Soulshine (4 page)

The second day of Evan"s hospital experience had been less eventful for him. As long as he didn"t look downward, he felt as though his leg were still there. The medical staff worked all night to stop the disintegration of his leg, but not before the strange phenomenon spread past his knee.

DiLaurio as he entered Evan"s room.
“Weird… but only when I look at where my leg used to
be.”
“Mm-hmm. Evan, I"ve got to tell you… it was touch and
go for the whole night. I can"t explain why, but where you
experienced nerve damage, you also experienced loss of skin and
bone. It"s kind of like your body"s reaction was to start a rapid
decomposition process…” Frank hesitated. “…as though… and
I"m not trying to sound morbid… but as though the injured part of
you had been dead for years.”
Evan was trying to absorb everything that was happening to
him. “Or should have been dead a long time ago.”
“Pardon?”
“Oh… nothing, Doc. I was just thinking out loud. It seems
like you are saying that the legwas already dead.”
Frank scratched his head. “Well, it doesn"t make sense.
Let"s go over what happened. First you suffer severe nerve
damage, which is death in a matter of speaking. When nerves are
damaged beyond repair, they are technically dead, so the part of
the body that suffered the nerve damage is technically dead… or
useless. The part of the body that experiences death will normally
start to atrophy…
but instant decomposition
?”
Evan looked to the ceiling, wishing the doctor did not
include him as a sounding board when doing the analysis. There
was not much Evan was willing to say to help Frank come to a
medical or logical conclusion. “Sounds weird.”
“Weird.” Frank nodded his head. “Mr. Troy, is there
something you"re not telling me? Any drug or steroid use?” “Never. In fact, I have always made it a point to take care
of myself. You know what I mean… taking no unnecessary or
foolish chances with my health.”
“The reason I asked is because steroids have been known to
break down a human body as easily as it helps the body recover
from injuries. But I should add that your experience is
still
unique,
even for the most avid steroid user. Body breakdown from steroid
use does not happen in a matter of minutes. But you can see why I
could not rule it out. Are you taking anything at all that you can
think of that may have caused this?”
“No, as I told you… no drugs… nothing like that.” “Mr. Troy… your dead nerves appear to be old. You are in
your late twenties, though your face looks younger. And your
girlfriend appears to be a child, but she is
also
in her late twenties.
Please, Evan. Is there
anything
you feel you should tell me?” “No, nothing I can think of.”
“Okay, that"s fine.
But
we need to run more tests because
we need to make sure thatthe rest of you isn"t going to fall apart.” “Fall apart? Is that a medical term, doctor?” Evan was
trying his best not to worry. The scare from the previous day made him feel an aura of death that he never thought he would
experience.
Frank changed to a somber tone. “Evan… thisis serious.”

Michelle had finished her lunch in the hospital cafeteria and approached the nurses" station when she heard a familiar voice that she hadn"t heard in years.

