319 Winesap Lane - 11. Chapter 11 - The Bad Side of Parenting

Geoff’s POV

On Saturday morning, I went over to my house and sat in one of the Adirondack chairs on the front porch. Mrs. Frazier, the chair of the board of trustees, said she’d be back for my decision on whether I was going to come back fulltime or just quit. I’d heard that the Provost was gone; I guess he was offered and accepted a parachute that wasn’t quite golden, but wasn’t tarnished silver, either. I also heard that references wouldn’t be forthcoming from Warnton if he tried to get a similar position anywhere in academia, not counting those crazy evangelical colleges that taught stupid shit like creation science. Considering his fundamentalist Christian bent, maybe he could find a position as an assistant pastor. It’d be a letdown, but some people don’t deserve favors.

I saw a beat-up seventies era green F-250 pickup pull up along the curb in front of the house and was genuinely surprised when Mrs. Frazier climbed out wearing work boots, faded jeans, and a Warnton hoodie. There was a black Lab in the front seat and she spoke a few words to it and it lay down on the seat. She came up the walk and stood at the foot of the stairs.

“Good morning, Madelyn; how’s your day going?” I said with a smile.

“Busy, apples are ripening early this year, so I don’t have all day, Geoffrey. Do you want the Provost position?”

“I wouldn’t work out very well in the Admin Building’s politics.”

“Are you coming back to teach?

“I would very much like to do that very thing, but you see my foster child has something going on with his eyes, he’s small for his age, and he was expelled from school for hitting a teacher.”

“I heard about that incident with that pervert Mr. Alexander. Don’t worry about him getting back into school. Have you retained an attorney?”

“Yes, an Arthur Hillyard down in Lyons.”

“Good man, he’ll do the boy right. So, what do you want to do about your classes for this term?”

“I’d like to request an emergency leave of absence until next term to sort out my foster son’s life, but when I do come back I will want to limit my classes by half.”

“Okay, Geoffrey, you’ve got your leave of absence and your reduced work schedule. Do you see yourself teaching more classes next year?”

“There might be a problem with that, too. It seems one of the local social workers has a boy who was here in Warnton last spring, but his placement was somehow terminated and his foster parents died. I don’t really know all the details.”

“That would’ve been Arthur and Sylvia Jenkins’ foster boy. Yes, it was a tragedy all around.”

“The Jenkins were fostering?”

“Yes and I guess the boy was quite a handful until he left their home and was placed in a secure treatment facility down near Binghamton. If they’re thinking of putting him in your home, just be warned he might come with more luggage than you suspect. Well, Geoffrey, it’s been nice speaking with you this sunny morning. I’ll be in touch. Oh, when do you get to move back in?”

“Maybe the week after next.”

“You gotta watch out for Mark Andrews, but his sons aren’t too bad. Who are you dealing with?”

“Mark Andrews, Jr., I believe.”

“He’s okay; at least he doesn’t go to that crazy fundamentalist church his father attends. Oh, well, see you around.”

“See you, Madelyn.”

* * * *

Later that night, Rutger and Ethel Campbell, Erik, and I were sitting in their great room watching a DVD of some war movie Rutger picked out and sipping Drambuie over ice. I was somewhat shocked when Rutger poured one for Erik, but he said the boy was old enough and it wasn’t like he was going out on the town. Unexpectedly, the doorbell rang. Rutger went to the door and turned to me and said, “It’s for you, Geoff.”

I went to the door and saw a deputy sheriff. Immediately thoughts of Jerry out there somewhere in Warnton broken and bloodied came to mind.

“Could you step outside? We need to talk,” the deputy said.

I did as he asked and he said, “There’s been an incident that I believe involves you. Do you know someone who goes by ‘Jerry, the houseboy?’”

“Yes, that’s Jerrold Alexander Peterson the Fourth; he’s the houseboy of my home.”

“He was discovered downtown naked and incoherent. When questioned by the medics he said he had ingested beer and LSD. Do you know where he was?”

