I was impressed that Bill had enough sense not to ask any more questions. My mom told me she caught Natty trying to steal some OxyContin to sell. She’d ripped an earring out of his ear on the spot and issued his lifetime ban. I’ll admit I thought it was funny when she told me the story.

I also think Natty learned his lesson. The fact that he was trying to change his life was a great step.

A man in green surgical scrubs and cap stepped into the room. He had black and gray stubble on his chin and his eyebrows bristled from underneath the edge of the cap.

He had no hint of a smile and said, “Which of you are related to Elaine Mitchum?”

No one moved for a moment, then I said, “We all are.”

That seemed to satisfy the surgeon as he plopped into an empty chair and looked at Natty, Dolores, Bill, and me.

After a few seconds of silence, Natty blurted out, “You’re killing us, Doc. What are you waiting for? A musical intro?”

Score one for my brother.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was almost two hours later when the hospital staff allowed us to join my mother in her private room, one of the nicest. Apparently, the hospital was trying to take good care of one of its own employees. A fifty-inch Samsung TV hung on the wall, already tuned to an ESPN talk show my mom loved. She followed the Giants and the Bills on NFL Live. Then she’d watch Around the Horn, followed by Pardon the Interruption with Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon, every weekday evening. She knew the line on every game and could no longer participate in the hospital football pool because she won it three weeks in a row.

She seemed content. The room looked like a resort, except for the view. No tall building in Newburgh had much of a view. Unless you consider crumbling old buildings and dead trees a great view.

Once Natty had gotten the doctor talking, he didn’t seem to shut up. But the long and the short of his explanation was that my mother would recover. I almost didn’t hear the other things he said about her bruised kidneys, broken hip, and concussion. All I heard was that she would make a full recovery. I almost cried I was so relieved.

A nurse, about twenty-five, managed to slip between my brother, Bill Jeffries, and me as he set my mom’s IVs and equipment.

My mom let him work for about two minutes before she started giving him orders. I would say she was giving suggestions, but she sounded more like a drill sergeant.

“Put both the IVs over on this side so my sons don’t trip over them. I don’t think I need the EKG running all the time. It’s distracting.”