Intensive Care by Lee Smith
"Intensive Care" by Lee Smith is a poignant exploration of love, regret, and the complexities of human relationships. The story unfolds through an omniscient narrator and flashbacks, primarily focusing on Harold Stikes, who abandoned his family to be with Cherry Oxendine, a vibrant but troubled woman facing terminal illness in intensive care. Set against the backdrop of small-town life, the narrative captures the gossip and judgment of women at a local salon, reflecting societal views on Harold’s choices.
As Harold grapples with memories of his orderly past—a life marked by a seemingly perfect family and a wife who rated their marriage as merely average—he reflects on his impulsive affair with Cherry, whose chaotic lifestyle starkly contrasts with his previous stability. Despite the fleeting joys of their relationship, including shared laughter and intimate moments, Harold ultimately faces the reality of Cherry's death and the emotional turmoil it brings.
The story culminates in a moment of surreal introspection, where Harold experiences a profound connection with the universe, symbolized by a hovering star, after receiving food from his former wife. This moment highlights the lingering ties to his past and the ambiguity of his future, leaving readers to ponder the enduring nature of love and the impact of choices made in life.
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Intensive Care by Lee Smith
First published: 1988
Type of plot: Domestic realism
Time of work: 1988
Locale: Greenwood, Mississippi
Principal Characters:
Harold Stikes , a solid husband and owner of three Food Lion supermarketsJoan Berry Stikes , his former wife, a home-economics teacherCherry (Doris Christine) Oxendine Westall Palladino Stikes , his new wifeLois Hickey , the head nurse in intensive care
The Story
"Intensive Care" is told by a gossipy omniscient narrator partly through flashbacks. The story begins in the Beauty Nook, where several women are having their hair styled and listening to the details from head nurse Lois Hickey about how Cherry Oxendine Westall Palladino Stikes is dying in intensive care. In the women's self-righteous view, Harold Stikes is getting just what he deserves for deserting his wife and children to marry Cherry.
The next scene shows Harold Stikes leaving the hospital, where he has been visiting Cherry, and driving indiscreetly to his old home in the suburban Camelot Hills development. While his former wife and their children are gone for the day, he lets himself in with his key, sits in the living room, and mulls over his decision to leave his family. The house is straight out of the pages of Southern Living magazine, with everything neat and orderly, and so was his previous life: Joan, his efficient former wife, a home-economics teacher, produced three children spaced three years apart before she got her tubes tied. However, hardworking Harold was infuriated one day when he found a magazine quiz called "How Good Is Your Marriage?" that Joan had filled out: She rated their marriage just average.
Six months later, Harold ran into redheaded, dynamite-figured Cherry Oxendine working in his own Food Lion deli, and events took their course. Cherry got cancer and had to have her breasts removed, but Harold proposed to her anyway. Now, three years later, the cancer has returned, along with pneumonia, and Cherry lies dying in intensive care. Harold had her only for "one trip to Disney World, two vacations at Gulf Shores, Alabama, hundreds of nights in the old metal bed out at the farm with Cherry sleeping naked beside him, her arm thrown over his stomach. They had a million laughs."
Disorderly and disreputable, Cherry was married twice before (not to mention her torrid adulterous affair with Lamar Peebles, her rich high school boyfriend), has two grown children, and is a terrible cook, eating tacos, chips, and beer in bed. She is also gullible, believes in astrology and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and has wild technicolored dreams. However, Harold has admired her ever since high school, in which she was a cheerleader and Miss Greenwood High. In particular, he remembers a "close-up encounter" with her after the senior class picnic at Glass Lake, when she appeared out of the lake in her topless glory, and no questions asked, Harold helped her ashore and gave her his shirt.
The story ends late one night when Harold returns to the old farm where Cherry's parents raised cockapoos and where he has been living with Cherry for the past three years. In the kitchen, he finds lasagna and a piña colada cake, his favorite, left by his former wife, who has been bringing him food ever since Cherry went into intensive care. He eats the food, then takes a walk down a dirt road with the last two cockapoos. As he walks along, a star detaches itself from the sky, flies down, and hovers over him as big as a field: "Although Harold can't say exactly how it communicates to him or even if it does, suddenly his soul is filled to bursting. The ineffable occurs." Then the UFO is gone.
Two weeks later, Cherry dies. Harold might eventually return to his family, but he will love Cherry forever and never tell anyone what he saw.