“He had a date with two Warnton College students who have an apartment downtown. Unfortunately, I only know their first names, which are Barry and Clarence.”

“I see. Jerry is being transported to the hospital in Newark. I would suggest that you gather some clothes for him and go down there.”

“Is he in legal trouble?”

“No, not at this time. Right now, I’m more interested in those other boys. Do you have their address?”

“Sorry, no.”

“Okay, we’ll wait until Jerry is brought around by the docs; though, I suppose he won’t say anything to get them in trouble.”

“No, I don’t think he will unless he feels they did something to him that would require your intervention.”

“Well, thank you, sir, I’ll be in touch.”

I watched the deputy go down the front steps and out to his cruiser, which he got into and then drove away. I was disappointed in Jerry’s actions, but he was young and obviously hadn’t gotten in too much trouble other than trapezing around Warnton without clothes and experiencing a bad trip. Why hadn’t Clarence or Barry done something to keep him in the apartment instead of just letting him run out?

I saw a figure walking up Winesap in the shadows down on the sidewalk. When it turned into the Campbell’s walk I could see it was Gerry. He was carrying a plastic bag like one of those you get from the grocery store. He came up the front steps and quietly stood in front of me.

“Yes?” I asked.

“These are Jerry’s clothes and cell,” he said. “I got them after he left Barry and Clarence’s place.”

“You were there, weren’t you?”

“No, I didn’t go in when I saw that he was there, but when I saw him run away from the building I went back and got these. I figured you’d be going to the hospital to get him.”

“Why didn’t you stay?”

“I’m mad that Jerry wants to get involved in my business like I’m some punk kid. I’m a senior in high school and can take care of myself.”

“Do you know what you were getting into?”

“They offered me a fuck sandwich. In other words, I would fuck Clarence and Barry would fuck me. Now, I don’t think that’ll ever happen after what Jerry probably said to them about me.”

“And, what do you think he said about you.”

“That I’m just a kid who doesn’t know what’s going on and shouldn’t be messing around with guys like Barry and Clarence.”

“Well, I don’t think Jerry would say such a thing to them. If anything, I suppose he was just there to see if he could have some fun, too. Do you suppose they might’ve extended an invitation to him, too?”

“But, hasn’t he been exposed to an STD or HIV?”

“Yes, but if you’re careful not to exchange bodily fluids with him you might have as much sexual pleasure as the next person.”

“I guess that makes me look like a fool kid, doesn’t it?”

“No, I’d just say you’re a little inexperienced, but considering someone in that apartment gave Jerry LSD, I’d be careful going back.”

“LSD?”

“That’s what the deputy sheriff said.”

“I guess I’d better be getting on back home. Will you please let Jerry know I don’t blame him for anything tonight. I guess I just need to thinks things through a little bit more. You know?”

“Perfectly understandable.”

“Goodnight, Dr. Johnson.”

“Goodnight, Gerry.”

I went inside and told the Campbells and Erik that Jerry was on his way to the hospital in Newark. I said that I was going down to see if he was okay and when I would be able to bring him home.

“Can I go with you?” Erik immediately asked.

I thought about how late it might be before we got back; it might not even be before morning. But, it was Saturday night and he would have all of Sunday to recover. Plus, he wouldn’t be going back to school on Monday, anyway.

“Okay, go get a jacket, it’s getting a little cool out there,” I said.

“But, we’ll be in your car.”

“Yes, driving down there and driving back, but we’ll have to walk from the car to the hospital. Go get a jacket.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t get snippy with me or you’ll be staying here.”

“Yes, sir,” Erik said as he got to his feet and stumbled. “Did you see that flash?”

“No. If your eyes are bothering you, maybe you should stay here.”

“No way, I’m going with you. I’ll be right back.”

Erik was back down wearing his red Warnton College windbreaker. He walked up to me, smiled, and said, “I’m ready to go if you are. Hey! Is that the lights doing that?”

