Thunder and Lightening: Chapter 18Home « Thunder and Lightening Index « Previous

- Chapter 18

Posted: December 03, 2004 - 12:18:26 am

Even at the best of times, hospitals are depressing places. This particular

hospital had done a lot of renovation to make the atmosphere less depressing.

New carpets, brightly painted walls, comfortable chairs, and living plants

fought against the worry of people concerned for themselves or relatives. There

were even large tanks filled with brightly colored fish. The decorations were

losing the battle, but the atmosphere wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Bill and Jerry walked down the maze of hallways to find where they were supposed

to go to get the cast removed. Lost, Jerry spotted the peppermint-striped

uniform of a Candy Striper. The woman didn't fit the fantasy of a young sexy

Candy Striper that would take mercy on a man stuck in bed by giving him a

handjob. When the woman turned it was clear that she was in her early eighties.

A grimace came over his face when he thought of her giving him a handjob. Ugh!

The woman was actually very nice and gave him directions on where they needed to

go. Thanking her, Bill and Jerry continued their adventures through the

labyrinth halls of the hospital. Bill joked, "Not exactly my idea of a Candy

Striper."

"You can say that again." His voice contained far more disgust than he had

intended.

Bill laughed aloud, the tension at visiting the doctor eased by the humor of the

situation. Although he was looking forward to getting the cast removed, the idea

of having them saw it off his arm also brought pictures of a saw blade ripping

though his arm. They found the room and checked in with the receptionist who

told them it would be ten minutes before they would be seen.

When the doctor removed the cast, Bill stared at his arm in shock. The skin was

a bleached white covered by black hairs. It looked disgusting. The doctor looked

over the arm, pleased with how it had healed. He said, "Now, bend your arm."

Bill moved his arm, finding that that elbow was very stiff and that the muscles

were very weak. Comparing his two arms, the left arm was visibly thinner. He

said, "It feels stiff and weak."

"That's normal. You haven't used it in months. Take it easy on the arm and don't

stress it too much over the next few months," replied the doctor. Satisfied with

the arm, he slapped Bill on the back and, in a joking voice, said, "Stay away

from people swinging baseball bats."

The doctor had meant it humorously, but hadn't realized that was how the arm had

been broken. Bill frowned and looked down at the ground at the reminder. Jerry

said, "That's how it broke."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that it was a sports accident. You can play

baseball if you want."

"It wasn't a sports accident. His mother hit him."

"Oh, I really apologize. I didn't know," replied the doctor. His voice contained

a mixture of embarrassment and anger. He was embarrassed at having brought up

painful memories and angered at the idea that a mother would do that to her son.

He added, "You don't seem as emotionally battered as most children that have

been abused."

The comment resonated with the discussion that he and his father had on the

drive over to the hospital. Bill smiled and said, "Things have gotten a lot

better for us lately."

The doctor glanced over at Jerry and saw him nodding in agreement. He wondered

what the story was behind these two. Jerry asked, "So what now?"

"You go home and have fun," replied the doctor.

As they left the hospital, they ran into the paramedic that had treated Jerry

earlier that day. Irritated, he stepped in front of Jerry and asked, "Did you

just get that fixed?"

"No. I stopped by a clinic right after I left you and they stitched me up,"

answered Jerry surprised at the irritation in the paramedic's voice.

"Oh. I asked about you and they said you had never showed up. I was rather

pissed about that."

"Sorry, I didn't know that I was supposed to get treated here." Jerry was

surprised at the reaction of the man.

"So what are you doing here?"

Bill raised his arm and said, "The doctor removed my cast this afternoon."

"Oh," replied the paramedic as he recognized what the pale skin that covered

under-developed muscles meant. The cast had covered the arm from palm to

shoulder. He said, "Well, I'm glad that you had the cut taken care of."

Uncomfortable at the attention, Jerry said, "Thanks for worrying about me."

"Well, you might want to know that you probably saved the life of that woman

trapped in the car. She had a horrible cut on her leg and would have bleed to

death if you hadn't removed the door," replied the paramedic. He was still

impressed by the demonstration of raw power shown when he had pulled the door

off the car. He added, "Quite a number of people are looking for you."

"Why? Did I do something wrong?" asked Jerry surprised to hear that people were

looking for him. He wondered if he was going to get sued for pulling the door

off the car.

"You're a hero," replied the paramedic.

Looking down at his bandaged hands and the huge calluses that were built up on

the skin that showed, Jerry didn't feel like a hero. He muttered, "If I can't

use my strength to help someone, I might as well be dead."

