Chaos at Crescent City Medical Center (20 page)

Alex
removed her cell from her purse
and looked around Copland’s searching for a quiet area to make her call to
Mitch
. As she waited,
Elizabeth mulled over the events of the day. 
The alcohol was working on her and her thoughts were a bit jumbled. 
In her heart Elizabeth knew the
v
oodoo
woman was involved in the events at CCMC.  I know she knows a lot more
than she was saying
,
Elizabeth said to herself.  I'd give a
week’s
pay
to know exactly what,
she
mused as she studied the ice cubes in her drink.
  Then she remembered the morning meeting and the possibili
ty of closing the hospital.  Whoops,
I better keep my money.  I may not have a job in two weeks.  That thought terrified her.  Public re
lations jobs were hard to find in the current economy.
She'd been lucky to find her job at CCMC.  Gosh, I'd hate to lose it.  Elizabeth continued to have fleeting thoughts
of unemployment
that terrified her.  She was deep in thought when Alex returned.

"A penny fo
r your thoughts, Liz." Alex was
obviously much happier
upon returning to the table.  She had a faint blush to her cheeks.

"I'll
need
all the pennies I can get
my hands on if the governor closes the hospital
.  I'm really scared, Alex.  Do you realize that we may be unemployed in several weeks?  That possibility just crossed my mind.  I've saved a lot, but I can't be unemployed for very long."

"It's not going to come to that.  We've got a week to figure out exactly what's going on
and what we have to do
.  Besides, I just don't see how closing the hospital will solve anything.  We'll get through this.
”  Alex patted her hand and continued, “
Just
have faith
.  Somehow, it'll all work out."  Alex
hoped she
sounded more convincing than she felt.

"Hope so.  You
look better
and you
’re
blushing.  Your hot date going to meet you here?"  Liz's eyes sparkled.

"And let you have a go at him?  I think not.  No, we're going to go to the Cafe Volange, in midtown.  Mitch
seems in
a good mood, much better than he was this afternoon."  Alex remembered back to their earlier conversation.  "I think he thought I
was calling to cancel our date
.  Not a chance.  I need some fun after today.  Want to share a cab?" 

Elizabeth looked sheepish.  "Think Martin'll pick us up?  I think he was pretty miffed at you."

"Justifiably so.  I was rude to him.
  He'll come.  He's on retainer and besides, he really likes me.
  You call though, just to be safe.  I have to hit the ladies room.  I'll meet you outside."

As Alex caught up with Elizabeth outside the restaurant, Liz was looking dejected.  "I'm a little jealous.  My fun will come in the form of whatever's on HBO tonight. I'm envious.
I t
hink
Mitch is a good guy – you all make a good pair, a good match
.  I hope all goes well this weekend. 
I'll be cheering for you."  The
friends smiled at each other.

"Thanks, Liz,
I appreciate it.  I really want this to work.  Mitch means more to me than any other man I've been with since my divorce.  I guess I really
want to get married again soon
and have children.
”  Alex was astonished at her words.  “I can’t believe I said that.
  My grandmother would die if she heard me say those words.  Matter of fact, I'm surprised that I said them myself,"
Alex shook her head
.
Must be the alcohol, she thought to herself.

"Well," Elizabeth replied, "I'm certainly not interested in getting married or having any children any time soon, but I'd sure like to have a date."  Both women were laughing as one of Martin's cab
s
pulled up.  Martin wasn't the driver, but his son-in-law, Henri was.

"Evening, ladies."  Henri couldn't get out of the cab fast enough to open the door for Alex and Elizabeth.  His deferential manner always irritated Alex a little bit, but she figured she'd better keep her mouth shut at this point.
She’s caused enough damage for one evening.
I'd hate to lose Martin for good.  He's dependable, and that's much more important than what it costs.  Plus, she thought, I really like Mart
in and depend on him to
teach me about the culture of
New Orleans.

"Hi, Henri.  Know Elizabeth Tippett?  She works with me at CCMC." 
Henri nodded and smiled in greeting.

"How's the family doing?"  A
lex knew all about Henri's wife who was Martin’s
daughter, Violette.  Martin was always entertaining her with stories about his family and his two year
-
old grandson.

"Fine, fine.  Everything's just fine.  Martin said he's sorry he couldn't come back and get you, but he and his wife's have a standing date on Wednesday nights.  They go to Shoney's every Wednesday for the fish fry.  You know, all you can eat. Then they go to the Casino in Kenner and gamble
till
late.  You know, Martin, he plays them blackjack tables and his wife, she plays the slots.   She was the big winner last week.  Where to ladies?"

"I need to go to the Cafe Volange and Elizabeth needs to go home uptown. You can drop me off first.  Okay with you, Liz?" 

Elizabeth nodded.

"Okay.  You've been having a terrible time over at the hospital, ain't you?  I'm just so sorry.  You know, that voodoo is some awful stuff, just awful
bad
when it catches you, ain't it?"

"
Yeah.
It’s awful.
It's been hard.  I'm out of here," Alex said as they pulled up in front of the cafe.  "See you Elizabeth.  Get some rest.  Really appreciate you coming, Henri," Alex said as she slipped him a tip. 

