Come and Talk to Me (13 page)

“Really. I could finish in six months. It depends how many certifications I take. I commend you on your usage of the ‘swear, once removed’ technique, by the way. It is a slight improvement.”

“Bite me.”

“Can I?”

“No. I’m still mad.”

“We don’t have time for mad. We have to start saving up so I can still average once a day while I’m gone.”

“You’re underway all over again.” She dropped her head to his shoulder.

“It’ll only be for six months.”

A year later, he brought his bags home for the last time. The course was finally over. The time miraculously flew by. They were online every night together using instant messenger; it was almost as if he were home. A few months into the course, Van discovered an online game they could play together. Reggie had really enjoyed it. She always loved castles and stories about medieval times. The game was Stronghold. You built castles and maintained your own kingdom. Eventually a war broke out between your kingdoms and Reggie usually won; whether or not Van let her win was yet to be determined. She always knew he was in trouble when he’d load his trebuchet with dead cows for ammo. That always brought her to tears laughing. He called himself Sir Kimball the Gimp and she was Lady Reggie the Kittenless. That was still a sour subject.

Now that he was home for good, it finally seemed like they were going to have a normal life. He had a great job with a computer company that he really enjoyed and he got along great with his boss and other co-workers. Their weekends were filled with fun with other couples. Reggie thought of this as home and wanted to bring up the subject of adopting again when Van called her at work. “You gotta come home, baby.”

“What is it?”

After a long silence he said, “My back.”

“How bad? Do I stop and get the pizza or you want me straight there?”

V
AN
A
ND
R
EGGIE
W
ERE
I
N
F
ARGO
at the hospital. He was about to be taken into surgery.

“Some man of your dreams I turned out to be, huh.”

“Don’t be silly. Of course you’re the man of my dreams.” She lay next to him in the hospital bed and ran her fingers through his hair. “Of course, in my dreams you speak with a Croatian accent and your name is Luca.”

He laughed. “You’re such a bitch.”

“That’s why you love me.” She leaned in and gently kissed his cheek.

“You sure you’ll be here when I wake up?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Maybe because you said three strikes and I’m out.”

“No. I said you didn’t get a third one; I was gonna shoot you instead.” She stroked his cheek then kissed it again. They had fought so well and so often, their love talk would have sounded like a fight to someone who didn’t know them.

Usually in the morning when he picked up his coffee, she’d throw the beer bottles he left by the sink into the recycle bin two feet away so he’d know he was in trouble for leaving them on the counter again. Undaunted, he’d smile and kiss her on the cheek and sang,
“I love the way you poison my coffee just a little each day.”
It worked every time. She’d give him a smack on the butt then a kiss. If he was really lucky, they went back to bed for ‘second breakfast.’

“Close enough.” He let out a heavy sigh. “I’m so sick of this bullshit.”

“You’ll feel better when it’s done.”

“That’s what they said last time. I don’t know, babe.” He started to choke up. “I can’t do wheelchair.”

“You’re not going to end up in a wheelchair. They never said wheelchair to you…did they? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“It’s never going to end. I’ll be there eventually.”

“Stop it. You’ll come through with flying colors.”

“I’ve let you down.”

“Quit it, Van. No, you haven’t. What did I say to you when you asked me to marry you?”

“Refresh my memory. I’m still in shock you said yes.”

“You were worried I wouldn’t like military life. What did I say?”

“That you’d live in an outhouse with me.”

“An outhouse in Timbuktu to be more specific.” She leaned in close. “I don’t care if that outhouse has a wheelchair ramp. I love you.”

“I want to be all the man you deserve.”

“You are that and more, Luca…I mean, Van.”

He laughed. “Bitch.”

“Jackass.” She kissed his nose. “I’ll see you in three and a half to four hours.”

“Not if I see you first.” He gave her a forced smile then winked.

~*~

The doctor walked out to the waiting room two hours after the surgery had started. Reggie hurried to her feet with a smile. “That was fast. You said it would be closer to four hours. I take it everything went great.”

“Not exactly.” He tried to pull her to sit down.

She shook his hand away. “What do you mean ‘not exactly’?”

“Please sit.” He pointed toward the seat.

“I’d rather stand. What have you done?”

“It’s nothing we’ve done. His heart gave out.”

“His heart gave out? He’s twenty-seven years old! What do you mean his heart gave out? Did you have to stop the procedure?”

“Mrs. Kimball…he’s gone.”

“Gone?” she screamed. “What do you mean gone?”

He reached for her hands again and managed to pull her down to the sofa with him this time. “He’s passed on. His body couldn’t take the strain anymore.”

“You killed him?”

