looked to her left and mouthed a few words.
“Not good,” Jim said aloud.
“What?” said Min. “Did you say something?”
Jim glanced around the room for anything that would help even the odds.
“I said hang on a minute!”
“Okay,” Min said nervously.
“There’s gotta be more than one,” Jim whispered. “Always is.”
Jim rattled the door handle. A large Hispanic man with a metal baseball bat shoved Min aside and stood close to the door. His hands were grimy and matched the grease stains on his jeans. The man rattled the doorknob in response. A skinny Asian kid of about twenty moved in behind his bulky friend. He glanced around nervously with his hands buried deep in his pockets. He seemed out of place, and Jim thought he looked scared out of his mind.
“You’ll get yours, too, baby face,” Jim whispered. He took a step backward and looked down at his bare feet. “This will have to do.”
Suddenly there was a tinny THUMP on the thin wooden door.
“Come out, Amigo!” shouted the Mexican.
Jim waited. It was only a matter of time. The Mexican took a run at the door. KA-RACK! The door flew apart in splinters as the Mexican stumbled clumsily onto the floor. Jim raised his right knee and drove his heel into the Mexican’s shoulder blade. The bat flew end-for-end and bounced through the open bathroom door. The Mexican went limp.
Min screamed, which made baby face jump nearly out of his flip flops. He struggled to free his hands, but Jim didn’t give him the chance. He planted a foot in the Mexican’s spine, took a leaping half-step through the door, and drove his fist downward into the wide-eyed Asian’s bony chest. His sternum gave way with a crack, and when the back of his head hit the hot pavement, so did his skull.
Jim stood in a low martial arts stance with bent knees. The Mexican moaned something in Spanish. Jim turned and surveyed the mess. A few hotel patrons stood in their doorways, puffed their smokes, sipped their beers, and belched throaty greetings at each other. Min was nowhere in sight.
†
Augie and Colleen floated in and out of thoughtful consciousness. Augie wrestled with Colleen’s offer. She thought about what her future would be like on the Triple C. On one hand, she could work at something she was good at and earn her keep.
On the other, she had a hard time trusting people. Colleen seemed trustworthy, but then again, so did her boyfriend before he beat her senseless. And what about her boyfriend? Forget the boyfriend. What about her husband? The wrestling match that went on in her head made her head hurt worse.
Colleen felt angry. Angry at the pain in her leg and collarbone. Angry at Augie’s boyfriend. In a way, she was also angry with Augie herself. How could she get herself into such a mess? She is married to a man who obviously doesn’t know about her indiscretions, much less the beatings she takes. Colleen had to help. She knew she had to do something, but would helping her only lead to more trouble? She didn’t care. She would deal with whatever trouble presented itself, including this asshole Augie was with. There was no short supply of ranch hands that could take care of business, and certainly the sheriff was no stranger to the Triple C.
Augie tried to picture the Triple C that Colleen described. It sounded big enough, to be sure. And horses? Who doesn’t love horses? Maybe Colleen could teach her to ride once she recovered. Cowboys. Lots of ’em. She tried to focus on the positive. But still… six bucks to her name. That meant that she would have to accept charity. There’s that. She thought that charity was for the weak. But wasn’t she weak? Yes, but this would be charity she could repay, so she thought she could more than make up for an act of kindness by Colleen.
“Colleen, you awake?”
“For the most part,” said Colleen.
“I’m scared.”
“I know you are, Augie. Don’t be scared.”
“I can’t help it.”
“What scares you the most?” asked Colleen.
“Well, there are lots of things, but I would have to say that I am one of those people who has a fear of actually getting to a place where I’m comfortable in my own skin. I can almost see it. I swear I can. But there is so much shit in the way.”
“I can understand that. Can I be honest with you for a minute?”
“Sure you can,” said Augie.
“No, I mean brutally honest. What I have to say might sting a little.”
“Shit. I’m sure what you have to say won’t be different than—”
“Okay, I get it,” Colleen interrupted with a bit of force in her tone. “Here’s what I see when I look at you. I don’t mean I’m looking at your broken face or even the imprint of a smiley face on your ass from camping out on the shitter.”
Augie smiled despite what she knew was coming. Colleen warned her.
“I see a woman who’s her own worst enemy in a lot of ways. For one, I see that you need men. I’m not saying that’s completely unacceptable, mind you. You need men because you equate them to love. I understand it. I know what it’s like to be alone in a sea of men. You’re gorgeous, so you have your pick of the litter, but you sell yourself short. You pick assholes. Or I should say they pick you. You see who they are on the surface, but you don’t much think about what’s behind it all. Am I right so far?”
Augie nodded.
“You all but invite trouble. And before you say anything, I want you to know that I am not judging you in the least. Again, I understand it. If I thought you were beyond help, I wouldn’t have anything to do with you. Do you understand?”
“Yes. Continue. Let me have it.”
“I think that this hospital has the right idea for your mental recovery, but the wrong person in charge of it. That fat bitch of a social worker is just a piece of shit. I know from experience. I have been on the couch of many therapists, and I can tell you one thing: most are full of shit. But… there are some good ones out there that know their stuff.”
“I find that hard to believe,” said Augie.
