{"id":47,"date":"2017-06-04T03:28:28","date_gmt":"2017-06-04T03:28:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/?p=47"},"modified":"2017-06-04T03:28:28","modified_gmt":"2017-06-04T03:28:28","slug":"june-4th-red-letters-by-bay-city-girl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/?p=47","title":{"rendered":"June 4th- Red Letters by Bay City Girl"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Missing Scene from The Plague<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I’ve been on the cleaning crew in this hospital for years. This job is my family. I’ve met some nice people and heard some sad stories. But it’s all part of life.<\/span><\/p>\n

I do my job and try to stay in the background. But I see all kinds of things.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was all over the hospital about the section given over to the people who had the plague.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lots of sick people getting sicker.<\/span><\/p>\n

In order to control who comes on the ward, I’m the only cleaning person assigned. I try not to listen but the lady doctor doesn’t sound too sure they’ll find a cure in time.<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

Anyway, I’m not allowed in the rooms of course, so there isn’t much for me to do. I sweep the hallways and empty the trash. I try to keep the visitor lounge stocked with coffee and magazines.<\/span><\/p>\n

One day as I move along with my chores I come to Mr. Hutchinson’s room. He’s pretty bad off, coughing and shaking. But what gets me is Mr. Starsky wrote on the window; in red lipstick of all things:<\/span><\/p>\n

STARSK<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

As sick as he was, Hutch watched those letters intently. Even when he coughed, he refused to take his eyes off that name.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mr. Starsky was in the lounge the next day as I was cleaning out the ashtrays.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cExcuse me sir, anything I can get you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

His head was in his hands but looked up as he rubbed his face and blinked. He looked scared and angry.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCall me Starsky.\u201d He got up slowly from his chair and stepped toward me.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI’m Jack.\u201d I shook his hand and again asked if I could get him anything.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo thanks, Jack. Sorry, I gotta check on Hutch.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I musta looked confused cause he replied, \u201cThat’s what I call my friend.\u201d He half smiled and moved past me.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cStarsky, I wanted you to know I have to clean the window of your friend’s room. I’ve done my best to leave the name there as long as possible. But my boss says it has to go today.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I looked down at my feet. I hated telling him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShit.\u201d Starsky ran his hand through his hair. \u201cYou got a job to do. My job is to get back out there looking for some answers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

‘He knows you’re trying to help him. I know you’ll find something to get rid of that nasty bug.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Starsky looked at me. I never saw such determination before.<\/span><\/p>\n

He quickly walked out of the room like he suddenly had a purpose. This guy is amazing. I saw him go into Hutch’s room with a gown and mask on. He must really care about the blond to go in knowing there isn’t no cure.<\/span><\/p>\n

I grabbed my rags and bucket to clean the window.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hutch stared at the name and it seemed like it calmed him. He wasn’t coughing or restless.<\/span><\/p>\n

I picked up my rag and started scrubbing the stuff off.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once the first two letters were gone, the blond shut his eyes. I tried not to stare but I felt so sorry for him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Taking my time, I change rags needlessly. But I reach the last letter. Makes me kinda sad.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSorry,” I mumble, as the last letter disappears.<\/span><\/p>\n

He turned away from the window. His shoulders shook. I kinda wondered if he was crying.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou hang in there, Mister. You’re lucky to have a friend like Starsky. I know it’ll all work out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Missing Scene from The Plague I’ve been on the cleaning crew in this hospital for years. This job is my family. I’ve met some nice people and heard some sad stories. But it’s all part of life. I do … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fic","category-gen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109,"href":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47\/revisions\/109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}