“We didn’t kill him, Mrs. Kimball. If we suspected he’d have this kind of reaction to the anesthetic, we never would have attempted a third surgery.”

“What do you mean reaction to the anesthetic? You just said his heart gave out.”

“It was a combination of things. He was on so many medications…the strain on his system—”

“You don’t have a fucking clue, do you? You don’t know him like I do. He’ll snap out of it and be fine.”

“No. Please sit back down. He’s gone.”

“You’re lying. I want to see him.”

“I can’t take you in to see him yet. They’re closing. I wanted to come tell you right away. I didn’t think a nurse should have to—”

Not able to sit any longer, she ran down the hall and pushed through the swinging door that the doctor had come from.

“Donovan!” she shouted as she ran down the hallway looking in the surgery rooms. When she found what had to be him, she swung open the door. “Van!” The nurses were rolling him onto his back. The intubation tube was still in his mouth, but it was disconnected from the tanks. She looked up at a nurse who was standing there with a blank stare.

“You can’t be in here ma’am,” she said. Someone grabbed her arm, but she shook it free.

“No!” She held Van’s arm with one hand and held his face with the other. She leaned in close to him.

“Come on, soldier. Time to get cracking,” she said, gently shaking him. “We have a long night ahead of us. You know how you hate not being able to feel your legs when you wake up.” She gave his lips a kiss to the side of the tube. “Come on, my love. There’s nothing that gets the best of you. Fight it.” She gave him another kiss. The surgery staff stood in shock. “Fight it!” she screamed louder, shook him harder.

The doctor walked in and with a nod, the staff took the cue to leave. “We did everything we could.” He placed his hand on her shoulder, but again she shook it away.

“You killed him.”

“No, he just gave up.”

“Liar!” She turned around and slapped the doctor’s face hard. She wilted onto Van’s chest and finally cried. “No. No, you’re not leaving me.”

“Is there someone I can call for you?”

“Leave me alone!”

“I can’t let you leave here like this alone. I need to call someone.”

“Go to hell.” Her head remained flat on Van’s chest, but her hands went up to his face. From there, she ran her fingers through his hair then left them there, laced within his locks. Only days ago, she reprimanded him for not keeping the haircut appoint she had made. Now grateful, she ran her fingers through it again, brought her face to his and kissed his cheek. She rested her cheek to his and whispered into his ear. “Come back, damn you. You’re not leaving me.” She began to sob.

Reggie hadn’t remembered much after that. When she opened her eyes in the hospital bed, she was in a pair of dingy green scrubs. She vaguely remembered being dragged down the hall by two orderlies and away from Van. She had no recollection of getting into the scrubs or the bed. After sitting up, she was more than slightly disoriented. There was a glass of water by her bed and a small white pill. She drank the water, but didn’t touch the pill. A nurse walked in while she sat there steadying herself.

“Oh good, you’re up.” The nurse looked to be about her mother’s age. She was very heavyset but very pretty.

“Why am I here?”

“Oh, honey.” She sat down and took her hand. “Do you remember what happened?”

“I remember your bastard doctor killed my husband.”

The nurse gave her hand a squeeze. “We gave you a mild sedative. You were a little…emotional.”

“Are you married?”

“Thirty years this month. Four kids and two grandbabies,” she said with pride.

“And how would you have reacted to the news?”

She picked up the pill. “Please take this. I don’t want to have to give you another shot.”

“A shot?” She remembered now being held by the orderlies while she was jabbed in the arm.

“It’s a valium. It’ll help calm you down.”

“I don’t want to be calm. I want my husband.”

“Honey, he’s gone. You had your visit. He’s in the garden room now.”

“The garden room?”

“Sounds nicer than morgue,” she said with a whisper and another pat to her hand. “I know it’s rough, but you have to accept it and begin to make arrangements. You were his only next of kin. I have no one to call. Please take the pill and we can talk and make some phone calls for you.”

“Make me.” She threw the cup against the wall then walked over to the window. The nurse must have pushed a button because two orderlies walked in within a minute. “Damn you! No!” Reggie screamed and backed into the corner. “What the hell are you people?”

“We want you to relax. We’re not trying to hurt you. You need to take the edge off and think clearly. We need to call his family.”

“You’re not calling his family. I’ll call his family after I see him!”

“Your husband is dead, honey.”

“Stop calling me honey! I’m not your fucking honey! I want my husband damn you!”

The two orderlies closed in on her. She flailed violently, landing a square kick to the family jewels on one before the other managed to pick her up and hold her tight to his chest.

“Just settle down, honey. We want to help you. We need to know who to call for you.”

“Leave me alone. I’m not leaving without my husband.”

