The Doctor Is In 22

The Doctor is In

Chapter 1

I was tired. It had been a long hard day and was looking forward to relaxing when I got home, letting the boys crawl on me and giving the wife a squeeze.

It was a nice daydream, but unlikely.

Don't get me wrong, I have a wife and two boys, 3 and 1, and they love to crawl on dad and play rough and tumble, but there is work to do when I get home, adding a bay window in the living room on the fixer-upper we bought last year. A first house, low down, low monthly, lots and lots if work to realize the potential Kim saw. It was a small two bedroom on a big lot. There was plenty of room to add bedrooms and a shop, but there were some structural issues that needed to be delt with, not to mention a full kitchen and bathroom remodel. Sooo... there was no relaxing until several hours after darkness and by then the boys were fed and in bed.

Money was tight, even though I was working full time as an Ironworker, it seemed to go out every bit as quick as it came in.

The beater I drove for work coughed a bit when I turned it off at the grocery store. I checked my pocket for the short list Kim had given me instead of a kiss when I left this morning.

"Don't forget to stop on the way home. Please."

Almost 4 years into our marriage and things had settled in. I have heard and read about how things cool after time and kids, and with the stress of money always being in short supply, living in a construction site instead of a home... It would be tough on anyone.

My wife was a sweetheart, 5'4 and 115lbs when we got married, now, after to big boys, she had put on a few extra pounds, hated herself for it, but just could not seem to pull out of the depression she felt. She figured everything set on her shoulders and she was having a problem finding any hope for relief in the near future. She had "control issues" I had been told... the signs were all there, but at the time, as a young Marine who knew how to take orders, could push, pull and lift with the best of them, a girl that was organized and had her shit together, could point out the best way forward, seemed like a dream fit. But... as with everything, there were two sides to everything, a light and dark to every attribute.

Two bags of groceries, that cost way too much money, in one hand I was headed to my car when a woman approached me. It was obvious she was going to ask for a hand out. She was not filthy, but she had been "out" for a while. She was not fresh and just a "damsel in distress" with a dead battery or a hot radiator... her manor of approach, cautious and expecting a harsh rebuke along with, maybe, some small change, told me she would ask if I could spare some cash.

I recognized her before I heard her voice.

"Excuse me, sorry for bothering you... but..."

"Chris? Oh my god... Chris! What's going on?"

Chris Tomlinson was the married older sister of a girl I tried hard to date in high-school, finally getting her attention between boot camp and my first deployment overseas. Mary wrote me twice a week the whole 14 months I was gone, only to tell me the day I got back, that she had met and fallen in love with a Vice President at the bank branch where she was a teller, and they were getting married. (All water under the bridge... mostly... cunt...)

"Jeff? Oh my gosh... I am sorry." She turned away, embarrassed, then turned back, hunger and need over riding her shame. "I... could you maybe..."

"Holy shit Chris... what happened? Is Brad hurt? Or dead? Where is your family? What in the fuck!"

She had been a licensed therapist, her husband a sales rep at a fortune 500 company, her Father was a foremen in construction... a sister that married well, at least she thought so... (no really... I'm not bitter, really, I almost never think about her.)

"Where is everyone?"

"Never mind Jeff... this is a mistake." She turned to go, but I reached out, having closed the distance, and took her arm, turning her back to face me.

"When is the last time you ate?"

"Please, let me..."

She was looking around like she expected someone to show up. I could not tell if she thought that was a good thing or not.

Sure enough, from between a car a couple spots away a much grungier example of street couture rounded on us.

"Let her go asshole!"

I looked at Chris who looked very scared, but she said to the guy approaching us, "It's okay Charlie, I know him from before... he's not a problem."

I still had a hand clamped on Chris' arm and moved her a little behind me.

"Well good. If you know her fucker, then make a contribution and move the fuck on. Get your dick skinners off my bitch."

I glanced back at Chris who was looking at the ground.

"Don't look at her asshole! She don't matter! This matters!" he flicked out a clip on knife, bright blade. A cheap copy of a popular brand. That didn't make it less dangerous, plenty of people has been bled out with a $2 paring knife.

"Now let go of her and hand her your wallet while you are at it."

