But he just got his newspaper back, right? He’s whole again. Your mother’s happy, I know. Now, that article you ran this morning, that got me in some hot water. You run another story like that, you dig deeper, you’re gonna set some things in motion.”
So much for Russo’s understated threats.
“It’s like Newton’s law, right?” he goes on. “Yeah, I went to school. Every action has an equal but opposite reaction. In other words, you fuck me this way, you get fucked right back.”
I don’t know what to say to this.
“I hope you don’t lose your old man,” he says. “But if you do, look at it this way: you still got your mother, right? God bless her.” Russo grips my shoulder like we’re old friends from the neighborhood, then walks to the open door, turns, and looks back with an altar boy’s face. “Think about that, Doc. I’ll be seein’ you.”
“I want out of here, Marshall! Get me out!”
I blink awake beside my father’s bed. I don’t know how long I’ve been sitting here, but my left arm and leg are both asleep, and there’s a painful crick in my neck. With Dad’s limited vocal volume, there’s no telling how long he’s been trying to wake me.
“Marshall?” he rasps. “Wake up, son! I need to get out of here.”
“Dad, you can’t,” I tell him, getting to my feet.
My mother touches my lower back, and I feel as though she materialized out of the ether. “You’re in the ICU, Duncan,” she says. “You have to stay here and rest.”
“I’ll rest when I’m dead,” he says with a spark of his old gruffness. “Get me out of here. That’s what I want. That’s all I want. Get Jack Kirby in here! He’ll understand.”
Mom turns to me, imploring me to think of a way to calm him down, but we both sense that nothing short of a sedative will bring that result.
“Dad, Jack’s going to tell you the same thing we are. You can’t just walk out of the ICU.”
“Jack will tell you to go jump in a lake,” Mom says, trying to lighten the moment. “How about some ice cream? Marshall can run and get you some Blue Bell.”
“I don’t want any damned ice cream,” he growls. “I’d give a thousand dollars to jump in a lake. Get Jack on the damned phone.”
“Where is it you want to go, Dad? Home?”
“No.” The immobile mask of his face seems somehow filled with emotion. “I want to go to the cemetery.”
I feel Mom’s gaze on my face. “The Bienville City Cemetery?” I ask.
“That’s right. I want to see Adam’s statue. And you’re coming with me.”
Mom clenches my hand below the line of the bed. She’s worried that this fit of agitation might be the last burst of life before a final heart attack.
“How long has it been since you were out there?” I ask.
“Too long.” He looks at Mom. “Isn’t that right, Blythe?”
“Too long,” she agrees, and I realize that she’s crying.
“I know you have Jack’s cell number,” Dad says. “Call him.”
Mom’s iPhone appears in her hand. Holding it close to her face to see the numbers, she presses a few buttons on the screen, then passes it to me.
After three rings, Jack Kirby says, “Blythe? Is everything all right?”
I turn from the bed and walk into the corner, wanting to get some distance from Dad, but not wanting the nurses beyond the glass to see me using the phone. “It’s Marshall, Jack.”
“Has Duncan taken a turn for the worse?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve got an unusual question for you. He wants to leave the hospital.”
“Oh. Hell. I can’t say I’m surprised. It’s a common request at this stage.”
“I’m not sure it’s a request.”
The old doctor chuckles. “Where does he want to go? Home?”
“He wants me to drive him out to the cemetery, to sit with Adam’s statue.”
There’s a long silence. Then Dr. Kirby says, “I see.”
“What would that do to him, Jack?”
“Marshall, he’s in failure now.”
“Heart failure?”
“Yes. And his liver’s close to failing, as I’ve told Blythe. I’ve just seen some new cardiac numbers. There’s a lot of muscle damage from yesterday’s infarction.”
“Speak up!” Dad says from the bed. “Or let me talk to him.”
I lower my voice still further. “Are you telling me that no matter what we do . . . ?”
“I think you know I am. I’m sorry.”
I close my eyes, grimly absorbing his funereal tone. “So you don’t have any problem with me taking him for a drive downtown?”