Page 30 of Tom's Chance
“Move her around, how?”
“CT Scan of her head, MRI of her brain. Theydon’t know whether she has brain activity or not. She’s on a ventilator and they have to debris her skin daily.”
“Crap, I forgot about that, and they don’t want to remove her from the sterile environment of the burns unit.”
“Correct. If you agree, I’d like to pick you up the day after tomorrow around four o’clock in the afternoon. We can stop in to see Mrs. Bickers and then go out to dinner.”
“I’m good with that. But that would put us at the hospital around five, shouldn’t we be there earlier to catch the doctors?”
“I suppose. So, noon sound good? I forgot it’s three hours to Denver. I keep thinking Colorado Springs that’s only an hour away.”
“Excellent, I have to warn you.”
“About?”
“I took Rose and Baby out of their cages. They have their own little nests set up in my living room. Did you know that Baby goes outside to use the bathroom right along with Rose?”
“I did not know that. Maybe that’s how they both ended up pregnant.” He chuckled and they shared the laugh. He didn’t keep her on the phone for long, and after they hung up, Lorissa stared into space for a long time before she finished her meal. She went upstairs to go through her new clothes to see what would be appropriate to wear to the hospital andthen to go out on a date with. She didn’t want to be overdressed, but then again, she didn’t want to be underdressed. She settled on a little black dress with some strappy heels, and made sure she had the black shawl to carry with her. She never carried a purse, but she put what she thought she’d need into a small clutch her mother told her she needed, and only had to wait for two days to put everything on. She went back downstairs and settled in to read a book and smiled when both Rose and Baby climbed up on the couch and settled in near her. Baby on her lap, Rose at her feet on the couch. She smiled when she realized she would be warm when winter came if these two were going to give snuggles.
Two days later,Lorissa was ready by eleven-forty-five and was standing there watching the kittens climbing all over their mother, and the same with the puppies. She wondered what it would be like to put them together in the same enclosure when there was a knock on the back door. Not thinking anything of it, she yelled for them to come in, and looked up when she saw Tom standing beside her.
“Hi,” she breathed out breathlessly. “You look good.”
“Thanks, so do you. What were you studying so intently?”
“I was wondering what it would be like if I let the babies interact with one another.”
“It would be good for their socialization.”
“I was thinking the same thing, and maybe getting used to the other species.”
“There is that,” he said with a nod, then turned to her. “You ready to go?”
“Yes, Nana and Mom will stop in later to check on them and let them out.” She turned to him completely and smiled. “Damn, you do really clean up good.”
“Thank you, you’re not so bad yourself.” He looked at her with a grin as he walked around her completely and shook his head when he came back to face her. “I’m not saying this to be sexist.”
“Then don’t say it.”
“But you look a hell of a lot better than the first time I saw you when you were making that shoe for Misty.”
Lorissa started to giggle, and it quickly turned into a full belly laugh. “Yeah, that was an extremely hot day. Are you ready?”
“I am.” He actually waited for her to precede him and he placed his hand on the small of her back. They only paused long enough for her to grab her clutch purse, shawl, and turn on the light above the kitchen sink. Since it was still daylight out, she figured they’d be back right around dark or shortly after and she didn’t want to walk into a completely dark house.Just before exiting the back door, she flipped on the back porch light. In the driveway, she paused and looked at him as he opened the passenger door to an unfamiliar vehicle. She liked the fact that as soon as the door opened, a step automatically appeared.
“Wow.”
“Yeah, this is my personal truck. I didn’t think you’d want to go out to dinner in my work truck.”
She settled in and didn’t respond until he climbed in behind the wheel. “I wouldn’t have minded, because my truck looks the same way. However, I’m glad I don’t have to fight with tools and equipment in this dress.”
Tom started the truck, then looked at her sheepishly before he put it in gear. “I don’t know if I should admit this, but I had to go out and purchase some clothes for tonight.” He looked at her in shock when she started laughing.
“I’m not laughing at you, I’m laughing at what you said. I had to do the same thing. After we planned tonight, I went to my closet to pick out what to wear.” She giggled as they got underway, then laughed. “What would you say if I told you that before two days ago, I didn’t own a dress, skirt, or blouse. My mother informed me that my flannel shirts don’t count as blouses.”
“I would call you a liar, but I don’t think you’re the type that would lie, so I’ll believe you. May I ask why you didn’t have dressy clothes?”
Lorissa shrugged and settled into the long drive. She felt comfortable enough with him to explain how she’d lived back east.
