There Must Be A Mistake Ch. 13

"Why do you need to know?"

"I have to know if I have to leave one car or two."

"You better be safe; leave two cars."

**********

He wasn't happy lying on the floor. Then he heard the thud and the cry of pain from inside the carrel.

He jumped to his feet and yelled, "Delicious!"

"Shut the fuck up, my head hurts."

"Let me in so I can rip it off."

She got onto her knees, crawled to the door, and unlocked it. She sat down and held her head. She was bleeding profusely.

"You fucking idiot look what you've done now. Sydney, call an ambulance."

He took off his shirt and pressed it against the opening on the top of her head. "Are you hurting anyplace else?"

"My right shoulder and arm hurt."

"You're going to be a beautiful bride, with your arm in a cast, and your head bandaged."

"Who said I'm getting married?"

"Oh that's right, I'm a free man. From this day on I can fuck whoever I want. I don't have to be celibate anymore. I waited nearly 10 months for someone special, and then she runs away. What a fool I was to believe she would live up to her end of the bargain. Well, there are plenty of flowers to pick from, and from this day forward, I'm going to pick a fresh one daily."

"You bastard."

"I know you're not talking to me. I didn't break our deal. My conscience is clear. I wonder if you can go to confession and say the same thing."

"Why don't you leave me with security, I'll send you a check for your shirt."

"If that is what you want Miss Luck, I'm gone. Joseph, stay with her please. She goes to the hospital and no place else. If she argues with you; cuff her. If she continues to argue with you, tie her up and make sure she goes to the hospital."

"As you wish; Doctor Thyme."

"Joseph, could you help me up please? I want to see if I can walk."

He took Delicious by the arm, lifted her off the floor until she balanced herself. They walked into the hallway where she took a few steps.

She said, "Okay I'm going to turn around, and walk back to you."

"Okay miss."

Joseph didn't realize who he was dealing with.

As soon as he turned his back, Delicious ran down the corridor towards Gray. He was just reaching the elevators. His right arm reached the button as her left shoulder impacted his ribs.

He was stunned as he fell to the floor in pain.

She popped up, looked down at him, and said, "Now you can leave me you bastard. I wanted you to know what pain felt like."

He lay on the floor laughing.

She was so angry there wasn't a color red to describe it.

"You think that was pain? That was a mere tickle compared to what you do to me. You walk around with a cleaver in your hand, and use it on me every time you open your fucking mouth. You think tackling me is enough to cause me the type of pain you cause me every time we argue. You have to be kidding. Why don't you buy track shoes, and run over my face for an hour or so. Then we may be talking about pain. This was nothing. Keep sucking your thumb little girl, I don't think you're ever going to grow up."

"I don't suck my thumb."

"How much would you like to bet?"

"The usual, $100."

"Would you like to make it $1 million, you can afford it, and so can I. We own a railroad."

"Keep your fucking railroad, and marry that tramp Junie Penick. You'll never have to work another day in your life. Won't that be nice for you?"

"This was a bet about you sucking your thumb, not Junie Penick. Do you want to bet or not?"

"$100.

Gray showed her his cell phone.

Without saying a word, she took her pocketbook from Joseph, pulled out a $100 bill, and handed it to him.

"Congratulations, there's another thing I can't beat you at."

Joseph said, "Miss the ambulance is downstairs."

"Thank you Joseph.

He didn't get into the elevator with her. There was enough bad blood between them already, there was no sense adding fuel to the fire.

Sydney came up to him and said, "Sir these were all over the room she was in."

Hundreds of pictures of his face from every angle imaginable, with little love notes next to each one of them. It wasn't the same love note each time, but a different endearment next to each picture. Which woman was she? Was she only able to think of him in the abstract? This was going to drive him more insane, than he was already.

"Take me to the hospital Sydney. If you beat the ambulance there, I'll give you $10,000."

"Let's move it boss, I have no time to lose."

***********

Technically, it was a tie. Sydney screeched to a halt, as the ambulance finished backing in to its spot. He also had three police cars screeching to a halt behind him.

"Tell them what is happening, and if they don't listen, tell them you'll meet them in court."

"Thank you sir, do I win?"

"You bet your ass you do."

