by Rose Cody
“Surgery?” Jennifer interrupts. “Oh, my God…”
“If you want to sit over there…” The woman says, pointing towards a large waiting room. “The doctor will come out to see you in a little while.”
“Yes, thank you.” She whispers, nodding her head as her and Andrei turn around to go and seat themselves.
“Excuse me, miss?” She hears from beside her before turning her head in the direction of the voice and seeing a tall police officer walk towards them.
“Yeah?” She asks, tiredly, as Andrei steps back, looking away as he clears his throat.
“You said you were looking for Donald Scott, right?” The police officer asks.
“My dad.” She replies, nodding her head.
“I was the responding officer…” He starts. “First on the scene.”
Jennifer nods, stepping closer to the officer as people make their ways around them.
“Your father was crossing the street and was struck by a vehicle right in the crosswalk.” The officer says. “Unfortunately a hit and run. He was pretty banged up. His leg was very clearly broken, but other than that, he was okay, so don’t worry about it too much.”
She lets out a shaking breath as she lets her shoulders drop in relief.
“So he’ll be okay?” She asks, bringing her hand up to her chest to cover her rapidly beating heart, watching as the officer nods. “But what about the guy? The guy who hit my dad? You can catch him right? Someone must have seen something? My dad must have recognized the color of his car at the very least!”
“No, no…” The officer says, lowering his voice as he shakes his head. “No, unfortunately your dad didn’t see anything… he was very incoherent…”
“I thought you said it was just his leg?” She asks, squinting at the officer. “You said he was fine, it was just a broken leg.”
“He was in a lot of pain though, you know.” The officer says, shrugging his shoulders. “So whatever he says he saw, well, we can’t really put too much trust in it…”
“Okay, but I mean, you can look into it though, right?” Jennifer asks. “Surely if he says ‘green car’ you’ll be out looking for green cars, right?”
“We’ll do our best…” The officer says, looking around the waiting room.
“I mean, there was no security footage or anything?” She asks, jolting as she’s interrupted by a hand on her shoulder.
She turns, seeing a tall, thin man in green scrubs with a cork clipboard.
“Jennifer Scott?” The doctor asks, holding out his hand.
She shakes it, nodding her head up and down.
“Donald is out of surgery. He’s awake. He’s doing good. Everything went as planned.” The doctor says, looking at his chart.
“Can I see him?” She begs. “Please?”
“Of course.” The doctor nods. “If you want to follow me, I’ll take you there. We’re just trying to get him to eat some toast now.”
She nods her head thankfully at the doctor before turning to Andrei with tears welled in her eyes.
“Go see him.” He whispers to her as he gently brushes his fingers through her hair. “I’ll go down to the cafeteria and see what kind of tasty shit they got. He’ll probably have to be in recovery for a while, so when you’re done, come and get me. I won’t go anywhere. I promise.”
She reaches out to him, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him in closer for a hug as she rests her head against his chest before following the doctor across the room and down a hall to the recovery area.
Jennifer squints her eyes as they walk into the brightly lit recovery room, her heart pounding in her chest as she’s lead past the row of white curtains.
“He might be sleeping.” The doctor whispers to her as he pulls back the curtain to reveal her dad laying on a bed, his leg elevated and casted.
“Jennifer!” Her dad says, dropping his piece of buttered toast back on the paper plate.
“Dad!” She gasps, running over to him as she reaches out her arms before laying her forehead against his. “What the hell happened!? Holy shit! I honestly thought you were dead and they were scraping you off the pavement or something!”
“Pf! Like a car could kill me.” He says, planting a kiss on her cheek. “Probably should have killed me! Because there’s going to be hell to pay now!”
“Do you remember anything, dad?” She ask, sitting down on a chair beside him as she holds his hand. “Anything at all that might help the police find out who did this?”
“Of course I fuckin’ do!” He says, furrowing his eyebrows. “It was that weasel, Brent Donaldson. That stupid, slimy…”
“Brent Donaldson?” Jennifer asks, shaking her head. “Brent Donaldson? They mayor’s son?”
“Yes!” Her dad exclaims, knocking his plate of half eaten toast onto the floor. “I want that piece of shit arrested! He broke my damn leg!”
“Are you sure, dad?” Jennifer asks, looking around the room as she lowers her voice. “I mean, you did just get hit by a car…”
“You, too, huh?” He says shaking his head. “Please, the fucker got out of his fucking car, panicked and the drove away! I could have been bleeding out for all he knew! I would recognise the stink of that slimy family anywhere!”
“I mean, dad…” She says, sighing.
