“You didn’t tell me I’d be waking up in the dark,” Todd said.
“No … ” Burrows replied. “That’s because the procedure didn’t go quite as we planned. But every operation is a little different, as you’ll remember I explained to you. I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke … ”
Now that he was calmer, Todd began to recall some of the things about Burrows that had irritated him. One of them was that voice of his: that fake basso profundo that was a practiced attempt to conceal his queeniness, and to match his voice to the heroic proportions of his body. An artificial body, of course. The man was a walking advertisement for his craft. He was fifty-five at least, but he had the skin of a baby, the arms and the chest of a body-builder and the wasp-waist of a showgirl.
“Just tell me the truth,” Todd said to him. “Did something go wrong? I’m a big boy. I can take it.”
There was a pin-drop silence. Todd waited. Finally, Burrows said: “We had a few minor complications with your procedure, that’s all. I’ve explained it all to your brother Donald. There’s nothing — absolutely nothing — for you to be concerned about. It’s just going to take a little more time than we’d — ”
“What kind of complications?”
“We don’t need to go into that now, Todd.”
“Yes, we do,” Todd said. “It’s my face, for fuck’s sake. Tell me what’s going on. And don’t screw around with me. I don’t like it.”
“Tell him, Doc,” Donnie said, quietly but firmly.
Todd heard Burrows sigh. Then that studied voice again: “You’ll remember that during the preparation evaluation I did warn you that on occasion there were reactions to chemical peels which could not be predicted. And I’m afraid that’s what happened in your case. You’ve had an extreme, and as I say completely unpredictable allergic response to the peel. I don’t believe for one moment there’s going to be any significant damage in the long term. You’re a healthy young man. We’re going to see some swift epidermal regeneration — ”
“What the fuck’s that?”
“Your skin’s gonna grow back,” Donnie replied, his Texan drawl turning the remark into a piece of cold comedy.
“What do you mean?” Todd said.
“The effect of the procedure we use — as I explained in our evaluation, and is fully described in the literature I gave you — ”
“I didn’t read it,” Todd said. “I trusted you.”
” — the procedures we use may be likened to a very controlled chemical burn, which produces changes in the dermis and the epidermis. Damaged or blemished skin is removed, and after forty-eight hours at the most, new, healthy skin is naturally generated, which has pleasing characteristics. The client regains a youthful — ”
This time it was Donnie who interrupted Burrows’ molassic flow. “Tell him the rest,” Donnie said, his voice thick with anger. “If you don’t tell him, I will,” Donnie went on. He didn’t give Burrows a chance to make the choice. “You’ve been out of it since you had the operation, Kiddo. In a coma. For three days. That’s why they sent for me. They were getting worried. I tried to have you moved to a proper hospital, but that bitch of a manager — Maxine, is it? — she wouldn’t let me. She said you’d want to stay here. Said she was afraid the press would find out if you were transferred.”
“We’re perfectly capable of looking after Mr. Pickett here,” Burrows said. “There isn’t a hospital in California that could give him better care.”
“Yeah, well, maybe,” Donnie said. “Seems to me he’d still be better off in Cedar Sinai.”
“I really resent the implication — ” Burrows began.
“Will you just shut the fuck up?” Donnie said wearily. “I don’t give a monkey’s ass what you resent. All I care about is getting my brother properly fixed up and out of here.”
“And as I say — ”
“Yeah. As you say. Tell you what, why don’t you and Nurse Karyn there step out for a few minutes and let me have a private word with my brother?”