The pair walked into the Chinese Buffet to be greeted by the hostess. Like many

of these places, they were to pay for their meal before taking a seat. With a

very strong accent, she asked, "Two?"

"We're here for the Bill Smith party," answered Jerry with a wink at Bill. He

had already paid for six meals before picking up Bill.

"Oh, they are waiting for you in the side room over there."

Bill stared at his father wondering what was going on. As far as he knew, it was

just his father and him having a quiet meal. When they went into the side room,

he was surprised to find Woody, Sandy, Larry, and Jenny waiting for him. He ran

over to his friends, shouting, "What are you guys doing here?"

Larry replied, "Dude, we're here to celebrate getting the cast off."

Bill gave a gesture with two thumbs up, something that he hadn't been able to do

for a long time. Woody whistled and said, "Wow, man. You're arm sure is pale."

Teasing, Bill put his arm by Woody and said, "Yeah, almost as pale as you dude."

As the kids laughed and joked, Jerry went to stand beside Jenny. Pleased to see

his son so happy, he put an arm around her and hugged her close wanting to share

his pleasure. Jenny looked up at him, feeling secure and protected in his arms.

She smiled and said, "You're happy."

"Yeah, it's been an incredible day." He smiled when Bill burst out in laughter

at some joke made by one of his friends. Looking down at Jenny, he said, "He's

so happy."

"Why don't you get something to eat and I'll watch over them. We've already

started eating," said Jenny.

"Good idea," replied Jerry. He bent down and kissed her on the forehead before

releasing her from his embrace.

As he went to get a plate, she watched him walk away marveling again at the

sheer size of the man. Her eyes were drawn to the bandages around his hands. The

news that day had talked about the mysterious man that had saved the life of a

woman by ripping the door off the car within which she was trapped. She didn't

need to ask if Jerry had been the hero, she knew he was the one that had done

it. There weren't many men that fit his description.

A few minutes after his father had gone out to get something to eat, Bill

followed his father out the door. He found his father loading up his plate with

Pork Lo Mein and went over to him. When Jerry noticed his son standing beside

him, he said, "This food looks so good."

Bill smiled and said, "Thanks dad. This was a nice surprise."

"Hey, what are fathers for?" replied Jerry with a smile. The best surprise was

yet to come and he could hardly wait to see what his son thought of that.

Bill smiled as he answered, "Raising their son's allowance."

Jerry burst out laughing and shook his head. Shaking his head, he said, "Better

load up a plate and get back in there before your friends forget who you are."

"Aw, Dad. They won't forget me. You maybe, but not me," replied Bill with a grin

even as he went to get a plate. He knew that his friends wouldn't forget him.

Stepping down the buffet counter, Jerry added some beef and broccoli to his

plate. It was overloaded with food by the time he was done. His stomach rumbled

in anticipation of getting filled. He stopped by Bill and said, "I'd say this is

a four trip meal."

Grinning at the long-standing joke about going to fill their plates repeatedly,

Bill said, "You bet."

Returning to the side room, Jerry sat next to Jenny. She looked at his plate and

asked, "Did you get enough?"

"Well, I've got three more trips to fill up on," replied Jerry with a grin.

Jenny smiled at the big man seated across from her. He had a healthy appetite

and wasn't afraid of indulging it on occasion. He looked across the table at her

plate and said, "Looks to me like you are ready for a refill."

The comment surprised her as she was used to being on dates where she wouldn't

eat much. Being around Jerry, she knew that she could be herself and eat to her

heart's content without raising a comment other than that she looked happy. She

stood and said, "I'll be back with more."

The difference between Jenny and his ex-wife was amazing. His ex-wife wouldn't

ever let herself relax and enjoy the moment. With Jenny, he knew that she'd seen

too much of that in her work and wouldn't allow herself to fall into that trap.

Jerry winked at her and said, "That's my girl."

That made Jenny feel desired and appreciated. She stopped by Bill on her way and

put a soft hand on his shoulder. She leaned down and wrapped her hands around

his chest as she said, "Glad to see you got the cast off."

"Thanks," replied Bill still surprised whenever an adult woman was nice to him.

The hug felt very good to the attention-starved boy.

"Now you can put your arms around the girls and make them happy," teased Jenny.

Winking at Sandy, she added, "I bet all the pretty girls at school can hardly

keep their hands off a big young man like you."

As Bill blushed, Sandy laughed at his discomfort in a friendly fashion that was

actually supportive. She had come to like Jerry, although it had taken her a

long time to decide that the big man wasn't a brute. It didn't take her more

than five seconds to decide that she liked Jenny, particularly when she saw the

effect that the woman had on her friend. In a teasing voice, Sandy said, "Oh,

Bill. Let me touch you!"

