In Remembrance of Me-Chapter 3
As Jessica was preparing a stir fry in the kitchen, Eugene appeared behind her.
"You remembered," he said, coming up close and putting his hands on her shoulders. Jessica turned to see a pair of hands, then swiveled her head around to look at Eugene.
"Remembered what, honey?"
"That I used to love your stir fries," her husband's apparition said, massaging her shoulders. "I always thought they were better than anything I could get in Chinatown." Jessica smiled modestly, then their lips met in a couple of light kisses. Eugene moved his hands down to Jessica's waist and wrapped his arms around her, gently hugging her a little closer to him.
"Yeah. I thought of you when I decided to whip this up," Jessica said as she put the vegetables and diced meat together in a bowl, mixing in some soy sauce. Eugene then stepped aside as she brought the bowl to the futuristic-looking electric stove, got out a frying pan from a cupboard, and proceeded to use a wooden spoon to transfer the mixture into the pan. After Jessica turned the stove on to cook the stir fry, the two put their arms around each other again and kissed a little more. Meanwhile, a shadow slipped fleetingly past the window and around to the front door.
"You remember the time I took you to Chinatown?" Eugene asked during a pause in the kisses.
"Oh, do I ever," Jessica said. "I remember like it was yesterday. We toured the whole place, stopped in some shops, ate at a lovely restaurant. What I can't recall is the name of the restaurant, but I know the setting was authentically Chinese."
"I believe it was the Golden Dragon," was the answer from her husband. "It was the fanciest place in all of Chinatown. Expensive, too. But I was able to put out enough for dinner. And then I took you to the Chinese Theater in Hollywood to see a movie."
"Yeah. I couldn't get over how cool it was that we got to meet George Clooney, Martin Sheen, and Michael Keaton," Jessica continued as she leaned back in Eugene's arms, and he leaned forward to compensate for the distance her action created between them. Both were grinning from ear to ear.
"And don't forget I bought you that little jade statuette as a token of my esteem, and a souvenir of a wonderful time in Chinatown," Eugene finished.
"You're right! I forgot about that, too," Jessica suddenly gasped. "I still have the statuette, though. It's a Buddha, right? I keep it on my dresser and it's a lovely little thing to look at."
"It was a Buddha. You're correct," the elder Tackleberry said. Suddenly, there was a rustle in the bushes out in the back yard. The sound alerted both of them.
"What was that?" Jessica asked. "Is something out there?"
"Probably just an animal or something," Eugene said, pulling out his handgun. "I'll take care of it."
"Don't kill it, though," Jessica pleaded.
"Okay," came the answer as her husband unlocked the back door. "I'll just make sure to scare it out of the yard." He opened the screen door, aimed his gun out into the darkness, and fired off a shot. After a short pause, he closed and locked the screen door and the inside door.
"There. Problem solved," he proclaimed, putting his gun back in its holster. "Now, how about we get back to more important things, huh?" The two put their arms around each other and smooched a little more, then Jessica broke the embrace to stir up the contents of the frying pan a bit. What they did not see was the stranger who had quietly picked the lock on the front door and now was inside the house. The figure went into the living room and unplugged the lamp. The suddenness of the light going out caused Eugene to turn his head.
"Hey, how come the living room just went dark?" he asked.
"Maybe the bulb in the lamp burned out," Jessica said. "I'll just go and replace it." She started to head towards the living room, but her husband stopped her.
"Jess, I should probably go with you. I've got something of a bad feeling about this," he said in a concerned voice.
"It's just a bulb," said Jessica, a little confused by Eugene's reaction. "Why worry?"
"Wasn't it just changed?" Jess still did not realize why Eugene was so tense about this.
"Maybe it was faulty," she simply said. "I'll replace it with another." She went into the living room. Suddenly, there was a loud scream and the sound of ceramic smashing into pieces. Eugene bolted for the living room and turned on the lights just as the stranger was hurrying out the front door; he caught up to the man and pulled out his signature silver .44 Magnum, firing a shot squarely in the stranger's spine. The man slumped to the floor, dead, then Eugene darted back to Jessica, who was lying unconscious, taking shallow breaths. He reached for the cordless and dialed up 9-1-1.
"9-1-1, what is your emergency?" A female operator answered on the other end of the line.