As Alex shut the door of the cab and moved toward the
restaurant, she noticed two men standing in a doorway.  One man had a ponytail, and the other man was short and stocky and
was
smoking a cigar. 
Something about the two of them gives me chill bumps
,
Alex thought
.
  M
y imagination is certainly working overtime.  I could swear that's the same man I saw earlier.  Must be getting paranoid.
She continued to feel uncomfortable as she felt the heat of their eyes following her as she passed. She could feel them
tearing her body apart,
limb by limb.
Alex quickened her pace to the café.

Reaching for safety,
Alex entered the restaurant and immediately forgot about the men when she spied Mitch sitting at a quiet table by a window.  He looked startli
ngly handsome in a white open neck shirt and dark pants. 
 

When he saw her, Mitch
smiled broadly and rose from his chair.
  After clasping her hands and kissing her on the cheek, he said
, "You're looking beautiful
for a lady who's had a rough week.  Sit, and let's have a drink.  White wine?"

Alex warmed to the sigh of Mitch’s smile.  She already felt a million times better. 
"Of course.
Mitch, y
ou look just great.  It feels like years since I've seen you, even though it's only be
en two days.  This week
seem
s
like an eternity.  I'm not sure it'll ever end."

Alex paused for a few moments while the waiter served their drinks.  Then she continued, "I don't want to spend all evening talking about CCMC
– I’ve been consumed with it for every waking hour
.  I'd rather hear what you've been doing.  Any traveling?"     

"
Only b
ack and forth to Lafay
ette
and Baton Rouge
.  I've been researching some
architectural designs for my project
and had to travel back and forth to the historical library at the LSU campus
."  Mitch paused for a few moments
and continued
, “Actually
, my week has been rather boring compared to yours.  Research is a slow, tedious process
but certainly useful.  Sometimes I wish my work had
a little more excitement.
”

Alex smiled, “Well, I wish mine had a lot less and that I could do my job.”

“I bet,” Mitch responded. 
“
As a matter of fact
I watched
the ED shoot-out news report on a TV in the research library
.  The library staff in Baton Rouge
heard about the ED disaster at CCMC and projected it onto a big screen via a video
projector
.
  And, this morning, I caught you on TV.
That’s some bad stuff going on over there.  It never seems to let up.
You guys need to
catch a break.
”

"
You got that right. Ho
w'd I do
on TV
?"  Alex gave him a questioning look.
  “Did I look OK,” she teased him.

"
You were beautiful.
Great.  You and Elizabeth held your own.
You both looked great as well.
But, it seems like the plot at CCMC thickens.  How're you dealing with it?"  Mitch looked concerned and reached for Alex's hand. 

Alex smiled wryly.  "
As best I can, I guess.
It's really been incredible.  Things have been crazy.  Admissions are down, the staff isn't reporting to
work;
the
patients
are leaving in droves.  We have some patients’ leaving
against medical advice,
and Don is about to commit hari-kari.   Physicians are admitting and transferring patients to other hospitals.  Even the doctors who have exclusive contracts with us are scrambling to find reasons to admit their patients elsewhere.
We are bleeding millions and
I don't know w
hen, or how, it'll end.  In most
respects
,
we're in a desperate situation." 

Mitch gave her a concerned look and replied,
"Can't last forever.  It'll blow over soon.  Heard on the evening
news
the governor's moving his wife to another hospital."

Alex interrupted him, "Oh no.  That was on the news?  Not good."

"It was the lead story
.  Reporter said it was the
aftermath of the CCMC situation – particularly the medical center’s
in
ability to offer quality care and security for their patients.
  They showed a
news clip
of Andre Renou and the governor stating they were extremely concerned about CCMC and had offered the assistance of the Louisiana State Police to boost security.  Of course, the feds are involved too.  By the way, did hear about the
People
magazine story
?”
 

Alex nodded.  "Yep.
Hell
yes
, I know all about it.
"  She was very quiet after Mitch related the story. 
Deep in thought, she stared into her wine glass
. 
She didn’t
understand why the governor had made a public statement about the situation at CCMC unless he wanted to go on record as being concerned about CCMC, perhaps even set th
e stage for closing CCM
C
.  And, a bigger question was why he wanted to go on record.  Of course, it had to be a political maneuver.  Still, he'd agreed to give CCMC a week.  While Alex knew that moving Grace Raccine to East Jeff was bound to get out, she hadn't expected it would
already
be on the
local and national
news. 
This information alone would further damage the credibility and finances of the struggling medical center, not even to mention tarnish a perfect image as well. These
thoughts depressed her and s
he was beginning to believe Crescent City Medical Center was
a
done
deal
when Mitch interrupted her thoughts.

"You look so sad.  It couldn't be all that bad.  You're
not
going to lose your job, or anything. 
Do you
think security's good at the hospital? 
Do you think it’s safe? 
The hospital won't be harmed if people think it's a safe place." 

