The Calm Before the Storm (One Extraordinary Time, Chapter 6) · 5:16pm Jun 17th, 2019
Previously, on One Extraordinary Time:
Barbecued car!
And now:
Freddy has a nightmare about spending the bank's money, then visits the hospital to pay off the last of Harry's medical bills. While there, he runs into Dr. Berry.
Dr. Berry was so excited to see Freddy that he nearly dropped the bagel he was eating. He continued to be amazed at Harry’s remarkable recovery. He said, “I know I sound like a broken record, but the speed at which he healed is nothing short of a miracle. I have sent The New England Journal of Medicine his X-rays. I won’t be surprised if this gets published. He is simply defying medical reality.”
I see you don't need any of my help to hang your lampshades, Mr. Kaplan.
Then he updated Freddy on his relationship with Georgina. “We’re going out again this weekend. Yesterday we went to the Russian Tea Room and danced till three in the morning.” He was so animated talking about Georgina that his bagel went flying into the air. He looked at Freddy and said, “Oh well, I was full anyway.”
Maybe he's a cannibal, too. Next day.
Wednesday, September 5
After his morning jog, Freddy got a call from Harris. “Freddy you’re going to love this. I just got four box seats for tonight. One of my clients couldn’t make the game and was hoping they wouldn’t go to waste. They are prime seats, second row, right behind the Phillies dugout. So do you want to go?”
“Did you say the Phillies?” Freddy asked.
“Yes, the game’s at the Vet. They’re playing the Mets,” Harris replied.
Oh hey, it's my old home team!
Freddy, displaying the typical arrogance of a Yankees fan,
Haaaaaa.
Harry calls. He's got a date with his old nurse. Freddy sets them up in a double date with Dr. Berry and Georgina at China Wok.
The Phillies game is, as you'd expect, in Philly, so Freddy and Co. hop on the New Jersey Transit line. Funnily enough, a man was struck and killed by a New Jersey Transit train just this morning. Small world.
They arrive in Philly. Then this happens:
From 30th Street Station, they took a quick cab ride over to Veteran’s Stadium. The friendly cab driver with an obvious Jamaican accent asked, “Hey, you guys. Where to?”
They all said in unison, “The Vet.”
“Yeah, mon, I know it well. You guys rooting for the Phillies?” the cab driver asked.
Doug figured he would have a little fun. He said, “We want to, but The Babe here is a diehard Mets fan, and he thinks it’s going to be 1986 all over again for the Mets.”
The cab driver laughed. “Well, 1986 was a long time ago. That was a great team, mon. You had Doc and Strawberry before they messed up on drugs. Then Carter, Hernandez, and Nails. Nails was great. You know, he came here, I think, after that season. You know, you guys still got lucky. If it wasn’t for that ground ball, mon, the Red Sox would have won that World Series.”
Doug said, smiling, “See, that’s what The Babe is counting on happening again.” He then looked at Babe in his rearview mirror. He then said to Babe, “Yeah, mon. Mr. Babe, you must have had too much Jamaican rum today if you think this Mets team is as good as 1986.” All the guys broke into roaring laughter.
I don't know why this happens. It just does. Even Jamaican stereotypes are diehard baseball fans in the world of Mr. Kaplan, it seems.
The game happens. It's not very interesting. Someone reading this is probably making a quip to themselves about baseball not being interesting anyway, but I'd be willing to bet they've never actually been to a game.
In the end, the Mets won seven to four. They all congratulated Babe as the man behind them shouted to Harris, “Tell Sam not to give away his seats to Met fans anymore.”
Harris said, “But I’m a Yankee fan.”
“That’s even worse!”
Next day. Freddy fantasizes about winning the lottery and then goes to work. The Luntzes continue to be relevant characters. They talk baseball, and by 'talk', I mean Mr. Luntz lists off a string of games and players in dialogue so dry it makes describing some of the most famous games in World Series history feel like a history lecture.
Julie enjoyed listening to Mr. Luntz reminisce. Now she started to understand the guys loved baseball so much.
God only knows why.
Freddy gets back to work. They have a busy night, and Freddy gets stiffed by a table. This is apparently a rare enough occurrence that it's worth mentioning.
Next day. I know I've mentioned this before, but I want you to pay close attention to the POV here.