"My wife, she's been knocked unconscious," Jessica's husband responded. "She has a faint pulse and breaths are shallow. I need an ambulance. Send help, now!"
"Sir, can you tell me your location?" the operator inquired.
"1023 Kings Court, in the suburban area of L.A.," Eugene said.
"Alright, sir," the operator replied. "We'll be sending the Los Angeles Emergency Squad and paramedics with an MICU."
"Thank you," Eugene said with some relief as he replaced the phone, then he continued to monitor Jessica. "Come on, Jess. Hang in there. You've got to. The LAPD can't afford to lose another valuable member, and your uncle would be crushed." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
"Please, Jess. Hang on. You'll be okay." Within minutes, flashing lights appeared outside and wailing sirens were heard. Paramedics and EMT's burst in through the front door wheeling a gurney. Carefully strapping Jessica to the backboard and lifting her onto the stretcher, they brought her out of the house and loaded her into the back of the ambulance while Eugene stepped outside, distraught. The police were there, too, and he walked back in with a couple of other officers to begin an investigation after the ambulance and mobile intensive care unit pulled away, whisking Jessica off to the hospital. A few hours later, Eugene arrived at the hospital after the evidence was gathered and the body of the man who attempted to murder Jessica had been transported to the coroner at the city morgue. Following his check-in at the main desk, Eugene took the stairs two at a time, rushing up to the level where they had Jessica. He asked a passing nurse what room she was in and sprinted off to find her. Outside the room, he paced nervously until a doctor came out to talk to him.
"How is she?"
"She's stable right now," the ER doctor said. "But it appears she suffered a concussion and is slipping in and out of consciousness periodically. We're probably going to keep her here for one to two days, just to monitor her status."
"She will be okay.won't she?" Eugene asked.
"I'm not sure how long it'll be before she makes a full recovery," the doctor told him, shaking his head. "And it seems she took a pretty good hit in the head. We'll keep an eye on her condition, though, I promise."
"Okay. Please, do what you can to make sure she's all right," Jessica's husband begged. Please, Jess. Hang on, you'll make it, he kept thinking. You'll make it.
As Jessica was preparing a stir fry in the kitchen, Eugene appeared behind her.
"You remembered," he said, coming up close and putting his hands on her shoulders. Jessica turned to see a pair of hands, then swiveled her head around to look at Eugene.
"Remembered what, honey?"
"That I used to love your stir fries," her husband's apparition said, massaging her shoulders. "I always thought they were better than anything I could get in Chinatown." Jessica smiled modestly, then their lips met in a couple of light kisses. Eugene moved his hands down to Jessica's waist and wrapped his arms around her, gently hugging her a little closer to him.
"Yeah. I thought of you when I decided to whip this up," Jessica said as she put the vegetables and diced meat together in a bowl, mixing in some soy sauce. Eugene then stepped aside as she brought the bowl to the futuristic-looking electric stove, got out a frying pan from a cupboard, and proceeded to use a wooden spoon to transfer the mixture into the pan. After Jessica turned the stove on to cook the stir fry, the two put their arms around each other again and kissed a little more. Meanwhile, a shadow slipped fleetingly past the window and around to the front door.
"You remember the time I took you to Chinatown?" Eugene asked during a pause in the kisses.
"Oh, do I ever," Jessica said. "I remember like it was yesterday. We toured the whole place, stopped in some shops, ate at a lovely restaurant. What I can't recall is the name of the restaurant, but I know the setting was authentically Chinese."
"I believe it was the Golden Dragon," was the answer from her husband. "It was the fanciest place in all of Chinatown. Expensive, too. But I was able to put out enough for dinner. And then I took you to the Chinese Theater in Hollywood to see a movie."
"Yeah. I couldn't get over how cool it was that we got to meet George Clooney, Martin Sheen, and Michael Keaton," Jessica continued as she leaned back in Eugene's arms, and he leaned forward to compensate for the distance her action created between them. Both were grinning from ear to ear.
"And don't forget I bought you that little jade statuette as a token of my esteem, and a souvenir of a wonderful time in Chinatown," Eugene finished.
"You're right! I forgot about that, too," Jessica suddenly gasped. "I still have the statuette, though. It's a Buddha, right? I keep it on my dresser and it's a lovely little thing to look at."
