Sleeping Life Away

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Almost ten minutes later, Alondra watched Miles practically run down the hallway to the glass. She asked a question with her eyes, and Miles carefully shook his head. She shrugged, indicating that it was up to him. Kaylee noticed Alondra’s gaze and followed it straight to Miles.

Kaylee couldn’t help but notice that he looked wonderful. His hair had grown out just a bit, or perhaps he just kept it a little longer these days. She had some trouble wrapping her head around the idea that she had been asleep for most of a year. He still wore the same broken in jeans he had always favored, although he must have lost some weight because only his belt kept them in place. His t-shirt was tucked in, but wrinkled.

Miles caught her eyes and gave her a huge grin. While Betsy scolded him about slowing down, he hurried just a little faster to get to Kaylee’s side. He rushed through the door and practically threw himself on top of her, covering every inch of her face and hands with kisses. Kaylee couldn’t help but giggle at his enthusiasm. Finally, Miles stopped with the little kisses and placed one hand on each side of her face. For a long moment, they simply stared into each other’s eyes, neither of them noticing the tears streaming down their faces.

Alondra grabbed a few tissues from the bedside table, first wiping at her own face, then holding the other tissues between Miles and Kaylee, effectively breaking their silent connection. Miles let go of Kaylee’s face to take the tissues, whispering a “thank you”. He cleaned the tears from Kaylee’s face, then his own.

Alondra stood up from the chair beside Kaylee, waving for Miles to take her place. He sat on the edge of the chair, gripping Kaylee’s hand in both of his. Determined to lighten the mood, Miles tried to joke with Kaylee. “It’s about time you woke up, sleepyhead. I was starting to worry that we would have to reschedule the wedding again!”

Startled, Kaylee glanced at Alondra, who was grinning again, and back to Miles. “Wait a second! What do you mean reschedule the wedding AGAIN?”

Miles looked down at her hand in his and gently spun the engagement ring that he had placed on her finger so long ago. They had taken off all of her jewelry when she was admitted, but after she woke up the first time, they had allowed Miles to put the ring back on her finger. It was a little more loose than when she had first accepted his proposal, but it was not falling off.

Since Miles hadn’t answered her question, Kaylee repeated herself. “What did you mean?!?”