Scars Of A Phoenix

Chapter 6: Just Friends For Now?

Week after depressing week slogged on. The rain poured hard and when it didn't pour, the sunlight ignored me. It cheered everyone else but brought me no relief. Still, I did what I could to feel better about myself. After all, you must change what can be changed, accept what cannot be changed, and have the wisdom to know the difference.

So that's what I did. I continued on with my work, laid low, and just went through each day the way a machine works in a factory. Hell, I even got a compliment from Nurse Henderson on my performance improvement. I had been scheduling appointments correctly and had even picked up the slack for others who were on vacation. Work kept me focused. I crunched numbers and scheduled appointments all day. Unlike men, numbers and appointments don't send bizarre mixed signals.

Nevertheless, as per usual, once five o'clock rolled around, I was ready to be finished. As I strolled down the corridor, I stumbled upon the room they use for events. Unlike the day of the Christmas party or the Phoenix Hearts Fundraiser, this time the room was dimly lit. Desolate. Silent. And I spotted the beautiful grand piano shoved off to the corner. Forgotten about. It was a work of craftsmanship with its ebony wood, it's glimmer of ivory keys, and what looked like three roses carved on the front hood. I looked around the room and sat down in front of the piano.

I used to love playing the piano as a kid. Darren's mother was the best teacher anyone could ever have. She would never lose her patience with me, even when I seemed utterly hopeless. She wouldn't raise her voice or snap. When u became frustrated, she'd merely pat me on the back and urge me to try once more. And lessons would always end with a small Hershey bar or a kiss in my hand. I wiped away a tear, silently reminiscing about the summer days when I would practice what I had learned in front of Darren and he'd applaud boisterously, no matter how awful I sounded. I only can pray that my Darren is living a better life in another body. The gods would only allow someone so worthy the best rebirth.

I wiped away a few straggler tears and thought of the first song I knew how to play. My fingers grazed the keys, expressing the song, Only Living Boy in New York by Simon and Garfunkel. It wasn't perfect sounding by any means, peppered with several sour notes. But that didn't matter. My world became that song for just a brief time.

My fingers floated over the keys like clouds when I heard footsteps nearby. I stopped right at the refrain and jerked my head around to see two blue eyes and a scarred face staring back at me.

"Um, um, hi," I stammered
What in the blazing hell is he doing here? Wasn't I just trying to forget him?

"Hello there." Ralph looked around the room. "Got quite the audience, have you?"

I giggled and looked at the floor. "Um, what-what are you doing here?"

"Just worked with Dr. Mikelos. Anyway, I couldn't help but overhear you playing. That tune sounded familiar to me."

My face flushed red hot. "Yeah, Simon and Garfunkel."

Ralph grinned slightly. This was the first time he had smiled at me since the night we met. "I'm a huge Simon and Garfunkel fan. Only boy in New York, right?"

"Only Living Boy in New York," I corrected, snickering playfully.

"You know, your playing sounded really beautiful." His blue eyes sheepishly fell to the floor.

My face turned pink as I held onto my hair, running my fingers through it. "Um , I know a few others." I closed my eyes and the tune of "Scarborough Fair" emanated from my fingertips to the keys.

He stood in the doorway listening, before asking "Um, can you sing?"

I giggled. "Absolutely not. That's one thing I'm definitely not good at.

Ralph shrugged. "Just try. My interest has been piqued."

I rolled my eyes and belted out the lyrics of Scarborough Fair. My pitch was so off that an elderly frog would have beaten me out of a Grammy award. I turned my head back to find Ralph doubled over laughing. I knew he was laughing at me, but I didn't care. He seemed so happy and he deserved that. So, I sang even more off-key and the louder Ralph laughed. I swung my head back and forth at the piano, eyes closed, taking in nothing but the sounds of my dreadful singing and his joyous laughter. Then, I was shocked into reality by a booming "Hey!"

The laughing and the singing ceased immediately as I jerked around to try to find the source of the "Hey!". I saw no one, but heard familiar ogresque footsteps down the corridor. I grabbed Ralph's hand and ran with him into the closet and closed the door as much and as quietly as I was able. Both of us peaked out the crack of the ajar closet door to see Nurse Henderson waddling towards the closet.

Ralph grabbed a heap of spare blankets and piled them on top of me. "Sh. Don't say a word."

Nurse Henderson ripped open the door.
"Ralph? May I ask what on Earth you were doing in here?" She glared hotly, ready to tear into the first victim she could find.

"Ugh, I was just um, listening to my Simon and Garfunkel Playlist and watched a few videos of my sister's song covers."

Nurse Henderson raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "Oh really? Because that sounded an awful lot like a real piano playing."

Ralph shrugged. "These phones have pretty good quality these days and besides I don't, well-"

Nurse Henderson grunted cutting him off. She scoffed. "What was I thinking? You don't even have fingers on one hand. Well, in any case, get out of here. Patients are not allowed to just roam around and play games wherever they want. It's policy."

"Yes, Nurse. My apologies."

She rolled her eyes and waddled out of the room as Ralph watched until she was out of sight. He came back and scooped up the blankets as I rose up out of the closet.

"Hey that was pretty cool of you, covering for me like that. She would have had my head and my job."

"Yeah she's brutal."

I kicked the last blanket out of my way and sighed. "I take it you deal with her on a daily basis?"

Ralph rolled his eyes. "You've got no idea. How she became a nurse is beyond me. You know what she did to me? I have to get skin debridement done before going through a graft. And that is basically a very rough very painful bath. This woman and a few others held me down like I was some kind of wild dog as she yelled at me and smacked me a few times when I flinched. She's also referred to me as "the ghoul" when talking to her other nurses. That woman has no heart."

"Oh, Ralph, why don't you tell someone? That is completely unacceptable. She has no right to treat patients that way."

"What choice have I got? She's the lead nurse on my team and as rotten as she is, she is good at what she does. My doctor can't stand her either so that brings me some comfort."

I grimaced at the memory of dealing with her day in and day out. "She used to be my direct supervisor. She had no problem yelling at me or humiliating me whenever I made a mistake. It was awful."

Ralph chuckled in agreement.

"Um Ralph?" My heart was beating faster and faster. "Ralph, I would really like to see you again. And not just hiding in a closet from Nurse Walrus."

Ralph breathed heavily. "I must admit I had a fun time this afternoon. Somewhere between your impromptu Simon and Garfunkel concert and playing hide and seek, I almost forgot why I was here. Yes, I-I'd like to see you again too."

I stuttered, shocked that he had finally given in. "Um, uh, awesome. Um, Grizzly's?"

He gave a soft smile. "Grizzly's. I'd best be off."

I waved to him, wiggling my fingers as he left only for him to return to the doorway.

"Thank you, Sarah-Mae."

He might be taken, but a new friend never hurt anyone, right?