Idioms...sayings understood by native speakers part fifty seven

Lynn, Jenny and Scott continued their ruse of being the best of friends. John Matthews honed in and pulled up a chair between the girls.

"Now, this is better, boy-girl, boy-girl. Don't you think?"

He patted Jenny on the knee under the table.

"Keep your hands off."

"What?" John feigned innocence. "Keep my hands off of what?" He arched an eyebrow.

Jenny scooted around the little table closer to Scott.

"You damn well know off what." She hissed.

Scott looked at her.

"Jenny, Lynn, you guys want to go for a walk. Mom will be in the OR for hours."

"You guys don't have to do that. I mean we are all adults here, right?"

Jenny said, "Well, at least three of us are."

"So tell me more." John stated.

"More?"

"Yeah, like how you met."

Jenny smiled at Scott and rubbed his head. "In Psychology class, he just reminded me so much of Larry I could not help but like him from the start."

"Larry?"

"Yeah. My step brother."

Step brother? thought John, could that mean I have a grandchild? "Ah, tell me more about Larry."

"Why would I do that?"

"Look, I am all about family. Mine is so screwed up that my brothers and I did not really have a chance. So when people talk about their family, I feel hopeful that one day I will have one, too."

"Aren't you kinda old to be thinking about starting a family?"

"Well, let's see. Martin was nineteen when Rick was born that would make him fifty four. I have a sibling every year after, until me. I will turn forty six this year. I saw what my siblings have gone thru with their families. So I decided to wait until I could find a strong and beautiful girl to be my bride."

Jenny looked at this guy like he had grown horns.

"It was a rhetorical question. I could care less."

"Then tell me your brother's last name and I will tell you a secret."

"A secret."

"Yes."

Lynn looked confused. Scott narrowed his eyes at the audacity of this bastard. Jenny laughed. "Hell, why not? I mean what damage could you do to my brother. He is safe in rehab."

Scott stared at Jenny. Rehab?

John sat back in his chair. "Then, tell me."

"Fine. His name is Larry Wilson."

John snickered. I have a grandson....

"So tell me."

"My secret? Well, that is. I matured very early."

"So."

"My first encounter was the upstairs maid. Her name was Edna Wilson."

Jenny pulled back. Remembering Grandma Edna. "I I I don't believe you. My step dad died when he was..."

"Still young, lets leave it at that."

"I trapped Edna when I was the ripe age of twelve."

Jenny looked at him. "That is obscene."

"No, at the time it was pretty good."

Lynn looked at this man. He was bragging about such a thing?

She got up and yelled at him.

"Look, you. I don't care who the heck you are. Get away from us or I will report you to security."

John leaned back in his chair.

"Now I get it."

Lynn looked confused.

"You are just like she was. No wonder Martin is so hung up on you. You are just like Alice."

Rick had two security guards with him. They approached the table.

"That is enough. These guards will escort you out of the building, John."

"Ah Rick. We are going to have to have a chat just you and I. We really need to discuss these manners of yours."

He got up and left but not without gazing at Jenny with a new interested look. She shivered as she recognized it. It was the same one her step dad had.

"That man... is Larry's grandfather?"

Lynn grabbed her hand. "Stop it. Nothing is going to happen."

Rick walked over to the girls, seeing the distress on both of their faces. "Did I get here too late?"

Lynn looked at him. "If you mean that I am exactly like your mom, and I have heard that more than once." She paused as the realization hit. "I have to go."

Lynn stood up looking at Rick with new eyes.

"Come on, Jenny. We have to go."

"I can't, Lynn. I need to be with Carl."

"Then, me and Charlie... we don't have to be here. We aren't needed here. We should go. We don't want to a nuisance."

Jenny was reeling from the fact thet Larry was a Matthews... She looked at Lynn.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I am talking about the fact that I am just like Rick's mom." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Maybe that is why you have been infatuated with me for so long."

Rick raised both brows in surprise. "I have got to hand it to Uncle John. In one short conversation, he got to you both."

"WOULD THE FAMILY OF SARA MATTHEWS PLEASE COME TO THE SURGERY WAITING ROOM? WOULD THE FAMILY OF SARA MATTHEWS PLEASE COME TO THE SURGERY WAITING ROOM."

