This is FICTION mostly. It did happen up until the cop was looking in my van. Then the rest is totally bullshitting fiction. The part of the story marked with (+) is where the fiction begins in part 1.. Consider throwing Nifty $20. This service is not free for them. By the way -- do not fuck around with the law, entrapment is real and alive in many areas and your life can be ruined. Terry
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The next day went really, really fast. They were in my part of the room before breakfast to give me ready for an enhanced CT Scan. As it was explained to me, they wanted to make sure that there were absolutely no fragments of bullets left anywhere in my abdomen or hip. I was told that this small hospital received a grant for a medical CT scanner to be used just last year. So, before 7 o'clock I was wheeled out of the room and taking to radiology. I really didn't know that I absolutely dread that CT machine. I dread being in that tiny little tube while the machine clicks and buzzes around you. Yes, I am claustrophobic. I had to be re-positioned twice for each section of the body to be examined. First for the stomach area. And then with the arms above my head resting on a support for its close up. I was taking to the cafeteria which I did expect mostly because it was next to radiology. That way the test, if they had to be redone could be done quickly. I had lunch alone, and that was the first time since "her" rampage that I did not have a meal with Trooper when he was well enough. At about 3:15 PM, I was wheeled back into the room and noticed that Trooper was gone. I looked at nurse Tammy and she instantly said, he is down in radiology now. At 4:22 PM in came physical therapy. How absolutely wonderful, just like going through the car wash with your windows down. Again, more workouts with the weight more flexing with the abdominals, and more bilateral arm work. Our dinner was brought at 6 PM and I waited until Trooper could join me as the team was still working with him. I could tell that he had more than been through the mill, just like I had been. We talked about our day in the fact that I would be leaving tomorrow sometime. Bedtime was rapidly approaching and we were worn out. We said our prayers asking for forgiveness for our sine and a speedy recover for each other.
The next day, Dr. Remi came in with his entourage and said that I can leave after I had at least two meals in me. He took out a pad and gave me a fistful of prescriptions. He asking where I wanted to have physical therapy at and I told them here. Dr. Remi stated, "I know that you have an attachment to Bradford, but Terry let's have physical therapy close to you; it makes more sense that way. I reluctantly agreed. As he left the room with his entourage, he tells me if there are any problems to contact him directly.
I looked over a Trooper, and I could see the single tear rolled down his face, and then not just a single tear, but multiple. After everyone had left the room except for Trooper and I, Trooper turned to me and said, "I probably won't see you, again will I?" I turned to him, sitting on the edge of his bed, turning his sculptured face toward me, stating, "You can bet your sweet, dimpled derrière that I will see tomorrow barring a hurricane, or tornado, because buddy, I not going to let you get away, ever! Do you hear me? The only way you're going to get rid of me is to divorce me, and that's going to be really impossible because we are not even married yet. So just get that thought out of your pretty little head." I took his hand and kissed it. I took his face, I wiped away the tears and kissed his cheeks. I took his lips, and closed mine over them, and inserting my tongue into his mouth. I wanted to give him a kiss that he could remember, and I did exactly that.
About 25 minutes after lunch, the wheelchair came for me and I asked how I was going to get home. It was then that I found out that Bass Motors and a van company had restored my Van, plus they had taken a look at the customization drawing that I had under the seat and welded the bed frame for me. I asked for a bill for the repair, and I was told that it was taking care of by both the Community Church and youth center that I had gone to for years and by a charitable donation with my insurance, (they used the welding of the bed frame as training for the students in the trade school) . I shook everyone's hand. And I started the van toward home. Damn, I wanted to kiss Trooper, however, I just could not with everyone there.
It's hard to adjust to being your own house alone. I cannot tell you the number of times the one to call the hospital just to hear his voice. I hug my pillow thinking it was him. I fell into a restless sleep thinking of first going to the pharmacy in the morning, then physical therapy by 10 o'clock and trying to squeeze in at least three meals a day with 72 oz of water.
The alarm sounded at 7:04 AM. My usual time to get up and showered and ready for that office. I thought that I would at least make an appearance at the office. As I turned to get out of the bed I knew that the pain medication that they had given me at the hospital worked really well because of this fucking hurt.
I reached over to the container of pain medication and took one immediately without water. I went to the shower, turning on the hot water and waiting for it to arrive while steadying myself against the wall of the bathroom. I adjusted the temperature and entered the shower relieved that the water pressure was consistent with what I remembered and the temperature was much more than the piss warm showers of the hospital. I always shaved in the shower, it just made sense to me. What I forgot was the razor was dull, oxidation had taken away its sharpness. However, I made do with what I had.
