Cross Dressing (33 page)

Dan picked Alissa up and consoled her. She was bruised, inside and out. When Ruben came over, Alissa climbed into his arms and laid her head on his big brown shoulder. Ruben rocked her gently side to side, all the while wishing he could get his hands on her father.

None of them noticed the squat black truck that had slithered to a stop at the end of the driveway. Razor Boy and Charlie Freak recognized Dan’s VW bus from their neighbors’ descriptions. The two had come to respond to the lack of respect they’d been shown.

Sister Peg and Dan followed Ruben as he walked back
toward the front of the Care Center. They were thirty feet from the front door when Ruben saw the truck. He continued walking, hoping it didn’t mean what he feared. The moment he saw the black windows gliding down, however, he knew it did. He knew what was going to happen, but with Alissa in his arms, Ruben couldn’t sign a warning. All he could do was try to get Alissa to a safe place and hope that Sister Peg and Dan recognized panic when they saw it.

The air suddenly moved with the booming thunder of the truck’s three-hundred-watt stereo. The deafening roar drew Sister Peg’s and Dan’s attention, but it would take them a few seconds to understand what was about to happen. Ruben turned to run, intentionally hitting Dan to get his attention. Dan watched as Ruben dove for cover behind a tree.

It happened in a matter of seconds. Sister Peg and Dan knew something was wrong, but by the time they recognized the modern plague that was about to be visited upon them, it was too late. He reached for Sister Peg’s hand to pull her to the ground, but the automatic weapons were already demanding respect at a very high rate of fire. Everything became fragments of time, sight, and sound. Sister Peg made a noise like someone had punched her in the stomach. Something warm splashed on Dan’s cheek. They were on the ground, dust mixed with blood. They kept moving. He looked over and saw Sister Peg’s face. She looked more surprised than hurt. Glass shattered. Alissa was crying. Two more shots were fired and Dan pressed his face hard to the ground. The thunder stopped suddenly and someone yelled something in Spanish. Tires squealed and it was over as quickly as it had begun.

Ruben scrambled to his feet and tried to calm Alissa. Neither had been hurt. Dan thought Sister Peg was right next to him, but when he lifted his head, he saw her several yards to his left. She was biting her lip; a bloody hand clutched her
shoulder. He crawled over to her and looked for the wounds. “I can’t get my breath,” she said.

D
espite the pressure Dan had applied to the wound, Sister Peg had lost a lot of blood by the time the paramedics arrived. She was blinking slowly. Her mouth was dry and she responded to questions with one-word answers. “Hurts.” “Tired.” “Don’t.” The paramedics were pumping her full of fluids in an attempt to fend off the collapse of her capillary and venous beds. Dan heard one of the paramedics say something about hypovolemic shock. There was talk of decreased cardiac output and cerebral blood flow. The translation came when Sister Peg lost consciousness and they loaded her into the ambulance.

There were a dozen cops on the scene by the time the ambulance left. Dan told them what happened and he identified the shooters as Razor Boy and Charlie Freak. The shock of the drive-by was bad enough, but he couldn’t get over the sight of Sister Peg, bloody and unconscious. The more he imagined her lying on the ground, struggling to breathe, the angrier he got. Dan stopped one of the cops and said something to the effect of wanting the scumbags tracked down and executed on the street. The cop said nothing would please him more, but they didn’t know where to find the suspects.

“Why don’t you start by looking at their house!” Dan screamed.

The cop shrugged and said a unit had already been dispatched to Razor Boy’s last known address. No one was there. “Apparently someone drove a car into their living room the other day,” the cop said. “We don’t know where they’re staying now.”

Dan tried to act surprised at the news. “Someone drove a
car into their house?” Dan crossed himself. “What’s this world coming to?”

The cop took off his hat and wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Father, do you have any idea why they’d target you guys for a drive-by?” He put his hat back on.

Dan shook his head and looked as mystified as he could. “No rhyme. No reason,” he said. He threw his arms up existentially. “They’re just animals.” The cop didn’t argue. He just walked off.

A vaguely familiar voice came from behind him. “Father?” Dan turned and saw Larry Sturholm walking toward him, his suit shining in the sun. Dan wondered what brought the would-be king of the strip mall out to the Care Center. He knew better than to think Larry came bearing tidings of joy. Maybe he had come to brag about landing a video porn outlet for his efficiency retail commerce center. “What happened?” Larry asked, more curious than concerned.

