[Marvin's] World of Deadheads Page 20

  Marvin let out a whoop in celebration and ran toward Jenna. He stopped short, confused when he didn’t see her get up the way he had after the bus hit him. The three deadheads stood in silence. They watched and listened.

  “Jen? Jenna?? Oh my God. Where’s my phone? Where’s my fucking cell phone goddammit!” Larry searched his body in a panic before he remembered he’d clipped it to his golf bag. He rolled the unconscious Jenna enough to get a grip on her phone and yanked it off the waistband of her pants. He looked around the area for the culprits while he waited for the operator to pick up and didn’t notice the club come back into sight on the ground next to him. “Bastards. Whoever you are, you motherfuckers…”

  “911, what is your emergency?”

  “I need an ambulance at the Civic Golf Course! Near the fifth hole green…”

  “Has someone been injured?”

  “Yeah, my girlfriend’s been hit in the head by a ball…

  “Is she breathing? Is there a pulse?”

  “Uh, let me check… Yeah. On… both counts.”

  “Okay, sir. Paramedics have been dispatched, the station is close and they’ll be there in a couple minutes.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Sir? I need you to stay on the line with me, okay?”

  Jenna stirred and moaned.

  “Jen? Jenna.”

  “Sir, are you with me?”

  “Yes. She’s… I don’t know, she’s moaning.”

  “Don’t move her. Do not allow her to sit up.”

  “Uh, okay. Why?”

  “Sir, just follow my instructions until the unit arrives. Can you do that for me?”

  “Yes! I’m following your fucking instructions!”

  “I need you to calm down, sir.”

  “Oh, Jesus… I see blood. Tell them to hurry!”

  “They should be coming down the fairway any minute now. Can you see them?”

  Everyone, the small group of deadheads that had gathered around included, turned toward the faint wail of the siren and saw the course ranger on a golf cart headed toward the commotion. Marvin moved closer in an attempt to see exactly how much Jenna might be bleeding.

  An elbow nudged Mike. “What happen? Guy clobber her wit da club?”

  “What club?”

  “Dat one, on da ground dere.”

  “I don’t think so. She got smacked in the head with that.” Mike pointed to the ball lying next to Jenna.

  The man clicked his tongue, looked in Marvin’s direction, shook his head and in a subdued voice talking to himself said, “I done tol’ him. It ain’t right for a youngun like him to be doin’ dis kina thang. We’s gon’ hafta think ‘bout what to do wit dis one.”

  “I think I hear the siren,” Larry told the operator.

  “Okay, they’ll take care of her. I’m going to hang up now, okay?

  “Uh, yeah.” Larry flipped the phone closed and ended the call.

  Mike turned to ask the old man what he was mumbling about, but he’d already left. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed him standing across the fairway. Mike looked toward him thinking he sure moved fast for an old guy. He could see, even from such a distance, the poor, ragged clothing and the striking intelligence and deep sadness in the man’s dark eyes. Mike turned to Tommy and nudged him. “Who’s that old dude over there? Have you seen him before?”

  “Who?”

  “The one across the fairway, over there.” Mike pointed to empty space. “Huh. Guess he’s gone. Strange old geezer.”

  “Why? What was strange about him?”

  Mike thought about it but didn’t really know quite how to explain it. “If he wasn’t a deadhead, you’d think he’s a homeless person by the looks of him. But more than that, I’d say there’s something about his eyes. Kind of mesmerizing. Oh, well.” He shook his head and they turned their attention back to the paramedics who were about to lift a semi-conscious Jenna onto the stretcher.

  “On three. One. Two. Three.”

  “Can I ride along?”

  “And you would be?”

  “Boyfriend.”

  “Boyfriend my ass!” Marv corrected.

  Larry noticed a negative expression begin to form on the medic’s face. “Co-worker; colleague. Call me whatever you want! Look, she doesn’t have anyone else, okay.”

  Marv was incensed by the comment. “I beg your pardon? She’s got me, you son-of-a-bitch! If anyone’s going, it’s me.”

  Tommy stopped Marvin from throwing a punch at Larry. “Marvin! No. Dude, let him go.”

