competition. Okay. I could see that. I settled back in the couch.
“Justine, honey, why don’t you go watch cartoons?” Sarah said.
“Can I watch SpongeBob?”
Sarah sighed. “Yes. You can watch SpongeBob.”
Justine slipped back out of the room. A few seconds later we heard that someone lived in a pineapple under the sea.
“At first, Mike just seemed a little tense,” Sarah said. “He snapped at me and he wasn’t as patient with Justine or Charlie as he usually is. He had trouble sleeping and…”
We waited.
“All he wanted to eat was red meat and he wanted it really really rare. Like bloody. It was gross.” Sarah made a face.
“So where exactly is he now? You said you couldn’t keep him here? I don’t understand.” Ted pulled out a notebook.
Sara’s chin began to quiver. “That makes two of us. He got more and more tense and more and more angry. He was back at work, but he was getting into fights with other cops and…I think he might have beaten up someone he arrested. No one’s saying anything, though.”
They wouldn’t say anything if they didn’t have to.
“They locked him up now. In a mental ward.” Tears welled up in Sarah’s eyes. “I can’t even take the kids to see him. I think it would scare Justine too much. It scares me. Half the time, I’m not even sure he knows who I am.”
“What do the doctors say?” I asked.
“Bipolar. PTSD. Possibly schizophrenia. They don’t know. They just keep throwing pills at him and nothing makes any difference.” The tears spilled over now. “I don’t know how I’m going to do this. I can’t work. There’s nothing I’m qualified to do that makes enough money to even pay for daycare for the two kids. We were just making it on Mike’s salary and some extra work he’d get now and then as a security guard. The disability pay is about three-quarters of his salary. I had to go on food stamps.”
The baby, who had been happily bouncing and drooling and waving a rubber Mickey Mouse toy in the air, turned toward his mother and patted her cheeks with both his chubby little hands. “Mama,” he said.
Sarah pulled him closer to her. I tried to imagine what that would feel like.
“I’m so sorry, Ms. Hollinger. There are some funds set up for the families of officers hurt in the course of duty. I’m going to give them your name. Is that okay?” Ted said.
She nodded, grabbed a tissue from a box by her chair and blew her noise. The baby laughed and clapped his little starfish hands as if she’d performed some kind of trick.
“I’d like to talk to your husband, too. Would you give me permission to do that?” he asked.
She nodded again. “Do I have to sign something?”
“I think that would speed things along,” he said.
5
THE NURSE HAD CURLY BROWN HAIR, CUT SHORT, AND A round face. She was wearing scrubs that had pictures of Hello Kitty on them. All that should have made her look cheerful. I’m not sure a clown nose could have made her look happy. She sat behind the desk, a sour expression on her face, and looked at the piece of paper Ted had handed her and then back at us. “You want to talk to Michael?”
“Yes, please.” Ted gave her a smile, the one that seems to open doors, especially when the doorkeepers are female.
“He’s not having a good day.” She handed the note back, apparently immune to my sweetheart’s smile.
Ted gave her an apologetic look. “We won’t take long.”
She snorted. “No. You won’t. Not if you want to talk.” She stood up and came out from behind the desk. “Come with me. He’s in his room.”
We walked down the hallway. I could hear a television playing somewhere and smelled cigarette smoke. I wasn’tsure how that could possibly be legal. Smoking was banned pretty much everywhere in California. On the other hand, this place certainly wasn’t new. Maybe I was smelling a few decades of accumulated smoke that had worked its ways into the cracked tiles and dingy baseboards. I
“Justine, honey, why don’t you go watch cartoons?” Sarah said.
“Can I watch SpongeBob?”
Sarah sighed. “Yes. You can watch SpongeBob.”
Justine slipped back out of the room. A few seconds later we heard that someone lived in a pineapple under the sea.
“At first, Mike just seemed a little tense,” Sarah said. “He snapped at me and he wasn’t as patient with Justine or Charlie as he usually is. He had trouble sleeping and…”
We waited.
“All he wanted to eat was red meat and he wanted it really really rare. Like bloody. It was gross.” Sarah made a face.
“So where exactly is he now? You said you couldn’t keep him here? I don’t understand.” Ted pulled out a notebook.
Sara’s chin began to quiver. “That makes two of us. He got more and more tense and more and more angry. He was back at work, but he was getting into fights with other cops and…I think he might have beaten up someone he arrested. No one’s saying anything, though.”
They wouldn’t say anything if they didn’t have to.
“They locked him up now. In a mental ward.” Tears welled up in Sarah’s eyes. “I can’t even take the kids to see him. I think it would scare Justine too much. It scares me. Half the time, I’m not even sure he knows who I am.”
“What do the doctors say?” I asked.
“Bipolar. PTSD. Possibly schizophrenia. They don’t know. They just keep throwing pills at him and nothing makes any difference.” The tears spilled over now. “I don’t know how I’m going to do this. I can’t work. There’s nothing I’m qualified to do that makes enough money to even pay for daycare for the two kids. We were just making it on Mike’s salary and some extra work he’d get now and then as a security guard. The disability pay is about three-quarters of his salary. I had to go on food stamps.”
The baby, who had been happily bouncing and drooling and waving a rubber Mickey Mouse toy in the air, turned toward his mother and patted her cheeks with both his chubby little hands. “Mama,” he said.
Sarah pulled him closer to her. I tried to imagine what that would feel like.
“I’m so sorry, Ms. Hollinger. There are some funds set up for the families of officers hurt in the course of duty. I’m going to give them your name. Is that okay?” Ted said.
She nodded, grabbed a tissue from a box by her chair and blew her noise. The baby laughed and clapped his little starfish hands as if she’d performed some kind of trick.
“I’d like to talk to your husband, too. Would you give me permission to do that?” he asked.
She nodded again. “Do I have to sign something?”
“I think that would speed things along,” he said.
5
THE NURSE HAD CURLY BROWN HAIR, CUT SHORT, AND A round face. She was wearing scrubs that had pictures of Hello Kitty on them. All that should have made her look cheerful. I’m not sure a clown nose could have made her look happy. She sat behind the desk, a sour expression on her face, and looked at the piece of paper Ted had handed her and then back at us. “You want to talk to Michael?”
“Yes, please.” Ted gave her a smile, the one that seems to open doors, especially when the doorkeepers are female.
“He’s not having a good day.” She handed the note back, apparently immune to my sweetheart’s smile.
Ted gave her an apologetic look. “We won’t take long.”
She snorted. “No. You won’t. Not if you want to talk.” She stood up and came out from behind the desk. “Come with me. He’s in his room.”
We walked down the hallway. I could hear a television playing somewhere and smelled cigarette smoke. I wasn’tsure how that could possibly be legal. Smoking was banned pretty much everywhere in California. On the other hand, this place certainly wasn’t new. Maybe I was smelling a few decades of accumulated smoke that had worked its ways into the cracked tiles and dingy baseboards. I
Similar Books