He was thin, dirty, ragged, but for all that, he had a strength about him that would intimidate some... me, it just made me a little more cautious. He would not be the first person to try and stick me with a "sharp and pointy".

Chris had gone quiet and still.

I did not consider myself a very imposing figure. 6'4 and 185. I knew people stronger, quicker, meaner... and even after 4 years in the Marines, I did not feel "all that"... but Kim had told me before that people, in general, were afraid of me until they got to know me, that I could be scary and intimidating, so I tried to smile and be nice... except for now.

"You need to move on dick head, before I shove that knife so far in your guts it will take you a week to shit it out."

He was quick, but not as committed as he needed to be. He was still trying to bluff his way through, so he was out of range to do any damage to me when he made a stabbing motion, but... he was not far enough away to avoid me. When he feinted, I tossed my two bags in his face. Both had a couple of small cans, so there was weight behind the plastic. He jerked his head back, but left the knife hand extended. I grabbed his wrist, pulled him towards me and punched him on the chin. He went down hard. Lights out.

I had dropped Chris' arm to throw the punch, but she had not moved.

I was not wanting to commit murder or kill anyone, so I drug him out of line with my tires, opened the door and got Chris in the car, then picked up my groceries and left. He was still out, but breathing when we left. If he was lucky, maybe he would get a couple of days in a hospital bed while they put his jaw bone back in place.

"That was scary... holy fuck Jeff! You could have gotten really hurt... or killed! He's a dangerous fucker!"

She went quiet for a minute.

"So tell me about it."

She remained quiet, rotating from staring at her hands in her lap to out the window.

"Okay, lets go backwards, start with Charlie."

This brought on head shaking and tears. Her shoulders started to shake with sobs and she leaned against the door.

I was not a head doctor like she was but I knew that tears and crying were a release valve for tension, stress, anxiety and fear. I did not interrupt her.

When she stopped, it was sudden, but that's not unusual either, she started in a small voice, but she got stronger as she talked.

"Charlie was protection. On the street, it's dangerous to be a woman alone. I was... venerable... hell, I was being passed around and could not do anything about it. On the street, Charlie has, had, a reputation, maybe not so much anymore, so when he decided that I was his property, all the others mostly left me alone. I'm not proud about what I have done, but it's... surviving is a lot different than living. It is so much different than what most people today think it is."

"I'm not judging you Chris..."

"No... you wouldn't, but everyone else does."

"Do we need to go back to wherever you were calling home and retrieve anything?"

"No... nothing I can't replace. I will have to make it up to Charlie though, I can't go back out there alone again. Maybe you can smack me around a little, just enough to leave a mark I can show him... he won't hurt me much if he thinks I fought you."

"What? No! You're not going back out there alone or any other way. Look Chris, I don't know what happened to your marriage or your practice or your family... no... don't argue with me... but none of that matters right now. We can figure all that out later. For now... I said knock it off... no arguments, for now you stay with me and my family. We may not have much, but what we have we can share."

She sat there quietly after I raised my voice.

"We are almost home, I will get you a pair of sweat pants and shirt, none of Kim's will fit you, but I want you to get a good shower, use as much soap and shampoo as you need to get clean, then you eat your fill and get some sleep. Anything else will wait for tomorrow.

She nodded her head, looking in her lap and said, "Thank you."

I opened the front door and let Chris in, then called out, announcing I was home, then closed the door.

"Kim.."

From the kids bed room I heard, "What took so long? Did you get what I needed for dinner? Why..." that's when she walked out with Caleb on one hip and Ethan running around her to grab my leg, but stopped short when he saw Chris, and clutched at his mom's leg, hiding behind it instead.

"Kim, this is Chris... Chris, my wife Kim, and the boys, Ethan and Caleb."

Kim looked between us a couple of times, not welcoming Chris or extending a hand. Then ended up looking daggers at mostly me as she started in... "Who is this? And why is she here?"

I knew that standing here and explaining it would only prolong everything, so as I began talking, I moved past my wife and went to the bedroom. She started after me, but did not want to leave a stranger in her living room alone, so she stayed rooted. I raised my volume as I got the sweat clothes from my drawer, then resumed my normal voice when I came back and handed them to Chris. By then I had gotten through the part about how I knew Chris and I began the story of the parking lot as I showed Chris the bathroom, and shut the door behind her.

