Chapter Thirty-Two Marion
thirty-two MARION
Marion had just finished tidying her apartment and was sitting down to make a dent in The Bell Jar when the telephone rang, and Sassy’s incredulous voice burst through. Stunned, Marion listened to her account of the attack, then asked after Sassy’s well-being.
“Never mind that,” Sassy said quickly. “I’ll tell you about it when you get here. You gotta come right away. There’s a guy here with an eye patch, says his name is Daniel…”
Marion clutched the receiver to her ear. “Where are you, Sassy? I’ll be right there.”
Daniel.
She hung up then rushed to her room, heart pounding. How should she look when she saw him? Not like a doctor, she decided. She was no longer his, so why carry on like that? She peered into the mirror, feeling like a nervous teenager. Sassy said she liked Marion’s hair down, so with her heart pounding in her temples, she brushed out the long blond tresses then pulled on a light blue sweater that Sassy had insisted she borrow. Feeling bold, she followed her friend’s instructions with the new makeup she’d purchased, though she wasn’t ready for false eyelashes.
“Not bad,” she said, blinking at her reflection.
Long ago, in that cramped elevator, Sassy had asked Marion what scared her the most. She was afraid, she reluctantly admitted, that she was missing out. Well, she wasn’t going to miss out this time. She grabbed her winter coat and scarf, wriggled into her boots, then stepped out and locked her door. The adrenaline streaming through her made her feel like a whole different woman.
She headed for the bank of elevators and heard the mystery neighbour’s door click open then close, just in time to block her view of the inhabitant. Marion didn’t care. She was going to see Daniel. What a world, where Sassy and Daniel were having coffee together, waiting for her!
She decided not to wait for a bus and hailed a taxi instead. The driver pulled in front of the Riverboat Coffee House, and Marion descended the set of stairs. Paul would be impressed that she’d finally gotten in, she thought.
She spotted Sassy waving to her from a table at the corner of the room. Across from her sat Daniel, and he rose when he saw her. Marion couldn’t get to them fast enough. Sassy had already assured her that she was fine, so she evaluated Daniel as she wove between tables and chairs. He looked all right, she thought, but he could definitely use a shower and a haircut. His coat was draped over the back of his chair, and despite the dimness of the room, she saw his shirt was dirty. Was she imagining it, or was he thinner than he’d been a month ago?
“I thought I would never see you again,” she said, holding out her hands.
He took them. “This city’s so big,” he agreed.
“I disagree! It’s a small world after all!” Sassy put in, wiggling her eyebrows at Marion. “This is far out. Come and sit. You two can talk, and I’ll get us some coffee.”
Marion’s brain went straight to doctor mode. She couldn’t start with questions about his living conditions. Not yet. Those might be answered defensively, and she didn’t want to begin on the wrong foot.
“Sassy said you saved her life. I can’t believe it. I mean, I believe you are capable of it, but how incredible that the two of you even met up. What happened?”
Daniel turned to the side to cough, and Marion noticed his eye patch looked dirty. That couldn’t be healthy. She would get him a new one.
“I was going to find a phone and a phone book to call you, but Sassy reached you first,” he said.
“Why were you going to phone me?”
“What happened actually involves you. You’re going to need to intervene with the cops somehow. You remember a patient called Big John? Because he sure remembers you.”
John! “Of course I do. How is he?”
“He’s currently behind bars for attacking your friend.”
Marion felt the blood rush from her face to her toes. She glanced toward the coffee bar, where Sassy stood. “John did that? Is she all right?”
“Seems to be fine. Just, well, a bit shocked. She’s tough.”
“I warned the board that John was dangerous,” she said, her voice sharp with anger. “I can’t tell you how many reports I filed, but they still released him. I’m not surprised he attacked someone. I just wish it hadn’t been Sassy.”
“What’ll happen to him now?”
“There might be space for him back at the institute in one of the smaller buildings. They are putting the most severe cases in there for now. I’ll make sure he gets the care he needs. But poor Sassy. She must have been terrified. And you—she was right. You’re a hero.”
He rolled his eye. “Not exactly. Just good timing.”
Sassy was still at the bar, chatting with a waitress, purposefully taking her time. Bless the girl. Marion took a calming breath and tried to think more clearly.
“Tell me about you,” she said, holding his gaze. “How have you been?”
The one-shoulder lift. “Same old. You?”
“No. You don’t get off that easy. I’ve thought of you constantly since you left the hospital. Tell me what it’s like for you out here.”
“I’d rather not.” When she didn’t look away, he sighed. “I’m still the enemy, it’s just a different battlefield. When people find out I’ve been in Vietnam, they call me a baby killer. Me! One guy spat at me.” He dropped his chin. “I spent a night in jail after I pounded him senseless.”
To be alone, targeted and traumatized, was too much for anyone to take sober. She wondered if he was drinking, but when she leaned in, she didn’t smell it on him.
“The news hasn’t done the returning soldiers a service, that’s for sure,” she said. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. Where have you been living?”
“Here and there.”
Nowhere, she thought with alarm. “Do you have a job?”
