Page 12 of Something Like Summer
English was pleasant andthe usual teacher was back in Spanish class. When Ben was called tothe front for an exercise, a number of students made sure to trytheir new word, butmariposafailed to cause a reaction in the teacher. Maybethe substitute hadn’t given them the right word, or maybe Mrs. Vegachose not to hear. Ben didn’t know how aware the teachers were ofhis sexuality, but surely the faculty gossiped just as much as thestudents did. The name calling irritated him, but he was so closeto escaping school for the day that he tried not to dwell onit.
When lunch break finallycame, he had a hurried meal with Allison, his stomach bubbling withnervousness the whole time. Then he made a break for it. Ben hadnever skipped school before, at least not like this. He hadpreviously feigned illnesses and had his mom call it in; whohadn’t? But this was different. He had imagined running intoteachers or security guards on the way to the car and had aselection of excuses prepared. His best was to claim that he hadforgotten some books in his car. That seemed reasonable enough.Once he was in the car he would simply drive away, or maybe hewould retreat and try again between classes.
As it was, he had nothingto worry about. There were plenty of seniors who worked jobs thesecond half of the day, so he wasn’t alone in his excursion acrossthe parking lot. He made it to the 3000GT, cautiously pulled out ofthe parking lot, and then went the exact speed limit all the way tothe hospital. No sense in getting pulled over at this point in thegame.
Ben entered through theemergency entrance, which was impractical in retrospect since itwas no longer an emergency. A different receptionist, one even lessfriendly than the night before, gave him a vague idea of whichdirection he should head. He wandered the hospital halls for whatfelt like an eternity, wrinkling his nose at the sterile smell andtrying not to stare at patients through the doors. After askingtwice more and travelling two floors up, he finally reached Tim’sroom.
The victim of hisaffections was stretched out on the bed, an ivory-white cast nowcovering his foot and lower leg. Currently an attractive youngnurse was taking Tim’s blood pressure. At least, that’s what shewas supposed to be doing. The cuff was still on his arm but so washer hand as she giggled at something Tim had just said. She satdown on the edge of the bed just as Ben cleared his throat, causingher to jump back up again.
“Benjamin!” Tim exclaimedhappily. “And here I thought you had stolen my car and hightailedit to Mexico.”
“That’s the plan--” Bensmiled “--but I thought I’d bring you along. We’re checking out,”he said to the nurse.
“I’ll let the doctorknow,” the nurse said as she left.
“Feeling better?” Bensuddenly wished he had brought flowers or a teddy bear orsomething. Wasn’t that what you were supposed to do in suchsituations?
“A little, yeah. Did youcall my parents?”
“No. Yes! Sorry, yes,” Benbacktracked once Dr. Baker’s shadow filled the doorway. “They don’tthink they can change their flight, but they’ve arranged for anurse to take care of you and everything.”
“They’re probably pissed,huh?”
Ben found this commentsurprising. Why would they be angry at their son for getting hurt?“Not at all,” he replied. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Do you have their numberhandy?” Dr. Baker interjected.
“Oh! No, sorry,” Benapologized. He had been prepared for this question. “I totallyforgot it.”
“Well, as long as theywere informed,” the doctor said meaningfully.
Ben gave him his bestinnocent, doe-eyed look and nodded. This seemed to satisfy thedoctor, who began scribbling on his clipboard.
The nurse returned andbegan to help Tim dress. While she was doing this, Dr. Baker gaveBen some papers and went over instructions that were to be given tothe in-home nurse. Ben tried to keep up and nod when appropriate,hoping to get through it as quickly as possible since the doctorwas standing in his line of vision. By the time the droning hadended, Tim was dressed. The doctor and nurse helped Tim into awheelchair and gave him over to Ben.
He couldn’t help but bereminded of when they adopted Wilford. Ben’s family had visited theanimal shelter and picked him out from among his litter mates. Thenthere was a grueling waiting period of one week, during which thedog received his shots and was neutered before Wilford could bepicked up. When they finally handed Ben the leash, he had feltproud, excited, even nervous. But mostly the experience had madehim happy. Much like he was feeling now. He hoped that Tim wouldfeel the same once he caught wind of his plan.
* * * * *
“So, no nurse?”
“No nurse,” Benrepeated.
The expression on Tim’sface was hard to read. He looked concerned, or maybe just confused.He leaned back on the peach living room couch and raised aneyebrow. “And you never called my parents? They have no idea I wasin the hospital overnight?”
Ben started having secondthoughts. What sort of monster intentionally kept parents in thedark about their son being injured? “They have no idea,” headmitted.
The worry scattered fromTim’s face as a broad smile appeared. “Thanks, man! That was reallycool of you!”
Ben breathed out in relief.“I’m glad you think so! I was worried that I’d done the wrongthing.”
“Naw, they would have beenpissed.”
“Really?”
“Really. A couple of yearsago I came down with the flu the day before they were flying toJapan. It totally messed with their plans. They had to rescheduleeverything, missed out on some group tour thing. I don’t know.” Timscratched at the skin near his cast. “They were so pissy the wholeweek after that I wished they hadn’t bothered staying.
“I’m a mistake you know,”he continued. “My parents are pretty cool and all, but it’s obviousthat it was never in their plans to have kids. I’m an only child,and my parents have done everything in their power to keep goingwith the lifestyle they had before me.”
