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“There was an accident, De
Mrs. Flaherty reached over and rubbed De
“My wallet, huh?”
It was like talking to the elderly-to A
“If you give me a minute, I’ll invite you in,” Mrs. Flaherty said.
She retreated into the trailer and I heard the clatter of things being moved from one place to another. De
“You said you didn’t have your wallet in the hospital. Are you sure?”
“The hospital?”
“The VA hospital.”
“I let myself out, man.”
“They didn’t officially discharge you?”
“I let myself out.”
“Okay, De
Mrs. Flaherty reappeared in the doorway. She’d changed into a skirt that looked twenty years too young for her.
“Come on in, Tom,” she said.
When I walked inside, I was immediately assaulted by the astringent smell of household cleaner-the cheap kind they use in hospitals. She’d attempted a quick makeover to impress me.
She needn’t have bothered. Ty Pe
It looked like a FEMA shelter. Yellow water stains trailed down the walls. A relic of a fridge emitted a constant hum. The screen door meant to separate the kitchen from the bedrooms hung half off its metal track. There was a kitchen table of sorts, but its linoleum top had mostly disappeared.
“Sit down, Tom,” she said.
“That’s all right,” I said. It was unbearably hot-not even a fan to move the fetid air from one part of the trailer to another.
De
“Would you like something to eat?” Mrs. Flaherty asked me, as if she were thinking the same thing. “You must be hungry driving all that way.”
“No, thank you. I had something on the road.” I could still taste the rancid sweetness that even hours later stubbornly stuck to my tongue. I turned back to De
“Before you went into the hospital, you said, you were living on the streets. Which ones?”
“Du
“You must know what city you were in?”
“Ummm… Detroit. I think.”
“Detroit. Great. What part?”
“By the park.”
“What park?”
“The ballpark.”
“Comerica Park? Where the Tigers play?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Okay. How long were you there?”
“Du
“Well, was it a year? Two years? Three?”
“Not sure.”
“How’d you survive-how’d you eat?”
“At the Marriott.”
“You ate in a hotel?”
“Behind the Marriott. Where they threw out the garbage.”
Mrs. Flaherty put her hand to her mouth to keep something from coming out. She probably hadn’t asked De
“Okay, De
“Think so. Time for my pill, Mom.”
“You already had your pill, De
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, son. You did.”
“What’s he taking?” I asked her. “Lithium?”
She shrugged.
“Okay, De
Another blank stare.
“Let’s say you did.”
“Okay.”
“Where’d you go after Detroit? Take your time. Think about it.”
“Seattle, maybe. I think.”
“How long were you in Seattle?”
“It rained a lot.”
“Yeah. How long were you there, De
“Du
“Did you still have your wallet? In Seattle?”
“Yeah.”
“How do you know?”
“I showed it at the VA.”
“You remember that. You’re sure? You showed your wallet at the VA office in Seattle?”
“Mom, I need my pill.”
“No, De
“Okay.”
“De
“I showed them my VA card. I needed help.”
“So they put you in the hospital there? In Seattle?”
“Nope.”
“You went to a VA hospital, De
“Yeah.”
“In Seattle.”
“Nope. I need my pill, Mom. It’s time for my pill.”
“De
“Okay.”
“Where was the VA hospital, De
“Du
“It wasn’t in Seattle? You went to the VA office in Seattle. That’s what you just told me. You needed help, isn’t that what you just said?”
“Yeah.”
“What happened?”
“The computers were down. It was raining.”
“They didn’t help you in Seattle?”
“Nope.”
“Okay. Where was the hospital, De
De
“He needs to take a nap,” Mrs. Flaherty said. “It’s the pills.”
“Can you stay awake a little longer, De
“I’m tired.”
“I know you’re tired. Maybe you can stay awake a few more minutes. I need to know the name of that hospital.”
“I’m tired. I’m taking a nap, Mom.”
“Okay, De
“Maybe you should go,” Mrs. Flaherty said when she reappeared.
“How long does he usually nap for?” I asked.
“All those questions tired him out. He’s not used to that. I think you should go. Okay?”
“I need him to tell me what hospital he broke out of. Maybe I’ll wait till he wakes up.”
“What difference does it make? Who cares what hospital?”
She sat down at the kitchen table. She looked out the screened-in window, which was letting in the pungent smell of homegrown weed.
“Would you like some coffee?” she asked. “It’s instant-but it’s okay.”
WHEN DENNIS WOKE UP, WE TOOK A WALK AROUND THE TRAILER PARK.
It was murderously hot inside the trailer and only a little less brutal outside. The air felt like a wet towel.
De
“Saddam’s killed me, man.”
“Did they check you out for that?”
“Huh?”
“For chemical poisoning?”
“Don’t think so. They have no clue.”
De
“Can we talk about the hospital, De
“I don’t know.”
“I think you lost your wallet there. Somebody stole it, maybe.”
“Could be. That marine fucker, maybe.”
“Who was that?”
“He was nuts,” De
“Why do you think it was him?”
“I don’t know. His wife went commando on him. When he was overseas, man. Eighty-sixed his kids.”
“She killed his children?”
“That’s right. Buried them somewhere along Route 80. Then shot herself in the fucking head. He went AWOL looking for their bodies for like a year. Couldn’t find them.”