As his friends made normal teenage comments about what Sandy had said, Jenny

went out to get another plate of food. Unlike Jerry, she didn't put much food on

a plate and took more time eating what she did take. This let her make as many

trips to the buffet as Jerry without totally killing her figure.

Returning to the side room, she watched Jerry as he sat smiling and watching his

son deal with his friends. It was easy to see that the father was so happy with

the changes that had come over his son. She recalled that first day when she had

met Bill. Fifteen minutes late, he had worn filthy clothes and had to change at

her house. Her first impression had not been good, but that had changed very

quickly. The misery that was just below the surface at the knowledge that his

mother had attacked him with a baseball bat had touched her. His concern that

his dad could have a nice date with her spoke of a very good character.

She sat down across from Jerry and said, "He sure looks happy."

"Yeah, he does," replied Jerry with a wistful tone in his voice. When he was

Bill's age, he would have killed to have a dinner surrounded by friends that

teased him and supported him in such a caring fashion.

In a very quiet voice, she asked, "You never had a day like this for yourself,

have you?"

"No," replied Jerry. Deciding to change the subject, he looked up and said, "By

the way, the guy doing the paint job on my truck is going to deliver it to me at

an antique car show this Sunday. Claims that he can get it completely finished

by then."

"Really?" asked Jenny in surprise as she wondered what it would look like once

it was finished. It wasn't that she was pretentious, but being taken out in

either the Camaro or the truck was not her idea of being treated nicely. The

truck was an eyesore that was only a little better looking than the Camaro.

"I promise you that you won't be embarrassed being seen in it." Jerry understood

that she didn't really like being seen in either of his cars. Both cars looked

like rejects from a junkyard, but that would change when they were painted and

the interiors repaired. He asked, "Would you like to go there with us?"

She took a bite of her food as she thought about it. She didn't know the first

thing about cars other than the insurance cost too much, some cars cost more

than others, and sitting in traffic was a headache. Curiosity about antique cars

forced her to say, "Sure. I think that would be interesting."

"Great. I'll find out when it starts and give you a call," replied Jerry. He

shoveled another mouthful of food in to his maw and watched Jenny happy that she

had said yes.

"Are you taking any of your son's friends?" asked Jenny as he looked at the

other end of the table. Bill and Larry were headed out of the room to get

another plate of food, pushing each other in the manner of teenage boys having

fun.

The idea of taking Bill's friends hadn't occurred to him. Looking over at her,

he wondered if she wanted him to extend the offer to them or not. Shrugging his

shoulder, he answered, "I haven't thought about that. Do you think I should?"

"Why not?"

"I don't know," replied Jerry thinking that he hadn't any better clue as to her

preference. Shrugging, he answered, "You might enjoy it being just the three of

us or you might prefer if he goes off with his friends."

"What do you want?" asked Jenny, surprised that he was so indecisive.

Breaking out into a smile, he answered, "I got what I want. A Sunday spent with

my son and my girlfriend."

She sat back in her seat surprised at his answer. This was the first time that

he had called her his girlfriend and they hadn't even had sex yet. The petting

sessions were hot and heavy, leaving her wet between the legs and him walking

away bent over. The problem was that she always initiated the sessions. It was

as though he was terrified of making any physical demands upon her.

The thought came to her that after the show, he might go to the movies with his

friends giving them a little time alone. She took his hand and replied, "Let his

friends come with him. I'm sure that he would enjoy a whole day with them."

"Okay," replied Jerry. "It sure is nice of you to think of his fun."

"He's a great kid," replied Jenny. She wondered how he would react if he knew

what was really in her mind. Rather than risk saying anything, she turned her

attention to the food on her plate.

The kids at the other end of the table were working on desert and he realized

that he hadn't been eating. He dug into his meal, happy at the plans for Sunday.

He had just finished his second plate when a man came into the room and looked

around. Jerry stood up to get another plate of food when he spotted the man

watching the kids. He stepped over and said, "I'm Jerry Smith, Bill's dad."

"Oh, hello. I'm Dave Woodward," replied the man. He pointed over at Woody and

said, "Don is my son."

Jerry hadn't know that Don was Woody's real name, but didn't let on that he

hadn't known it. Gesturing over at the boys, he said, "Your son's a good kid.

Why don't you have a seat with us until he's ready to go?"

"That would be nice," replied Dave.

Jerry led him over to the table and performed the introductions. It didn't take

him long to return to the buffet counter and fill up another plate. He had

stared at the boiled crab legs with envy, but looking at the bandages on his

hands he knew that he couldn't eat that tonight. Another parent was in the room

when he returned. He took a moment to collect himself and said, "Hello. I'm

Jerry Smith, Bill's dad."