“Nope.” He scowled. “Don’t tell me to get one, either. I’ll find one when I’m good and ready.”
“Have you been taking your—”
“Not all the time, no.” He dropped his gaze to the wooden table between them and followed a crack with one finger. “I… I had a bad night a couple of days ago, and I took a couple extra pills. Poor choice. So I stopped taking them altogether.”
Marion was holding her breath, trying not to visualize what he’d done. She watched his finger slide across the tabletop. “And how has that been?”
He kept his gaze averted. “Let it go, Marion. I’m all right. I can do it. ’Nam was worse. Just not so cold.”
His hands were dry and cracked from living outside. She longed to reach over and warm them in hers.
“I’ll get you some warm gloves. Those ones look useless.”
“You don’t have to.”
She gave him a gentle smile, though he still wasn’t looking at her. “I may not officially be your doctor anymore, but that doesn’t mean I can’t try to take care of you.”
At last, he lifted his gaze to hers, and she saw something sad in its depths. Or was it fear? Resignation? It reminded her of when he told her how useless he felt, stuck in the hospital instead of being with his friends in the jungle, facing death.
“I wouldn’t say no to that,” he said quietly.
Her heart squeezed, hearing his pain. “You’ll be okay. I’m with you now.”
Sassy returned to the table with coffee and a plate, which she set between them on the table. “They had some groovy-looking butter cakes up at the counter, so I got us each a slice. Go ahead, Daniel. I want to hear how it is. You first.”
His mouth turned in a way that suggested he felt awkward taking the first one, but he was clearly hungry. Marion turned to Sassy, giving him privacy, and from the corner of her eye she saw him practically inhale the cake. She held her friend’s gaze, and a silent solution was agreed upon.
“That looks so good,” Marion said, reaching for a slice. “Thanks, Sassy. Are you okay? I hate that you had to go through what you did. How awful.” She took a bite, and her lips twisted. “Do you like this, Daniel? I’m sorry, Sassy. It was nice of you to buy it, but this is too sweet… I don’t like it.”
She held it out to Daniel.
“You sure?” he asked, then the slice disappeared.
Sassy happily passed hers to him as well.
“When’s the last time you ate?” Marion asked gently.
“Yesterday? The day before? I don’t remember. Doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it does,” Marion said, hurting for him. “You matter.”
“More coffee, please!” Sassy said, holding up a finger for the waitress. “And maybe some apple pie? Oh, yes. Three big slices. With ice cream, if you have it. Thank you.”
Daniel dropped his gaze, clearly embarrassed.
“I just came from Chez Monique,” Sassy said, keeping the conversation off Daniel. “I went to see Davey at work.”
“You haven’t mentioned him in a while,” Marion noted.
“No, I… I had an idea I wanted to ask him about.”
“Sassy’s been having a tough time lately.” She glanced at her friend. “Do you want to tell him?”
Sassy bit her lower lip. “My brother’s missing in Vietnam.”
Daniel straightened. “Missing? Recently? Where was he last?”
“Somewhere around Nha Trang. I’m not good at geography,” she admitted, “but I don’t think that’s a great place to be.”
He leaned back in his chair. “No, it isn’t. Who is he with?”
“He’s a marine. First Battalion, Third Marines.”
The change that came over Daniel’s expression was immediate. His whole face opened up, seeking information. “What’s his name?”
“Joey. Joey Rankin.”
Daniel froze in place, his mouth slightly open.
Marion couldn’t look away. “Daniel? What is it?”
“First Battalion, Third Marines. That’s my unit.” He swallowed and looked directly at Marion. His eye shone with a new light. “Joey’s one of my boys.”
Nobody moved, then Sassy looked directly at Marion, willing her to ask the obvious. Marion couldn’t believe what she was about to say.
“Daniel, I have something to tell you.”
He waited, staying perfectly still. In contrast, Marion was suddenly vibrating inside.
“I am going with the Red Cross to Vietnam.”
He blinked. “You’re going to ’Nam?”
“I am. But the next part’s even harder to believe. The only way they’ll let me go is if I have a bodyguard.”
Daniel was entirely focused on Marion. From the corner of her eye, Marion saw Sassy beaming.
“I’m sorry,” he said calmly, though she sensed the elation behind his neutral expression. “What, exactly, are you telling me?”
“I’m not telling you anything.” She took a deep breath, still holding his gaze. “I’m asking you.”
He lifted his chin, the quietest sort of smile coming to his lips. “Then ask.”
It was harder than she thought it would be. The absolute best thing would be for Marion to have Daniel by her side, and they both knew it. But what she was asking of him, especially after all his troubles, went way beyond—despite the fact that he wanted to go back to his unit more than anything.
“I am asking an impossible question. I know you’re ready to jump in headfirst, but I need to know something vital. Only you can answer it. Daniel, are you well enough to go with me? I would need to know I could count on you every step of the way.”
He did not leap in with an exuberant yes, as she’d half feared he would. Nor did he show uncertainty, as he had every right to do. Instead, tranquility descended upon him like a veil.
“Vietnam will do all it can to kill you, Marion. I will be your shield.”