Tallulah Bankhead Slept Here

by Sam Lollar

  No Cars for Aaron Today

  The next thing I remembered was waking up in the emergency room of a hospital. I had been out for a couple of hours from the blood loss. I was being pumped full of blood and simply couldn’t believe what had happened earlier. Bob was right there beside me.

  “Hey, sport. How’re you doing? You had us worried there for a little while. Feeling better?” He was splattered with blood.

  “Yeah, I guess so. I just feel a little weak, that’s all. What’s happened? Is Isaac okay? You need to change your shirt, by the way.”

  “Yeah, I know. You owe me a new one. That Isaac must be part cat. He has nine lives. The bullet he got in the head didn’t kill him. He’s in surgery right now. The doctors aren’t saying much about his prognosis, but I’m amazed he lived at all.”

  “Have you called Scott or Mark?”

  “I phoned Scott as soon as you were in the ambulance. He was horrified at the blood everywhere. I called Mrs. Schuster and told her not to come downstairs because there had been an accident, but I had everything under control. We turned the lights off outside the motel, darkened the lobby, and drew the drapes so no one would come in. It’s been quite a night. Scott called Mark, and he said he’s taking the next flight out of L.A. Scott’s just down the hall getting some coffee. Dollie’s with him right now. They should be here in a minute.”

  My arm was really throbbing. Bob told me I had fifteen stitches in my arm. No wonder it hurt. Fortunately, Isaac had missed both the radius and the ulna completely, the knife coming down between them. I figured someone had better call my mom and let her know what was going on. I asked Bob if he would. He left to go to a pay phone. Shortly, Scott and Mrs. Schuster came in to see me.

  “How are you, sweetheart?” Mrs. Schuster asked. “You’re looking much better after that transfusion. You were white as a sheet when they first got you in here. Does it hurt?”

  “Yes, ma’am, it does, a lot. Bob told me I got fifteen stitches.”

  “Oh, darling. He was only half right. You got fifteen stitches on each side. A total of thirty stitches.”

  Scott took hold of my hand on my good arm and rubbed the back of it gently. “Jesus, Aaron. I’m amazed at what keeps happening to you. You’ve really been through a lot since you first came to the Rancho. I can’t tell you how sorry I am all this has gone on.”

  “It’s not your fault, Scott. I only hope nothing else happens.”

  Scott and Mrs. S stayed with me while I dozed off periodically. The pain began to lessen quite a bit, so I got sleepy.

  “I got hold of your mom, Aaron,” Bob said. “She handled the news well. She seems like a strong woman. I think my mom would have passed out with such news. She asked if she should come down to help, but I told her everything that could be done was being done, so she said to let her know if you want her to come down.”

  “Thanks, Bob. That takes a worry off my shoulders. I’ll talk to her later. I didn’t expect her to fall apart. She was hurt I didn’t tell her about that car wreck right away, so I figured she’d want to know about this as soon as possible.”

  “Of course she would, dear heart,” Mrs. S said. “A mother can’t help but worry about her children. If it was Scott lying there, I would certainly want to be informed.”

  A moment passed as I closed my eyes again, and suddenly I jerked awake. “You didn’t tell her about Isaac, did you?”

  “Relax, kid,” Bob said. “I just told her you were attacked by someone off the street. I didn’t say anything about the particulars.”

  “Thanks, Bob. I just don’t think I could handle things right now if she knew the whole story.” I dozed off again.

  Around three in the morning, Scott went to pick up Mark at the airport. He had actually chartered a plane to get to El Paso as fast as possible. Bob and Mrs. S went into the waiting room to give me a chance to rest. The doctor told me he was going to admit me for observation because he was concerned about infections.

  I was settled into my private room when Bob and Mrs. S came in. They just sat while I slept. I couldn’t sleep well because the pain kept waking me. About four thirty, in walked Scott.

  “Did you get Mark?” I asked.

  “Yeah. He’s in the recovery room with Isaac. I’m really surprised because the doctors think he’ll survive. I’ll be amazed if he does.”

