The kid took the head shaking to mean no, but pressed him for more info, "Dude, who is Marcia? Is that your wife? Do you want to call her?"
Rick looked up and turned to the kid, "No, Marcia is dead."
After that the car remained silent as they drove in the dark. When they arrived at the hospital, they kid left Rick in the car and walked to the front counter of the Emergency room. Rick saw the kid speaking to the woman at the counter, for the first time he noticed the kid and something seemed familiar about him, but he couldn't place his finger on it - quickly his mind returned to the horror he has witnessed. This was not a dream, I am losing my mind he thought to himself.
Two men emerged with a wheelchair and helped Rick out of the car. The kid walked inside with him, "Don't worry man, these guys are gonna take real good care of you. I told them all about what happened." Rick studied the kid's face hard and didn't notice that the men were strapping him into the chair. One of the men was preparing a needle as the kid was still talking to him. "You take care of yourself. Everything will be okay." Rick couldn't place where he knew him from; finally he managed to ask him, "What is your name? Do I know you? How can I thank you for helping me?"
"Oh man, I don't think so. Ever been to Carleton? I teach up there, maybe that's where you know me. Well, in any case my name's Paul. No need to thank me, just speak of me fondly. Good luck."
As the young man disappeared, Rick was stricken with a sense of overwhelming fear and knowledge, he began to struggle, only to find himself strapped in. He looked up to see a big burly orderly sticking him with a needle.
The last thing he saw before succumbing to the drug, was the young man driving away, waving and smiling.
Article comments
1 - Rhonda Albano
Why don't you just be honest? It wasn't about Rick Kahn's speech at the memorial. It was about over 20,000 people fighting to keep Wellstone's legacy of social, racial and economic justice alive. I hate GOP supporters who can't handle the truth. Over 20,000 ordinary working people would never come out for Trent Lott or the rest of you right wingers.