CHAPTER FIVE
The Office of Michael Burton, MD
Tuesday, April 6, 2004
8:30 AM
Mike Burton stood up and stretched. He had spent almost the entire night going over resumes, references, and background information gleaned from the American Medical Association website and the internet in general. Mike had also gotten into the office early, to do go over the files of the doctors he wanted to interview in person.
After his disappointment with Dr. Smiley on Monday, Mike was determined to weed out the crackpots beforehand. He had started with a surprisingly large number of candidates - male and female, younger and older, and from all different backgrounds. Mike had reviewed the files Nancy had helped him put together and separate them into three piles.
Now, Mike looked at each of the piles in turn.
First, there was the definite 'No' pile - doctors who had something in their backgrounds Mike was uncomfortable with. Like 45-year-old Joshua Bronstein from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who had the most extensive list of malpractice cases pending Mike had ever heard of - definitely NOT someone Mike wanted to partner with. No wonder his letter to Mike had indicated a desire to move from Pittsburgh to a more rural area!
Then, there was the 'Maybe' pile - the largest pile of the three. These were doctors Mike had reviewed and, while he couldn't find anything that stood out to him in a negative way, neither did he find anything that stood out in a positive way. They were just middle of the road doctors. Mike didn't consider himself a middle of the road doctor and wasn't willing to settle for one as his partner.
And finally, there was the 'Yes' pile. The 'Yes' pile was the smallest of all - just four files in it. Mike gave a mental snort at the size of that pile - but thought about it some more.
'Well,' Mike thought, 'I do want someone who is unique, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the pile is so small.'
Mike picked up the top file and flipped it open. It was for Dr. Connor Christopher. Christopher was a 36-year-old doctor from some place in New Jersey called Northvale. He had excellent academic credentials and his references had given him glowing recommendations. He had indicated a desire to leave the northeast.
Then there was James Crenshaw, MD. Mike ran his finger down the page of Crenshaw's file. Originally from Ohio, he had spent a number of years on the west coast as a general practitioner in a multi-physician practice. Now, with one young child and another on the way, the 34-year-old had returned to the mid-west to raise his kids.
Dr. Margaret Davies was the oldest of the four doctors Mike wanted to interview. She was 45-years-old and had spent 20 years as an army physician, retiring recently as a major. She had been stationed all over the world, but stated a preference for the small-town postings she'd had and, in fact, was now living in Ohio. Mike put her file down.
With a sigh, Mike picked up the last file and got a thoughtful look on his face. He had struggled a while with the last candidate before putting the file in the 'Yes' pile. He opened the file and looked at it again. Victoria Parsons, MD. She was from Jaspertown - one of the only doctors to be from the local area - and with an excellent medical school transcript and references. Everything about her looked good - except that she was only 28-years-old, having entered college when she was 16-years-old to study pre-med.
Mike closed Parsons' file and put it down.
'Well,' Mike thought with a look at the clock, 'time to start seeing the patients. I'll ask Julie to start arranging for interviews and work sessions. Then ... we'll see.'
Mike made sure he had his stethoscope and walked out of his office and towards Exam Room #1, where a patient file was already waiting for him in the file holder mounted on the wall next to the door.
***
The corner of Bradford and Main
Tuesday, April 6, 2004
11:00 AM
Nick Stanton and his wife Heather walked along Main Street taking in the sights. They had left the nanny behind at the hotel to watch the kids while they strolled around town. Nick was pointing out various places to Heather, an anecdote about himself at that location always ready.
The walked along Bradford towards Main, when a thin, dark-haired man with pale skin stopped them. He stopped in front of Nick and, with his head tilted slightly upward and looking down his nose, said in a slightly condescending tone, "You're that writer guy, Nick Stanton, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am," Nick said with satisfaction.
The thin dark haired man smiled broadly and extended his hand. "Allow me to introduce myself. Phil Stubbs. Of the Stuckeyville Stubbs'"
The way the man said the last part implied that there was some significance to it. But if there was, Nick was obviously unware of it. Still, he shook Stubbs hand.
"Can I help you? Do you want an autograph?" Nick noticed that Stubbs still hadn't let go of his hand.
"An autograph? No, my good man," Stubbs said as he again smiled broadly. "What I actually want is to give you the opportunity to write about me."
"Write about *you*?" Nick asked.
"Yes, about me," the man said.
"Why you?" Nick asked.
Phil sighed, obviously annoyed that Nick didn't recognize his literary note- worthiness.
"Well," Phil said, "you obviously don't travel in the right circles, otherwise you would know who I am."
"Well, I don't know who you are," Nick said. "And I think I'd prefer to keep it that way."
Nick shifted to his right but Phil moved to block his path again.
"I think you're making a big mistake," Phil said.
Nick glared at Phil, feinted to his left and the shifted back to his right. He slipped past Phil, Heather's hand firmly grasped in his own. Nick threw a glance over his shoulder at Phil, who stood there glaring at Nick.
"You don't know what you're missing, Mr. Big-Shot Writer," Phil called after Nick. "I have best seller written all over me. I'm good looking ... intelligent ... good looking ... do I need to continue?!"
Phil looked around desperately, seeing his chance to be immortalized in words slipping away. As he looked around, he saw a red-haired woman crossing Bradford at the intersection with Main.
Phil moved towards the edge of the sidewalk as he cried out "Oh, no! That poor woman is about to be run down by that out of control car!"
People on the street stopped and turned to look at Phil, then at the woman crossing the street. Nick and Heather turned as well.