“Doing what, Erik?” Mrs. Campbell asked.

“Flashing; don’t you see it?”

“Geoff, maybe you should have the boy checked out while you’re down there,” Pastor Campbell said.

“The optometrist said she was going to send in a referral to an ophthalmologist who has a clinic in Newark, but do you think I should have him seen now?”

“It would be my recommendation. He’s been complaining of those light flashes since yesterday afternoon.”

“Okay, Erik, I guess I’m on a mission of mercy with you, too,” I said as I put on my own jacket. “Let’s get out of here. Don’t wait up; we’ll try to be as quiet as possible when we come back.”

“Rutger and I will say a special prayer for Jerry and Erik,” Mrs. Campbell said.

We went out their backdoor and headed back to the alley which would lead to my garage. As we were walking along, every time we came to a shadowed spot between security lights from the neighbors, Erik would get very close to me. I didn’t quite know what to make of it.

“It’s kind of a dark night, isn’t it?” Erik asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know; there just doesn’t seem to be a lot of light out here.”

I wish I knew what was going on with Erik’s eyes. First there were the occasional flashes and now he was complaining of not being able to see in the near dark. There was plenty of light to see, but for some unknown reason he was having trouble seeing. We got to the garage and I pressed the button to open the door. More than enough lights came on lighting up all the interior spaces of the garage. Erik went over to the passenger side of my car and got in.

“I want you to know right now I’m worried about you,” I said. “But, I think everything is going turn out okay.”

“Thanks; I hope you’re right. First I’m small and now I’m having trouble with my eyes. You know you might want to just give me back and let someone else foster me.”

“Not going to happen, Erik. You’re mine for as long as they let me keep you; and, if it all turns out okay, I want to make you my son. Wouldn’t you like that?”

“Yeah, but can I keep my last name. It was Daddy’s.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“Thank you.”

* * * *

The thing about Warnton and Newark is that they’re on opposite corners of a big rectangle. Most highways and roads went north-to-south or east-to-west, but nothing went direct diagonally. I could either got west to Sodus and then south to Newark or go south to Lyons and then west to Newark. Out of habit I chose to drive south to Lyons and then onto Newark. It wasn’t much of a drive either way and soon I was looking for a parking spot in the hospital’s lot.

We got out of the car and I headed almost directly to the emergency room door, but after a few steps I noticed Erik wasn’t with me. I went back and saw that he had tripped over the curb in front of the car and was down on his hands and knees.

“You okay?” I asked.

“I couldn’t see it,” he said.

“Come on, let me help you up.” I reached down and pulled him to his feet. He groaned a bit when his knees straightened out. “Which knee got the worst deal?”

“My right; it’s real sore. Do you think it’s bleeding?”

“I can’t tell in this dim light. Come on; can you walk?”

“Sort of, but it hurts when I try to bend my knee.”

“Try to keep it straight; I’ll help you along.”

We got into the emergency room and went up to the counter. The RN there looked up from her computer screen and said, “Yes, may I help you?”

“I’m here to see Jerry Peterson,” I said. “He was brought in by the aid car from Warnton.”

“And, you are?”

“I’m his employer.”

“Does he have any family?”

“Not local; he’s a student at Warnton College and is my houseboy.”

“He came in without ID.”

“I have it here in this bag,” I said as I started to fish through Jerry’s clothes until I felt something that I hoped was his wallet. I pulled it out and saw that it was. I handed it to the nurse.

“Oh, good, ID and a medical insurance card. You can have a seat in the waiting room and I’ll let them know you’re here.”

“Geoff, can somebody see me, too?” Erik asked.

“Oh, yes, sorry about forgetting you,” I said. “Can someone see Erik here. He tripped coming in and said he whacked his knee against the curbing between the parking lanes.”

“Certainly, are you family?”

“I’m his temporary foster father.”

