THE BOLAN CHRONICLES: Reading #20

20. Approximate Minutes Reading (AMR): 8

Introduction to Characters
Lawrence Pierce, AKA, "Slick"
Dr. Crowley, Delivery Physician

THE BOLAN CHRONICLES

Chapter 3

A House

**Slick at the Hospital**

Donna woke up just after midnight. She had been cramping for the past two days, and her mom and the clerk at the grocery store had told her that menstrual cramps were normal--that lots of first-time moms experienced them, and that they were usually followed immediately by labor. She curled up in pain, trying not to cry out, but the second round was too much. She moaned loudly, and Jake awoke. He reached over and put his hand on her side.

"Donna, is it time?"

"I don't know, Jake, but I think I should go in."

He pulled his pants and t-shirt on and grabbed a coat for each of them. Donna was wearing an extra large pair of cotton pajamas that her mother had bought for her, and as she attempted to roll out of bed, she said something about not knowing what she was going to wear, and Jake told her that she was wearing exactly what she had on, no questions asked. Then he told her to wait for him to help her.

He grabbed her slippers and slid them on her then he carefully helped her out of bed. Jake was nervous. Though they had discussed it, he couldn't think of what they had planned to take to the hospital.

Donna sensed his frustration and nervousness, "It's in the crib."

"What?" Jake replied.

"The list. It's in the crib."

It was titled, 'The Big Day Stash.' He gathered everything that was on the list, including the small bag of toiletries that Donna had prepared for him in case of an unexpected extended stay, stuffed it all in a large 'Trumbull Library' burlap bag, (a garage sale purchase) and tossed them into the back of the Chevy. Then he carefully helped Donna into the cab. Her cramps had subsided, but she was curled up on the seat. When she reached up to grab her seat belt, Jake told her not to worry about it. He would drive safe enough, and he didn't want a sudden turn causing the belt to push into her belly.

 Donna suddenly remembered that she’d promised her mom a call when the day arrived, so she requested that Jake do so.

“Your mom can wait, Donna. This boy is more important than that.”

When he turned right onto Route 25, Jake stepped on it. The speedometer reached 80, and he said, "Damn! Eighty miles per hour, and Ole' Rookie's still got more in him!"

Donna smiled and said, "Oh, Jake."

They arrived at the hospital inside of ten minutes. Donna was admitted and taken to a delivery room on the third floor. Jake walked alongside the gurney for as long as he was aloud. The attending nurse directed him to the waiting area, and he kissed Donna on her forehead and whispered, "Here comes our little boy."

Donna smiled and reminded Jake to call her mom, and she turned her head. The cramps had begun again, this time worse than ever. 

Jake asked the nurse if she was going to be okay. “Is this normal?” 

"I'm not the doctor, Mr. Bolan, but I'm sure that your wife will be just fine." 

Jake stared at her for a moment, then he asked, “Who is the doctor, anyway?”

She looked at the clipboard sitting at Donna’s feet. “She will be under the care of Doctor Crowley. He’s been at Bridgeport Hospital for nearly thirty years, and you can be confident that your wife is in the best of hands.”

Jake thanked her then he scanned the waiting area. It was empty. After a deep sigh, he walked to the far corner nearest the large window that overlooked the ambulance entrance. He looked out the window and saw two male employees smoking cigarettes. He thought about that for a while and snickered. Then he wondered how many victims of violent crimes might regularly pass through that entrance. After all, he thought, Bridgeport is the most populous city in the state. Then he smiled at the thought. More people, more crime. More crime, more action. More action, more recognition. More recognition, more power. More power, more money.

He sat down and pulled out the book that Donna had placed in the bag, a novel by Ken Higgins called 'The Eagle Has Landed.' Before the third page, Jake fell asleep. By the time he’d woken, nearly three hours had passed. He yawned and reached down to pick the book up off of the floor. He dropped it back into the bag and stood up facing the window and stretched.

"Good evening!"

