Three-Legged Race

by Чарльз П. Кроуфорд

  As if she understood, Amy said, "Soon as that pain gets better, Brent, we'll have you joking away with the best of us. Just remember, none of us is going anywhere for a while. We're all good friends here."

  "Except Nurse Rush," Kirk said.

  "Except Nurse Rush," Amy said. "Hey, good news, you guys. Speaking of nurses, the blood lady was just by for the day, and despite rumors to the contrary, I do have a little blood still left in me. My heart still beats. What do you think of that?"

  "Congratulations," Kirk said. "You're still among the living. I wish I qualified."

  "Every day I'm surprised there's any blood left. And after that bleeding I had before I came in here, I figured I must be about empty."

  "What happened?" Brent asked.

  "Oh, that's why I'm in the hospital, Brent. I had this sudden bleeding thing. So they brought me in here and gave me a transfusion a few weeks ago and I've felt much better since, most of the time anyway.

  "I tell you, Brent, it was my own dumb fault. I got myself so tired out this spring it's no wonder I developed mono or whatever it is. I was playing the part of the daughter in The Glass Menagerie at school. It was rehearsals every night and then staying up even later to get my homework done. I was getting more and more wiped out by the whole grueling schedule, but I loved that part and wasn't about to give it up. I was too involved in the play to worry about how I felt. Now I spend my time trying not to worry.

  "My mother was really on my back about taking it easy. I must have looked like I'd been dragged through the mud. I had circles under my eyes that reached all the way down to my chin.

  "I promised my mother I'd take it easy after the show went on, and even agreed to go have a checkup, but I never quite made it that far.

  "The play was great and then I went to the cast party, which was a stupid thing to do. I should have been home in bed, I guess, when you figure how tired I really was. So I had a couple of beers at the cast party and that made me even more exhausted.

  "Well, I collapsed, I guess. Dropped right over. Everyone thought I was loaded of course, because a few others were. So may parents were called and they came to pick me up. I tried to tell them that I was just exhausted, but they thought I was loaded too, which is kind of funny now that I look back on it.

  "My mother said that she couldn't believe her eyes. I'd promised not to go the party and I was just too tired to explain.

  "I felt really lousy by the time we got home. Then the hemorrhaging started. So they rushed me over here. I've had tests and more tests, and a couple transfusions. That blood lady takes more samples of blood every day. But it's good to have the rest, and I'm feeling much better now, I guess. I'll never get myself hooked into a schedule like that again. I've just got to say no to some of the things I'd like to do. That's my problem. I end up involved in everything going except getting sleep. Anyway, it's fun while it's on. Well, I've talked your ears off long enough, Brent. It looks like we both can use some rest, and I'd hate to miss my regular daily-type nap before lunch. Doctor's orders, you know. I just wanted to see how you were feeling. You look better already."

  "Thanks, Amy. I really appreciate it. I'll see you later. If you want some extra blood, just let me know. I've got plenty."

  "How can one girl be so lucky?" she said. "Here I am confined with two such gorgeous men, and not a chance of escape. See you both later."

  She turned and left the room.

  That wasn't so hard, Brent thought. Amy and Kirk make it so easy for me. He felt better than he had all day.

  Chapter Four

  The three were playing poker again. Brent was feeling better. Most of the pain was gone and he was finally off the intravenous tube. It was the end of his first week in the hospital. He was lying on his side in bed holding his cards. Kirk was sitting in his wheelchair pulled up close. Amy was sitting cross-legged on the foot of Brent's bed.

  Brent liked having them there. He felt close to both of them, closer maybe than to any of his friends at home.

  He liked Amy and Kirk. They made him feel special. They were fun, and already he felt relaxed about joking and laughing with them. Maybe it's the closed world of the hospital, he thought, but it seems so natural now. I say something and they laugh. They say something and I laugh. What could be easier, or more special?

  Amy laid her cards out flat on the bedside table.

  "Two pair," she said.

  She pulled the Kleenexes from the center of the table into her growing pile. Each Kleenex was worth a hundred dollars.