"What do you mean bringing a street person into my house with my children!"

"Our house and our children..."

"You might want to act like it! You don't know her anymore! She can't stay here! I want her out right now!"

"Can't happen."

"Don't tell me what can and can't happen!"

Seeing no good way out of the hysterics being displayed, I picked up the groceries and walked to the kitchen, followed by my wife hauling my children.

"Don't you walk away from me, you need to listen..."

I started fixing dinner while she continued... stopping after a few more sentences of "I won't allow it!", "You have to listen to me!" finally stopping with, "What ARE you doing?"

"Making dinner. I have to eat, you have to... the boys need to eat and Chris is going to eat. If you are going to continue yelling at me, not fixing dinner, then I will do it."

"Ohhhhh! Get out of here you son of a! She leaves after dinner! Now get out of my kitchen!"

"Our kitchen..." I said quietly as I walked out.

Chris took advantage of the hot water, soap and shampoo. She looked much more like the person I new almost 10 years ago. My sweats hung loose on her short frame. A bath had renewed her a bit,

I washed up after putting in an hour at the new window, playing a bit with the boys while Kim finished up then helped Kim set the table.

Simple food, but healthy, she was a good enough cook.

Kim was not obscenely rude, just not engaging Chris in any kind of conversation directly, outside of passing her food as we dished up our plates.

I asked Chris a question about her folks and her story just kind of poured out.

Mom and Dad, and Mary are okay, they have disowned me, but they were well the last time we talked, doing alright. Brad divorced me, my practice took off and grew quickly, his career kind of floundered. He felt I was devoting too much time to my patients and not enough to him. He wanted kids, I wasn't getting pregnant no matter how hard we tried, and then he pretty much quit trying, with me at least. He got a young ass associate at the firm where he worked pregnant, divorced me to have his "family" with someone who could.

Then one of my partners got caught in unethical relations with several of our clients, the firm was sued, I was implicated and my reputation ruined, which is when I was disowned. Everyone believed the accusers... I lost everything in the law suit and have been on the street trying to not get killed or "disappeared" for about 6 months.

Kim did not react to Chris' story, dealing with the Ethan, keeping him eating and his food off the floor. Caleb was in a bounce chair at her feet, and he interrupted her meal by crying, which started her milk flowing. The milk wet her shirt before she could swallow what was in her mouth. Her whole front was soaked before she got him unbuckled and in her arms. She did not excuse herself, she just left the table and ran to our room to feed him.

"Jeff, it looks like me being here is going to cause... "

"Don't be silly. Nothing new because of you... she has issues that have nothing to do with you."

She stood up to clear the table.

"Don't Chris. I'll get this, you are a guest tonight."

"No... I can't possibly pay you back for any of this..."

"Nothing to pay back... you have a need, we can help. End of story... you don't owe us anything."

She put her head in her arms, down on the table and cried again. Silent sobs wracking her body. I left her to her tears and cleaned up after dinner. When I came out of the kitchen Chris was on the couch, trying to get comfortable.

"Nope! Not on the couch or the floor. Tonight you sleep, undisturbed, in a bed, with sheets and blankets. No... don't argue... just let me do this. God knows what tomorrow will be like, so just rest and relax right now."

I was just finishing up my shower when Kim came into the bathroom.

"You just about done? I am a milk sticky mess and need to get cleaned up."

"There's room in here sweet heart."

"Hah! You wish! You bring a woman home from the grocery store... she was not on the list I gave you. We've talked about you deviating from the list!"

Humor was a good sign with Kim, so I had hope until...

"I am soo pissed at you right now! You have no idea! She is sleeping on my sons bed! You kicked my son out of his bed for some homeless stranger!"

I stepped out of the shower. She was naked and ready to step in.

"No... don't even think about it! You'll be lucky to get a kiss while she is under this roof." She elbowed past me and closed the shower door.