“Oh, okay, no problem; give me a minute and we’ll get him into a room.”

She called someone on the phone and in a few another nurse came out of a set of double doors and said, “Erik Robertson? If you’ll follow me.”

We went through the doors and down a hall. We passed a trauma bay and I saw Jerry laying on a gurney, but, also, securely attached to it with straps. He was turning his head left and right as if troubled by all the attention people were giving him. I figured he was definitely having a bad trip.

Erik and I were shown into a room and the nurse told Erik to remove his pants. He stared at me.

“You’re not going to be able to be checked out if they can’t see your knee,” I said.

After he dropped his jeans, the nurse gave him a cursory exam, which, of course, involved a lot of touching that was extremely painful to the boy.

“How old are you, Erik?” the nurse asked.

“Fourteen as of last month.”

“Oh, dear, this isn’t right; we’re going to need x-rays of this knee.”

“Is there something seriously wrong with him?”

“I think he’s broken his kneecap.”

“Shit! Oops, sorry.”

“Geoff? Did you see that flash?”

“No.”

“What is it, dear, are you seeing flashes in your eyes?”

“Yeah and I can’t see very well in the dark. What’s wrong with me?”

“I’ll have to notify the on-call ophthalmologist.”

“The optometrist up in Warnton is sending a referral down to the eye clinic here in Newark.”

“As long as we have him here tonight we might as well have him examined now,” the nurse said. She opened the door on the cabinet and took out a gown for Erik. “Take off your shirt and t-shirt, you can leave your undershorts on.”

I helped Erik with his gown making certain to get all of the ties connected in the back. He resumed his seat on the exam table and then lay back and shut his eyes. After about twenty minutes two men in scrubs came to the door with a gurney.

“Erik Robertson?” one of them asked.

“Yes,” he said.

“Come on, son, and get up on the gurney.”

“Can Geoff come with me?”

“Not this trip, but we’ll be back soon.”

“Where are you taking me?”

“CAT scan of that knee of yours.”

“I thought I was supposed to have x-rays.”

“Our ortho dude wants a CAT scan. We’d do an MRI, but they don’t work weekends.”

I watched Erik disappear through a set of double doors and went back into the room and sat down. There was nothing to do except wait, but that thought was interrupted by a knock on the door. A woman peaked her head in and said, “Are you also here for Jerry Peterson?”

“Yes.”

“We’re bringing him out of the effects of the LSD. Do you have some clothes for him?”

“Oh, yes, here,” I said as I held up the bag.

“Just hang onto them, we’re transferring him to a room. We going to keep him overnight for observation. You can come back tomorrow morning after ten and pick him up.”

“Sure thing,” I said as I thought about the ride back to Warnton with Erik.

I don’t know how long I sat there in Erik’s room, but I must have dozed for some of it. Eventually, a nurse came in and nudged my shoulder. I opened my eyes and stared bewilderedly into her eye.

“Sir, the doctors would like to speak to you about Erik,” she said.

“Doctors?”

“Yes, sir, please come with me.”

I followed her out of the room and down the hall through the same double set of doors Erik had disappeared some time ago. I looked at my watch and saw that it was nearly midnight. Something was up and I was fairly certain I wasn’t going to like it. Finally, she showed me into a room where there were three doctors sitting at a small conference table.

“Ah, Dr. Johnson, come in and sit down,” one of them said. I did as he asked and he continued, “I’m Bill Fritz, one of the local orthopedic surgeons, on my left is Dave Sullivan, an endocrinologist, and on my right is Juliet Murphy, an ophthalmologist. We usually never get together like this, but your charge, Erik Robertson, is very ill. As far as I am concerned, Eric not only shattered his right kneecap, but also appears to have damaged the growth plate, which is of significantly more importance to a boy his age.”

“Concerning Erik’s growth plates,” Dr. Sullivan said, “we were able to do a blood test and he is significantly deficient in human growth hormone, which explains his short stature and lack of secondary sexual characteristics for a boy his age.”

