Tom Schreck: Out Cold

"I'm sorry, so sorry Marie." Over her shoulder, he glared at me. I hung my head, knowing I had fucked things up for him again.

Marie cried and cried. The circle of partygoers around them got quiet and awkward. Marie pulled away and wiped her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Marie. I wanted so much to-"

"The man I knew before never would've done something like this. This was so beautiful and so selfless." Marie and Rudy looked each other in the eyes, as if no one else existed. "God, I love you!" She threw herself into his arms and hugged him tight. The partygoers cheered.

"God, I'm so glad you called me back," Marie said. While they we're hugging, Rudy looked at me, shook his head and rolled his eyes at me. I gave him a big thumbs up and I think I had a tear in my eye.

"Marry me-again!" Marie said to Rudy. Everyone cheered like a bottom of the ninth home run at Yankee Stadium.

"Oh my God-you bet I will," Rudy said. You couldn't ask for a better feel-good moment. Then Rocco released the hounds

Suddenly fifty, or so, hounds descended upon the party. They ran, barked, and generally went nuts-until they found the caterer and the buffet.

A group of about six, including Lola Love, Sherlock, and Blake, knocked over the tenderloin carving station and pulled at the peppercorn-encrusted slabs. Arthur, Louie, and Sadie, and three of their best friends including that little Maltese-Pom Tedward, had buried their heads in the gigantic shrimp cocktail bowl, slobbering all over the sterling silver. All of AJ's Army joined in the party, chasing the hounds around. Quite a scene had developed and it dawned on me that my close friends weren't really the society party types. The gangbangers ran after about six bassets that barked and howled and had a good time. Jerry Number Two tried to talk a big brown and white fellow out of eating the foix gras, but he appeared to be being ignored.

Billy chased Sally, Maui, and Guffy, who headed straight for the pool and dived in. Billy, having spent some time with Al and me, knew there was a good chance the dogs couldn't swim, so he went in after him. That started kind of a chain reaction and four or five hounds dove in to get refreshed. Billy's buddy, Timo, went in, and one by one he lifted the hounds out of the pool. Each hound got out and did that tornado basset thing to shake off the water before heading for the buffet table. Somehow a bunch of bassets got into the caterer's portable kitchen and had a field day with the mini-quiches, eating them by the paw-full. A couple of other big fat red and whites had their heads stuck in an ice bowl, having a drink. The society crowd kind of collectively gasped. Some of the women had their hands up around their necks in terror, while many others took it all in and laughed at the chaos around them. One couple sounded a little distressed over what they anticipated would be high dry cleaning expenses.

"Thanks for comin' Duff," Rudy said and put his arm around me.

"Did you hear?"

"Hear what? I've had my head in this party all summer."

"They found a weapons cache in the Asian kid's room at Notre Dame. The cans of Vienna Sausage were filled with explosives headed to our soldiers."

"You're shittin' me," Rudy said.

"Maybe I'm not as crazy as people here think," I said. Rudy and I quietly watched fifty basset hounds run crazy all over his party, scavenging gourmet food, swimming in his pool, and dunking their heads in crystal serving bowls.

"Maybe, maybe not," Rudy said.

It wasn't long after Kelley showed up and I got to meet his girlfriend, the conservation cop. He let me know Karl was fine; he'd lost a bit of blood but fortunately, he didn't take the full force from the shotgun. He also reported Karl didn't beat any orderlies up and seemed remarkably at peace during the whole process. Maybe the hospital staff ran out of tracking microchips.

"I know plenty of people in the dog rescue business," Kim said after we got introduced, and she took out her cell phone. It was after two in the morning and the three of us stood at the entrance to Rudy's watching the hounds sleeping peacefully on his once finely manicured lawns.

"Kim, you do know it's after two in the morning, right?" I said.

She smiled. "You've never met people in the dog rescue business have you?"

Within an hour, five people had arrived, and each said they had two or three other folks that would 'foster' some hounds. Like some sort of canine UNICEF they came, rounded up the dogs, and let me know what a great guy I was for having the courage to storm the puppy mill.

I shook my head and smiled, mostly to myself.

"It wasn't me, trust me," I said.

They looked at me kind of funny, but they were busy rounding up the bassets.

The main rescue woman's name was Heather and she came over to shake my hand.

"You will not be forgotten in hound circles," she said.

"Somehow that fits," I said.

"Is there anything we can do for you?" I thought for a second and although a voice inside me said I was nuts, I had learned to ignore that voice most of my life. Recently, I think I've gotten even better at not paying attention to it.

"Yeah, there is. Would it be okay if Gladys and her kids came home with me?"

"I can't think of a better home for them." She smiled and then spontaneously hugged me. I reached in my pocket and gave her the money I got from Heimi.

"What's this?" she said.

"For your expenses. You'll need it." Kelley was smiling and so was Kim.

"You have some interesting friends, Mike," she said. No one called him 'Mike.'

"Yeah, I know," Kelley said, looking at me. He looked down and lightly kicked at the grass. "Hey Duff?" I looked at Kelley.

"I owe you an apology. I'm sorry for not believing you."

"Kell, you don't have to apologize. I was off my rocker and probably still am. Some of this shit's going to be with me for a while. Just because everything worked out doesn't mean I'm not a little-or a lot-fucked up," I said.

The next afternoon I got up, after sleeping right through to noon. I didn't remember dreaming and I barely remembered going to sleep. Gladys and the TCB Band-my name for the kids, after Elvis' backing group-slept on the floor. She seemed worn out, but otherwise okay.

I called Trina after a couple of cups of coffee.

"I don't know if I said 'Thanks'."

"I'm just glad you made it okay," she said.

"Tomorrow she'll fire me for sure," I said. "But, you know, it might be time, and a couple of months with nothing to do might be good for the mental health."

"Duff, the place needs you and I think you need it. You could still get in there and get caught up on the paperwork. You've done it before, you can do it again."

"Not today, Trinie baby. Not after what I've been through. Not this time."

The other end of the phone got quiet and I heard a sniffle or two.

"Hey, you doing anything today? I could use a hand with something."

"You always need a hand with something," she said. I told Trina to come over in about an hour and she did. She had on her 501s, a man's white T-shirt, and a pair of Adidas running shoes. Her hair still a little wet smelled of her plum conditioner.

I told her of my plan and she just shook her head.

"All of them?"

"Can you think of a better home for them?" I said.

"Well, actually, no."

We loaded the car up and Al sat in the back. At the hospital I commandeered a wheel chair and put the box on the seat.

"Looky who's here!" the world's cheeriest receptionist said. Al walked with his mother and didn't sprint over to spelunk this time.

"This is Al's mom and his brothers and sisters," I pulled the blanket off the box. I put my index finger up to my lips. "No one has to know, right?" I gave her my best wink. I got a wink back, and we headed up the elevator. Karl slept. He had an IV in and a monitor kept his pulse and blood pressure. I was about to touch him lightly on the arm when Al shook the walls of the hospital with the world's most effective alarm clock sound.