  “Yeah, come on Brody. It’s better if we grab a bus,” Mike suggested.

  “Why? Why can’t we just hitch along in the back of the ambulance?”

  Tommy shook his head. “Too crowded, dude. They’d just be bumping through us the entire trip.”

  They watched the paramedics load Jenna into the back. Larry scrambled in, and the ambulance drove slowly along the cart path.

  Marvin figured if Jenna was bleeding a lot, maybe if he got lucky, she’d be done for by the time they reached the hospital. Then a thought came to him. “What if she dies on the way there? I mean, how will we find her?”

  “Brody has a point, Tommy.”

  Tommy studied the back end of the ambulance for a moment. “I really don’t think you’re gonna have to worry about it, Marvin. ‘Cause, dude, something tells me you missed your mark again.”

  “Hey! Wait a minute. If she dies, wouldn’t she just go home? I mean, that’s what I did.” Mike glanced at them in turn.

  Tommy shrugged. “Probably. But,” he looked to Marvin, “if you insist, I see a rear bumper and door handles to hang onto. And side running boards.”

  The three deadheads exchanged quick glances and ran for the ambulance. Marvin and Mike jumped onto the back bumper and held on using the door handles. Tommy leaped to the passenger running board and grabbed the side-view mirror for support.

  The ambulance approached the exit and slowed to check traffic. The driver looked to his right. “Huh. That’s weird.”

  “What?” came the response from the medic in the back of the truck.

  “The support bar for the mirror over there is gone.”

  “You mean the mirror’s gone?”

  “No, the mirror is there.”

  “What?”

  “Looks like the thing is just hanging there in mid air.”

  “That’s impossible.”

  The vehicle stopped and the driver turned around in his seat. “Man, I’m telling you! Look for yourself.”

  Tommy heard the discussion and took the opportunity of the temporary stop to remove his hands while the medic in the back maneuvered to get a good view.

  “See? I told —”

  The medic chuckled. “Danny, either you’re working too many shifts, or we need to check the med supplies. Go!”

  Danny gave his coworker the middle finger, flipped the switch for the siren and punched the gas pedal.

  Tommy almost fell off as the ambulance lurched forward and grabbed for the bar. “Whoo-hoo! Dudes! This is gonna be a fun ride. Better than Montezuma’s Revenge at Knott’s Berry Farm!”

  “What the hell is that?” Marv bellowed, in hopes Tommy would hear him, but Mike hollered in answer.

  “One mean mother of a roller coaster at an amusement park in California. We’ll have to take you some day, Brody.”

  “I’ll pass, thanks.”

  “Aw, dude! Where’s your sense of adventure?”

  Marv increased his white-knuckle grip on the door handle. “My adventure is hanging on for dear life right now!”

  Tommy and Mike burst into their infectious laughter and waved to deadheads who turned toward the loud whoops of excitement as the ambulance passed by.

  -37-

  Exhilarated from the ride, Tommy and Mike jumped from their perches at the hospital.

  “Whoo! Far out man! That was so groovy I might have to do it again just for fun. What a ride!”

  Though he laughed
at the exuberance, Mike gave him a look of warning. “Hey! What did I say on the cruise about those words?”

  “Sorry. I couldn’t help it. But, if I recall, dude, you lost that tussle.” Tommy winked at him.

  “Tommy, my friend, you are one weird-ass kid, you know that?” Marvin struggled to gain enough equilibrium to make his way to the curb and sit while the EMT’s wheeled Jenna into the emergency room with Larry limping along behind the gurney.

  “Sorry, Marvin. But I got you here, didn’t I?”

  “Barely in one piece!” Marv growled. “What if I’d fallen off?”

  “Oh, my God! you think you might have been killed?” Mike gasped in mock horror, then shook his head. “Lighten up, Brody.”

  Inside, Jenna was transferred to a bed and the curtain pulled closed around it.

  A triage nurse, dressed in green scrubs, stethoscope hanging into her cleavage, and a name tag that read Peggy Mercyman, R.N., approached. “What do we have, Danny?”

  “Eh, small laceration on the back of the head, bleeding heavy.”

