“All right, already,” Paul said. Paul used his spatula to scoop up the patty that had spent most of its grill-time on top of two other patties. He slipped it into a bun and placed it on the paper plate Roger had put on the countertop in front of him. Paul shoveled on some grilled onions, then filled another paper cone with french fries.
Within seconds the teenager on the distribution counter leaned over his goose-necked microphone and said: “Pick up, number twenty-five and number twenty-seven.
Kim stood up. “That’s us,” he said. “I’ll get the food. But after we eat, we’re going to pick up Ginger, and that’s final. And I’m going to expect you to be pleasant. Okay?”
“Oh, all right,” Becky said reluctantly. She stood up.
“I’ll get the food,” Kim said. “You stay put.”
“But I want to fix my own burger,” Becky said.
“Oh, yeah,” Kim said. “I forgot.”
While Becky dressed her burger with an impressive layer of various toppings, Kim picked out what he hoped would be the least offensive salad dressing. Then father and daughter returned to their seats. Kim was happy to see the ketchup-besmeared toddler had departed.
Becky perked up considerably when the boy from her school asked for some of her french fries. Kim picked up his soupspoon and was about to sample the soup when his cell phone rang against his chest. He took the phone out and put it to his ear.
“Dr. Reggis here,” he said.
“This is Nancy Warren,” the nurse said. “I’m calling because Mrs. Arnold demands that you come in to see her husband.”
“What about?” Kim asked.
Becky used both hands to pick up her burger. Even so, a couple of sliced pickles fell out from beneath the layers of bread. Undaunted, she got her mouth around the behemoth and took a bite. She chewed for a moment, then examined the bitten surface.
“Mr. Arnold is very anxious,” Nancy said. “And he says his pain medication isn’t holding. He’s also had a couple of PVC’s.”
Becky reached out and tugged on Kim’s arm, trying to get him to look at the bitten surface of her burger. Kim motioned for her to wait while he continued his cellular phone conversation: “Has he had a lot of PVC’s?”
“No, not a lot,” Nancy said. “But enough so that he’s aware of them.”
“Draw a potassium and double-up on his pain meds. Is the intensivist there?”
“Yes, Dr. Silber is in the hospital,” Nancy said. “But I think you should come in. Mrs. Arnold is insistent.”
“I’ll bet she is,” Kim said with a dismissive chuckle. “But let’s wait for the potassium level first. Also check and make sure there isn’t any marked abdominal distension.”
Kim disconnected his call. Mrs. Arnold was turning into a bigger pain in the neck than he’d imagined.
“Look at my hamburger,” Becky said.
Kim glanced at Becky’s burger and saw the ribbon of pink in the middle of the meat patty, but he was preoccupied and none too happy about the call he’d just gotten from the hospital. “Hmmm,” he said. “That’s the way I used to eat my hamburgers when I was your age.”
“Really?” Becky questioned. “That’s gross!”
Deciding it was best he speak directly to the intensivist himself, Kim dialed the hospital page number. “That was the only way I ate my hamburgers,” he said to Becky as the call went through. “Medium rare, with a slice of raw onion, not with those reconstituted grilled onions, and certainly not with all that slop.”
The hospital page operator answered, and Kim asked for Dr. Alice Silber. He said he’d hang on.
Becky looked at her burger, shrugged her shoulders, and then took another, more tentative bite. She had to admit, it tasted fine.
FOUR
Saturday, January 17th
Kim’s car rounded the bend in his Street and approached his house. It was a large Tudor-style home sited on a generous wooded lot in a comfortable suburban township. At one time it had been an admirable house. Now it looked neglected. The previous fall none of the leaves had been raked up, and they now covered the lawn area with a layer of wet, dirty brown debris. Most of the house’s trim was badly peeling and sorely in need of paint, and some of the window shutters were awry. On the roof a few of the slate shingles had slipped out and were angled into the gutters.