Rory called as we were about to leave the restaurant to tell us that the doctors didn’t want Milt to have anymore visitors today. “He’s very weak, Scragg, and the doctors want him to rest before before people can see him,” the young man said in a semi-harried voice. “Okay, we have to go by what the doctors say. I’ll tell everyone not to go up there,” I replied. “And I’ll check on him tomorrow, but I can be at work a little after eight,” Rory said. “Just take tomorrow off and look after Milt. We have you covered, so take care of business up there, Rory,” I replied. The bassist didn’t know what to say, so I thanked him for his loyalty and concern. I clicked off and told Kevin and Tara the news. “Damn, I hope everything will be alright,” my partner replied in a concerned tone. “We’ll just keep doing what we have to,” Tara added.
Life is scary if you think about it.
I arrived home and told Blake, Paige, and Michael, the news about Milt, which they already knew from Michael’s contacts at the hospital. “Sounds like Milt has a long recovery ahead,” I said. “He’s looking at a radical lifestyle change, Sir, especially for a man of his age. He smokes, eats fatty foods, and rarely get exercise, so he was a candidate for a heart attack. He’s going to be out of work at least six weeks; maybe longer. His routine has to change because his body has suffered a major trauma and he’s not the same,” Michael said.
Life can change in an instant.
Blake asked me if Tara maintained her cool throughout the day, and I said that for the most part she behaved, but there were times when I thought she might snap. “She’s going through a change, too, and Kevin has made it clear that he’s not putting up with anymore of her nonsense. Tara knows what she did was wrong, but she never thought there would be any consequences, so she was able to rationalize her behavior by pretending to be looking out for her friends. Unfortunately for her, she ran across someone who is very familiar with manipulative behavior, which she should have realized, but being young and immature, she forged ahead without thinking,” I replied. “I hear you broke her down,” Paige asked. “Who told you that,” I asked. “I did, even though I know you were right, I still found it very painful to watch her come apart,” my wife said. “I don’t play, and I think I proved that yesterday. There’s a line you don’t cross, and Tara crossed, which meant she got the full brunt of my anger. I learned a long time ago that sometimes there are people who will make you pay for your misdeeds. I remember that happened to me when I was living with a guy who was trying to help me out. The only thing he asked was that I not drink in his house, or steal from him. I decided to test him on both, and discovered that he was a man true to his word,” I said. “He throw you out,” my daughter asked. “No, he beat me senseless and made me work for him until he thought I had repaid what I owed him. I thought I was going to die because this guy really didn’t play, and he throttled me like I was nothing. He told me if I bowed up at him he would make sure that I would disappear, and I believed him. I’m not comparing what Tara did to my act of thievery and drunkenness, but I can relate to what she went through yesterday,” I replied.
Blake and Paige wore looks of distress.
“I hate having to do what I did yesterday because it adversely affects me. I have a great life, but I’m not complacent, nor will I ever be. I’ve learned that you deal with stuff head on. I didn’t give up on Tara, which is the important thing in all of this. She’s a good girl, but reality is only now forcing her to grow up. I love the kid, but she’s not going to hurt my friends just because she doesn’t like them,” I said. “That’s reasonable, Sir,” Dr. Donnelly replied. “I think so, and I believe Michael said something about taking us all out for dinner,” I said with a smile.
The doctor smiled.
“I guess I did,” he replied.
Just letting the good doctor know there is a line.
