Chapter 12 Morning at David Sondermeyer’s house
Musical theme: A Pillow of Winds by Pink Floyd
The morning sun came in from the window. Jainie was not there, nor was the cat. Dave cursed himself for his lack of faith, but he looked out the window and saw the trailer of the Baby, and felt a little relieved. He went into the bathroom, and took a shower. He came out and got dressed. He went down to the kitchen, and there was nobody there. He found some things in the reefer, so he made himself some eggs and toast. After he had eaten, and had a mug of coffee in his hand, he took a walk around the house. Then he took a walk around outside. David’s truck and Juventina’s were gone. Everyone had left without him. He could take the Baby to Texas, anyway. But it was stupid to think like that. They had phones. He called Jainie’s cell. She picked up on the first ring. “This is bad, Dave. Juventina had some kind of we don’t know what last night. The ob-gyn’s car wouldn’t start, so I went and got him, and now she is in surGarry. I was already up when it happened, so there was no reason to wake you up. Dave, she might lose her baby. She could even die.”
“What can I do?”
Don’t come down here. We are at Sisters of Mercy, but David will not want you to see him crying. Fuss over the Baby or something. Keep your cell in your pocket. If it gets where I am just in the way, you can come get me.”
“I’ll call Eric Delacroix, ask him to look into things.”
“Yes, do that, my mathematician.”
She hung up, and Dave called Eric Delacroix. Eric had been a corpsman in Dave’s outfit. Hit with several rounds, he was laying in the open, bleeding out. Dave had somehow gotten away with hauling him in to be evacuated. Eric had been discharged from the Navy for medical reasons, and gone to med school. He had become renowned as a surgeon. He referred to his life after being wounded as lagniappe. A little present, to a Southern Louisiana Coonass.
When Dave called him, he took down the information, and called in to the treating doctor’s staff. He was advised that the situation was grave, and he chartered a helicopter to the Oklahoma hospital. Upon his arrival, he was rushed to the operating room. He immediately knew what the hard working doctors treating Juventina had not known. He handled the problem, and gave credit to the treating surgeon, who would have lost Juventina. He flew back to Morgan City, LA.
When he called Dave, he told Dave more or less what had happened. Dave asked about the bill. “Well, Dave, the way it is, I was over the Opelousas area, and the billing information flew out the window. And the helicopter company can’t find any record of my flying up there at all. So it’s just one of those things. I guess it’s just a little lagniappe to your friend’s wife. By the way, I think the baby will be fine. And, Dave, you know I have to say this whenever I talk to you. Thanks for the lagniappe.”
“You’re most welcome, Eric.”
Dave fiddled around, cleaned the windows of the Baby, and things like that. Then the cars came home. Juventina looked fine. David looked like he had gone a week without sleep. Jainie was in high spirits.
“So my mathematician knew the man to call. Even though the man says he didn’t do anything. How did you know Doctor Delacroix?”
“I helped him out a little bit once.”
“I want to pay his bill.”
“He lost the information out the window of the helicopter somewhere around Opelousas. The helicopter company has no record of his flight.”
“Surely he can estimate..”
“He says it’s lagniappe.”
“What is it?”
“You can look it up in your Funk and Wagnall’s.”
“When you helped him out, it wouldn’t have happened to be in the sandbox?”
“Oh, now that you mention it, that was where it was.”
“And when you helped him, was he bleeding?”
“Maybe a little, yeah.”
“And were there gentlemen with guns, like, not our guys, who were there at the time?”
“There may have been.”
“A guy could think back on something like that and forget to hold onto his papers, and the next thing you know, the wind blows them out the door.”
“Something could have happened like that.”
David and Juventina walked up. “Dave, I know your boy came at the last minute in a chopper. I owe you.”
“No, Angel, you don’t owe me a thing. Doctor Delacroix didn’t actually have to do anything.”
“Oh, is that Eric Delacroix? He owes me $2 from a poker game. I know that guy.”
“That’s him. He got hit not long after that.”
“Oh, yeah. You carried him out to the chopper. Got blood on your shirt.”
“That was when it happened.”
Juventina looked down. “Dave, did he do something about me, really?”
“It was just lagniappe, Juventina.”