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Pet Samatary, Part One: The Pet Sematary - Chapter 14

Part One: The Pet Sematary - Chapter 14

FOURTEEN

Things did not slow down until nearly four that afternoon, after Louis and Richard Irving, the head of Campus Security, made a statement to the press. The young man, Victor Pascow, had been jogging with two friends, one of them his fiancée. A car driven by Tremont Withers, twenty-three, of Haven, Maine, had come up the road leading from the Lengyll Women's Gymnasium toward the center of campus at an excessive speed. Withers's car had struck Pascow and driven him into a tree. Pascow had been brought to the infirmary in a blanket by his friends and two passers-by. He had died minutes later. Withers was being held pending charges of reckless driving, driving under the influence, and vehicular manslaughter.

The editor of the campus newspaper asked if he could say that Pascow had died of head injuries. Louis, thinking of that broken window through which the brain itself could be seen, said he would rather let the Penobscot County coroner announce the cause of death. The editor then asked if the four young people who had brought Pascow to the infirmary in the blanket might not have inadvertently caused his death.

‘No,' Louis replied, glad to have the chance to absolve the four of them, who had acted quickly and compassionately, of blame. ‘Not at all. Unhappily, Mr Pascow was, in my opinion, mortally wounded upon being struck.'

There were other questions – a few – but that answer really ended the press conference. Now Louis sat in his office (Steve Masterton had gone home an hour before, immediately following the press conference, to catch himself on the evening news, Louis suspected) trying to pick up the shards of the day – or maybe he was just trying to cover what had happened, to paint a thin coating of routine over it. He and Charlton were going over the cards in the ‘front file' – those students who were pushing grimly through their college years in spite of some disability. There were twenty-three diabetics in the front file, fifteen epileptics, fourteen paraplegics, and assorted others: students with leukemia, students with cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy, blind students, two mute students, and one case of sickle cell anemia, which Louis had never even seen.

Perhaps the lowest point of the afternoon had come just after Steve left. Charlton came in and laid a pink memo slip on Louis's desk. Bangor Carpet will be here at 9:00 tomorrow, it read.

‘Carpet?' he had asked.

‘It will have to be replaced,' she said apologetically. ‘No way it's going to come out, Doctor.'

Of course. At that point Louis had gone into the dispensary and taken a Tuinal – what his first med school roommate had called Tooners. ‘Hop up on the Toonerville Trolley, Louis,' he'd say, ‘and I'll put on some Creedence.' More often than not Louis had declined the ride on the fabled Toonerville, and that was maybe just as well; his roomie had flunked out halfway through his third semester, and had ridden the Toonerville Trolley all the way to Vietnam as a medical corpsman. Louis sometimes pictured him over there, stoned to the eyeballs, listening to Creedence do ‘Run Through the Jungle'.

But he needed something. If he was going to have to see that pink slip about the carpet on his note-minder board every time he glanced up from the front file spread out in front of them, he needed one.

He was cruising fairly well when Mrs Baillings, the night nurse, poked her head in and said, ‘Your wife, Dr Creed. Line one.'

Louis glanced at his watch and saw it was nearly five thirty; he had meant to be out of here an hour and a half ago.

‘Okay, Nancy. Thanks.'

He picked up the phone and punched line one. ‘Hi, honey. Just on my—'

‘Louis, are you all right?'

‘Yeah. Fine.'

‘I heard about it on the news. Lou, I'm so sorry.' She paused a moment. ‘It was the radio news. They had you on, answering some question. You sounded fine.'

‘Did I? Good.'

‘Are you sure you're all right?'

‘Yes, Rachel. I'm fine.'

‘Come home,' she said.

‘Yes,' he said. Home sounded good to him.