The group stood up. Rick took Lynn by the elbow. "Come on. They are talking about us."

"Let go of me Rick. I am not your mother."

"Thank God. I hear that there are laws against that in this state."

"You aren't hearing me."

"And you aren't listening either. I need you to shut up and calm down. We both have to be there for Carl. No matter what. We can have this discussion when we get home."

Lynn clamped her lips down tightly. Who said I was going home with you?

---

John smiled as he headed to the limosine. Might as well keep it in the family. All in all, this was a rather interesting day off. The Chauffeur looked back expectantly at John.

"Take me home."

---

The Attorney General threw her briefcase on the table beside her. She crossed her arms and rubbed them tiredly. The fight was on. Jurisdiction was won to Lansing County. But bail was set to the minimum due to the stellar character of one A.J. Matthews being such a philanthropist to his community. She had been blindsided when she saw the top defense attorney for criminal law sitting in the chair beside A.J. Matthews. Then the attorney tried to push the court date back to a year. She managed to get that moved down to two months. By then it would probably be determined if the victim would be alive or dead, and the charges would be changed from attempted murder to murder. The dance would begin in two months and land in the lap of Stanley Kuzavich. First year as a prosecuting attorney... of Lansing County.

She walked over to the bar and poured herself a drink as her cell phone rang.

"Madame Attorney General?"

"Yes."

"Stanley Kuzavitch here. We have the results of the autopsy of Miguel Gomez."

"So fast? "

"What were the results?"

"The man's organs are missing. They took everything. The heart, lungs, pancreas, kidneys and liver. We are investigating the OR team now. But the surgeon in charge is missing."

"Damn."

"Maybe this was an isolated incident."

"No, Stanley. Only a fool would believe that. The Matthews own a third rate toy company. How is it that they are first in this state in charity donation? How can they afford to give everyone free health care in that county of theirs? This goes much deeper. You have had some experience with drug trafficking right?"

"Yes."

"Then think of it like that. Supply, Demand. Sales transactions. I want to know just where those organs went."

"Okay. Fine."

"Oh, and Stanley, when we are on the phone like this, call me Allison." She paused. "By the way, I have some more news for you. A.J. Matthews arraignment was today."

"I know."

"And the venue has been placed in your county. Can you handle it?"

"Ah, er, sure."

"The defense attorney is Brett Zebrowsky. Have you ever gone against him?"

The man audibly sighed. "Yes."

"And?"

"Let's just say we are two and two. I guess that makes us tied."

"Better than most, Stanley. So you have your work cut out for you. I will be coming down to your county soon to go over the case. Understood?"

"Um, sure."

"Fine. And Stanley? Don't forget. Even though Miguel Gomez was an illegal, we owe him."

"Allison, that never entered my mind."

"I know. Talk to you later."

She hung up. He's naive. But a good kid.

---

Stanley sat down to supper with his wife. He smiled looking at the baked chicken, the fresh green beans, and rice sitting on his plate with the obligatory green salad with vinaigrette. He shook his head.

"What?" She smiled back. "I know how you eat at the office. This is just to off set that. Remember, you owe me at least fifty years."

He laughed. "Stacy, do you know how much I love you?"

"Yep. But you can prove it by eating. Now eat."

He grabbed his knife and fork. "Hon, I am going to be putting in a lot more hours."

"Really?"

"Yes. I have a couple of cases that are pretty big coming up. One is against Brett Zabrowsky."

"That bastard?"

"Yeah. And don't call him that. Someone has to defend the accused."

"Stan, you are still an idealist. I love that about you."

"How about you? Nursing has always been your dream."

"Yes." She sighed. "But the reality is very different. I think I need to quit my job."

"What?" He stared at her. "Stacy, it took you almost three months to get that one."

"I know. But, even if I am a new-by, everything I was taught in nursing school can't be wrong, can it?"

"Like?"

"Like, the RN is supposed to know for the patient. We answer his questions based on what the doctor has written in the History and Physical and progress notes. I cannot answer any questions because I cannot access those notes. And, we are never supposed to administer medications without knowing what the drug is, what it is for, what the side effects are. But now I find we are doing drug studies and the patients may not have signed an informed consent." She looked at her husband. "Stan, I could be giving them poison for all I know."