"I'll save her!" Phil yelled and bolted off the sidewalk and towards the red-head. Nick watched, his writer's mind capturing details in a sort of slow-motion strobe effect.
Nick's watched as Phil ran across the street yelling, "I'll save you!" The red-haired woman half-turned as Phil made a flying leap, screaming "NNOO!!" Nick winced as Phil's airborne body flew towards the red-head, imagining the impact to come.
Nick's eyes widened as the woman reacted instinctively, taking a step backwards - and out of Phil's flight path. Phil had less than a second to give the woman a betrayed look as, like a cartoon character, his forward momentum gave out and he seemed to hang in the air, arms still outstretched, before plummeting to the ground. Phil let out a loud "OOMPH!" as he landed on the pavement next to the woman.
Everyone on the street was still watching. Phil laid on the ground for a couple seconds, moaning, before bouncing to his feet. He grabbed the woman by the arms and shouted, "Thank God I was in time. You were almost killed!"
The woman looked at him in shock for a full five seconds. Her shock was broken as she watched the car Phil had just "saved" her from - the only car on the street at the moment - *finally* pass by where she was standing.
Before she could say anything, Phil put his arm around her shoulder and, spinning her around with him, called out to everyone on the street, "Its okay. She's fine. A little shaken up, but she's fine! Thank God I was here!"
People on the street were shaking their heads. The red-haired woman violently shrugged Phil's arm off her shoulders and spun to face him.
"What the hell do you think you were doing!?!?" she yelled at Phil. "You could have seriously hurt me, you moron. I wasn't about to get run over - that car was so far away I could have crawled across the street on my hands and knees!"
Phil pursed his lips for a moment, annoyed that the woman wasn't playing along. He finally said loudly, "Oh, poor thing! She's obviously in shock. She doesn't even realize how close to death she came!" He attempted to put his arm around her shoulders again as he said, "There. There. Its all right ... its all over."
The woman avoided Phil's arm and was fuming, the flaming color of her hair an indication of the temper that lurked underneath.
"Listen, you jackass," the woman said, "I don't know what your problem is, but if you don't leave me alone, I'm calling the cops!"
Phil saw the people on the street starting to go back about their business - including Nick Stanton and his wife - and whispered to the woman quickly, "Just play along for a minute, sweetheart."
The woman glared at Phil for another second, before stamping on his right foot harshly. She then turned away and stormed off.
Phil hopped on one foot for a second as he called out the departing woman, "I guess this means you don't want to go out on a date?"
The woman's only reply was an inarticulate "Argh!"
Phil continued to hop on his left foot, while holding his injured right foot, for a few more seconds before gingerly trying his right foot. A small wince escaped as he put weight on it.
Phil looked around, determined not to let anyone know that he *hadn't* just saved that woman's life. As he scanned the streets, his face warped into a mix of annoyance and embarrassment as he saw Eli and Shirley about 50 feet away. Shirley was watching him with her eyes wide open, head cocked slightly to the side, and a blank look on her face. Eli had his lips pursed and was shaking his head in a mixture of disgust and wonder.
Phil limped over to Eli and Shirley and said, "Well! There's gratitude for you! I risk life and limb to save that poor woman's life and she ..."
"*Puh-lease*!" Eli exclaimed. "That woman was nowhere near to being run over! *You* should be grateful that she didn't kick your scrawny white ass all the way up Main Street and then back down!"
Shirley just gave a small smile and said, "I would like to see that. It would be like a parade. Perhaps I should ask the young lady if she wouldn't mind."
Shirley started to go after the red-headed woman, but Eli restrained her, saying, "Whoa there, Street Shirley!"
"Well," Phil said in slightly offended tone, "I don't care if your *perception* of what happened here is distorted, I am content knowing that I, Phillip Washington Stubbs, did some good here today."
"The only thing you did, Stubbs," Eli said, "is look like Wiley Coyote when you made that leap at the woman."
Eli looked Phil up and down, then continued, "Well, Wiley Coyote with less muscles."
***
The Home of Shawn and Ryan Knoll
Tuesday, April 6, 2004
3:30 PM
Ryan Knoll didn't quite slam the front door as he came in, but it was only slightly less then a slam. Ryan shucked his coat and hung it on the banister post at the bottom of the stairs. He could hear his father in the kitchen as he went up the stairs to his bedroom.
Shawn had heard the front door open and ... ''Close' is too gentle a word,' Shawn thought with a mental snort. He finished putting the dishes away and walked out into the hallway by the staircase. He could hear Ryan moving around in his bedroom and he sighed heavily. Their conversations had gotten to be a series of questions from Shawn followed by one word answers from Ryan.
Shawn knew that he had never had a really close relationship with his son. It just seemed that their interests were very different and that they had little common ground for conversations. But since Ryan's mother passed away it had gotten worse. Lorraine had always been closer to Ryan and without that link father and son were floundering.
Shawn also knew that the fact that he was dating Molly was an even bigger problem right now. Ryan seemed to be getting worse and worse every day. And now ... now he was skipping school and going ... somewhere. Shawn had tried - unsuccessfully - all weekend to find out where Ryan had been. Ryan had refused to tell Shawn - even under threat of removing the computer from his room (something Molly had assured Shawn would work). But ... nothing. Ryan clammed up and refused to talk about Friday.
As all of these thoughts swam through Shawn's head, he placed his hand on the banister post - and on top of Ryan coat. He watched as a small piece of yellow paper fluttered down from Ryan's pocket to land on the first step. Shawn bent down and picked up the paper and, with a guilty look up the stairs, he opened it.