  "That makes fourteen thousand, three hundred dollars I've won this week. I like poker," Amy said. She tossed her head and the long brown hair flipped over her shoulder. "I'm beginning to get the hang of it, I think."

  Kirk lit another cigarette. "It's just beginner's luck," he said. "You must have pull with God."

  "I know just what I'm doing," she said. "My deal. Let's play seven-card stud, all the spades are wild."

  "Good Lord," Kirk said. "If you went to Las Vegas, they'd never recover."

  "I think she's a hustler, Kirk," Brent said. "She probably could shuffle before she could walk. I bet she's just playing innocent so she can steal our money. If I weren't a millionaire, I'd start to worry."

  Amy laughed. It made Brent feel good to hear that sound.

  "Yeah, well, I'm broke. As a matter of fact, I'm over nine thousand dollars in debt to this cardshark. I ran out of money after the first hand four days ago. I'll have to start selling my body on the streets to pay you off, Amy."

  "Sorry, Kirk. I won't accept payment in peanuts. Are we going to play or not, you guys?" she said, riffling the pack of cards in her hands.

  "Maybe I could talk Nurse Rush into slipping me some money for a little action. I've noticed how she's been ogling me lately."

  "Yeah, like she just stepped on a rattlesnake," Brent said.

  "It's all right, chums. You can pay me in monthly installments."

  "Wowie, the cardshark has a heart of gold," Brent said.

  "This is getting dull. Let's change the stakes. How about a little strip poker for a change?" Kirk suggested.

  "Now there's the epitome of an evil mind for you," Amy said. "Notice the way he tricks us into this friendly game for small stakes, Brent, just to lead us to this moment of depravity."

  "It's no fair anyway," Brent said. "I only have one thing to take off, and that's already open in the back."

  "That's all right, Brent. We'll count the sheet too."

  "Well, you can forget it," Amy said. "Who wants to play strip poker with two dirty young men? I've got my modesty to keep up, after all. No one has seen me in the altogether since Jimmy Cavarelli paid me a quarter to run down Midland Avenue stark naked when I was four. He was very progressive for kindergarten."

  "It doesn't sound like you were so backward."

  "I didn't mind. I thought of it in terms of two double Tootsie Rolls, a box of Jujubes and Hershey bar. For that it was worth it. The spanking, however, was not."

  "Besides, what would Nurse Rush say if she walked in here and the three of us were sitting around undressed, so to speak?" Brent said.

  "She'd probably say, 'All right, children, you'll catch your death of cold,'" Kirk replied.

  "Well, Mr.Playboy of the Youth Ward, you can count me out of this round. I play for Kleenexes or nothing," Amy said.

  "Chicken," Kirk replied.

  "You bet."

  Just then Jewel wheeled the lunch cart through the door. Three covered trays were stacked on the cart.

  "I might have known I'd find you three together. I've got all your gourmet lunches here."

  Brent swung the bedside table over the bed so he and Jenny could share it. Kirk wheeled his chair over to his table. Jewel put a tray at each spot.

  "The menu reads: Iced fresh fruit cocktail; Crisp tossed salad with dressing Parisienne; Roast beef au jus; Potato surprise; Candied Harvard beets; and Angel sponge cake with whipped topping. Lovely, huh?" she said.

  "Yeah, b
ut what does it look like?" Kirk asked.

  "I don't know. I couldn't tell the beets from the fruit cup or the angel cake from the roast beef," Jewel laughed. "Dig in, kids," she called over her shoulder as she wheeled the cart out again.

  "Brace yourselves," Kirk said, and he lifted the lid of his tray. "Good Lord, it looks like it should have been sent to the operating room."

  "Not even a surgeon could help this," Brent said, as he peeked under his lid. "It looks malignant."

  "It looks absolutely scrumptious to me," Amy said. "I love Alpo."

  "Does anyone ever die of food poisoning in this hospital?" Brent asked.

  "If not, this could be a first," Kirk replied.

  "I liked it better when they fed me through the tube."

  "Didn't I tell you so?"

  Amy ate a mouthful of fruit cocktail. "It's not so bad," she said.

  "What can you do to fruit cocktail?" Brent asked.

  "Not much," Kirk said. "Except they heated it up by mistake a few weeks ago. Hot grapefruit, ick."

