“Hello, hello,” Misty said as she swished into the room with her baby blue scrubs. She squirted hand sanitizer into her hands and rubbed it around in circles as she stepped closer. Her blunt-cut, chestnut hair brushed against her shoulders as she scanned the room. “I heard a rumor you have a date with the hot blond tonight.” She pushed her glasses up the subtle bridge of her button nose. “I want details.”
“The rumors are true,” I said with a smile.
“Well, it’s about time,” she said.
“And that means I’ll need to shower and shave. Is Cadee busy?”
Misty’s mouth moved to the side, and she looked at me like a puzzle to be solved. She held up a finger. “Okay. We can do this.”
“You’re not going to get Cadee?” I asked, feeling guilty. Misty was always busy helping everyone, even patients who weren’t hers.
“First date with Mr. Amazing. I’ve got you, boo boo.”
Misty made herself busy in the bathroom, setting up a chair in the shower and collecting plastic to cover everything that couldn’t get wet—which was a lot.
The three of us worked to make my shower as painless and efficient as possible, and I emerged from the shower area shaved, shampooed, and lotioned. Misty left us alone to tend to other patients, leaving Beth to the less labor-intensive things like blow out my blonde bob and do my makeup, but she came back to help with the task of getting dressed.
“This was tricky,” Beth said. “I wanted to get something you’d feel beautiful in but that was also comfortable and easy to get on and off.”
Misty and I both looked at her.
“Over your cast and such,” she said.
Misty peered over at me and smiled but kept working.
“So,” Beth said, standing up to get a look. “The powder blue chiffon made sense. Strappy and short for a touch of sexiness, and flowy so it’s not restricting.”
“Great choice,” I said, sitting back to rest. Even small tasks seemed to take a lot of energy.
Beth polished my toenails and then dabbed some perfume on my neck and ankle and then stepped back to view her hard work. “Beautiful.”
“Yeah?”
“Prettier than a speckled pup.”
I laughed out loud. “You’re such an Okie.”
She bent down to kiss my cheek. “I’m ready for you to come back home. I wouldn’t rather be shacked up with any other Yankee.”
“Soon, hopefully.”
“Have fun.” She winked. Then, she left me alone to wait for Jared.
It was already dark, the only sounds from the hallway were the occasional intercom call and beeping from other rooms. I didn’t have time to get nervous, because Jared rounded the corner and knocked on the door as he walked into my room.
“Come in,” I said with a smile.
He paused, seemingly speechless at the sight of me.
He was wearing blue slacks and a crisp white button-down shirt, his dark blond hair was freshly cut and lightly gelled in place, and he was clean shaven.
“You look…” He took a breath. “Wow. This doesn’t feel real. You’re stunning.”
I felt my cheeks flush. “Thank you.” I began to sit up, but he stopped me.
“Do you mind?” he asked, gesturing that he was going to pick me up.
I nodded, and he gently slid one arm under my knees, the other behind my back. We were so close, his lips just inches from mine. He smelled like fresh laundry, soap, and sunshine, and he lifted me in his arms as if I weighed nothing.
“Is this okay?” he asked.
I nodded again. Being that close to him made my brain turn into mush. I couldn’t think of a word much less anything witty to say.
He carried me to the wheelchair and then sat me inside of it, positioning the foot pedals.
“It’s a short trip to where we’re going. I guess I could’ve carried you, but I thought this would be more comfortable.”
“I’m not sure you thought that through,” I said, purposefully not checking for his reaction. I couldn’t help it; the wheelchair was a significant let down after being in his arms.
He chuckled, then stood behind me, backing me out of the room and then pushing me down the hall. We passed a half dozen rooms, the nurses and nursing aides smiling at me brightly as we passed the nurses’ station. Then, Jared turned into what looked like a breakroom.
Tall candles burned in the darkness, and my heart began to pound in my chest.
Jared switched on the light, and a lone, round table sat in the center of the room, covered in a white tablecloth, the centerpiece a clear vase holding pink and white tulips.
I looked up at him. “Those are my favorites.”
“I know,” he said, putting the chair’s wheels in park before lifting me into his arms again.
He sat me at the table in a padded chair. The place setting in front of me was made up of white plates, rose gold silverware, and a stemmed wine glass.
“Did you do all this?”
“My sister helped.”
“Claire?” I asked.
I’d only seen her once and for less than a minute. She came in to speak with Jared because he hadn’t been answering his phone, and she’d taken him out into the hall.
“Oh,” I said.
“Oh?” he prodded, a knowing grin on his face.
“I didn’t think she liked me.”
Jared went to the counter against the wall on my left and then brought an oval plate with a steaming pot roast bathing in au jus.
My mouth fell open, and then I closed it to take a deep whiff. “Oh my God. I was just taken back to my childhood.”
He nodded. “It’s my mother’s recipe.”
He turned and brought more dishes. Roasted butternut squash with parsnips, sweet potatoes, and shallots, made-from-scratch dinner rolls, and a twice-baked truffle potato.
“Jared…” I said, pausing. We’d spent a lot of time talking and getting to know one another, but I wasn’t convinced I’d told him how to prepare every one of my favorite dishes.
“Save room,” he said. “There’s an Angel food cake for dessert.”
“I told you all of this?” I asked, looking over the food with bewilderment.
“Not exactly. But it will all make sense soon, I promise.”
I nodded, watching him load my plate with food. He sat before me, and we dug in. There was no shame in my intermittent moans of satisfaction. He’d made everything perfectly, and the smells floating about the room made me feel like a girl sitting in Lillian Ryel’s kitchen again. She was the wife of my father’s head of security and…
I looked up at Jared, mid-bite. “I know this recipe. Your mother’s recipe. I’ve had it so many times. You were at the bus stop. Your family had just moved in.”
Jared nodded, but I could see the panic in his eyes. He held up his hands. “I was hoping we could discuss it all tonight. There’s a lot of information, and it didn’t feel right to dump it all on you while you were still healing.”