He narrowed his eyes. "It doesn't sound legal."

"The nurse I work with says the consents are signed up front in the admissions office, but I cannot find them to make sure." She pulled a plastic bag out of her pocket. "Here. I want you to get this analyzed. It is one of the most common trial drugs we use. It is called Special V. It is supposed to be a vitamin supplement." She paused. "And one more thing. Patients are going missing."

"How do you mean?"

"What can I do? Will I be violating the HIPPA law?"

"Present it without the name, like a case study."

"Cool. An eighteen year old Hispanic quadriplegic male was admitted to my rehab about three weeks ago. He was sent to Charity for a nephrectomy related to a kidney mass."

Stanley dropped his fork he was holding.

"Is his name Miguel Gomez?"

Now she looked at him like a deer caught in headlights. "No." as she shook her head yes.

"Give me that pill. Don't tell anyone about this Stacy. Okay?"

"Sure."

---

The surgeon stood in front of the family of Sara Matthews.

"Hi, I am Dr. Samuel Clark. I need to talk with you about Sara. She is stabilized at present and is being transferred back to the ICU. But Sara is not out of the woods yet. We found the leak and repaired. She is going to be placed in a coma to keep her body perfectly still. There was some other internal organ damage that had been missed when she got here. We placed a permacath in her right subclavian for dialysis access. Sara's kidneys apparently were severely bruised. Some times the kidneys will rally and come back, sometimes they won't."

He noted the shocked faces.

"So, mom is still alive. And she can come back from all of this."

"I need you to know that we will keep her comatose for three days then wean the medicine. She should wake up. But this is going to be a long process. It may take up to three or four months for her kidneys to recover. It is imperative that you understand, she did lose a lot of blood. There might be some residual damage to her brain. We are monitoring that, also."

"So Carl's mommy is really sick?"  Charlie asked, looking at the surgeon with tears in in eyes.

The surgeon squatted down in front of the challenged man.

"Yes.  But we will do our very best to save her, okay?"

Chalrie nodded and looked at Carl.  "Charlie lost his mommy."  He turned back to the man in blue scrubs.  "Charlie will keep praying for Carl's mommy, okay?"

The surgeon blinked a little.  "Sure.  That is a very important thing to do."  He held out his hand to Charile who shook it. Standing up, he returned to the group.

He looked at Carl in the wheel chair.

"Your mother has been very lucky to be alive up to this point. Had you not gotten her to the hospital when you did, I dare say, we would not be having this conversation."

Carl nodded.

"I hear you are going to getting your facial fractures fixed in the morning. So, please, return to your room. I will stop by before I leave and give you any updates."

He shook the man's hand and headed back to the OR.

Carl put his head down into his hands.

Jenny rubbed his back. "Come on. Let's get you back to your room." She waved at the other three and wheeled Carl away.

He sat up. "Stop." Then he turned the chair. "Rick?"

Rick got up and bent over to the man. "What, Carl?"

"You know. We have got to make this right."

Rick looked at the dead serious face. "I know."

"No matter what."

"No matter what, Carl. I promise."

Carl nodded. "Come on, Jenny. Let's go." He sat up in the chair and wheeled it down to the elevators himself. Jenny ran after him.

Rick stood watching the back of his cousin. He sighed. This is going to get really messy. As he turned surprised to see Lynn and Charlie missing from the chairs. He quickly surveyed the area and saw the two heading for the exit.

He ran up to them and followed.

"Charlie is very tired. I am taking him home."

"No problem. I will get the car."

"No. We can go by taxi."

"But Li Li, I want to ride in Wick's car."

"Charlie, you like taxi rides."

"But I can get mommy kisses in Wick's car."

Charlie, I owe you one, thought Rick. "Just wait here, you two. I will go get the car." He paused and grinned, "Charlie, make sure she doesn't run off anywhere."

---

Scott sat in the chairs. He was numb. Not only had his cover been blown, that man had single handedly gotten to both of those girls' achilles heels. He looked up to see his Mom's Orthopedic surgeon coming towards him with a smile on his face.

