“Good morning,” I returned when I righted myself. I looked over her head to make sure there was no one else around, then back down at her when I was satisfied there was no pressing business to attend.
“I wanted to stop by and pick up a book on azaleas and check to see if we were on for tonight,” she said as she smoothed her unwrinkled skirt with her palms.
It was a nervous gesture I’d always found endearing.
“I have to see what Jake’s plans are, but I’ll let you know, all right?”
I didn’t want to rush her along, but we’d been seeing each other for two years, and she knew I didn’t like her stopping by unannounced at the store. I worked very hard to keep that part of my life separate from my life with Jake and Kelly, and always found myself frustrated when Maddy went against my wishes.
Sometimes I thought it was a play on her part, trying to force my hand and introduce her as a part of my life, but then I realized that Madeline would never be that underhanded. It wouldn’t be dignified.
And if Madeline was anything, she was dignified.
“Of course,” she said smoothly. “I’ll just go find that book.”
“Let me help you,” I offered, hoping to take some of the sting out of my obvious disapproval of her presence.
Maybe it was time for me to let Kelly go and give Madeline more than just the occasional night together. It had taken me years to get to the point where I could imagine being with another woman but, eventually, loneliness won out and I’d met Madeline.
Still, my heart wrenched at the thought of moving on, even if there was little to no hope of Kelly waking up, so I pushed it to the side and gave her a false smile.
We walked back to the gardening shelf, making small talk, just as I would with any other patron, when my phone rang. Normally, I wouldn’t answer the phone when I was helping someone, but I found myself eager for the distraction.
I looked at the time when I saw it was Jake and realized he should be in class. He never called me from school.
“I have to take this, it’s Jake,” I told Madeline apologetically, not waiting for her response before answering. “Hey, son, is everything all right?”
“Mom’s awake,” he said, his voice sounding strange and distant as he uttered the two words I’d lost hope of ever hearing.
My body swayed with shock and I clutched the phone tightly to my ear.
“When?” I barely got the word out; my throat felt like it was closing in.
“Grandma just called, I’m on my way to the hospital now,” my teenaged son answered.
“I’ll meet you there,” I said, immediately hanging up and rushing toward the exit.
“Sean,” Madeline called loudly from behind me. “What is it? Is Jake okay?”
I turned and said, “Kelly’s awake,” too caught up in the myriad of emotions running through me to notice the utter devastation on her face.
I had to get to my wife.
Three
Kelly
I heard the voices around me speaking frantically, but I paid no attention to what they were saying.
I expected to feel pain from the explosion. The last thing I remembered was hurtling toward concrete, and I was sure I’d hit my head pretty hard.
But I didn’t feel any pain … Maybe they have me on painkillers.
I knew I was in a hospital. I could feel the bed beneath me, sense the bright light threatening me on the other side of my eyelids, and could hear the telltale beeping of machines. I remembered that beeping from when I’d given birth to Jake.
Jake … I hoped he was okay. I’m sure he’d been terrified to witness me flying across the road. Thank God I’m okay. I’d hate to think how traumatized he’d be if I’d died.
I wondered how long it had taken for the police and ambulance to arrive. I hoped the kids weren’t left alone for too long.
I wondered if the man was okay. Maybe he was in the hospital with me somewhere and I could check on him.
My mother’s voice sounded from nearby, which was surprising. She lived a three-hour flight away…
How long have I been in here? I wondered, then decided it was time to brave the bright light and get some answers.
My eyelids fluttered opened and pain seared my eyes, causing me to shut them quickly.
“Sorry, Kelly, we’re dimming the lights,” someone said from my left.
I could see the room get darker, so I ventured to open my eyes again. It still hurt, but not the same brain-searing pain as before. I gave my eyes time to adjust, then began to look around.
A gray-haired woman walked to my bedside and leaned down with tears in her eyes.
“Oh, baby,” she whispered, and it took me a second before I realized that my mother’s voice was coming from this woman.
Confused, I looked around the room, wondering if I’d been mistaken and my mother was elsewhere in the room, when the door opened and Sean came rushing in.
Before I could say a word, he rushed to my bed and gathered me in his arms like I was made of porcelain. When I felt his shoulders shaking, I was shocked. I’d never, in twelve years of marriage, seen Sean cry.
“Shhhh,” I consoled. “I’m okay.” For some reason, my assurance just made him cry harder. I looked up to see the gray-haired woman and another woman in scrubs, who I assumed was a nurse, watching us with tears rolling down their faces.
What on earth is going on?
I held Sean until the sobbing stopped, running my hand over his hair.
It seemed longer than it had yesterday, and when I looked down I realized it looked salt and pepper, rather than its normal jet-black.
Did he dye it and never tell me?
Sean pulled back, wiping his eyes as embarrassment crossed his face, then his brilliant blue gaze searched my face as if he hadn’t seen it in ages.
“Kelly,” he choked out my name as if it hurt him to say it. “Can you talk?”
“Of course,” I said, then looked at him with confusion when it came out sounding hoarse, and my throat hurt from the effort. I brought my hand up to cradle my neck, and if felt like my arm weighed a ton of bricks.
I was weaker than I’d expected to be, but I guess being blown up took a toll on your body.
Startled by the thought, I wiggled my toes to make sure there weren’t any other damages I hadn’t felt yet, then sighed with relief when I realized I still had full use of my legs.
Sean was running his fingertip over my bottom lip, tears spilling from his eyes again, and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why he was so upset. I needed some answers, so I looked to the nurse and asked, “Doctor?”
But I guess it was more like I mouthed it, since no sound really came out. She must have gathered my meaning though, because she rushed out of the room.
“Sean, you’re going to suffocate her,” the gray-haired woman said, now not only having my mother’s voice, but speaking to Sean in the same condescending tone that my mother always used when speaking to my husband.
I narrowed my eyes and was about to ask who she was, when the door opened and a young man walked in. He was tall with jet-black hair and green eyes. His hair was a little on the longish side, but it didn’t look bad on him, and he had the kind of face that you knew would be strikingly handsome when he got older.