“Sometimes you look at people and ask ‘who the fuck dressed you?” N.F. sipped on his water as we drove down the country back roads of Ulster County.The old Ford pick up ran like brand new and the feel of the day was out of the 1960’s, kids were wearing jeans, girls in shorts and tie dyed shirts as we passed the farm stand heading toward the railroad tracks. The clouds played with sunlight as they blew by the sun giving shades of grey and vivid colors to barns, farms and fields.
I walked the property while N.F. fixed the tractor for Ms Elly’s friend Marta. Marta walked out of the house to give us water, which I gladly thanked her for. Her belly had a small bulge but her figure was still petite, her face was lightly weathered as her brownish blonde hair blew in the wind. Her long light blue sundress didn’t hide the fact she was about two months pregnant. Her man had been dead for over three months. N.F. got the tractor started and began cleaning up.
“Marta, we gotta come back later, we’ll spray your fruit trees to kill of the Japanese beetles” shouted N.F. Marta’s a woman in her early thirties in a 19th century farm house on 22 acres in a rural community, single and pregnant. As N.F. and I drove back to his place I asked him about Marta and if the baby’s Daddy was gonna do the right thing. “RJ, Elly didn’t tell you about Marta?” “No.” “What’s to tell N.F. sounds like another hit and run story.”
“When we get back I’ll have Elly tell you. Its not another hit and run pregnancy, far from it.” The afternoon was gorgeous looking at the flowers and trees out of the large picture window in the kitchen.
When we got back we had a late lunch, N.F. said, “Elly, RJ doesn’t know about Marta.” Ms Elly looked at me and sat down at the table (something she hardly does because of her back) she said, “RJ you knew Sam, right?” “Yeah, the young Soldier at Ben and Becky’s Wedding, didn’t he get hurt or something, Elly?”
“Yes, he was Marta’s boyfriend, they were engaged, he was brain dead from the fall he took down at the Old Railroad Station bar in Middletown. His family pulled the plug on him RJ.” “His family must be happy that at least they’ll have a grandson, Sammie will have a survivor.” Ms Elly said, “they’re not that happy, in fact they tried to stop the pregnancy.”
I looked in absolute mystification at Ms Elly asking, “how the fuck do they stop her pregnancy? Are they gonna kidnap her and take her to some quack? How do they stop a pregnancy that’s well on the way?” Ms Elly raised her eyebrows, “at the time her pregnancy hadn’t started.” “Elly, I’m confused, help me here. Sam’s been dead how long?” “Three months or so RJ.”
“OK, Marta’s what, two months pregnant?” “Right again RJ.” “OK, here’s the stupid question, how does a dead man get a woman pregnant?” “Well this is what Marta told me, its kind of amazing considering the courts didn’t have to get involved.” Ms Elly told the story of Marta’s pregnancy as it was described to her: “Sam was two weeks in a comma, he was going back to Iraq on his third tour of duty when he fell and split his head in the bar.”
Ms Elly continued relaying Marta’s account steadfast and in an even tone of voice. It was as if I was hearing Marta herself saying; “His parents told me they knew that he didn’t want to live like this and they decided to let him go. I told them that we were to be married and we wanted kids, I wanted his child. Sam’s parents got angry and wanted to get me thrown out. I spoke to his patient advocate, next thing I know were all sitting in a board room with his Doctor and some Hospital administrators.
The Hospital Administrators were an old scholarly looking gentleman about 80 years old in a grey suit, a thin black woman who looked like Condoleeza Rice and a hard bitten dark haired man in a black suit (The Chief of Medicine, Hospital Legal Council and the Hospitals Chairman of the Board respectively).
They sat us down and asked all kinds of questions but it all boiled down to these things: Did Sam have an End-of-Life Plan, if not, did I have some proof of Sam wanting to have kids after he died and did he put it writing or other form that could be produced to them, writing, e-mail, telegram, etc. So I asked them if I could bring it to them, they said to go and come back right away and show them what I had. I brought them a letter he wrote me from Iraq on his second tour.
The Black Woman, the Legal Council read the letter aloud after having the other administrators examine the letter. She read: “Dear Marta,
I’m glad you accepted my proposal and I expect to see that ring on your finger when I get home. I couldn’t believe you could find a nice ring at the PX in Germany, but there it was. I’m concerned that I won’t be able to get my old job back at ‘Phil’s’ Junk Yard when I get back, but even if I don’t I want you to have our baby.
I hope I can give you a baby, I want a big ol’ healthy boy I can teach to play ball, fix things and fish, like my Dad taught me. There’s so much stuff in the air around here you don’t know if what your breathing is killing you. We go through contaminated areas or Kurdish areas where Saddam gassed people all the time. I should have bottled some Sam seed just in case (don’t want a handicapped kid either).
Get my shotgun from Roy and take it to Old Man McDougal so he can check it out for me because dickhead hunted with it twice and didn’t clean it. Wear that black dress for me when I get home so I can bend you over the saw horse in the barn and f…..”