  Amy ate a mouthful of roast beef. "The meat's not bad either, although it tastes like the ham we had yesterday."

  "All the meat's the same. You know that. They just call it by different names. It's actually all something called Mystery Meat."

  "What's Mystery Meat?" Brent asked.

  "It depends on what's cheap that week," Kirk said. "Either kangaroo cutlet or roast of goat. It doesn't matter much. Amy's right. It all tastes the same anyway."

  Yet Amy was the only one who didn't eat the whole lunch, Brent noticed.

  "What I wouldn't give for a really good hamburger and a milk shake about now," she said, putting her fork down by her half-finished meal.

  "Send out for one. You have fourteen thousand dollars worth of Kleenex, after all."

  "Funny man, Kirk."

  "Just trying to be helpful."

  Amy began to smile. "I've got an idea. Thanks a lot, Kirk."

  "What did I say?"

  "You're a genius, is all. Think you can get your bed wheeled into my room, Brent, after Nurse Rush leaves and the evening nurse comes on?"

  "Yeah, I guess so."

  "Good. Gentlemen, and I use the term loosely, you are invited to my room for dinner. Semiformal. Dinner at seven sharp. Don't be late."

  "Are you kidding?" Kirk asked.

  "Nope. Just be there."

  "Hot damn," Kirk said. "My mouth is watering already. What do you have in mind?"

  "It's a surprise. I've got to go plan. See you later."

  Amy left the room. Kirk looked at Brent and shrugged his shoulders. "Crazy broad," he said.

  Jewel returned and took the trays out.

  "Do you mind if I take a stroll, Brent?" Kirk asked.

  "No. Fine. I just wish I could get out of this room myself. I'll be fine. I don't mind being alone."

  "Okay. I'll see you later."

  "Don't peek in on Amy. You wouldn't want to ruin her surprise. What are you up to?"

  "Nothing. Just a little wandering. Maybe I'll pay a visit to the maternity nursery, and when the new fathers look through the glass, I'll say, 'That one's not yours. I just saw them switch the tags all around.'"

  Brent laughed. "See you later."

  "Right. Take care." Kirk struggled with his crutches for a few moments and left the room.

  Brent lay back and looked at the ceiling.

  I almost don't mind being here now that I feel better, he thought. If I were home I would be just kicking around at the pool until the family left for Maine.

  Brent picked up the book he was reading and found his place. He was halfway through the second volume of The Lord of the Rings for the second time. He loved the world of Middle Earth. It seemed so real to him. He always wished it were a place that he could visit.

  He had gotten so absorbed in Frodo's plight that he didn't hear his mother come in.

  "Hi, Brent. How are you feeling?" she said when she had reached the foot of his bed.

  Brent looked up from his book and smiled, "Fine, I guess. I'm getting awful tired of not sitting up, though."

  "I know. It must be hard. I've got some good news. I just saw Dr.Matthias on the way up here and he said yesterday's X ray shows you're healing just fine."

  "Yeah. I know. He told me this morning."

  "I'm so pleased. He said you would be ready to go home in two or three more weeks."

  "The brace guy is supposed to come and measure me tomorrow."

  "We'll be so pleased when you come home. It's not the same without you, as I'm sure you can imagine. Betsy just mopes around all day. She doesn't have anyone to fight with." Brent's mother smiled.

  "No Maine in August?" Brent asked.

  "Maybe. We'll have to see what the doctor says. Anyway, you should be pleased that you'll be as good as new in the long run. No football this fall, but Dr.Matthias said by winter, when the brace comes off, there should be no restrictions. If we can't get to Maine in August, perhaps you and Betsy would like a week of skiing in January or February."

  "Sounds great," Brent said. "I guess I don't mind lying here day after day as long as I know the end is in sight."

  "Betsy wanted to come too, but she had swimming practice this afternoon."

  "Fine. How's Dad?"

  "He's fine. He said to tell you he'd try to get by on the way back from a settlement he has tomorrow morning. He'll be so glad to hear how well Dr.Matthias says you're doing."

  "Yeah, well, tell him 'Hi' for me."