“Finally, Erik has something significantly wrong with his eyes,” Dr. Murphy said. “From my tests and talking with Erik, I am giving him a preliminary diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“It is a hereditary incurable eye disorder that causes progressive blindness. I can’t determine when he will be totally blind, because each individual will progress at a different rate, but I can say with a certain degree of assurance that Erik will be totally blind before age 40.”

“Oh, then he should be okay for a while, yet,” I said, hoping against hope that I wasn’t hearing what my ears were picking up. I hoped I was still in that previous room asleep and having a bad dream that would be interrupted when Erik rejoined me.

“Unfortunately, due to his hormone deficiency Erik already shows signs of significant loss. If I had to guess, I would estimate he will be legally blind by or before age 20. We won’t know until further tests are conducted and that is why we asked you to come in and speak with us. You see, we want to transfer Erik to the University Medical Center in Rochester for a full workup.”

“Yes, definitely, do whatever you feel is necessary.”

“Very good, we anticipated your agreement on this and have already contacted Rochester,” Dr. Fritz said. “They’ll be waiting for his ambulance.”

“Can I see him?”

“Certainly, come, I’ll take you to him,” Dr. Fritz said.

We ended up in the emergency room hallway. Erik was lying on a stretcher and he had his clothes in a plastic bag on his lap.

“Hi, how’s my boy?” I said.

“Worried.”

“Don’t be; they’re sending you up to the big boys who’ll take good care of you.”

“Will you come and see me.”

“Every day you’re there.”

“What did that eye doctor say about my eyes. She wouldn’t tell me what was wrong.”

“She’s not certain and that’s why she’s sending you to Rochester.”

“What does she think I have?”

“I’d rather not say.”

“Come on, Geoff, tell me what’s wrong with my eyes.”

“She said you might have retinitis pigmentosa.”

“What’s that?” he asked and bit his lower lip in fear of something horrible, probably because horrible things have horrible names.

“It was a rather complicated explanation.”

“Geoff, please, don’t hold back on me.”

“Erik, you’re going to have to talk to the doctors in Rochester when they have a definitive diagnosis. I don’t want to worry you. You’ve got a lot of things wrong with you and you’re being sent where you can be fixed.”

“Sir, we have to go now,” one of the men with the ambulance company said.

“I’ll be up to see you tomorrow after I come down here to pick up Jerry,” I said and bent over and kissed Erik’s forehead.

After Erik was taken out to the ambulance, I went to the emergency room desk and asked if I could see Jerry, but the nurse said it would be best if I just let him sleep until tomorrow morning. I looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was well past midnight.

When I got back to the Campbells I saw there was a light on in the living room, so I went to the front door. Rutger let me in and while Ethel made me a cup of chamomile tea, I told him what had gone on down at the hospital. Ethel came out of the kitchen with my tea and we talked about Jerry and his acid trip. Rutger surprised me when he said that when he was in seminary he’d tried LSD on a dare and had a rather eye-opening experience to the point he had a few more trips before finally figuring out he could get almost the same effects from deep prayer and contemplation, which, in of itself, was an incredible mind-blowing experience for a student of theology.

* * * *

On Sunday morning, I walked into Jerry’s room and saw him lying in the bed blankly staring forward. I tossed a bag of clothes for him onto the bed.

“The nurse said you can leave as soon as you’re dressed,” I said.

“I’m sorry I fucked up,” he said.

“Don’t say sorry to me, I’m not your father.”

“No, but you’re far better than he’ll ever be. Erik said you’re going to adopt him. Want to adopt me?”

“It won’t get you out of your houseboy duties.”

“I wouldn’t expect it would.”

“What’s all this about?”

“I’ve been thinking about what happened last night and how it might have been different if I had a home base in Warnton rather than just being your employee.”

“If I knew what you were getting yourself into, I wouldn’t have stopped you. You need to fuck up in life to learn when not to do stupid shit. Come on, hurry up and get dressed so I can get up to Warnton. I need to get into Rochester before it gets too late.”