Jake turned around. A man in his late-twenties had taken a seat across from him. The first thing Jake noticed was his jet-black hair. It looked like it had been soaked in grease and pulled back with a winch. His skin was perfect. No blemishes. No facial hair. He wore thick-lensed glasses and a black suit with a blue and green striped tie. It looked to Jake like he had just walked out of a men’s wear store. His black Oxford shoes were spit-shine clean. 

"I think you mean good morning.’" Jake replied dryly. Then he pulled the book back out from the canvas bag and pretended to read, but Slick didn't seem to get the hint.

"Do you have a baby on the way?"

"No." Jake said, "But my wife does."

Slick chuckled and replied, "Yes, I suppose that's true."

Jake turned a page, an effective performance.

"I see you're reading a novel. Who's the author?"

Jake flipped the book over and studied the cover, and he answered, "Lucifer." Then he added, "It's titled 'The Church Murderer.'"

After a few moments of silence, and just when Jake thought that he was safe from a potential meaningless conversation, or worse yet, a potential pontificating Plato, Slick opened his mouth again. 

"My name is Laurence Pierce, senior pastor at Community Baptist Church in Monroe. Nice meeting you." He had gotten up and offered his hand.

Jake stood. He guessed the guy to be an inch or two shorter than himself. Not missing a beat, he replied, "Jake Bolan, senior dishwasher, Ken's Bar and Grill, Trumbull. Nice meetin' ya."

The pastor smiled and said, "Ah! Trumbull. Nice town. Just a hop, skip, and jump from Monroe. Have you ever been to Monroe?"

"I've been there a few times. Not much to go there for, from what I remember, but I'm sure it's nice." He reopened his book and hoped for an end to the torture.

"I have a good friend who lives in Trumbull. He owns and runs a travel agency there, Ethan Filmore Travel. Have you seen it?"

"Yeah, I've seen it." He kept his eyes on the book.

"He tells me business is very good in Trumbull."

Jake looked up at the guy and paused. The pastor fidgeted a bit, and Jake replied, "Is that right?" And he conjured the best sarcastic smile that he could and added, "That's just great."

"Do you folks go to church there in Trumbull, or do you go somewhere out of town?"

Jake stood up, dropped the book back into the bag, picked the bag up, and walked out of the room. As he strode down the hall, he said aloud, "We attend church at the Cathedral of the Carnal, your Omniscience." He grinned and mumbled, "Assumptive Holier-than-thou sons-'o-bitches."

He stopped at the nurse’s station and asked about Donna. One of the nurses called the doctor, who showed up minutes later, a short, stocky guy with patches of fat comprising his face, his neck looking to be the product of three distinct rolls, one supported by the other. He asked Jake if Donna had been doing any heavy lifting or straining in the past few days. Jake told him that he didn't think so but that he works by day and isn't around her most of the time. He told Jake that although Donna was a bit premature, it was only a couple of weeks, and usually that did not bring with it the complications that she seemed to be experiencing. The pain had not subsided since the minute she had entered the room.

Jake asked if the doctor thought that there was a pretty good chance that things would be okay. The doctor was hopeful, of course, but he told Jake that first-time pregnancies occasionally bring complications that can be serious for one or both.

When Jake heard those words, he shook his head and told the doctor that he believed strongly that they were both going to be fine; that his wife was often dramatic and that she would eventually have the baby and everything would be fine. The doctor patted Jake on the shoulder and ensured him that he hoped he was right and that he would do everything he could to ensure the safe delivery of the baby. The doctor turned and said something to the nurse then he turned back to Jake and gave him a look of pity.

Jake stood frozen in front of the nurses’ station. One of the attending nurses walked out from behind the counter and asked him if she could get him anything. He told her that he was fine; that he just needed to get some rest. He walked back down the hall toward the waiting area and was relieved when he saw that the only person there was an old guy in a cowboy hat. A Readers Digest was splayed open on his lap, and he was in what looked and sounded to be a very deep sleep.

Jake was just about to take a chair, when he heard the bathroom door open and saw Slick step out. The pastor sat down two seats from Jake and asked, "Have we got a new addition to the family as of yet?" And he smiled real big.

Jake looked at him directly and said, "Leave me the fuck alone."

The cowboy snored on, and eventually, Jake fell back asleep.