Joss and Gold

Four

Four T.house was dark as Meryl cut off the engine in the driveway, but she didn't think anything of it until she got up the stairs. Then, pow-the smell! She knew immediately that someone had thrown up; she couldn't miss the sour~sick smell of vomit trailing through the hallway. It smelled like someone also hadn't cleaned up. "Chester!" she called, but there was no answer. She went into the bedroom. He was sleeping all covered up so that all she saw when she turned on the light was his long hair. It was about time he had it cut, and she was going to ask him to go to the barber the next day before the ben~ efit. But he looked very bad now, his face pasty and his eyes switched off, like he really wasn't seeing her. "What's the matter?" "Don't know. Feel cold and tired." "You threw up," she said. "Did you clean up?" "Don't think so. Sorry." She went to the bathroom. Luckily he seemed to have messed only the sink. She turned on the faucet to run the stuff down the drain, but there were chunks that stuck. She finally had to use her fingers to clear the mess. She scrubbed her hands with bath soap, sponged the sides of the sink where the scum was CIRCLING sticking, threw the tacky sponge into the bathroom basket and put the basket outside the bedroom door to bring down into the kitchen. Chester was still lying in bed, watching her, his cheeks a little pinker. "How do you feel?" she asked. "Better. A little rocky but less like death." "What happened?" she wanted to know. "Nothing. Came back from the vasectomy, took a couple of pills Shelley had given me, and threw up." "Did you call him?" "No." Meryl couldn't believe it. It was too bad he was sick after the vasectomy. But she couldn't believe he hadn't called the doctor. "Why didn't you? He should know what's going on." She picked up the princess phone-it was right next to himand punched for information. When she got the medical center , it was only an answering service. The receptionist said she'd call Dr. Shelley and he'd call back. Meryl told her it was an emergency. She was suddenly sorry for Chester. Even though he frequently argued that men should do their share of population control, he had never been keen on the prospect of a vasectomy . Kate had pointed out in her most ironic voice that Chester's notion of human responsibility never seemed to include himself. She sat by the bed and tried not to see the smear of saliva on the quilt. "How was the operation?" "Fine. I could see him moving his arms but he had me covered with a damn tent from the waist down and I didn't know what the hell he was doing. I didn't feel the surgery. It was weird. I couldn't believe he was cutting my balls up." "He didn't do that, it's ..." "I know. He explained as he was snipping and suturing and what have you. Would have made more sense ifhe'd explained before instead of during." She hated the whine in his voice. Chester's parents had raised him to believe that the world owed him something. Well, 131 JOSS and GOLD Meryl thought, the world owes no one anything, not an explanation, not sympathy. We do it all. She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips, holding her breath in case he hadn't washed his mouth. His lips smelled soapy. He slumped back on the bed, old-mannish, and croaked, "Have a bad headache." He had his grumpy distracted stare, so she knew he was all right. The phone rang. It was Dr. Shelley. Meryl told him what was wrong with Chester but he wanted to speak to him anyway. "Mrs. Brookfield," he said, and she had to listen hard because his voice was tinny and slow, "he can't possibly have these effects from the operation. They may be physically proximate, but there is no connection between the vas and abdomen." Chester had a hangdog face as he talked to the doctor. "I didn't do anything after the surgery. No, just a tuna fish sandwich . I took some...