my goodness!” A woman gasped, stepping in front of them. She held a sign that said “PUNCH A MOTHER PUNCHER TODAY!” “What happened to this poor woman? Did the Mother Puncher do this?”
“Uh…no,” Tea said. “It was an accident in…uh..the boiler room.”
Ed flinched, knowing they were doomed.
“The boiler room?” The woman questioned. “What was she doing down there?”
“Uh….hiding. From the Mother Puncher.”
“Oh my word! Did you all hear that? This poor woman was hiding from the Mother Puncher and got burned! You poor, poor woman!” She bent forward and patted Ed’s knee. “Good for you, though, I say. Good for you!”
Ed nodded, wondering if he was going to have a heart attack.
“Make some room, people,” Tea commanded. “This woman needs emergency treatment!”
“Are they refusing to treat her in there?” the woman asked, still blocking the way. “I bet they are. An accident of this nature. They’re probably already saying it was her own fault and calling up their fancy lawyers!”
A crowd had gathered around them and Ed could feel sweat trickling down his side. He shivered involuntarily.
Whispers were moving through the crowd, murmurs of “She was hiding from the Mother Puncher.” “What a shame!” “We have to make them pay!” “We’ll give that bastard what’s coming to him!”
Tea was inching the wheelchair forward. “Please, people. Make way. All the ambulances are gone and I have to get this woman to another hospital.”
“She must be in terrible pain.”
“She is,” Tea confirmed. “She’s very traumatized. That Mother Puncher in there swore he was going to punch her anyway, burns or no burns!”
A gasp went through the crowd and then it was as if a switch had been thrown. All of a sudden they were enraged and rushed passed Tea and Ed, in an attempt to storm the hospital.
Looking over her shoulder at the people pounding on the glass, Tea said, “Oops.”
“Just get us to the fucking car!” Ed hissed.
Tea didn’t hesitate. She broke into a run, pushing the wheelchair along at an alarming speed. The reached the Volkswagen and, once they confirmed that the mob was paying no attention to them, Ed leapt from the wheelchair and scuttled into the car, squeezing his huge bulk inside with a wheezy intake of breath.
Getting behind the wheel, Tea slammed her door and locked it. Ed did the same on his side, and she started the engine and peeled out, burning rubber.
Ed didn’t see a single person in the crowd turn to watch them go.
21
Tea laughed loudly, slamming her hand against the steer wheel. “Oh my fucking God!” she squealed with delight. “Can you believe we just did that? They bought it! Are we good or what? Oh my God, what idiots!”
She continued on that way for the entire ride, with Ed occasionally interrupting to give her directions.
When they neared the turnoff, Ed said, “Drive right up to the gate.”
Tea looked in amazement at the long brick wall with gold lettering that surrounded most of the community. “You live at Envision?”
“It’s a lifestyle,” he said.
“It sure is, but not the one I imagined from the ads.”
They pulled up to find one side of the huge cast-iron gate hanging crookedly from its post. It looked as if someone had rammed through it with a tank.
Ed felt sick to his stomach again.
The guard shack was empty as they drove by, thumping over a plastic garbage can that had been thrown into the driveway, the garbage strewn everywhere over the manicured lawns.
“What happened here?” Tea asked softly.
He didn’t respond, but the deeper they drove into the community, the more obvious the answer became.
Residents, some of whom Ed recognized, wandered around in a daze, looking at
“Uh…no,” Tea said. “It was an accident in…uh..the boiler room.”
Ed flinched, knowing they were doomed.
“The boiler room?” The woman questioned. “What was she doing down there?”
“Uh….hiding. From the Mother Puncher.”
“Oh my word! Did you all hear that? This poor woman was hiding from the Mother Puncher and got burned! You poor, poor woman!” She bent forward and patted Ed’s knee. “Good for you, though, I say. Good for you!”
Ed nodded, wondering if he was going to have a heart attack.
“Make some room, people,” Tea commanded. “This woman needs emergency treatment!”
“Are they refusing to treat her in there?” the woman asked, still blocking the way. “I bet they are. An accident of this nature. They’re probably already saying it was her own fault and calling up their fancy lawyers!”
A crowd had gathered around them and Ed could feel sweat trickling down his side. He shivered involuntarily.
Whispers were moving through the crowd, murmurs of “She was hiding from the Mother Puncher.” “What a shame!” “We have to make them pay!” “We’ll give that bastard what’s coming to him!”
Tea was inching the wheelchair forward. “Please, people. Make way. All the ambulances are gone and I have to get this woman to another hospital.”
“She must be in terrible pain.”
“She is,” Tea confirmed. “She’s very traumatized. That Mother Puncher in there swore he was going to punch her anyway, burns or no burns!”
A gasp went through the crowd and then it was as if a switch had been thrown. All of a sudden they were enraged and rushed passed Tea and Ed, in an attempt to storm the hospital.
Looking over her shoulder at the people pounding on the glass, Tea said, “Oops.”
“Just get us to the fucking car!” Ed hissed.
Tea didn’t hesitate. She broke into a run, pushing the wheelchair along at an alarming speed. The reached the Volkswagen and, once they confirmed that the mob was paying no attention to them, Ed leapt from the wheelchair and scuttled into the car, squeezing his huge bulk inside with a wheezy intake of breath.
Getting behind the wheel, Tea slammed her door and locked it. Ed did the same on his side, and she started the engine and peeled out, burning rubber.
Ed didn’t see a single person in the crowd turn to watch them go.
21
Tea laughed loudly, slamming her hand against the steer wheel. “Oh my fucking God!” she squealed with delight. “Can you believe we just did that? They bought it! Are we good or what? Oh my God, what idiots!”
She continued on that way for the entire ride, with Ed occasionally interrupting to give her directions.
When they neared the turnoff, Ed said, “Drive right up to the gate.”
Tea looked in amazement at the long brick wall with gold lettering that surrounded most of the community. “You live at Envision?”
“It’s a lifestyle,” he said.
“It sure is, but not the one I imagined from the ads.”
They pulled up to find one side of the huge cast-iron gate hanging crookedly from its post. It looked as if someone had rammed through it with a tank.
Ed felt sick to his stomach again.
The guard shack was empty as they drove by, thumping over a plastic garbage can that had been thrown into the driveway, the garbage strewn everywhere over the manicured lawns.
“What happened here?” Tea asked softly.
He didn’t respond, but the deeper they drove into the community, the more obvious the answer became.
Residents, some of whom Ed recognized, wandered around in a daze, looking at
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