Page 60 of Shame the Devil
“No. They were, but I pulled them out. But they were big and sort of … wedged in, and then I wouldn’t stopbleeding.And I just realized what I should’ve done. I should’ve asked them to send a car to take me to the ER. My insurance is never going to cover a doctor coming here. Out of network. The ER’s bad enough. Oh, man.” She put a hand over her face. “This is going to be a thousand dollars even with insurance. If I’d gotten hit by the snowmobile, it would’ve at least been worker’s comp, since Blake sent me on that trip. For a stupid reason, but he did. Could I time travel back there, please? How do I explain this to him?”
Harlan said, “Maybe you should assume you did the right thing, calling me, and that I’ve got this, and stop worrying about it. You know what’s funny, though?”
She eyed him dubiously, but at least she’d taken her hand away from her face. “That I’m clumsy?”
He smiled. “Nope. Annabelle just told me that my dad was throwing things when he got home from the Super Bowl party. Lost a bet, she thinks. So there’s broken glass over there, too. Another ten bucks says she’s the one who cleans it up.”
“Yeah,” she said, “that’s hilarious. Harlan, that’s awful. You must be so worried about her. Is she all right?”
He gave a shrug. He hoped it looked casual. He was afraid it looked helpless. “He’s the same as always, or close. I tried to get my other sister to take her, but … not so easy. She’s got her own life. Kids. Job. If my dad would even let Annabelle go.”
“Couldn’t you go to the authorities?” she asked. “If he’s drinking that much, if he’s violent …”
“He’s not violent. I told you. Not enough to count. And as far as I know, there’s no law against getting drunk around your kids.”
She had one leg across his lap while he held her other foot in the air, and now, she reached out and touched his knee. “What have you tried? If you tell me, maybe we can think of something together. There must be something we can do.”
He’d have answered, but there was another knock at the door. He said, “Hold that foot up. Prop it on your other knee, and keep the pressure on.”
When he opened the door, it was the cops. Of course it was. Two of them, the older one in the doorway and the other one standing back, covering his partner. When they saw the blood on his hands, his arms, and his jeans, the atmosphere got a whole lot more interesting. Harlan sighed, kept his hands in view, and said, “Come on in, guys.”
* * *
It wasthe Keystone Kops in here, Jennifer thought semi-wildly, half an hour or four hours or a day and a half later. The cops had turned to go—finally—after one of them had lost his professionalism enough to ask Harlan for an autograph for his son. A man in a black suit who had “resort manager rousted from bed” written all over him was coming in the door, and Owen and Dyma were following after him fast, Dyma calling out, “Mom?Mom?”
Above Jennifer, the doctor asked, “How long has it been since you’ve had a tetanus shot?”
Jennifer giggled. She didn’t mean to. It was the pain medicine, probably. Probing and cleaning those wounds had hurt alot,and she hadn’t been able to stop from making some noise. Now, though, she was feeling good. Floating. That shot had workedfast.It was seriously strong, too. She said, “Hey, wait. Did you give me that pain injection because of the cuts, or is it actually because NFL stars get the good stuff?”
The doctor said, “Nope. We expect NFL stars to bite on a rolled towel,” and Harlan laughed. “Tetanus shot?” the doctor prompted.
Jennifer giggled again. Maybe itwasn’tjust the pain medicine. It could be the cops, the blood, Harlan, and the fact that her robe kept sliding above her knees, until she remembered and grabbed it. Or until Harlan did, because Harlan had been on Robe Duty quite a bit tonight. Given that her foot was resting on the back of the couch, and she wasstillnaked underneath the thing. He was going to have to pay for that, too, because this robe would never be the same. Bleach could only do so much. She waved a hand and said, “I’m going to say … childhood? Infancy? In other words, I have no idea. But I don’t think this resort has tetanus in their bathroom. Do you have tetanus in your bathroom?” she asked the manager. “I’d love to think you clean better than that.”
“Mom,” Dyma said, “whathappened?”
The doctor said, “Tetanus shot, then. I’ll give that in your upper arm, if you’ll just slip it out of that robe for me.”
Jennifer said, “Yeah, maybe not. Then I’dreallybe naked, and Owen didn’t pay for a dance in the Champagne Room.” Which made Harlan laugh again, and Dyma say,“Mom. What?”
The doctor said, “We’ll do the thigh, then,” Jennifer said, “Plenty of meat on there,” and Harlan grinned.
The manager said, “When you’re finished here, Mr. Kristiansen, just ring the front desk.” He put his business card down on the coffee table, on a rare non-bloody spot. “I’ve set aside another room for the ladies, when they’re ready. As soon as you call, we’ll send a bellman to help with the bags.” He set a paper bag on the coffee table next. It was a very glossy paper bag. It was awine-sized paper bag. “To help make up for the trouble. Anything else you need, please just ask.”
“Appreciate that,” Harlan said, as if this were normal. “You know what? I only got a bite of my dinner before all the bloodletting happened. It’s cold now, and Jennifer didn’t get anything at all. Want some enchiladas?” he asked Jennifer. “They’re chicken. The bite I had was pretty good.”
“Or you could have what I had,” Dyma said.
Jennifer squinted at her. “Is it vegetables?”
The doctor said, “Little prick here,” Jennifer said, “Oh, surely not. So disappointing,” and this time, both Harlan and Owen grinned.
Dyma said, as the needle went in and Jennifer didn’t even care, “Are you even mymother?And yes, it’s vegetables. Ofcourseit’s vegetables. Itoldyou, I’m doing this.”
“Enchiladas, then, please,” Jennifer said. “I’ve bled way too much to eat vegetables.”
“Two of those,” Harlan said. “And I’m sure whatever’s in this bag is real good, but if you’d have them send up a beer along with that food, that’d be even better. When I get this much blood on me, I tend to want a beer. Of course, it’s usuallymyblood, but still. Whatever’s local and cold will work for me. Send all that to my room, please.”
“Of course,” the manager said, and melted away.