Friday, September 7
Johnny and Phil gave the usher their tickets, he scanned them and they walked into Yankee Stadium. For Phil, it was his first time ever in the stadium, and for both of them it was their first Yankee-Red Sox game. This rivalry is considered the greatest in sports.
The usher inside walked them to their seats in row 26, in back of the Yankee dugout. They gave him a tip and with excitement sat down in their seats. As the Yankees took the field, the noise was deafening. They both looked around the stadium with its seating capacity of fifty-seven thousand. Neither could find an empty seat.
Freddy stood outside China Wok, already working up a sweat. He had a carafe of wine in one hand. As he poured, people in line began to ask where Mr. Wong was. Freddy answered, “Mr. Wong is working in the kitchen, but don’t worry. It’s just for tonight.” For many people, the experience and the magic of eating at China Wok wasn’t the same without seeing Mr. Wong. Freddy never realized just how beloved he had become.
In the seventh inning, Johnny and Phil got a treat. Otis Nixon popped one up and it drifted towards the first base stands. Johnny stood up on his seat and, with one hand, grabbed the ball from the air. The crowd around them stood up and applauded. Phil put both hands on his head. “Wow, we’re on TV!”
At China Wok...
We're seeing a POV change pretty much every other paragraph here, folks. This goes on for the rest of the section. Thankfully, it's only about two and a half pages long.
Next day. Freddy's parent pay him a visit, but for once Mr. Kaplan decides it's not important for us to actually see this, and he instead lists it in passing exposition. He also talks to Dr. Berry, at some point, and the story makes note of the fact that Berry doesn't know he's going to be going on a double date tonight. Again: no one in this story is allowed to just eat dinner.
Freddy goes to work. Dr. Berry and Georgina show up first, with Harry and Audry arriving ten minutes later.
Dr. Berry’s mouth dropped. “I don’t believe it.”
You should probably pick that up, Doc.
They began to talk shop, with three of them in the healthcare business. Dr. Berry said to Harry, “By this time next month, you’re going to be a star.”
“How so, Dr. Berry?”
“I submitted your case to the New England Journal of Medicine and they e-mailed a note saying that it will be published.”
None of this works the way it's presented here. For one thing, the NEJM requires the identity of patients discussed in its articles to be kept anonymous. For another, the NEJM employs a rigorous peer-editing and fact-checking process before accepting anything for publication. This can (and should) take months. Harry's accident happened eighteen days ago.
“I know you will be. I’ve been a doctor for over twenty years, and bones just don’t heal like that,” Dr. Berry said, speaking in a serious tone.
This silenced everyone at the table for a minute or so.
They sure are putting a lot of emphasis on this, huh?
Dr. Berry continued with the point. “Boy, you had to have drunk milk by the truckload to get bones as strong as yours.”
“Oh, Harry, I can assure you, is a medical marvel in many areas,” Audrey said as she put her arm around Harry. They all started to laugh.
Next day. Freddy's parents show up for their weekly get-together and they talk about the barbecue... despite the fact that that's what they were stated to have been talking about yesterday. I think Mr. Kaplan forgot.
Julia starts her job with Hillary Clinton tomorrow. Frank is expectedly grumpy about this.
Something else happens. It's relevant to the thing I've been keeping from you all, which I promise you will be revealed soon. Tomorrow, in fact. I hope you're looking forward to it just as much as I am.
The chapter ends.
So this was basically all filler. Like most of the book. Not much to comment on, really.
But next chapter...
Oh boy, the next chapter's going to be a doozy.
See you tomorrow, everybody.
You're missing the setup.
Freddy is going to be canonized as a saint.
Speed-healing Harry's bones was his first miracle.
Harry secretly being an X-Man cannot possibly be the secret, because you mentioned it before he was introduced.
This book continues to disappoint me.
Wait, I thought Johnny was the man hit by the car.
Who's Harry?
Hang on, Harry's the protagonist isn't he? And Freddy's Harry's father?
Oh, never mind, it's all cool.
I ducked back to Chapter One of the review and I think Johnny's a coworker at the Chinese restaurant where seeing an authentic Chinese person is apparently part of the experience.
Also, there's an awful lot of characters with names ending in 'y' in this story, aren't there?
Even the doctor's called Berry.
Edit: Okay, apparently Frank is the father. How on Earth could I have gotten them confused with Freddy?