'Hear what? I've had my head in this party all summer.'
'They found a weapons cache in the Asian kid's room at Notre Dame. The cans of Vienna Sausage were filled with explosives headed to our soldiers.'
'You're shittin' me,' Rudy said.
'Maybe I'm not as crazy as people here think,' I said. Rudy and I quietly watched fifty basset hounds run crazy all over his party, scavenging gourmet food, swimming in his pool, and dunking their heads in crystal serving bowls.
'Maybe, maybe not,' Rudy said.
48
It wasn't long after Kelley showed up and I got to meet his girlfriend, the conservation cop. He let me know Karl was fine; he'd lost a bit of blood but fortunately, he didn't take the full force from the shotgun. He also reported Karl didn't beat any orderlies up and seemed remarkably at peace during the whole process. Maybe the hospital staff ran out of tracking microchips.
'I know plenty of people in the dog rescue business,' Kim said after we got introduced, and she took out her cell phone. It was after two in the morning and the three of us stood at the entrance to Rudy's watching the hounds sleeping peacefully on his once finely manicured lawns.
'Kim, you do know it's after two in the morning, right?' I said.
She smiled. 'You've never met people in the dog rescue business have you?'
Within an hour, five people had arrived, and each said they had two or three other folks that would 'foster' some hounds. Like some sort of canine UNICEF they came, rounded up the dogs, and let me know what a great guy I was for having the courage to storm the puppy mill.
I shook my head and smiled, mostly to myself.
'It wasn't me, trust me,' I said.
They looked at me kind of funny, but they were busy rounding up the bassets.
The main rescue woman's name was Heather and she came over to shake my hand.
'You will not be forgotten in hound circles,' she said.
'Somehow that fits,' I said.
'Is there anything we can do for you?' I thought for a second and although a voice inside me said I was nuts, I had learned to ignore that voice most of my life. Recently, I think I've gotten even better at not paying attention to it.
'Yeah, there is. Would it be okay if Gladys and her kids came home with me?'
'I can't think of a better home for them.' She smiled and then spontaneously hugged me. I reached in my pocket and gave her the money I got from Heimi.
'What's this?' she said.
'For your expenses. You'll need it.' Kelley was smiling and so was Kim.
'You have some interesting friends, Mike,' she said. No one called him 'Mike.'
'Yeah, I know,' Kelley said, looking at me. He looked down and lightly kicked at the grass. 'Hey Duff?' I looked at Kelley.
'I owe you an apology. I'm sorry for not believing you.'
'Kell, you don't have to apologize. I was off my rocker and probably still am. Some of this shit's going to be with me for a while. Just because everything worked out doesn't mean I'm not a little-or a lot-fucked up,' I said.
The next afternoon I got up, after sleeping right through to noon. I didn't remember dreaming and I barely remembered going to sleep. Gladys and the TCB Band-my name for the kids, after Elvis' backing group-slept on the floor. She seemed worn out, but otherwise okay.
I called Trina after a couple of cups of coffee.
'I don't know if I said 'Thanks'.'
'I'm just glad you made it okay,' she said.
'Tomorrow she'll fire me for sure,' I said. 'But, you know, it might be time, and a couple of months with nothing to do might be good for the mental health.'
'Duff, the place needs you and I think you need it. You could still get in there and get caught up on the paperwork. You've done it before, you can do it again.'
'Not today, Trinie baby. Not after what I've been through. Not this time.'
The other end of the phone got quiet and I heard a sniffle or two.
'Hey, you doing anything today? I could use a hand with something.'
'You always need a hand with something,' she said. I told Trina to come over in about an hour and she did. She had on her 501s, a man's white T-shirt, and a pair of Adidas running shoes. Her hair still a little wet smelled of her plum conditioner.
I told her of my plan and she just shook her head.
'All of them?'
'Can you think of a better home for them?' I said.
'Well, actually, no.'
We loaded the car up and Al sat in the back. At the hospital I commandeered a wheel chair and put the box on the seat.
'Looky who's here!' the world's cheeriest receptionist said. Al walked with his mother and didn't sprint over to spelunk this time.
'This is Al's mom and his brothers and sisters,' I pulled the blanket off the box. I put my index finger up to my lips. 'No one has to know, right?' I gave her my best wink. I got a wink back, and we headed up the elevator. Karl slept. He had an IV in and a monitor kept his pulse and blood pressure. I was about to touch him lightly on the arm when Al shook the walls of the hospital with the world's most effective alarm clock sound.
Karl's eyes fluttered and he came around. He shook his head a little bit and smiled down at Al and Gladys.
'She made it?' He grinned. 'Thank God, she made it.'
'Karl, I got something for you.' He looked confused and I motioned to Trina.
She lifted the box onto his lap gently and took off the towel. The puppies peeped a little bit.
'Oh…oh my…oh my God.' He started to cry. 'They made it?'
'Every single one of them,' I said.
Karl picked up each puppy, kissing everyone one of them. His tears ran into their mushy faces.
'Oh my God…' Karl kept repeating.
I looked at Trina and she was crying. I felt my eyes well up. Karl sat oblivious. He just talked to his new friends. I let him do it without interruption for awhile.
'Hey Karl, buddy?'
'Yeah, Duffy?' he said without looking up at me.
'They're going to need homes, you know.' He finally looked at me.
'Gladys, too.'
He stared at me and his jaw hung open.
'You mean…' Karl said
'I can't think of a more appropriate home.'
'You mean…I get to…'
'Yeah, Karl, you do.'
'But, I don't, I'm not sure…'
'You…and your family can stay at the Blue until you get your own place.'
'You mean I can still live with you and Al?'
'…and Gladys and the entire TCB Band.'
'Shit, Duffy, you really are crazy,' Karl said.