Dan told him about the drive-by “They just took her to the hospital,” he said.

Larry listened, nodding and making appropriate facial expressions. “Man,” he said, “that’s a tough break. She’s going to be all right, I hope.” He rubbed his hands together. “Anyway, we finally got the good news. We got the zoning variance we needed, so you guys need to be cleared out by the end of next week. I hope that’s not a problem.” Larry turned and walked to his car. Before getting in, he turned back to Dan. “Oh, Father, I almost forgot. I’m having a tough time finding you a new place, a real seller’s market, you know. I’ll give a call if something pops.”

J
osie had been in a lot of beds in her time and she had done things in more positions than a gymnast, but right now, perched precariously on the pillows at the head of an
adjustable bed, she was afraid someone might get hurt. “It’s not easy doin’ it on just one side,” she said. “Was that too hard?”

“It was perfect,” Sister Peg said. She torqued her neck to the left until it popped. “Ahhhh.” She rolled her head around in a circle, wincing when she stretched her wounded muscles.

Josie hopped out of the bed and rearranged the pillows so Peg could lean back. “Relax,” she said.

Sister Peg closed her eyes and tried taking a deep breath, but she couldn’t. Her right arm was in a sling, and the top of her rib cage was wrapped, binding her and making a deep breath impossible. A tube ran into her left arm and another one was scooted up her nose. Razor Boy’s bullet had hit her from behind, around the shoulder blade. It chipped the edge of her scapula and fractured a rib before nicking the upper lobe of her lung. The bullet caused significant soft-tissue damage before exiting through her right deltoid. Sister Peg opened her eyes and looked at her throbbing shoulder. “Take my advice,” she said. “Avoid getting shot if at all possible. It really hurts.”

Josie smiled unevenly, then pulled an envelope from her back pocket. She looked nervous as she held it up. She looked at the floor, then at Sister Peg. “I got tested, like you asked.” Sister Peg lifted her head. She couldn’t tell if Josie’s crooked smile was ironic or anxious. She assumed the letter contained the results of a blood test. Peg prayed it wasn’t Josie’s death warrant. “I made a deal with God,” Josie said. She seemed embarrassed to admit it. “I swore I’d quit working and come help you if I came back negative.” As she talked, Josie saw the fear creep into Sister Peg’s sweet eyes. Josie reached down and took her hand. “I hope you’re still hiring.”

Sister Peg let her head sink back into the pillows. “Thank God,” she said, squeezing Josie’s hand. “I’d jump up and hug you if this tube wasn’t jammed up my nose.” Sister Peg felt a blessed relief. She had seen too many strangers die of AIDS.
She didn’t have the strength to watch a friend go that way. “Only problem is, we might not be in business much longer.”

Josie nodded. She knew the story. “We’ll figure something out,” she said. What else could she say?

Sister Peg warmed at Josie’s optimism until a cold thought occurred. “What were you going to do if you were positive?”

Josie shrugged. “Same as everybody, I guess.”

During the silence that followed, there was a gentle knock at the door. Sister Peg and Josie looked over and saw a modest bouquet of flowers peeking around the corner. “You decent?” a voice asked.

“Come on in, Father,” Sister Peg said.

He stepped into the room. “This where they bring all the shot-up nuns?” He looked at Peg and smiled. Then he saw Josie. He didn’t want to stare, but she was wearing tight jeans and a T-shirt that demanded his attention. Dan wondered if Josie was one of Peg’s nun friends. Perhaps she belonged to an order that shunned bras.

“Josie, this is Father Michael,” Peg said. “Father, this is my friend Josie.”

“Sister?” Dan ventured weakly.

“Masseuse,” she said, handing Dan a card. “Call me. I give clergy discounts.”

Dan blinked once, like a stunned frog, then turned his attention to Sister Peg. “How’re you feeling?”

“I’ll be okay,” she said. “They’ll release me in a couple of days. I’m just praying Sturholm doesn’t get his variance before I’m out of here.”

“Amen,” Dan said. He decided not to tell Sister Peg about Larry Sturholm’s visit. She’d find out soon enough, and in the meanwhile, Dan hoped to stumble across a solution.

“How’s Alissa?” Sister Peg asked.

“She’s okay. My mom’s sort of adopted her,” he said. “They seem to need each other.”

The door opened again and a nurse breezed in carrying a small tray. “Time for your shot, Sister,” she said. The nurse doused a cotton ball with alcohol. “Show me that hip.” She reached to pull the sheet down, but Sister Peg stopped her. “Is there a problem?” the nurse asked.

