Cleats in Clay

by Jackson Cordd

  Chapter 20

  TWENTY minutes later, when Odis and Bobby followed Gertie away from the elevator, they found John pacing the hall in front of the ICU. He plastered on a smile and rushed over to the gang, pointing toward the lounge couches against the wall. The worn maroon cushions looked much more inviting than the hard plastic chairs in the ER.

  Gertie hugged him briefly before sitting down. “Any details?”

  John nodded. “His right hand,” John started but threw a puzzled look over at Odis when he saw relief wash over the small man’s face.

  “Tuck’s left-handed,” Odis announced, looking over at Bobby. “Ya didn’t notice?”

  Bobby thought back and recalled Tuck pantomiming the drawing of his gun, remembering how Tuck had reached around himself with his left hand to the location of the imaginary holster on his right hip.

  “Oh.” John relaxed. “That kinda makes a bit of difference, then.” He continued as the other faces watched him expectantly. “They cleaned up the crushed bones, put in a few pins and rods to stabilize things so the bones can heal. But the big concern is the long period of time with reduced blood flow. After four hours, the tissues may not—may be too far gone to recover.”

  “How much of his hand?” Bobby asked. “Are we talking one or two fingers, or—?”

  John took a deep breath. “From what I gather, the freezer mostly rolled on top of him, but the door handle landed longways across the top of his palm.”

  Odis winced. “All his fingers?” he asked aloud.

  “He’ll hafta have at least one more surgery to yank out the rods, if nothing else. They got him here in ICU to keep a close eye on the fingers. Any signs of necrosis and they’ll have to amputate. They told me they haven’t put on a more permanent cast yet but prob’ly will in a few days.”

  Bobby glanced around, noticing they were the only ones in the waiting area. “Where’s his family?”

  Gertie patted him on the arm. “It’s just Hawk, Gina, and their little ones. And us, I guess. His mother passed on years ago,” she added.

  They sat in silence a few moments before Klyve, the weary nurse, stretched his back and wandered over to the couch. “Y’all here for Mr. Krickson?” he asked.

  All heads nodded.

  “He’s wakin’ up now. We can let somebody back, but only one at a time.” He looked around for a volunteer.

  They glanced from one to the other. Odis spoke up. “You go first, Gertie. Let him know we’re here.”

  “All right,” she said while standing. “Guess I’m first.”

  “No cell phones,” the nurse told her.

  Gertie handed her purse to John, then straightened her shoulders to steel herself before following Klyve into the ICU.

  TUCK could hardly open his eyes when he heard someone come in. He managed to focus on a nurse, then saw Gertie standing behind him.

  “Hey, Tuck.” Gertie stepped forward. “They said you were awake now.”

  Tuck tried to speak, but his throat seemed to be stuffed with dry sponges. Klyve rushed over, picked up a plastic cup, and stuck the straw into his mouth. He sipped at the water, the liquid so cold it chilled his teeth with zings of awareness. He cleared his throat and tried his voice again. “Hey, Gertie.”

  “Odis and Bobby are here,” she said as she stepped a little closer, trying not to look at the huge wad of mummy wrappings covering Tuck’s right hand. “They’re only lettin’ us in one at a time, though. I think the boys are havin’ a wrestlin’ match in the hall to see who’s next.”

  “They holdin’ up okay?” Tuck managed to choke out.

  Klyve put the water cup into Tuck’s left hand. “I’ll check back in a minute,” Klyve said before leaving the cubicle.

  Gertie nodded as Tuck got another drink. “It was scary for a minute. But mostly okay now.”

  “I overheard talk of a grass fire as they threw me into the ambulance. Nobody’s sayin’ more….”

  Gertie nodded again, watching Tuck closely. “It burned south.”

  “How far south?”

  “Almost eight miles, last I heard.”

  Tuck knew the local geography intimately enough to realize those details put the fire right through the Vorleik property—Odis’s house. “But they made it out,” he said before another sip.

  “Fine and dandy. That damn dog too,” she added with a chuckle.

  “Good.” Tuck paused a minute. “Who else is here? I mean, hurt?”

