by Barbara Ebel
“It didn’t hurt you. You got what you wanted. Or who you wanted.”
Annabel’s sarcasm hit Danny as if it came from a mature boxer. Since he was the adult, he thought he’d be the one in charge of the conversation, not the other way around. He searched for words.
“So you and Mom are getting a divorce?”
Danny nodded.
“Are you going to marry the other one?”
He looked to the side, pursing his lips. “That’s not the issue right now.”
“So leaving all of us is? So you can do whatever it is you do with her? Like getting the President’s under-the-table?”
“That’s enough,” Danny said, knowing the antics going on in the White House and putting parental authority into his voice. This generation knew it all and wasn’t afraid to talk about it. Sex had simply become water fountain talk, as casual as the previous evening’s NCAA scores.
A minute elapsed. “Annabel, your future is important. Please, let’s not lose sight of your college goals. Or your wanting to be a doctor. Don’t get tangled in your parent’s problems. Or criticize us. We’ve done the best we could for both of you.”
“Who said I’m criticizing Mom?”
“I’m going to see Nancy,” he said and leaned over to give her a kiss.
Annabel pulled away from him as a tear escaped from the corner of her eye.
___________
Nancy sidetracked from homework to MySpace using Mary’s computer. Divorce sucks, she typed. Anybody’s parent having an affair like mine? She swiveled in the chair and looked down at her TN Lady Vols shirt. The chest bulges made her smile. Her new habit entailed checking on their ascent routinely.
Danny rapped on the almost closed door. Nancy swung her foot, pushing the door wide open. “Hey,” Danny said.
Her face soured. She wanted to continue with her on-line bantering. Anything but to talk to him.
Danny tried leaning on the doorframe but he wasn’t up to the relaxed pose. He tugged at his Henley shirt neckline to give himself some more air. “How was school today?” he ventured.
“Why?” Her eyes swiveled to the ceiling.
“I’ve asked you that many times. I’ve never gotten that question as a response.”
“That’s because you and Mom have never split up before. I don’t even know where my father lives, so why do you care about my school day?”
“Nancy, marriages don’t always last forever. It doesn’t mean I love you any less; it doesn’t change our relationship.”
She lowered her eyes and picked lint off her black stretch pants.
Danny continued to stand there, feeling worse by the second. His daughter diverted her eyes to the computer screen as if he were a pop up window she wanted to close.
“Come downstairs to help Mary as soon as you’re finished. We’ll all eat together.”
___________
“Nothing fancy, Danny,” Mary said as he joined her in the kitchen. “I’m only microwaving Idaho potatoes.”
Annabel and Nancy padded down the stairs fifteen minutes later.
“We’ll load ‘em up,” Mary said, grabbing cheddar cheese and sour cream from the refrigerator. Danny got bacon bits and butter and Nancy put utensils and napkins on the table. “Casey’ll be here after the gym,” Mary said. “He worked seven to three.”
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to him.” Danny said, as he held potholders to slide hot potatoes out of the microwave. “Does he know?”
“I told him,” Mary said softly as Danny narrowed his eyes. “Only a sentence or two. Facts only. Most of it should come from you. You are his best friend.”
At the table, Danny reached for the tub of coleslaw, which Nancy hadn’t passed to him. He scooped only one spoonful; he’d lost his appetite. “I’d like to take you girls to dinner this weekend, and show you my apartment.” The girls remained distracted. “I’ll ramp up efforts to see you,” he added tentatively.
Annabel peered over at Nancy. “We’ll see, Dad. Maybe.”
Danny saw Mary sigh with partial relief. She finished putting dirty dishes into the dishwasher. He said good-night to the girls and walked through the hallway with Mary hobbling behind him. “Listen,” he said turning to her. “I love you, sis.”
“I love you too.”
He opened the front door to see Casey’s Jeep pulling alongside his car.