Gray jumped the barrier and ran the 15 feet to the ambulance as they were pulling her out the back doors of the vehicle.

"That's a silk shirt; the blood will never come out of it."

"How the fuck did you get here so fast, you imbecile?"

"I used a transporter device of my own design. Not even you thought up something as revolutionary as that."

"You are a lying sack of shit."

The EMTs pulled her inside and set her up in a cubicle. A nurse looked at her head and called a Doctor. He asked Delicious several questions as they hooked her up two IVs. He ordered an x-ray and an MRI, "STAT."

He turned, looked at me, and asked, "Are you the husband?"

Gray laughed, "Until 12 o'clock today, I was the fiancé. Then I came to my senses when she left me, Again!"

As they were pulling Delicious out of her cubicle she screamed, "FUCK YOU GRAY!"

"I waited almost 10 months for that privilege. You were the one that backed out of our deal. Eat shit and die, Delicious. I won't cry at your funeral. As a matter of fact, I won't be there. I'll call your father and tell him where you are. Don't come back to the apartment, you are not welcome there anymore. Oh, I forgot, these are yours."

He handed her all her papers, as he stormed out at the emergency room. She looked at them and began to cry. Where had everything gone so wrong? She didn't need to talk to her father. She needed to talk to Jennifer.

The x-ray showed she had fractured her skull. The MRI verified this, and it was deep enough to require it be operated on immediately. They needed parental consent. They called me and gave me her prognosis.

I said, "Prepare her for surgery; I will be there in 90 minutes to sign the paperwork."

With a security car in front and behind us, we roared down Interstate 70 towards Denver. We were doing well over 100 miles an hour, with lights flashing, and sirens blaring into the night. We pulled in front of University Hospital in just under an hour.

Jennifer and I raced into the hospital, asked where Delicious Luck was, and where the paperwork I had to sign for her surgery was. An aide took us to the surgical wing.

Delicious head had been shaved and covered with an orange/yellow antibiotic.

"So help me God dad, if you say one word, or smile, I will get out of this bed and kill you."

"Who me, I was just looking for my daughter. This must be the wrong room. My daughter has long brown luxurious hair. Come on Jennifer, let's go find her."

Jennifer's elbow went through my ribs, and into my spleen. She hit me with her elbow many times, but this time she meant business.

"Husband, you could be dead, but not at the hand of your daughter. Be nice, or you'll never get laid again."

"That's not fair. I finally have the upper hand on her, and you won't let me say a word."

"No, not a single word, Even."

"Not even, I love you?"

"Are you going to mean it? Are you going to say it without smiling?"

"I could try to do both those things, but it would be very hard looking at her head."

"Even, go outside, and call that idiot who was supposed to be your son-in-law. Two idiots can make a jerk. Two jerks can make a jerk off."

"That was not funny Jennifer."

"It was not meant to be funny. It is true however."

She pulled up a chair close to Delicious, and asked, "What did you do this time?"

"I don't know how it started, but I know it never ended, even when he threw me out of the apartment. It began yesterday, and I slept in the spare bedroom, because I didn't want him to touch me. I made breakfast, as usual this morning, and he complained about it. It reignited yesterday's argument. It got worse all morning. Whenever he said anything to me, I said something worse to him. When I was out of the apartment I needed time alone to think. The safest place I knew was in school. I went there to draw some electrical designs and all I could see was his face. I started drawing it over and over and over again. What the hell is wrong with me Jennifer? I want him, and every second we are together we fight."

"Do you realize how sexually stressed you are? You have been sleeping with that man for nearly 10 months. In a few days you will be 18 years old. Two weeks after that you were supposed to get married. You two are wired as tight as the strings on the violin. Both of you are getting ready to break. I have the answer to your problems if you want to listen to me."

"Anything Jennifer, I will do anything not to lose him."

"Did you say 'ANYTHING' Delicious?"

"Oh God, I hate myself. I hate that word. It gets me in more trouble than I can get out of."

"Just remember, that was the word you used. I expect you to keep your word."

"I will keep my word Jennifer. I know I'm in trouble already."

"Oh yes you are."

"I hate you Jennifer."

"When I get finished with you, you are going to hate me a lot more."

"Oh shit."

