The Details, part 2

11:35 At this point I really need some water. I have a flashback. It's sticky and sweet and red. Hawaiian Fruit Punch.  Why, why was I drinking that? Because I wanted a pinky mustache of course. 

11:45 Stop at Woodbury Deli. Aunt Donna brings me a Poland Spring and a buttered roll. Smile. 

12:00 Arrive at Huntington Hospital Emergency Room. Mother knows everyone there. Feel like a celebrity as you step out of the car and the Greeter man says, "I see a foot!" Scoff under your breath. 

12:15 You look around the waiting area of the emergency room. Lots of drinking related injuries. A few babies. A few, what you think, looks like domestic abuse cases. You overhear one man come up to woman on her cell phone. He says to her, "Is that your son in there?" She says, "Yes." He then replies, "I am a priest, may I go pray on him?" She then speaks in her cell phone and tells the person on the other line to hold on. She replies, "Uh. No you may not. Don't try to sell me nothing either." 

12:20 Go to register and the woman asks you, "And what insurance do you have?" You reply, "None." Her jaw drops. She looks at me as if to say, "Geez lady, that really SUCKS." 

12:30 Mother pushes Artic Chill Dentyne Ice into my hand. "Chew this. You reek of alcohol," she says. I take it. I'll do anything to keep my mind off the throbbing. 

12:35 A woman walks into the waiting room. She is wearing the exact same coat as my aunt, except it's in a different color. It's not a common coat. It's suede and warm and long and expensive. My aunt's is in a dark brown. This woman is wearing it in a light khaki brown. My mother says a little too loud, "Donna's coat is nicer, don't you think?" She giggles and the woman, who is big, black and has green eyes, stares me down. I say, "they both look warm."

12:40 My name is called. I am finally back where the action is. Every person I pass looks to my mother and says, "Karen, what are you doing here?" Then they look down at me, STILL IN MY GLITTERY TOP, BLACK BLAZER and TIRED EYELINER EYES.  They would say, "Oh." It happened eight times. 

12:45 After passing a man who only had two toes, I am wheeled into a corner. I NEED PAIN MEDICINE. The nurse says, "What's wrong?" I show her my deformed lower extremity. Another "Oh," comes my way. 

1:15 Still waiting. No medicine. 

1:30 Still waiting. No medicine.

1:35 I start breaking down. Crying and sobering up. 

1:40 Nurse says to me, "Okay honey, we'll give you some pain medicine. Perkaset." I say, "Are you sure, I sometimes get sick." She says, "I'm sure."

1:41 X-Ray technician comes and puts me on a stretcher and wheels me into the X-ray room. He asks me if I was drinking. I tell him I need pain medicine. He ignores my request and proceeds to twist and turn my ankle and take pictures.

1:55 Nurse comes with pain medicine. I throw my scarf over my face and wail. 

2:05 I ask everyone around me what the x in x-ray stands for. No one knows. 

2:20 Pain medicine kicks in. I feel like I am riding through the Drake Passage connecting the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern (Antarctic) oceans. 

3:00 A candy striper lady comes by and offers me a blanket. First she warms it up in the blanket warming machine. Soothing. 

3:05 Still. No one knows what the x in x-ray stands for. 

3:30 They tell me it's not broken. They say to follow up and see an orthopedic doctor. They wrap it in a cast and I ask for a puke bucket. False alarm. 

4:00 Still in Emergency room, waiting for discharge note.

4:45 Home sweet home. Grandma's house.