THE BOLAN CHRONICLES: Reading #23

23. Approximate Minutes Reading (AMR): 8

Introduction to Characters

THE BOLAN CHRONICLES

Chapter 3

A House

**Daddy, Meet Your Boy**

As he drove home, Jake's mind turned over, the pictures he had seen; not of the woman with the huge breasts or of her male partner who had just finished with her, but rather with the things that disgusted him. He thought about the way the theatre had looked when he had first pulled into the parking lot, and the feel of the front door handle, and the look of the fat filth that occupied space behind the counter in the stinky lobby that nearly caused him to vomit. 

He had expected so much more. He'd wanted to walk into a theater much like the one he'd visited so many times as a child in Bridgeport, where he'd seen great movies like The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin, Never a Dull Moment, and The Boatniks. They were clean and smelled of buttered popcorn, and behind the counter were nicely dressed pretty girls with snow-white smiles. 

It was after he'd walked through the theater doors that he'd expected to see all of the action that had dominated his fantasies since his young boyhood; since the moment he'd laid his eyes on a girl in his fifth grade class who'd told him that a friend had dared her to show her most private parts to a boy. Young Jake had walked away with a movie in his mind that would play again and again. And it wasn't until much later that he'd realized that the friend who had dared her to show the boy her private parts was not there when it happened, so who's to say that she did or did not follow through? It was then, years later, that Jake realized that girls, too, had fantasies; that girls, too, wanted the kind of things that he wanted. And it was then that Jake started to fantasize about the kind of woman that he ultimately wanted for life.

But Jake couldn't get the filth of the building and the handle and the fat slob off of his mind. The thoughts of them permeated him, and he wondered how long it would take before they went away. He had never felt this dirty before. If he could do it again, he certainly would not. And he determined that indeed, he would avoid Pussycat Theater and any other like it. He would not enter a place like that again for as long as he lived.

He pulled into the driveway at just past 6:00 AM. He felt horrible. He was tired and disgusted with himself for having wasted two hours that could have been spent in deep sleep. But what was done was done, he thought, and so he splashed cold water on his face, ate a banana from the fruit bowl that sat next to the sink in the kitchen, and drove back to the hospital. 

He took the flight of stairs this time to the third floor, and he asked a nurse--one he hadn't yet seen--if he could visit his wife. She checked Donna's file and asked Jake to hold for one moment. She returned and informed him that the doctor had ordered no visitors until further notice. But she smiled and asked, "Have you seen your son yet, Mr. Bolan?"

"No, I haven't."

Her smile broadened, "Ah. Would you like to follow me, please?"

He followed her to a large glass window. A dozen babies were in their own tiny plastic nests. The nurse asked him to wait there, then she walked into the room where the babies lay, and she grabbed little Dean and walked him over to his daddy. 

Jake saw the 'Bolan' names tag pinned to the baby's tiny white beanie. He looked at the nurse, pointed to his chest, and mouthed, "Mine?"

She nodded.

Jake studied the baby's face. There was no denying that, even though an infant, the baby had his mother's features, already. It was something about his cheeks, Jake thought. And something about his forehead, though he couldn't determine exactly what. And as crazy as it might now seem, it was something about the expression. 

Then Jake realized that all of his crazy thoughts were the result of a lack of rest and of a haphazard night and day that was only just now starting to show some hope of redemption. 

He smiled at the nurse and mouthed a thank-you. 

She returned and said, "When your wife's mom saw him, she burst into tears so quickly! I've been in this gig for almost twenty years, and I've never seen anything like it!"

Jake suddenly remembered that Donna's mom had insisted on waiting. He hadn't seen her since he'd reentered the hospital. Then he cursed her silently for having seen his son before him. 

"Thanks for bringing me here," Jake said, "I'm going to try to get some rest."

Then he turned and walked back to the waiting room. He felt badly about his afternoon, and he wanted to make up for it. Son of a bitch! He thought. If it wasn't for that fucking truck driver, I would have been there to see my own son before that bitch did!"  He sat down and determined that he would go nowhere else until his wife and son were released from the hospital. 

The nurse woke Jake at 10:00 PM. She informed him that the doctor had advised that Donna stay for one more night for observation purposes but that Jake was free to visit her now.

He stood and ran his hands over his face and through his hair. He told the nurse that of course he wanted to see his wife. So she led him to her room. 

When he walked in, Donna smiled. She looked tired. Jake held her for a moment then said, "Well, Mom. I guess congratulations are in order."

She looked into his eyes and said, "To you too, Dad."

Then she asked if her mom was still at the hospital.

"I haven't seen her." He replied, "But the nurse told me that she was here to see Dean...the baby."

Donna said, "Dean? What?"

He'd done it again, only this time under the worst of circumstances.

He did his best to excuse the slip of tongue, and though she was her usual sweet self, Donna wanted to know where the name had come from.

"It's a name I've thought about for a long time. I wanted to name our son Dean from the day I found out that you were pregnant."

Donna replied, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know," Jake said, "I just never thought it was the right time."

Donna held her arms out and smiled, "Well I love it! It sounds just perfect!”

Then she said it aloud several times, and after a while she asked Jake if he wanted to talk about a middle name.

"I really haven't thought about a middle name for him, but I suppose that we could talk about it."

Donna stared at the ground, and within moments she began to sob. Jake held her and asked what was wrong. She told him that at one time she had wanted to name her son after her father, but now there was no chance of that. Then she quieted. She paused for a moment. She looked at Jake and said, "My mom told me that if I was a boy, she was going to name me Thomas."

Jake looked up and said, "Dean Thomas Bolan." Then he said, "God, that sounds really good!"

Jake left Donna’s room and thought about the name again, and he remembered that he’d promised Twila that he’d call her when they had decided on a middle name. He looked at the clock and wondered if she might still be at the restaurant. He dialed the number and Manny answered. 

“She left about an hour ago,” Then Manny asked, “Hey! You a daddy now, yeah?”

Jake replied quickly, “Yeah, I’m a daddy now. Take it easy.” And he hung up and mumbled under his breath, “Dumb-ass Mexican.” 

Then he dialed Twila’s home phone and told her about the name. Twila said, “Dean Thomas Bolan? Honey! That is a manly name if I ever did hear one!”