  He saw Gertie hesitate. “You got the worst of it, I think. Josh and Hampton just had bumps and bruises. Hawk is still under observation. He took a bad bang to the kidney.”

  “Shit,” Tuck hissed. He was kinda surprised Hawk hadn’t stormed his way in by now. His baby brother could be a downright obsessive nuisance at times. “You have him chained down somewhere?”

  Gertie chuckled. “Just passed out downstairs. I don’t think they told Hawk yer here yet.” She smiled at him. “Glad to see ya awake again. I better get out afore the boys start clawin’ the walls. Who should I send back next?”

  “I can’t have two?” Tuck asked. He didn’t want to decide. He wanted to see both men.

  Gertie gave him a look. “Nurse was pretty insistent it only be one at a time. And we’re gonna hafta have a talk about this… unusual situation one of these days soon.”

  Tuck’s mouth dropped open. “They told you?”

  “You know Odis can’t keep nothin’ from me.”

  “Oh. Right.” Tuck stopped to think. He could really use the warm glow of Bobby’s smile right now, but Odis was probably growing ulcers as they spoke. “Better send worrywart in first, I guess.”

  Gertie nodded and left the cubicle. A short walk later, she exited the ICU area and approached the couches while glancing down at her watch. “Your turn, Odis,” she told the waiting men. “He’s in room two.”

  Nodding, Odis pushed to his feet and walked in. He took a deep breath before entering Tuck’s room, just to prepare himself for the horrible battering he expected to see. Yet other than the large bundles of gauze on Tuck’s right hand, Odis couldn’t tell he had even been hurt. No marks, bruises, or gashes marred his face or visible arms. “Hey, Tuck,” he said with a smile as he hurried to the bedside. Before even thinking about it, Odis planted a big kiss right on his lips, leaving Tuck breathless.

  Returning for another examination, Klyve saw through the glass of room two what looked like a little man trying to suck the life out of Tuck. He smiled and swerved to check on room three instead.

  Odis pulled back and then punched Tuck in the left arm. “You bonehead. I told ya not to go to work today, didn’t I?” He grabbed Tuck’s left hand in a clutching embrace.

  With an exaggerated grimace, Tuck said, “I know, I know. So much for our date tonight.”

  All of the bravado seeped out of Odis as he looked over at the bandaged hand. “So, does it hurt?”

  “Nah, I’m just not supposed to move it. They said it’s not in a cast yet.”

  A weak edge crept into Odis’s voice. “You really had us worried, stupid bonehead.”

  “I’m fine, Odie,” Tuck said while shaking his hand. “Takes more than a damned appliance to best me.”

  “How long ya gonna be stuck here?”

  “Haven’t heard nobody say. Prob’ly just a day or two, I bet.”

  With a loud noise at the door, Klyve stepped in. Odis moved from the bedside and dropped Tuck’s hand self-consciously. Klyve glanced over the monitors, made a few scratches on the chart, and then pulled back the sheet to poke at Tuck’s right toes before scratching more notes. “Behave yourselves,” he said warmly as he left the room again.

  Tuck reached out and took hold of Odis’s hand again. Tuck said, “He seemed a little snippy.”

  “Well, he hasta put up with the likes of you all day, I’m sure.”

  “The likes of me? We could always send him down to Hawk’s room.”

  Odis gave a strained laugh. “Oh yeah, he’s still downstairs. It won’
t be pretty when he wakes up.” He reached out and stroked Tuck’s forehead, then trailed his fingers down his cheek. “It’s not as bad as I thought. I was expectin’ to see ya covered in bruises and shit.”

  “I’m a tough old guy.”

  “Well, at least ya got that going for ya.”

  Tuck gave him a studying look. “I bet ya haven’t eaten a damn thing today.”

  “I had some peanuts a while ago.”

  Tuck scowled playfully. “Peanuts? Seriously?”

  Klyve poked his head in the door. “There’s other people still waiting.”

  Odis flipped off the door, then quickly kissed Tuck again. “Guess I hafta go.”

  “Go get some food. Some real food.”

  Reluctantly, Odis released Tuck’s hand and went to the door. “I’ll be back later,” he said before leaving.

  Tuck clenched his eyes shut and let out the strangled sigh he’d been holding.

