After Hiram’s call I can barely think straight or get any sleep. Chris drops me off at St. Vincent’s hospital just before 9:00 a.m. the next morning. It’s a Saturday, and he has to work. The plan is that he will come get me at the end of his shift, 6:00 p.m.-ish, so I have the whole day to spend with my Blanche.
Once I get to Blanche’s floor, I find his room no problemo. Everyone seems to know who HIRAM is. I can hear him conversing animatedly with one of his nurses. I walk in on him while he’s having some blood drawn. Blanche looks up and beams happily at me. The nurse follows his gaze and she smiles at me, too.
Nurse: “Oh, looks like you have an early-morning visitor!”
Blanche: “Yes, I do! LOOK at my beautiful Blanche, bringing me such an exquisite bouquet!”
I am holding an armful of sunflowers and some fresh corn muffins that I just picked up from the snazzy little market across the street.
Me: “Not as exquisite as you, dearest.” I look at the rapidly filling blood vial. “Should I come back…?”
Blanche: “SIT DOWN, BLANCHE. They do this all day long, so you might as well get used to it.” I sit.
Nurse: “Is this your sister?”
Before I can answer, Blanche says: “YES, it is. Can’t you see the FABU family resemblance?” He winks and sends me a little air-kiss.
The nurse finishes up. As she leaves, Hiram says to her: “Thank you, Gorgeous. See you soon, unfortunately!” She shakes her head and smiles over her shoulder and is gone.
Me: “You’re here less than 24 hours and you’ve charmed the pants off the entire staff.”
Blanche: “Maybe not the ENTIRE STAFF, but absolutely this ENTIRE FLOOR. You expected anything LESS, my love?”
I get up to give him a big hug and a kiss. Blanche gives the longest, tightest hugs imaginable. This one is record-breaking, even by his standards.
Me: “I’m yours all day, Blanche-bubby. You call the shots.”
Blanche: “Ok, then put those flowers down and follow me. And you’d BETTER have some cigarettes.”
And then he is up and out of bed, striding out of the room and toward the elevators, pulling his rolling I.V. drip alongside him. He leads the way downstairs to an outdoor area filled with blossoming, green foliage and comfortable patio furniture. There’s a gazebo. Very pretty. It’s a gorgeous early-spring day, and already so warm outside that Blanche kicks off his hospital slippers before putting his feet up in a chair across from him. I hand him my pack of Virginia Slims 120’s Menthols and he quickly lights up, huffing away and sighing luxuriantly.
Blanche: “These are soooo light. I don’t know why you bother.”
Me: “Ok, Blanche. So what’s up. What are these tests you need?”
Blanche: “O, honey – the fevers are just getting ridiculous. It just became EVERY DAY a higher FEVER. They don’t last long, but it’s gotten so that they’re disruptive. I know something’s up. I just don’t know what yet.”
He has told me about THE FEVERS that have been plaguing him over the years. I know he must be very concerned if they have brought him here. At any rate, he looks fine. Robust, healthy and as vibrant as he has ever looked. This fact is calming me down considerably.
Blanche doesn’t want to discuss anything hospital-related. We head back up to his room and he turns on the T.V. Apparently, today there is a SABADO GIGANTE` Marathon. I tell Blanche he is one corny bastard watching this crap all day.
Blanche: “Don’t be a hater, BLANCHE.” Then he calls out to a passing nurse: “BOO-BOO!!! Can you be a LOVE and bring me some type of CONTAINER for which I can place my BEAUTIFUL SUNFLOWER DISPLAY??? THANK YOU, MY PRECIOUS ONE.”
The nurse comes back incredibly quickly with an actual crystal vase (!!) for Blanche’s sunflowers.
Me: “You have these people fucking TRAINED, Blanche.”
He giggles and raises an eyebrow: “WHO can resist me? My powers speak for themselves.”
Blanche gets tired, tho’. By noon, he is struggling to keep his eyes open.
When a nurse comes in to take some more blood, I say: “Honey, I want to go do a little shopping. Take a nap, I’ll be back in an hour or two.”
He smiles wearily and says: “Ok, baby. Buy me a present.”
Me: “You have to ask?” I kiss his forehead and hit the streets.
I enjoy the beautiful spring day exploring this area of the city. I buy me and Blanche matching sarongs and Indian tunics. I buy a little wooden music box that has the most beautiful sound from a hole-in-the-wall Russian import store. I spontaneously stop at a tiny little joint for a $12.00 haircut. I kill about 2 hours before heading back to Blanche.
When I get back to his room, he is still asleep and SABADO GIGANTE` is still on t.v. Now I feel tired, too, so I arrange a couple of visitor’s chairs together like a bench, take a spare pillow from the empty bed across the room, use my new sarong as a light blanket and settle in for a nap of my own. I surprise myself by sleeping for nearly 2 hours. Blanche’s laughter at his T.V. show is what wakes me.
Me: “O my god, Blanche – I was out like a light!”
Blanche: “You WERE, home-girl! And let me say, you DO have quite the SNORE.”
Me: “O, screw you.” I sit up. “What time is it?”
Blanche: “5:30. What time is your MAN coming for you?”
Me: “Pretty soon, I guess.”
And sure enough, the room-phone rings and it’s Chris. He’s downstairs. Blanche seems a little nervous when he answers the phone.
Blanche: “O, HI Chris. I’ve heard all about you. Here’s your honey, she’s right here.”
He quickly gives me the phone. I ask Chris if he wants to come up and meet Blanche. He says absolutely, as long as Blanche is comfortable about it. I turn to Blanche.
Me: “Honey, Chris wants to come up and say hi and meet you in person. Do you mind? He’ll understand if you’re not up to it.”
Blanche is speechless. He is crying. I refuse to get sucked into this again. I get tough.
Me: “BLANCHE – STOP WITH THE DRAMA. My man wants to meet my BEST FRIEND, and that happens to be YOU. Can he come up here or NOT???”
Blanche nods his head, laughing thru tears: “OF COURSE, TELL HIM TO COME UP. I MUST BE GETTING MY PERIOD, DON’T MIND ME.”
Blanche puts on his brand-new Indian tunic and goes to splash his face with water and comb his hair. Chris comes up and unsurprisingly, he and Blanche get on like a house on fire. When Chris excuses himself for a moment to use the bathroom, Blanche looks at me and says, deadpan:
“Gurl. PLEASE tell me he has a single, gay brother. PLEASE.”
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