Once out of the shower, I felt better as the pain medication started to take effect. I dressed and drove the 1.8 miles to the office. I hobbled in the back door using my security code. It was nice that they didn't change that. As I walked in, here came almost the entire staff to greet me and we all had a nice little chat in the break room. I talked with my manager and told him that I hope we back part time in 1 week. I gave him Dr. Remi note about part time 2 hours a day for a week, increasing by two hours as tolerated after two-week intervals. Bill looked at me and said," don't push it, kid, take your time and heal properly." After I hugged everyone, I start to head out to the Van and go to physical therapy.
I thought physical therapy at the hospital was hard. However, this was a freaking nightmare. I had worked with 20 pounds of resistance with each arm. So, they started me out had 30 pounds of resistance. Yep, this hurt. However, I was consistent in effort for one and a half hours. After physical therapy, I went to the pharmacy to pick up my medication, and to Burger King for breakfast. Damn, that tasted so good, not like the hospital food. I received my schedule for physical therapy for the next two weeks and that schedule was Monday & Tuesday workouts, Wednesday was a rest day, Thursday and Friday's would be workout days, Saturdays were water aerobics exercises at the YMCA. At which point the schedule would repeat for another week. I left Burger King at about 11 o'clock.
I drove by the bank to check my account balance and sure enough, the agency had deposited a check for me using my sick leave. I filled up the gas tank and headed to Parsons hospital.
Parsons is roughly 38 miles away. Considering the city driving and parking, I walked into the hospital precisely at 1:44 PM. Into the elevator and add to the third floor, giving smiles from the staff, I knocked quietly at Trooper's door and entered. Someone had brought fresh flowers in place them in the vase on the small table. Trooper had his eyes closed taking a mini nap after his physical therapy. I walked over to the bed, leaned down to his face and kissed him softly. That slight touch awakened him, and his tears start to flow, as his arms came up to embrace my body. "Why did you make me wait so long to see you?" He said. "Darling, I got here as fast as I could, remember, I have physical therapy also four days a week. And, I stop by the office for a bit to talk with the boss," I said. I took my hand and wiped the way his tears. I kissed his cheeks, his suntanned brow, and his mouth. I could visibly see him relax. I asked if he was hungry, telling him that I had Burger King for breakfast. Trooper looked at me and said, "You're eating the good stuff while I eat prunes and applesauce with runny eggs." I turned to him and said, "Darling, what would you like to eat?" He had that mischievous little grin on his face and said, "a Papa burger with onion rings and an extra-large root beer from A&W please." I reached over and pressed the call button and a nurse that I was not familiar with came in asking how she could help. "How much trouble would I be in if I went and bought my friend and I A&W root beer meal instead of hospital food?" I saw the name badge. I saw that her name was Porsche,". I've heard all about you guys and your romantic, lovely dining area. And I am glad that you came back because this patient of mine, is starting to be a royal pain! I would be happy to conveniently rearrange the dietary needs for this one time, seeing that you are back here within 30 minutes" I agreed. I looked down at Trooper and asked if there is anything that he wanted besides the aforementioned list. Trooper looked at me, then at the nurse, then back at me, "Can I have a kiss before you go please?" I replied, `No, you, my friend, can have three kisses, one for now, two kisses and I get back." I kissed him, and I mean I really kissed Trooper, open mouth, tongue exchanging saliva all of it. Porsche looked at both of us, rolling her eyes toward the ceiling after I had stood back up and said, "I was going to say get a room, however, this is a room just in a hospital, so not to freak you guys out, but don't go all gay on me on the day shift." We snickered, I leaned down to kiss trooper again, and told him I would be back ASAP with A&W food. For the first time, his smile was radiant and it is illuminated his face.
The drive to A&W was uneventful and it was a good thing that they weren't busy. And true to my word within 28 minutes I was once again walking down the hallway to my Trooper. As I entered his room, he was sitting in our makeshift dining area and I served him dinner. We sat and talked, and I could see the wrinkles in his brow visibly fade. I had returned as promised and he realized that maybe I was not going to walk or run away after all. And that I was going to treat him with the loving care he deserved.
One thing that I can say for sure is, A&W root beer, and fast food sure beats the bloody hell out of hospital food, any day of the week, any week in the year, and so on. As Trooper ate the food, and drink his root beer, I noticed that he became more and more relaxed. Maybe it was just the carbohydrates that he needed, a big guy like my Trooper needs a lot of carbohydrates and protein to rebuild muscles. But it sure didn't taste so damn good. I picked the garbage from the table, and tidy at the room a bit, and then I helped my Trooper into his bed. We had been warned not to get in the same bed together before. So, I pulled up the chair next to his right side, and put my hand ever so gently on a bare portion of his torso that the hospital gown just did not cover. Trooper switched on the TV and turned to Laverne and Shirley. That TV program show was made just to make you laugh. And laughing, with my post-surgery scar on my abdomen, was not a good thing. He scooted his body over to the edge to the bed and lowered the bed. He leaned in my direction, and I leaned in his direction. He kissed my forehead, and I kissed his cheek. As I was pulling away from kissing his cheek the door open and in walked our nurse. She had absolutely impeccably rotten timing." Now, now you guys, you must keep your clothes on and at least be decent when you're on the floor," she said. To which we replied, you're blocking the TV, move! She took the vitals of Trooper, then looked at me and said, are we spending the night? "God, I would love to, but I have physical therapy tomorrow morning in another city," I said. She gave me a knowing look and turned and walked out of the door.
