Love Me Tender - Please Pt. 03

"Is he all right?" someone had asked. "His head and his arm are bleeding. Call an ambulance."

Someone put a wet cloth over his forehead and hands were wrapping something tight around his bicep.

"This should stop the bleeding. What was he yelling about?"

"I heard him call his wife 'a fucking whore' when he flew past me," a voice said.

Another voice added, "He yelled 'How dare you do that in my house!' before he ran into the garage."

"Where is Karen?" someone asked and at the mention of her name, Ray remembered trying to rise but several hands had held him down.

There were lucid moments when he could see flashing lights and someone in blue leaning over him and asking who hit him. Someone else was poking a needle into his good arm and then everything went away.

"Is he going to be all right?" Karen's voice brought him back to the present.

At the sound of her voice, he tried to sit up but he found he was strapped to whatever he was lying on and his ankles were tied down so he could not move his legs.

"Easy there, Mr. Royals," a face blurred by the mask spoke in front of his face. We're taking good care of you."

"He's has a bad concussion but his skull is not fractured," the voice continued. An artery in his arm was sliced open but whoever put that belt around his arm probably kept him from bleeding to death."

"Get her out of here," Ray croaked through the mask. He tried to say more but his throat was dry and his lips were cracked.

"Ray? Honey?" Karen's face appeared looking down at him.

"Get her out of here," Ray repeated and tried to raise his arm with the IV in it to push her away.

"You're going to have to leave, Mrs. Royals. You're getting him agitated again and the police want to talk to him."

"But he's my husband," she pleaded.

"No, no, I'm not!" Ray protested in a hoarse whisper.

He felt himself slipping again and he wanted to say something but he could not put the words that came into his mind into sounds. It was easier to let everything go and drift off into nothingness.

"Daddy? Daddy?" Melody's quiet voice came through the fog.

Ray's eyes fluttered open and he looked over to see Melody and Brian standing next to him. The mask was gone but everything was still blurry.

"Daddy, you're going to be all right. Everything's going to be fine," she smiled and leaned down to kiss him on the forehead.

"No, it's not," he whispered around the tube in his mouth. "Your mother ... where's your mother?"

"She's not here right now," Melody answered. "But there's someone here who wants to talk to you."

"Mr. Royals?" a uniformed policeman looked down at him. "Mr. Royals, my name is Officer Rudzinski and I have a few questions to ask you. Are you up to answering them?"

"Yeah, sure," he whispered. "Get me some water somebody. My mouth is dry."

Melody held a straw to his lips and he greedily sucked up the cold water from the plastic cup.

"Mr. Royals," the policeman continued. "I understand you went after someone with a shovel. Is that right?"

Ray tried to nod his head but it hurt too much to move it.

"Yes, that's right."

"Why? What happened? Let me hear your side of the story."

"Is there another side?" Ray asked.

"Your wife told us that you got drunk and picked a fight with a guy named Montrell Escavido. You ended up chasing him around with a shovel. Is that what happened?"

"I wasn't drunk and I went after him with a shovel after I saw him fucking my wife."

"Daddy!" Melody exclaimed from somewhere in the room. "Daddy, no!"

"Ask her. Go ahead and ask her. The slut!"

"Oh, daddy, no!" Melody cried.

Ray caught a glimpse of his daughter as she pushed the curtain aside and left the room.

"Is that what happened? No one told me that part of it," the policeman said.

"She lied. She lied to you just like she's been lying to me. I wanted to kill him."

"If what you tell me is true, I can understand your feelings but I'd rather you didn't tell me that, Mr. Royals. Why don't you keep that to yourself?"

Ray groaned as another pulse of pain shot through his head.

"Are you finished?" another voice asked the policeman.

"Yes, I'll get back with you when you're feeling better. OK, Mr. Royals?"

Ray did not answer but watched the lights slowly fade as he fell back into sleep.

"Mr. Royals, Mr. Royals, time to wake up."

Ray thought he was dreaming and he could not figure out who was talking to him.

"Mr. Royals, wake up," the voice was louder now.

Ray opened his eyes to see a woman dressed in hospital scrubs standing by his bed with a blood pressure cuff in her hand.

