Intentional Walk - Part II (Conclusion)

CHAPTER 29

I sat in the back seat of the cab with Aaron and Erin Isaacs as we made our way towards St. Margaret’s Hospital and I asked them to please not mention what we had just witnessed back inside Spirit Stadium regarding Dixon’s beaning of Johnny Powers. They all have enough on their minds right now without having to worry about their other son too. Of course, they both agreed with my assessment of the situation, but Aaron thanked me nevertheless for reminding him to contain his natural exuberance and verbosity when it came to the game of baseball. Once we arrived in the Emergency Room waiting area, we quickly spotted Patty, Janet and Jenine sitting together and chatting amongst themselves.

“Any word on Todd yet?” I asked as we approached them. “No, they’re still running tests on him and trying to stabilize his condition,” Patty lamented. “Have you been able to go back to see him yet?” Erin asked. “Yes, they have been letting us go back to see him, but no more than three at a time. Mr. and Mrs. White and Miss Thelma are back there now, so you can go see him when they come out,” Patty suggested, as her voice filled with emotion and she began to sob. Janet and Jenine were at either side of Patty and they did their best to console her while also desperately trying to control their own emotional state. None of us spoke because we could see that Patty was way too emotional to be able to continue speaking. Erin, Aaron and I took a seat nearby and remained silent until we could see the color returning to Patty’s cheeks.

“Thanks everyone, for being so thoughtful!” Patty said, as she forced herself to smile. “I’m just so worried about Todd! He’s so cute and I hope...,” her voiced trailed off, as she once again became overwhelmed with emotion. “Don’t y’all worry, honey!” Janet began, “If that child is half as tough as his big brother, he’ll be fine before you know it!” “That’s right, Patty!” Jenine assured her. “That little guy has had to be one tough hombre just to get by from day-to-day! So whatever this is that’s got him sick at the moment had better not plan on getting the best of little Todd White!” We all chimed in and agreed with Jenine and that seemed to help Patty regain control of her emotional state once again.

“Thanks everyone! I’ll be fine!” she assured us with a brave smile. We once again found ourselves sitting there silently and the thought occurred to me that I hadn’t checked in with my boss, C. W. Perry, back at the Pittsburgh Gazette for several days, so I excused myself and found a phone booth in an adjacent hallway and dialed him up at home. “Perry residence!” the friendly female voice at the other end of the line spoke. “Is Mr. Perry home?”, I inquired. “I believe so,” she said. “May I ask who is calling?” “Yes, tell him it’s Ray Gorman.”, I instructed. “One moment please.” After a minute or two, his familiar voice resounded into the receiver. “Hello, Ray! How the hell are ya! Are you watching this Yankees game?”, my editor inquired. “No, C.W., I’m not, but I wish I were!”, I lamented. “They’re getting their asses kicked by the Tigers, 9-1. It’s an ugly game though. They’ve had a bench-clearing brawl and both teams have been warned to cut out the chin-music!” C. W. Perry explained. “It sounds like a helluva game, C.W., but I’ve got my hands full down here in Spartansburg.”, I began to explain.

“Oh, by the way, Ray, I read your piece this morning before I headed out for my round of golf and you really are to be commended!” the Senior Editor gushed. “Thanks, sir!”, I humbly replied. “I have to admit that I had my doubts about your idea to follow this Dixon White character around on his baseball odyssey, but you really are onto something here, buddy! Our circulation is up fifteen percent since your first article was published and I’m willing to bet that this article adds another ten percent or so! Great job, Ray!” he concluded. “Thanks, C.W., for the kind words, but you need to give yourself at least half the credit because you had enough faith in me to allow me to pursue this assignment, so great job back atcha.”, I sincerely commended my boss. “Thanks, Ray, it’s my pleasure to work with such a pro!” he acknowledged. “So what can I do for you today?”

“Well, I just wanted to update you on what’s been going on down here.” I began to explain. “As you know, Dixon is expecting the call from the Yankees practically any minute now, but meanwhile, a few other things have occurred.” “What other things?” Mr. Perry demanded. “Well, for one thing, Dixon beaned an opposing player during this afternoon’s game and I think that he hurt him pretty badly.” I explained. No sooner had I done so, than I noticed a commotion back down the hallway towards the Emergency Room and watched as Johnny Powers was rushed into the E.R. by the paramedics. “Holy shit, Ray! I hope that that doesn’t blow his chances with the Yankees!” Mr. Perry said, considering that to be a real possibility. “I hope not too, C.W., but that’s not the only thing that’s going on down here today Boss.” I explained.

“Jesus, Ray, what else did he do, get drunk and molest the local police chief’s daughter?” C. W. conjectured, somewhat sarcastically. “No, it’s nothing like that.” I explained. “It’s Dixon’s little brother, Todd. He was rushed from the game in an ambulance and I’m here at the hospital now, waiting to hear about his prognosis.” “You mean that you didn’t stay at the ballpark and cover the beaning of an opposing player by your golden boy, Dixon White?” the chief editor fumed. “That’s correct, sir. I left the ballpark and came here because...”, but before I could finish my response, my editor cut me off. “God damn it, Ray! We have you down there to cover baseball, Ray, not to play wet-nurse to some snotty nosed crippled kid!” Perry chastised. “Well sir, I had to make a judgment call and I thought that being here was more important,” I reasoned.

“Are you sure that you aren’t getting too close to this Dixon character and forgetting what your real job is Ray, to report on his baseball exploits?” he demanded of me. “There’s more to baseball than balls and strikes, C.W.! The whole reason that Dixon is here in the first place has to do with Todd, so I’ll stand by my decision and let the chips fall where they may,” I asserted. “Well, you damn well better get our readers filled in on the baseball aspect of today’s events too, Ray, and not just on his brother’s medical condition!” Mr. Perry insisted. “I will, C.W., you can rest assured on that,” I declared. “You had better!” he said, before abruptly hanging up.