Thus, was our daily routine, Physical therapy for us and a good dinner for us when I arrived at the hospital. That went on for 9 days. Only one single day did I miss seeing my Trooper. I was there to cheer him on in the late evening, working through ordeals of the pain of physical therapy. I was there every evening for dinner with Trooper over Hospital food or A&W, except one day when I had to a nerve conduction test on my left arm in Joplin. On that day we had a 1-hour 45-minute telephone call. We had been working with Trooper on the removal of a pellet deep from his leg when another x-ray reviled that there was a tiny pellet left in the knee. That surgery set my dearly beloved Trooper into a depression. The next day I scoured all of the businesses named "Duncan's" and found the one that he took me to not long ago, it was a Tuesday afternoon, and I called Duncan's and informed the owner who I was and how he knew me. I told him of the gunshot incident and some of the details. I asked how much it would cost to bring dinner to Trooper and myself in the hospital that night. There was a long, long pause and Mr. Duncan said, "Since it is Bradford, would it be okay with me to charge just the cost of the food at his costs and the cost of transportation and prep which would be about $30.00? I jumped at the idea, and arranged for the hospital not to serve his evening meal that evening,
I arrived at Trooper's room at about 2 o'clock. I was told that they were taking out the pellet in his leg. Trooper should be back in his room by 5:30. I made a detour to the dietary department to ensure there would be no dinner for Trooper or myself (I had been ordering a guest tray sometimes) that night. It would be me taking care of things and that I stopped by the nurse's desk in case there was any confusion. I then went to the second floor for surgery recovery and talked with the nurse and she informed me that everyone was involved in the plan. Trooper's surgery was very minor, the bone fragment was removed easily. Usually, dinner is served at 6 o'clock. By 6:30 PM Trooper was asked me, "Where the hell is the freaking damn food was." I told him to, "be patient, my Darling.' He gave me a perplexing look, and about that time in walked Mr. Duncan pushing a cart with the most delicious food you could smell or imagine. I had moved Trooper to that little dinette set in our room. And Mr. Duncan presented him with a no choice menu. We were served first a fresh garden salad, and Mr. Duncan remembered I like a pear with grated cheese. Mr. Duncan had remembered that I adore shrimp so I had an entrée of stuffed shrimp with cocktail sauce and a side of baby carrots with cranberry sauce. Trooper, of course, had steak. I looked at his portion and asked how many ounces of steak was on his plate, and I was informed it was a pound and a half of cooked to perfection T-bone. I had diet coke as my drink, and Trooper was given sparkling grape juice, which was the closest thing that he could get to wine while being in the hospital. After we had both consumed our food, Mr. Duncan brought in dessert which was a very delicious key lime pie underneath a Carmel crusted top. Yeah, it was good, really good. After Mr. Duncan moved to carry the dishes away, I turned and gave him at $50 bill which included dinner tip. "Bradford, I don't do this for anyone, in fact, I never did this for any client, and after you get really well, I expect to see the both are you in my restaurant on a regular basis," Mr. Duncan said. I assured him that we would return to his establishment on a regular basis. Mr. Duncan assembled the items dinner and moved them into the hallway. He came back into Trooper's room, leaned over trooper and said, "Bradford, if you let that fine man get out of your hands that stands that over there, then you, my friend, are an idiot. Love may be a place where fools rush in, but you can find such enjoyment with the right person to share your life with, and Terry is the right person for you because I see how he treats you." Mr. Duncan said as he exited the room.
I moved my chair so that I was next to Trooper. Being really proud of myself that I had pulled this off. Trooper looked at me, with a single tear rolling down his left cheek, saying, "I don't know what to say, Darling, that was amazing, and so kind of you. I leaned my head next to his and kiss his beautiful face. It was a perfect end to a long day. We said prayers for a speedy recovery for both of us and asked forgiveness for out sins. I didn't leave Trooper's room until he fell asleep. As I approached the nurse's station there was a small enclave the nurses that gave me more than just congratulations on executing a plan to lift his spirits, there were hugs and pats on my back. I felt, more love with Trooper than any other person on the face of the planet. As I drove my Van back to Pittsburg there is a strange sense of happiness and contentment that consumed me.
Then it was my time for me to go back to work. I had been off work for about 4 weeks. They had me start back at work on Thursday thinking that I could go in for two hours for two days and then rest. Then I would head to therapy, after which I would go to see Trooper.
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