"I have to take your vitals and its time for you to wake up," she said and lifting his arm, she wrapped the cuff around it. It inflated automatically and while it was expanding, she stuck a thermometer into his mouth and waited until the instrument beeped before removing it.

"Ninety-nine point one," she said and wrote something down on a chart.

Glancing at a point above his head, she looked back down at him, "135 over 90."

Ray's eyebrows rose in question.

"That's a lot better than last night when you were trying to get out of bed to find 'him'," she said.

"May I have some water please?" he asked and realized that the tube was gone from his throat.

"Here, but be careful. I'll unstrap your legs if you promise not to try and get out of bed. OK?"

"OK," Ray agreed around the straw. "I have to pee."

"Go ahead. You have an external catheter on and it'll go into the bag."

Ray looked down over his chest but could not tell what was under the blanket covering him. Trusting her, he relaxed and let a little pee out and waited.

"It's OK, I told you. Now let it go so I can measure it or they won't let you out of here."

Brian's face peered around the door to the room.

"Dad?" he said timidly.

"Hi, son."

"Uh, are you OK?"

"I guess so," Ray replied. "Where's your sister?"

"Parking the car. She'll be right up."

"Excuse me," a deeper voice said and Brian moved out of the way to allow the door to fully open.

"Good morning, Mr. Royals. Feeling better?" a man wearing a doctor's smock and carrying a chart entered.

"I don't know. My ankles hurt, my arm hurts and my head is killing me."

"You have a concussion along with thirty-one staples in your arm and head. There are some internal stitches in you that we used to close the artery you sliced open. You received two units of blood and your ankles are hurting because you kept trying to get out of bed and we had to restrain you."

"Daddy?" Melody's voice came from near the door where she stood with her hands clasped in front of her.

"Hi, sweetheart. Come on in, we're either having a party or it's a wake and I'm dead and don't know it."

Melody came to the bed and kissed him on the forehead.

"Oh, daddy," she sobbed and tears filled her eyes and wet her cheeks.

"OK, everybody," the doctor said. "Everybody out for a minute so I can talk to our patient here."

Ray waited until the children and the nurse left the room.

"When can I go home?"

"In a few hours. I'm waiting for some test results but I think you'll be OK."

"If what the emergency room doctor told me is true, you're lucky you aren't handcuffed to the bed."

"Why? What do you mean?"

"Didn't you go after someone with a shovel?"

"Yep!"

"In cases like yours the police usually have someone standing outside of the door and you're ankle is chained to the bed. What happened? Do you want to tell me?"

"I caught my wife fucking a guy in my garage."

"Oh, I see. Do the police know that?"

"Yes, I told a cop about it last night. I think it was last night. How long have I been in here?"

"Today's Sunday. They brought you in last night. I guess he believes you and didn't charge you with anything. I'll be back a little later and we'll go over some of the details on how to take care of that arm and your head. Take it easy, OK? Do you want to sit up a little?"

Ray waited as the doctor pushed the button to raise the head of the bed until he was almost in a sitting position. The room was quiet for a few moments after the doctor left.

"Dad?" Melody asked in a quiet voice as she peered around the edge of the door.

"Yes, honey?" Ray replied.

Melody came in and pushed the door closed behind here. Her eyes widened when she got a good look at him. He was sitting up in the bed but the IV was still attached to his left arm and his right arm was covered in bandages and held up by a sling around his neck.

"Uh, mom is out there. She wants to come in and talk to you. Is it all right?"

Ray's body jerked and he groaned and closed his eyes in an attempt to stop the sudden pain in his head.

"No, it's not all right," he answered after taking a moment to calm himself.

"She's real upset and she needs to talk to you. She said it's all a misunderstanding."

"Sweetheart, I don't want to get you in the middle of all of this but there is no misunderstanding. I saw what I saw and I'm sorry you know about it."

"Dad, I'm 18 and I know about things. I mean these things. Mom said she wasn't having sex with that Manner guy or whatever his name is. She said she was just talking to him when you exploded and caused all of the trouble."

Ray tried to remain calm but Melody could see the rage straining his face.

"I shouldn't be talking about this with you. It's bad enough you know about it at all. You don't need to know the details."

"She's really upset. Why don't you at least talk to her? Please?"

