face.
‘Are you going to have some sort of fit?’
‘No.”
‘Are you gonna have a seizure? You want me to take you to a hospital?’
She remained silent and closed her eyes. She tried to breathe but it was hard. Her hands were balled into fists, she tried to open them but couldn’t.
She began to bite the inside of her cheek, hoping it would ease her anxiety. Her heart raced so fast that she suddenly couldn’t breathe, and finally she bit as hard as she could and the taste of blood filled her mouth, and with the pain and the blood she finally began to calm. She opened her fists and tried to take deep breaths. She swallowed the blood and tried to focus on Paul Newman, but it was hard to get there. The man was sitting next to her and they were in the middle of nowhere.
But she kept her eyes closed and concentrated, and then suddenly he was there. She was Paul Newman’s nurse, rolling him around in a wheelchair, talking to him. He was young, not old, and it was warm out, sunny, and trees surrounded them. She was dressed in a white uniform.
He spoke to her.
‘Let me tell you, when I get out of this wheelchair I’m taking you with me.’
‘I bet,’ she said and wheeled him towards the lawn.
‘You remember when I was in Cool Hand Luke ?’
‘Of course I remember. You weren’t too smart in that one.’
‘If I’d met you then, I wouldn’t have cut the tops off all those parking meters in the first place.’
‘Did you really eat those fifty eggs?’
‘Of course I did. You don’t think I’m a fraud, do you?’
‘Well, you sure were in The Sting .’
‘Yeah, but that’s what I’m trying to tell you, with the money I made pulling off that job, I’m loaded. That’s why I’m trying to get you out of here. That’s why I want you with me.’
‘I thought you looked amazing in The Sting .’
‘I still have those suits. I could wear one for you.’
‘I’ll have to buy new clothes then.’
‘We’ll go shopping once I get the hell out of this hospital.’
‘So what did you really do with the money you made off that job you pulled?’
‘That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. About twenty miles from here there’s a big old house. It’s near a lake. There’s a pier that you can sit on. You can jump off it and go swimming. I bought that place ’cause of you. I know that’s the sorta place you’d like to live in. I want us to live there together.’
‘I bet.’
‘I’m serious,’ Paul said.
‘What about snakes?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘In the lake, are there snakes?’
‘There aren’t any snakes. If you’re swimming I let the snakes know it’s time to take a vacation.’
‘Do you promise?’
‘Of course I promise. Remember me in Where The Money Is ? I get you away from that bum husband of yours, and then I get us out of that jam, don’t I?’
‘You got a point there,’ she said and they stopped on the lawn and looked out among the grass and the trees.
‘It’s a beautiful lawn, don’t you think?’
‘It’d be a bitch to mow, though,’ he said.
‘When have you ever mowed a lawn?’
‘Remember Nobody’s Fool ? I mowed a lot of lawns in that one.’
‘But it was winter in that one. You must have had to shovel a lot of snow to get down to the grass.’
‘It’s a bitch mowing the lawn in the winter. Let me tell you that. Anyway, more importantly, can you bake a pie?’
‘I could learn.’
‘What I’m thinking is peach pie. Peach pie and a good old cup of joe.’
‘You just get me out of here and I’ll bake you one a week.’
‘This kid is a strange bird, I’ll give you that.’
‘He scares the hell out of me.’
‘That shit heel boyfriend of yours. He’s the one to be scared of. He sure hasn’t shown much, has he?’
‘No.’
‘And he knocked you up.’
‘I should have been more careful.’
‘That would have been the best thing.’
‘Why I am so pathetic?’
‘You aren’t. You just been dealt a rough hand, and
‘Are you going to have some sort of fit?’
‘No.”
‘Are you gonna have a seizure? You want me to take you to a hospital?’
She remained silent and closed her eyes. She tried to breathe but it was hard. Her hands were balled into fists, she tried to open them but couldn’t.
She began to bite the inside of her cheek, hoping it would ease her anxiety. Her heart raced so fast that she suddenly couldn’t breathe, and finally she bit as hard as she could and the taste of blood filled her mouth, and with the pain and the blood she finally began to calm. She opened her fists and tried to take deep breaths. She swallowed the blood and tried to focus on Paul Newman, but it was hard to get there. The man was sitting next to her and they were in the middle of nowhere.
But she kept her eyes closed and concentrated, and then suddenly he was there. She was Paul Newman’s nurse, rolling him around in a wheelchair, talking to him. He was young, not old, and it was warm out, sunny, and trees surrounded them. She was dressed in a white uniform.
He spoke to her.
‘Let me tell you, when I get out of this wheelchair I’m taking you with me.’
‘I bet,’ she said and wheeled him towards the lawn.
‘You remember when I was in Cool Hand Luke ?’
‘Of course I remember. You weren’t too smart in that one.’
‘If I’d met you then, I wouldn’t have cut the tops off all those parking meters in the first place.’
‘Did you really eat those fifty eggs?’
‘Of course I did. You don’t think I’m a fraud, do you?’
‘Well, you sure were in The Sting .’
‘Yeah, but that’s what I’m trying to tell you, with the money I made pulling off that job, I’m loaded. That’s why I’m trying to get you out of here. That’s why I want you with me.’
‘I thought you looked amazing in The Sting .’
‘I still have those suits. I could wear one for you.’
‘I’ll have to buy new clothes then.’
‘We’ll go shopping once I get the hell out of this hospital.’
‘So what did you really do with the money you made off that job you pulled?’
‘That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. About twenty miles from here there’s a big old house. It’s near a lake. There’s a pier that you can sit on. You can jump off it and go swimming. I bought that place ’cause of you. I know that’s the sorta place you’d like to live in. I want us to live there together.’
‘I bet.’
‘I’m serious,’ Paul said.
‘What about snakes?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘In the lake, are there snakes?’
‘There aren’t any snakes. If you’re swimming I let the snakes know it’s time to take a vacation.’
‘Do you promise?’
‘Of course I promise. Remember me in Where The Money Is ? I get you away from that bum husband of yours, and then I get us out of that jam, don’t I?’
‘You got a point there,’ she said and they stopped on the lawn and looked out among the grass and the trees.
‘It’s a beautiful lawn, don’t you think?’
‘It’d be a bitch to mow, though,’ he said.
‘When have you ever mowed a lawn?’
‘Remember Nobody’s Fool ? I mowed a lot of lawns in that one.’
‘But it was winter in that one. You must have had to shovel a lot of snow to get down to the grass.’
‘It’s a bitch mowing the lawn in the winter. Let me tell you that. Anyway, more importantly, can you bake a pie?’
‘I could learn.’
‘What I’m thinking is peach pie. Peach pie and a good old cup of joe.’
‘You just get me out of here and I’ll bake you one a week.’
‘This kid is a strange bird, I’ll give you that.’
‘He scares the hell out of me.’
‘That shit heel boyfriend of yours. He’s the one to be scared of. He sure hasn’t shown much, has he?’
‘No.’
‘And he knocked you up.’
‘I should have been more careful.’
‘That would have been the best thing.’
‘Why I am so pathetic?’
‘You aren’t. You just been dealt a rough hand, and
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