Sowing on the Mountain

≈ 46 ≈

Slim spent the night in her room, trading off with Ginger. The bleeding had nearly stopped, but they'd given her a shot that knocked her out, along with a blood transfusion and an IV of saline and glucose. A nurse came every hour to change sanitary napkins and check her vitals.

Ginger told him what Mary had said and they talked about how she'd grown up.

"Once," Ginger said, "when we were talking about getting married and having kids, the way girls do, she said that she'd rather die than put another human being through a childhood like hers. She's still pretty torn up over that, and it scares her. Not your fault." They hugged and cried for a while, on the stiff hospital couch.

The next morning, Mary was still out, so they took turns going to the cafeteria for coffee and breakfast. A doctor came in with some equipment on a cart, and asked them to leave for a bit. He was going to do a diagnostic laparoscopy. The nurse came out in the hall and explained that a lighted tube of fiber optic would be inserted in her uterus, to see if there was a perforation or other damage. Some women hemorrhaged more than others after an abortion, and the uterus would clamp down to stop the bleeding in a way that caused extreme pain. She went in to assist.

She came out twenty minutes later, wheeling the cart. The doctor followed. "Are either of you next of kin?" he asked. Slim gasped. The doctor put a hand on his shoulder. "No, she's fine. But I'm not supposed to give out patient information to unrelated parties."

"She doesn't have family here. I'm her fiance," Slim said.

"Then we'll have to wait until she wakes up. Should be an hour or so. She'll be feeling pretty awful: angry, maybe violent, so keep your distance at first."

"Violent?"

"Just last night we had a seven-year-old kid punch a nurse. He was coming out of anesthesia for the removal of a cyst. She wasn't expecting it and he nailed her."

"Mary's a black belt," Ginger said.

He laughed. "Give her lots of room."

Mary woke and scanned the room with a baleful glare.

"I was in the bathtub," she said. "How did I get here? And where the fuck is here?"

"University Medical Center," Ginger said. "You passed out in the tub, so we brought you here. Lost too much blood, they said. Slim's outside."

"Fuck Slim. Where's Gris?"

"Mrs. Bertagnolli is taking care of him. We've been here all night."

"I didn't mean it."

"Mean what?"

"Fuck Slim. He can come in. I'm too weak to kill him."

"They said you might be in a foul mood."

"That's understating it. Maybe I'll kill Slim after all. Come in here, you coward," she yelled. "Prepare to meet your doom!"

The doctor stepped in. "Feeling better?"

"Better than what? I feel like shit!"

Slim slipped through the door and stood in the corner. The doctor looked at the bedside monitor. "Vitals are strong," he said. "Can we discuss your condition in front of your friends?"

"Why not?"

"You lost a lot of blood, which is why you lost consciousness, so they were right to bring you in. To contain the bloodflow, your uterus went into deep contractions: very painful. We gave you a knockout shot, a unit of blood, an antibiotic, and IV fluids. This morning, we did a laparoscopic exam and found a couple raw areas in the lining of your uterus, but no punctures. So once you feel fully awake and steady on your feet, we'll release you."

"What! No free food?"

He laughed. "Two hours 'til lunch, if you want to stay."

"Nope. Gotta kill my boyfriend. I was thinking maybe strangulation, but disembowelment would be a nice touch."

Slim knelt by the bed. "I throw myself on your mercy."

He looked up and she met his eyes. All sound, all movement, ceased. Tides rose and fell, dark was day and day twilight, the moon circled in her courses, and then the sun rose over the high ridge and a bank of clouds, and lit the room. She laughed. He grinned.

"Mercy? Are you kidding?" She ruffled his hair. "No mercy for you, Buster! Say, Doc—can I eat real food?"

"Whatever you like."

"Okay. First we go to my place for clean clothes and canine communion. Then, to the Red Iguana for the Special Combo Platter. Might as well empty your wallet before killing you."

"Sounds like a deal," Slim said.