Percival, Chapter One, Part Three

“I’m here to take over but I’m going to get a bite to eat before Mr. Silverman cashes you out.”

“No problem, sweet heart,” she said, handing a gentleman a five dollar bill.

Percival grabbed a tray at the server station in the middle of the food court and piled on a huge portion macaroni salad and a hamburger, taking it over to the employee table just out of sight from the rest of the cafeteria. He eyed Mr. Silverman making his way over to Mrs. Zandrosi. Percival had shoveled all the food into his mouth and by the time Mr. Silverman finished. Washing it down with a gulp of orange soda, he scooted around the table and over to Mr. Silverman and Mrs. Zandrosi.

“I don’t think you are on the schedule this coming Tuesday but I’ll make sure you have it off,” Mr. Silverman said to Mrs. Zandrosi. “Oh Percival, you’re all set to take over now.”

“Sure,” he said, moving in front of the register to greet an impatient doctor. He liked making doctors wait.

The line dragged on and the job became monotamous. Percival kept repeating the same phrases, “hello”, “is that it?”, and “thank you”. The only things that used any brain power was the counting the amount owed and the cash returned. The elderly people, doctors and nurses all looked the same. He noticed Dr. Stevenson in line and he waved. Dr. Stevenson was the parental figure in Percival’s life for a long time. One of his earliest memories of Philip was of him taking his temperature in the orphanage doctor’s office where he grew up.

Philip stopped in front of the register and handed him a twenty dollars. “Good to see you today,” he said. “You need to see me for a check up this month.”

“Just tell me when and I’ll get the time off,” he replied.

“How are you feeling lately? Are you still feeling weak?”

“Just a little at night, but not as much as when you last saw me.”

“Good. I hope that the guys at Keiser are going easy on you.”

“Yea, they’re still giving me twenty pills a day,” said Percival and handed him his change.

The relationship between Philip and Percival had developed since his birth at this hospital twenty-two years ago. His mother, a heroin addict, had come to see the doctors because she was three months pregnant and when they finished her the blood tests, they found out that she also had full blown AIDS from sharing needles with her junkie friends. When in labor, she lost to much blood and her heart stopped. They tried to save her life, her heart came back three times but she was to weak to survive, dying without being able to hold him.

Percival came out tiny and lifeless. The doctors thought him stillborn but when they put him down in the incubator and went to attend his dieing mother, he wailed so loud that everyone stopped and turned towards him.