“Why’s that?”

“Erik’s in the University Medical Center for tests.”

“What’s happened to the little tyke.”

“You call him that and he’ll take you out like he did to Mr. Alexander.”

“Yeah, but he’s so cute. What’s going on with him?”

“Shattered patella, possible damaged growth plate, low human growth hormone, but the real kicker is the ophthalmologist here thinks he has retinitis pigmentosa.”

“What the fuck is that?”

“It’s an incurable disorder that will render him totally blind by at least 40, but she thinks, with all of his other problems, it might occur as early as 20.”

“Fuck! That’ll kill him.”

“You ready?”

“Yeah, let’s go. I want to go with you to Rochester. He’s going to need me for the next few years and I’d better start acting like the brother I should be.”

Two hours later we were walking up to the front desk at the medical center. The young man working the desk ask, “May I help you?”

“We’re here to see Erik Robertson; he was brought in last night from the hospital down in Newark,” I said.

“I wouldn’t know nothing ’bout that, but let me check on his stats,” he said and he keyed somethings into his computer. “And, you are?”

“Dr. Geoffrey Johnson, from Warnton, I’m his temporary foster father. This is his brother Jerry.”

“Yes, I see your name here, but I don’t see anything about a brother; not that that matters. He’s in the pediatrics wing in room 402-3 East. Here, this map will help you get there. Have a good day.”

“You, too.”

“Jerry, how are you about navigating hospitals?” I asked.

“From the look of this map, not very good. This place is practically spread across half of Rochester.”

“Do you see any logic to it. Where are we, now?”

“The main elevators should be down this hall. Yeah, here they are, but we need to continue down this hall to the next set.”

“You sure about this?”

“It’s what this map says.”

Unfortunately, we came to a set of double doors on one of which was printed the words: “Hospital Personnel Only”.

“Now what do we do?” I asked.

“Go back and see if we can find a way to get around these doors without going into prohibited territory.”

At that moment, a young nurse walked out the doors.

“Excuse me, Miss, but we’re trying to figure out how to get to room 402-3 East in Pediatrics,” I asked.

“Go back to the main elevators, take elevator number 3 up to the fourth floor and turn right when you come out the doors. Pediatrics will be down the hall. Remember you have to take elevator number 3.”

We walked back to the elevators, but saw some construction tape across the doors for elevator number 3 and a sign that said: “Out of Order”. Jerry looked at me.

“Back to the front desk,” I said.

When we got back there the young man was gone and he had been replaced with a young woman.

“Excuse me, how do we get to Pediatrics?”

“And, you are? Why do you want to go up there?”

“We’re here to see my foster son and the young man who was here gave us this map, but it leads to a dead end,” I said.

“Let me see that.”

I handed the map to her and she made a sour ball face.

“This is an old map,” she said. “You’ll never get to Pediatrics with this. You need to go to the main elevator and take elevator number 3 up to the fourth floor; and, then follow the signs to Pediatrics.”

“Elevator number 3 is out of order,” Jerry said.

“It is?” she asked with a puzzled look. “Oh, dear, what will we do?”

“Excuse me, Miss, but we can’t get up elevator 3 to see our daughter in Pediatrics,” a woman said behind me.

“I’m helping these gentlemen now, Ma’am,” the receptionist said. “I will help you when I am finished with them.”

“I will report you to Dr. Swearingen if you talk to me like that,” the woman said. “Now tell me how to get to Pediatrics this minute.”

“Miss, please help her because it’s obvious she’s much more important than me, besides we’re going to the same place and if you tell her how to get to Pediatrics, you will be telling me at the same time,” I said with a smile.

The receptionist looked at me and smiled. She said, “One moment, Ma’am, I’ll see if Dr. Swearingen is in the hospital so he may personally help you with your problem. Ah, yes, here’s a notice on the construction. Sir, if you go down that hall over there you will come to a bank of elevators. Take number 4 up to the fourth floor and follow the signs.”