Kim had been petite her whole life. Pregnancy had changed that, as it does for many women. He thighs had thickened, her waist too. Her ass had ballooned but the biggest change had been in her bust line. She had always been a large A cup. Now she was a medium D and had the stretch marks to show the rapidity of the growth. She was very self conscious about her tits, she thought they were ugly, I did not care, they were feeding my boys. And boy, were they feeding them. Ethan still nursed on occasion out of jealousy, but it was never a problem because she produced way beyond their needs. She seldom went anywhere because, as happened at diner tonight, her milk would flow at the slightest cry of hunger or need, not only from Caleb or Ethan, but from any kid within hearing. She had tried pads, and there were these uncomfortable plastic cups to catch the milk, but they would overflow too, so she just stayed home most of the time.

She felt fat and dowdy and sticky and very "not sexy" which put a crimp in our relationship and made the postpartum blues that harder to beat.

Not being new to any of this, I knew that she was in no mood and anything I did to change it would only make it worse, so, I dried off and left her to her shower.

"She's gone tomorrow morning Jeff. I won't have it."

Kim's tits were full of milk and swollen when I got up in the morning so I was careful not to disturb her or Caleb when I got up and got ready for work. Everyone was asleep when I left.

When I got home I was in a hurry.

Chris, too my surprise, was sitting at the table coloring with Ethan like old friends, Kim came out from the bedroom, Caleb, I assumed, was napping.

I was glad that Chris was still here, and that the walls were not covered in blood, but I really had to get ready.

I kissed Kim quick and went to the bedroom for my duffle bag.

"Jerry is picking me up in 20 minutes. Going out of town for a week, maybe 6 days. Big job, 12 hours a day until it's done. With overtime and double time we'll get three weeks wages in a week. I could not say no. I'm sorry to dump everything on you, but..."

Kim was beside me helping me pack.

"It's okay hon... we'll be fine, I'll work it out. Chris is going to stay one more day. We worked it out. Go... work safe and come back with lots of money."

I kissed Kim and Ethan, said good bye to Chris and was walking out the door as Jerry pulled up in his truck.

When you're working hard 12 hrs a day there's not much time for anything other than eating and sleeping, for me anyway. Jerry reminded me of every Marine PFC I ever met. Drink hard, stumble in, grab an hour to sleep then work another shift. The only drinking problem was if he could not do the job... then it became a problem.

"Come out to the strip club tonight Jeff... most of the crew is going... Charisa has a girl friend that will knock you out."

"Nope, I can't afford Charisa's girl friend... I can't afford that kind of trouble."

Jerry was married, but his reasoning was that out of town work was a free pass... "Hell, Barbara's probably fucking the whole neighborhood anyway."

I read, slept, ate meals from the hot plate in the room... phoned the house once a day and either left a message or talked for 10 minutes split between Kim and Ethan excitedly gibbering about his day.

What I picked up though was that Kim was feeling better. There was a lighter tone in her voice. Chris was still there, and they were getting along.

"I am glad you brought her home Jeff. She had such a hard time on the streets. There are real bastards out there. You would not believe the things she had to do just to survive."

"So you guys are getting along and everything is okay?"

"She is being a big help with the boys, and around the house. They like her, she and Ethan are best friends and Caleb even let's her hold him now without fussing.

Don't be mad at me, but I put some things on the charge card, I know we were working hard to pay it off, and you work so hard for every dollar, but I had to get some things for Chris to wear... she can't look for work in your old sweats now can she... and, besides, you know I'll make it up to you..."

She left the promise hanging, allowing my imagination to fill in the blanks. It had been a while since she had talked like that, so I jumped on it at first, but reminded myself quickly, not to get my hopes up too much. Kim could change in a minute, and there were still a couple of days worth of minutes before she would have to make good on that.

"I get the charges, do what you need to, we can make up for some of it when this check comes through. Try not to go too crazy..."

I was encouraged by her up beat attitude, it had been a long time since she had been anything other than a dark cloud... but I was surprised at the change I found when I opened the door a few days latter.

The house was spotless... put together... everything picked up and in place. That was enough, but not at all the end of it. Kim was radiant. Hair done, dressed nice, makeup on, even wearing low heels instead of schlepping around in house slippers.