“Let me go in first and see if she can have visitors,” Oliver knocked once then entered the room.
I stepped to the side and waited. I paced in front of the door, wringing my hands together. They were cold despite the jacket that stretched down to my knuckles. A moment later, the door opened and Oliver stepped back holding the door open for me. I entered the room expecting the worst. It was an overload of my senses: the smells, the bright light, the sounds of the machines. The smell of sanitizer and bleach filled the room. The slow but persistent beeping was always a good sign in a hospital and I relaxed. In the corner, Grams was resting; she wore a peaceful expression.
I crossed the room in three large strides and came upon her side. I grabbed her hand as tears began to flood my eyes. I caught a glimpse of the nurse at the foot of the bed. She was looking in Oliver’s direction and nodded.
The nurse explained to me what had happened and when Grams would be able to be checked out. She walked passed me. I glanced over my shoulder when I heard the door close and noticed Oliver had left also. I let out a sigh of relief and collapsed in the chair beside the bed. I toyed with the drawstring of Oliver’s jacket as I waited for Grams to wake.
Hours passed and Grams became conscious.
“Grams!” I smiled.
She mumbled, lips quivering trying to form words.
“Take it easy, Grams. You don’t have to speak.”
She shook her head, mumbled again as her words began to take shape.
“Oh… a ruckus….I caused.”
“It’s fine, Grams. They said you suffered a minor heart attack because you’ve been too stressed out. You need lots of bed rest for awhile and you need to take it easy!”
“Can’t keep up like I used to.” Grams half smiled, happy she was becoming coherent again. I knew her time on Earth was growing shorter; I didn’t want to think about it. She didn’t either, which is why she had tried to keep doing the things she did when she was my age, but the fighting was of no use.
I fought a smile through my sadness and squeezed Grams’s hand.
“Everyting will be okay. I’m going to head over to Sylvia’s in a bit to see if she can help out with the bakery for awhile until you’re back on your feet.”
Grams nodded, a solemn smile sprawled across her face. She glanced at the clock and nodded in its’ direction, “you haven’t ate.”
“You’re right. I haven’t eaten anything in almost six hours now!” As if my stomach had been eavesdropping and overheard, it began grumbling from beneath my shirt. I laughed.
“Apparently I am very hungry.”
“Go eat. I’ll be fine. I’ll take a nap.”
I rose from the chair, kissed Grams on the forehead and headed toward the door. Before I left, I stopped to look back at Grams, who had already fallen back asleep.
“I love you, Grams.” I can’t lose you.
I stepped into the hallway and noticed Oliver sitting a few doors down. He had fallen asleep. I headed in his direction, remembering that’s the way we came. I allowed my eyes to travel up his body to his slight sleepy smile. I almost walked passed him but realized I didn’t have my truck. It would be a long walk back to Touch of Heaven. Plus I’ll have a few more minutes with him! I tapped him on the shoulder but he didn’t stir. I tapped again. He must be a deep sleeper.
“Oliver?”
Still nothing. This would take a little extra effort. Placing my hand on his shoulder, I gripped it gently then shook him like I was shaking a bottle of chocolate milk.
“Oliver!”
He jerked awake and looked around. He was disoriented so I gave him a few moments for him to gather his bearings. He looked over at me and smiled.
“Sorry, I was waiting for you. I must have dozed off.”
“Waiting for me?”
“I dropped you off here. Figured you’d need a ride home.”
“Oh, right… Right.”
“You ready then?”
I nodded and my stomach growled. My muscles grew tense. I hope he didn’t hear that. Oliver smiled. Great, he heard.
“Would you like to go the cafeteria?”
“That would be wonderful.”
I sighed, annoyed with myself. We walked down the hall. Our hands brushed as we entered the elevator. Heat crept up my neck as I started to blush, remembering how he held my hand the entire way to Grams’s room. I stared at my feet, hoping he didn’t notice. The elevator doors opened again and four people climbed on board. The elevator wasn’t large, so it became fairly crowded in an instant. The others were standing a few inches apart. I had stepped to the side to allow the others some room. I could sense I was just millimeters away from Oliver. My cheeks grew hotter. Why am I blushing so much? He’s just a nice guy who helped me with Grams. Stop blushing!