Shawn was confused - the paper was a receipt from Stuckeyville Florist, with Friday's date on it and a time stamp that indicated it must have been from when Ryan was skipping school.
'Oh, ho!' Shawn thought. 'Ryan's got a girlfriend ... and he's skipping school to be with her!'
Shawn wanted to head right upstairs and have a talk with Ryan, but he stopped himself. He didn't know what to say to Ryan.
'This is the kind of thing that Lorraine would have known what to do about,' Shawn thought. Shawn's thoughts again turned to his deceased wife and how good they had been together. Shawn knew he wasn't the brightest guy, but Lorraine had always kept him pointed in the right direction. He had a horrible head for numbers, that was why she always reminded him of their anniversary and birthdays.
'Birthdays!' Shawn thought in horror as he looked at the florist receipt again. His eyes focused on the date and he closed his eyes in pain for several moments.
'April 2 - that's Lorraine's birthday!' Shawn thought. '*NOW* I know where Ryan was!'
Shawn put the receipt back in Ryan's jacket pocket and stared up the stairs for a few moments. With a sigh, he started climbing the stairs. When he got to Ryan's door, he sighed again, then knocked.
"What?!" Ryan demanded from within.
"Ryan," Shawn said, "I need to talk to you."
"I'm busy!" Ryan called out.
Shawn's jaw clenched. Even through his emotional distress, he was upset with Ryan's tone of voice. Shawn opened the door and walked inside.
Ryan looked over his shoulder in contempt at his father. He was doing something on the computer, but Shawn couldn't tell what it was.
"Well," Ryan said through clenched teeth, "so much for privacy!"
"Ryan!" Shawn yelled, causing Ryan's head to whip up and their eyes to lock.
Ryan swallowed convulsively - his father rarely used that tone of voice with him. Ryan's brain noted absently that his father hadn't even used that tone of voice over the weekend.
Ryan was further surprised to see his father walk over to the bed and sit down. He noted the weary and sad look on his father's face and - despite himself - felt a flush of sympathy.
"What is it, Dad?" Ryan said in a more normal tone of voice. Both Ryan and Shawn were surprised to hear the word 'Dad' slip off of Ryan's tongue.
"I screwed up, didn't I," Shawn asked as he looked up an into Ryan's eyes.
"With what?" Ryan asked.
"I forgot your mother's birthday," Shawn said quietly.
Some of Ryan's sympathy dissipated. He was still angry because his father *had* forgotten his mother's birthday - but at the same time he could see how much that upset his father.
"Yeah," Ryan said, just as quietly, but with a mix of anger and sadness in his voice, "you did."
"Why didn't you remind me?" Shawn asked. "I would have gone with you."
"Why should I have to remind you?" Ryan asked, a little more anger in his voice.
"Come on, Ryan," Shawn said. "You know your mother always had to remind me of birthdays and anniversaries. I just don't have a head for numbers. Not like you and your mother. I ... I was always glad that you got your mother's brains."
Ryan was completely shocked that his father admitted something like that. He didn't know how to respond.
"But," Shawn said with a little steel in his voice, "you figured you would punish me, didn't you? Because of Ms. Hudson?"
Ryan ground his teeth for a moment. Tentatively, quietly at first, but with more confidence and rising voice, Ryan spoke, "Yeah. Yeah, I did. You may have forgotten when Mom was alive, but you shouldn't forget now! And you wouldn't forget if you weren't dating Ms. Hudson! She's not going to replace my mother!! I don't care how much you try to make it happen!!"
Ryan watched his father closely. He expected an outburst - one thing Ryan knew for sure is that he got his temper from his father. Ryan was shocked when Shawn lifted his head and saw tears brimming in his eyes.
Shawn stood up and walked towards the bedroom door. He stopped at the door and turned back to face his son.
"Ryan," Shawn said very quietly. "I miss your mother more than you can imagine. She was ... the world to me. She's ... she's gone. And I live with that every day of my life. I can't bring her back - and believe me, I would do *whatever* it took if I could. All I can do is try to go on living my life, building my future. And maybe ... just maybe ... Ms. Hudson is part of that future. But I will never try to replace your mother. She was special - and she always will be."
Father and son looked at one another for several moments, before Shawn walked out the door and closed the door behind him.
Ryan sat there, the computer game he had been playing completely forgotten. He didn't know what to say or do. Part of him wanted to run out and tell his father he was sorry, but there was a part of him that wasn't ready for that.
***
The Home of Mike and Nancy Burton
Tuesday, April 6, 2004
6:30 PM
Mike and Nancy were in the kitchen getting dinner ready. Mike had gotten home a few minutes before and Nancy had ruthlessly recruited him for salad duty, so he was still in his blue oxford shirt, blue and gray tie, and gray dockers. Nancy was wearing a comfortable pair of brown slacks with a dark green sweater that accented her auburn hair nicely.
Nancy was in the middle of checking the chicken parmesan in the oven, when the doorbell rang. Sarah called out from the floor of the living room "Doorbell!!" as she played with a set of blocks. Mike and Nancy shared a momentary smile at their daughter's exuberance before Mike headed out to answer the door.
As expected, Mike opened the door to find Carol Vessey standing on the porch. Carol was wearing a knee length black skirt and a silk shirt in black, red and blue. She was carrying a bottle of red wine which she proudly offered to Mike.
As she walked into the Burton house, Carol admitted to herself that she felt a little strange. She had known Mike and Nancy for almost four years now and she had never been to their house without Ed being there. In fact, most of the times that she had been there were because *of* Ed.
