In the Language of the Flowers

| 39 |

✾ Dandelion ✾

"I'm fine. I'm fine," I said, swatting Sallie's hands away. 

"You're not. You probably hit your head," Sallie said angrily. She had tears in her eyes. I suspected her worry for me was just a symptom of something undeniably bigger. 

My symptoms were different despite a common cause. Somehow, I felt eerily normal when I knew I shouldn't. 

Sallie was right on my heels down the entire hallway. She, Marley, and Amory had all crammed into one taxi with me the minute they'd heard. Marley was panicky, also, but was trying to remain calm so that she could comfort Sallie. Amory was stone-faced, but he seemed shaky. And I...

"Excuse me," I said calmly. "I need to see someone. His name's Beau Bryant. It's room-" 

"115! It's room 115, so can we get passes?" Sallie interrupted, talking a mile a minute. 

The woman behind the desk stared at us. She had brown-blonde hair and wide, bright eyes, making her seem oddly impressionable. "One moment," she said, averting her gaze. She typed something into the computer in front of her. I waited as patiently as I could, observing the people who were waiting to be helped. I hadn't been in a hospital in a while, but knew how it all worked. 

"What's your relationship to the patient?" 

I looked back at the receptionist. She was staring blankly at me. "Uh, I'm-"

"He's his boyfriend," Sallie blurted. 

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm-"

"Can we have passes now?" Sallie said. 

"I'm sorry," the receptionist said. "It's... I don't really know if I can let you in without-" 

"What year is this? Isn't this illegal?" Sallie shouted. "Let the man in to see his boyfriend! What the hell? You can't keep them apart!"

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. One moment," the receptionist said again, panicking. "It's my first day, I--" She turned in her chair. "Mary!"

I grabbed Sallie's arm. "Calm down," I hissed. "You're making a scene." 

"Beau's dying!" Sallie shouted. "You need to see him right fucking now!"

Her words slammed the wind out of my lungs. Beau wasn't... "Sallie, don't say that. We don't know that," Marley said. "I'm sorry, Ren. She's just scared." 

"Of course, I'm fucking scared. Duckling was hit by a fucking car. What fucking bastard does that? Who the fuck-" 

"You should stop swearing. There are children here," Amory said quietly. 

Sallie stared at him. "Why are you two so calm?" 

"How can I help?" A new employee appeared behind the desk. 

"I'm sorry, Mary. These people want passes to visit a room, but they're not immediate family and it's room 115." 

"Oh, I see," Mary said, leaning over the computer. She read the screen briefly and then looked at us, smiling warmly. "Your...friend, is he?"

"Boyfriend," Sallie corrected, somewhat calmer this time. "He's his boyfriend." 

The nurse nodded calmly. "Your boyfriend is currently located in the ICU, which means he has restricted visitation. We have to limit the number of people allowed in to see him." 

The ICU.

"Just him," Sallie said, pushing me forward. "Just take him, then." 

"We can do that," Mary said, turning to the new hire. "Please take his identification, print him a pass, and give him directions."