CHAPTER 17

           Until such time when government entitlements threaten our liberty and the pioneering spirit of our founding fathers, the Neighbors shall hide in plain sight and will be in appearance what their name suggests: neighborly. Each Neighbor shall remain committed to the overriding ideals of blending in with their community and enjoying the fruits of life, while sharing in the glory of God.

        —LANCASTER R. HILL, 100 Neighbors, SAWYER RIVER BOOKS, 1939, PP. 10–11

Cap was awake and actually watching television when Lou entered his hospital room bearing a large box of chocolates, a paperback thriller, and a couple of glossy magazines. He immediately brightened.

“Hey, buddy,” Cap said, “long time no see.”

“Yeah, like two hours ago while they were getting ready to discharge you from the recovery room. I hope those drugs are feeling as good as they’re acting.”

“Man, I get so out of it from them, Stevie Wonder could be singing at the foot of my bed and I wouldn’t remember. How you doing?”

“Let’s just say if we were allowed to trade in days, I would have done it for the last couple.”

“Same here, amigo. Don’t know if I ever properly thanked you for what you did for me out in the woods. That was a pretty dumb, clumsy thing for me to do.”

Lou made a face suggesting that the mea culpa was totally inappropriate.

Cap’s airy room, on the eighth floor, was a double, but at least for the moment he was without a roommate. His bed was the one by the window.

“The docs said the surgery was a big success,” Lou said, setting down the stuff he had brought.

Cap’s face was puffy from all the fluids he’d been given. He gestured at his elevated leg, suspended above his bed by an elaborate contraption of ropes and pulleys, and held in place by a steel external fixation frame.

“Guess I’m going to have to take a pass on trail running for a little while,” he said.

“Day at a time, bro. Now, who could have taught me that?”

Most of the pins, plates, and screws Leonard Standish inserted into Cap’s leg to hold the fragments of bone aligned were now a permanent part of his anatomy. A test for the TSA people at the airports.

Even though the surgery was a success, the risk of problems post-op remained high. There were those who believed that simply being a hospitalized patient, especially one needing assistance for almost everything, carried a serious risk of complications. In addition, blood clots from immobilization were a constant danger, and the hardware penetrating skin and bone were an invitation to infection. This was going to be a long, long haul. But Lou was determined to be there for the man every step of the way.

“So what’s your professional assessment, doc?”

“I think we’re lucky we weren’t running in the Okefenokee Swamp, that’s what I think,” Lou said. “We’d both be gator meat. The nurses showed me your post-op films. You have what we call a comminuted compound fracture. Nasty but totally fixable. Things are really lined up well. I’m not sure there’s any doc out there who could have done a better job than Leonard Standish did. You deserved the best and you got it. And we can thank a pharmacy tech named Humphrey for that.”

“Did someone call my name?”

As if on cue, Humphrey came motoring in, maneuvering the heavy chair by joystick. Once again, Lou was impressed by the deftness with which he worked the controls.

“Right hand a little better than left,” Humphrey said as if reading Lou’s thoughts. “You must be famous Cap.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch all that,” Cap said.

“He said you must be the famous Cap,” Lou answered. “Think of listening to Humphrey like me getting the first boxing lesson at your gym. I had to concentrate or I was going to miss something.”

Humphrey was dressed in a plaid, collared shirt and khakis. HUMPHREY MILLER, PHARMACY TECHNICIAN was stitched in blue script above the pocket of his short clinic coat. He motored closer to Cap’s bedside.

“What are you, my interpreter?” Humphrey said to Lou, filling the room with his rich laugh.

He reached out a shaky, wildly spastic hand, and Cap took it in his and held it for several beats. Connection made.

“Thanks for your recommendation,” Cap said. “Seems you done me good.”

“Glad to do it. Met Lou in ER. Saw him leaving gift shop with huge box of chocolates. I’m serious chocoholic.”

He laughed again.

“Here you go,” Lou said, opening the box and holding up the guide.

Humphrey pointed and Lou fished out the piece and handed it to him. It took some doing, but he got it into his mouth.

“Well, I’m glad you helped,” Cap said. “My leg thanks you as well.”

“Looks like you’ll be taking lots of painkillers,” Humphrey said. “I’ll rush meds up here.”

“Thanks.”

“And you’ll be sure to take them,” Lou said. “Right, Cap’n Crunch? Sometimes this guy’s too tough for his own good.”

“Me, too,” Humphrey said, laughing. “You really look out for each other.”

“He’s my brother from another mother,” Cap said.

“Must be nice,” Humphrey replied, a faraway look in his eyes. “Don’t have brothers or sisters. One of me was too much. Listen, dropped off meds. You want nurse bring you some? Nurses on ortho like me.”

“You da man, Humphrey,” Cap replied. “Thanks. If they have something in addition to the IV pump, I’ll take ’em. The leg is starting to really throb.”

Humphrey motored out while Lou pulled up a chair to replace him at Cap’s eye level.

“So what’s my future looking like, boss?” Cap asked. “How long will I be here?”

