Page 31 of Screw Christmas
“I’m so glad to see you awake. How are you feeling?”
“A little unsteady, but I’ll be fine soon enough.”
“Do you need help to the washroom?”
I didn’t until that moment. Suddenly, it felt like my bladder was going to explode. “I could use that as well. Maybe we start with that.” With her assistance I made it to the washroom, took care of business and was assisted back to the bed. By the time I was back to the bed I was managing to stand quite well on my own but wasn’t so proud as to brush off her assistance, the last thing I needed was to fall and hit my head a second time.
“Would you know where my purse and phone are?” I asked as I settled back into bed.
“Yes, right over here.” Giving me another smile, she went to the gray locker just inside the door and opened it up. “That husband of yours is pretty hot and devoted. Definitely a keeper.”
“Husband,” I parroted back.
“He brought you in uniform, I’m a sucker for a man in uniform. He barely left your side until you woke up yesterday. He’s popped in periodically over the past day. Said he’d be here tomorrow morning to pick you up.”
“Husband…” I crinkled up my nose. Did Aaron and I get married? I looked down at my hand. There wasn’t even a hint of a mark where a ring should be. This didn’t make any sense. I didn’t know much about what was going on, but I felt in my gut that something wasn’t right. Husband didn’t make sense at all. What in the hell was going on?
“Yes, lucky lady.” With my purse in hand, she brought it over to me and set it down on the bed next to me.
“I’m still in shock, I think. Things just don’t feel right.” I looked up at her for reassurance. “Does that make sense?” As a cop I always had a knack for sensing situations being off and my instinct was rarely—if ever—wrong.
“I do. I understand many people who have dealt with what you’ve been through have felt out-of-sorts for a while. That’s where your friends and family come into play. They’ll help you figure out who you are and what you’re missing.”
Rummaging through my purse, I found my wallet, tissue, some cosmetics, but no phone. Looking up at her, I frowned. “Do you know where my phone is?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m sorry, I don’t. All that is in the locker is your purse and a change of pajamas, housecoat, and slippers.”
I looked over at the phone next to my bed. “Okay, I’ll figure something out.”
“If you need anything else, please let me know.” She gave me a parting smile before leaving me alone in the room.
Grabbing the phone, I quickly set up the phone service to the room and took a few minutes to try to remember my mother’s phone number. We had things so easy nowadays, never having to remember anything. It was all right at the touch of a button.
After running through many number sequences that it could be in my head, I finally settled on the one that felt right to me and dialed. After several rings the call connected, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hey Mom--”
This is Doris, please leave your name and number and I’ll be sure to return your call. Have a great day. The message was followed by a beep.
Groaning out my frustration, I had to fight the urge to send the handset sailing across the room. Where in the hell was she? She was always available to talk. I quickly explained to the machine where I was and gave her the phone number to the hospital phone then set it back on its cradle.
A wave of exhaustion washed over me. Leaning back into the hard as hell pillow, I was closing my eyes when the door opened, and heavy booted footsteps made their way to my bed.
Oh hell, what now? Opening my eyes, I peered up to see Aaron with a bouquet of flowers in his hand and a gift bag hanging from his arm. “Hey Baby, how are you feeling?” He did have a nice smile. He always had.
“Confused.” Placing my hands on the mattress at my sides, I pulled myself up into a sitting position.
“Confused how?” He passed me the flowers, a stunning arrangement of roses and lilies. Opening the gift bag, he pulled out a marble vase with colors that matched the flowers to perfection. “I’ll get water for those and then you can tell me all about it—if you want.”
Lowering my head, I inhaled the fragrant scent of the flowers. Lilies and roses were my favorite. Once in a while I’d buy them for myself whenever I had a reason to celebrate. I never understood why women felt they needed a man to buy them flowers. Screw that, I was always happy to indulge myself.
Returning from the bathroom, he took the flowers from me and began arranging them. “I know that you leave tomorrow, but I felt like you could use a little morale booster and I know how much you love these types of flowers.”
“I do, that’s very nice of you.” Watching him a moment, I considered how I was going to address the whole married thing. We were together I could buy into that, but I didn’t remember ever being engaged, let alone married.
Sitting down at the side of my bed, he smiled. “Ready to blow this joint tomorrow? Buster will be missing you.”
Warmth surrounded my heart thinking about my Buster. “I guess. I feel okay and need to get back to familiar surroundings.” Screw it, might as well just ask and get it sorted out. “Gotta get my legs under me a bit, but I think by tomorrow I’ll be fine. I’m frustrated though.”