The elevator shuttered and began to descend to the first floor. Everyone filed out one by one. I was one of the first ones off the elevator so I stepped a few feet away to wait for Oliver. He was the last one to step out. I stole a glance at him, pretending to look at the TV hanging up behind him. I admired the subtle definition in his arms, the way he carried himself, and how well his EMT shirt framed his body. When I realized what I was doing, I shook my head and closed my eyes attempting to rid myself of those thoughts.
“Are you okay?” Oliver asked with a slight joking tone.
“Um, yeah. I’m fine. Sorry. Which way to the cafeteria?”
“Right. Two hallways down.”
Regaining my composure, I headed toward the right. My back began to grow warm; tiny prickles made their way through my neck and back as if Oliver’s eyes were burning holes into me. After the prickles, a tiny shock of electricity traveled down my spine causing me to shiver. I gripped Oliver’s jacket tighter as we progressed down the hallway. Patients and nurses wandered the hallways together in a lull. I heard an occasional child cry and burst out in laughter from behind the hospital doors. I wonder whether the child is the patient or just a visitor for a sick relative?
We made our way into the large cafeteria. Hundreds of white tables ladled with linen lined in long rows reaching from one end of the cafeteria to the other. Patients, in their gowns and blankets, were seated with family and friends enjoying the company. Many of them I’m sure haven’t seen the outside of these walls in years. That was always why Grams visited. She always said it was nice to see a familiar face that wasn’t of a nurse or doctor.
“We can get some food from the line over here. It’s not the greatest but what hospital food is?”
Oliver guided me to the opposite end of the cafeteria where a couple of older ladies were flocked together, gossiping. They clutched glass cups of coffee. I watched as one of the women grabbed the creamer from the line and dumped half the bottle into her cup. As we approached, I caught pieces of their conversation.
“Dixie, what are you doing?”
“I’m pouring myself more coffee. What does it look like?”
“It looks like that’s creamer,” another lady spoke up, “your eye sight is as bad as that hairstyle.”
“Oh, heavens, Betty. Stop talking about my hair. I don’t want to have to bring in your bathroom habits.”
The ladies cackled in their corner and Oliver scurried us passed as I caught bits more of their conversation.
“I’ll go grab some drinks if you want to get your food.”
Oliver bounded off in the direction we came from as I headed toward the first cafeteria worker I saw in line. A rubber ducky scrub caught my attention and I peered at the back of the woman’s head trying to figure out why she seemed so familiar. The nurse turned toward me, caught my gaze and waved. Kay Coleman. Kay crossed the line in short, staccato steps that echoed in the cafeteria. It surprised me because her shoes appeared to be no more than tennis shoes.
“Baker girl!”
“Kay! How are you?”
“I’m wonderful! I heard about an Evelyn Greene being admitted. Is that your grandmother?”
I nodded, glancing toward her feet. I noticed a tiny bump protruding beneath her scrubs.
“I’m so sorry! Is she doing any better?”
“Yes, they say she should be out in a few weeks. They just want to make sure she leaves stress-free. By the way, I never got a chance to ask. How was the wedding?”
Kay’s smile faded, “We called it off. I loved your cake, though! I ate it that night. No use in letting it go to waste!”
“Oh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t know.” Great job, idiot. Make her feel even worse about it.
“No, no. It was for the best.”
“I was just about to grab some lunch if you would care to join and catch up?” “Oh, I would but I really must be going. I only have a few more hours here till I have to head back to my hospital. They have me here learning about the way the maternity programs operate to infuse them at our ward.”
“Oh, you don’t work here?”
“Heavens no. I used to, though. I moved about 60 miles from here after the split up, transferred to BSP, since that’s where I originally wanted to go. That was about 8 months ago. Now I’ve switched to the maternity ward since I’m pregnant.”
“How far along are you?”
“7 months.”
“Congratulations! Do you know if it’s a boy or girl?”
“A boy. I haven’t decided on a name yet, but I already know he’ll be playing sports when he grows up.”
“I wish you and your family the best.”
