Page 65 of Wild for You
“Stop being a drama queen. That was just the tape.”
I can see this nurse has zero empathy for me. She’s young, too. Probably has a whole career ahead of her torturing her patients. “Well,” I look at the name on her badge, “Tatiana, I happen to be a hairy gentleman, and I don’t remember asking you for a Brazilian wax today.”
This makes her smirk. “You’re right. The wax was just a bonus. My special gift to you.” She pulls out her blood pressure cuff and begins taking my vitals. “Now shut up for a minute so I can concentrate. Then I’ll be on my way, and you can finish your temper tantrum.”
I want to snap at her, tell her she’s the worst nurse in the history of nursing and would probably be a better fit for a prison or something of that nature, but I don’t. Maybe this is my karma for all the havoc I’ve caused by making stupid, selfish decisions all my life. I snap my lips closed and allow her to do what she needs to, giving her the blessed gift of my silence.
Sam appears in the doorway with two cups of coffee just as she finishes.
“I’ll be back to remove your catheter in four hours.” Pushing her cart toward the door, she calls over her shoulder, “I suggest you have a better attitude by then.”
I can feel my penis shrivel up into my body at her harsh words, and my eyes go wide when I see Sam sharing the same sense of shock.
When I hear the door click shut, I lift the blanket and whisper, “Don’t worry, buddy. I won’t let her hurt you, too.”
“I can see you’re really flying through the five stages of grief.” Sam passes me a cup of coffee. “A peace offering.”
I eye him for a moment before taking the piping hot cup, and I don’t even wait for it to cool before I take a sip. The hot liquid is strong, burning my tongue, but it’s the most delicious coffee I’ve ever tasted. I close my eyes, savoring the depth of flavor, and I know I must be bad off if I think hospital coffee is suddenly the gold standard.
“So, give it to me. Just lay it on me. How bad is it?” I finally say after draining half the coffee from my cup.
“Well, the good news is, you’re going to live. You may have lost part of your leg, but it’s a hell of a lot better than the alternative.” He sighs before delivering the next bit, and my stomach clenches in anticipation. “The bad news is … I think you’ll be here for a while …”
“What do you mean? How long isa while?” I say, using air quotes with my one good hand.
“Well, that depends on the infection.” He points to the tube in my arm. “You’ve got a gnarly case of sepsis, and that pic line is the only reason you’re alive.” He pauses, considering his words, then corrects himself. “Well, that and the amputated leg. You really are a lucky bastard. You know that, don’t you?” He has the audacity to laugh before taking another sip of his coffee.
“How’s Gwen? Is she okay?”
“She’s stable.” He holds his coffee close to him like he’s hiding behind it.
“Good.” I sigh in relief, and my throat tightens with emotion. I don’t think anything could’ve kept me pinned to this hospital bed if he said anything different. Broken memories of our last days on the island flash through my mind. She was so sick and had lost so much weight. I don’t know that either of us would’ve survived much longer on our own.
Bile rises in my throat, and I grit my teeth at the realization that I failed us.
I close my eyes and try to calm my nerves, I’ve got the rest of my life to beat myself up over this, but right now, I just need to see she’s safe. “Where is she? When can I see her?” I look around the room, trying to steal a glance outside the door.
“She’s on the, uh—” He clears his throat. “She’s on the other end of the hospital. She’s dealing with her own health issues.”
I tighten my grip around the flimsy paper coffee cup. “What’s wrong? Is she okay?”
It’s one thing to wake up with a missing appendage but something else entirely to know that the woman I love is suffering and I’m being kept from her.
“Calm down, man. I promise you she’ll be okay, but it’s not my place to discuss her health. Please, can you just respect that?”
I squint my eyes, searching his face for any sign that he’s lying. There’s really no reason for Sam to lie about something so serious, but I can’t trust my judgment right now. “Yeah, fine, but I want to hear it from Maggie at least.” I grab the only thing available in my reach—my half-full coffee—and pelt it straight at his head.
The paper cup hits him in the face as the hot coffee flies in every direction.
Sam’s angry face glows red, partly from the hot coffee. “What the fuck, man! What was that for?”
I clench my hand into a fist, then open it, spreading my fingers wide. “Gee, let me count the reasons.” I count off my fingers. “You gave the doctors permission to amputate my leg. You left me alone with the she-devil nurse back there. And you just told me my girlfriend was stable, but you’re being vague as fuck about it.”
He wipes the remainder of the dripping coffee off his face with his sleeve and pushes up to stand. “I’m going to give you this one freakout pass, but you better believe I’m cashing this shit in someday in the future.” He saunters to the door, and I give him the bird on his way out.
“Don’t come back without Maggie! I want to at least hear it from her,” I call after him.
“Sure thing … but first I need to find your nurse to discuss your catheter removal.”