___________
Casey had left the gym and detoured into a liquor store on the way to Mary’s. He paced the wine aisle, trying to decide whether to bring a Riesling that she liked or surprise her with something different. Once he had bought her a white Russian in a bar lounge, which she had raved about. He’d get her a bottle of Kahlua. He spotted the yellow and red label between the Irish Creams and Amarettos, paid the cashier, and left with the bottle in a flimsy paper bag.
Warm air blew from his Jeep vents. He cut it off, but left the fan on. The workout had made him sweaty and although he had showered in the meager locker room facilities, he still had a fresh, pulsating feeling from the cardiac conditioning. He decided to crack his window as well as to unzip his jacket.
Casey turned into the driveway, next to Danny’s car, as the motion lights over the garage doors flicked on. He shut off the engine as Danny exited the house. Casey stepped out, pushed his hip against the door and halted at the front bumper of Danny’s vehicle.
“Danny, we need to talk. I’m the last to know.”
Danny dug into his pocket, feeling around for car keys. “I’m sorry. It’s been hectic.”
“I bet it has.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Just because everyone else is pussyfooting around you, doesn’t mean I’m going to be an enabler.”
Danny felt blood boom through his arteries, fueling the anger welling within him.
“It’s her, isn’t it?”
“Who?”
“The nurse.”
“Yeah, so,” Danny said and looked at the garage door panel.
“You know, you aren’t the brightest light bulb in the cafeteria, are you?”
Danny’s vision shot right back to Casey, piercing him. “What are you talking about?” he shouted. “Melissa would still be alive if you hadn’t gone to the wrong house.”
Casey’s muscles rippled like steam in a glass tube. With a single sudden movement, his right arm wielded a blow straight into Danny’s face. The garage door pinged as Danny’s body crashed into it, then Danny slid to the ground. A curtain of colorful stars danced before him as a perilous pain stabbed him in the middle of his face. He fumbled to get up as blood escaped from his nose.
Casey’s arm muscles twitched for more. He could beat Danny to a pulp for what he had said. He could plaster him right into the cement if he wanted to. Instead, he used the minute to compose himself as Danny tried to straighten himself. Casey stepped to reach into his car for Mary’s liqueur and his small duffel bag. He ignored Danny’s misery while he went into the house.
Mary watched the encounter from the glass panels alongside the front door. She passed Casey. “What’s wrong with you two?”
Casey shook his head. “Ask him. He’s lucky I didn’t kill him.”
Danny hovered near the hood of his car, a small pool of red accumulating on the ground as he continued leaning forward. The pain was agonizing. His nasal bones felt like they’d been pulverized and projected up into his brain.
Mary ran to him. “You’re going to need ice. Are you still going to leave?”
Danny nodded and Mary hurried inside for a cold compress. When she came back out, Annabel and Nancy trailed her.
Annabel eyed Danny skeptically as she pulled her sweater together. “Do you need to go to the hospital, Dad?”
Danny ever so slightly shook his head no and held out his palm, stunting further discussion. Mary handed him a cloth with crushed ice and he drove off. To hell with him, Danny thought.
___________
Before bed, Mary emerged from t
he master bathroom swinging a toothbrush in her right hand. Casey had stripped down to sleeping attire, a white cotton brief, and sat on the edge of the king bed, burying his head. Mary put the brush on the dresser and nestled alongside him. She took his hands, uncovering his face.
“I know how thick you both are. You can’t stay mad at each other forever.”
Casey lightened his sad expression. “You’re a ray of sunshine, Mary. Just like your artwork.” He smoothed his palm along the peach satin pajamas she wore then kissed her upper lip. He kissed her bottom lip; then both of them together.
She closed her eyes, catching herself from drifting under his spell. “I’ve been wondering,” she said. “I’m almost afraid to ask you. There is so much room here; it doesn’t make sense for you to rent an apartment. Should we try a trial run of living together?”
