Free Oblivious by Jamie Bowers Page B

sipped the water, ‘I heard you stirring about twenty minutes ago so thought I would bring you some painkillers for when you woke up. It seems like you need it.’ Joe passed the cup back to Francis and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
    ‘The pain is so hard’, he said as he tried to get more comfortable, ‘I thought I was getting better.’ Francis held the cup in her hand, staring down at the light reflecting off the water.
    ‘I don’t know what to say, Joe.’ she said as she rubbed her thumb around the rim of the cup, ‘Doctor Gable thinks there’s something wrong with you.’
    ‘I know,’ said Joe with a look of derision, ‘I can still feel the pain that was handed to me by the Warden and his goons.’ Francis placed the cup on the trolley beside her and reached for Joe’s hand. Holding it with care, she looked him in the eyes.
    ‘He thinks you have something more than a few bruises and a cracked rib, he wants to do some tests.’ Joe sat up as best he could.
    ‘What do you mean, tests?’ he asked, ‘Please Franny, what’s wrong with me?’ She held his hand tightly between hers and looked at him as his eyes welled up with tears.
    ‘I don’t know, Joe. But I’m sure he’ll help you, no matter what it is. And I’ll always be here for you.’ Joe could see that there was more to what was being said than the words coming out of her mouth, but also knew that he wasn’t going to get the answers he felt he deserved.
    Standing up and pushing the trolley to one side, Francis took something out of her pocket. It was a small piece of paper that had been folded several times with care. She unfolded it and held it in front of her.
    ‘Do you know why you’re here, Joe?’ she said, looking at the paper clutched between her fingers. Joe looked at her as she stared down at the paper in her hands.
    ‘No,’ he said with eyes still filled with tears, ‘I just can’t remember. I know that Gina doesn’t want anything to do with me and she’ll probably make sure I won’t see Mary again.’ Francis walked around the bed and stood between Joe and the window, causing a dark shadow to be cast across his face.
    ‘Are you sure?’ she said as Joe squinted his eyes to see more than a silhouette.
    ‘I’m telling you, I don’t remember a thing. I just know that I wasn’t in court for long. What I do remember is that I got arrested at my home and was taken to hospital because I had some injuries.’ Francis looked at him with concern.
    ‘Who injured you?’
    ‘I don’t know it’s all a blur.’ said Joe as he rubbed his brow frustrated that he could not remember. Gazing up at the fluorescent light buzzing above his bed he had a sudden realisation.
    ‘Wait, I remember being in a fight at my apartment and I got shot by whoever was there, I think it must have been a burglar. That’s about it, before I was taken to hospital and then straight to court. I don’t remember much from the hospital besides the fact I slept most of the time. In court, I don’t recall what was being said while I was there; just know that I couldn’t see Gina, only a few people I didn’t recognise. Oh, and my brother was there, I think. But I can’t really be sure.’
    Francis held the piece of paper out to him, he took it slowly with one hand and could see it was a newspaper clipping.
    ‘What’s this?’ he said as he lifted it to his eye level.
    ‘It was in this week’s paper. It’s about you, Joe. It says that you committed murder.’ Seeing a picture of himself dressed in his army uniform, the day he was shipped off to Laos, with the headline “Ex-Army Private Sentenced to 15 Years” He read the short article, muttering the words to himself:
     
    Joseph Parcoli of New York City has been sentenced to fifteen years in Hampton Penitentiary for the murder of his wife Gina, 29 and their 12 month old daughter, Mary. Having returned to their home after celebrating Mary’s first birthday at the County Fair, an altercation