he looked like a man who hadnt dreamt in a while

his ill daughter told him so as he stood beside her bed

No he said I havent had a dream in a long time

he hadnt dreamed since he was awaken by a telephone call from his soninlaw who was in the ER and told him he should come to Los Angeles

Anniel needs me

Both of us, Dad, come.

he had already packed for the weekend every weekend through Wednesday afternoons he was in LA

his cats food and water were full their catboxes fresh

he arrived at 344

urinated in the parking structure

washed his hands in the restroom off the waiting room to the ER as personnel sought to find where his daughter was

the ER gave him an adhesive tag deeming him a Visitor

he was tersely instructed to place it on his left breasthad to be on his left and dispatched him to the ICU FUCK he hoped things hadnt gone badly

Intensive Care Unit

Follow the signs and the arrows affixed to the wall to the ICU. said the enormous black security man

If Im entering a maze I prefer to follow Ariadnes thread

like water off a ducks back Arrows on the wall.

Jason The Minotaur The Labyrinth Ariadne

Arrows on the wall. ICU 

Yah I see you too

the huge man shook his headhis jowls moved

he wasnt wearing a sidearm

wouldnt he prefer not to get his hands dirty if he didnt have to

it was LA

just follow the yellow brick road Dorothy

the closest thing to a munchkin he saw was a deformed child asleep or unconscious reclining in an adult wheelchair
loose bloodied gauze bandages sweating Baggies filled with melting ice suggestions he had been beaten 

he was pushed off to a side by himself  outa sight outa mind          

there were at least a dozen adults in various postures and grimacing who were waiting

he couldnt recognise one who might have been attached or there for the damaged boy 

the kids got plenty of room  lotsa leeway

had he time he would have eyeballed hands for split knuckles or swelling or bruises but like a sidearm why would somebody use their fists on a child rather than something else at hand

the huge black man said Follow me. and ducked under a doorway that he didnt have to duck

with a blunt finger he punched a security code into a keypad on a wired glass metal door

Los Angeles Theres no place like home . . no place like home . . no place like home

There you go, man. he said as a bell sounded and the double-wide security doors unclasped noisily

Thank you sir

You’re welcome. I hope your daughter recovers.

Thank you

he dreamt for the first time in a cloistered sleep-deprived month

everyone in the hospital waiting room with him had to be catheterised

a masked nurse and male attendant in green surgical garb approached him

he was empathetic If you got a reason spill it otherwise keep moving

We were told . . 
. . Thats not a reason . . 
. . We were told . .
. . Keep moving
                 apparently they werent often confrontedfaced conflict

they blinked in unison almost mechanically  stalwart health professionals who like all professionals were assured by their camaraderie and vernacular that a laymanthey believed couldnt know better than they or knew better than the superior who told them the function they were to perform  

they followed orders
                      were replete and thoroughly accepted their place in the hierarchy

however where the rubber meets the road when push came to shove

Whos your Daddy
                    they could be persuaded that an unorthodox approach or method might represent an alternative innaresting hypothesis

besides
         by his abrupt stymienow out-of-stepnot-in-synch they broke eye contact and looked back up over their shoulders and recognised a body of patients who were willing to be cowedwilling to submit to their instructionstheir medical directions

so without as much as a Hadayado without a Solong they turned their backs to himin brisk unison and ventured into the quiet milling obeisance

as they went that way he went the other and found himself in a large commercial kitchen off the hospitals cafeteria

two teenaged girls candystripers were preparing a cake batter in an enormous mixer that was to be poured into large rounds and baked for layers for a tall celebratory cake

frosting was chilling pale blue

he thought that they were fortunate to have access to the commercial equipment and appliances

as he watched them get up on stools and lean forwardtheir skirts shimmying up the back of their thighs he was flipflopflopped disoriented disconnected blacked out but not  then found himself breathing salt air leaning on a birdshitted railing on a pier looking down into roiling dark water lacquered with yellow moonlight

he was unsurprised

he watched an enormous paleblue frosted cake sinking layer by layer

he really wanted a slice of that cake

he rarely ate cake

as a boy he remember licking the beaters and liking the batter raw

hed be lying if he didnt admit it occurred to him how nice the batter would taste slightly warmed after generously drizzled on the backs of the candystripers thighs

he once enjoyed a breast like that

a tattlers breast 

his next door neighbours his girlfriend at the time

she invited him over to make an impromptu cake and without saying a word she stripped down to her panties and bra perhaps she didnt want to risk her clothing getting mussed

her father was suspicious of him

he was also a detective

he was dismayedconfounded that his daughter was seeing a Polack

working on the batter together an extra egg rolledtried to make a great escape and lunging for it across the counter to save it from certain suicide she dipped her breast in the bowl of batter

Nuts! she said as she reached for a dish towel

he stayed her hand Here Lemme help

What . . she began to say  then Oh my . . as he unclasped her bra with one hand and slathered the offending breast with the spatula from the bowl with the other

he kissed it lapped it then smeared the other breast and had her hold them for him

ended up they only enough batter to make some cupcakes 
                                                                   that they were too full to eat


he heard it told by a friend of a friend about his girlfriends exploits  he wasnt mentioned  too bad  a guy can always use good presshis reputation preceding him   one can dream

he hadnt said a thing 

1906,  Saturday,  4  1. 20
1338,  Twosday,  19  5. 20