Wild Cards

Chapter 10: Unfortunate Night

Over the next few days, I hardly see Arthur at all. While busy with school and job hunting, I can only imagine that similar struggles have him occupied as well. That is until I receive a phone call from an unknown number Friday night. 

It's Arthur, calling from a payphone, informing me that his mother is in the hospital. She suffered a stroke and has been admitted to Gotham General, which is where Arthur is right now. I don't hesitate when I tell him that I'll meet him there right away. 

When I find him sitting outside the hospital, dejectedly smoking a cigarette, I immediately race over to his side. His green eyes turn to me and he rises from the bench, flicking away his smoke, and then tightly embracing me in his arms.

"I'm so sorry," I whisper, hugging him back, burying my face against his chest.  

"Thank you for coming," his hoarse voice says as he calmly strokes my hair. 

"Of course I came," I reply, moving back to peer up at him. "I'm always gonna be there for you."

A half smile appears, but it's fleeting. "I honestly don't know what I'd do without you," he whispers, before taking my hand and walking with me through the hospital doors.

Arthur and I sit on the wide, blue-upholstered chair next to Penny Fleck's hospital bed, where she sadly lays there completely still and hooked up to beeping machines. 

I glide my palm soothingly along his back, trying to offer him a sense of comfort and reassurance as I stay by his side. 

And I will always be by his side. No matter what. 

"She's gonna be okay, Arthur," I say quietly, my chin resting on his brown sweater-covered shoulder. "Do you want me to get you a coffee? I was thinking about getting some for the both of us."

He stares off into space and mumbles, "Yeah, that'd be nice.  Thank you."

"No problem. I'll be right back." I grab his right palm and raise it to my lips, supplying a chaste kiss to the back of his hand. Rising from the chair, I head to the hospital cafeteria on the second floor. 

While retrieving the drinks, I worry endlessly about Arthur and his mother. I can't even imagine the stress he's going through right now, seeing his mom in such a comatose state.  He doesn't deserve this sadness after achieving so much happiness just a short while ago. 

When I return to the room with the coffees in hand, I find Arthur standing in front of Penny's bed, staring wide-eyed at the television screen. Watching the end of the opening monologue of The Murray Franklin Show. I place the plastic cups down on the nearest table and approach him.

"What is it?"

He slowly tears his gaze away from the TV set to look at me.  Arthur's expression appears awestruck yet horrified at the same time. 

"I was just... I was just on The Murray Franklin Show."

My mouth pops open in shock as I try to fathom what he just spoke aloud. 

"What... what do you mean? How were you on it?"

He blinks several times before answering. "They played my tape from Pogo's. The night that I performed there."

I release the breath I didn't realize I was holding in and smile brightly at him. "Arthur, that's... that's incredible! They recognized you. Murray Franklin recognized you!" I exclaim. 

"Yeah," he says, staring blankly ahead. 

He must still be in shock, I think to myself.

"Congratulations!" I throw my arms around him and hug him fully. "She'd be very proud of you."

I feel him slowly but surely return to normal when his arms reciprocate my gesture and wind around my smaller frame. 

Although this is a celebratory moment for him during a somber occasion, I can't shake the feeling that something else on the show greatly affected him. And since I can't go back in time, I don't have a single clue as to what exactly it was.