“Let me guess. You’ve already talked to the police, huh?” He asks, squinting his eyes as he nods his head knowingly. “I’ve broken fucking bones before. I’ve worked construction my whole life. A broken leg isn’t going to make you lose your mind! You hardly even feel it!”
She nods her head, wiping a tear as it escapes from her eye and runs down her cheek.
“I believe you, dad.” She whispers to him, leaning forward to rest her head on his hand. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
Chapter 7
Andrei tries to scrunch away the itch in his nose as he looks down at the orange plastic tray before unwrapping the plastic wrap on his chocolate chip cookie and breaking off a quarter sized chunk.
He pops the bite into his mouth as he leans back in his chair , chewing it and wiping his hands together as he gazes out the large window at the trees and the clouds.
“I bet if it rained really hard, it would look like a fishbowl in here with these windows.” He says to himself, scratching the side of his cheek as he swallows.
He breaks off another piece of his cookie as he looks around the cafeteria, raising his eyebrows as he notices Jennifer walk through the doorway.
He waves her over, cleaning his teeth with his tongue as she walks towards him and sits down at his table.
“He’s doing okay?” Andrei asks, sliding the half eaten cookie across the table towards her.
“He looks better than I thought he was going to.” She says, sighing as she breaks off a piece of the cookie before popping it into her mouth and then rubbing her tired eyes. “The doctor says healing might be a challenge, just because of his age, you know? But he’s alive so whatever.”
“All you can really ask for, hey?” Andrei says, watching her eat.
“I guess.” Jennifer says, scrunching up the plastic wrap the cookie came in before tossing it back on the tray. “I could really use a smoke though.”
“Sure, I got one for ya.” He says, nodding his head as he grabs the tray off the table and stands up from his chair. “Let’s go outside.”
She follows him through the rows of tables, watching him drop off the orange tray on top of the trash bin before walking out of the cafeteria and down the hallway.
“You feel better though?” Andrei asks quietly, resting his hand on her shoulder as they walk down the hallway to a set of double doors at the end, leading to outside. “You were pretty shaken up, huh?”
She shields her eyes from the harsh afternoon sun as the step outside.
“I don’t know.” She whispers, watching as Andrei reaches into the inside pocket of his jacket before pulling out a soft pack of cigarettes. “I feel worse but in a whole different w
ay.”
“What do you mean?” He asks, putting a smoke between his lips and sparking the lighter before bringing it up to the cigarette and lighting it. He puffs twice, strengthening the cherry before passing it to her.
“He knows who did it, you know…” She says, keeping her voice quiet as she brings the cigarette up to her mouth, taking a long drag.
“He knows who did it?” Andrei asks, confused, as he lights his own smoke. “So what was all the shit about him being too out of it to tell…?”
“I know! Exactly!” She says, shaking her head. “The police fucking told us that my dad was able to give them no usable information! So what is it!?”
“So who was it?” He asks, blowing his smoke to the side as he glances around.
“Mayor Donaldson’s son, Brent Donaldson.” Jennifer says sternly.
“And he’s sure?” Andrei asks.
“He got out of the car before driving away.” Jennifer laughs angrily. “And I know my dad would recognise that family anywhere… The city is always clashing with my dad’s union.”
“I believe it.” Andrei says, shaking his head in disgust. “Makes sense that the police don’t want to touch it. Bad for business if they fuck with the mayor… even if his dirty son deserves it.”
“I can’t believe it.” Jennifer whispers as she sinks down to sit on the curb.
Andrei sighs out gently as he sits beside her before wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
She rests her head on his chest as she takes another drag of her smoke before wiping the hard part of her palm over her eye.
“He’ll never pay for that a day in his life.” Andrei whispers, flicking his cigarette onto the concreate. “They never fucking do.”
“It’s not fair…” She whispers back to him.
“What if there’s a way I could help you make it fair?” Andrei says, hesitating as he looks down at her leaning against him.
She sits up, turning towards him.
“What do you mean?” She asks, taking a deep shaking breath.
“Jennifer…” He says, his eyes darting to the ground as he pauses before looking up and into her eyes. “I can help you.”
“How?” She asks, her eyebrows raising. “How would you help me? The police won’t take his statement, you can’t convince him…”
“Not the police…” He says, shaking his head. “But maybe we can get something from Brent Donaldson. Compensation.”
“Oh, please.” She says shaking her head as she takes another drag from her smoke. “Like Brent Donaldson is going to admit to doing anything wrong, they’ve got this whole city wrapped around their fucking fingers.”
“So do I.” He whispers back to her, smirking.
“What are you talking about?” She asks, resting her elbow on her knee and her head in her hand.
