The Devil in Silver

Pepper put his hand over the envelope after Dorry pulled hers away. She joined the smokers line. The nurse finally looked away from the orderly and noticed the patients waiting there. She unlocked the door while the orderly stood beside her, ready to bodycheck anyone who might get unruly.

The patients filed outside.

Mr. Mack stood up, hands on his hips like a cartoon villain. He said, “I have been waiting for a while just so I could say this.” He stuck his hand out toward Frank Waverly, who still had the remote in his lap. “It’s my turn now, according to the schedule.”

“Why don’t you just leave it off?” Sandra Day O’Connor asked.

“Why don’t you wipe the gravy off your chin,” Mr. Mack replied.

Sandra Day O’Connor looked at her friend, Doris Roberts, who hadn’t had the heart to point out the small brown smudge. Doris Roberts pointed to the spot and Sandra Day O’Connor daubed at it with her napkin.

Frank Waverly, meanwhile, had not given up the remote. So Mr. Mack reached across the table and slapped Frank Waverly’s tray. The empty juice carton flew to the floor.

The orderly at the glass door saw this and said, “You can’t use your hands like that, Mr. Mack.”

Mr. Mack looked over his shoulder and scowled. “When I want to hear from you, I’ll tell you what to say.”

The nurse joined in. “You don’t speak to Rudy like that.”

“Big girls shouldn’t have big mouths,” Mr. Mack spat back.

Rudy, the orderly, stomped over to his table, the nurse right beside him. But the nurse caught herself. She remembered Pepper was nearby and went back to the glass door leading out to the court. She locked it, then returned to Rudy’s side. The patients out on the court didn’t notice this, they were trying to smoke down three or four cigarettes before being called back in.

“You going to apologize to Clio, my man.” The orderly loomed over Mr. Mack. Frank Waverly, at the same table, hadn’t looked up yet. He ate even more slowly. The remote remained in his lap.

The nurse, Clio, said, “Please give me the remote, Mr. Waverly.”

Frank Waverly handed it to her.

“Now this is a reasonable man,” Rudy said, pointing at Frank Waverly.

“He’s a turncoat,” Mr. Mack growled. “I got a Judas as my roommate.”

Rudy, a new employee at Northwest, tried to be reasonable. “There’s no need for this fuss …” he began.

Clio touched Rudy’s shoulder lightly, appreciatively, but also trying to call him off. They weren’t going to get an apology out of Mr. Mack.

This was turning into an entertaining little dessert course for all the other patients. At the very least they might see Mr. Mack disciplined, and Lord knew everyone wanted to see that. A little theater before bedtime. Well worth watching. Except. Except.

Except Dorry had just taken off her nightdress in the courtyard.

Dorry pulled it right over her head and stood there exposed.

Then, naked, she finished smoking her cigarette.

Rudy and Clio were focused on Mr. Mack, who grabbed at the remote control even though it was in the nurse’s hand. Those three were busy.

Which is why only the patients noticed what Dorry had done. Stripped down to her altogether. The ones inside stopped talking with one another quickly. They gathered at the windows of the lounge. The ones outside continued to smoke and watched Dorry coolly. What were they going to do? Best to let her have her freak-out. Soon enough, the staff would escort Dorry back to her room and sedate her. Nobody found this moment unfathomable. If you haven’t caused a scene in a psych unit, it’s just because you haven’t been inside long enough.

Dorry held the nightdress in one hand. It hung there like a line of rope. She pulled the cigarette from her lips with her free hand, blew out a small wisp of smoke. Then she looked into the lounge, saw the other patients, seemed surprised by their attention. Not embarrassed but almost amused.

She threw her nightdress over one shoulder. She looked like a nude bather. She waved at them, as if she was about to go for a swim.

Dorry turned her back to them. She walked toward the fence. Her flesh quavered with each step. Her skin sagged. The backs of her knees, her calves, were mottled blue.

Dorry reached the chain-link fence. She tossed her nightdress over the top so it covered the barbed wire. The white nightdress rested on the top like snow covering a hedge.

Pepper watched her, like all the others, absolutely smacked.

He’d been so surprised by her actions that he left Dorry’s envelope behind when he walked up to the windows with everyone else. It lay curled into a tube on the tabletop.

She’s making a jailbreak, Pepper thought. Then he felt slightly angry. She stole my fucking idea!

Clio finally noticed the atmosphere in the lounge. She turned away from the intractable Mr. Mack, the impassive Frank Waverly, and saw all the patients gathered at the windows. When she joined them, she saw Dorry climbing the chain-link fence.

Actually, Dorry was already at the top.

A rush and a push and she’d be on the other side.