But, Carol also admitted to herself, she and Nancy had been getting a little closer lately because of the "boys" as she and Nancy joked. Even though she really enjoyed the added depth to her relationship with Nancy, Carol made sure that her relationship with Molly wasn't affected.
Mike headed into the kitchen while Carol stopped for a moment to say hello to Sarah.
"Aunt Carol!" Sarah squealed with delight as she saw Carol. Carol felt the familiar pull at her heart strings when she saw Sarah, knowing that one day she wanted one just like her.
Carol scooped up the four-year-old and gave - and got - a big hug and kiss. While Carol played with Sarah for a moment, Nancy walked partially into the living room and watched Carol for a moment.
'God,' Nancy thought, 'I hope Eddie gets off the stick soon and asks that girl to marry him so they can start having a family of their own. Carol is a natural. Eddie tried to fool us last year, but I know that Carol helped him out the *whole* weekend!'
Carol had just put little Sarah back down and turned around when she saw Nancy.
"Hey, Nancy!" Carol said and walked over to give Nancy a kiss on the cheek. It wasn't something they did often, but it felt right then.
"Wow," Carol continued, "dinner smells really good!"
Nancy and Carol started an almost non-stop chit-chat as they walked into the kitchen to find Mike opening the bottle of wine. As Mike stood by, sipping the wine, he was mildly amused at how the two of them could talk so much - about clothes, about school, about ... anything it appeared. But Mike was content - although he did miss Ed.
The four sat down for dinner. Carol and Nancy's conversation continued throughout dinner and Mike found himself and Sarah sharing a few looks every now and then. Mike thought Nancy hadn't noticed the looks, but he was wrong. Nancy was determined to make sure he found out how wrong later after Carol left.
Before long, dinner was finished and dessert plates were scattered across the table. Sarah was yawning and almost falling asleep in her chair.
Finally, Nancy said, "Mike, why don't you go put Sarah to bed. She's about to fall into her chocolate cake."
"Okay," Mike said, "but I hate to see this go to waste, so ..."
Mike grabbed the remainder of Sarah's cake and finished it off. He then grabbed Sarah and headed upstairs.
Once Nancy was sure Mike was out of earshot, she said, "Okay, Carol. Out with it."
"Huh?" Carol said surprised. "Out with what?"
"Come on, Carol," Nancy said. "Something has been on your mind the whole night. What's up?"
Carol had thought she was doing a good job of keeping her thoughts to herself, but she had forgotten that the reason Nancy made such a great guidance counselor was because she watched for the little signs and put things together.
Carol sighed and said, "It's Ed."
"Well ... duh?" Nancy said. "I figured out that much. What did he do now?"
"No ... no," Carol said, "he hasn't done anything. Its just ..."
"Just what?" Nancy pushed.
"Look," Carol said as she looked around, trying to assure herself that Mike wasn't able to hear, "I need you to promise me not to say anything to Mike, okay?"
"What?" Nancy asked. "Of course. Why would you think I would just turn around and tell Mike?"
"Nance," Carol replied, "we all do it. We talk to our significant others and tell them things and, maybe sometimes, we tell them things that others probably didn't want us to tell them, but ... well, their our significant others, so its okay, right?"
"Yeah," Nancy said with a little laugh, "you're right. But I've learned I've really got to watch what I say around my big moose of a husband. He usually turns around and tells Ed almost everything."
"I've found out the same thing about Ed," Carol said, then continued, "... the hard way."
"Well," Nancy said, "I promise not to tell Mike, okay?"
"Great," Carol said, sounding relieved. Then she paused before continuing, "Has Mike said anything about Ed proposing to me?"
"Carol!" Nancy exclaimed. "You just asked me not to say anything to Mike about this and now you're asking me to tell you if Mike said something to me about something that Ed might have told *him*! Wait ... no, I got that right."
"Come on, Nance," Carol pleaded, "this is really important!"
"Oh, okay," Nancy said. "No."
"No, what?" In confusion, Carol asked in very Ed-like rapid fire fashion, "No, you're not going to tell me if Mike knows anything ... or no, Ed hasn't said anything to Mike ... or no, you don't know if Mike knows anything?"
Nancy noted that Carol was *definitely* starting to talk a little like Ed, then answered, "No, I don't know if Mike knows anything or not. He hasn't said anything to me about it - which either means *he* doesn't know anything or that he's been put under a restriction not to speak to *me*."
"Damn," Carol said.
"Why are you asking," Nancy said. "Has Eddie given you a reason to think he wouldn't?"
"No," Carol said, "but I guess I'm just starting to wonder if he will. I mean, could it have something to do with his being married once? You know, could it be that he doesn't *want* to get married? Just leave our relationship like it is?"
"I don't know, Carol," Nancy said with sympathy. "I mean, I know Ed is crazy about you, but I don't usually understand what is going through that weird brain of his."
"Heh, yeah," Carol said with a small smile.
Nancy got a surprised look on her face, then said, "Carol ... ?"
"Yeah, Nance," Carol replied.
"That whole bit about talking to you significant other and telling them things ... ?"
"Yeah," Carol said curiously.
Nancy narrowed her eyes and asked, "That wouldn't happen to be how Mike found out what really happened to the van, would it?"
Although Nancy had told Mike that she had found the van that way, the fact was that she had been distracted as she backed up at the grocery store. Distracted enough to back into one of the concrete posts lining the edge of the parking lot. Molly and Carol were the only ones Nancy had told the real story to.
Carol gulped, looked guilty, then said, "Um, yeah. Sorry."
Nancy sighed after a moment and said, "Oh, no big deal. Except for Mike's constant reminders about looking where I'm backing up."