  "I sure will. Have any of your friends been by for a visit?"

  "No."

  "Not even Jimmy or Tom? I'm surprised. I saw Tom on the street yesterday and he was so sorry to hear that you were laid up."

  "No, he hasn't been by. You know how things are in the summer. Everybody's off doing their things, at the shore or somewhere. I've gotten cards from a couple of the kids at school. One from cousin John too."

  "Well, it would be nice to have a visit from somebody else but family. Cards aren't much of a substitute."

  "Oh, it's okay. Amy and Kirk and I spend a lot of time together. We have a good time. They're really great."

  "I'm glad. Amy's a lovely girl. It's good to hear you aren't holed up all by yourself anyway. How's the food? Still as bad?"

  "Worse."

  "You'd think, at the prices you have to pay, that they would at least serve a decent meal."

  "The only thing they serve are indecent ones."

  "The night you get home, I'll make sure I have all your favorite things for dinner. Where's Kirk?"

  "Out wandering."

  "That's nice. I brought a surprise for you."

  "What is it?" Brent asked.

  "Your watercolors. I thought you might like to do a little painting while you have all this time on your hands. The doctor thought you could manage without hurting your back."

  "That's great. Thanks."

  Brent's mother took the paints, a few brushes and a small pad of watercolor paper out of her pocket-book.

  "I'll leave them here on your table in case you want them. I hate to see you here without anything to keep you busy."

  "I don't mind. But thanks."

  "Well, I think I'll be on my way and let you get back to that book you were so buried in when I arrived."

  "Right. Thanks for stopping, Mom."

  "Take care now. Don't do anything foolish like sitting up."

  "Don't worry."

  "We're all so happy with your progress. You were a lucky boy."

  "I know."

  "Okay, then, I'll see you tomorrow. Sorry I've got to run, but I've got a million things to do today."

  "Right. 'Bye, Mom."

  "'Bye, dear."

  Brent watched her leave the room. He reached over and swung the table closer to him. He opened the pad of watercolor paper and poured a glass of water from the Styrofoam pitcher. He dipped a small brush into the water and opened the tin of watercolors. He rolled onto his left side and propped his head up on hi
s left hand. The pad was almost touching his nose as it lay open on the bed. It was awkward, but it would have to do, he thought.

  What can I paint? he wondered.

  He always painted landscapes in Maine. He had become very good at trees and rocks. Rocks weren't easy.

  The view out the window beside his bed was only the brick wall of another wing of the hospital.

  Not much of a landscape there, he thought.

  He dipped the brush in the water again and swirled the tip in the small cake of brown.

  I'll paint a picture of Amy, he thought; but it scared him in a way. He had never tried to paint a picture of a person before, only landscapes.

  He swung the brush in a smooth curve down the right side of the paper. The sweep of brown caught the exact flow of Amy's hair.

  He wanted to make it a good picture.

  They'll probably laugh at it, he thought.

  He continued to paint.

  Kirk wrapped a rubber hose around his neck. He didn't have a tie.

  "A tie would look stupid with pajamas," he said to Brent. "But a rubber hose has class. Amy did say semiformal, after all."

  Brent brushed his teeth twice and tried to straighten out his sheets.

  At five of seven, Nurse Schultz arrived. She was much more pleasant than Nurse Rush. Brent always felt an almost physical relief when the day shift ended and the evening nurse arrived.

  "I understand there's some visiting to be done. If you don't tell the nurse on duty, I won't tell either."

  "Wagons, ho!" Kirk shouted. "Move'em out." He clomped toward the door on his crutches. Brent followed behind, Nurse Schultz pushing the bed.

  Down the hall they paraded and across to Amy's room. Her door was closed.

  Kirk knocked. "Avon calling," he said.

  "Come in," Amy shouted back through the closed door.

  Kirk pushed it open and walked inside. Nurse Schultz wheeled Brent's bed in. "Have a lovely evening," she said, and left, closing the door behind her.

  Brent couldn't believe his eyes. He hadn't been to Amy's room before. He was amazed to see the jungle of plants hanging everywhere, the stands of plants, the tables of plants, the cascading ferns and spider plants.