“Uh, good,” I stammered. “Bastardo says hello.”
She patted a stool next to her. I sat.
Cori leaned in and whispered, “Look, Deck, I know this is a lot, but I wasn’t sure what to do. I thought I could just have you play my husband today to get you back here, but apparently, one of the nurses needed to make a thing. So I had to put your name on some forms, and you’re now officially listed as Johnny’s brother-in-law. I also added you as an emergency contact, after me. I hope that’s okay.”
“Yeah…um, yeah, I’m happy to do that. I want to help.”
“I know you do. Whatever’s going on in your head right now, I know you love Johnny,” she stated plainly. “I don’t want to be the only one listed for him, just in case something goes wrong and I’m not available, or someone needs to decide… You get it.”
I nodded.
“It shouldn’t be a big deal. Just remember we’re married and you live in Seattle with me. I doubt they’ll notice much beyond that. Although with how that one nurse was giving me the stink-eye, she may ask us to produce a marriage license.” At my look of panic, she groaned. “I’m kidding, Deck, jeez. If it comes to anything like that, I’ll come clean. For now, we’re good, right?”
“Sure,” I mumbled, feeling the heat of her knee inching close to mine.
“Cori?” Johnny’s eyes fluttered open as his voice croaked. “Deck?”
“We’re here, Johnny—” Cori started at the same time I said, “Hey, Bro.”
His eyes bounced back and forth between the two of us. “’Bout time you two were in the same room,” he ground out slowly, his words a hoarse whisper. “I told Deck it was a dick move to—”
Johnny stopped speaking abruptly as his face turned green and his chest began rising and falling rapidly. I realized what he needed just in time to grab a small plastic tub nearby, coming around to the other side of his bed so I could help him leanover and retch into it, taking care not to tug on the IV or other wires taped to his chest. What came up was nasty, and Johnny’s shoulders shook with his efforts. It took a minute for him to finish and roll back against his upright mattress. He ended the episode by spitting a few times into the tub. Cori produced a tiny cup of water, which he used to rinse out his mouth before also spitting that into the container. The room immediately reeked with the acrid smell of vomit. Cori placed the tub on the floor and pushed it as far toward the door as it could go without actually being in the hallway.
She and I moved our stools to opposite sides of Johnny’s bed. His eyes closed again, but I didn’t think he’d gone back to sleep. Cori balanced her head in her hands, resting her elbows on her knees.
“The nurses said that might happen,” she said, pointing one finger toward the tub. “They also mentioned he’d be in and out of it when he first woke up.”
I nodded, watching silently as she slipped one of her delicate, perfectly manicured hands into Johnny’s grimy one, pulling it to her mouth to lay a kiss on his dirty fingers.
Mamá was right. If we were actually going to help Johnny, we’d need to work together. As a team. Or pretend husband and wife.
A few minutes later, an older man came into the room and introduced himself as Dr. Alvarez.
“Well, Mr. Raney, how are you feeling?”
I immediately liked him. He addressed Johnny with respect. As an ex-con, I was sensitive to the way some people talked down to those they felt were beneath them.
Johnny cracked one eye open. “Honestly, Doc, I’ve been better.”
Dr. Alvarez gave him the courtesy of a smile, and Cori looked relieved to see a trace of the charmer her brother could be.
“Well, it’s true you could be better. You need to understand that you’re a lucky man. If your sister and brother-in-law hadn’t brought you in yesterday, you would likely have died.”
Johnny rolled his head toward me at the “brother-in-law,” and I made wide eyes, willing him to play along. He was no dummy, smirking as he said to the doctor, “Yeah, mybrother-in-lawis the best. I’m always going on and on about what a greatbrother-in-lawI have. I even got him a mug last Christmas that saidWorld’s Best Brother-in-Lawon it.”
Luckily, we could dismiss anything Johnny said as the rantings of someone who was still high.
Dr. Alvarez cleared his throat, sitting down on a third rolling stool next to Cori. “Mr. Raney, may I call you Johnny?”
“I definitely prefer it to Mr. Raney.”
The doctor chuckled. “Fair enough. Okay, Johnny, we should discuss your test results, and what needs to happen moving forward. Are you okay with your family members staying in the room?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
Johnny seemed more alert now. Dr. Alvarez looked at Cori and me. At his demeanor, alarm bells started going off in my head.
The doctor directed his attention back to Johnny. “The truth of the matter is, this is more than just an incident of accidental overdose. Yesterday, your system was struggling to digest a cocktail of meth, MDMA, and heroin, not to mention alcohol. If I ask you questions about your drug use, will you answer honestly?”