Ray sat silent for a minute before answering. She could see the tears running down his cheeks and she felt torn between her love for her mother and her father. She did not want to believe what he said happened but she could see that he was so sad that he could not have made it up.

She wiped the tears from his cheek with the backs of her fingers. Ray took her hand in his and holding it to his lips he kissed it.

"All right," he sighed in resignation. "Tell her it's OK for her to come in but I'm asking you not to stay. OK?"

Melody brightened a little as she saw some sort of possible resolution between her parents.

"Thanks, daddy. I'll tell her. I'll bring her in and then go back out and sit with Brian. He doesn't like being here."

"Neither do I, sweetheart. Now, go get her."

Ray was trying to maneuver the plastic straw into his mouth without hurting his arm where the IV was taped to it when the door opened and Karen came in followed by Melody.

"Oh, Ray," she said. Are you all right?"

Karen looked like she had not slept all night. She was wearing a sweatshirt and shorts and her hair was pulled back with a scrunchie. Coming towards the bed, she grasped the side rail and leaned over to kiss him. Ray reacted by moving back away from her lips and he yelled in pain and spilled the water all over himself.

Melody watched his reaction and quickly stepped between her mother and the bed. She pulled several tissues from the box on the tray and taking the cup from his hand, she gently wiped the moisture from his arm.

"I'll be right outside," she said barely above a whisper and kissed him on the cheek.

Ray watched her leave the room and marveled at how mature she had become in the last twenty-four hours. His eyes moved back towards Karen who was standing a little away from the bed.

She made a motion as if she was going to approach him again but he held up his hand to indicate she was to stay away. Karen stopped and reaching the tissue box, she pulled some out and dabbed at her eyes.

"I am so sorry, Ray," she said in a whinny voice. "I am so sorry this happened."

"You mean you're sorry you got caught," he said in a voice so cold and without emotion that he surprised himself.

"No, honey," she started but Ray visibly recoiled when she called him honey."

"No, Ray," she backed up. "That's not it at all. I ... we weren't doing anything. We were just talking, that's all."

Her voice had taken on a pleading tone as she begged him to believe her.

"You were fucking him," he hissed.

"No, I wasn't. I ... I don't know what you think you saw but he said he left some brochures in my car. I took him into the garage to get them but I tripped coming down the stairs and he caught me. That's all."

Karen searched Ray's face for some kind of indication that he believed her. His face was set in an angry mask topped by a bandage on his head. Under different circumstances, it would have been a comical scene.

Ray's mouth moved several times before any sound came out. He spoke through clenched teeth and the cords on his neck were sticking out from the strain.

"I watched you kiss him. I watched you hold his head against your lips. I watched you slobbering your tongue and spit all over his face and neck. I watched him fondling your ass. I watched you wrap your legs around him and rub your cunt against his belly.

I'm not blind. I know what I saw. As far as I'm concerned, you were fucking him. The only thing missing was that you hadn't taken your clothes off yet and his fucking cock wasn't stuck in your cheating cunt. That's how much I saw!"

Karen backed up another step in fear of the venom she heard in his voice. Her mind was whirling as she thought of a way to get out of this. She had not slept much and she was having trouble thinking straight. She hoped that he would not remember everything and she could lie her way out of another mess.

"I ... I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I was drinking and I got carried away. I'm sorry."

"You're always sorry when you get caught. My problem is that I don't know how many other times you've done it and I didn't catch you. You just lied to me right now and when I called you on it, you apologized for what you got caught doing. Did it ever occur to you that you owe me an apology for lying to me?"

"They're going to release me from here in a little while. I want Melody to drive me home. I want you to leave right now and go home and figure out what you are going to do to save our marriage. If I were you, I think I'd start by canceling the Vegas trip. With all of the booze and horny men out there, that is a disaster waiting to happen."

"Cancel my trip!" she sputtered. "Why would I want to do that? This is important to my future and you're trying to take it away from me. You've already embarrassed me and made a fool out of me by your insane behavior in front of my friends. You acted like a madman and I know they're laughing at me."

"It's all about you, isn't it?" he shouted. "I embarrassed you? You're out of your fucking mind! Get out of here and get out of my house. I have an appointment with a lawyer tomorrow and I'm going to keep it if I have to be carried there in an ambulance. I was hoping you would come to your senses and try to save our marriage but I can see that you don't give a shit. Get out of here!"

