Thanksgiving

Chapter 16

Bryan stares looking at the door where Blondie had made her hasty exit. "Do you know her?" I ask.

Bryan snaps out of his stupor and turns back to me. "No, I don't ma'am. I've never seen her before."

I eye Bryan cautiously. I don't know him well enough to recognize any tells that he might be lying. But I'm not so sure I believe him, either.

I look down at the pile of junk food on my bed and am suddenly no longer hungry. "Thank you for the food, you can take whatever you want. I think I'm going to push the magic button and get some rest."

Bryan grabs a bag of chips and a candy bar and helps to put the other snacks on the bed tray. He then untucks the blankets that have gathered beneath my body and gently lays them over me. Who knew he could be so gentle? "Good night," he says – I half-expect him to lean over and give me a goodnight kiss. He silently leaves the room after turning out the lights.

Sun shines through the venetian blinds that cover the single narrow window in the hospital room. The clock on the wall says it is 8:00. I stretch my body and when the energy of the stretch reaches my toes I am quickly reminded why I am here. I look down the bed to find Christian sitting in a chair, his head resting on his arms on the bed by my hip. He's asleep. I wonder when he came in. I wonder if he met Blondie. I vaguely remember her coming in at some point while I was asleep to check my vitals.

I gently touch his head. I can tell he's showered. I would love a shower. I wonder what the chances of that are. Christian stirs and looks up at me and smiles. "Good morning, beautiful."

I smile at him. "When did you come back?"

"About 6 o'clock," he says with a yawn and a stretch.

"So you've had less than two hours of sleep? Your mom will not be happy," I smile.

"I honestly don't care. I tried to lay down at home but couldn't knowing you were here."

I stroke his cheek with the back of my hand and smile. "I love you, Mr. Grey," I say.

"I love you, Mrs. Grey." He eyes the pile of saturated-fat-laden snacks on my bed stand. "I don't even want to know how, why, or how much."

"I'll tell you anyway, Bryan, I was starving, and none," I say, marking each point with a raised finger. "I lost my appetite when Blondie arrived to take my vitals."

Christian looks stunned. "Blondie? Here?"

"Let me guess, you called someone and said 'don't let her get in trouble and make sure she's well taken care of?'"

Christian smiles. "I guess the conversation went something like that."

"Lucky me, she was my on-call nurse last night."

"Did you talk?"

"No, I was too hungry, tired, and in too much pain. But hopefully she'll be back before I leave."

"Do you want breakfast?"

"Is there a sun in the sky?" I ask.

"I told the nurses to not wake you with breakfast when I got here. I brought you a surprise." He stands up and walks out of the room. I look down at my foot and pull the sheet back. It doesn't seem nearly as discolored as before and the redness around the bandage is gone. My phone starts to ring from the charger next to my bed. "Hello?"

"Mommy?"

Tears well in my eyes. "Ted! It is so good to hear your voice, sweet angel."

"I miss you, mommy."