"Donnie? What's wrong, sugar?"
With trembling hands, he gave her the letter.
"But why are you crying? This is such good news!" She got a washcloth and bathed his face.
Harsh sobs choked him and he clung to her.
"Oh, my precious angel. Of course, you've been so worried over this. So terribly alone and afraid. The nightmare is over, Donnie. All over. You're a free man!"
She wiped his face, planting a strawberry colored kiss on his forehead. Rubbing that off, she kept talking calmly to him, congratulating him on his victory. When he'd calmed, she swung the table across the bed.
"You eat now, and we'll see what we can do to celebrate. I'm so happy for you, sugar!"
As he ate, the intern brigade, led by Dr. Smithers, entered. She spotted his puffy cheeks and red eyes.
"Are you all right?" She went into doctor mode, flashing a light in his eyes.
Anton put a hand on hers, smiling. "I've had good news." He handed her the letter, asking her to read it aloud.
"I'll have Maddox do the honors," she said after glancing at it.
Maddox took the letter and skimmed it, grinning. "It is the decision of this office that all charges against Donald Winthrop be dropped," she concluded. "That's so great!" She gave Anton a gentle, but happy hug.
All the others congratulated him. That over, Maddox presented and they took his vitals. Dr. Bennett came in next, with his entourage. They also congratulated Anton's win.
"More good news. I'm going to remove the dressings. And we'll see if I'm as good as I say I am." He winked at Anton.
Working quickly, Bennett uncovered the surgical site. Smiling, he handed Anton a mirror. "It's healing beautifully. Damn, I do good work," he bragged, laughing.
Anton stared at his face in the mirror. The face of a free man, he amended. It was still puffy and bruised, but that was fading. His ear looked just like the other, though slightly swollen and covered with sutures. He wouldn't have any scaring once this was healed. He handed back the mirror, thanking the doctor.
"How soon can I go home, Doc? Not that I don't love y'all."
"I'm concerned about living arrangements, Mr. Winthrop. A trailer...."
Anton held up a hand. "I have a friend who owns a big house near Franklin. It's unoccupied at the moment, and he offered to let me and CV use it. It's all one level, a ramp could be added easily for CV to go up and down. We could park our trailers there. It sits on five acres."
"That's great! When did this happen?"
"He called last night. He just heard the news. He's been on the road for a few weeks."
"Great! Can he pick you up?"
"Only drawback, no. He's got to go out of town again. He'll leave keys with the neighbor. I'll need my truck. Can I drive yet?"
"Once the swelling goes down a little more. Your vision wasn't compromised. Let me make arrangements for a ramp."
Anton gave him the address of his house. "He's going to authorize the neighbors, the Roeder Sisters, to oversee that, so your guy can call them."
"Excellent. This will take a few days, but we can get it done. Is the house otherwise wheelchair ready? CV's going to need one."
"They can go in and look. The master bath has bars, put in by the former owner. He can stay in there."
"Okay, Don. We'll get the ball rolling. Call your friend."
"I'm to call the sisters. We've met a time or two."
"Excellent. Get me their contact numbers, and we'll be ready to rock."
"Thank you, sir. I appreciate that."
"I'm happy to. And congratulations on your ruling."
All his residents and interns shook Anton's hand as they filed out. An hour or so later, Maddox was back with a walker.
"You get to upgrade today. We're gonna walk your ass off."
He peeped around at his backside. "Could I have pants? It's not my lower bits in stitches."
"Oh...gee, I dunno. The girls were looking forward to a show." She nodded at the door and window. All the female residents, interns and nurses were huddled outside, whispering.
"Bloody hell. Okay. One look, and that's it. Five seconds."
"Twenty."
"Seven."
"Fifteen."
"Nine. And that's my final offer."
"Okay. How you want to do this?"
"I don't want to do it at all," he muttered, getting carefully out of bed, so he didn't show anything. "Scroll up the blinds. I'll present."
©2021 Dellani Oakes
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