Melody came rushing back into the room followed by Brian and a nurse.

"Dad? Mom? What's going on? Please stop."

"Mr. Royals, please calm down. Please lie back down or I'll call the doctor," the nurse said in alarm.

"Get her out of here," Ray shouted while pointing at Karen. "Get her the fuck out of here."

"Dad, please stop. Mother what's going on?"

Karen knew that she had lost. Her mind was working as fast as it could to come up with a reason for the outburst but nothing was making sense. Her mouth opened as if she were going to say something when Ray again pointed his finger at her.

"Out! Get out of here and get out of my house! You'd better not be there when I get home!"

For a brief instant, Karen felt like crying but she steeled herself against the rising emotions and squaring her shoulders and holding her chin high she strode from the room.

"I'll be right back," Melody said and left the room after her mother.

"Mom, wait, please wait," Melody called just as the elevator doors closed.

Karen sank back against the wall of the elevator and let the tears flow. She could not think straight and she was terrified at what her future held. She saw nothing but sadness and reality started to overwhelm her as, for the first time, she felt the loss of her family and husband.

She almost ran from the elevator to the parking garage.

"Adele. I'll call Adele," she said aloud, drawing strange looks from passerby.

Karen was gone when Ray and the children finally got home. The promise of a quick release from the hospital dragged out into more than six hours. It was late afternoon before they pulled into the driveway. The first thing that Ray noticed was that the garage window was repaired. Brian told him that he and the next-door neighbor fixed it that morning.

"It was nothing, dad. I learned a lot while we were fixing it," Brian related.

"Thanks, son. That was something I was not looking forward to doing."

The house was straightened up and Melody caught him looking for any signs of blood on the floor. She told him that she and Brian had cleaned it all up while their mother had stayed in her room and wouldn't talk to them.

She started dinner while Ray went up to take a shower and change his clothes. Brian helped him wrap his bandaged arm in saran wrap and left him in the bathroom with the promise to be waiting right outside the door if he needed him.

Karen's cosmetics were gone from the bathroom and her lingerie and casual clothes drawers were standing partially open and half-empty. Staring into the mirror, Ray laughed at the bandaged sight staring back at him.

While shaving he wondered why he was not feeling happy with her absence. Instead of pleasure, he felt a great sense of loss. What hurt the most was a sense of disappointment in her and her attitude and actions towards him and the children.

He found himself laughing again while he adjusted a plastic shower cap to protect his bandaged head. He was not in any real pain and he had some happy pills to take care of any he might feel later in the evening.

Brian helped him dress after his shower and he and the children went over the details of their upcoming trips while they ate dinner. They had not eaten while they waited for Ray's release from the hospital and they were all famished. During their wait at the hospital, they had discussed their family's situation and Ray tried to be as truthful as possible while telling them exactly what was happening.

They agreed that their planned trips would go on as scheduled and while they were gone, their parents would try and work things out. Ray knew he was lying through his teeth with his promise but he was determined not to let Karen's selfishness spoil their vacations.

The plans were for Melody to meet the group going on the trip at the school at five in the morning on Tuesday. Ray felt sure he would be OK to drive her the short distance and the bus would take them on to the airport for the start of their big adventure. Karen knew the schedule and he debated whether or not to remind her of it. Melody, who apparently knew what he was thinking, saved him by volunteering to call her mother and remind her.

Brian's plans were for him to spend Tuesday night at a friend's house and the next morning the group of six boys would be carpooled to meet their bus. Brian did not volunteer to notify Karen. Ray reflected that he seemed to be more affected than Melody at what had happened. It could be that he was just showing it more than she was.

"I'll call your mother and remind her," Ray volunteered.

"No, don't bother," Brian, said. "She knows it and if she wants to show up she will."

Ray decided he would call and leave a message at the office for her. That way he would not have to talk directly to her.

After they settled all of the details, Melody informed him she still had a few things to do and some shopping she needed to finish on Monday. With Karen gone that left only his car and rather than try to work around Melody's "to do" list he decided to reschedule his meeting with Vincent.