Revelation by Michael Mancini: Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Mind Over Matter

The faint odor of institutional disinfectant penetrated Michael’s nose as he lingered in state of semi-consciousness.  His olfactory senses were slightly more sensitive than most, which rewarded him with wonderful memories at times.  Unfortunately, distasteful odors would bring forth unpleasant emotions as poignantly as pleasant ones.  The chemical odors caused Michael’s mind to spawn nightmare images of six months wasted in jail many years ago.   In his late teens and early twenties, Michael had the uncanny knack of finding himself is a great deal of trouble and he suffered the consequences of a rebellious youth. 

His hidden mental scars resurfaced repeatedly as his eyes darted back and forth beneath his flickering eyelids.  Images of cold steel bars and grayish hues of painted concrete defaced with black ink graffiti haunted him.  The myriad of aspiring prisoner artists confined in the cell before him not only marred the walls, they left a mark of despair on his heart.  Hotel staff took painstaking measures to eradicate evidence of past habitation in their guest rooms.  Michael’s jailors wanted him agonizingly aware of former prisoner confinement.  Somehow it made his release seem beyond reach and the graffiti paid homage to his confinement.  He was rarely cognizant of the mental scars the traumatic experience left and they resurfaced at the most inconvenient times.

His dreams of jail gave way to even more disturbing images.  They melded into a nightmare so severe Michael’s eyes began to tear.  He never experienced such realistic terror before.  Even though he was slightly aware of his slumber, it felt as if the events were unfolding in real time.  He watched helplessly as images of his own mortality were exploited.  A tall thin figure of a man, barely recognizable, beat him senseless.  Bright red blood flowed from his nose and mouth profusely.  It spilled out across the front of the grey, one piece, workman overalls he wore in the dream.  Both of his eyes were blackened from repeated beating.  He was barely able to open his blood filled lids due to swelling.  His hands were bound behind his back where he sat tied to a wooden chair.

The gruesome scene played out in what seemed like a large, beautifully decorated dining room of sorts.  Crisp white linen, fine Waterford crystal and Tiffany silver adorned the round table in the center of the vast room.  The vivid and loud sound of classical music rang in his ears.  It seemed to come from all angles as it engulfed him.

As the Intermezzo from "Cavalleria Rusticana" played prominently, its solemn harmony was punctuated by the loud crack of a boney fist against his flesh each time he was struck.  Blood dripped from the knuckles of the thin man who beat him as a group of well dressed and affluent onlookers applauded with each blow Michael received.  Barely visible through his bloodied eyes, he made out ten figures in all excluding the man who repeatedly beat him.  All the faces were unknown to him but were eerily familiar.  Just as it seemed he couldn’t bear the agony any longer, the beating stopped.  In single file each one of the onlookers left the room in a solemn fashion.  The dream faded.

“Something’s wrong.” she said as she watched his eyes flickering.  The light blue pastel skirt and turquoise leather sandals Kalina wore accentuated her long and defined tan legs as she stood over Michael’s hospital bed.  It hung loosely around her upper thighs and rested lightly on her buttocks hinting at the mystery of her beauty beneath the clinging silk.

“He’s tearing Shaw, look.” her long, thick, shiny black hair fell across her delicate face as she looked down at Michael lying helplessly in the hospital bed.  She knew how much Michael loved her fragrant thick mane of hair and hoped he was pleased to see it when he regained his consciousness.  Often, at night, when the two would lay together watching television, Michael would run his fingers though the long luxurious strands making, slow combing motions for hours.  It comforted her deeply and she missed it terribly while she stared at him lying in the hospital bed.

“What do you think he is dreaming about?” she whispered allowed.  She began to tear herself but fought to remain stoic.  She was a strong woman not easily jarred, but seeing the man she loved in this condition wreaked havoc on her.  The ever-present green sparkle in her eye was missing, compromised by a lack of sleep and distress.  She needed him to wake up and soon.  Life without him would be unbearable.  She wiped the tear from her delicate cheek so Shaw couldn’t see it.

As she leaned over the railing at Michael’s bedside, Shaw could see the faint outline of her thong underwear beneath it.  He quickly averted his eyes when he realized he was staring at her.  It made him uncomfortable when his masculine side sometimes over shadowed his gentlemen like persona.  His love for Michael had extended to his wife Kalina and baby daughter Victoria.  Many good years had been shared between Shaw and the Raphael family.  His emotions for Kalina more closely resembled that of a sibling relationship than anything else.  In turn, he felt as if little Victoria was his own niece.  The feelings were accentuated each time Vixy called him “Uncle” representing the closeness of the relationship.  Unfortunately he found it difficult at times not to steal a glimpse of Michael’s young and beautiful wife.  She had that effect on men.  What made her even more attractive is that she was truly oblivious to her charms.  Her modesty was profound.  The infrequent peek never manifested to fantasy but male programming is sometimes difficult to control.  The incident caused him to chuckle to himself.  The age difference was almost twenty years between them but he never met a woman as mature, centered and honest as Kalina.  She truly was Michael’s saving grace.

