A DARK DAY IN MAY
CHAPTER 5
I stretched to try and work the kinks out of my neck and shoulders. I had been at the hospital for four days. Starsky was still in a coma but still holding his own. I hated to leave but I knew I had to go and check on my livelihood. Diane and Anita were more than capable of taking care of things in my absence but I couldn't expect them to run the bar indefinitely. I needed to be there. I sighed heavily and went in search of Hutch to let him know that I had to leave but I would continue to check in on Starsky every day. I found him exactly where I knew he would be, sitting at Starsky's side.
"Hutch," I said, using that quiet voice that you tend to use in a hospital room, especially in a room where the patient was seriously ill or in a coma like Starsky was. "I hate to do it, but I really need to get back to The Pits."
"I understand, Hug." Hutch said, never taking his eyes off Starsky's face. "Starsky does too. You have a business to run. We're both grateful that you've stayed here this long."
"Hey, that's what friends are for. Right?" I said, "I'll come by everyday to check on Curly and bring you a care package."
"Thanks, Hug. You're a good friend. I appreciate it." Hutch looked worn out. I knew that he'd been spending every waking hour at Starsky's side, sleeping in the chair beside the bed or on one of the sofas in the waiting room. And I knew that was where he would stay until the danger to Starsky was past. He was still investigating Gunther enterprises and hoping to find a link between the big man himself and the assassination attempt on Starsky. It had become his personal vendetta. I almost felt sorry for James Gunther if Hutch ever found a connection. Hutch would bring him down, no matter how powerful or dangerous he was.
I left the hospital, my heart heavy with regret. I almost felt like I was betraying my friends by leaving. I drove back to my bar and went inside, nodding at Diane and Anita as I passed through and climbed the stairs to the two apartments located above the bar. One was my own personal apartment (which had two entrances, one downstairs into the bar and a separate outside entrance.). The second one was mainly one big room that I kept for my friends who needed a place to sleep it off when they'd had a little too much to drink or had a fight with their wives and needed a place to cool off for a day or two.
It felt good to be home. It felt like I had been gone for weeks instead of just a few days. I stripped off my clothes on my way to the bathroom and climbed underneath the shower, adjusting the water until it was as hot as I could stand it. The hot needles of spray felt good as it relaxed my tense, weary muscles. When I'd finished my shower, I walked into the bedroom and threw myself down across my king sized bed. Soon, I was sleeping soundly. It was almost ten hours later before I finally opened my eyes. It was almost eight pm and from the sounds drifting up from below, it sounded like business was jumping.
Quickly pulling on some clean clothes, I went downstairs to help out my staff. It felt good to be back in the swing of things. Several regulars asked me how Starsky was doing, knowing that I was a close friend of the two detectives. I fielded their questions the best I could as I served drinks and called orders back to the kitchen. I didn't want to give out too much information on Starsky's condition, not while there was still an ongoing investigation. By the time the bar closed, I was exhausted and ready for another ten hours of sleep.
As she helped me to clean up, Diane looked at me and said, "Is Starsky going to make it?"
"I don't know, darling. I just don't know. He's hurt awful bad. The doctors ain't holding out much hope even if he has hung on this long."
"I sure hope he makes it. I've been praying for him."
"A lot of good folks have been praying for him." I said, "Just keep on praying, darling. Keep on praying."
"I'll finish up here, boss. Why don't you go on to bed?"
"I think I'll do that." I said with a grateful smile, giving her a playful swat on her well-formed backside in passing.
After a good night's sleep, I got up around noon, checked with Anita and Diane to make sure they had things under control, then bagged up some food to take with to the hospital as promised. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and there wasn't as much smog as usual. The traffic wasn't even that heavy so I enjoyed the drive to the hospital. I was disappointed to discover that there was still no change in Starsky's condition. He wasn't any worse but he wasn't any better. He was still just holding his own. The ventilator was still pumping air into his lungs but Hutch said that he thought that Starsky was starting to fight it, trying to take some tentative breathes on his own. Even the slightest hint of improvement in his condition was a cause for celebration.
I convinced Hutch to take a walk and get some fresh air while I saw with Starsky. Under the circumstances, the doctor had laid aside the normal rules that applied in the ICU and was allowing a few selected visitors to stay with Starsky for longer periods than usual. Mrs. Starsky and Hutch were both allowed unlimited access to his room.
I settled into the chair beside the bed and glanced over at my dark-haired friend. His color seemed better, some of his pallor replaced by a more natural hue. I found my eyes drawn to the bandages that still covered his torso, imagining the damage to his body that they concealed. As my eyes swept over his body, I noticed that they had shaved his chest hair. I tried not to smile in amusement. He was really going to hate that when he finally woke up. It wasn't that Starsky was a vain man exactly, but he knew that the ladies were turned on by his furry chest and muscular build.
I found myself remembering when we were kids and the hair started to fill in on his chest. He had been embarrassed at first until he found out that the girls really liked it. His first serious girlfriend in Bay City had really loved running her fingers through those dark springy curls. He was grinning that thousand-watt smile of his when he told me all about it later. Of course, that's not all he told me that she liked doing to him.
I'd never thought about it much one way or the other. The ladies I'd been with seemed to like my chest just fine even if I didn't have much hair on it. And I'd seen Hutch without his shirt on numerous times, so I knew that Blondie looked like he had a bare chest too until you looked closer and noticed the fine coat of almost invisible pale blond hair that covered his torso. It wasn't even remotely close to being as thick Starsky's was but it was there just the same. I knew that the same coarse dark haired covered Starsky's arms and legs too.And even though he shaved every morning, by late evening, a dark shadow was already visible on his strong, firm jaw making it necessary for him to shave again if he had a date.
I noticed that his face was already covered with heavy stubble. The nurses were too busy to attend to his personal hygiene beyond what was absolutely necessary for his survival. I figured that Hutch must have taken over his more basic needs, like shaving him and combing his thick, unruly curls which tangled so easily when he was lying in bed. I knew that Hutch often did that whenever Starsky was injured and unable to care for himself adequately but Starsky did the same thing for him, so I figured they were even on that score. It was just another example of the closeness and the undying trust that they shared with each other.
"Come on, Curly." I said, reaching out to rub his uninjured shoulder. "You gotta open those blue eyes and rejoin the rest of us. Blondie's about ready to lose it without you." It felt funny to be talking to him when he couldn't respond but I'd always heard that someone can hear you even if they are in a coma. I swallowed hard to dislodge the lump that kept trying to crawl into my throat. Even if Starsky pulled through this, he still had a long hard road ahead of him in order to fully recover from his injuries. Hell, his just being alive so far was considered a fucking miracle, so why not pray for another one?
Hutch soon returned. I knew he that couldn't stay gone long. He never did. We talked for a while as he ate the food I'd brought him. Now, Hutch tries to eat all that healthy junk like soybean flour and sunflower seeds, along with these really gross health shakes he makes every morning. But, when he's hungry, he can still chow down on junk food with the best of us. It didn't take him long to finish off a Huggy burger and an extra large order of fries. After he finished eating, I got ready to leave, promising to stop by the following day at the same time.
