A Bump in the Road -- Watty Awards 2011 --

Chapter 12: To Paris

So as always, KEEP COMMENTING & VOTING!!!!! Sorry for the virtual yelling but I had to get your attention somehow! :) So can we try for 4 comments before the next chapter goes up? 

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Nicole’s dry eyes flickered open and then closed against the harsh sterile light of the hospital lamps. Then she felt the cool bliss of darkness as the blinds were drawn and the lamp shut off by a dark blurry figure.

“Well finally chile’ I thought you was neva gonna wake up” the jolly lilting voice chided. “Well that sure as hell doesn’t sound like Joseph unless these drugs are more powerful than I thought” she murmured. She tried to focus her eyes without the use of her normal contact lenses.

The blurry pieces came together to form a plump short statured nurse by the foot of the bed – teeth gleaming white against the dark cocoa backdrop of her wrinkled skin. Nicole attempted to swing her legs out of the bed but the older black woman was surprisingly much stronger than Nicole had given her credit for and as quick as lightning she grabbed Nicole’s feet and placed them squarely back on the railed bed.

“Dat’s young folks’ problems dese days – dey all git up and go till they aint got no more go to git up with. You missy ain’t gonna be goin’ nowhere on your feet anytime soon. Oh, yessir I know that yo man’s takin you to Paris mmhmmm. But if that man of yours is stubborn as he was last night I wouldn’t bet on him letting you out to take a picture while you’re there”.

Nicole bridled at being spoken to like a child, she was a CEO of a multimillion dollar translation publishing company and she was the one used to giving orders. However her thoughts switched from annoyed to focused on staying calm for the baby to curious at the nurse’s words.

 Before Nicole could get a word out, the nurse continued, “mmmhmmm yessum he been up every hour since you got out of surgery naggin all the night nurses like a motha hen about your iv doses and room temperature. Though it didn’t bother them any – Phew! That is one good lookin man you got out there honey, theyda given him the boss’s office if he’d asked for it with those smoldering eyes of his”.

Nicole smiled to herself, 6 months ago she would have bit someone’s head off if they had spoken to her like that. But now she was taking orders from the self proclaimed ‘mammy’ like from Gone in the Wind. But unlike Miss Scarlett Ms. Nicole adored being a Mrs. Redford. During the next day while Joseph was frantically arranging the house for Paris.

Nicole and Auntie M, as the nurse insisted Nicole call her got very close for the next while in the hospital. It felt good to have a mother-like figure in her life like she’d never had.

Chapter 8

A dark, bleary eyed Joseph met her at the door of her hospital room looking as though he hadn’t slept since their wedding night. In truth he hadn’t. However the darkness left his eyes when he saw Nicole, and his face lit up into a smile and his step quickened as he ran a hand through his dishevelled hair as he came over to her bedside where she was sitting, chestnut hair highlighted gold swept back in a loose ponytail wearing a red nyc sweatshirt and navy & grey maple leafs sweatpants with her luggage beside her, thoughtfully packed by Aunty M with the things Joseph had brought over from the flat.

Auntie M was there to see them off, clucking over Nicole like a mother hen Joseph thought of how he was eternally grateful to this woman who had taken such god care of his wife as he tried his hardest to tie up loose ends at home before jetting off for the next 2 or so months.

It was so frustrating to know how ill she had been days before but now was rosy cheeked and glowing, ideally the picture of health. The doctor had explained however that her condition was one of sudden and rapid onset and that, at the moment she was in perfect health and had no need to be in hospital, however he also explained that that could change in an instant and both her and the baby could be dead in 2 hours if the disease onset rapidly with no insulin supplement to buy them enough time to get to a hospital.