by Anne Hagan
“Is there anything I can get for you; for either of you?”
“No, no. I’m fine,” Amy answered. Barb just shook her head.
Janet took a seat and Barb filled her in on the little bit they did know.
The three of them sat and waited in silence for a more than two hours, then a surgeon in clean scrubs walked into the little waiting room.
Barb rose from her chair.
“Sit please.” The woman smiled. “You’re the Wysocki’s? I’m Dr. Lindt.”
“Please tell me it’s good news, doctor,” Amy pleaded. “How’s my husband?”
“As good as can be in this situation. He had a blockage that was only allowing ten percent flow through one valve. We had to put two stents in but the surgery went well and he’s in recovery now. It will be about an hour or so before we can move him up to CICU on four. You can see him then.”
“How long do you think he’ll be here?” Barb asked.
“At least a couple of days. It depends on how well he does with testing after this. I’ll be frank, he’s got a long road to recovery ahead. He’s going to feel weak and tired a lot but, in a week or so, he’ll also need to get out and walk to strengthen the heart. He’s going to need to go to physical therapy too and he needs to lose a little weight and start watching his diet better. If he eats right, exercises and drops 15-20 pounds, he should bounce back from this pretty well.”
Amy looked at her daughter. “How am I going to manage all of that with him? It was hard before this.”
“We’ll figure it all out.”
###
Thursday Evening, April 16th
The Boar’s Head
Janet sat at the bar and waited for her sandwich. She wasn’t so much hungry as anxious to see Barb. It was a busy evening though and Barb was tied up helping the kitchen staff due to a call off.
Her meal was almost finished when the other woman was finally able to steal a minute away. She sat down heavily on the next stool, a half drunk bottle of water in her hand.
The bartender pointed at it. “Can I get you a cold one Barb?”
Barb nodded to her. “Thanks Billie.”
She could feel Janet’s eyes on her and she spun half sideways to look at her. “What? You’re staring.”
“You look exhausted.”
“I feel exhausted. I don’t know if I’m coming or going anymore. I really thought moving those two in with me while Dad recovers would be the answer to all the problems but now I’m not so sure. Dad’s become like a whiny toddler and mom’s taking advantage of my help and not having to do everything for him, which is fine in moderation, but…” She hung her head. “I’m sorry, I feel bad even saying anything and really, Mom deserves to have a little freedom. She’s been taking care of him all on her own for a while now.”
“Have you given any more thought to hiring a nurse?”
“Dad won’t hear of it. He doesn’t want any more strangers around him.”
“So you get to suffer?”
“Hopefully, he’ll be on the mend soon. We’ve finally gotten him out to walk and he starts physical therapy Monday. He has to go into town for that.”
“Who’s going to take him back and forth?”
“Me, I suppose, though I imagine Mom might go with us for that. She can’t help him up and down in the car but I’m betting she’ll like getting back into Zanesville three days a week and she’ll want to make sure he’s actually cooperating with the therapist and doing the treatments.”
Barb took a swig from the fresh water bottle, swallowed and then took a deep breath and let it out. “That’s enough about them,” she said. “What’s going on with you? Find a house yet?”
“Not since we talked Tuesday night. I worked all day the last couple of days including overtime yesterday. It’s been busy.”
“I feel so bad that I keep canceling our dates. I wish…I don’t know, that things were different.”
Janet could hear the frustration in her voice. “Is there anything at all I can do to help; to make it a little easier on you?”
“No; not besides what you’re already doing.”
“What, talking to you on the phone late at night and occasionally being able to catch you here and get you to sit for a minute?”
“Exactly. You’re the only thing standing between me and total insanity right now.”
One of the kitchen staff members stuck his head out through the swinging door. “We could really use your help in here boss lady.”
Barb sighed. “Coming.” Turning back to Janet as she slid off the stool she said, “Sorry. Duty calls. Are you working this weekend?”
“No. I’m off Saturday and just on call on Sunday.”
“There’s a great band here tomorrow night. Why don’t you swing by? If I’m full staffed,” she held up crossed fingers, “we can maybe listen for a bit then have a little quiet time somewhere.”
“It’s a date.”
Chapter 6
Friday Evening, April 17th
The Boar’s Head
Janet looked around for an empty table. It was only 7:00 but it was a nice Friday night outside and a nice weekend was predicted. The bar was already packed.
She saw an empty little two seat table at the back near the bathrooms and made a beeline for it waving across the room at Billie at the bar as she went. The bartender nodded her way.
One of the barmaids was passing by, just as she was sitting down. She stopped to swipe a damp cloth across the table’s surface and ask Janet what she was having.
“Bud light draft.”
“Be right back. Did you want a menu?”
“Not just yet.”
The young woman disappeared.
Janet turned as she caught the slight chill of a draft. A roadie for the band had just opened the emergency exit door by the stage. Guys started carrying equipment in across the dance floor and setting it up on the raised platform that made up a half decent sized stage for a four or five-piece band and their equipment. She watched them for a couple of minutes until her drink came.
“Thanks. Is Barb in the back?” she asked the server.