“Thank you. It’ll just be me and my son in the picture, so we’ll need it.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, but you’re a strong woman. I think you’ll be fine.”
I let her get back to her work and she rushed to hug me then darted off. As I was grabbing the plate the cafeteria worker was handing me, a voice came from behind and I dropped the plate onto the counter.
“What did she want?”
I spun on my heels and glared. Oliver’s expression had changed. His lips no longer held a welcoming smile; they were flat, straight… angry. I explained she was checking on Grams and I had asked about the cake I made for her wedding.
“Oh, and she’s pregnant! I’m happy things worked out for her despite the break up.”
He handed me a bottle of water, not responding to my answers and waited as I grabbed my plate. His steps echoed as he walked away toward a table near the back of the cafeteria.
“So, I take it you know Kay?”
I seated myself across the table from him and studied his expression. He sighed heavily before answering, “We used to be close.”
By the tone of his voice, I could tell he didn’t want me to press on about it, “They said Grams should be out in a few weeks.” Used to be close? Does that mean they dated? Oh no, what if he was the fiancé? What if that’s his child! Why wouldn’t he want to be a part of their son’s life?
“That’s great news. You don’t like the food, do you?” he laughed, his expression smoothed and the smile returned.
I stopped chewing and smiled shyly, shaking my head. I must look like a chipmunk. I finished chewing the piece of meat in my mouth and placed the rest of it on the plate. He offered to drop me off at home and I accepted his offer, thankful to not have to finish the “Monday meatloaf surprise.” We walked to the exit, tossed my meatloaf into the trash and continued toward the hospital entrance. The doors whooshed open.
Oliver took three large steps to get in front of me and opened the door of his truck. I climbed in, mind still racing as he shut the door behind me. He jogged around the front of the truck, like before and climbed into the driver seat. It was, by far, a less stressful trip back to the bakery than to the hospital. Oliver had turned on the radio to create white noise so the ride wasn’t too silent. There was a song playing I recognized. It was an older song, one Grams used to play when I was younger. I smiled as I closed my eyes, imagining all the times Grams used to twirl around and spin me while she sang. The worries of the day slowly faded as Grams’ voice hummed in my mind. Grams had always had such a lovely singing voice and I always wished I had been blessed with such a voice. I was decent but nothing near what Grams was in her prime.
The hair on the back of my neck began to rise. The prickles returned, coursing through my body. I opened my eyes and looked over at Oliver.
“Why are you staring at me?”
“We’re here,” he laughed, “you must have been zoning out pretty bad. You were humming for a good five minutes. I said your name a few times. I thought you were ignoring me.”
“Oh, gosh… I’m sorry! I didn’t even notice. I was listening to the song.”
Oliver smiled when I thanked him for the ride.
“It’s no problem. Thanks for the company.”
“It’s no problem.” I shot him a wink and slipped out of the truck to the sidewalk. Why did I wink at him? He’s an almost married man. Who probably broke up with his fiancé because she was pregnant. What have I got myself into?
I couldn’t help but to take a quick glance over my shoulder as I walked away. He was staring. Heat grew on my neck and my awareness peeked. My shoulders, slouched before, straightened up; my head lifted as I approached the corner of the building. My stomach even flexed so it looked more flat. What am I even doing? I don’t like him. I don’t like him. I can’t like him. Stop. Don’t you do it, Amelia. Don’t you look back at him again. Good girl.
I relaxed my shoulders as I circled the building to my truck. My stomach growled beneath my shirt and I placed my hand across it in an attempt to stifle the rumble. I need to get some real food. I crossed to my truck and grabbed my keys from my pocket. My truck was a blue, undecorated version of Oliver’s, only it was raised a few more inches from the ground. Grams always said I bought the truck to compensate for my short stature. Grams. I told her I would be back after I ate. Some granddaughter I am. I haven’t even really eaten yet, but it’s already late. I need to get back.
I climbed into my truck, gripped the steering wheel and took a deep breath trying to calm the internal battle going on between my head and my heart. I looked up in time to see Oliver traveling down the back alley in the direction of the EMT station. I travelled down the opposite direction back to Grams. A smile crept across my face. At least she’ll be OK and Oliver is pretty cute. Besides, who needs food?