“Thank you for your kind assistance, Miss,” I said.

We walked down that hall and soon came to the elevators. We pressed the up button next to elevator 4 and soon the doors opened. We got on and I pressed the button for back door on the fourth floor.

“How much do you want to bet this is elevator 3 down that other hall?” Jerry asked.

“I’d say that was a sure bet,” I said as the door opened on the fourth floor. We walked down the hall and soon came to an open area with a counter that filled one side of it. There were nurses and doctors all over the place. I looked up on the wall and saw a sign that said: “Medical Pediatrics West”; and, another that said: “Medical Pediatrics East” with an arrow pointing toward the cross hall.

“Come on, I think it’s this way,” I said.

As we walked along the counter we were completely ignored by the staff on the other side of it. We turned the corner at the other hallway and almost directly across from the counter was room 402-3 East. Unfortunately, there was a sign on the door that said: “Entry Restricted by order of Dr. Tinsdale”.

I went over to the counter and said to the nearest nurse, “Excuse me, I’ve come to see my foster son. Is there any way we can get into his room to see him?”

“What room is that?”

“Right there 402-3.”

“Your name?”

“Dr. Geoffrey Johnson.”

“Oh, yes, you’re on the list. Who is this young man?”

“His brother Jerry.”

“Oh, okay, you may go in, but try not to trouble the boy. Dr. Tinsdale just told him after lunch that he’s going blind rather rapidly due to his other conditions We had to give him a light sedative.”

“Oh, boy, this isn’t going to be fun,” I said.

We walked in the room and saw Erik lying in the bed staring with half open eyes at nothing in particular.

“Hey, Erik, you got a cast,” Jerry said. “Want me to sign it?”

“Huh? Oh, hi, yeah I had to have surgery. They wired my kneecap back together and did something else to the femur. The surgeon used some long words that I didn’t understand and can’t remember.”

“Other than your leg, how is everything else going?” I asked.

“My pituitary gland isn’t producing sufficient human growth hormone and if we hadn’t gotten to a doctor soon enough I might’ve ended up being a shrimp the rest of my life.”

“Yes, but you’d be a cute shrimp,” Jerry said.

“Fuck you,” Erik said.

“Jerry, try to be nice,” I said.

“Did they tell you?” Erik asked.

“Yeah, they said they had to give you something to calm you down.”

“I’m going blind. He said that I’ll probably need a white cane by the time I’m eighteen or nineteen, maybe sooner, and a guide dog by the time I’m around twenty-five. What am I going to do, Dad? I can’t be blind. I can’t read music if I can’t see it. I don’t want to have to give up the clarinet. It’s the only thing I’ve got in the whole world.”

I expected him to be crying, but he wasn’t and by the look of his eyes he hadn’t been. Maybe he had just verbalized the horror of his situation and the doctor prescribed the sedative.

“Do you know they cathed me,” Erik said. “My pee bag is somewhere down by the floor. They’re not going to let me get out of here until at least Wednesday. Dr. Tinsdale also said he’s going to want to talk to you about my care.”

The door opened and a youngish man of about six feet and with dark curly hair came into the room and looked around as if he didn’t expect to see us.

“Oh, hi, I’m Padraic Tinsdale, Erik’s ophthalmologist, and you are?”

“I’m Geoff Johnson, Erik’s foster father. This is Jerry, he works in my house.”

“The infamous Dr. Geoffrey Johnson of Warnton College. Who are you balling this year?”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t play innocent with me, I’ve met plenty of your victims. You do know it’s against Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Saint Paul what you do with other men. You can forget having this innocent boy in your home ever again. Now, get out of this room or I’ll call the police.”

“Dad, don’t leave me.”

“Don’t you worry your little innocent mind my dear child, that man is going to burn in Hell for a thousand eternities before he’s allowed to be your foster father.”