Part One: The Pet Sematary - Chapter 14 第一部：ペット・セマタリー-第14章 Część pierwsza: Pet Sematary - Rozdział 14 Частина перша: Семінарія для домашніх тварин - Розділ 14

FOURTEEN CATORCE

Things did not slow down until nearly four that afternoon, after Louis and Richard Irving, the head of Campus Security, made a statement to the press. Las cosas no se calmaron hasta casi las cuatro de la tarde, después de que Louis y Richard Irving, el jefe de Seguridad del Campus, hicieran una declaración a la prensa. The young man, Victor Pascow, had been jogging with two friends, one of them his fiancée. El joven, Victor Pascow, había estado haciendo jogging con dos amigos, uno de ellos su prometida. A car driven by Tremont Withers, twenty-three, of Haven, Maine, had come up the road leading from the Lengyll Women's Gymnasium toward the center of campus at an excessive speed. Un automóvil conducido por Tremont Withers, de veintitrés años, de Haven, Maine, había subido por la carretera que conducía desde el gimnasio femenino de Lengyll hacia el centro del campus a una velocidad excesiva. Withers's car had struck Pascow and driven him into a tree. El auto de Withers golpeó a Pascow y lo estrelló contra un árbol. Pascow had been brought to the infirmary in a blanket by his friends and two passers-by. Pascow había sido llevado a la enfermería en una manta por sus amigos y dos transeúntes. He had died minutes later. Había muerto minutos después. Withers was being held pending charges of reckless driving, driving under the influence, and vehicular manslaughter. Withers estaba detenido pendiente de cargos de conducción imprudente, conducción bajo la influencia y homicidio vehicular.

The editor of the campus newspaper asked if he could say that Pascow had died of head injuries. El editor del periódico del campus preguntó si podía decir que Pascow había muerto por heridas en la cabeza. Louis, thinking of that broken window through which the brain itself could be seen, said he would rather let the Penobscot County coroner announce the cause of death. Louis, pensando en esa ventana rota a través de la cual se podía ver el cerebro, dijo que preferiría dejar que el forense del condado de Penobscot anunciara la causa de la muerte. The editor then asked if the four young people who had brought Pascow to the infirmary in the blanket might not have inadvertently caused his death. Luego, el editor preguntó si los cuatro jóvenes que habían llevado a Pascow a la enfermería en la manta no podrían haber causado su muerte sin darse cuenta.

‘No,' Louis replied, glad to have the chance to absolve the four of them, who had acted quickly and compassionately, of blame. —No —respondió Louis, contento de tener la oportunidad de absolver de culpa a los cuatro, que habían actuado rápida y compasivamente. ‘Not at all. 'De nada. Unhappily, Mr Pascow was, in my opinion, mortally wounded upon being struck.' Desgraciadamente, en mi opinión, el señor Pascow resultó mortalmente herido al ser golpeado.

There were other questions – a few – but that answer really ended the press conference. Hubo otras preguntas, algunas, pero esa respuesta realmente terminó con la conferencia de prensa. Now Louis sat in his office (Steve Masterton had gone home an hour before, immediately following the press conference, to catch himself on the evening news, Louis suspected) trying to pick up the shards of the day – or maybe he was just trying to cover what had happened, to paint a thin coating of routine over it. Ahora Louis estaba sentado en su oficina (Steve Masterton se había ido a casa una hora antes, inmediatamente después de la conferencia de prensa, para encontrarse en las noticias de la noche, sospechaba Louis) tratando de recoger los fragmentos del día, o tal vez solo estaba tratando de encubrir lo que había sucedido, para pintar una fina capa de rutina sobre ello. He and Charlton were going over the cards in the ‘front file' – those students who were pushing grimly through their college years in spite of some disability. Él y Charlton estaban repasando las tarjetas en el 'archivo principal': aquellos estudiantes que estaban avanzando sombríamente durante sus años universitarios a pesar de alguna discapacidad. There were twenty-three diabetics in the front file, fifteen epileptics, fourteen paraplegics, and assorted others: students with leukemia, students with cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy, blind students, two mute students, and one case of sickle cell anemia, which Louis had never even seen. Había veintitrés diabéticos en la fila del frente, quince epilépticos, catorce parapléjicos y varios otros: estudiantes con leucemia, estudiantes con parálisis cerebral y distrofia muscular, estudiantes ciegos, dos estudiantes mudos y un caso de anemia de células falciformes, que Louis nunca había visto.