“Not sure. This was big-time surgery you had. It may be too early for them to know, but I promise, Cap, in time you’ll be bouncing around the ring again. Speaking of ring, is there anybody you want me to call? Anybody at Stick and Move we should notify?”

Cap bit at his lip and looked away.

“I have Eddie Foster watching it for me, but I really can’t afford to pay him for long. Fact is, I been operating right on the edge of red for a while. I only decided to take this trip because it was you and I hadn’t been out of D.C in like forever.”

Lou felt himself shrink inside. He remembered the cold, misty rain and Cap’s suggestion that they do the gym instead of a trail run. Then he realized Cap had turned back from the window and was studying him.

“You’re blaming yourself for this, aren’t you, Welcome?”

“It was my idea to run.”

“Yeah? Well, get that notion right out of your head. I’m a big boy, bro. I make my own big-boy decisions and I own the outcomes of my actions. This ain’t on you or on me. This was an accident, a crappy, rotten, nothing but damn bad-luck accident, and nothing more. So if I catch you on the pity potty, I’m gonna break your leg just so you can feel better about yourself. Comprende?”

Lou managed a half smile.

“Loud and clear,” he said.

They talked some about managing Stick and Move in Cap’s absence. All of his good work in the community over the years had earned him the loyalty of everyone who knew him. But these were not people who could afford to work very long without being paid. Still, this was enough of a tragedy already without losing the gym. There would be a way.

“So what’s happened since I’ve been decommissioned?” Cap asked.

“Let’s see…” Lou pretended he had to think hard to come up with the biggest developments. “Um … Filstrup lost the election.”

Cap made an “aw shucks” clicking sound with his mouth.

“That’s too bad, but expected. Was it close?”

“I don’t know,” Lou said. “I sort of missed the whole thing.”

It took a moment for the implication to set in.

“Oh, man, Welcome. You missed the speech. You never gave your speech?”

“Believe me, it wouldn’t have helped,” Lou said. “Like I told you, he was doomed from the start.”

“But you know how Filstrup thinks. He’s going to blame you for the loss.”

“I’m sure he already has. I called him while you were in the OR. If his wife wasn’t in the ICU, I think he would have flown down here to bellow at me in person.”

Lou stood up and went over to the blinds, adjusting them to let in a little more sunlight.

“Your job gonna be in jeopardy?” Cap asked.

“No way. He’s headstrong, but not that headstrong.”

“Why am I not hearing that in your voice? Which job handles your health insurance?”

“The Eisenhower one.”

“Maybe you can get me a job there, then. I don’t have any insurance, you know.”

“I know that. I have an appointment in a few minutes with the financial services office.”

Humphrey cruised back into the room.

“Who’s job is in jeopardy?” he asked.

Lou gestured at the small parabolic receiver on the wheelchair console.

“No one’s job is in jeopardy. What’s the range of that damn thing, anyway?”

“I was at good angle. Wasn’t that far. Hope you keep job.”

“Thanks, Humphrey.” Lou checked the time on his Mickey Mouse watch and turned back to Cap. “Listen, pal, I’ll stop by later. My flight home is first thing in the morning. I’ll catch up on work and settle things down with Filstrup, but I’ll be back on the weekend or before. Do you think you’ll be okay without me for a little while?”

“What did I say about me being a big boy?”

“Well, just in case, I may get in touch with Atlanta Central Service and see if some of our brothers and sisters in the storm can stop by for an impromptu meeting.”

“Fine by me. Now, you go take care of what you’ve got to take care of. I’ll put in a call to my aunt Dorothy if I get lonely for company. Besides, ol’ Humphrey here will come and visit me. Right?”

“Right.”

Lou bent over between the IV tubing and hugged his friend.

“I’m so sorry, buddy,” Lou whispered.

“Nonsense. Go do what you need to do.”

At that moment, surrounded by the ropes and pulleys and fixation hardware and pillows and IV infusers, the former unbeatable prizefighter looked extremely small.

Lou paused at the door.

“I got your direct room line,” Lou said. “I’ll give you a call before I come back and then tomorrow when I land.”

Cap returned a thumbs-up and then pointed to the door, giving Lou his permission to leave without any guilt.

With Humphrey not far behind, Lou headed into the hallway. But he found it impossible to disconnect from his sense of responsibility. It was just that way with him. It had been for as long as he could remember. Stopping at the nurses’ station, he made several introductions and was charming enough to make sure Cap got every bit of attention he might need. Humphrey pulled next to Lou as they headed down the hall toward the elevators.

“You guys really care for each other,” Humphrey said. “I can tell.”

Lou had to stop walking so he could focus on Humphrey’s lips and speech.

“You got that right, my friend,” he replied.

“Do you mind if I ask what you are doing about the insurance?”

Lou tried to mask his concern, but suspected the effort was futile.

“We have friends,” Lou said. “Lots of them. We’ll do whatever it takes.”

As before, Humphrey looked a little forlorn.

“That’s what I figured you’d say.”

Without another word, the man motored himself toward the elevator.

Lou fell into step behind.