  Peggy shrugged. “Typical for a head wound.”

  “She got her bells rung with a golf ball.”

  “A golf ball cut through the scalp?”

  “I doubt it. I saw a rock sticking out of the ground behind her head when we moved her. Probably hit her head on that.”

  “Thanks.” Peggy waved a hand signal at one of the interns to begin a standard evaluation. “So, how’s your day been? It’s been pretty quiet in here.”

  “First call of the day for us.” Danny eyed the disappearing end of the stethoscope. “This was an easy break from the boredom.”

  “You working all day?”

  “ ’Til seven tonight, why?” He glanced down at her cleavage again.

  “Care for a quick bite after?” She paused for effect. “You never know what could come up between us.”

  Danny wanted to grab her right there. He’d had a thing for this one since he transferred to this area of town. He smiled but pretended a modicum of disinterest. “Sure. How’s Mr. C’s sound?”

  Peggy nodded. “Okay. I’ll be waiting.”

  The intern emerged from behind the curtain, signaled to Peggy to follow, and headed for the nurse’s station to log his orders.

  The deadheads passed Danny as he came through the automatic doors, pumped the air with a fist, wearing a smile. “Yeah, baby!”

  Marvin stopped to watch Danny retreat. “Looks like someone’s gonna get lucky. More than I can say for the way my day’s turning out.”

  “Oh, stop being so glum, Brody. So, we failed today. We’ll think of something else, right? Come on, let’s go in. See what the damage is.”

  “Sure. Sure.” Marvin stopped in the middle of the E.R. and glanced around. “Where’d they put her?”

  “Over here Marv! Behind the curtain.”

  A few minutes later, the intern parted the curtains and entered, a nurse’s aide right behind him drew the curtains open. “Mr. Benton, we’re going to be taking your wife up for a CAT scan.”

  “How bad is it? She’s bleeding an awful lot. Can’t you at least stop the bleeding?” Larry didn’t bother to correct the doctor

  “What the hell is this?” Marvin grabbed at the intern’s arm to spin him around, but his hand swiped right through. “That is not the husband. This is the husband, right here.”

  Mike grabbed Marv’s arm. “Brody, calm down. Man! Get a grip.”

  The intern continued as he and the aide began to wheel Jenna’s bed. “It’s just a little gash. The blood is typical of even a small head wound. We need a scan to know if there’s anything serious. There’s a waiting room through the double doors over there.” He nodded to the right.

  “Can’t I go along?”

  “I’m sorry, but no. Don’t worry, I’m sure she’s going to be fine.”

  In the waiting room, Larry used his cell phone to call JoAnne. “Hey Jo, it’s Larry. Listen, I’m at the hospital. Jenna got smacked in the head while we were golfing this afternoon. I kinda have a feeling she won’t be in Monday.”

  “You kinda have a feeling? This guy isn’t too smart, is he?” Marvin interjected the question to nobody in particular.

  “She’s in and out of consciousness and they’ve just taken her up for a CT scan. Anyway, call me if you pick up messages before Monday morning and I’ll fill you in as much as I can.”

  An hour later, the doctor walked into the waiting room. “Mr. Benton… Your wife should be fine.” Larry opened his mouth to correct the error but thought better of it and let the doctor continue. “There’s no internal bleeding that we can detect at this point and no skull fracture, but concussions can be tricky. We’re going to admit her and keep her overnight for observation, to watch for any signs of swelling. A neurologist will examine her in the morning and if he’s satisfied, he’ll release her then.”

  “Can I see her?”

  “They’re finding a room now. The nurse will come out to let you know where she ends up. She’s been given —,” he paused when Larry’s phone rang. “Do you need to answer that?”

  “Um, no. I’ll call them back. Go ahead.”

  The doctor nodded and continued. “She’s been given something to dull the oncoming headache and we don’t want her making any sudden movements. I wouldn’t expect too much from her right now. I’ll check in on her before my shift ends.”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  They shook hands and Larry pulled his phone to check the message.

  “This creep has a lot of nerve.” Marvin sensed a good rant coming on and frowned when Mike put a quick stop to it.