The Office of Michael Burton, MD
Tuesday, April 6, 2004
8:30 AM
Mike Burton stood up and stretched. He had spent almost the entire night going over resumes, references, and background information gleaned from the American Medical Association website and the internet in general. Mike had also gotten into the office early, to do go over the files of the doctors he wanted to interview in person.
After his disappointment with Dr. Smiley on Monday, Mike was determined to weed out the crackpots beforehand. He had started with a surprisingly large number of candidates - male and female, younger and older, and from all different backgrounds. Mike had reviewed the files Nancy had helped him put together and separate them into three piles.
Now, Mike looked at each of the piles in turn.
First, there was the definite 'No' pile - doctors who had something in their backgrounds Mike was uncomfortable with. Like 45-year-old Joshua Bronstein from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who had the most extensive list of malpractice cases pending Mike had ever heard of - definitely NOT someone Mike wanted to partner with. No wonder his letter to Mike had indicated a desire to move from Pittsburgh to a more rural area!
Then, there was the 'Maybe' pile - the largest pile of the three. These were doctors Mike had reviewed and, while he couldn't find anything that stood out to him in a negative way, neither did he find anything that stood out in a positive way. They were just middle of the road doctors. Mike didn't consider himself a middle of the road doctor and wasn't willing to settle for one as his partner.
And finally, there was the 'Yes' pile. The 'Yes' pile was the smallest of all - just four files in it. Mike gave a mental snort at the size of that pile - but thought about it some more.
'Well,' Mike thought, 'I do want someone who is unique, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the pile is so small.'
Mike picked up the top file and flipped it open. It was for Dr. Connor Christopher. Christopher was a 36-year-old doctor from some place in New Jersey called Northvale. He had excellent academic credentials and his references had given him glowing recommendations. He had indicated a desire to leave the northeast.
Then there was James Crenshaw, MD. Mike ran his finger down the page of Crenshaw's file. Originally from Ohio, he had spent a number of years on the west coast as a general practitioner in a multi-physician practice. Now, with one young child and another on the way, the 34-year-old had returned to the mid-west to raise his kids.
Dr. Margaret Davies was the oldest of the four doctors Mike wanted to interview. She was 45-years-old and had spent 20 years as an army physician, retiring recently as a major. She had been stationed all over the world, but stated a preference for the small-town postings she'd had and, in fact, was now living in Ohio. Mike put her file down.
With a sigh, Mike picked up the last file and got a thoughtful look on his face. He had struggled a while with the last candidate before putting the file in the 'Yes' pile. He opened the file and looked at it again. Victoria Parsons, MD. She was from Jaspertown - one of the only doctors to be from the local area - and with an excellent medical school transcript and references. Everything about her looked good - except that she was only 28-years-old, having entered college when she was 16-years-old to study pre-med.
Mike closed Parsons' file and put it down.
'Well,' Mike thought with a look at the clock, 'time to start seeing the patients. I'll ask Julie to start arranging for interviews and work sessions. Then ... we'll see.'
Mike made sure he had his stethoscope and walked out of his office and towards Exam Room #1, where a patient file was already waiting for him in the file holder mounted on the wall next to the door.
***
The corner of Bradford and Main
Tuesday, April 6, 2004
11:00 AM
Nick Stanton and his wife Heather walked along Main Street taking in the sights. They had left the nanny behind at the hotel to watch the kids while they strolled around town. Nick was pointing out various places to Heather, an anecdote about himself at that location always ready.
The walked along Bradford towards Main, when a thin, dark-haired man with pale skin stopped them. He stopped in front of Nick and, with his head tilted slightly upward and looking down his nose, said in a slightly condescending tone, "You're that writer guy, Nick Stanton, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am," Nick said with satisfaction.
The thin dark haired man smiled broadly and extended his hand. "Allow me to introduce myself. Phil Stubbs. Of the Stuckeyville Stubbs'"
The way the man said the last part implied that there was some significance to it. But if there was, Nick was obviously unware of it. Still, he shook Stubbs hand.
"Can I help you? Do you want an autograph?" Nick noticed that Stubbs still hadn't let go of his hand.
"An autograph? No, my good man," Stubbs said as he again smiled broadly. "What I actually want is to give you the opportunity to write about me."
"Write about *you*?" Nick asked.
"Yes, about me," the man said.
"Why you?" Nick asked.
Phil sighed, obviously annoyed that Nick didn't recognize his literary note- worthiness.
"Well," Phil said, "you obviously don't travel in the right circles, otherwise you would know who I am."
"Well, I don't know who you are," Nick said. "And I think I'd prefer to keep it that way."
Nick shifted to his right but Phil moved to block his path again.
"I think you're making a big mistake," Phil said.
Nick glared at Phil, feinted to his left and the shifted back to his right. He slipped past Phil, Heather's hand firmly grasped in his own. Nick threw a glance over his shoulder at Phil, who stood there glaring at Nick.
"You don't know what you're missing, Mr. Big-Shot Writer," Phil called after Nick. "I have best seller written all over me. I'm good looking ... intelligent ... good looking ... do I need to continue?!"
Phil looked around desperately, seeing his chance to be immortalized in words slipping away. As he looked around, he saw a red-haired woman crossing Bradford at the intersection with Main.
Phil moved towards the edge of the sidewalk as he cried out "Oh, no! That poor woman is about to be run down by that out of control car!"
People on the street stopped and turned to look at Phil, then at the woman crossing the street. Nick and Heather turned as well.
