That was until I found a story about a woman who was given the worst kind of diagnosis for her husband, who’d been in a coma for three months. She basically told the doctors to sell their negativity to someone else. And then she went to work on him, and a month later her husband came out of the coma. Six months of intense rehabilitation, and he was back to his old self.
My first plan was to get those board games. I needed to keep Henry’s mind busy, and you could only listen to stories for so long before your mind shut down.
Rolling up the long driveway toward the mansion, I felt a kind of contentment settling inside me. Even though it seemed hard to grasp this kind of lifestyle, I was starting to like the place. The people I worked with were great, and I really liked Miss Leyland, even though she still had me reeling a bit after yesterday’s revelation.
And I didn’t dare forget for a moment that all of it was one hell of a distraction from my ongoing anguish. It wasn’t realistic to expect that it would take all of two days to forget Roman, and I needed to make peace with that fact. It was probably going to hurt until it didn’t feel like someone was using a diamond-sharp dagger to slice my heart apart.
Please God, forgetting Roman any day now would be great.
Nelson wasn’t at the front door to greet me, so I loitered for a while like an idiot, wondering what to do. George was still outside the Navigator, clearly trying not to smile. “I think the door is open, Isabel.”
And it was. These people didn’t have to worry about an unlocked front door. I couldn’t imagine the guards at the gate were the only security here. No one uninvited was getting near the place.
“Thanks, George!”
Like both times before, the complete silence on entering the mansion filled me with awe, and not necessarily in a bad way. I trotted upstairs and down the usual hallways, the smell of freshly-roasted coffee guiding my steps.
Eventually I entered the staffroom, and was immediately drawn into happy greetings. I put the confectionary box with the madeleines on a table.
“Good morning!” I said as cheerily as I could. “These are madeleines, dipped in a Belgian-chocolate-and-cashew glaze.”
There were approving smiles and murmurs as everyone helped themselves to the pastries. Miss Leyland pulled me to one side. “You’re going to make us all gain weight, Isabel. Thank you though. Please let me reimburse you for these pastries.”
“Oh, no way. You’re paying me a very good salary, and I love making pastries. And nothing gives me more pleasure than watching people enjoy them. Really.”
“I’m glad to see you’re feeling better than yesterday.”
No, I’m not feeling better, you’re looking at the face of denial.
“Actually it’s good that I can talk to you, Miss Leyland. So I did some reading about comatose patients and I think we need to ramp up the social interactions with Henry. Doesn’t he have family or friends who can visit him? He needs to hear familiar voices.”
“Well people do visit with him but it’s usually much later, after you’ve left. And then I’m with him most of the night.”
I know you’re with him, I saw it all, I wanted to say to her. I was desperate to know the entire story there.
“That’s good, it’s really important we get him to know there are people who want to see him get better.”
“We all hope for his recovery. Desperately.”
“Then we need to show him, don’t you think?” I added.
“Of course.”
“Also, do you think it’s possible to get a television in Henry’s room? Maybe you could get me a list of his favorite movies?”
Miss Leyland tilted her head at me, slightly amused. “I can count on one hand the number of times Henry watched a movie. It’s just not something he preferred to do.”
I was adamant. “Well, I’ll show him movies that will make him reconsider his views on that.”
Miss Leyland laughed. “All right then. You’ll find a small button next to the bed. If you press it, a television screen comes down from the ceiling. The remote is in the nightstand drawer.”
She looked at me intently. “Thank you, Isabel. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the effort you’re putting in.”
I dared not tell her it was just as therapeutic for me after getting my heart fractured by a scoundrel. “You’re welcome,” I said. “I’d better go, I have to get the board games so Henry and I can get started with our day.”
“Go on then,” she said with her graceful smile. “I’ll visit you two later.”
I made my way to Henry’s room. The curtains were already open. I went to Henry and placed my hand over his. “Hi Henry, it’s Isabel again. We’re going to play some games and watch some movies this week. I’m sure you’re going to love them as much as I do.”