**********

"She is going to be operated on in the next 10 minutes."

"Why should I care Even?"

"According to the surgeon, she may lose all cognitive function. She will have no past, no present, and no future. I will have lost my daughter forever."

"Even, I never meant for it to go this far. She was just too tough a nut for me to crack. I just wasn't strong enough to do it. I'm so sorry."

"Her mother said those words to me when she helped me save Jennifer."

"What words Even?"

"She is a tough nut to crack. Her mother used to say it to her when she was growing up. Unfortunately, she never will have the chance to do it. Goodbye Gray; you are fired. You are no longer welcome in the lab. I'm sorry but I could not stand to look at you during the day and my daughter all night long. You can keep the railroad stock as your severance package. I liked your father; he seemed like a very good man."

"I understand Even, goodbye."

I said to Jennifer, "He should be here in 20 minutes."

"You are a wonderful liar Even."

"Delicious told me I am a terrible liar."

"That's because you had nothing good to lie about. These are extenuating circumstances. I need him alone, in a room for about 10 minutes. If you hear a scream, you will know he will never be able to produce an heir with anyone."

"You women are mean."

"No, we are just practical."

Gray was in the surgical waiting room in 15 minutes.

Jennifer started in before he sat down. "Did you come to gloat over your victory Gray? Go home, you are not wanted here."

"Leave the boy alone Jennifer."

"Why, he's the reason all this happened. Gray and his god damn ego. It had to be his way or the highway. He kicked her out of her home. How cruel can a mature man get then to kick a 17-year-old girl out of her home? Well, he will never have to worry about that again, will he. She will stare at walls for the rest of her life and not see them. Isn't that what you wanted Gray? Throw her to the wolves. She is no longer your responsibility, because she wouldn't bend to your will. Goodbye, no more Delicious to worry about; next submissive please. Where do you get them Doctor Thyme, "Submissive's are us? Is that why you didn't have sex with Delicious? She wasn't legal. You thought of everything, didn't you?"

"It wasn't like that Jennifer. Sure we argued, but we never waged war like we have in the last few weeks."

Several people joined them in the waiting room, waiting for their loved ones to come out of surgery.

"Gray, come with me. Even block the door."

Gray said, "I don't like the sound of this."

"If you walk out alive, you can thank your lucky stars. Even just lost his daughter, if he walked into that room with you, one of you wouldn't come out alive. In his state of mind, I would bet on Even."

A nurse strolled by room 367. She saw three men and one woman dressed in black bracketing it. There was one man standing by the door with his ear pressed against it. She was curious, but not curious enough to ask what was going on in there. They had many high profile patients in the past. They came in under assumed names, and this type of security was not unusual.

Jennifer was reading Gray his death warrant. "Go back to Pennsylvania, and don't stray below the Mason Dixon line. Don't walk over it; take a train, bus, or airplane, because if we will find out about it, it will be the last day of your life. Even loved you like a son. He wanted to work with you because he saw brilliance in your future. You have taken his first child, a child he had with his sister, and didn't know about until a year ago. He can never forgive you for that. Why did you do that to him; because you were sexually frustrated with his daughter? In a few days she is going to be 18. Two weeks later, you were going to be married. You had waited such a long time for each other, and with a few weeks left to go, your ego overrules your common sense.

She says North, you say South. She says right, you say left. You can't have your way. You are the man of the house. You can yell louder, longer, and you are stronger than she is. You threatened her, and then you throw her out of her home. How masculine of you. You won the battle, and lost the war. Aren't you happy with yourself?"

Gray paced the room and did not answer.

"God dammit Gray, answer me. Aren't you happy now?"

"No, I'm not happy. I'm not happy about her situation. What am I supposed to do about it now? I would give up both my arms to have her back, but she still wouldn't talk to me. We would just yell at each other over and over again."

"Did I ever tell you what Even did to me a week before our wedding."

"No you didn't."

"We were supposed to meet at the hotel for a late lunch, but no exact time was given. I got there around 4PM, called him. I screamed where the hell are you Even. He asked me where are you, Jennifer. I told him I was at the hotel waiting for him. He said he would drop everything and rush right over. I was furious. I marched up and down the lobby waiting for him. He came in the side door with Gordon and watched me. As I walked towards the front, he and Gordon sat down on a lounge, and continued to watch me pace up and down. I must have done this for about five or six minutes until I caught sight of them.