“As you’ve probably figured out… I’m not a salesman.” Andrei says, leaning in and lowering his voice. “But I can get you anything you want, including compensation from Brent Donaldson.”
“How?” She says, shaking her head.
“Jennifer…” He says, looking around. “My boss is Ignazio Alfonzo. I work for the Alfonzo Crime Family.”
She gasps, covering her mouth with her hands as she leans backwards before lowering her hand and frowning.
“You work for the fucking mob!?” She asks, whispering forcefully as she looks around. “You never told me you work for the fucking mob, asshole!”
“I can help you.” He says, pressing his finger against his chest. “I can make this right.”
“Right?!” She squeals out before quickly lowering her voice again. “That’s not right! Am I the only normal fucking person around here?”
“Hey, do you want my help or not?” He asks, scrunching up his nose at her.
“No!” She gasps. “No of course I do not. I absolutely do not want your fucking help, Andrei. How could you not say something?”
“Say what?” He asks. “What should I have said, Jennifer?!”
“Oh, I don’t know.” She says, throwing the butt of her smoke to the ground. “How about ‘Hey, Jennifer, before we have sex, I’m a dirty criminal and this hotel I brought you to is mob run.’!?”
“I am not a dirty criminal!” He says, holding his finger up in the air. “We provide a service…”
“You literally just asked me if I wanted help from the mafia!” She whispers. “Are you insane!?”
“I’m trying to help you!” He says, resting his hand on her knee.
“I don’t want your help!” She says, pushing his hand off of her before standing up and stepping back. “I don’t ever want to see you again… ever!”
Andrei throws his hands into the air, gasping and shaking his head as he watches Jennifer throw open the double doors they came out of and walk angrily back inside.
“Well, so much for that…” He says to himself as he stands up and dusts off his slacks.
Chapter 8
“Dad?” Jennifer asks, swirling the wet, soapy dish cloth over the glass plate as she calls out to her father in the living room. “Did you get enough to eat for supper?”
“Yes, thank you!” She hears him call back as she places the dish on the rack to dry. “You can go home now!”
“I’m not going home just yet.” She says to him, shaking her head. “At least not until I make you some breakfast and lunch for tomorrow.”
She wipes her hands on the speckled tea towel hanging off her waist before walking over to the fridge and hanging it on the handle.
Jennifer couldn’t believe the hospital wanted to release her dad so early, but not even two days after the accident and they’ve already sent him home to fend for himself.
She pulls a bag of golden apples out from the crisper before walking over to the kitchen table and heaving them up.
Jennifer wipes her forehead as she walks back over to the counter to grab a knife and a cutting board before picking up the still damp plate from the rack on her way back to the table.
She sits down at the kitchen table as she lowers everything down onto the surface before she stretches out her aching back.
As tired as she is from being on her feet all day at work, it’s not like anyone else is going to help her dad.
“Jennifer!” She hears her dad call to her from the living room. “You gotta come and fucking see this clown!”
She gets up from the table, wiping her hands on her shirt as she walks from her father’s kitchen into the living room.
“Is it that commercial again?” She asks, glancing at her dad from the doorway. “Do I really need to see it?”
“No! It’s not that fucking commercial!” Her dad says pointing towards the TV. “Look at this piece of shit!”
She looks up at the TV, her eyes glaring as a gasp escapes from between her lips.
Jennifer angrily walks over to her dad, sitting beside him on the couch as she watches the news broadcast on TV.
And tonight…
She hears the female newscaster announce.
Brent Donaldson, son of our very own Mayor Donaldson, has announced his run for city council. Born in Oak Falls, Brent has been a member of this community for the past thirty –
“Are you kidding me?” She exclaims as she grabs the remote off the coffee table before quickly turning off the television.
She looks towards her dad, her expression bewildered as she watches him fume.
“Will you look at that!” Her dad says, shaking his head. “And of course, now we know exactly why I was too delirious to see him hit me, right!”
Jennifer lets out an exhausted chuckle as she leans back into the couch cushions before tossing her hands into the air.
“What a psychopath!” She says, shaking her head. “You would think most people would hide out after committing a hit and run, not fucking run for political office!”
She gets up from the couch and paces around the living room as her mind reels.
“I can’t believe the police won
’t do anything! And they know it’s fucking true, too! Why else would they refuse to investigate?” She yells as she shakes her fist. “Isn’t there anyone in this city who isn’t a fucking scumbag!? You know what, I have the fucking right mind to call that news station up myself right now and demand to be put on the air and tell everyone exactly what kind family they got running this city…”