“I think she’s on the phone. I can check.”
“It’s okay; I texted her. She’ll see it.”
A few minutes later, Barb came and sat down. She blew out a breath, “Whew, sorry. I use a promotion company to book the talent and they had a mix up for tomorrow night.”
“No band tomorrow?”
“Actually, there was supposed to be a DJ but they double booked him. They’re sending me another one that hasn’t been here before. Hope he’s good. The first guy’s been in all my advertising for the last couple of weeks and he’s a big draw.”
“These guys must be too.” Janet jerked her thumb toward the stage. “You’ve already got quite the crowd.”
“I doubt it’s for them. I mean, they’re plenty good, but they don’t go on until 9:00.” Barb looked around at her customers. “Most of these folks, I don’t recognize; only a few. Must be something going on at Blue Rock for the weekend that brought them in.”
“It’s a little early in the season, don’t you think? It’s nice outside but you can’t plan for that in advance in April.”
Barb shrugged it off. “Who knows?”
“So, did you want to hang around here to hear the band?”
“No. I know that’s what I invited you to do last night but I really would like to get out of here and just relax. Everyone I scheduled is here tonight. They can handle this.” She waved her hand around at the crowd.
Janet agreed. “You need a night off from everything.”
Billie waded her way toward them, holding the phone handset in the air as she moved. When she was close enough to be heard, she called out “Promotor again, Barb.”
“Sorry,” she told Janet. “I’ll deal with him and then we can get out of here before anything else happens.” She got up, took the phone from Billy and went back toward the kitchen with it.
Janet leaned back in her
chair and polished off her beer while she watched the band finish setting up their equipment and she checked out the other bar patrons. Her eyes came to rest on a young woman she pegged to be in her mid-twenties sitting alone, a couple of tables away, half turned away from her. She was a little under dressed for April in a short skirt and crop top, even as nice as it was, and yet a little too overdressed for the clientele the bar attracted; the rural locals and other rustic types that spent weekends hanging out in the campgrounds that dotted the area around the Blue Rock State Forest nearby.
‘Eh, maybe she’s here for the band,’ Janet thought.
When the woman crossed and uncrossed her legs a couple of times and then spread them apart slightly, the cop instincts in Janet kicked in and she got suspicious. ‘No one, in that short of a skirt, sits with her legs open like that unless she’s trying to attract a little bit of male attention. ‘Paying male,’ she thought then.
As a man approached the other woman’s table, Janet half turned her head to appear to be looking in a different direction but she made sure she could see what was going on in her peripheral vision.
The tall man bent down to say something to the woman close to her ear. It wasn’t that loud yet in the bar to make that necessary and Janet strained to hear their conversation. She couldn’t make out a single word but the woman’s next actions told her all she needed to know. She picked up the remains of the drink that was on the table and polished it off, then picked up her tiny purse and made to leave with the man.
Barb returned just then.
“Do you know either of those two?” Janet pointed at the retreating backs of the couple.
Barb peered at them and shrugged. “She looks vaguely familiar. I think I’ve seen her in here before.”
“I think she’s a prostitute.”
Barb looked taken aback. “No? What makes you think that?”
“Several things.”
“I don’t let stuff like that go on here. I admit, it was bad here when I took it over, but I have all new staff now that’s well trained and knows what to look for.”
Janet didn’t want to start an argument. “Maybe I’m wrong,” she said then. She vowed to herself to keep an eye out when she was in the bar on busy weekends.
The two women got takeout food and took it back to Janet’s hotel room. They chatted a bit as they ate but Barb’s exhaustion was evident.
When they were finished, Janet asked her, “When’s the last time you had a massage?”
“Like a back massage?”
“Back, full body, any kind of massage?”
“Oh, I don’t know. It’s been years.”
“Why don’t you let me go and dispose of all of this stuff while you get comfortable on the sofa or on the bed and I’ll give you a massage?”
“That sounds wonderful.”
“Be back in a minute.”
Janet gathered up the remnants of their dinner, bagged it all and then headed down the hallway to the trash chute. Further down the hall, she could see an older man struggling with the card key for his room as a stooped old woman looked on. Luggage sat around them on the floor. She dropped the trash into the hopper and made sure it slid down and then she hustled down the hall to see if she could lend a hand.
“Hi, I’m Janet,” she said to the two of them. “I’m staying just down the hall here. I see you’re having trouble. These credit card style keys can be a real bear. Would you like me to try it?”
“Be my guest,” the man said as he handed her the key. “I’ve tried several times now.”
“You’re such a dear,” the woman told her. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. It’s not doing a thing which leads me to believe they didn’t code it right at the desk. Did they give you two or just the one?”
“We only asked for one, dear,” the woman answered.
“And you’re sure you’ve got the right room?”
The man held out the little paper envelope the key had been in. 3-127 was printed on it and that was the door they were standing in front of.
“How about I take these,” she held up the key and the folder, “and go down to the desk and get this straightened out for you?”
She wasn’t at all surprised when they both quickly agreed.
