Page 33 of Reaching Hearts
Doctor Dead Eyes comes back in alone, carrying my chart. He meets my eyes for half a second, but the lack of indication of what he might be thinking convinces me I’m headed to the Guillotine. “We’ve discussed…”
Noises pull our attention to the door. Laura’s voice is on the other side, saying loudly, “I don’t care when visiting hours are. That’s such a bunch of bull anyway. What are you gonna do, arrest me?”
Relief overtakes me and my guard vanishes. “Oh man, are you a sight for sore eyes.”
Laura walks in with Taryn right behind her. “Hey kid. How’s it goin’?”
Behind them, Ms. Wineapple bobs her head in a gap to throw me a chafed look. She exits, vanishing the side, never to be seen from again… one can only hope.
I lower my knees and open my arms to get hugs from both my friends. “I’m great. Right Doctor?”
“We’re going to do some blood work on you, but I’d like to get you home today.” He walks past my friends, but to Taryn, he smiles. “I like the fringe.”
We all watch him leave.
Taryn calls out to the closed door, “Thank you!” Her body swivels back to us. “I think he likes me. Should I go see if he’s married?” She plants her butt on the edge of my bed.
“Please do. God, it’s good to see you guys.”
Laura stands next to the bed with her arms crossed. “You gave us a scare there, girlie.”
“You mean you don’t like seeing your friends carted off, unconscious? That’s not a good time for you?” They both shake their heads slowly, and I lose my joking smile. “I’m sorry.”
Taryn leans back on her arm, elbow locked. “It was really crazy. One minute you seemed fine – in a daze, but fine. Then you came out of the office and it was like we were watching a drunk child. You just collapsed.”
Laura’s jaw tightens. “Nothing would wake you.”
Not really wanting to picture it, I look down and pick at one of my nails. “Wow, that’s crazy.”
“It wasn’t fun. But you look good, now. The light is back in your eyes.” Laura unzips her cropped leather jacket and holds it open like a flasher. I look at her fitted t-shirt and read what it says: We Need Beer. We Need Le Barré.
My eyes go almost as wide as my mouth. “I love it!!”
“This?” Laura pulls her jacket off and tosses it over her shoulder to parade around. “Oh, it’s just a little something I put together to get some neighborly participation.”
“It’s amazing.”
Taryn is grinning at me. “I got the decals from Staples. You just print it on your computer and iron it on.”
Laura tosses her jacket on the weird chair and puts her fists on her hips, assuming a super hero’s stance. “I thought, what can I do to help? I know! I’ll tell the neighborhood what happened. This close to home – a robbery? They’ll want to help. People come together in times of crisis. It’s what we’re best at. Especially protecting one of our own.”
Taryn leans forward to inform me, “And those who don’t…are fucking lame.”
Laura continues, “So, we’re offering the decals for people to sew onto their own shirts. And Manny’s brother said he’d build a website for donations. You never know!”
I was so moved when they helped me clean the bar, but the level they’ve taken this is staggering. A lump grows in my throat and I don’t say anything for a second as I reach out toward Laura. She steps to me and I touch the shirt in awe. I wrap my arms around her waist and give her a big hug. Taryn leans in as I open my arms to her, and she squeezes me so tightly that I come off the bed. “Thank you. I don’t know what else to say, but thank you!”
They smile, and I see they’re a little misty, too.
“We’ve got your back, kid. We really didn’t like seeing you on the floor like that. It was scary.”
Taryn reaches over and rubs my knee, then straightens her back again and adjusts her legs so she’s more comfortable. “This whole thing must have been really scary for you. Being held up… I can’t even imagine.”
“Yeah.” I bring my knees up again and rest my chin on them.
Something clouds Taryn’s face and she glances to Laura, saying something with just her look. “We met Brendan’s girlfriend. She introduced herself. She acted really weird.”
Laura’s eyes flash. “She stole his jacket.”