“Sorry Molly. Everything sounded legit when I spoke to her. Not once did I get the feeling it was a prank.”
“Don’t worry about it. You’ve had the week from hell. You don’t need to concern yourself with misunderstandings like this.”
Lizzie’s sigh was long and slow, and filled with sadness.
“Is Riley up for a coffee from Café by the River?” I asked. “I’ll bring you both one when I come up.”
“That would be amazing! The coffee here is terrible, and if he doesn’t feel like drinking it, I sure as heck will.”
I smiled and a part of my anxiety settled.
After ending my call, I had no other option than to pack my gear up and leave. If Brooke called and demanded to know where I was, then I would race over to her as fast as humanly possible. And if she left a bad review on my website, then so be it.
Tom was happy to see me twice in one day, and took his time making my order so that it was just perfect. He’d heard about what had happened to Lizzie and Riley on the news and once again gave me the order for free, adding three chocolate brownies for good measure. I wasn’t sure how his boss and the owner of the business, Judy, would feel about all the free stuff he kept giving me, but I wasn’t in the mood to argue. Instead I thanked him and made my way to the hospital.
****
The Westport General Hospital took up an entire block with Main Road to the North, Nelson Road to the South, Wood Street on the West, and Bell Road on the East. The main entrance was accessed from Main Road. The glass doors had just swished open when my phone rang from the depths of my handbag. Only problem was my hands were full with a carry tray of coffees and a bag of goodies. I found a wall, placed everything on it and just grabbed my phone before the call diverted to message bank.
My knees shook as Matt’s smiling face shone back at me.
“Matt!”
However, I wasn’t fast enough. The line was silent. Hurriedly checking the call, I saw that I’d missed it. Damn! My heart pounded as I hit redial and waited for it to reconnect.
“You’ve reached Matt. Sorry I can’t take your call right now, but please leave your number and I will get back to you ASAP.”
My heart sank and mixed with my breakfast.
“It’s me. Sorry I missed you, but please, please call me back.” A thousand thoughts raced, and I stuttered on what to say. “I, ummm, I...miss you.” Hitting end, I sighed and sunk my backside on to the wall and checked the message that he left on my voice mail.
Matt’s voice was strong and familiar, and a tightness started around my heart. “I’m sorry I haven’t called for a while, but my signal has been out of range.”
His face filled my mind when I closed my eyes. I could see his dark eyes brimming with worry as his deep voice radiated his concern. I could feel his heat and smell his woody scent and the pang grabbed my heart and held on tight.
“I’ve got a weak signal now, but I’ll try you again when I get signal back.” There was a long pause and his breath sounded heavy down the phone. “I ummm, I’ll talk soon.”
As the call ended a lone tear ran down my cheek and loneliness surrounded me. I swiped at the tear, clutched my phone tight and watched the world continue its path, wishing that Matt would quickly call me back. Several cars pulled into the fifteen-minute drop off zone in front of the hospital. An elderly lady got out of one and her partner raced to help her into a wheelchair. He fussed over her telling her to wait while he moved the car, and I envied their relationship. Would Matt be there for me when I was that age? As my phone lay silently in my palm, a stab of reality told me he wasn’t even here for me now, so what were my chances of him being around when I was eighty?
By the time the drop off zone had repopulated with new vehicles three times, I’d watched at least a dozen people come and go through the entrance doors. I retried Matt only to get his message bank again and again.
I sighed, threw my phone into my handbag and picked up the drinks, making my way inside.
The reception area was busy at this time of day, but thankfully I knew where I was going, so I followed the signs to the purple lift and hit the button for level three.
Riley was in a private ward, which was good considering the noise level my family created. I was sure the staff would frown upon it if he’d had to share with a stranger.
“Where’s mine?” demanded Danny, looking at the tray of drinks I was carrying, his hip cocked against the bed.
“I didn’t know you were going to be here!”
“Humph.”
Rolling my eyes, I pushed past him and placed the drinks on the table over the bed. Lizzie jumped up and fell into my arms for a much-needed hug. I just wasn’t sure which of us needed it most.
Lizzie and I were a lot alike in a lot of ways. But we were also very different. Me, I had to put a lot of effort into looking my best. I wore this year’s fashions and designer shoes and hid the real me behind perfect make up. Lizzie, well she looked beautiful without any of that. While my curls were tamed, hers ran wild. My fitted dress was matched with her shorts and T-shirts, and my designer shoes met her sandals. Yet she was effortlessly beautiful, and I envied her. Not that I would ever tell her that of course. Today though, she looked pale, drawn and exhausted, and the medical tape across her throat was a visual reminder of what had happened.
“Did you get any sleep last night?” I asked her.
“Not really. The doctors wanted me to go home, but I wouldn’t. So, they made me a cot up here.”
I turned to look at Riley. His gorgeous blue eyes fluttered open and he gave me a small smile. He was god-like good looking and had the body to go with it. He was a strong man, but to see him lying in the bed connected to an IV, his skin pale and dark rings under his eyes caused a hitch in my voice.
“How are you feeling?” I asked moving to give him a kiss on the cheek.
“Been better, but I’m getting there.”
“How long do you have to stay here?”
“Hopefully I can go home tomorrow.”
“Provided he does as he’s told and improves,” added Lizzie.
“You keep frowning like that and you’re going to need botox,” snapped Danny, his gaze falling to her brow.
“So are you,” she retaliated with a grin.
Danny gasped and his hand flew to his forehead as he smoothed his lines away.
“What are you doing here at this time of day?” I asked as I handed him the cup of coffee Tom had made for me.
“Andrew moved a few appointments around so I could get here in my lunch hour. Is that really for me?” he asked, accepting the cup.
“Sure. I’ve just had one, so you can have mine.” I didn’t add that it was decaf. He’d figure out soon enough. “I’ll fight you for the brownie though.”
“That’s fine. I’ve just had three Turkish delights from the box Riley’s mum left him.”
“Damn you.” I sighed, knowing I would swap a brownie for Turkish delight any day.
“What happened with the vow renewal?” Lizzie asked, before Danny and I could get into a squabbling match.
“No one turned up.”
“Some people are so inconsiderate,” scoffed Danny, perching himself on the end of the bed.