Chapter 23
I wake up in a hospital to find Susie holding my hand. “Harry?” she says. “Oh God, I thought you’d never wake up.”
My mouth feels like sandpaper. I try to choke out a few words, but all that comes out is a wheezing sound. Susie dribbles some water into my mouth. I swish it around and then swallow, feeling a lump of pain as I do so. “Thanks,” I say. “How long was I out?”
“A month. I was starting to worry you’d never wake up.”
I look down to find bandages wrapped around my chest. “What happened?” I ask.
“The bullet came within centimeters of your aorta. They managed to get the bullet out without any damage.” She squeezes my hand and tears come to her eyes. “You’re going to be fine.”
“What about you? After he shot me?”
“He ran away. The police caught him a few hours later. Detective Gordon will probably want to talk to you later. I have to testify in the trial next month.”
“Who was he?”
“Some ex-Army guy. Jonathan Crane, I think his name was.”
The name seems familiar somehow. I shrug it away. I’m just glad to be alive. And I’m glad Susie is unharmed. I feel a stab of pain in my chest as I remember the gun swinging towards her as she came in. If I hadn’t reached for the gun, she would be dead right now. I squeeze her hand, wanting to make sure she really is alive. “Susie, I’m sorry about everything. About the way I treated you.”
“Harry, don’t worry about that now.”
“No really, I’ve been such a jerk. I treated you like shit and all this time you’ve done nothing but be love me. I don’t deserve you.” There’s nothing like getting shot and almost dying to make you suddenly introspective and sentimental. I came within a few centimeters of losing my life. Compared to that, breasts and sexual freedom don’t matter anymore. Instead, I want to grab Susie and never let her go. “After I get out of here, I want to marry you.”
“Do you mean it, Harry?”
“I’m sorry I can’t get down on one knee, but yes I mean it. I want to marry you. I love you.”
We kiss until I’m struggling to breathe. Both our faces are wet with tears of joy. This is a new beginning for both of us. I should send a thank-you note to the Trench Coat Bandit’s cell for bringing us together. Otherwise I might have thrown away the best thing to ever happen to me.
I get out of the hospital in two weeks. I have to take antibiotics every day and if I feel too much pain, I have a vial of painkillers that may or may not be addictive. Until the doctor pronounces me in good health, I’m not supposed to push myself too much. That’s easy to do with a full-time nurse in Susie. If I even try to climb a flight of steps, she warns me to go slow. In the supermarket, I drive around in one of those Amigo carts like the old people. I make shopping more interesting by offering to race Susie to whatever item is next on our list. I think she lets me win some of our races.
Susie and I have not fucked since I woke up, but I don’t miss the sex. Having her around feels even better than coming. The feel of her soft skin and silky hair against me as she sleeps is more pleasurable than an orgasm. And there isn’t any morning-after regret.
One night after she’s gone to sleep, I lie next to her, watching her sleep. So this is love, I tell myself. Funny how I spent so many years avoiding this situation. Then again, none of those other girls were like Susie. They were all beautiful—with the exception of Haley Fitzsimmons—but I never knew any of them like I know Susie. I had never given most of them a chance, assuming they weren’t worth more than a single night.
Susie and I are going to start a whole new life together. We decide the best thing for both of us is to get out of Freepoint. After some discussion, we decide to move to
The house and store are both up for sale. We’ll wait until I finish school in June before leaving. If there’s no buyer for the store, then we’ll let the lease run out. The real estate agent can sell the house without us around. In the meantime, we’re living with all non-essentials packed.
Alternate Dimensions, the place where I simultaneously almost died and was reborn, is closed forever. Susie and I don’t even want to drive past it, so George and Craig volunteer to pack everything up. They’re welcome to take anything they want. I don’t want any reminders of the place. Susie is the only reminder I need. If Todd comes back before the lease runs out, he’s more than welcome to take it back over.
The Trench Coat Bandit is convicted in a trial that lasts only two days. Susie testifies for the prosecution about what happened that night, looking at me for support the entire time. The public defender for the Bandit tries to plant reasonable doubt by suggesting anyone could have been wearing the blue ski mask and gray trench coat. The 9mm pistol used in the robbery is a weapon anyone can buy at a gun show. “I looked in his eyes,” Susie tells the public defender. She looks over at the Bandit, who’s hunched down in his seat. “I know it was him.”
Based on Susie’s testimony alone the defense’s case might have worked, but the district attorney’s office has collected more than enough forensic evidence to support their case. They have the pistol that matches the bullet taken from me, the infamous trench coat with spots of my blood, and the bag of money I gave him that night. The police searching the Bandit’s apartment also found evidence linking him to a half-dozen other robberies around town. The prosecution’s case is so airtight, I don’t even have to take the stand. The jury needs only an hour of deliberation to convict the Bandit.
Susie and I take in the news with little interest. We don’t have any need for revenge against the Trench Coat Bandit. If anything, he did us a favor by shooting me. He finally brought me to my senses, out of the misogynistic fog hanging over me since Mom died. I owe him my life in a way.
A month after the trial, it’s finally warm enough for us to begin jogging at
Most of the time we spend on a bench, watching the sun rise over the river. I’ve seen the sunrise and sunset many times with a girl, but I was always too concerned about making my move to notice how the colors play against the water. Now that I’ve taken the time to notice, the sunrise is a beautiful sight, especially with Susie on the bench next to me. If it were up to me, we’d spend our whole lives sitting there on that bench with her head on my shoulder and my hand stroking her hair.
On Good Friday we take a short run before we’re supposed to get on a train for
After the run, Susie and I sit on the park bench to rest. The sky is just beginning to turn pink as the sun comes up over the river. I decide now is the time and get down on my knees on the sidewalk. “Susie, I asked you before if you’d marry me. To show my commitment, I want to give you this, if you’ll have it.” I reach into my pocket and take out a felt-covered box. I open the box to reveal a gold band with three small diamonds.
“Harry, when did you get this? It’s beautiful.”
“It was my Mom’s wedding ring. I know she’d want you to have it.” I slipped the ring off Mom’s finger at the funeral home, promising myself to give it to the woman I would marry. No one knew I’d kept it all these years. Susie is the only woman I can imagine wearing Mom’s ring.
“Of course I’ll marry you!” Susie says. She lets me slip the ring onto her finger and then wraps me in a hug. As we kiss, I notice how cold Susie’s lips feel. When she pulls away from me, I see the blood staining her T-shirt’s midsection.
The blood pours out of her in bucketfuls, much more than I ever thought possible to come from a human body. I’m still on my knees, drowning in Susie’s blood. She still has a look of absolute joy on her face, examining Mom’s ring like nothing’s wrong. The tidal wave of blood washes me away from her, plunging me into the icy river. Darkness surrounds me.
Then I wake up.
0 comments:
Post a Comment