"Everything went well. In a couple of days we will be sending your Mom over to the Phoenix rehab."

"No."

"What do you mean no?"

"Mom will either go home with me or we will be sending her to some other rehab. The Phoenix will not do."

"Son, you don't understand. It is really a great place and it's free."

"I understand all too well. And I will decide where she goes."

---

"I am going to my house."

"No problem. We can talk freely there." Rick stated.

Charlie opened the sun roof and smiled.

 ---

Christopher was sitting in the study, drinking a brandy.  This was one hell of a costly mess.  His laptop was open to the family accounts. 

He heard the front door open and one of the servants greeting John.

"Mr. Matthews.  Mr. Christopher is waiting for you in the downstairs study.."

I bet, thought John.  He entered the room.  Christopher scowled at him.  John went over and found the Scotch.  He poured himself one and then took a seat on the couch across from his uptight brother sitting in the chair.  He sighed.

"Tell me why we had to honor Mr. Phan's order when there was no payment."

"Ah, that.  The doll with the diamonds were found and turned into the state police."

"What?"

"Who would have thought that Grandfather's little game between Carl and Rick would have set this up?  Remember when Rick told us that the returned toys were sent to research and development to hopefully be recycled?  One of the team members found it before our man did.  Anyway, bottom line, it was our fault for losing it at the distribution plant.  The worker involved has already been appropriately punished.  But, this business is all about trust.  So, we had to eat that loss... so to speak."

Christopher shook his head.  "It has just been a bad day for business."

"Has it?  Are you talking about paying that loan back to that old fart Greenbaum?"

"Not only that.  This A.J. thing really is going to cost us."

"Why?  I thought our lawyers could handle it."

"Well, this is the first time we had to deal with the criminal law.  We had to hire a specialist."

"Really?"

"A.J. is going to be sanctioned after this."

"How many of his stocks are going to be up for grabs?"

"The jury is still out on that.  It depends on if this is going to go to trial.  How was your fishing expedition with Sara."

"Ah, well, she had to go to emergency surgery.  I heard them calling the family together as I was escorted out.  I will just call Oscar later and see what happened."

"You think he is going to tell you anything?"

John smiled.  "It's Oscar.  What he doesn't say will tell everything.  Don't worry about a trial.  I will handle the witnesses."

"Well, hurry it up.  This fancy defense attorney charges five hundred dollars an hour."

"Looks like we might have chosen the wrong business." 

Christopher cracked a slight smile.  "No.  Our business is clean.  No returns."

John chuckled.  "You know, Christopher, you can be a funny guy when you want to be."

"You need to go see Martin, he is not in a good mood."

John finished his drink and got up.  "When is he?"

"Hey, I thought you were supposed to not drink that stuff?"

"Ah, today has been a good day.  I found out that I have a replacement."  As he walked out of the room, Christopher just shook his head, returning to his laptop.

---

They arrived to the little house that belonged to Lynn and Charlie.  Lynn got out and slammed the door.  She strode quickly to the house.

Charlie got out with Rick.

"Wick?  Why is Li LI so mad?"

"Well, I guess she thinks I like her because she reminds me of my mom."

"But that is a good thing."

"Huh?"

"Charlie loved his mommy.  Charlie loves Lynn.  Why wouldn't Charlie like someone like them."

"Charlie?"

"What?"

"You sure are smart.  Can you get a quick bath and head to bed?  I really need to talk to your sister."

"You know she is going to yell cuz she is this mad."

"I know."

Charlie looked down at the ground.  "Wick is a brave man."

Rick chuckled.  "No Charlie, it is because I like your sister very much."

"No."

"No?"

"No.  Cuz you love Li LI."  He walked with Rick to the door.  "Charlie will stay in his room.  But if things start getting broken, Wick will have to leave."

"Li Li breaks things?"

"Only once when mommy died.  Charlie had to stop her."

"Ah, and how did Charlie help her?"

"Charlie ran out of the room and sat down and rocked."

"I thought you only rock when you are stressed."

"Sometimes."  Charlie gave a little smile.

Rick grinned.  Just like a five year old playing sick... He rubbed Charlie's head.  "Let's go bud.  This is going to be interesting."