“It’s true. I say that because you need help. I can help you, but the help I offer is not out of pity or anything like that. I can only open the door for you, and I do so because I think that you are unique in more ways than you realize. At the same time, you are no different than anybody else. Everybody has problems, my friend. But not everybody can solve them without the right kind of help. When we are at our worst, we feel as if we are the only ones in the world with problems. But it’s simply not true. It’s a big world out there, and if we’re going to thrive or even survive in it, we’ve got to put something into it. We have to swallow hard sometimes, and when you’re swallowing something as big as pride, it feels like razor blades all the way down.”
“You’re right, of course.”
“Knock knock,” Leah said from the open doorway. “Am I interrupting?”
“Not at all,” said Colleen. “You’re just in time.”
“Actually, I am a little behind. I got held up in a… meeting. I just stopped by to check on things…”
Suddenly the medication pump beeped.
“Wow. She’s good.” said Colleen.
“She’s better than good,” interjected Augie.
“Awww,” said Leah. “Some days are better than others, of course. Today has been an interesting day to say the least.”
“It’s because you have us as patients,” said Augie.
Leah smiled as she silenced Colleen’s pump.
“See? Look at the way she’s smiling!” Augie added.
“You are more right than you know, young lady.”
“Why? Did something happen? Did that beefy nurse guy ask about me?
“You have a one-track mind,” said Colleen.
Leah played along with the banter. “Actually, he asked if I could get your number, which is a violation of hospital policy, but I told him I would ask you anyway.”
“Are you serious?” Augie blurted.
Leah paused a second, winked at Colleen, and let Augie sweat it out.
“No shit,” Colleen said, adding to Leah’s rouse.
“I knew it! Quick! I need a pen and something to write on!”
Leah searched her scrub pockets and produced a notepad and a pen. “Here we go. I’ll write it down for you.”
“Okay. It’s 555-7355.”
Leah wrote on the pad and repeated the number incorrectly on purpose.
“No, it is seven three five five. Here. I can do it.”
Leah tore out the sheet of paper and handed it to her, along with the pen. Augie studied the piece of paper, dropped her hands to her lap, and shouted, “You suck!”
“Augie!” shouted Colleen. “That’s not very nice!”
“Oh yeah? Look what she wrote!” Augie held up the piece of paper.
“I can’t see it. What does it say?”
“It says, ‘Dear Miss Riley, Just kidding. Love, Leah.’”
Colleen covered her mouth and laughed so hard that tears ran down her face. “Oh my God, that’s hilarious!”
Augie leaned back against her pillow, crossed her arms, and stuck out her bottom lip.
“Don’t pout,” said Leah. “I couldn’t resist,” she said with a chuckle.
“Just for that, you’re not getting your pen back.”
Colleen wiped her tears and said, “Holy shit, that’s funny.”
Leah winked at her again. “I’ll tell you what,” she said to Augie. “If I let you in on a secret, will you give me my pen back?”
“Depends on how good it is, and whether you’re telling the truth, you fibber!”
“Well… remember I said a minute ago I got held up in a meeting?”
Augie nodded and continued her exaggerated pouting.
“Well… evidently… uh… someone won’t soon be coming back to this hospital… ever. I won’t mention any names or anything, but I think you can guess who it is.” Leah exaggerated a wink.
“Colleen told me that the social worker wouldn’t be coming around while she was still here. Is that what you mean?”
“Yes and no,” Leah said as she finished double-checking her pump. “This same someone is no longer allowed on the property. Ever.”
Augie and Colleen both gasped and put their hands to their mouths.
“Are you shittin’ me?” Colleen asked.
“Nope.”
Augie lowered her hand, but her mouth remained open. “Colleen, don’t you think you took things a little far? I mean I hate that bitch, but–”
“This is a little different,” Leah interrupted. “This certain someone made the mistake of making what they call ‘terrorist threats’ directed at this hospital and everyone in it.”
“Holy shit!” Colleen interjected.
“Oh that’s not all.”
Augie shook her head and asked, “There’s more?”
“When you choose to make ‘terrorist threats’ within earshot of two Ventura County sheriff’s deputies, that pretty much earns you a free body cavity search in a cold jail cell. But you didn’t hear that from me, of course.”
“Of course,” Colleen and Augie said in unison.
Leah checked her pockets. “Um… does that mean I still can’t have my pen back?”
“Oh… by all means!” Augie blurted and offered her pen high in the air.
“Thank you, young lady. Is there anything else I can get you two? I still have some paperwork to do, but my shift ended ten minutes ago.”
“Nothing for me, thank you,” said Colleen.
“Nothing for me, thank you,” Augie mocked in her girly voice.
Leah chuckled. “Liz will be your nurse for tonight, and she will be in as soon as I give her report.”
“Oh, Colleen, you’ll like Liz. She’s a hoot!”
“A hoot, huh? Anything’s better than that fuckin’ night nurse we never see.”
“No, Liz is nothing like Robin,” Leah said with another wink. “She’s sort of a female version of Doctor Nguyen, only taller.”
“That’s exactly what she’s like!” said Augie.
“Good night, ladies. I will see you shortly after seven in the morning.”
“Night night,” said Colleen.
“Have a good evening,” said Augie.
Leah left the room and closed the door behind her. She knew the occupants of room 258 had much to discuss.
†
“Hey. I need a ride.”
“A ride? To where?”
“Anywhere but here, man.”
Jim’s brother sighed heavily into the phone and said, “Like where? What did you do now?”
Remembering August (Triple C Ranch Saga) Page 31