Alex r
etorted hotly, "How in the hell
do I know if the place is safe?  It should be safer now than it was last week before any of these things happened
but there are still a million things that can go wrong
.
I don’t think anywhere is ever safe if someone wants to hurt you.
It’s like trying to keep the U.S. free from terrorists. 
There are plainclothes policemen all over, and the state police are at all outside doors, elevators, and stairways, like that's really going to keep someone out who wants to do harm.
There are undercover DEA agents everywhere. 
The fact of the matter is that you and I know no place is really 'safe' if somebody wants to get at you.  What do you think safe is?"   Alex knew she was being sarcastic but she couldn't help it.
Her fuse was very short and she didn’t want to talk about CCMC on her date.  

Mitch was hurt
by Alex's words and manner.  He held up his hands in a back-off gesture and said, "Sorry.  You're really upset.  Sorry if I'm prying.  Didn't mean to upset you or cause more stress.  Look at me.  So
sorry." 

Alex felt her eyes burn with tears, and quickly reached for her pocketbook.  As she dabbed her eyes, she started apologizing.  "I'm sorry, I never should've spoken to you that way.  I guess I'm as out of control as the rest of the CCMC staff.  Excuse me.
"  Alex abruptly left the table and
headed for the ladies room.

Mitch played with his napkin and studied his menu
as he waited for
Alex to return.  His thoughts were equally sad.
He struggled with his conscious.
I feel so bad for her.  I really wish I could just take her away from all of this
,
but I can’t because I am a big cause of it
. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the
“
hoods
” or
“lowlifes”
as he preferred to think of them, loitering on the opposite side of the street.  The short one
with the cigar
waved at him and winked.  The other glared.  Mitch felt the weight of the world on his shoulders
without
considering the guilt he felt
as he returned
to his menu.  He ignored
the lewd hand gestures of the men hiding in the shadows. 

He began pondering his life, wondering how he'd become involved in such a desperate situation.  He'd had everything, family connections, an education, plenty of money, power.
But of course, that was all gone.
Of course he knew where it went - he just didn't want to admit it to himself. 
He felt his greatest loss was his self-respect.
He felt empty inside.
His self-loathing depressed him.
He looked up, Alex was returning, a bright smile on her face.

"
I’m b
etter Mitch.  I'll see if I can't control myself
and behave
for a while.  What looks good on the menu
?
" 

"Never had a bad meal here.  Let's have another drink and order.  What d' you say?"  Mitch's eyes were sparkling.

"Sounds great,
” Alex
replied, smiling.                      

They concentrated on their food, carefully avoiding any further reference to the hospital.  As they ate, they spoke at length about their plans for the weekend and discussed some options following Mardi Gras. 

Over de
s
sert, Mitch made a suggestion. 
“
Come with me to Lafayette soon so you can have a before and after appreciation for the project. 
I'd like to get your opinion on some of the things I'm attempting to do." 

Alex was pleased.  "I'd love
to
see the project.  It sounds great.  Of course, you're just flattering me about helping you with ideas for the restoration.  I don't know anything about architectural history."

"You amaze me.  You underestimate yourself all of the time.  You've got lots of talent in restoration, look at what you did to your home in the city.  I'm not even m
entioning your eye for antiques, quality and color.
   We'll make a weekend of it.  I know a lovely bed and breakfast not far from the Arcadian project.  We can stay there Saturday night and visit the antique shops in Lafayette on Sunday."   Mitch
felt momentary happiness and
was animated,
as he looked
forward to spending more time with Alex.

Alex smiled happily.  "Sounds perfect.  Count me in."  Her voice was light, and her heart was skipping at the possibility of spending two consecutive weekends with Mitch.  The thought made Alex more cheerful than she'd been in days.
It was a great break from recent events.
   

"You're looking mighty happy
, young lady.  Want to share your thoughts with m
e?"  Mitch reached for her hand, and smiled
warmly. 

Alex
could feel her cheeks burning.  She knew she was blushing
.  "Oh, Mitch.  I don't really know
..
." 

Mitch's grasp tightened over her hand.  "I know what you're trying to say.  Alex, I care for you very much.  Soon you'll know how much.  I have some things to get straight first, but then you'll know."   Mitch's voice faded a little as he looked at her across the candles.

"I'm looki
ng forward to being together more and knowing each other better
.  In the meantime,
” she
said briskly, "you'd better get me home so I can get my beauty rest
so I can deal with the demons tomorrow
."

Mitch leaned across the table and gave Alex a tender kiss.  After a brief moment, they stood to leave. 

***

The two men, hiding in the shadows
, looked on while the gangster leered and made
crude gestures. 
The evil one could have given a shit.

Frederico
and the evil one continued to stare at the couple.  "Well, well, well, look at our Mitch
e
y boy.  I do believe he's gonna nail the lawyer.  About time.  He's been playing around with the broad for months.  Good thing we turned the heat up under him, ain't it.  Othe
rwise he'd have gotten close to her
.  Strange boy, our Mitchey.
What’s wrong with him?
He go both ways
? I
s he bi or queer
?" 
Frederico
looked at the evil one.