"I'm Arnie Thomas. Sandra is my daughter."

"Ah, come on over and join us. I think she's eating dessert right now."

The pair of men went to the table and Jerry performed the introductions. Jenny

talked with the two men, giving him a chance to eat a little more. His interest

perked up when he heard Arnie ask, "Did you see the Camaro out there?"

Swallowing, Jerry answered, "That's mine. It looks a little rough, but next week

I'm taking it in to get repainted and the interior restored."

"That's a classic. My first car was a Camaro just like that," replied the man

with a wistful touch in his voice. He said, "I bet it is going to look

outstanding when you get it painted."

Jerry was about to tell them about the antique auto show when a woman came over

to the table and introduced herself. "Hello. I'm Alice Hunt."

Jerry replied, "Ah, you are Larry's mother. I'm Jerry Smith, Bill's father."

Arnie looked up and said, "Hello Alice. Nice to see you again."

"Hi Arnie. Hi Dave. So we've finally met the mysterious Jerry."

The statement struck Jerry as odd, but he had just taken a bite of food and

couldn't respond. Jenny saved him the trouble. "Mysterious?"

Alice answered, "We've all met each other except for Jerry. From the way that

his son talked about him, it was hard to believe that he existed."

"Me?"

Arnie said, "Yeah. You are as big as he said."

"It was nice of you to invite his friends here to celebrate removing his cast. I

hope it was a surprise," said Alice.

"He was very surprised." Jenny answered for Jerry because he had just taken

another bite of his food.

The waitress came into the room and looked around at all of the people. At first

she looked upset that there were more people eating than Jerry had paid for, but

realized that they weren't eating. Jerry gestured her over and asked, "Could you

get them something to drink while they are waiting for the kids to finish

eating?"

"Sure thing," replied the waitress, her accent making it hard to understand. She

turned to the others and took their orders while Jerry took the opportunity to

eat a little more of his food.

After the waitress left, Alice asked, "What happened to your hands?"

Jerry looked at the bandages on his hand and answered, "Oh, I cut them pulling a

door off a car this morning. They're okay."

"Jesus, my wife has been looking for you all day," replied Dave realizing that

he should have added two and two to get four. All of the necessary clues were

sitting in front of him. How many guys walking around town were as big as this

guy was? How many of them had bandages on their hands?

"Huh?"

Arnie laughed and said, "His wife is a news reporter."

"So why would she be looking for me?" asked Jerry looking around in puzzlement.

Jenny reached across the table and took one of his hands in both of hers. She

said, "You're a hero. The story has been on the news all day long. Everyone is

talking about the unknown man who pulled the door off the car allowing rescuers

access to the beautiful woman in distress. They all credited you with saving her

life."

"The stories have been filtering in all day. My wife was telling me that a woman

called into the television station to say that a man that fit that description

had pushed her car off the road when it had stalled and then disappeared. An old

man called about a similar man changing his tire when he had a flat. Said he

just showed up, changed the tire, and then left." Dave shook his head at the

stories.

Jerry took a sip of his iced tea and didn't say a word, but felt the reassuring

tightening of Jenny's grasp on his other hand. He said, "My apologies to your

wife, but I'd rather have it remain the work of an unknown man."

His attempt at modesty was shattered when Bill shouted, "Hey Dad. I was telling

Woody about you pulling the door off that car and he tells me that you are the

hero they've been talking about all day. Way to go dad."

Dave smiled at Jerry and said, "I don't think you are going to be able to duck

this."

Jerry looked over at Jenny and received a reassuring nod. Resigned to facing the

inevitable attention, he said, "I guess you can call her."

The look on his face was so forlorn that Jenny had to laugh. She squeezed his

hand and said, "It won't be that bad."

Where was a guy that could walk on water when you needed him? He feared that

only such a feat would get the attention off him. He grinned and said, "That's

right. You'll be standing right next to me."

"Oh no you don't," replied Jenny shaking her head and releasing his hands to

hold her hands up between them.

Everyone around the table laughed with the exception of Dave. He was on a cell

phone talking to his wife wearing a great big smile. Jerry wondered how she

would reward her husband for getting the scoop on the story of the day. From the

smile on his face, it was pretty clear that he was in for a good time that

night.

He waited until Dave hung up and said, "While we are waiting for Dave's wife to

show up, I wanted to mention that there is an antique car show this Sunday.

Jenny, Bill, and myself are going down there and I wanted to invite the kids to

come along. My next door neighbors Caddy is going to be shown there. My truck

should be there."