  Bobby came in moments later. He walked right up to the bed, grasped Tuck’s face in his hands, and kissed his forehead. Tuck wrapped his good arm around Bobby and pulled him close. Bobby leaned down and shared a warm and comforting kiss.

  As he passed by room two, Klyve glanced through the glass and froze. It wasn’t so much that Tuck was kissing another guy, it was the way their kiss brought to mind all those silly “springtime in Paris” kind of romance movies. Tuck’s hand moved up behind the other guy’s head as the visitor’s hands drifted down to his chest, then started wandering down farther. This was starting to look more like porno than Paris. Klyve headed for the door, banging against it loudly before opening it. They had parted lips, but the other man hadn’t moved away.

  Klyve made a show of grabbing the chart and peering over the monitors. He glanced over at Tuck, expecting him to look chagrined at being caught with another man, but only saw a blissful smile on his face. “Don’t stay long, I’m coming right back,” he announced as he exited.

  Bobby watched the nurse leave. “Prickly ass,” he said as he squeezed Tuck’s good hand.

  Tuck nodded as he slumped back into the bed. “How’s Hawk?”

  “Seems fine. He’s just in observation. Which brings up an interesting topic.”

  “Oh?”

  “You remember that talk we had on the way from the airport, about you and the department?”

  Tuck nodded.

  “You should seriously consider it. Both Hawk and Josh practically demanded that I meet you and talk to you.”

  “Really?”

  “They’ve both got you figured out. And I bet they aren’t the only ones.”

  “What did Hawk say?”

  “He’s afraid you’ll turn yourself into a hermit trying to keep everything quiet. And he didn’t seem to be a big fan of Vic’s.”

  Tuck winced. “How’d he even know about Vic? I kept that under wraps.”

  Bobby gazed at him. “He’s a cop and a worried brother. Easy math, I’d say.”

  “Right. I guess I’ll hafta have a chat with him, then.”

  Trying not to look at the bandages, Bobby sat on the left edge of the bed. “Does it hurt?”

  “Not too bad,” Tuck admitted. “Throbs, mostly. Have ya been to check the house?”

  Bobby shook his head. “We came straight here from the B and B. Gertie put us up in Odie’s old room for now.”

  Tuck looked over and saw the nurse hovering outside the door. “I think yer about ta get thrown out.” He rose and kissed Bobby again. “Make sure he eats.”

  “I’ll try, but he can be as stubborn as you, I’ll bet.” He glanced at Tuck with concern. “I hope you passed out through it.”

  “Mostly, I did. It already seems like some kind of weird dream. Or maybe a drug trip. But I….” He gazed at Bobby with a touch of remembered fear in his eyes.

  “What?” Bobby asked gently. “Was it frightening?”

  “I kinda—I did get scared once, when I thought my hand got amputated.”

  Bobby winced at the thought and tried not to show it on his face. “Well.” Bobby looked over at the bandages. “I’m not gonna blow smoke up your ass and say it’s all fine. The hospital people still seem pretty worried.”

  With a clatter, Klyve pushed his way into the cubicle. “Time’s up,” he announced with a hard look at Bobby.

  Tuck gave his hand a so-long squeeze before Bobby got up to leave.

  Klyve watched until Bobby made it out of the ICU area. Then he turned a hard glare on Tuck. “What the fuck, dude?”

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but Bobby is my boyfriend.”

  Klyve stepped closer. “That’s pretty damn obvious. But what about the short guy who was here before him?”

  Tuck bristled. “I don’t hafta explain myself to you.”

  “No, you certainly don’t,” Klyve said as he walked around to the right side of the bed and gingerly peeked inside the bandages. “But I’ve got enough to deal with here just doing my job. I’m not runnin’ interference for ya too, tryin’ to keep your boyfriends separated.”

  “Didn’t ask you to.” Tuck watched him carefully examine his hand. “How bad?”

  “Looking much better. Barring necrosis, you’ve got at least two more surgeries to look forward to.” He carefully rewrapped the hand. “You’ve got a long road ahead, dude.”

  “Tuck. Call me Tuck.”

  “Okay, Tuck. I’m Klyve,” he said as he got the chart and made more notes. “Any more boyfriends I need to know about?”

