Page 82 of Hunter's Hidden Camera
“Thanks,” Oscar says, taking a glass. He drinks all of it.
“Thanks,” I say and do the same.
Patricia opens the first aid kit. “Let’s get you both cleaned up, and then Jo will drive us all to my hospital, so we can take some x-rays. My bosses will be pissed, but who the hell cares?”
Jo has now retrieved a washbasin and some towels, and the two men have refilled our glasses of water.
All of a sudden, I start crying. It’s odd. I guess I’m just moved by how, within seconds of Oscar and me showing up onPatricia’s front door, everybody sprang into action. Two men, strangers, and Jo, who doesn’t really know me or Oscar at all, started to help us both out.
“What’s the matter, Hunter?” asks Patricia.
“I don’t know. Everybody’s so nice. I guess I’m not used to it.” I wipe the tears from my face.
“Well,” says Patricia, “it’s probably because you’re too young to know this but . . . There’s the family you’re born with and the family you choose. And sometimes, when it matters most, the family you choose is the one that comes through for you in the end.”
35
Waiting
Oscar and I are sitting in the waiting room of Patricia’s hospital. Across from us are Jo and the two men. (Darin is the Black guy, and Henry is the Asian dude.) All of us are silent, trying to catch our breaths after the flurry of activity this evening.
Earlier, after Patricia cleaned our wounds, Oscar and I went into separate bathrooms to take quick showers.
Jo gave each of us clean boxer shorts that belong to her. (“Men’s boxers are more comfortable than panties,” she said.)
She also gave me a black T-shirt, socks, and sneakers. I’m still wearing my own jeans. (“My hips are huge,” said Jo, “so I don’t have any pants for you.”)
Oscar still has most of his own clothes on, but he did take those boxers from her and also a black T-shirt.
“Damn,” he said to her, “this fabric isnice.You don’t buy shit off the clearance rack like my mom does.”
Jo then drove Patricia, Oscar, and me to the hospital, while Darin and Henry followed us in an Uber.
After Patricia ushered us into an examination room, to the protest of her coworkers, she stitched up the back of Oscar’s head and then proceeded to give us both skeletal x-rays to see if either us broke any bones or have any other internal problems.
We’re sitting here, waiting to see if Patricia can get the x-ray results tonight.
Darin moves his arm over to Henry. They hold hands.
Oscar clocks this and then looks away.
Darin smiles and breaks the silence. “What’s the matter, baby? You never seen two men hold hands before?”
Henry rolls his eyes. “Oh, leave him alone, Darin.”
“I’m just messing with you, baby,” Darin says to Oscar.
“It’s all good,” says Oscar. “You do you. I’m not about that? But you be whatever.”
Darin nods. “How progressive of you.”
“My sister’s a lesbian,” Oscar says.
Darin raises his palms in the air. “Oh, my God, they’re everywhere!”
Jo shakes her head. “Shut up, Darin.”
“Yo, Jo,” says Oscar. “I’m curious about your baby. Can I ask about it?”
