Page 111 of Years in the Making

“Do you really want to know?” She looks so guilty, and I feel bad that she feels like she can’t even enjoy a shower right now.

“Please let me live vicariously through you. Tell me everything,” I plead.

Nellie proceeds to describe every part of her bathing experience, from removing her clothes to lathering her body. I regret asking as I start imagining being in there with her and my body starts to wake up.

“Okay,” I cut her off. “Tell me about the dogs now.” I watch her glance down at my body and smirk.

She sits lightly on the bed. “The huskies are doing well, according to the firefighter who took them home, and Kevin has managed to pee all over a paramedic’s new hardwood floors. From the sound of it, Bennett may have to find two replacement dogs for the people who’d been approved for the huskies’ adoptions.”

“And Kevin?”

“We are not at risk of someone else insisting on adopting Kevin. Marley and Bennett are planning to pick him up before they head home.”

“They’re leaving?” I ask. I had assumed they’d stick around until I was discharged. Nellie and I don’t have a way home otherwise.

“They are, but only because we have another way back.” I raise my eyebrows in question. “My parents are here,” she says slowly, gauging my reaction.

“In the country?” I ask.

“In the hospital,” she clarifies.

I don’t know if I should be grateful or terrified. I don’t think I’d be thrilled to see the man who broke mydaughter’s heart.

Nellie must notice the fear I’m feeling. She rests a hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently. “They’re just happy we’re okay. I told them everything. Dad cried.” She smiles reassuringly down at me. “My parents don’t hold grudges, Teddy. They forgive you because I forgive you. You’re not the only one who is an excellent judge of character.”

I tug her shirt gently, urging her to kiss me. “I love you,” I murmur between kisses and relish the feel of her smile as it meets my lips again and again.

“Knock, knock,” a woman’s voice calls from the door. “Sorry to interrupt.”

Nellie breaks away slowly, and I miss her lips instantly. “Mom, Dad,” she says, turning to greet her parents who make their way very slowly into the room. “You remember Teddy, right?”

They flank the bed and smile down at me. “We are so glad you’re alright,” Mrs. Woodcroft says, reaching to squeeze my hand.

“I’m sorry you had to come home,” I say, my eyes bouncing between Nellie’s parents.

“Don’t be,” her dad says. “Our girl needed us.” He gazes across to where Nellie is sitting, eyes full of love and pride. It’s how I look at her, although there’s always heat in the mix too.

“Are you sure you’re comfortable?” Nellie fusses over me from the passenger door. “It’s not too late to book a patient transfer so you can fully recline.”

I reach for her hand before she can check the seat belt for the fifth time. “Nellie, I’m good. I’m full of painkillers and feellike I’m floating on a cloud. If something feels off, I promise to let you know.”

When the doctor said I was ready to be discharged, Nellie had asked him several times throughout the conversation if it was indeed the right decision. Her forehead is still pinched with worry as she climbs into the seat directly behind mine. My head is practically in her lap, but this way she can keep a very close eye on me. Her hands start to gently massage my head before her father has even put the car into drive and between that and the drugs, my eyes grow heavier.I’ll be fine, I think just before I’m out.

“As long as you need us to,” Nellie’s mother is saying when I wake up.

Nellie’s upside-down face fills my vision when I open my eyes, and I decide it’s the best way to wake up. Maybe not the upside-down part, but certainly her face.

“Hey you,” she whispers, kissing my forehead. “Have a good sleep?”

I swallow and give her a lazy smile. I almost close my eyes again but realize we aren’t moving, nor is the car making a sound. “What’s going on?”

“We’re home.”

“Home?”

“Well, we’re at my house, your house until you’re more mobile,” she explains.

I smile up at her. “You’re home,” I murmur.

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