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Sir, yes, sir.
There is a risk of losing what you ve managed to regain if you let it go too
long but I understand your reluctance. I& think we can let it wait a month or so. The
doctors here can follow you, make sure you re maintaining your current status.
Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.
Doyle stood and left the room, trying to look like he was doing better than he
actually was and not hobble. He walked into the crowded corridor, dodging patients in
wheelchairs and staff in a hurry, barely seeing any of them.
Surgery.
Again.
Ah, damn!
The long day was taking its toll. He made it as far as he could before he had to
stop and give in to the pain. He was supposed to call Sergeant Beltran about getting a ride
home, but he didn t. He had his own plans for that.
He got onto the elevator and pushed the button for the floor where Meehan
worked. He halfway expected not to find her he d been on a search for her at work
before, but he saw her as soon as he got off the elevator, walking away from him in the
opposite direction. His legs were killing him. It was as if knowing that things weren t
right made the pain worse. There was no place to sit down so he stood, leaning hard into
his cane, hoping the shakiness would pass and that Meehan would come back this way so
he didn t have to go hunting for her. People walked past him, but he must have looked all
right, he thought, because none of them paid him any attention.
You okay, buddy? a medic finally asked.
I m waiting for Kate Meehan, he said around the pain. He tried shifting his
weight, but it didn t help. It never helped.
The medic was watching him closely.
And I m a little& rough around the edges, Doyle confessed in the hope of
getting the guy to get his ass in gear and go find her.
She s here someplace, the medic said.
The medic walked away, intercepting Meehan when she came out of a room at the
other end of the hall. Doyle saw her listen to whatever it was he told her, watched her
look in his direction when the medic pointed him out. She said something to the medic
and went back into the room. His unexpected appearance didn t rattle her, he d say that
for her. And either the medic was coming to help or to give him hell.
She said wait, the medic said in passing.
No problem, Doyle said, because he didn t think he could manage anything
else. He wasn t absolutely sure he could keep standing.
He looked down at the floor and tried to think of something besides the pain.
Well, this looks familiar, Meehan said, catching him unaware. You ve done it
again, haven t you?
He knew what it meant. Yes, he d walked too much. Yes, he d gone without
eating. Yes, he d let his leg muscles go into spasm. He made no attempt to deny her
very astute medical assessment. He just ignored it.
I m looking for a ride home, he said. If I can t get one with you, I ll go to Plan
B.
Which is?
I can call Sergeant Beltran. He said he d scare up somebody.
You just happened to be in the neighborhood?
Downstairs. I ve been& here all& day.
Why?
Surgical consultation, I guess you d call it the guy who did the first operations
in Texas wanted to see me. I got an early wake-up call for it.
So what did the surgeon say?
He sighed instead of answering. So can I get a ride? he asked, for once avoiding
her eyes.
It ll be about twenty-five or thirty minutes before I m done here.
No problem, he said.
Oh, I can see that, she assured him. Hampton, roll that wheelchair down here.
I don t need
He stopped because he was getting the nurse look the one he knew better than to
tangle with. Besides that, he just wasn t up to having any kind of altercation about it.
Hampton, the medic, rolled the wheelchair front and center, and Doyle sat down
in it. He hated wheelchairs. He d logged more time in a wheelchair than he cared to
remember. Long, empty, pain-filled days, and even longer nights.
But he sat down. He managed to get the footrests unfolded and to roll himself out
of the traffic pattern and down to the windows at the end of the hall where he could see
out if he happened to get tired of watching Meehan working.
Unfortunately, he hurt too bad to do either. Hampton came by again, this time
bearing a cold soft drink in a can and a pack of salted peanuts.
Courtesy of herself, he said, handing them over.
Doyle took them. His hands shook so when he opened the peanuts, he spilled a
number of them in his lap and on the floor. He was so hungry, he hardly tasted them. By
the time Meehan appeared in the hall again, he was feeling better. Less starved, anyway.
For food, that is.
He tossed the empty can and the peanut pack into the trash and watched Meehan
approaching. She looked great. If she d been upset about last night, he didn t think it was
enough to cause her to lose sleep.
Okay, she said. Do you want to go for tough and walk to the parking lot or
do you want to ride to the front door?
Tough, he said, using everything he had to get out of the chair. This was one of
the things he liked about her. She d give him the option of biting the bullet or making a
fool of himself up to a point.
She stood close to him when he was ready to start out, but she didn t say
anything. He took a chance and put his hand on her shoulder.
Thanks for the refreshments, he said.
No problem.
They walked to the elevators, right by where people could see them. He didn t
know how it looked his holding on to her like that. He didn t care, but he thought she
might. If she did, it didn t show.
So what did the surgeon say? she asked again as they got into the elevator.
He wants to fix some things that don t suit him.
And?
And I don t think I can stand it again.
She glanced at him. Might help.
Might not, he answered.
How many times have you had surgery? she asked.
Eleven, he said, and she nodded.
He had let go of her in the elevator, but he rested his hand on her shoulder again
when they were walking toward the main entrance.
That way, she said when they stepped outside.
The sun went behind a random cloud, but it was still hot. He struggled along,
determined not to mention last night unless she did.
You can wait here and I ll bring the car around.
No, he said. The last thing he wanted was to give up touching her. He didn t
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