Page 59 of Switch!
Colin looks toward the kitchen, at the microwave clock most likely, because he swears and starts eating faster. For a skinny guy, he sure manages to pack it in.
“Gotta run,” he says, wiping his mouth as he stands. “I just remembered how much I hate searching for a new job.”
He walks around the table, and this time when he goes in for a kiss, I don’t panic. The sensation isn’t so different from kissing a girl. I’m not sure if I’d be able to tell, had my eyes been closed, but then again, he’s freshly shaven. Maybe it’ll feel different by the time he returns home from work.
“Focus on the living,” Colin says, “and the people you can still help. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Good. I love you.”
“I love you too,” Jesse replies.
Once the front door closes behind Colin, Jesse finishes his food and slowly sips his coffee while browsing the internet on his phone. I try to be patient, even though I’m eager to get going. Maybe it’s my sense of urgency that finally encourages him to rise and walk to the bathroom. I take the opportunity to slip back into my black box. I have no desire to join him on the toilet or be there when he showers. Jesse seems like a decent person. He tried to save my life. That alone has earned him the right to privacy.
The length of time I spend inside the black box is difficult to gauge. The whole thing feels similar to dreaming, where an entire adventure can take place in between pushes of the snooze button. I expect Jesse to be toweling off or getting dressed when I return. Instead I find myself in a moving car. Colin must be the tidy one in the relationship, because the interior is cluttered with junk mail and empty Starbucks cups. Whatever we’re in, it’s an older model with a rattling engine. I’m feeling nervous by the time we walk into the emergency room. Please let there be good news!
“Jesse!” says an older woman with a chubby build and a friendly face. Norma. She’s one of his favorites. “No uniform today. Who are you checking in on?”
“The motorcycle accident last night.”
“Oh.” Norma’s smile fades. “That was a rough one.”
“Yeah,” Jesse says, choking on the word before he swallows. “There was another guy, same age, who didn’t make it.”
“I’m so sorry, hon.” Norma shakes her head in sympathy. “At least you were able to help one of them. In a place like this, you have to focus on the victories.” She sighs and turns her attention to the computer. “Now let’s see. What was his name?”
I can take it from here. Asserting control is easy when I’m this motivated. “Eddie Valadez,” I tell her in a strained voice. “Eduardo, actually.”
Norma offers a pensive smile. “Room twenty-ten,” she says. “If you need someone to talk to later, you know where to find me.”
“Thanks.”
I’m not familiar with this hospital, but Jesse is. I draw from his knowledge to find the correct room. The door is open. Eddie is sitting up in bed, his right arm wrapped in a cast from his fingers up to his armpit. The rest of him is outfitted in a loose hospital robe. He looks bored. Enough that any visitor is interesting to him, apparently, because he perks up when seeing me. I grin and rush toward him, forgetting momentarily that he won’t recognize me.
“Hey!” he says. “You can have whatever's in my wallet if you just plug in my phone. The battery died half an hour ago. Turn the damn TV off too. He’s not watching it.” He nods toward an elderly man in the next bed, who is sleeping with his mouth open.
Same old Eddie. I’m already certain that he’s okay. Aside from the broken arm, he seems like his old self.
“Do you know who I am?” I ask, picking up the remote to turn off the television.
“My new best friend. If I had to watch one more commercial about diabetes, I would have gone insane. Daytime television is the worst.”
“It really is,” I say with a chuckle.
“Are you a doctor or something?”
“No.” I walk closer to help him with his phone. “I was there last night. One of the paramedics.”
“Really?” Eddie tries to move before wincing and glaring at his broken arm. “I’d shake your hand, but you know.”
“Does it hurt?” I ask.
“Nah. They have me pretty doped up. Hey, am I your first visit, or have you seen Caleb already?”
I freeze, the charging cable still an inch from the phone’s port. Then I make the connection. More than one, in fact. “Caleb?”
“The other guy they brought in last night. My parents said he’s in the ICU, which scares the hell out of me.”