"I'll save her!" Phil yelled and bolted off the sidewalk and towards the red-head. Nick watched, his writer's mind capturing details in a sort of slow-motion strobe effect.
Nick's watched as Phil ran across the street yelling, "I'll save you!" The red-haired woman half-turned as Phil made a flying leap, screaming "NNOO!!" Nick winced as Phil's airborne body flew towards the red-head, imagining the impact to come.
Nick's eyes widened as the woman reacted instinctively, taking a step backwards - and out of Phil's flight path. Phil had less than a second to give the woman a betrayed look as, like a cartoon character, his forward momentum gave out and he seemed to hang in the air, arms still outstretched, before plummeting to the ground. Phil let out a loud "OOMPH!" as he landed on the pavement next to the woman.
Everyone on the street was still watching. Phil laid on the ground for a couple seconds, moaning, before bouncing to his feet. He grabbed the woman by the arms and shouted, "Thank God I was in time. You were almost killed!"
The woman looked at him in shock for a full five seconds. Her shock was broken as she watched the car Phil had just "saved" her from - the only car on the street at the moment - *finally* pass by where she was standing.
Before she could say anything, Phil put his arm around her shoulder and, spinning her around with him, called out to everyone on the street, "Its okay. She's fine. A little shaken up, but she's fine! Thank God I was here!"
People on the street were shaking their heads. The red-haired woman violently shrugged Phil's arm off her shoulders and spun to face him.
"What the hell do you think you were doing!?!?" she yelled at Phil. "You could have seriously hurt me, you moron. I wasn't about to get run over - that car was so far away I could have crawled across the street on my hands and knees!"
Phil pursed his lips for a moment, annoyed that the woman wasn't playing along. He finally said loudly, "Oh, poor thing! She's obviously in shock. She doesn't even realize how close to death she came!" He attempted to put his arm around her shoulders again as he said, "There. There. Its all right ... its all over."
The woman avoided Phil's arm and was fuming, the flaming color of her hair an indication of the temper that lurked underneath.
"Listen, you jackass," the woman said, "I don't know what your problem is, but if you don't leave me alone, I'm calling the cops!"
Phil saw the people on the street starting to go back about their business - including Nick Stanton and his wife - and whispered to the woman quickly, "Just play along for a minute, sweetheart."
The woman glared at Phil for another second, before stamping on his right foot harshly. She then turned away and stormed off.
Phil hopped on one foot for a second as he called out the departing woman, "I guess this means you don't want to go out on a date?"
The woman's only reply was an inarticulate "Argh!"
Phil continued to hop on his left foot, while holding his injured right foot, for a few more seconds before gingerly trying his right foot. A small wince escaped as he put weight on it.
Phil looked around, determined not to let anyone know that he *hadn't* just saved that woman's life. As he scanned the streets, his face warped into a mix of annoyance and embarrassment as he saw Eli and Shirley about 50 feet away. Shirley was watching him with her eyes wide open, head cocked slightly to the side, and a blank look on her face. Eli had his lips pursed and was shaking his head in a mixture of disgust and wonder.
Phil limped over to Eli and Shirley and said, "Well! There's gratitude for you! I risk life and limb to save that poor woman's life and she ..."
"*Puh-lease*!" Eli exclaimed. "That woman was nowhere near to being run over! *You* should be grateful that she didn't kick your scrawny white ass all the way up Main Street and then back down!"
Shirley just gave a small smile and said, "I would like to see that. It would be like a parade. Perhaps I should ask the young lady if she wouldn't mind."
Shirley started to go after the red-headed woman, but Eli restrained her, saying, "Whoa there, Street Shirley!"
"Well," Phil said in slightly offended tone, "I don't care if your *perception* of what happened here is distorted, I am content knowing that I, Phillip Washington Stubbs, did some good here today."
"The only thing you did, Stubbs," Eli said, "is look like Wiley Coyote when you made that leap at the woman."
Eli looked Phil up and down, then continued, "Well, Wiley Coyote with less muscles."
***
The Home of Shawn and Ryan Knoll
Tuesday, April 6, 2004
3:30 PM
Ryan Knoll didn't quite slam the front door as he came in, but it was only slightly less then a slam. Ryan shucked his coat and hung it on the banister post at the bottom of the stairs. He could hear his father in the kitchen as he went up the stairs to his bedroom.
Shawn had heard the front door open and ... ''Close' is too gentle a word,' Shawn thought with a mental snort. He finished putting the dishes away and walked out into the hallway by the staircase. He could hear Ryan moving around in his bedroom and he sighed heavily. Their conversations had gotten to be a series of questions from Shawn followed by one word answers from Ryan.
Shawn knew that he had never had a really close relationship with his son. It just seemed that their interests were very different and that they had little common ground for conversations. But since Ryan's mother passed away it had gotten worse. Lorraine had always been closer to Ryan and without that link father and son were floundering.
Shawn also knew that the fact that he was dating Molly was an even bigger problem right now. Ryan seemed to be getting worse and worse every day. And now ... now he was skipping school and going ... somewhere. Shawn had tried - unsuccessfully - all weekend to find out where Ryan had been. Ryan had refused to tell Shawn - even under threat of removing the computer from his room (something Molly had assured Shawn would work). But ... nothing. Ryan clammed up and refused to talk about Friday.
As all of these thoughts swam through Shawn's head, he placed his hand on the banister post - and on top of Ryan coat. He watched as a small piece of yellow paper fluttered down from Ryan's pocket to land on the first step. Shawn bent down and picked up the paper and, with a guilty look up the stairs, he opened it.