“Fuck you, you asshole; I reporting you to whoever runs this outfit that you touched me inappropriately,” Erik said. “See what that does to your high and mighty religious beliefs.”

“Don’t worry Erik, I’ll take care of this,” I said. “Come along, Jerry, let’s go home.”

* * * *

When we got out to the car and I sat there contemplating what I was about to do. Jerry looked over at me since I hadn’t started the car, yet. I took out my cell and speed dialed a number I seldom used. I listened to the rings and then someone picked it up. A child’s voice said, “Yes, who is it?”

“Is Johnny there? Tell him Geoff Johnson is calling.” I waited as I heard the child run across the room and hand the phone over to the person I wanted to talk to.

“Geoffrey, what are you doing calling me on such a nice Sunday afternoon?” a man’s voice said.

“Sorry for bothering you at home, but I have a big problem and I feel only you can help.”

“Big problems sometimes require big compensations. What’s this worth to you?”

“I’d sell my soul to the Devil, if I thought he could help me.”

“So, you called your big-time, New York lawyer. I’m certainly not the horned beast, but I have been known to solve intricate problems. So, what’s up? The clock just started and your standard fee just quadrupled.”

“Do you have a pen and paper?”

“I always have pen and paper. We’re not getting far and you’re losing money fast.”

“Listen, I’ve got a foster son. Well, he’s only a temporary placement, but I’m pretty sure I can get through the background check and all the other paperwork so I can eventually adopt him, but that isn’t my problem. He’s currently in the University Medical Center in Rochester with a bunch of things wrong with him, but the most serious thing is he’s been diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa and I guess it’s progressing a lot more rapidly than usual and he may be totally blind in ten years. But, that isn’t the problem. His ophthalmologist is a homophobic, religious fanatic named Padraic Tinsdale. Johnny, I want him destroyed. I don’t just want him off the case, I want him kicked out of the hospital. A cold swim in Lake Ontario would be too good for him.”

“Okay, how do you spell that name?”

“It should be P-a-d-r-a-i-c T-i-n-s-d-a-l-e. You got that?”

“Yeah, Padraic Tinsdale. Okay Geoff I’ll take care of this, but it’s going to cost you a two-mil flat fee, cash, and this conversation never took place.”

“Okay, I’ll be down in The City tomorrow and I’ll bring you the money.”

“No, not me. Put the money in a small suitcase and drop it off with Frankie Garcia at the Purple Bull in the Bronx. You can Google the address. I’ll let him know you’re coming. And, Geoff, I hope this isn’t going to become a habit of yours.”

“No, Johnny, I don’t think this is going to occur any time soon. Give your granddaughter a kiss for me, okay?”

“How did you know it was my Little Boopsie?”

“Just a guess.”

“You take care of yourself.”

“Yeah, thanks Johnny, thanks for everything. See you.”

I hung up and sat there looking out the windshield. I looked over at Jerry and he was staring at me.

“What?” I asked.

“Did you just contract a hit on that asshole doctor?”

“Don’t let it bother you. Would you like to go down to The City with me tonight? We’ll get a hotel room at a place I know of on the Upper Westside. Then tomorrow I’ll run down to my financial manager and get some money; and, then we can deliver it to someone in the Bronx and be out of town before the evening rush hour.”

“Sure, I’ll go with you.”

I’ve always gone by the principle that when you need help with a special problem that might require a solution that could be construed to be outside the bounds of legality it was always best to go the person you know who can get it done without too much untidiness. I wasn’t certain exactly what Giovanni was going to do with my two million dollars, but I suspected that doctor was going to wish he had gills sometime in the next few weeks or maybe it would be an unexpected bullet through the back of his head. Whatever was going to happen, I just didn’t care. All I could admit is that I had probably just put into motion a contract hit on an ophthalmologist whose only crime was that he was a homophobic, religious bastard. I hoped he hadn’t bred, yet.