“Excuse me. I"m here to see my daughter. She is probably staying with a patient you have here… Evan Troy?”
“Oh, yes. I"m sorry. Only immediate family may see Mr. Troy. He is in an intensive care room. Perhaps I can find your daughter if she is with him.May I ask her name?”
Michelle interrupted. “Mom?”
Maryturned quickly. “Darling!”
“Mom… it"s so good to see you.”
“Oh dear, why did you go for so long without contacting us? It"s been over ten years and your father and I have been so worried.” Mary paused. “My God, and you still don"t look like you aged a day since you were thirteen!”
Michelle could only take a deep swallow.
“I… We… Your father and I thought it odd that you looked like this at your high school graduation, but dismissed it as just being a temporaryyouthful appearance. But honey, you"re… you"re twenty-nine!”
“What can I say? Isn"t there some disease that keeps you looking young?”
“Yeah, but not quite like this. And I can assure you that you never had such a disease.”
Michelle shrugged. “Well, I guess I"m one of the lucky ones.”
“Lucky ones? Looking like you"re forty when you"re fifty- five…
that’s
lucky. Who wants to look like they"re thirteen when they"re twenty-nine?”
“Maybe I"ll start looking older next year, Mom.” Michelle was never good at acting dumb. Her nervous smile always gave her away.
“Where"s Evan?”
“Oh, he"s in his room. Mom… thank you for coming. I„m not as scared as I was yesterday. I thought I was going to lose him. It was weird… the way his leg started turning to this… dust.” Michelle stopped herself before she went on saying things that she was not prepared to explain to her mother or anyone else. She did not yet know that the medical staff still had grave concerns about Evan"s health.
“Michelle… why have the two of you stayed away from your family? I always liked Evan. What happened? And please tell me why
I’m
looking my age and
you
are not? Something"s not right. I feel like I"m in the Twilight Zone.”
“I don"t have any answers for you, Mom. Just hold me, please.”
“Sure, darling. My God, I feel like I"m holding my thirteen-year-old girl again. Why are you still thirteen? Why were you still thirteen when you graduated, and why are you still thirteen now?”
Michelle burst out, “I can"t
tell
you, Mom! I mean… I don"t
know,
Mom.”
Mary caught the slip of the tongue. “I was told by the nurse that only immediate family may see Evan. Does mother-inlaw count?”
“Mom, we never officially married.”
“
They
don"t need to know that! I"d like to see Evan.”
“Maybe we can see if they will allow other visitors tomorrow, Mom. They"ve been doing a lot of tests on him the past couple of days.”

The train ride was long and Edward Thomas spent the time intermittently sleeping and thinking. Upon arriving at Grand Central Station, he recalled the last time he had spent some considerable time in New York. He usually made it a point not to return to a former place of residence, but the city is huge and it had been a long time since he had last lived here. He never thought he would grow tired of traveling. He always enjoyed returning to the major cultural centers… Athens… Rome… Paris… London… New York. In between, he would find a charming hamlet to live in just to round out his worldly experience. After a number of years in the rural Midwest, it was time to recapture the essence of the big city once again.

Ah, New York! How this old station has changed since I’ve last set foot in it
. He saw a man, possibly in his mid-to-late thirties, passing by. “Excuse me, sir. Could you direct me to the theater district?”

The man turned toward Edward. “Sir? Wow, people your agestill use the term „sir"?”
Edward was taken aback. He had hoped that the gray he applied to his temples would help him look somewhat older. “Well, I was always taught to be polite. It"s better than „hey you", right?”
“Quite. It"s just refreshing to hear someone in New York call me „sir". The name is Bryan… BryanMoore.”
Edward hesitated, deciding to offer his hand while withholding his name. “Nice to meet you, Bryan.”
Bryanshook Edward"s hand. “And you asked about the theater district. As a matter of fact, I"m living over that way at the moment. Are you looking to head anyplace in particular?”
“Well, no, I just got into town and I have fond memories of the theater district. I used to live there and worked in one of the theaters.”
“Really? I enjoy the theater myself. Which one did you work at?”
Edward paused before answering.
I wish I knew if that particular theater still exists
.
Better to sound unsure about the name.
“Uh, what was it? It"s been so long. The… um… Palatial Playhouse?”
“Hmm, I don"t think the name is still in use. It sounds familiar, though, like it existed some years ago. I recall reading up on the history of Manhattan"s repertories.” Bryan laughed. “There"s no way you could have worked there. It simply hasn"t existed for years.”
Edward feigned to search his mind for the correct name. “You know… it may be that I recall the history of the company being publicized to the point where it became known as the Palatial Playhouse in my mind.” Edward paused. “You say that the
name
is no longer in use. Do you happen to know the current name?”
Bryanthought for a moment. “I want to say „The Regal Repertory". I"m almost certain. After all, the two names virtually mean the same thing.”
“Regal Repertory. You know… I believe that"s it!”
“It can"t be
that
long since you"ve been away. Pardon me, but you don"t look very old. How long have you been away from the city?”
“Thanks for the compliment, but I"m a bit older than I look. But I have been told that, if it weren"t for the graying temples, I could pass for… twenty-one? I… um… worked at the Regal while in college, but I"ve been away for… oh… ten years or so.”
“Wow, you don"t look thirty, and you have to be at
least
that.”
“Uh… wow… great guess. I just turned thirty. I guess a full head of mostlydark brown hair can fool anyone.”
“Well, you are welcome to hop on the subway with me. I get off at the stop right in the middle of the theater district. I can point you in the right direction from there… that is… if the Regal is your destination.”
“I guess my first destination should be a newsstand where I can pick up a paper and look for an apartment to rent.”
“It just so happens that I"m looking for someone to help share the cost of my apartment. My previous roommate moved out last month and paying a New York rent is not easy for one person.”
“That may work out… that is… depending on the nature of your
roommate
arrangement.”
“No worries. I have a few girl friends that stop by from time to time. No serious relationship though. I"ve been married once and that was a disaster. I"m in no hurry to commit, if you know what I mean.”
“Sounds like it could work. I"ll let you know after seeing the place and, of course, the amount of rent I would need to contribute.”
“It"s best to show you the apartment before discussing rent. It"s plenty big enough for two residents and lots of visitors. You may want something smaller for yourself at the same price you would be paying for half of mine. Uh… I don"t believe I caught your name.”
Edward fumbled for his reply. “Oh, gee, that"s probably because I neglected to tell you. Sorry about that. The name… is… Eric… Eric Townsend.”