Missy was at the desk when she got down there. She put the key card down on the counter and pointed at the number on the envelope. “These poor folks can’t get in their room at all. It’s not turning the lock lights any color but red. Can you code it again?” She suspected it had never been coded in the first place but she didn’t see any point in upsetting the desk clerk she was beginning to think she was stuck with for all eternity.
“Of course. Thank you for being such a help,” she said, leveling her trademark perky smile on Janet. She put the card into a machine, tapped some keys on her computer keyboard, pulled the card out and pronounced it fixed.
Janet was skeptical but took it back from the clerk and boarded the elevator to go back upstairs.
This time, the key worked like a charm. She helped the couple get their bags into their room and then attempted to leave.
“I’m Bridget and this is Harold,” the woman told her as she dug in her purse, in front of the door, blocking Janet’s exit.
“Nice to meet you both,” Janet said.
“Please let me give you something for your trouble, dear.” Bridget managed to pull a wallet out of the depths of the bag.
“No, no. That’s not necessary at all. I couldn’t accept a thing. Just being neighborly, is all.”
“You live here?” Harold asked.
“Um, temporarily. I just sold my house and my, uh, new place isn’t ready yet.”
Bridget smiled. “We’re having all new carpets put in but we can’t stand the smell of all the padding and glue. We’ll be here for a few days.”
“It’s a pretty quiet place overall but, if you have any trouble or if you need any more help with anything at all, I’m just down the hall on the other side in 132.”
“That’s very nice of you, dear,” Bridget said. “We should be fine. I turn off my hearing aid at night because Harold uses a C-PAP machine. Nobody can sleep with that racket going except him. We won’t hear a thing.”
Janet nodded. “Very well then. It looks like you’re all set. Have a nice night folks.”
Janet hustled back to her room. When she got there, she found that Barb had managed to fall asleep on the sofa in the ten minutes she’d been gone.
She let the exhausted woman sleep until a little after 10:00 PM then gently woke her.
“What time is it,” Barb asked as she levered herself up into a sitting position.
“It’s about five after 10:00. You’ve been asleep for a couple hours.”
“I’m so sorry. I’m just…just so tired.”
“I know. How about we call it a night and I run you home? We can figure out getting your car back to you tomorrow.”
“I just hate this. I’ve ruined another night we were supposed to have to ourselves.”
“It is what it is, babe. It’ll get better once your dads health improves.” It has to, Janet thought.
“You don’t have to take me. I can drive. I’m not that far gone.”
“How about I follow you back there, just to be sure?”
The other woman sighed but agreed.
As they were gathering up their vehicle keys to leave, Barb put out a hand to stop Janet before she opened the door, snaked an arm up around her neck and pulled her in for a kiss.
Janet’s heart fluttered as their lips touched. The kiss was fleeting but sweet and left her wanting so much more.
“Thank you for being so understanding,” Barb said. “You’ve been my rock the past couple of weeks or so.”
Chapter 7
8:38 Saturday Evening, April 18th
Back at the Boar’s Head
Janet found a parking spot along the right side of the Boar’s Head, not far from the side steps to the rustic old p
orch that led to the front door. It was early; not quite 8:40, and drizzling a cold spring rain. She figured the combination of time and weather led to the lighter than expected crowd as she ducked under her jacket and hustled to the porch. She combed her fingers through her hair before she stepped inside.
It didn’t take her eyes long to adjust. The overcast pall of the skies outside matched the typically dimmer interior of the bar well this visit.
The place was bustling but not packed. A makeshift sign by the door bouncer’s station said the new guy DJ’ing went on at 9:45. Odd time, she thought, shrugging. The jukebox was playing a country tune in the meantime.
She looked back toward the DJ booth. It was empty and dark. If the guy was here, he wasn’t in any hurry to get set up. She hoped Barb wasn’t about to get screwed by her promoter yet again.
She scanned the action at the pool tables to the right – mostly men and no one she knew or cared to meet.
His back to her, a bartender she didn’t recognize was waiting on a customer at the big bar that ran most of the length of the left wall. She started to amble that way to inquire after Barb but she continued to scan the crowd as she moved along.
At the back of the bar near the stage and dance floor to the right and the DJ booth beyond it, she caught the profile of a woman she believed was the same young woman she’d seen there the night before. She narrowed her eyes trying to focus but she couldn’t tell for sure.
Not wanting to call any unnecessary attention to herself, she continued on to the bar and, when she got the keeper’s attention, ordered a Bud Light. He grabbed one out of the cooler, popped the top and offered up a frosted glass. She shook her head no.
Billie walked out of the back carrying a case of Sam Adams. She nodded to Janet when she saw her accepting her beer from the other bartender.
“It’s on the house,” Billie called out to him.
“No it isn’t,” Janet told him. “I pay my way. Barb in?”
The man nodded. “You want me to get her, Miss?”
“Just let her know Janet is here and, if she’s in the middle of something, tell her there’s no rush.” After their exchange, he went toward the kitchen and she turned her back to the bar top, leaned an elbow up on it, sipped her beer and pretended to watch the guys playing pool. Billie started stocking the Sam Adams in a cooler just behind her.
