on wednesdays, in st. luke's behavioral health pavilion, we had free time from two'o'clock to five-thirty. and of course, i spent all of my time with her.
we sat next to each other on the couch while the others entertained themselves with stupid, pointless games of ping-pong or monopoly or some other dumb board game.
she spoke to me first this time, which completely caught me off guard.
"i really like your hair, michael," she whispered.
i ran the tips of my fingers through my thinning, bleached mop i called hair. no one had ever made me blush before this. i smiled like an idiot and thanked her and again told her i thought she was beautiful.
she smiled and said thank you.
and when the nurses weren't looking, i reached over, and i held her hand.
at first, she pulled away and gasped, clearly startled as to what i was doing. but, when she looked to me and saw me smiled, she placed her fingers back in mine. i wrapped my fingers safely and snugly around hers.
"aerin, have you ever had a boyfriend?"
she shook her head.
and i nodded.
and then we went to dinner, our hands still intertwined.
and it didn't seem so much like hell anymore.
