The Wild Orchid

The Arrival: Part 2

She walked through the bedroom door and discovered something she wasn't expecting. She looked around and saw that the bed was positioned in the center to the back wall that had red silk sheets adorned atop it with two plush pillows matching the comforter. She was surprised by the red and white fringe around the pillows and guessed that had been the female influence in his life.

There was a large translucent white curtain overlaying some red silk drapes covering the back wall of the room behind the bed. There was a small dresser made of tiger oak angled in the corner with a square mirror rounded at the edges. The top of the mirror had a wood carving that looked like a crown. On top of the dresser were a collection of pictures in frames. Some of the faces in the pictures she recognized and some she did not. She saw a picture of herself with Leland and Devlin. She stood in the middle between the two young men smiling. She thought back to when this picture was taken, and it dawned on her that this was right before she left for nursing school. It was in a silver frame that had a rounded design in the middle of each side except for the bottom. She felt the material and guessed that it was real silver and quite expensive.

She also saw a picture of the woman she believed was the woman in the painting. It made sense that he would have a picture of Shanee on his dresser. The frame was in gold and seemed to shimmer in the dim light of the room. She looked around to see some from his childhood posing with his two sisters, his father and even his mother. In each photograph, he looked happy and content. She wished she had more pictures herself and her family being like that, but there was a big difference between the Deprees and the Freemans.

She scanned the pictures further until there was one in particular that caught her eye. It was one of Leland with another man. They were standing side by side smiling into the camera, and she assumed that it was one of his city friends.

The man had dark wavy hair, but it was not overly shiny that looked like it was not deliberately slicked back. It was softer and more natural. His eyes were dark and even in a black and white picture she imagined that his eyes were very dark and haunting. There was a sparkle in his smile, and she wondered what kind of man he really was. The picture had her entranced for a few minutes, until she realized that she was actually tired. She put the picture back but positioned it so she could see it from the bed that she was about to sleep in. She changed into her night clothes and crawled into the large bed. She fell asleep staring at the picture, until her eyes finally closed with that image imbedded into her subconscious.  

*******************************************************

Just as the sun rose there was a ringing coming from the telephone. Leland was still sleeping in a somewhat strange position, and his body reacted to the sound by falling onto the floor. Still startled he raised his head up to see where the noise was coming from. Once he located it he crawled over to the phone and picked up the receiver.

"Hello?" he shakily spoke into the receiver and heard the operator on the line.

"You have a call from Gavin Lorio," a very professional female voice came through. "May I connect you?"

"Yes, please," he said anxiously and sat up on the floor. He waited with anticipation not having heard from his old friend in quite some time.

"Lee, is that you?" he heard his old friend's voice on the other line.

"Yes, I just got into town last night," he said and looked over at the painting of Shanee. His thoughts became hazy thinking back to the happy times to once had. "How is she?"

"When I saw her yesterday she was in bad shape, but still hanging on," Gavin said and then cleared his throat. "I thought you would have come sooner than this. I sent that letter weeks ago, and I only did it because when I tried to call your father's house he said that didn't wish to speak to me."

"That's not true," he said in astonishment. "If my father told you that, it was a lie, and that letter you sent. I did even see it until two days ago at my sister's wedding. I never would have seen it if it wasn't for Zorell fishing it out of the trash."

"Who's Zorell?" Gavin asked in confusion. "Don't tell me you have another sister you never told me about."

Leland chucked and shook his head. "No, old friend, she's my brother-in-law's sister," he said, and he heard Gavin give a long breath.

"Oh, I see," he said with some coyness in his eye. "So, the girl likes to go through discarded waste looking for treasure."

"Not actually, Gav, and she's a grown-up woman who overheard what my father did, and only wanted to help me," Leland said and lifted himself off the floor. He picked up the telephone base and paced around the room looking over at the bedroom room where Zorell was sleeping. "She came here with me."

"Oh, is that so," Gavin said, his voice rising a little. Leland knew what that meant. Gavin had always been a skirt chaser, but he was definitely not Zorell's type.

"Forget about it, Gavin," Leland said, trying to keep is voice down. "She only came with me to help me out, and she's going to be working at the hospital in a few weeks... as a nurse."

Gavin let out a breath and after a few seconds spoke again. "So, are you going to the hospital today?" Gavin asked, but it was a question he didn't need to ask.

"As soon as Zorell is awake and visiting hours at the hospital start," he said and walked over to the sofa and sat down.

"Then I'll meet you there," Gavin said and gave a long breath. "I've been there most every day since the accident."

"Thank you for looking after her," Leland said and closed his eyes tight. "She can't die, Gavin. She just can't."

"What she needs is a reason to live, and you and only you can give her that," Gavin said in soft voice.

"I'll do whatever I have to," Leland said, his hand shaking as he held the receiver.

"Visiting hours start in about two hours, so I'll see you down there," Gavin said as Leland listened closely. "It's the second floor, the women's trauma wing."

"Thanks, pal," he said, then removed the receiver from his ear. He held it in his hand, tossing it from hand to hand like a toy.

At that moment. Zorell came out of the bedroom wearing a white robe. Sleep was still in her eyes, and her face was pale and her hair was a mess. "Did I hear a telephone ring?"

"That you did," Leland said, and he still had the receiver in his hand. He heard a female voice on the line. He then realized he hadn't hung it up. "Sorry, operator, I finished." He hung it up and looked over at his house guest. "I'm surprised the telephone company hasn't turned it off."

"Why would they do that?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"I haven't paid the bill since I left two months ago," he said, looking embarrassed.

"We'll take care of it, and I'll be moving out today so you can have your bed back," she said in a lighter tone. "Now, I'm going to take a shower, and then I'll make breakfast, okay?"

"No, I'll make breakfast while you go get washed up, and as for moving out, not until we find you a proper place." She tried to speak up, but he raised up a hand. "That's not up for negotiations."

"Fine, but I'll start looking today," she said and headed towards a washroom to freshen up.

He gave a smile, knowing she was going to be stubborn about it. Well, he could be just as stubborn. He owed her for telling him the truth, and he was going to make sure she was in a place she was safe, and if that meant staying with him, then that was what he would insist on. 

There's going to be another part added to this chapter, which will probably be posted tomorrow. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and there is more to come. See you later.