  Scott told me a cleanup crew was coming first thing in the morning to clean up the lobby. I was just too sleepy to care anymore, so I chased everybody out of the room and fell asleep, but again slept only fitfully throughout the night.

  When the nurse woke me for the breakfast tray, Mark was in the chair.

  “Hi, Aaron. Man, I sure hope you’re feeling better. I was worried Isaac had killed you or something.”

  “Hi, Mark. No, I’m afraid he got the worst of it. How is he, by the way?”

  “Well, his condition is still critical, but the doctors are optimistic. He shows no signs of paralysis at least. We won’t know how his cognitive skills are for a few days. I can’t begin to apologize to you about this. I didn’t know where he was. The psychiatric hospital in L.A. called, telling me he had overpowered a janitor and stolen his uniform and keys, sneaking out of the hospital. Somehow he got to my place without me knowing about it and got my car. I didn’t think he knew where you were. Tell me what happened. Scott tried to tell me, but he didn’t have a firsthand picture of things.”

  I related the incident as best I could remember. He looked alternately horrified and worried. “My God, Aaron. You must have been terrified. How long did this…”

  “Bob can probably tell you more than I can, Mark. Isaac looked like he was on some kind of drugs, his eyes were wild, his hair disheveled, his clothes rumpled. He called me from his motel room, so I guess he planned on staying for a while.”

  “Aaron, he didn’t have a motel room. He must have called from a pay phone because the police called every motel in town. None of them had him registered. Either he had no place or he registered under an assumed name. And that would be unusual because he ordinarily makes it known that he’s my brother.”

  “How are you handling it?”

  “I just don’t know. I think I’m still in shock. I’m worried about Isaac’s recovery chances, of course, and hoping you’ll be all right. I know it’s selfish, but I’m also worried about my career. I don’t know how the press is going to react to this. I’m afraid it’s down the tubes now.”

  “Oh, don’t give up. Have you talked to your studio about it?”

  “Oh, yeah. Before I left L.A. They’re doing whatever they can, but I’m sure some newspaper somewhere will leak the full details of Isaac’s obsession with you and tie me into this.”

  “But this time, you really didn’t know what was going on. You didn’t even know where Isaac was, for heaven’s sake. Surely you won’t be tarred and feathered for something your brother did.”

  “I’m not so sure. Rumors have been going around the last few months that I’m gay, and the studio’s been having a hard time keeping them just rumors. I think what will likely happen is I’ll soon be married to some starlet or other. That was one of the options the studio mentioned last night. Damn. I hate to go through that sham. But if it’s the only thing to keep my job, I’ll do it. The studio’s offered you another hundred grand to lie low and let them handle the story, Aaron. Truly, the less you have to be involved, the better for you and me. This is the shits, but you’re going to get rich off this Isaac thing. I know it can’t replace your peace of mind, but it could make things better for you in the long run. Please go along with the studio, Aaron. I think it’s in both our best interests. And Isaac’s, too, for that matter.”

  “Wow.”

  Scott got Mark a room at the motel and came by later that morning to pick him up and check on me.

  “Did the cleanup crew take care of things?” I asked.

  “Yeah, they did a great job. We lost some important papers since you had the discourtesy to bleed all over th
em,” he joked. “And the switchboard had some blood all over it. But other than that, it was mostly a matter of cleaning up the counter and floor. The broken window’s going to be replaced tomorrow.”

  “Broken window?”

  “Yeah, from the bullet. Remember, you and Bob said the first shot missed? It went through the window.”

  “I don’t remember that.”

  “You know, Bob didn’t either when I asked him about it. But the glass was all around the porte cochere and the bullet was lodged in a brick. I’m surprised Bob didn’t notice it when he shut down the motel before coming to the hospital. I guess he was more rattled than he realized.”

  “That reminds me,” Mark said. “For what it’s worth, the bullet didn’t go into Isaac’s skull. It cracked some bone, but in the end it just glanced off. That’s why he’s going to recover. The surgeons still don’t know if there’s been any permanent brain damage. They said it looked kind of messy in there.”