  “Brody. Let it be. You said Jenna doesn’t have anyone. If Larry spills about not being family, she’s got no one to look out for her here.”

  “What do you mean, no one to look out for her? I’m here, we’re here. We don’t need that schmuck,” Marvin pitched a thumb over his shoulder at Larry, “to do anything but get the hell out.”

  Tommy entered the fray. “No, Marvin. Mike’s right. Don’t mess with it.”

  As Larry dialed JoAnne’s number to return the call, Peggy pushed the door open to the room just far enough to stick her head in. “Mr. Benton? Your wife is in room 2021. You can go up now if you like.”

  Larry waved a hand in acknowledgement as the deadhead trio departed for the room. “Yeah, Jo…”

  “Is she okay? What the hell happened?”

  “Yeah, she’s fine. No skull fracture”

  “How’d she get hit in the head?”

  “A stray golf ball… Well, more like stray golf balls. I don’t know where they came from, but one managed to clobber her good. She went down fast and took me with her.”

  “You weren’t able to see anyone?”

  “Not a soul. I don’t know… it was weird. It was like they came out of thin air.”

  “So, what’s going to happen?”

  “They’ve admitted her at least until tomorrow.” Larry explained the doctor’s plan, promised to call her later and hung up. When he walked into Jenna’s hospital room and sat in the chair, he noticed a tingling run through his left side as Mike scrambled to get up. “Nnh. Damn, that arm feels funny. I wonder if I should have the doctor take a look at my back. There’s probably a bruise the size of Rhode Island.”

  Tommy and Marvin continued their heated debate at the sleeping Jenna’s bedside.

  “Dude, I’m telling you. She doesn’t really know you’re here. The mumbling and ramblings are from the injury and the drugs.”

  “So, if you’re right and she’s not aware, why couldn’t we put a little something-something into her IV and finish the job?”

  “You are cold, Marvin. Do you want one of the nurses or orderlies to lose their job?”

  “Why would someone lose a job?”

  “Listen to your Uncle Tommy, would you? Look, I may appear to be twenty years old, but don’t forget I’ve been here on this side longer than you were alive!”

  “And?”

>   “And I’m telling you, the doctor said she’s got a minor concussion. They did an MRI…”

  “CAT scan.”

  “Whatever. If she suddenly quits breathing, they investigate. They find the added drugs and the nurse and orderly assigned to her will get blamed for the overdose. They could go to jail, man. And that’s not cool.”

  Marv let out a deep, loud sigh. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  “Besides,” Tommy fixed him with a broad smile, “with your current track record, dude, you’d inject her with vitamins. She’d be up dancing on the ceiling in perfect health in an hour.”

  -38-

  The next morning, Mrs. McClaskey heard loud thumps coming from the hallway and opened her door a crack. “May I help you?”

  “Um… I had a… date, I guess you could say, with Jenna. She’s not answering her door. Do you know if she went out?”

  A person couldn’t be too careful these days, so she studied the face for a minute. “You look familiar, do I know you?”

  “I believe we were introduced at my brother’s funeral.”

  “Oh, yes, now I do remember. It’s David, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” David put his hand out in greeting.

  She stepped forward and accepted. “Mrs. McClaskey. Nice to meet you, again.”

  “Yeah, you too.”

  Colleen’s face registered her disgust with the lack of proper grammar in today’s youth, but she smiled rather than correct since the young man’s initial response had been proper. Show respect and you get respect was one of the mottos she believed in. “Thank you. You say you had a date with Jenna today?”

  “Scheduled for an hour ago. I’ve knocked and I tried calling.”

  Now that she remembered he was family, the old woman felt bad he hadn’t been notified. “Well, I see you haven’t heard. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, David, but I received a call from a,” she almost said ‘new young man,’ but caught herself at the last instant, “from a young man she works with. Apparently, Jenna had a tiny bit of an accident yesterday out on the golf course.”

  “Oh, no. Is she okay? I hope it’s not serious.”

  “According to Larry — that’s the young man I spoke of — she’ll be fine. But the doctors wanted to keep her overnight, just to be sure.”