“That’s enough said the Chairman as he looked at Marta and turned red.” Ms Edna continued Marta’s story after getting up for some iced tea and cookies. “Marta said that night Sam’s Dad tried to talk her out of having the baby. Marta told him, “I can’t have Sam, but I can have what Sam wanted….a son.”
“Elly, the hospital actually got sperm from a dead man?” “RJ, Marta said they hadn’t pulled the plug at that time, but the Hospital allowed a ‘testicular biopsy’ while he was still breathing. Sam’s Dad didn’t want it to take place, but he gave in when Sam’s Mom produced baby pictures of the Soldier as a boy.” I pondered the ethics involved in that decision.
N.F. and I went back to Marta’s and sprayed the fruit trees before the sun went down. Marta invited us in and I expressed my sympathy for the passing of her friend and lover. Marta then told me the rest of the story.
Marta said, “Before I was inseminated and got pregnant we decided along with the hospital staff that some of Sam’s organs be saved for transplant to someone who needs them. The man who got Sam’s heart sent me the flowers on the table, he sent flowers to his Mom and Dad too.” I choked back hard on the tears after I hugged her as we left.
The Hospital Administrators were an old scholarly looking gentleman about 80 years old in a grey suit, a thin black woman who looked like Condoleeza Rice and a hard bitten dark haired man in a black suit (The Chief of Medicine, Hospital Legal Council and the Hospitals Chairman of the Board respectively).
They sat us down and asked all kinds of questions but it all boiled down to these things: Did Sam have an End-of-Life Plan, if not, did I have some proof of Sam wanting to have kids after he died and did he put it writing or other form that could be produced to them, writing, e-mail, telegram, etc. So I asked them if I could bring it to them, they said to go and come back right away and show them what I had. I brought them a letter he wrote me from Iraq on his second tour.The Black Woman, the Legal Council read the letter aloud after having the other administrators examine the letter. She read: “Dear Marta,
I’m glad you accepted my proposal and I expect to see that ring on your finger when I get home. I couldn’t believe you could find a nice ring at the PX in Germany, but there it was. I’m concerned that I won’t be able to get my old job back at ‘Phil’s’ Junk Yard when I get back, but even if I don’t I want you to have our baby.
I hope I can give you a baby, I want a big ol’ healthy boy I can teach to play ball, fix things and fish, like my Dad taught me. There’s so much stuff in the air around here you don’t know if what your breathing is killing you. We go through contaminated areas or Kurdish areas where Saddam gassed people all the time. I should have bottled some Sam seed just in case (don’t want a handicapped kid either).
Get my shotgun from Roy and take it to Old Man McDougal so he can check it out for me because dickhead hunted with it twice and didn’t clean it. Wear that black dress for me when I get home so I can bend you over the saw horse in the barn and f…..”
“That’s enough said the Chairman as he looked at Marta and turned red.” Ms Edna continued Marta’s story after getting up for some iced tea and cookies. “Marta said that night Sam’s Dad tried to talk her out of having the baby. Marta told him, “I can’t have Sam, but I can have what Sam wanted….a son.”
“Elly, the hospital actually got sperm from a dead man?” “RJ, Marta said they hadn’t pulled the plug at that time, but the Hospital allowed a ‘testicular biopsy’ while he was still breathing. Sam’s Dad didn’t want it to take place, but he gave in when Sam’s Mom produced baby pictures of the Soldier as a boy.” I pondered the ethics involved in that decision.
N.F. and I went back to Marta’s and sprayed the fruit trees before the sun went down. Marta invited us in and I expressed my sympathy for the passing of her friend and lover. Marta then told me the rest of the story.
Marta said, “Before I was inseminated and got pregnant we decided along with the hospital staff that some of Sam’s organs be saved for transplant to someone who needs them. The man who got Sam’s heart sent me the flowers on the table, he sent flowers to his Mom and Dad too.” I choked back hard on the tears after I hugged her as we left.
After we got back to N.F.’s, I thought about my mortality. I took a bottle of Jack and walked in the woods and stared at the stars. Jupiter was rising in the southwest sky, the coy dogs barked, the deer scattered, the horses snorted, the half moon appeared and the wind cried “Marta”.
RJ
2 comments:
I liked this post, it was good reading, almost novel like but real. I'm sorry to hear about your friends passing but also happy to hear that his true love is pregnant, he got his wish and his parents will have a grandchild out of his loss. I'm sure they would have been happier if he had lived to see this child but G-d doesn't work that way sometimes.
Very well written.
This was a drinking story that I wanted to tell from the survivors point of view. Men don't think about things like death and mortality unless they have to deal with it on a daily basis.
A man who is dead now has an heir to what little he did get in life along with support from the government of the U.S. He is entitled to all his daddys benefits upon birth.
OOOH RAAH! God is good sometimes.
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