“Don’t worry, he’ll wake up.”  Shaw tried his best to ease Kalina’s concern as he delicately placed his hand over hers and stared down at his best friend.  The gold wedding ring on her finger matched Michael’s.  She had picked them out five years ago and she never took it off.  Her left hand grasped the cold tubular stainless steel bed rail while she held Victoria at her right hip.

“Soon Shaw, I hope its soon.” she whispered as she glanced at the gold St. Christopher medallion around Michael’s neck.  “It’s been unbearable not knowing what he is feeling or thinking.” “I feel helpless and I hate it.” Her lips tightened and she gritted her teeth in frustration.  The definition in her jaw line became pronounced as she raised her eyes to meet Shaw’s.  “He’s never done something like this before.”  “I don’t know what came over him.”

“Me either Keeks.”  Shaw replied.  “I know he’s not one to put himself out for other people but he’s a good man, so maybe instinct kicked in and he reacted without thinking.” Shaw raised his left eyebrow involuntarily as the words left his mouth.

Kalina’s brow wrinkled with concern as she spoke.  “I’m sure he never would have deliberately put himself in harms way, but I just can’t stand looking at him like this Shaw.”  “It scares me to think of life without him.”  Kalina looked back down at Michael and placed her hand on his chest.  Her fingernails were short and well manicured painted “summer coral” to match her pedicure.  The color played nicely opposite the golden glow of Kalina’s tan.  Michael loved Kalina’s beautiful hands and feet.  It was one of the physical attributes he always complimented her on.  Just prior to the tragic event, Michael, Kalina and Victoria spent a wonderful, sun drenched, ten days in Nassau.  The Bahamas was Michael’s favorite place to steal away.  He had visited the island frequently as a bachelor and now loved to take his family there.  He became so familiar with the Caribbean island he even developed some close friendships with some of the natives.

Victoria began squirming and moaning.  She wanted her mother to put her down so she could explore the room.  Her constant inquisitiveness was getting the best of her and her mother knew it so she placed her gently on the floor so she could move about the room.

Bright sunlight illuminated bunches of brightly colored flowers on the hospital window sill.  They stood witness to Michael’s heroic event.  Mylar balloons and a box of cigars sat next to them patiently waiting for him to regain his health.  A small note that accompanied the gift simply read, “Get well Michael, NYC loves you”.  It was signed by the Mayor of New York and no doubt was sent to take advantage of the photo opportunity that would come after he woke up.

Vixy walked around the bed to the small side table and opened the drawers to investigate what was inside.  She grasped the comb in her tiny hands and removed it quickly along with several clean pillow cases, one at a time, discarding them on the floor at her little feet.  Her curiosity was endless.  Since she was able to point her finger, anything within her view was fair game.  Right around her first birthday a ritual began with her father.  Michael would spend hours carrying her around their home while she pointed at things she could not reach from the floor.  She loved to delicately touch the items over and over again.  No matter how many times she felt them, she hungered for more.  Colorful pictures hanging on the wall were here favorite items to touch.  The colors and shapes attracted her and she was curious to discover how they felt.  As she removed a small plastic cup and plastic straws from the bedside drawer, Kalina walked over to show her how to put them back where they belong.

She squatted next to Victoria and began speaking calmly and nicely to her.

“Put them back now hunny.” She said in a tone only a mother of endless patients could deliver.  Another of Kalina’s natural attributes was an innate talent for raising children, especially her own.

As they returned the items to the bedside table drawer, the floor nurse walked into the room.  She was dressed in hospital green scrubs and wore yellow Crocks on her feet that made a funny sound on the spotless floor in the ICU.  Vixy was instantly drawn to the sounds and immediately noticed the fluffy red socks the nurse was wearing visible through the many holes in the shoes.  She looked down at her own feet and saw her red socks protruding above the ankle line of her tiny sneakers.  Her little sneakers were red and white to match the red polka dot skirt her mother dressed her in this morning.  Kalina loved to dress Vixy up in cute little outfits.  She had thousands of pictures saved in digital format to prove it.  Kalina photo chronicled every moment of Vixy’s life.  Sometimes, for the many hours they spent at home while Michael worked, Kalina would try several outfits on Vixy and have photos sessions with her Canon EOS digital camera.  She loved to post them on Facebook for everyone to see and felt proud of her beautiful little daughter.  She wanted everyone she knew to experience the joy she did when she looked at her little girl.

“How’s our hero doing this morning?”  The nurse grabbed the medical chart hanging on the clip board at the foot of Michael’s hospital bed.  She looked down at Vixy and smiled.  “And how’s the little princess?”  “That’s a beautiful dress.” She declared in a childlike tone.  She glanced approvingly at Kalina.  “That’s a very cute outfit.”  She said as she smiled.  She looked back down at Vixy who was now soaking up the attention.  “I especially like the color of your socks.”  “They’re just like mine see?”  She pointed down at the dots of red showing through her shoes.  Vixy noticed the similarity even before the nurse pointed it out and repeated the word “see?”  The nurse smiled and turned her attention to the patient chart.