Evan whistled a happy tune as he walked around the corner onto Grove Street with his gift for Michelle under his arm. He considered her birthday to fall at an appropriate time of year… late April, the middle of spring. To Evan, Michelle was a breath of spring air, and like spring she gave him a new outlook on life when she came into his life six years ago. In less than two months she would be graduating high school and he wanted to give her something special.

Evan made his way to the Flemings" front walk and rang the door bell. He expected Michelle to answer the door, but instead it was Mary. “Hi, Mrs. Fleming. Is Michelle here?”

“Yes, Evan. Come on in. Michelle is just having a tough day.”
Evan spotted John sitting in his chair reading the newspaper and gave him a polite greeting. Despite years of a wonderful relationship between Evan and Michelle, John had never been completely at ease with it. Evan had hoped that Mr. Fleming would dispel his concerns once Michelle turned eighteen, but he also knew that Mr. Fleming, as well as Mrs. Fleming, would sadly never be… could not be… permanent fixtures in their lives. He heard Michelle sobbing. “Mrs. Fleming, is everything all right?”
“I"m hoping you can cheer her up, Evan. Michelle is just the victim of some relentless teasing by her classmates.”
“Teasing?”
“Yeah, it"s cruel really. Even high school kids can be cruel when they should be more mature. With graduation approaching, I guess they feel that they need to get in as much cruel taunting as they can before they enter the world of responsibility.”
“What are they saying to her?”
“Oh, they"re calling her „baby sister" because they think she looks like a middleschooler. I can"t say I disagree with them, but I do disagree with the way they carry on about it, especially when they see that it bothers her so. We have no idea why Michelle seemed to stop growing years ago, but we"re sure it"s just for a time. Sometimes kids experience growth spurts and sometimes kids experience periods where they don"t grow much at all. I tried telling her that she is perfectly normal and her grades prove that she is indeed growing up to be a smart woman. She just doesn"t feel like a woman right now. That"s where I hope that you come in on your white horse and change her mood. You made her feel like a little woman when she really was our little girl.”
Evan smiled. He wondered when this subject would fully surface. He wondered how he would prepare to handle it. Mary"s justification and self-assurance helped. At least he would not need to convince her mother. John was more or less numb to what was going on. He could not explain it, so he chose not to discuss it. As long as he was not asking questions, there was no reason for Evan to feel obligated to address the situation. But Evan"s heart went out to Michelle. He hated to hear or see her crying. He had always soothed her tears before. Would his words have the same effect this time?

Evan wanted to sink through the hospital bed and descend under the floor. “And hello to you, Mary… er… Mrs. Fleming.” He had always addressed her as „Mrs. Fleming", but it had been eleven years since he last saw her. „Mary" seemed like the most appropriate thing to call her now that he and Michelle were thirtysix and twenty-nine, at least according to what Mary believed them to be. „Mom" was another option but, judging by Mary"s greeting of contempt, Evan surmised that she would not appreciate such a term of endearment, especially since he and Michelle never married.