Page 64 of Jam and Jingle Bells
A body appeared behind me and he stuck his head over my shoulder, resting his chin on my collarbone. “I’m always up for visitors like you.”
Holly waved from waist level, shyly, which wasn’t her usual MO. I was starting to think Miss Holly had a crush on my boyfriend, not that I could blame her. He was handsome and an overall awesome person. I had a pretty big crush on him, too.
“Hi, Ellis. I hope you’re feeling better. Mom said your heart broke.”
Ellis chuckled and we both stepped back to let them in. Mel shut the door behind us and Ellis offered Holly a hug.
“I’m feeling much better, especially when sweet girls come to visit me.” He knelt on the floor to be at her level and patted his chest. “My heart did sort of break, but not the way you’re thinking. Push gently right here,” he said, tapping his shoulder.
Holly reached out but pulled back before she touched him. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t,” he promised, “just touch it gently, like you would if you were petting a cat.”
She reached forward again and touched the spot he pointed to, pulling her hand back almost instantly. “It’s hard.”
“It is hard. That’s the little device they keep in my heart to make sure it beats right. Sometimes it beats too fast, and the little box in there makes sure to slow it down. I had to go to the hospital because the little box stopped working, but now it’s all fixed. I’ll be back to teaching next week. I’m sorry we couldn’t do a lesson this week, but the doctor said no yoga until the stitches come out.”
“You have stitches? That’s so cool!”
He winked and shook his head. “Not that cool. They keep me from being able to see you at the studio. Do you want to see them?”
She nodded, her eyes focused on his shoulder when he pulled his shirt down. The straight line of stitches went across his chest and she gasped. “That’s a lot of stitches!”
He released his shirt and gave her the palms out. “Now you see why I can’t do yoga until they come out. It might hurt with all those stitches holding me together.”
She nodded her head up and down like a puppet. “I’m sorry you had to have a broken heart, but I’m glad the doctors fixed it. How does the box work? Does it give you a poke when your heart is being bad?”
All three of us chuckled, but Ellis pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced up at Mel. “Is it okay if I show her the picture? I don’t want to scare her.”
Mel motioned at her daughter. “Please do. She’s very curious. She won’t rest until she knows.”
Ellis opened his pictures before he turned the phone around for Holly to see. She gasped and looked up at her mom and then back to the phone. She pointed at the box and then the leads running out of it. “That’s the box?”
“That’s the box and these wires,” he pointed at the leads, “they go down into my heart, which you can see here.” He traced his heart for her so she could see the outline. “And you’re right that the box then sends a poke through these wires here to tell my heart to stop being silly and beat right.”
He tucked the phone back in his pocket while she contemplated all the information. “You’re kind of like a robot!”
He laughed and took her hand, squeezing it for a moment. You could tell by the way he looked at her how much he cared about her. “A little bit like a robot.”
“My heart broke a little bit too, but I don’t have a box to fix it,” she said softly. “I wish I did sometimes.”
Mel sighed and I put my arm around her waist in solidarity.
Ellis frowned and stood, still holding her hand. “I wish I had a box for that kind of broken heart, but I don’t. I do have something that might help, though.” He glanced up at Mel. “Do you have a few minutes?” Mel nodded and he took Holly into the living room, changing the channel on the television to instrumental music and sitting with her on the floor.
I led Mel into the kitchen a bit further and eyed her. “She’s still having problems?”
She leaned against the table and shrugged. “She’s doing better since Santa visited,” she said, raising an eyebrow at Ellis.
I snickered quietly. “It was him. He didn’t know Holly was in the gazebo with us when he came over. He was just going to say hi. When he saw her, he figured he better play along with the Santa routine. When she broke his heart, he was determined to help her.”
“Only it was his heart that was broken,” Mel said, watching him help Holly get into a meditation pose.
“Yeah, in more ways than one. He really cares about Holly. He’d do anything to help her.”
“His little speech as the big man himself did a lot. She’s been in school every day this week. Mason set up her iPad to be able to text us at lunch and recess. She did that Monday and Tuesday, but today, she forgot all about it. She has some life back in her, even if she’s still reserved about smiling and laughing. At least she isn’t petrified to leave the house anymore. She doesn’t cry when Mason or I go to work.”
“That’s heartbreaking, Mel, but I’m glad she’s a little bit better. How scary that must be for someone her age. Did the doctor suggest any medication to help her?”
