Чарльз Кроуфорд - Three-Legged Race

"Good night, Kirk. Be good from now on, huh? You wouldn't want to get old Nurse Schultz in trouble now, would you?"

"Night," Kirk said and wheeled into his room.

"Hi," Brent said in the darkness. Only the two night-lights glowed. "Have a nice time?"

"Yeah, great. Brought you a present."

"Oh, yeah? What is it?"

"Turn on your light."

Brent did and immediately burst out laughing. "What did you do, ambush a funeral?"

"Just about," Kirk said, laughing too. "Just thought you might like a little consolation present for having to stay home tonight."

Kirk wheeled over to one of the sinks. He dumped the pile of flowers into it and filled it with water.

"That should do until morning. Amy would shoot us if we just let them die overnight."

Kirk moved over to his bed and shifted himself from the wheelchair. He struggled out of his clothes and got his pajamas on. Brent turned his light out and they lay in darkness.

"Was the movie good?" Brent asked.

"Okay. It was a love story. The girl had a nice pair."

"I wish I could have gone out too."

"Yeah, I know. But you'll be going home in a few days."

"Since my brace has been delivered, the doctor says I can get it on and try standing up and maybe walking around a little tomorrow as long as I'm careful. It doesn't look too hard to get into. The nurse showed me how."

"Yeah, that's great."

"I'll almost be sorry to leave," Brent said.

A white ghostly figure appeared in the doorway, silhouetted against the dim light of the hallway. It was Amy in a pale nightgown.

"Hi," she said in a soft voice. "I couldn't go to sleep without seeing how you liked your flowers."

"They're great, Amy. Thanks for thinking of me," Brent said.

She crossed to his bedside.

"I'm glad you like them. We wanted to bring you something."

"We almost got bitten by the Hound of the Baskervilles getting them for you," Kirk said. "You better like them."

All three laughed quietly.

"We better not let Nurse Schultz catch me in here," Amy said. "She's been too good about the whole thing already. I'm kind of weary. Mind if I climb into bed with you, Brent?"

"Be my guest. I hate to admit it, but this will be a McAllister first."

Amy slid between the sheets. She and Brent lay stretched out side by side.

"Your bed's warm," Amy said. "Thanks."

"Was it nice out there tonight?" Brent whispered.

"It was lovely," Amy said. "I wanted to catch you a firefly."

"I like the flowers. Thanks."

"Kirk," Amy asked, "how many people do you figure can fit into one of these hospital beds?"

"I don't know." His voice passed from one bed to the other through the darkness.

"You think maybe three?" she asked.

"We could see," Kirk answered.

"Come on over," Brent said.

Kirk sat up and grabbed for one of his crutches. He stood supporting himself with it and hobbled over to Brent's bed. Brent and Amy shifted over toward the window to give him room. Kirk climbed in too.

"It sure wasn't built for three," Kirk said. "I'm not complaining, you understand."

They lay together side by side in silence for a long time. Their breathing seemed to follow the same rhythm.

"The world doesn't seem so bad right now," Amy said.

"It's like a three-legged race, I guess. You can't make it to the finish line by yourself," Kirk said.

Amy reached her left hand over Brent and took his hand. She reached her right hand over Kirk and grasped his hand. She gave both a small squeeze. Then she crossed her arms and brought Brent's and Kirk's hands in hers up until all four lay crossed on her chest. Brent and Kirk let their hands rest in hers.

"Hey, Amy..." Brent began to whisper.

"Hush, don't talk," Amy said.

They were silent. Their breathing came in unison.

After what seemed like a long time, Amy said softly, "We're good friends. That's nice."

Kirk and Brent didn't speak.

Slowly Kirk's and Amy's breathing lengthened and they drifted into sleep. Brent lay awake in the darkness awhile. He couldn't see the ceiling even when he squinted. He felt his fingers intertwined with Amy's and the rise and fall of her breathing beneath his hand.

Time, stop! he thought. Let this go on forever.

He too finally floated into sleep.

Amy awoke coughing. She ached all over. She glanced at the clock and the glowing hands told her it was after four. She tried to stop coughing but she couldn't. Her chest seemed filled up and she couldn't clear her throat. Her head throbbed. She put her hand against her forehead and it was hot.

She sat up, but the coughing continued. She saw that both Brent and Kirk were asleep.

She slid the covers down and climbed to the bottom of the bed. When she swung her feet to the floor and stood up, she almost fell over. She had to hold onto the edge of the bed to keep her balance. She quietly left the room and crossed the hall. She climbed into her own bed and fell asleep.

Brent felt great when he woke up. What a night's sleep, he thought and stretched. Kirk was sitting in his own bed.

"Morning," Kirk said.

"Where's Amy?" Brent asked.

"I don't know. When I woke up, she was gone. She must have left sometime during the night."

"That's probably just as well. I can imagine what Nurse Rush would have said if she had found Amy here."

"I can also imagine what she would have said if I hadn't woken up and moved back to my own bed too. That would have looked cute."

"I never thought of that," Brent laughed.

"I may be weird, but not that weird."

"Hey, did you fix those flowers up?" Brent asked.

They were arranged in the Styrofoam water pitchers.

"Yeah. They were all wilty and half dead hanging out of the sink when I woke up. I figured Amy would be ticked if we let them just die, so I stuck them in the water pitcher there. I'm no great flower arranger, that's for sure, but maybe they'll live a while longer."

"I wonder how Amy is this morning?"

"I don't know," Kirk said. "She'll probably be over for a visit later. Let her sleep now. Last night might have been awful tiring for her."

Just then the door burst open. Amy's mother stormed in. Her eyes were wild and she was shaking, Brent could see.

"You little bastard, if she dies, it's all your fault. How could you have done this to her?" she screamed at Kirk.

She rushed across the room. Her elbow hit the pitcher of flowers and it tipped over. The water spilled down the side of the cabinet. The flowers scattered across the tile floor. Amy's mother didn't stop. She stood by Kirk's bed clenching and unclenching her fists. Brent thought she was going to hit Kirk.

"Amy?" Kirk said.

"You know goddamn well who I mean.... Oh, God, in there with another transfusion... the oxygen... so helpless she can hardly breathe... all those tubes..."

"What...?"

"What? You know what, you son of a bitch," she yelled. "You better hope to God she lives. Oh, God, let Amy live...."

"I don't know... it can't..." Kirk tried to say.

"It goddamn right can't happen. She was doing all right. The doctor said she was doing all right. Didn't you want her to get better? The bleeding... the pneumonia now. If she dies..."

"Dies? From mono? You're hysterical."

"Mono, nothing. Mono! You fool! What the hell did you expect me to tell her?"

Brent shifted in his bed. Say something, he thought, but he couldn't.

"If only I'd known," Kirk said.

"It wouldn't have made any difference to someone like you... dragging her out at night. Yes, the night nurse told me. So help me, if Amy does pull through, I don't want you ever, do you hear me, ever trying to see her again. If you so much as set foot inside her room, I'll see to it..."