  I didn’t know what to say. I really didn’t want Isaac to recover, but I kept that to myself. Scott and Mark left a bit later. Mark hadn’t slept since Scott called him the night before, so I knew he was beat. I rested the rest of the day, and by the next morning was feeling much better. Since I was taking so many antibiotics intravenously, I had to stay in the hospital for a couple of more days. Everyone came by daily.

  Mrs. S notified the school’s dean about what had happened. “Your professors will help you get caught up. Don’t worry about that. We’ve talked to your mom and told her how well you were doing, so she seems relieved. All you need to do now is to get well. And I’m sure you can do that for us. Oh, my God. We’re so worried about you, Aaron.”

  “Oh, I’m all right now, Mrs. S. No need to worry. But thank you for caring.”

  “You really are the homme fatale, aren’t you? Men just flock around you like flies around honey.”

  “I know it, and I wish they would just leave me alone.”

  “Oh, don’t say that, sweetie. They’ll leave you alone soon enough, believe me. I know from personal experience.”

  “You’re probably right. By the way, Scott wouldn’t let me see the newspapers. Is there something that I shouldn’t see? An article about Isaac?”

  “Well, now that you mention it, we thought you’d rather not be bothered with it, but it’s about an assumed torrid affair between you and Mark’s brother. Yes, they got everything in, especially the homosexual titillation and the connection to Mark, the famous television star.”

  “Dear God. They’ve practically branded me as a homosexual.”

  “Mark’s studio has put out a press release that the papers here have promised to print under threat of suit that explains things a bit differently. They said Isaac was after you because you had gone after his girlfriend, and Isaac was so mentally unbalanced that he suspected Mark of taking an interest in her as well. They did a convincing job of letting everyone know that Isaac was crazy and had escaped from the nut ward, and that you and Mark were innocent of any wrongdoing. That should stop the tongues from wagging around here.”

  “Thank the gods.”

  “Now, of course, everyone wants to see Mark. Can you believe he’s being asked to make speaking engagements around town? Naturally, he has refused them all. Now you rest a bit, and I’ll be back this evening. Enjoy thinking about what you’ll do with all that money.”

  My mom’s lawyer friend let me know she intended to file suit against the motel on my behalf. Mrs. S offered me $50,000 if I would not sue, which of course I had no intentions of doing anyway. Marvin, Mrs. S’s lawyer, felt it was only fair to pay me for my troubles and for not making life difficult for the Schusters. I was really raking in the dough. Between the Imperial lady, the movie studio, and the motel, I had cleared over three hundred grand since I started at the motel. It took a long time for that to settle into my brain. I ultimately added the money from the motel and the second studio settlement to my investments. Imagine an eighteen-year-old kid with that kind of investment.

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Finally, My 1967 Lincoln

  My arm quickly began to feel better, and by the weekend I was out of the hospital. My arm was still in a sling so as not to reopen the wounds. Isaac had begun to talk with the nurses, so he hadn’t suffered any major brain damage. He was placed under arrest for assault and battery and taken back to the mental hospital in California under police custody.

  I was really shaken by the turn of events and began thinking seriously of leaving El Paso altogether. I thought I would transfer to one of the universities in the Dallas area and be near my family, all of whom had relocated there in the last few years. When I mentioned this to Scott, he became very agitated.

  “You can’t do that, Aaron. You can’t leave El Paso, not when things are going so great for you.”

  “What’s going great?” I countered. “I’m only doing so-so in school. I’m in danger of losing my track scholarship. LuLu ran off. I’ve been in a bad car accident, almost raped, and then got stabbed by that maniac Isaac. I’m tired of being in the line of fire, Scott.”

  “Before you do anything hasty, let’s go to the Office Bar and talk to Rick about all this. I’m sure he’ll be able to talk you out of moving away.”

  We went to the bar a week or so later, though earlier in the evening than we usually did. And I was glad to find out what Rick did when he wasn’t expecting me. As we walked in, I noticed him standing at the bar next to a handsome Mexican lad about my age. Rick had his hands inside the young man’s shirt, fondling his body in a most provocative manner, just like he had done with me. I watched as he nuzzled the lad’s ear and kissed him deeply. Scott was horrified and turned to me, suggesting we leave at once.

