Song Bird

Part 7

Things went extremely well, people were having a blast, especially the patients. Everyone enjoyed the food that was set out, the photo booth that was set up on the side of the room and the drink table we had set up on the side of the room. Nurses hung out by the sides of the room chaperoning and there were plenty of chairs and tables to sit at if anybody got tired.

Allison thoroughly enjoyed herself, laughing and singing along with the songs as she danced with me and chatted with some of the people in the SI group. We had to break quite a few times and let Allison rest for a while before she wanted to try dancing again. We even got our pictures taken at the booth, which I made sure I had a couple ordered for the both of us.

We danced every time that we could, and I noticed that Allison would more tired on the slow songs, especially since they followed quite a few upbeat ones. As I led her slowly to the beat of a nice piano/jazz piece, I watched her blonde head fall slightly towards my chest as she grew tired.

"Want to sit down for a while?" I suggested. She nodded slowly, and I led us over to a small table empty table a little ways away from the dance floor. She sat in the chair next to me, taking small breaths as she tried to keep herself awake. I rubbed her back lightly, and just let the moment wash over me. It was weird, really, to think that just a few months before, I didn't know her. She had quickly become someone so unbelievably important to me in such  a short amount of time. 

"Allison," I said. She looked up at me with tired, but happy eyes. My heart clenched a little in my chest. She was so pretty. "I have something for you."

She laughed. "I didn't know there was anything else you could give me." 

I gave her a half smile before waving at a supervising nurse. She trotted over and smiled at us before handing me a paper envelope. I handed the envelope to Allison as the nurse walked away, and watched as she opened it. Her eyebrows rose when she read the title.

"Juxtapaz," she read. "I'm surprised you know this magazine."

I laughed a little to myself at how much research I actually had to do to find the art magazine before flipping the book open to a specifically marked page. She admired the art on the page for a moment or two before gasping loudly, her hand flying up quickly to cover her mouth. She looked between the glossy pages and my face for a good short while before staring at me.

"Oh my god," she breathed out. "Is that..."

I couldn't keep the smile off my face. "I'm sorry I didn't ask permission to submit your drawing. I just really wanted people to get a chance to see how talented you are."

A few tears fell down her cheeks as she looked at her drawing of the songbird in the garden again, glistening from the pages of the art magazine. I hoped it would mean a lot to her, and judging from the way she launched her arms around my shoulders for a hug, it clearly did. I laughed a little into her hair as I hugged her back, trying to keep my cool as my heart nearly beat straight out of my chest. She was so slight in my arms, but so warm and so Allison. I held her close, relishing in the feeling of just having her near. 

"Aaron," she said. "Please tell me there's nothing else you're going to surprise me with today. I don't know if I can take anything else."

I laughed a little nervously in her ear. "There's only one more thing. I promise."

"One more?" She leaned back out of the hug to look at me with happy disbelief. 

I shrugged a little. "Just promise me you won't laugh, okay?"

She pursed her lips. "I make no such promises." 

I rolled my eyes a little and, despite the way my stomach twisted itself into knots, I reached out to take her hand. Her fingers were thin and cold, so I closed my other hand on top to make them warm again.

"You're lucky you're so pretty," I said. She laughed, and her cheeks went slightly pink. I took that as encouragement. "It's true that I didn't really want to come here on that first day. I was more or less volun-told to come and I was only doing it because I didn't want to hear Kyle gripe at me anymore that week. But, when I met you, there was just something about you that I couldn't ignore. Everyday I found another reason to show up and come talk to you, even when I didn't know why. Eventually, the reasons why became unimportant. I just wanted to come." 

She was looking at me with this look in her eyes that made me nervous again. I laughed awkwardly. "Okay, enough with the silly build up. All I'm really trying to say here is that meeting you has changed me. A lot. I was never the kind of person who wanted to go out and do anything, but look at me now! I planned this whole thing and still managed to come up with things that could make you smile. And that smile's important to me."

She smiled lightly, opening her mouth to say something, but I quickly covered it with my fingers. "Wait! I'm almost done," I told her swiftly, taking a moment to breathe deep before launching into the last part of what I was saying. "What I'm really trying to get at here... is that you've kind of become really important to me, and it doesn't matter to me what your situation is or where it might lead in the future." I hesitated and swallowed over the lump in my throat. "I l-love you, Allison. You're a beautiful person and I feel so fortunate to have met you in my lifetime. I just -- wanted you to know."

Somewhere in the midst of my long-winded confession, she had started crying. I wanted to think it was because she was happy, but her expression was anything but reassuring. I made a nervous noise, embarrassed and a little confused, and reached out to wipe her tears away.

"Please don't cry..." I said.

"I-I'm sorry," she said self-consciously, reaching up to rub the wetness from her face. "I just... I can't tell you how... happy this makes me, Aaron..." 

My stomach flipped at her words and hope burst through my chest like fireworks. She was still crying, but she was smiling now, genuinely happy.

"After I found out I was sick... I was convinced that I would just live the last of my time locked away in the hospital hanging out with the old lady in the bed next to me," she said. "After you came to drop off the cards, I couldn't bring myself to just let you walk away. It was probably just selfishness, but I didn't want to lose the last chance I had to make a connection with a new person. I was really surprised when you showed up again the next day. I couldn't believe that you were actually interested in getting to know me better... It felt like my last wish was being granted..." Her voice trembled a bit and I thought she was going to start crying again, but she squeezed my hands tightly instead. "I am so happy I met you, Aaron. So, so happy. Thank you, so much, for everything that you've done for me. I couldn't ask for more than what you've given me..."

She rested her head against my chest and I looked up at the ceiling to try and sway off the stupid emotion coursing through me. It was practically overwhelming. 

"Before you completely sign me off, could I give you one more gift?" I asked her after a moment.

"What else could you possibly give me?" she laughed softly. I placed my hands on her shoulders, pushing her away just enough so I could see her face. I looked at her for a drawn out moment, soaking in every feature of her face. She looked slightly confused at my exclusive attention, which was reflected in the depths of her eyes.

"Close your eyes," I murmured. She slowly did as she was told. I felt my heart pounding in my head as I gently leaned down to place my lips in a soft, fleeting kind of kiss against her own. Her lips were cold, but soft, and responded gently to my actions. I pulled away gradually, taking the time to look at her face again. She kept her eyes closed and her lips slightly parted as she relished in the moment.

"Thank you," she whispered then, slowly lifting her eyelids to look up into my eyes. We stared at each other again for a while, just... feeling. I threaded my fingers through her hair, she ran her fingers gently over the skin of my face. The longer I looked at her, the tighter the clench became in my chest, so after I while, I looked away, back towards the dance floor.

"Honor me with one more dance?" I asked her quietly, lifting my lips in an encouraging smile. She smiled back in a beautiful, saddening and unbelievably content manner, nodding her head once as she let me lift her from her seat and lead us back towards the dance floor. As I led her slowly in the path of yet another jazz song, I couldn't help but think of how wonderful it was to be able to have one last happy moment with the girl of my dreams.