Past middle age and obviously a seasoned professional, the mother-of-pearl name tag pinned to the pocket of her scrubs read, “Barbara Mangini, RN”.  The hospital only allowed veteran staff to attend ICU patients, especially the quasi famous ones.  It was delicate work dealing with patients on the razors edge of life and death.  From a liability standpoint it was better to be safe than sorry.

She stood a stout five foot tall and looked as emotionally scared as a field medic with battle fatigue.  Decades of personal care for her patients had engraved a “care-worn” look to her appearance.  Her salt and pepper hair was neatly tied up in a bun crowning her head.  Deep set wrinkles about her face and neck were evident.  A never ending stream of worried loved ones visited the ICU daily and Barbara had developed a profoundly caring touch and a pleasant smile which suited the environment perfectly.  She was genuine, personal and heartfelt as she explained the seriousness of the situation to them and took great pride in her work.

“Well, we are showing some marked improvement here.” she stated auspiciously.  She continued to make notations on the chart.  Pleased and visibly surprised at Michael’s progress she looked at Shaw and Kalina earnestly.

“I must admit, he is progressing much faster than we had expected.” “He lost a great deal of blood.” she continued.  “He was in very serous condition when he came in last night.”  She looked directly at Kalina.  Knowing instantly what she was experiencing from the look on her face she flashed a smile.  “He is still sedated but we have discontinued the sedative so he should be waking up soon”.

“Thank you Barbara.”  “I really appreciate your candor.”  Kalina said sincerely.

“You’ve been wonderful these past twelve hours.” She looked down at Michael.  He was still in REM.

“Well, my shift is over so I will say my goodbyes to you all.”  She knelt down to Vixy’s level.  “Especially you princess.”  Vixy was peeking from behind her mommy’s leg doing her best to appear shy.  A clean but crumpled pillow case still rested on the floor at her feet.

“Thank you for all your help Barbara.” Shaw said an authoritative “cop like” tone in his voice.  It was a habit he barely even noticed.  Years of police work gave Shaw certain mannerisms that hinted at his profession constantly.  His job was hard to mistake when one witnessed his conduct and clean cut, immaculate presentation.

“I hate to say this, but I hope I won’t see you again for my next shift.”  Barbara said back.  She smiled, crossed her fingers on both of her hands and held them out in front of her in an obvious gesture of hope.  “Take care now.”  She turned and left the room.

Vixy was fixated on the sound from her shoes and followed her to the door.  Kalina called after her.

“Vix, come here hunny.  She has to go baby.” she said gently.

Vixy looked up at her mother over her delicate little shoulder and flashed her sparkling green eyes.  She obeyed and toddled over to her mommy.   As she made her way across the room, she noticed something about her daddy.  “Look.” She muttered as she pointed at her father with her little finger.

Michael squinted as he tried to adjust his eyes to the brightness of the room.  He inadvertently yanked on the intravenous tube hanging from his hand as raised it to rub the bruise on his brow.

“Christ.  What a headache.” he muttered.  His voice was dry and horse.

“Michael!” “Thank God!”  Kalina darted towards the bed.

Shaw approached with a relieved look on his face.  “What’s up Jackass?” he inquired sarcastically.  “What the hell made you decided to get all righteous on us there buddy?”

“What happened?” Michael asked.

“What happened?” Shaw said furrowing his eyebrows.  “You ruined a perfectly good night out!” Shaw ribbed Michael but confusion overshadowed the comedy.

“Really.” Michael said sarcastically as he felt the bruise on his head.

“Are you serious?” “You really don’t remember what happened buddy?” Shaw expressed concern.

“No.” “The last thing I remember was leaving you guys to get my cell phone from Cormac”.  His confusion was evident and genuine.

“Really?”  Shaw shot a concerned glance at Kalina.

“Really.  I don’t remember a thing. How many times you want me to repeat it?” Michael said slightly irritated.

“Shit, you’re a virtual hero buddy.” Shaw walked up to the bed opposite Kalina and shot a look at her.

“Babe, just relax, it will come back to you.” Kalina reassured him.  “It will just take some time.”

Michael’s heart monitor indicated a sharp increase in his heart rate.  The chime of an alarm could be heard coming from the nurse’s station in the distance.

“Hero!”  “What the hell do you mean hero?”  As Michael asked the question in astonishment, a shift nurse appeared to find out why his heart rate increased so dramatically.

“Is everything alright.” she asked politely as she poked her head in the doorway.

“Yeah, its fine, um, he’s fine” Kalina stammered. “He just woke up and became a little confused that’s all.”

“Okay, let me grab the doctor so he can check in with him.” said the nurse, and took her leave to find Michael’s physician.