“An excellent idea if you let me pay the utility bills.” A smile crept across his face, inching seductively into a flashing white beam. “And make love more frequently with the woman who mesmerizes me.” Mary’s cheeks flushed to the color of her nightwear. “I love you,” he said.
She locked onto his eyes. “I love you more.”
Mary never used her toothbrush. Two hours later, Casey rose after falling asleep and switched off the bathroom light.
___________
By elevating his head to reduce swelling and popping six-hundred milligrams of ibuprofen, Danny thought he would get some sleep. But even when he nodded off, strange dreams slithered their way into his mind. A green gremlin rummaged through his nose discarding osteoclast and osteoblast cells, responsible for bone resorption and bone formation. In the early morning, he panicked looking in the mirror to see a misshapen and swollen nose, the area under his eyes puffed up like dough, and the mid-facial color of the day … fresh purple.
This was going to make a memorable office day. By the looks of things, he would have to see an ear, nose, and throat specialist within a day or two. On top of that, he still had to hire an attorney.
“What the hell happened to you?” Bruce said, as Danny passed him and Harold in the office hall.
Harold saw some humor and almost blurted “husband abuse for finding him cheating.” Instead, he looked at Danny wide-eyed, as curious as his boss.
“A guy thing. An altercation.”
Danny offered no further explanation. He went straight in to see a patient, whose jaw dropped. She stared fixated on his face and couldn’t remember the speech she had prepared regarding the history of her headaches. “Ouch, that must hurt,” she said.
Danny wrote for her to get a CT of the head, and went to call another attorney’s office. This lawyer knew of the Neurosurgical Group of Middle Tennessee. The only way he agreed to see Danny on short notice was for a casual dinner at the end of the day. Another night Danny planned with Rachel shot to hell. Then he called the ENT doc in their medical building.
“Charlie, its Danny Tilson. I took a punch in the face last night. Can you fit me in this afternoon?”
“Sure, we’ll page you later when I can see you.”
___________
Three patients still had appointments with Danny late in the afternoon when his pager beeped. One thumbed through magazines in the waiting room and another talked on a cell phone in front of the “please turn off cell phones” sign. He saw Harold come out of an examining room.
“Can you do me a huge favor?” Danny asked.
“Depends.”
“I have to leave. ENT Charlie has to examine my nose and then I have an attorney’s appointment. I haven’t even hired a lawyer yet.”
“I’ll see your remaining patients, if that’s what you’re asking. You better get seen.” Harold took a patient’s chart from the plastic inbox on the wall. “I’d expect the same if I looked like you.”
Danny thanked his partner, hung his white coat and took the elevator upstairs. A nurse ushered him into an exam room, and after several minutes, his old med school colleague walked in. Skinny, bronzed, and wearing a shaved head look, Charlie traded ENT for a guitar on the weekends. They shook hands while Charlie eyed the right and left profiles of Danny’s face.
“You could deemphasize your face if you wear psychedelic purple clothing.”
“Thanks,” Danny mourned.
Charlie pressed Danny’s surrounding orbital area then gently touched the outside of his nose. He used a nasal speculum and peered into his nostrils. Danny cringed.
“The bones and cartilage in your nose have been rearranged so I have to manually realign them,” Charlie said. “We’ll have to schedule a closed reduction of your nose within ten days of the fracture. The good news is you probably don’t need surgery, but the bad news is you need to go to the OR anyway, for a general anesthetic.
“How about Friday?” Danny asked. “It’s going to wreak havoc on our office and surgery schedule.”
“Outpatient surgery. Don’t eat or drink, etc., etc. Get your blood drawn for labs before you leave.” He shook Danny’s hand again. “Somebody did a nice job on you,” he said as they both exited the room.
___________
Danny could spot a lawyer anywhere. Mark Cunningham paced the restaurant lobby talking on a cell phone.
“I bet that smarts,” Mark said, then introduced himself.
