“Hey, Doc, you may be wondering what we’re all doing here tonight.” TC turned down the music slightly, and Jerry Number Two moved in for a close-up of the administrator on his knees in front of a naked-from-the-waist-down Frogman. “It’s very simple. We’re friends of Doctor Rudy and we don’t want to see him lose his job. We have all of tonight’s activities on DVD and would be happy to upload all of it to the Crawford Medical Center website. Of course, we won’t do that as long as Rudy has his job. Understand?” I said.
Broseph nodded.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes!” Broseph yelled through his tears. He looked more angry than shocked.
“Good, now get the fuck out of here!”
Broseph hurried to his feet, already running in the direction of the parking lot before he got his knickers all the way up and his shirt tucked in. As he ran off into the horizon, a spontaneous cheer went up from the Foursome with Al adding a baritone harmony.
“Nice work, gentlemen,” I yelled in my best George C. Scott as General George Patton voice. “Tonight, I’m buying!” I looked over to the Frogster and we exchanged the thumbs-up signal.
Cheers went up even louder. I had Rocco call Kelley on the cell and told him to do whatever he had to do to get Rudy to AJ’s. We exchanged handshakes and slaps on the backs and poured into the Eldorado for our victory ride back to our headquarters. It was a hell of a fun ride.
We all piled out, AJ poured five shots, and we toasted each other on a night well done. We were repeating the shot and carrying on with tonight’s war stories when Kelley walked in with Rudy behind him. It got really quiet as everyone looked at Rudy. His head was down, he hadn’t shaved in a couple of days, and he even looked like he had lost weight.
“Duffy, what the fuck are you up to? I’m in no mood for your bullshit tonight,” Rudy said.
“Is that any way to talk to the man who just saved your career?” AJ said from behind the bar.
“What? My career? My career is fucked as of tomorrow.”
A giggle came up from the Foursome and they could barely contain themselves.
“Aw shit, Jerry, let’s stop the suspense. Show Rudy how we spent our night,” I said.
Rudy was confused and sort of stumbled over to Jerry Number Two, who hit a button on the back of his space-age gadget. Rudy reluctantly watched the two-by-two screen like a guy who was being forced to hear a joke. Then he got a puzzled look on his face.
“What the?… that’s Broseph… sonofabitch…” Rudy looked up at me. “You… holy shit.” Rudy was stammering.
“Shhh, Rudy. Listen to Duffy’s speech,” Rocco said.
Rudy looked at the recording in disbelief. His eyes welled and he started to chuckle, at first almost silently and then louder. Before long he was bent over with his hands on his knees, laughing so hard I thought he would hurt himself.
“You crazy Irish-Polack bastard. C’mere,” Rudy said.
He gave me a bear hug that hurt my ribs and sent shivers of pain through my body. Rudy had tears on his cheeks and was laughing as he hugged every single one of the Foursome. Then he picked up Al and pirouetted around with him until the hound howled.
“You fuckin’ guys…” Rudy said, shaking his head.
“I’m guessin’ you got ol’ Broseph by the balls for as long as you want him,” TC said.
“That asshole blows anyways,” Jerry Number One said.
“Poor guy has had a frog in his throat for a long time,” Jerry Number Two added.
“Yeah, a long time ago, Froggy told me about some big-deal doc giving as much as getting in the park. He said something about him being on TV and talking about ‘body and spirit,’” I said. “It wasn’t hard to get the Frogster on board.”
“Looked pretty hard to me,” Rocco said.
Rudy looked me in the eyes and I saw him start to well up again. I raised my Schlitz to him and he toasted me back with his cognac. Mission accomplished.
We drank for a few hours and laughed until it hurt. It was a Sunday night, so the guys were starting to look at their watches and think about the workweek. Kelley came over with his Coors Light to say good night.
“There’s no doubt about it, man-you’re nuts,” he said, cracking a smile. “Shouldn’t a hard-working social worker type like you be heading home to meditate and get ready for a Monday in the business of saving lives?”
“Geez, Kel, I almost forgot. Tomorrow I’m getting fired. It’s the sixteenth.”
“I’m sorry, Duff, I forgot,” Kelley said.
“After this weekend, Kel, I’m not sure I care.”
Kel slapped me on the back and I headed out to the Eldorado with Al at my side. I thought about getting fired, and I had lied to Kelley. I did care, not because I was worried about Claudia or getting in trouble, but because sometimes, though I don’t like to admit it even to myself, I like helping people no one else wants to help.
40
On Monday morning I dragged myself out of bed and got ready to go get fired. I thought about just not showing up and not giving the Michelin Woman the pleasure of doing it, but I didn’t want to be a coward. I’d live without the job, though it might not be real easy to get another one in human services after getting canned here.
Before I headed to the clinic, I took a ride past McDonough High. It was just after eight and the kids were gathered outside delaying going into school until the last possible minute. I let the Eldorado idle and listened as Elvis sang “If I Can Dream.” I spotted the girls I had met a week or so ago on my visit and they were snapping gum and all talking at once. I looked closer and saw Shony in the circle with the other girls. She was part of the circle, but she was quiet and not taking part in all the gabbing.
I tooted my horn and all the girls looked up, stopping their activity just for an instant before going back into it. Shony strained to see who I was, and when she recognized me, she smiled and came to my window.
“Mr. Duffy, what are you doing here?” she said.
“Just driving by,” I said.
“Thank you for all you did for me.” Shony looked down.
“Shony, do me a favor?”
“Sure, Mr. Duffy.”
“When you think of your stepmom, please remember how much she loved you. And do your best to remember that’s what counts.”
A tear ran down Shony’s face, and she nodded without saying anything.
“Thanks, Shony, I got to go,” I said.
Before I could get the car in gear, Shony dropped her books and hugged me awkwardly around the neck and head and kissed me. Just as quickly, she picked up her books, turned away, and ran into school.
Elvis was finishing up the song. He was giving it all he had and was letting me know that as long as I’m standing, as long as I am alive, I can continue to dream.
He was right, of course.
Elvis was always right.
I couldn’t put it off any longer; it was time to face Claudia and get it over with. I tried to slip into the office inconspicuously, but there’s something about having your face black and blue and having four sets of stitches across your mug that seems to draw people’s attention.
Monique winced when she saw me.
“You okay?”
“I think so,” I said. “There’s a note on my desk from Claudia to be in her office at nine thirty and to bring my keys. I’m guessing I’m not getting a promotion.”
“Duff, you’ll always be all right by me,” Monique said and lightly touched my shoulder.
I went out to see Trina. She couldn’t look at me and welled up. It was awkward for a second, so I left her alone. I didn’t want to make the situation worse.
At exactly nine thirty I went in to see Claudia for my execution. I could tell she was just thrilled, having outlasted me and won our little conflict. Today’s process was her reward. She was going to draw this out and make it as painful as possible.