Perhaps the lowest point of the afternoon had come just after Steve left. Quizás el punto más bajo de la tarde había llegado justo después de que Steve se marchara. Charlton came in and laid a pink memo slip on Louis's desk. Charlton entró y dejó un memorándum rosa sobre el escritorio de Louis. Bangor Carpet will be here at 9:00 tomorrow, it read. Bangor Carpet estará aquí mañana a las 9:00, decía.

‘Carpet?' he had asked. '¿Alfombra?' él había preguntado.

‘It will have to be replaced,' she said apologetically. 'Tendrá que ser reemplazado,' dijo disculpándose. ‘No way it's going to come out, Doctor.' 'De ninguna manera va a salir, doctor.'

Of course. Por supuesto. At that point Louis had gone into the dispensary and taken a Tuinal – what his first med school roommate had called Tooners. En ese momento, Louis había ido al dispensario y se había tomado un Tuinal, lo que su primer compañero de cuarto de la escuela de medicina había llamado Tooners. ‘Hop up on the Toonerville Trolley, Louis,' he'd say, ‘and I'll put on some Creedence.' More often than not Louis had declined the ride on the fabled Toonerville, and that was maybe just as well; his roomie had flunked out halfway through his third semester, and had ridden the Toonerville Trolley all the way to Vietnam as a medical corpsman. "Súbete al tranvía de Toonerville, Louis", decía, "y yo pondré algo de Creedence". La mayoría de las veces, Louis había rechazado el viaje en el legendario Toonerville, y tal vez eso era lo mejor; su compañero de cuarto había suspendido la mitad del tercer semestre y había viajado en el Toonerville Trolley hasta Vietnam como ayudante médico. Louis sometimes pictured him over there, stoned to the eyeballs, listening to Creedence do ‘Run Through the Jungle'. Louis a veces se lo imaginaba allí, colocado hasta los ojos, escuchando a Creedence tocar 'Run Through the Jungle'.

But he needed something. Pero necesitaba algo. If he was going to have to see that pink slip about the carpet on his note-minder board every time he glanced up from the front file spread out in front of them, he needed one. Si iba a tener que ver ese papelito rosa sobre la alfombra en su tablón de notas cada vez que levantaba la vista del archivo que tenían delante, necesitaba uno.

He was cruising fairly well when Mrs Baillings, the night nurse, poked her head in and said, ‘Your wife, Dr Creed. Estaba navegando bastante bien cuando la Sra. Baillings, la enfermera de noche, asomó la cabeza y dijo: 'Su esposa, el Dr. Creed. Line one.' Línea uno.

Louis glanced at his watch and saw it was nearly five thirty; he had meant to be out of here an hour and a half ago. Louis miró su reloj y vio que eran casi las cinco y media; él tenía la intención de estar fuera de aquí hace una hora y media.

‘Okay, Nancy. 'Está bien, Nancy. Thanks.' Gracias.'

He picked up the phone and punched line one. Cogió el teléfono y marcó la línea uno. ‘Hi, honey. 'Hola, cariño. Just on my—' Solo en mi…

‘Louis, are you all right?' Luis, ¿estás bien?

‘Yeah. 'Sí. Fine.' Multa.'

‘I heard about it on the news. Me enteré en las noticias. Lou, I'm so sorry.' She paused a moment. Lou, lo siento mucho. Ella se detuvo un momento. ‘It was the radio news. Eran las noticias de la radio. They had you on, answering some question. Te tenían conectado, respondiendo a alguna pregunta. You sounded fine.' Sonabas bien.

‘Did I? '¿Hice? Good.' Bueno.'

‘Are you sure you're all right?' ¿Estás seguro de que te encuentras bien?

‘Yes, Rachel. 'Sí, Raquel. I'm fine.' Estoy bien.'

‘Come home,' she said. "Ven a casa", dijo ella.

‘Yes,' he said. 'Sí', dijo. Home sounded good to him. Hogar sonaba bien para él.