Sister Peg looked to Dan, who was watching intently. “Uh, Father, do you mind?”

Dan looked up, smiling sheepishly. “Oh … sorry.” He turned away and stared at the television set mounted on the wall. The TV wasn’t on, but there were images on the screen nonetheless. The reflection gave Dan a perfect view of everything. Talk about your must-see TV. The nurse uncapped the loaded syringe, then pulled back the sheet. Sister Peg rolled onto her side, yielding access to the squishy part of her hip.

Dan couldn’t believe his eyes. He wondered if he gasped out loud or if he managed to keep it to himself. He blinked hard, inching closer to the television, hoping for better focus. Maybe the light was playing tricks in the reflection. Surely he didn’t see what he thought he saw. Josie noticed Dan staring at the television and immediately realized he could see everything. Her main concern wasn’t that a priest shouldn’t see a nun’s leg, but rather how the priest would react to seeing it. They made eye contact in the reflection. Josie turned away first, but she knew that he knew.

“Better say good-bye now, Sister,” the nurse said. “You’ll be out in a minute.” The nurse put the syringe on her tray and left.

“Okay, guys,” Sister Peg said. “You heard the lady. Time for me to shleeep.” She giggled as she felt the Demerol easing her mind. Her eyelids started to droop. “Shister’s shleepy shleepy shleepy.” She giggled dreamily.

Josie wanted to make a quick exit. “All right, I’ll come by tomorrow. You just sleep.” She patted Sister Peg’s arm.

“Okeydokey nitey-nite.” Sister Peg’s eyes closed. Her delirious smile remained as she went under.

Dan stood his ground for a moment, unsure of what to do next. Josie made a nervous move for the door. “Uh, Josie,” Dan said. “Do you have a minute?”

Josie stopped.
Oh God, he’s going to start asking questions
, she thought.
I can’t lie to a priest, not after making promises to God.
“Uh, I’m in kind of a hurry, Father.”

Dan gestured. “Come here a second.” He stepped to the side of the bed and gingerly lifted the sheet, then looked. One word came to mind:
Wow.
There it was, exactly what he thought he had seen, although now it was in full, rich color. It was a foot-long tattoo of a snake crawling up Sister Peg’s ivory thigh. It was a thing of surprising beauty, and the tattoo wasn’t bad either. He looked at Josie to see if she wanted to offer an explanation. She shrugged unconvincingly Dan looked again at the colorful snake. “That’s a part of Vatican Two I never heard of,” he mumbled as he leaned closer. “That’s a helluva tattoo.” He traced his finger over the snake.

Josie gave Dan a knowing look. “Ohhhh, you’re one of
those
priests …”

Dan jerked his hand away and drew the sheet back over the leg. He turned to Josie. “So,” he said. “Any idea why a nun would have a snake tattooed on her leg?”

Josie was torn between loyalty to her friend and her recent vow to God to turn her life around. She shrugged. “Uhhhh, maybe it’s a reminder of that Garden of Eden story. She’s very religious, you know.”

Dan wouldn’t have pressed Josie on this, except that she had never acted surprised about the tattoo in the first place. He assumed that meant she knew about it. He assumed further that by playing the priest card he could get Josie to spill the beans. He put his arm over her shoulder. “Josie, I can see that you’re torn about this, but you know, the truth will set you free.”

Josie had never been very good at keeping secrets, so when the Lord’s representative started leaning on her like a
bad cop, she cracked. “Oh God,” she blubbered, “I’m not supposed to tell anybody.”

Famous last words. Josie was close to opening up now, so Dan racked his brain for something biblical to use as a crowbar. “In Deuteronomy it says, ‘the secret things belong unto the Lord our God.’”

Well, this was more than Josie could take. “Swear you won’t tell anybody,” she said.

Dan held a hand up in oath. “Nun’s the word.”

Josie pulled Dan over to the corner of the room and whispered. “Peg’s not exactly a nun.”

“Okay …” Dan looked over his shoulder at Peg, then back at Josie. “So what is she, exactly?”

Josie was avoiding eye contact at this point. She looked at the chipped polish of her fingernails. “Well, she didn’t go to nun school or whatever, so I guess it just depends on what you think a nun is. I mean, if it’s just a lady with an outfit who helps others, then she’s a nun … but she didn’t start out that way.”