  Tuck sighed as he sank back into the bed. “No, but ya might wanna be on the lookout for my brother. I expect he’ll show up soon.”

  “You don’t want him in here?”

  “Oh, I do. But he can get a bit… worked up.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” Klyve put away the chart and left.

  Closing his eyes, Tuck nestled back into the bed.

  GERTIE glanced at her watch as Bobby emerged from the ICU area. Then she stood up. “I need to get back.” She looked over at Odis. “You boys should come along too. Eat some supper and come back in the mornin’.”

  Odis shook his head. Bobby stepped up to him and put his hand on his shoulder. “Odie, we should at least go eat. We can come back a little later.”

  “Yer gonna insist, ain’t ya,” Odis said with resignation.

  “We’ll meet ya there,” Gertie told them as she and John went to the elevator.

  “It wouldn’t do any good for Tuck to see you all run-down, now would it?”

  “Oh. Okay.” Odis stood up. “Can we make a quick detour first?”

  “I guess. Where to?” Bobby asked as they headed for the elevator, but Odis pulled on his arm and led him to the stairwell.

  “It’s only one floor. Who knows how long we’ll hafta wait,” he explained as they started down the concrete steps of the emergency stairwell. “I gotta see. Gotta see how bad the house is. It’s all I’ve been thinkin’ about.”

  “Yeah, okay,” Bobby agreed as they exited the stairwell and headed to the front doors.

  They didn’t talk much on the drive out to Odis’s property, a quiet exhaustion draining away their words. The fire damage became obvious as they reached the country roads on the west side of town. Black-and-gray swirly smears marred the barren rocky moon surface of a landscape.

  When Odis pulled up to the gate, Bobby could see—or rather not see—the garage ahead. The building’s stump of charred remains etched across the ground with dark blueprint marker lines, as if declaring “build here.”

  Bobby opened the gate, and Odis waited for him to get back in the El Camino before he pulled ahead. He looked over to the left as they rolled slowly down the driveway. With the camouflage of grass and bushes burned away, the outlines of the concrete roof stood out in a discolored gray.

  Odis parked and they quietly walked down the steps. Odis brushed aside the scattered glass shards from the sconce lights with his sole of his shoe as they descended deeper. At the bottom step, Odis paused, closing his eyes and t
aking a deep breath. “It’s only stuff,” he whispered before opening his eyes, reaching beside him and grabbing Bobby’s hand, then moving forward again.

  The singed patio area looked like a dusty black chalkboard. They glanced over it. The large pane of picture-window glass nearest the stairs had a huge spiderweb crack close to the top, the safety glass drooping into a strange and beautifully warped and fused blob, like a tired eye trying to blink. The second windowpane had one long gash of a crack diagonally near the middle, but it held together. The rest of the windows just looked dirty. The inside appeared untouched.

  Odis smiled. “I’ll be damned.”

  “Yeah,” Bobby agreed. They quickly stepped up, opened the sliding door, then walked inside.

  Bobby coughed at the stale lingering smoke in the air. A startled bird flew up from its new roost on one of the wrought iron chairs and banged into the glass. They managed to herd it out through the open sliding door.

  “Well, it needs a good cleaning,” Odis said, glancing toward the black face of the microwave. “And the power’s out.”

  Bobby nodded in agreement. The only real damage he spotted was the red rubbery blob that once had been a toy ball puddled near the glass wall. The heat didn’t seem to have penetrated very far past the glass.

  Odis pulled him toward the sleeping area. “Grab yer shit while I get some clothes.” As Odis dragged out a large duffel and stuffed it with the contents of his dresser, Bobby zipped up his suitcase, then sealed up the garment bag hanging on the bathroom door.

  Odis picked up his duffel and dragged it to the kitchen area. He disappeared into the laundry room and returned a moment later with a sheet of poster board and some duct tape. Bobby watched him drag a wrought iron chair from the table set to the window and tape the poster board over the opening in the first pane of glass. “Not watertight, but it’ll keep the damn birds out,” Odis commented as he worked.

  After covering the window, Odis grabbed Bobby by the arm and led him out. “I got yer box,” Odis said as Bobby followed him up the stairs and back to the car.