Shawn was confused - the paper was a receipt from Stuckeyville Florist, with Friday's date on it and a time stamp that indicated it must have been from when Ryan was skipping school.
'Oh, ho!' Shawn thought. 'Ryan's got a girlfriend ... and he's skipping school to be with her!'
Shawn wanted to head right upstairs and have a talk with Ryan, but he stopped himself. He didn't know what to say to Ryan.
'This is the kind of thing that Lorraine would have known what to do about,' Shawn thought. Shawn's thoughts again turned to his deceased wife and how good they had been together. Shawn knew he wasn't the brightest guy, but Lorraine had always kept him pointed in the right direction. He had a horrible head for numbers, that was why she always reminded him of their anniversary and birthdays.
'Birthdays!' Shawn thought in horror as he looked at the florist receipt again. His eyes focused on the date and he closed his eyes in pain for several moments.
'April 2 - that's Lorraine's birthday!' Shawn thought. '*NOW* I know where Ryan was!'
Shawn put the receipt back in Ryan's jacket pocket and stared up the stairs for a few moments. With a sigh, he started climbing the stairs. When he got to Ryan's door, he sighed again, then knocked.
"What?!" Ryan demanded from within.
"Ryan," Shawn said, "I need to talk to you."
"I'm busy!" Ryan called out.
Shawn's jaw clenched. Even through his emotional distress, he was upset with Ryan's tone of voice. Shawn opened the door and walked inside.
Ryan looked over his shoulder in contempt at his father. He was doing something on the computer, but Shawn couldn't tell what it was.
"Well," Ryan said through clenched teeth, "so much for privacy!"
"Ryan!" Shawn yelled, causing Ryan's head to whip up and their eyes to lock.
Ryan swallowed convulsively - his father rarely used that tone of voice with him. Ryan's brain noted absently that his father hadn't even used that tone of voice over the weekend.
Ryan was further surprised to see his father walk over to the bed and sit down. He noted the weary and sad look on his father's face and - despite himself - felt a flush of sympathy.
"What is it, Dad?" Ryan said in a more normal tone of voice. Both Ryan and Shawn were surprised to hear the word 'Dad' slip off of Ryan's tongue.
"I screwed up, didn't I," Shawn asked as he looked up an into Ryan's eyes.
"With what?" Ryan asked.
"I forgot your mother's birthday," Shawn said quietly.
Some of Ryan's sympathy dissipated. He was still angry because his father *had* forgotten his mother's birthday - but at the same time he could see how much that upset his father.
"Yeah," Ryan said, just as quietly, but with a mix of anger and sadness in his voice, "you did."
"Why didn't you remind me?" Shawn asked. "I would have gone with you."
"Why should I have to remind you?" Ryan asked, a little more anger in his voice.
"Come on, Ryan," Shawn said. "You know your mother always had to remind me of birthdays and anniversaries. I just don't have a head for numbers. Not like you and your mother. I ... I was always glad that you got your mother's brains."
Ryan was completely shocked that his father admitted something like that. He didn't know how to respond.
"But," Shawn said with a little steel in his voice, "you figured you would punish me, didn't you? Because of Ms. Hudson?"
Ryan ground his teeth for a moment. Tentatively, quietly at first, but with more confidence and rising voice, Ryan spoke, "Yeah. Yeah, I did. You may have forgotten when Mom was alive, but you shouldn't forget now! And you wouldn't forget if you weren't dating Ms. Hudson! She's not going to replace my mother!! I don't care how much you try to make it happen!!"
Ryan watched his father closely. He expected an outburst - one thing Ryan knew for sure is that he got his temper from his father. Ryan was shocked when Shawn lifted his head and saw tears brimming in his eyes.
Shawn stood up and walked towards the bedroom door. He stopped at the door and turned back to face his son.
"Ryan," Shawn said very quietly. "I miss your mother more than you can imagine. She was ... the world to me. She's ... she's gone. And I live with that every day of my life. I can't bring her back - and believe me, I would do *whatever* it took if I could. All I can do is try to go on living my life, building my future. And maybe ... just maybe ... Ms. Hudson is part of that future. But I will never try to replace your mother. She was special - and she always will be."
Father and son looked at one another for several moments, before Shawn walked out the door and closed the door behind him.
Ryan sat there, the computer game he had been playing completely forgotten. He didn't know what to say or do. Part of him wanted to run out and tell his father he was sorry, but there was a part of him that wasn't ready for that.
***
The Home of Mike and Nancy Burton
Tuesday, April 6, 2004
6:30 PM
Mike and Nancy were in the kitchen getting dinner ready. Mike had gotten home a few minutes before and Nancy had ruthlessly recruited him for salad duty, so he was still in his blue oxford shirt, blue and gray tie, and gray dockers. Nancy was wearing a comfortable pair of brown slacks with a dark green sweater that accented her auburn hair nicely.
Nancy was in the middle of checking the chicken parmesan in the oven, when the doorbell rang. Sarah called out from the floor of the living room "Doorbell!!" as she played with a set of blocks. Mike and Nancy shared a momentary smile at their daughter's exuberance before Mike headed out to answer the door.
As expected, Mike opened the door to find Carol Vessey standing on the porch. Carol was wearing a knee length black skirt and a silk shirt in black, red and blue. She was carrying a bottle of red wine which she proudly offered to Mike.
As she walked into the Burton house, Carol admitted to herself that she felt a little strange. She had known Mike and Nancy for almost four years now and she had never been to their house without Ed being there. In fact, most of the times that she had been there were because *of* Ed.