He looked to be sixty and Danny wondered why he still punished himself by practicing family law. The waitress escorted them to a wooden bench, Mark Cunningham following her with quick baby steps. Mark had the thickest brownish-grey hair Danny had ever seen.
Mark slapped a small tablet from his briefcase on the table while they waited for their appetizers. “How many years have you been married?” Mark asked. “What does your wife do? I need all the pertinents first.”
“We were married in 1989.”
“Almost twenty years,” Mark said and scribbled the numbers.
“My wife taught biology until our third daughter was born. Since then, she’s been at home.”
Three girls, Mark wrote. “Names?”
Danny tried to swallow some ice water but it was as if an ice cube sneaked into his mouth and prevented it. “We lost a daughter.”
“I’m sorry,” Mark said. Danny gave him more facts as they ate.
“So for the divorce decree,” Mark asked, “do I record ‘irreconcilable differences’ as the reason for the termination of the marriage?”
“I don’t know. Is there a list of categories or options?”
Mark raised his eyebrows at Danny.
“What about falling in love with another woman?”
“Infidelity?”
Danny squirmed in his chair. Mark picked up his pen and wrote. Irreconcilable differences.
The waiter took their soup bowls as they continued. They leaned back while he placed steaming entrees before them. “As far as wrapping this up, the simpler the better,” Danny said. “I don’t want a drag-out fight and, I’m sure, neither does my wife.”
“But just be prepared to lose most of whatever you’ve got,” Mark said. “That’s going to happen with or without prolongation. And with or without a shark as an attorney.”
Danny hired the straightforward Mark Cunningham, went home to his apartment, and called Rachel to say goodnight.
Chapter 19
Casey turned the key, poked his head into the hallway, and shouted, “Hey, honey, I’m home.”
Mary peered around the kitchen corner. “Wise ass,” she said.
Casey planted the stuffed moving container on the kitchen island. Besides other personal possessions, he had moved a few favorite pieces of furniture, hi-tech gadgets and books to Mary’s. He began finalizing his bills from the apartment, even forsaking his gym routine, and sealed the deal with address change notices.
“And don’t you look dreamy,” Casey said. Mary’s off-white popcorn sweater mirrored her creamy complexion.
“Likewise,” she said. He still wore his uniform and leather jacket, having stopped at his apartment after a day shift to pack th
e remainder of his things. His steel arms embraced her; he swept her off her feet. Mary kissed him while he rooted her back to the floor.
She dripped honey into hot green tea. “I just finished stretching a canvas for my next project. Nice timing for a break.” She sat on a stool, her hands wrapped around her mug. “Did you rescue any one today?”
“I like it when that happens. But no, not today. There weren’t any major highway accidents or fires. We brought medical patients to the ER, mostly senior citizens noncompliant with their meds.”
“How you love your work.”
“We both have that in common.” He took her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed her fingers.
“Don’t forget,” she said, “this place is huge. Pick an area of the house when it’s your turn to host poker. As long as you let me spy on a game.”
“Absolutely.”
“By the way, Danny is having his broken nose fixed tomorrow.” She read his gloomy face. “I offered to take him home afterwards, but he declined.”
“Hmm. I hope straightening his nose straightens his head.”
“When are you two going to repair your friendship?”
Casey let the silence stretch. “Words can go too far, Mary. Like tottering on the end of a diving board. Danny took the plunge, now he can’t undo it.”
___________
In the morning, Danny’s stomach growled. He couldn’t eat or drink before his impending trip to the OR. The sedation of his own OR patient before him had waned after Danny had numbed his scalp for incision, which would be the only painful part. Skull and brain have no sensation, so while the man lay totally awake, Danny planned to electrically stimulate his brain. The man would then have to look at slides and name the pictured objects.
“Just like you, I sure missed coffee this morning,” he said to his patient, looking at his brain, as well as to Rachel, who fiddled with pointed instruments.
“Can’t hardly going to be able to answer ‘yer questions, doc, without drinkin a mud cup, either,” said the man.