"It was a Buddha. You're correct," the elder Tackleberry said. Suddenly, there was a rustle in the bushes out in the back yard. The sound alerted both of them.
"What was that?" Jessica asked. "Is something out there?"
"Probably just an animal or something," Eugene said, pulling out his handgun. "I'll take care of it."
"Don't kill it, though," Jessica pleaded.
"Okay," came the answer as her husband unlocked the back door. "I'll just make sure to scare it out of the yard." He opened the screen door, aimed his gun out into the darkness, and fired off a shot. After a short pause, he closed and locked the screen door and the inside door.
"There. Problem solved," he proclaimed, putting his gun back in its holster. "Now, how about we get back to more important things, huh?" The two put their arms around each other and smooched a little more, then Jessica broke the embrace to stir up the contents of the frying pan a bit. What they did not see was the stranger who had quietly picked the lock on the front door and now was inside the house. The figure went into the living room and unplugged the lamp. The suddenness of the light going out caused Eugene to turn his head.
"Hey, how come the living room just went dark?" he asked.
"Maybe the bulb in the lamp burned out," Jessica said. "I'll just go and replace it." She started to head towards the living room, but her husband stopped her.
"Jess, I should probably go with you. I've got something of a bad feeling about this," he said in a concerned voice.
"It's just a bulb," said Jessica, a little confused by Eugene's reaction. "Why worry?"
"Wasn't it just changed?" Jess still did not realize why Eugene was so tense about this.
"Maybe it was faulty," she simply said. "I'll replace it with another." She went into the living room. Suddenly, there was a loud scream and the sound of ceramic smashing into pieces. Eugene bolted for the living room and turned on the lights just as the stranger was hurrying out the front door; he caught up to the man and pulled out his signature silver .44 Magnum, firing a shot squarely in the stranger's spine. The man slumped to the floor, dead, then Eugene darted back to Jessica, who was lying unconscious, taking shallow breaths. He reached for the cordless and dialed up 9-1-1.
"9-1-1, what is your emergency?" A female operator answered on the other end of the line.
"My wife, she's been knocked unconscious," Jessica's husband responded. "She has a faint pulse and breaths are shallow. I need an ambulance. Send help, now!"
"Sir, can you tell me your location?" the operator inquired.
"1023 Kings Court, in the suburban area of L.A.," Eugene said.
"Alright, sir," the operator replied. "We'll be sending the Los Angeles Emergency Squad and paramedics with an MICU."
"Thank you," Eugene said with some relief as he replaced the phone, then he continued to monitor Jessica. "Come on, Jess. Hang in there. You've got to. The LAPD can't afford to lose another valuable member, and your uncle would be crushed." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
"Please, Jess. Hang on. You'll be okay." Within minutes, flashing lights appeared outside and wailing sirens were heard. Paramedics and EMT's burst in through the front door wheeling a gurney. Carefully strapping Jessica to the backboard and lifting her onto the stretcher, they brought her out of the house and loaded her into the back of the ambulance while Eugene stepped outside, distraught. The police were there, too, and he walked back in with a couple of other officers to begin an investigation after the ambulance and mobile intensive care unit pulled away, whisking Jessica off to the hospital. A few hours later, Eugene arrived at the hospital after the evidence was gathered and the body of the man who attempted to murder Jessica had been transported to the coroner at the city morgue. Following his check-in at the main desk, Eugene took the stairs two at a time, rushing up to the level where they had Jessica. He asked a passing nurse what room she was in and sprinted off to find her. Outside the room, he paced nervously until a doctor came out to talk to him.
"How is she?"
"She's stable right now," the ER doctor said. "But it appears she suffered a concussion and is slipping in and out of consciousness periodically. We're probably going to keep her here for one to two days, just to monitor her status."
"She will be okay.won't she?" Eugene asked.
"I'm not sure how long it'll be before she makes a full recovery," the doctor told him, shaking his head. "And it seems she took a pretty good hit in the head. We'll keep an eye on her condition, though, I promise."
"Okay. Please, do what you can to make sure she's all right," Jessica's husband begged. Please, Jess. Hang on, you'll make it, he kept thinking. You'll make it.