I asked Gordon, "How long have you been sitting there?"

He said, "A long time mommy."

"Gordon, unless you want to get blood all over your new clothes, I would get away from your father."

Even stood up and said, "What did we do wrong? We had no knowledge of the time we were supposed to be here. When you called we stopped everything and came right here. You seem so engrossed in what you were doing; we sat down and watched you do it. We didn't want to interrupt your train of thought."

"I wanted to kill him, but his logic was flawless. Flawless until Gordon said they had just finished eating at Wendy's, and I was starving.

Even said, "Come with me." He took me upstairs. He had the staff change into their evening dress clothes, change the table linens, and took us to the best table in the house. He wined and dined me as he promised he would do. How can you argue with a man like that?"

"You can't argue with him, because he did everything he promised you."

"Did you do everything you promised Delicious; not only the sexually, which I know you have, but everything else you've promised her? You said to her today you could go to confession with a clear mind, and say you never broke a promise to her. Is that true?"

"Why don't you just get a gun and shoot me Jennifer. It will be less painful."

"Why don't you go to the chapel and pray for forgiveness?"

"I don't think he would forgive me."

Jennifer crossed the room and smacked him. "The creator is a SHE, and don't you ever forget that. Only women can give birth. I was reminded of that quite painfully a short time ago."

"Why do women always hit."

"We have excellent male teachers."

***********

Jennifer opened the door to the room, and led Gray out. She said to Logan, "He's going to look for some divine guidance in the chapel. If he doesn't find it there, take him outside and see if you can find it for him, in a more elemental way."

"Is there anything specific we should focus on Mrs. Luck?"

"Well, he did say he would give up both arms to have her back the way she was. You could start there."

"Very good ma'am, they fit in flower boxes very well."

Jennifer replied, "It's a shame Delicious won't know what they are."

As they walked towards the elevator, I said, "Are we overplaying our hand just a little bit Jen?"

"A little, I have never played a hand so over the top as I am playing this one. He may want to kill us before the wedding."

"Us, what did I do?"

"Abandoning the ship already captain?"

"If that asshole in Italy can do it, why can't I?"

"I will give you three good reasons: Delicious, Gordon, and Richard. Where I go, they go."

"Are you moving back into your grandmother's home?"

"No, I'm moving back to Alaska. My inheritance comes through in three months, and my loving husband has given me $5 million in case of emergencies. Wasn't that kind of him? I will never be poor again."

"You were never poor."

"Oh yes, you're right, I was never poor."

"I don't have a big enough boat to turn over."

"With all your money, you could buy your own fleet."

"I'm building a spacecraft instead."

"Then keep your eyes on the prize captain, and let's get that thing off the ground."

"I don't know if I'm going."

"What did you say Even?"

"When my sister visited my dream to save you, she said that Delicious' would reach the stars and all of her dreams would come true. She never said my dreams would come true. I don't know if it means I will be staying on Earth, or not reaching the next star system, but I do know that our ship will make it."

"Oh Even, I'm so sorry. Either way, I'm staying with you."

"No you can't. You and the children are an integral part of the plan. If you don't go, Gordon will not want to go. Everything will fall apart without him. Who knows what part Richard will play as he gets older? Children are the future of this project. The younger and smarter our crew is, the greater the possibility of the success of our mission.

There can be no such thing as monogamy, but the woman will always control who she mates with. Rape will be a death penalty offense. It cannot be tolerated among a small group of people.

I'm going to increase the size of the ship, from a diameter 150 to 200 feet. We will need more stasis chambers, and replacements for those that break down, or become irreparable.

I keep wondering about so many different things I don't know which way to go first."

"Can the pilot in command make a suggestion?"

"Yes, I'm always open to suggestions, especially from someone as beautiful as my wife."

"Tell Sequoia to keep a list of everything you think about during the day. As soon as you queue it up the next morning have it say to you, "Good morning Doctor Luck, here are your memos from yesterday. Let it print it out for you so you can see what you thought about the day or week before. Keep a running log and never erase it."