  “No, Scott. This is something I have to see. I’ve been unsure of my feelings about Rick long enough. I was unsure of his feelings for me, but not anymore.”

  Rick caught sight of us and jumped away from the young Mexican as though he had been shocked by electricity. “Aaron. Scott. What a treat. I didn’t expect you guys until later tonight. Let me look at you, Aaron. You get more handsome every day. God, I’ve missed you.”

  “How could you miss me? You weren’t even aiming for me. From the looks of it, you hit the bull’s-eye with that guy at the bar.”

  “Ah, Aaron. He’s just some kid, new in town. I was trying to make him feel at home in the bar. You know, customer relations and all that. It’s not what you think it is.”

  “Nonsense, Rick. It’s exactly what I think it is.”

  “Oh, Aaron. Don’t be like this. Let’s go back in my office and talk about it.”

  “Wait for me, Scott, this won’t take long,” I promised as Rick led me to his office. I caught the Mexican lad watching me suspiciously as Rick shut the door behind us.

  “Oh, babe, I’ve wanted to hold you so bad the past few days,” he began, reaching for me.

  “Of course you knew I had been in the hospital, didn’t you, Rick? You do see that my arm’s in a sling?”

  “What? When? What happened? Oh, Aaron. Let me hold you.”

  I stepped away from him. “Wait a minute, Rick. First, let’s talk about what just happened out there. You were kissing that lad like you kissed me. Why’s that, do you suppose?”

  “That? That was nothing. I told you, just a harmless flirtation with a new customer. That’s all.”

  “Rick, what really bothers me is that I suddenly see a pattern to your behavior. You know, if that was a more mature man who didn’t look so much like me, I wouldn’t feel so bad. But the truth is, that ‘kid,’ as you call him, is very similar in appearance to me. I realize it’s not me you’re interested in, but any tall, slim eighteen-year-old kid.”

  He looked stunned at my statements and spluttered. “No, Aaron, you’re wrong. It’s you I care about, it’s you I like.”

  “Okay, Rick, I’ll give you a little test. When did my roommate and I go to California?”

  “What? I don’t know, sometime ar
ound Thanksgiving, maybe. I think. Why’s that important?”

  “And what did we do in San Francisco?”

  “You showed him the sights. You went…um, I don’t know. You took him places.”

  “Rick, I never went anywhere with my roommate. You’re so not interested in what I do with my life, you can’t even remember a trip I took just a few months ago. I would think someone interested in me would know these little details of a very exciting and important part of my life. And would be horrified to find me with my arm in a sling, I might add. Good-bye, Rick,” I said, as I walked out of the office.

  “Wait,” Rick shouted after me.

  “Good-bye, Rick.”

  I found Scott standing by the young Mexican lad and grabbed his sleeve. “Come on, Scott. Let’s go.”

  “Aaron. Did you get everything straightened out with Rick?”

  “Oh, yeah. Let’s go back to the Rancho.”

  We returned to the motel, and I excused myself and went to my room. I sat for a few minutes thinking of what had just happened. So much for your exciting gay life, Aaron, I thought. Now there was no reason to stay in El Paso. I had halfway hoped Rick would be able to talk me out of leaving, but that wasn’t going to happen. Even if he tried, his efforts would be futile. While I sat there, the phone rang. It was Rick.

  “Aaron, baby, please don’t be angry with me. We can work this out. Let’s get together tonight. I’ll make you feel so good you’ll forget all about Hector.”

  “Hector? Is that the name of your new squeeze?”

  “Yes. I mean, no. He’s not my new squeeze, you are. Or you’re my main squeeze, you know that.”

  “‘Main squeeze’? Does that mean you have secondary squeezes, Rick?”

  “No. You’re twisting everything I say, Aaron. Don’t be jealous.”

  “Rick, I’m not jealous, much to my surprise. I’m just a little older and wiser than I was when I first met you. I don’t want to be your trick du jour, your paramour of the month. I see you for what you are, Rick, finally.”

  “And what do you see, Aaron? A man who’s terribly fond of you, who wants you in his life?”