Page 23 of Love Unavoidable
“Not lame at all.” He smiles.
“He’s one ofthoseguys, you know?”
“I don’t think I do.”
“If you saw him, you would understand. Well, maybe you wouldn’t understand. Unless you’re gay. Then you would totally understand. But if you are straight, probably not so much. The man is H-O-T hot. You don’t forget about a man like Ethan. Nope. No way.”
He nods again and continues writing/typing in his tablet.
“Have you seen him? Hot, right? Wait, are you gay?”
“I have not had the pleasure. And I am not. Happily married for twenty-eight years. To a woman.”
“Well, take my word for it then,” I say.
“You are very forthright, aren’t you?”
“I am,” I say with my serious face. “But I’m also more chatty tonight than normal.”
“I will consider myself the lucky one then.” His face is serious when he says it, but I still can’t tell if he’s teasing me or not. He clicks a few more things on his tablet and pushes a button on one of the monitors before looking at me.
“Okay,” he says. “Well, I’m going to keep you here overnight for observation. There is a small amount of swelling that I’d like to see go down. Which is not at all uncommon, so do not be alarmed.
“There is nothing routine about a brain injury, each is unique and individualized. There is no right or wrong way to have one or to heal from one. That said, all your scans came back clean.
“But unless something materializes tonight that did not make itself known in the scans, I will release you tomorrow. You’ll need to take it easy for a few days and anticipate headaches, but I will give you something to help with the pain. Ever have a migraine headache?”
“No.”
“Well, you may end up with some headaches close to what a migraine would feel like. You may experience dizziness, nausea, that’s to be expected. And you’ve got quite the goose egg on the back of your head. Otherwise, all looks good.”
“Um, okay. That is fine, I guess.”
“I’d like to make sure you’ve got someone around to keep an eye on you for a couple days, is that possible?”
“Well, I’ve been in a hotel by myself for the last three weeks, that’s where I’m staying. I could ask someone there to.”
“I was thinking maybe a family member or friend?”
“Just my parents, really. And I don’t know if I can deal with them right now.”
“Got it,” he says. “Maybe the young man, Ethan?”
“Uh, I don’t know about that.
I can just imaginethatconversation.Hey, Ethan, remember how you thought you were gonna get lucky? Now you get to be my nursemaid, you lucky duck.
He’d make a hot nursemaid though.
“I understand,” the doctor says. “But just make sure there’s someone, okay? You feel up to visitors?”
“No. Well, maybe Ethan. But definitely not my mother. I cannot deal with her right now.”
“Got it. Now, that’s your call button there in case you need anything. The nurse will be around to check on you in a few hours. I will send Ethan in.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
He leaves the room, closing the door behind him. It feels odd asking to see Ethan. Especially since I just met him tonight and he’s my fantasy nursemaid. But I was about to go home with him, regardless of what I told the doctor. And he has been hanging around the waiting room. Well, if he is still there, I suppose. I will find out soon.
