Lights, Cameras, Outsiders!

Chapter 86

LCO 86

"You can go in there now. He's been asking for you," the nurse said to me. I squeezed Susie's hand before getting up from the waiting room and heading to the door. I knocked lightly.

"Come in," his raspy voice said. I pushed it open to see him lying in bed, head propped up on pillows, and two little oxygen tubes going up his nose.

"Hey!" He smiled and almost shot up but he winced and laid back down.

"Hey," I closed the door behind me and walked over to him. He immediately took my hand.

"Hi...I missed you," he said.

I pulled a chair over and took a seat, fiddling with fingers.

"Are you okay?" He said.

"Yeah," I said.

"You're pissed."

"A little mad, but not pissed."

"Essie, how was I supposed to know the guy was gonna pull out a knife?!"he was going to start with me. Okay, fine.

"Oh, I don't know, Matt, I told you a million times that someone could pull a chain or blade or bottle and you chose to ignore me," I snapped.

"Yeah, but Francis checked the guys for weapons!"

"Well Francis shouldn't exactly be a security guard now, should he? It doesn't matter! They can pull blades out from the bottom of their shoe!"

"Okay, I'm sorry, Essie, that I got cut up in a knife fight and you're the one that's pissed here."

"Because I repeatedly told you over and over to not go. Was my story not enough? You think I would've liked to have seen you dead?!"

"Essie, for the last time, I didn't know the guy had a knife!"

"And I'll say it again, Matt! They hide weapons! They're suspicious? They'll break the end of a bottle and cut someone with it!"

"Look, maybe you should just be happy that I'm alive instead of dead!"

"You know what, Matt? I'm glad. I'm glad you cut up. This is your consequence for not listening to me!"

"You're not my fuckin mother! I'm grown up, I can do whatever the fuck I want. I don't need your permission!"

"No. And you just told me you were going to a gang fight today without even asking me how I felt about it!"

"Cause I already knew how you felt about it! So what was the point, having another argument like this and I still go out there and get cut up?!"

"Maybe you would've changed your mind, and not gone."

"Maybe it saved myself some time that I didn't ask you," he snapped.

"If you had just stayed in the hotel with me and Christine, helping out with the-"

"Oh yeah, picking out China and flowers. Yeah, like I was really in the mood for that."

"You don't want to do wedding stuff?!"

"No, I don't! Not right now! Not right before I do the movie of my dreams!"

"Yeah well guess what Matt, you're gonna be doing the movie of your dreams for another couple weeks."

"Cause I'm cut up?!"

"Yes! Because you were being a fucking idiot and decided to go fight with a bunch of strangers!"

"I'm not the only one that got hurt! Why don't you scream at Rob or Ralph, and give my ears a fuckin break." I almost retaliated, but stopped.

"Is this what it's gonna be like when we're married?" I said after a pause. He picked his thumbnail and didn't look at me.

"Like what?"he said.

"The fighting and screaming."

"No, I think this is a special occasion," he sneered.

"How about you stop being smart Aleck?"

"How about you quit aggravating me?"

"You wanted me in here!" I said.

"Yeah before you started tearing my head off!"

"You know what? I'm going back to the hotel and the doctors will give me a call when you're to be discharged. Until then, I'm not talking to you."

"Good. All those words you just said will give me days worth of nagging," he said. I stood up and pushed the car back.

"You don't have to be so nasty," I said.

"You're being nasty to me so guess what? You're get-"

"I'm leaving now. I don't need you being an asshole right now."

"Fine," he said. I started towards the door and opened it. He still wouldn't look at me. And then I left.

**********

"He was probably just hungry, Essie," Susie said to me. I stirred the wine in my glass before laying my head on the table.

"No...I mean he gets irritable when he's hungry, but I mean he was unnecessarily mean," I said.

"Are you gonna see him tomorrow?"

"I don't know...should I? I feel like he'd be over it by then but based off of what I saw today..." I said.

"I think he'll be over it. I mean, Essie, he did get cut up in a fight," she said.

"You know, I was thinking....is this what our marriage is gonna look like?" I said, sliding my engagement ring off and spinning it on the table surface.

"I don't think so. You've been dating for two years, and now this came up? Honestly, if it wasn't to have worked, there's be a lot more of these," she said.

"But Susie, there's always the newlywed fights. The laundry fight, the children fight, the why can you put the toilet seat down and aim fight. I don't want to go through that."

"Essie, you're going to have to. The first year, you think your marriage is falling apart because of all the fights. Because you're living together and making financial decisions together. It's honestly emotionally draining, but you know what the good part is?"

"What?"

"They always come through. When David and I were first married, we fought every single day, but in the end, he'd apologize and do something to make up for it."

"Susie," I said.

"Hmm?"

"What was your first fight about?"

"Replacing the toilet paper roll. Usually, it's something stupid like that."

"But why is the first fight in the marriage always so dramatic?

Like why do people cry and call their

moms and take walks?"

"Because they're thinking what you're thinking right now. That their marriage isn't going to be strong enough to last," she said.

"So in a way, I just went through a first marriage fight?"

"More like engagement fight. Look, he'll apologize, it'll be sweet, you'll hug, you'll kiss and then you'll watch MTV until his sponge bath," she smiled and patted my hand.

"Really?"

"Yes. Go to sleep. You're exhausted," she said, standing up.

"Hey, Aunt Susie?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

"No problem."