matter what. Hell, Mr. Harris. You may be right. If we can get one new treatment that saves just one life, it’s worth it.” He reached into his drawer and pulled out a clown wig. “You know, I had my doubts about you. But everyone I talk to says the same thing.”
“What do they say?”
“That you make things happen,” Wall said. He returned to the mirror to adjust his multi-colored hairpiece. “I just want you and your dad and Jerry to know how much we appreciate what you’re doing.”
“So if I do fall flat on my face, you won’t mind if I still take Shelly to dinner once in a while?”
“Actually, Shelly seems to be happier now than she has been in a long time.”
“That’s nice to know,” Nick said. “Thank you.”
“Of course, I would also like to remind you that if you hurt Shelly, Popcorn the Clown may get upset. And you should never upset a clown.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Nick found it hard to take the warning seriously, especially after he ended the statement with his clown horn—“honka, honka!”
“So what do you think?” he asked Nick. There he stood, Dr. Gregory Wall in full clown regalia. Nick nodded his approval and walked toward the door.
“Hey, Popcorn, keep it down,” said Shelly as she came into the room wearing a colorful t-shirt with a giant smiley face on it. “Hi, Nick. So what do you think of Popcorn?”
“He looks … ” Nick hesitated. “Fun.” “Fun?” Dr. Wall responded.
Shelly grabbed his arm and did a slight adjustment to his bowtie.
“You know this clown is like a dad to me,” she said. “I’ve heard.”
“So what do you think of my shirt?” asked Shelly.
“You look like you work for the advertising department at Wal- Mart.”
“Okay, how many kids we got tonight?” Dr. Wall interjected. “We have a hundred and fifteen,” answered Shelly. “Seventy-
seven walking, thirty-eight in wheelchairs, and the rest in beds.” “How many pushers?”
“Thirty-two, including Nick.”