Shaking his head, Dave said, "We're going there. My wife is covering it."

Alice said, "I don't see any problem with Larry going there with you guys."

As the adults worked out the details about how to get all of the kids to the

show, Jerry was quietly thinking about getting interviewed. He didn't like the

idea of being on television. He didn't have long to think about it as a woman

came rushing into the room. She spotted Dave and then came to a sudden stop when

she saw Jerry. There was no doubt in her mind that Dave had found the unknown

man.

She came over and introduced herself. "Hello, I'm Helen Woodward. You must be

Jerry Smith."

"Nice to meet you Helen. This lovely lady across from me is Jenny."

Helen barely acknowledged Jenny, keeping her attention focused on the large man

sitting in front of her. She asked, "Where would you like to be when I interview

you?"

"How about here?" asked Jerry gesturing around at the table.

"It would be best if you are standing," replied Helen.

"You pick a spot," replied Jerry.

Helen looked around the room as a man carrying a video camera entered. She

turned to the cameraman and asked, "What do you think about shooting it against

that wall?"

"Need to stand about five feet in front of the wall," replied the man as he

checked the light in the room.

It took a few minutes for them to get set up for the interview. Jerry watched

them with misgivings. The occasional word of encouragement from his girlfriend

and son was the only thing that kept him from running out of the room. When they

said they were ready, he stood up and walked over to stand beside Helen.

Standing beside Jerry, Helen appeared to shrink. It was only at that moment that

she realized just how big he was. Swallowing, she said, "You are huge."

"Yeah. I often have that effect on people," replied Jerry with a frown.

The cameraman interrupted, "I have to move the camera back a little to get all

of him in the shot. I didn't realize that he was so big."

They had to wait while the cameraman moved back. When he was ready, he said,

"You can go now."

Helen checked her appearance in a small mirror and asked the cameraman, "Am I

good?"

"Good," he replied.

Holding a microphone in front of her, she said, "I'm standing next to Jerry

Smith. He's the man who rescued the young woman in the car this afternoon by

tearing the door off the car thereby allowing medical assistance to be rendered

to her."

Turning to Jerry with her news reporter smile on her face, she asked, "Would you

like to tell us what happened?"

Jerry said, "Well, I was right there when the accident happened. I'll tell you

the truth, I had no idea what to do. I picked up my cell phone and called 911.

When the police arrived, I waited to tell them what I witnessed. They were

having difficulty getting access to the woman in the Toyota, so I went over and

helped them."

She said, "You say that you went over and helped them. The story is that you

ripped the door off the car."

"Yes, I tore the door off the car. That's the only thing that I knew how to do.

I didn't know how to render any kind of first aid or anything." replied Jerry

with a shrug.

She looked at his hands and said, "I notice that your hands are bandaged."

Jerry held his hands up and looked down at them as he turned them over slowly.

The calluses around the knuckles turned into calluses along the length of his

fingers. The white dressing contrasted with the rough skin. "I cut them on the

jagged metal when I grasped the door. There was a bit of blood, but no real

damage. These paws of mine can take a bit of punishment."

"You seem to take being able to tear the door off a car as an everyday kind of

thing," said Helen.

He frowned and said, "If you hadn't noticed, I'm kind of large. Being able to do

things like that comes with the territory."

Helen asked, "So how does it feel to know that you saved the young woman's

life?"

"I don't know. I didn't really save her life. The paramedics did that."

"Such modesty is rare today," replied Helen.

"I'm not modest. I just didn't do anything special. Anyone else would have done

the same thing if they were strong enough."

"How do you feel about being a hero?"

"To tell the truth, I don't think I am one," answered Jerry with a simple smile.

He knew he was coming across as an ignorant monster, but didn't know how to

change that impression. He looked at the camera and said, "Heroism is putting

oneself in harms way for another. I was never in any danger. At best, I was

helpful."

Smiling, Helen said, "This is Helen Woodward talking with Jerry Smith, a modest

giant of a man with a heart of gold."

Jerry looked at her thinking to himself, 'A monster of a man with a belly full

of rage.' The expression on his face did not reflect his thoughts. Instead, he

looked thoughtful.

After a second, she said, "Okay, cut it."

The cameraman put down the camera and came over to Jerry. He said, "Nice

interview."

"Thanks."

"You were outstanding," said Helen. "I've got to tell you that you came across

really well."

"Thank you," replied Jerry. He noticed his son smiling at him giving him an okay

sign. Jerry winked back as though this was an everyday kind of thing. For a

moment, he wondered what his ex- wife and his daughter would think of the

interview.

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