White is for Virgins

Chapter 30

"Roses are red, Asphalt is black," Fox said, palm-steering the car at an intersection. "Why is your chest as flat as my back?" I momentarily frowned, self-consciously looking down at the V-neckline of my blood red long-sleeved shirt. This made him chuckle. I had no choice but to retaliate.

"Dimes are silver, pennies are brass," I said with a straight face, puffing my apparently non-existent chest out, "Why does your face look like your a–"

"Em," he interrupted with a warning tone, "Don't corrupt my sister." We both looked at each other as the car stopped at a red light and laughed at our own stupidity. Holly joined in for no reason, flashing her two-and-a-half pearly little teeth.

"Admit it – I won," I smirked. Then I sneezed.

"Bless you. And not even," he grinned, "If anything you complimented me. I'd say both my face and my lower backside are pretty equally amazing features." I rolled my eyes; kept my mouth shut. We had been playing this rhyming game for almost the entire ride to hospital, Fox and I. Holly was accompanying us, and was currently salivating over her heart-shaped lollipop in the backseat. Nina was driving the van full of flowers behind us.

It wasn't long before we were unpacking the buckets of colorful carnations by the back entrance of the hospital. Holly took special interest in a yellow one, squeezing the petals with her chubby fingers. I broke the stem and slid the flower into her hair. I let her see her new accessory, lifting her to the van's black reflective window. She clapped her hands.

"Come on, ladies," Nina called, pushing a cart full of flowers through the automatic doors. She noticed Fox's questioning eyebrows and added, "And gentleman."

He flashed his signature white smile, grabbing the other cart and preparing to push it forward. I cleared some space on it and sat Holly down among the flowers. I sneezed again, twice this time. Fox smirked and slowly followed Nina to the main lobby.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" was the phrase of the day – or most of it. Of course, Holly's alternative: "Habby Val'time's Day!", was also pretty prevalent. We gave flowers to just about everyone. Secretaries, sales clerks, doctors, nurses, janitors, and patients. Little kids were running around the hallways with their flowers and little bags of chocolate; secretaries were blushing as Fox suavely handed out carnations. I tried not to stare as he worked his charm, focusing instead on the patients.

"Happy Valentine's Day," I said softly to a woman in the ICU that was sleeping. I placed a pink and white flower on her stomach in between her small white hands and made my way to the next room.

I saw an old woman sadly march out of a room and out of sight; she had been crying. I figured she was going to the bathroom or to speak with a doctor. Quickly, I went the room from which she'd exited and placed a violet carnation on the sleeping old man in the same fashion as all the other sleeping patients. He had on a breathing mask, and a plethora of machines were attached to him all lighting up in various ways and emitting a number of different sounds. I assumed he was either a brother or husband of the woman who'd left the room and felt extremely sad that he lacked the ability to give her a flower himself. I placed another one on the seat beside him for when she returned.

"Happy Valentine's Day," I whispered gently.

By the time I'd went through all the rooms of the Intensive Care Unit, I was tearing up at all the sad, lonely people I had come across. If they were conscious, their gracious smiles filled me with even more sorrow.

"You okay?" Nina asked with concern when we met up in the cafeteria.

"I shouldn't have taken the ICU," I admitted, "I can't handle seeing people like that."