But, Carol also admitted to herself, she and Nancy had been getting a little closer lately because of the "boys" as she and Nancy joked. Even though she really enjoyed the added depth to her relationship with Nancy, Carol made sure that her relationship with Molly wasn't affected.
Mike headed into the kitchen while Carol stopped for a moment to say hello to Sarah.
"Aunt Carol!" Sarah squealed with delight as she saw Carol. Carol felt the familiar pull at her heart strings when she saw Sarah, knowing that one day she wanted one just like her.
Carol scooped up the four-year-old and gave - and got - a big hug and kiss. While Carol played with Sarah for a moment, Nancy walked partially into the living room and watched Carol for a moment.
'God,' Nancy thought, 'I hope Eddie gets off the stick soon and asks that girl to marry him so they can start having a family of their own. Carol is a natural. Eddie tried to fool us last year, but I know that Carol helped him out the *whole* weekend!'
Carol had just put little Sarah back down and turned around when she saw Nancy.
"Hey, Nancy!" Carol said and walked over to give Nancy a kiss on the cheek. It wasn't something they did often, but it felt right then.
"Wow," Carol continued, "dinner smells really good!"
Nancy and Carol started an almost non-stop chit-chat as they walked into the kitchen to find Mike opening the bottle of wine. As Mike stood by, sipping the wine, he was mildly amused at how the two of them could talk so much - about clothes, about school, about ... anything it appeared. But Mike was content - although he did miss Ed.
The four sat down for dinner. Carol and Nancy's conversation continued throughout dinner and Mike found himself and Sarah sharing a few looks every now and then. Mike thought Nancy hadn't noticed the looks, but he was wrong. Nancy was determined to make sure he found out how wrong later after Carol left.
Before long, dinner was finished and dessert plates were scattered across the table. Sarah was yawning and almost falling asleep in her chair.
Finally, Nancy said, "Mike, why don't you go put Sarah to bed. She's about to fall into her chocolate cake."
"Okay," Mike said, "but I hate to see this go to waste, so ..."
Mike grabbed the remainder of Sarah's cake and finished it off. He then grabbed Sarah and headed upstairs.
Once Nancy was sure Mike was out of earshot, she said, "Okay, Carol. Out with it."
"Huh?" Carol said surprised. "Out with what?"
"Come on, Carol," Nancy said. "Something has been on your mind the whole night. What's up?"
Carol had thought she was doing a good job of keeping her thoughts to herself, but she had forgotten that the reason Nancy made such a great guidance counselor was because she watched for the little signs and put things together.
Carol sighed and said, "It's Ed."
"Well ... duh?" Nancy said. "I figured out that much. What did he do now?"
"No ... no," Carol said, "he hasn't done anything. Its just ..."
"Just what?" Nancy pushed.
"Look," Carol said as she looked around, trying to assure herself that Mike wasn't able to hear, "I need you to promise me not to say anything to Mike, okay?"
"What?" Nancy asked. "Of course. Why would you think I would just turn around and tell Mike?"
"Nance," Carol replied, "we all do it. We talk to our significant others and tell them things and, maybe sometimes, we tell them things that others probably didn't want us to tell them, but ... well, their our significant others, so its okay, right?"
"Yeah," Nancy said with a little laugh, "you're right. But I've learned I've really got to watch what I say around my big moose of a husband. He usually turns around and tells Ed almost everything."
"I've found out the same thing about Ed," Carol said, then continued, "... the hard way."
"Well," Nancy said, "I promise not to tell Mike, okay?"
"Great," Carol said, sounding relieved. Then she paused before continuing, "Has Mike said anything about Ed proposing to me?"
"Carol!" Nancy exclaimed. "You just asked me not to say anything to Mike about this and now you're asking me to tell you if Mike said something to me about something that Ed might have told *him*! Wait ... no, I got that right."
"Come on, Nance," Carol pleaded, "this is really important!"
"Oh, okay," Nancy said. "No."
"No, what?" In confusion, Carol asked in very Ed-like rapid fire fashion, "No, you're not going to tell me if Mike knows anything ... or no, Ed hasn't said anything to Mike ... or no, you don't know if Mike knows anything?"
Nancy noted that Carol was *definitely* starting to talk a little like Ed, then answered, "No, I don't know if Mike knows anything or not. He hasn't said anything to me about it - which either means *he* doesn't know anything or that he's been put under a restriction not to speak to *me*."
"Damn," Carol said.
"Why are you asking," Nancy said. "Has Eddie given you a reason to think he wouldn't?"
"No," Carol said, "but I guess I'm just starting to wonder if he will. I mean, could it have something to do with his being married once? You know, could it be that he doesn't *want* to get married? Just leave our relationship like it is?"
"I don't know, Carol," Nancy said with sympathy. "I mean, I know Ed is crazy about you, but I don't usually understand what is going through that weird brain of his."
"Heh, yeah," Carol said with a small smile.
Nancy got a surprised look on her face, then said, "Carol ... ?"
"Yeah, Nance," Carol replied.
"That whole bit about talking to you significant other and telling them things ... ?"
"Yeah," Carol said curiously.
Nancy narrowed her eyes and asked, "That wouldn't happen to be how Mike found out what really happened to the van, would it?"
Although Nancy had told Mike that she had found the van that way, the fact was that she had been distracted as she backed up at the grocery store. Distracted enough to back into one of the concrete posts lining the edge of the parking lot. Molly and Carol were the only ones Nancy had told the real story to.
Carol gulped, looked guilty, then said, "Um, yeah. Sorry."
Nancy sighed after a moment and said, "Oh, no big deal. Except for Mike's constant reminders about looking where I'm backing up."