The doctor who operated on Van walked into the room. “Let her down,” he said to the orderlies. “Please come to my office so we can make arrangements to move your husband.”

“You’re not taking him anywhere!”

Reggie ran out of the room in search of the morgue.

~*~

“Reg?” Regina slowly moved her head from side to side. She opened her eyes, but everything was blurry. “You awake, Reg?” It looked like Van smiling down at her.
It can’t be.
She blinked a few times, trying to get things into focus. The face smiled. “Hey, princess. Are you ever a sight for sore eyes.”

“Troy?” Her voice cracked.

“I’m here, baby doll. I’m here.” She sat up and threw her arms around his neck. He returned the strong embrace. “I’m not letting you go.” She cried hard with all the accompanying noise her dry throat could make.

“They killed him, Troy.” Sobbing, she repeated, “They killed him.”

“Shhh.” He stroked her hair while she cried. “I’ve got you.”

When she was finally cried out, Troy leaned back with her on the waiting room couch. “They say you’ve been giving them quite a hard time.”

“They won’t let me see him, Troy.”

He pulled her forehead to his lips and kissed her firmly. “I know, princess.”

“How’d they find you?”

“His records. The next ICE listing for Van after you, was me.”

“ICE?” she asked.

“In case of emergency.”

“You didn’t have to fly all the way here for me.”

“Yes, I did. You can’t stay in the waiting room forever, Reg. We need to get you back home and get this all sorted out.”

“Sorted out? They killed him. What’s to sort out?” Her eyes were filled with tears.

“Come on. I have a hotel room in town. We’ll figure it out.”

She had forgotten they were still in Fargo. “But…” She was actually out of questions. She wanted to leave the hospital but once she left, she knew she had to let go of Van for good.

Troy stood and offered her his hand. As soon as Reggie was on her feet, she lost her balance.

“Whoa.” Troy caught her and sat her back down. “You all right?”

She reached for her head with both hands. “Just light-headed.”

“What’d you eat last?”

“Breakfast yesterday, after Van went into surgery. Whatever they gave me must be slow to wear off.”

“Reggie…his surgery was Monday.”

“I know. Yesterday.”

“This is Thursday.”

“It can’t be.”

“You have been refusing to leave and haven’t bothered to eat? Reg…” He pulled her to his chest and mumbled. “Dammit.”

“I don’t remember anything after…” She put her hands to her face and began to cry again.

He pulled her in for another hug. “Let’s get you outta here. We’ll get everything figured out.”

As soon as they were in the car, Troy called the hotel for room service. He ordered a cheeseburger and fries, a steak, a salad and, a chicken and pasta plate. He wanted it ready ASAFP and gave the kitchen staff exactly that for an order.

“Where’s Bri?”

“She was at her mom’s in Georgia. She’ll be here around midnight.”

“She didn’t have to leave her mother for me.”

“Trust me, she was more than happy to cut it short. Besides, you know she’d drop anything or anyone for you.” She sniffed again. “It’ll be okay, Reg. We’ll take care of you.” She dropped her head into his lap and cried again.

~*~

When Sabrina showed up, Reggie was sound asleep, curled up on the bed. “Don’t wake her, babe. She’s really out of it.”

“What the hell happened, Troy? How could he die?”

“I’ve been on the phone since she’s been asleep. Nobody can give me a direct answer.”

“What do they say?”

“They run in circles, from too many drugs in his system to an allergic reaction to the anesthetic to his heart just giving up.”

“You buying any of it?”

“I dunno. I guess any combination of it could be right. I don’t know anything about medicine. You hear horror stories all the time about simple procedures going wrong. We watched that horrible movie two weeks ago with that woman dying when they tried to remove something from her face. Reg is going to blame the VA, but it would have happened in any hospital.”

“You’re right. You know how she hated military life.”

“I know, babe.”

“She always talked about asking them to monitor his kidneys and stuff. She was worried about his system with all the medications. Maybe there was something to all of that.”

“I’ll see where I can get tomorrow. I couldn’t leave her alone today.” He looked over to be sure Reggie was asleep. “That’s another issue, too.”

“What?”

“She was beyond a handful from what they described. She kicked an orderly…you know…” Troy pointed to his crotch. “They tried giving her something to calm her down but she wouldn’t take it. They said she refused to call his family. I don’t know why they just didn’t do it.”

“What was she doing all this time?”

“Hanging out in the waiting room. She hasn’t even eaten in days, babe. I caught her from damn near falling over. She thought it was Tuesday.”

“Are you shitting me? You know how she gets when she’s upset, but that’s crazy. What about the nurses? Didn’t someone do anything?”