Page 42 of Sparking Sara

“You don’t have to stay,” Oliver says. “I’ve got this now.”

“You’ll be here with her? You’ll stay with her all day?”

He laughs. “Well, notallday. I do have a job. One it looks like I need to keep so we can pay Sara’s hospital bills.”

“The way I hear it, she won’t have any problem paying those.”

“Of course not,” he says, looking at me as if he wonders how I know so much about her. “But I still don’t want to lose my job. I’ll be here when I can, mate.” He addresses Sara. “I won’t leave you again, luv. I’ll cancel my upcoming trips and clear my schedule as much as possible.”

I’m happy to hear him say that. I start to back out of the room when Sara makes a noise. She grunts and holds a hand out to me as much as she can.

“You want me to stay?”

“You can go,” Oliver says.

But he isn’t the one I was asking. Sara nods her head, staring at me intently.

“Okay, I’ll stay. I’ll just sit right over here.”

“That’s not necessary,” Oliver says.

“If she wants me to stay, I’m staying. Don’t take it personally. I’m sure she’ll grow more comfortable with you the more you’re here.”

“Fine,” he says.

And for the next two hours, he sits by her side. He makes some calls. Responds to some texts. Every once in a while, he’ll comment on something having to do with art.

He sits by her side, but he’s most definitely not here for her.

When he gets up to leave, I pull him aside before he reaches the elevator.

“Oliver. Listen, man. I’m not going to tell you what to do.”

He laughs. “Really? Because that sounds precisely like what you’re about to do.”

“You need to talk to her when you’re here. Save your calls and emails for later. She needs you to speak to her. Fill in the blanks for her. Show her pictures of your life together. She’s scared. She doesn’t remember you. You could be anyone to her. And you’re not married yet, so there’s nothing to say she has to go home with you.”

He studies me with a tight jaw. “Actually, there is. We live together.”

“You do?”

He nods.

“Then how in the hell did you not know she was in an accident? Didn’t you wonder when she never came home?”

“I told you, I was out of the country. I left before her accident.”

“How convenient.”

“Convenient?” he bites at me. “You think I didn’t want to be here by her side? I didn’t know she was in an accident. One could sayyou’rethe arrogant arse, sitting with a stranger day in and day out to try and get your hands on her bloody money.”

“Her … You’re kidding, right?”

He shrugs. “Why else would you come here every day? She’s no one to you. You’re no one to her. And you’re a civil servant of New York. I’m sure that doesn’t pay much. I could have you thrown out of this hospital, you know. She’s going to be my wife. I love her and I’ll protect her. Fiercely if I must. Now, are we going to have a problem with this, mate?”

He seems like a different person out here in the hallway. It’s like a switch went off. Now he wants to protect her. Maybe it’s just now sinking in. Maybe he couldn’t show emotion in front of Sara, but he’s clearly emotional now.

I take a step back and lean against the wall. “How about a truce?” I say. “You don’t throw me out and I won’t be an arrogant … What did you call me?”

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