The Geary Series Boxed Set (57 page)

Mickey ended the call on his mobile and stuffed the phone back into his coat pocket. He was expecting the message to come through, but it didn’t make it any easier to hear.

He had listened to the call in the corridor of the hospital while Angie dressed. They were releasing her today. He had spent the last two days at the hospital, getting back ache in the uncomfortable chair. They had spent the time getting to know each other. Shifting the venue from the storeroom at the hotel to her hospital bed. Their time was over and Mickey struggled with that realization.

He leant against the wall until she was ready to leave toying with the idea floating around in his head.

“Are you ready?” Angie asked, popping her head around the corner of the door frame.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” He said, “Shall I drive you home?” Mickey asked, wanting to prolong their time together.

“Can you zip me up first?” she said and walked out into the corridor and turned around.

The back of her yellow dress gaped open from the waist, she wasn’t wearing a bra. Mickey stepped forward and brushed the back of his hand slowly up her spine until he reached her neck. Angie’s skin raised with a wave of goose pimples. He pushed her hair to one side and clipped the top edges together with the delicate clip. Using his index finger, he trailed it down her spine down to her waist. He had no clue what possessed him to act this way with Angie, she had a head injury and he was doing his best to seduce her. Pinching the material at the base of the zip he pulled upwards until he reached the clasp. He rested his hands on her shoulders for a moment and then stepped back. Angie cleared her throat and whispered her thanks. Mickey felt lost for a moment and walked passed her to go to her room to collect her bag. He picked up her backpack and threw it over his shoulder. In his other hand he carried the small carry case Lilly had packed for her the first day. Angie had given Lilly her keys to pick up a few items for her short stay in hospital.

“Ok, let’s go, Mickey, I can’t wait to get home and have a shower.”

“Me too,” he said and stopped breathing, “I mean I need a shower too, not with you, I mean I would with you, but that’s not what I meant.” He muttered the rest of his ramblings, but Angie didn’t hear, she was laughing too loudly.

“Come on you fumbling teenager, I need coffee.” She said.

“We need to stop by another room first and then we can get coffee and a shower.” Mickey winced once more and walked out of the room.

Angie walked after him but didn’t get very far, he came back pushing a wheelchair.

“You’re not allowed to leave on your own two feet, get on board Angie, no arguments,” Mickey ordered.

Clambering onto the chair she grinned and held tight to her carry case. He didn’t waste any time and they were on the move, swerving around other patients and hospital staff. The corridors sped by and a few minutes later they turned a corner and slowed down. Mickey now strolled them down the narrow path to another hospital room.

“Push the door with your foot, Angie,” Mickey asked her quietly.

She did as she was asked and put her foot back on the step of her wheelchair. Craning her neck to see into the room she couldn’t see much as the door was shutting again. Kicking the door open again with more force, it hit a trolley behind it and announced their entrance.

Everyone in the room turned to see who had made the noise. Angie shrank back into the chair and hid behind her case.

“I’m so embarrassed Mickey.” She hissed.

Mickey chuckled and ruffled her hair then pushed her into the room.

“Hey Mickey, what are you doing here?” Jack asked moving towards him to shake his hand. He kissed the top of Angie’s head and stepped back to be with Olivia.

Lilly rushed up next and hugged her friend with the case between them, she couldn’t really get her arms around Angie, so she kissed her forehead instead.

“How are you feeling Angie, are you in pain? Should you be leaving so soon, I can come and be your nursemaid?” Lilly offered.

“I don’t think so sweetheart, you are mine and mine alone for the next week, wife,” Elijah ordered. “I’m sure Mickey is more than capable of looking after this little firecracker.”

Elijah bet down and kissed her cheek, “no offence meant.” Elijah added. He shook Mickey’s hand after Lilly had finished hugging him.

Jane sat in a chair next to Gale’s bed smiling warmly at the scene before her, seeing Lilly happy made her happy. At least one member of her family had found true love. She looked over at Dylan sitting on the bed stroking Gale’s hand while she slept. It was the most dysfunctional marriage that she had witnessed, she still didn’t know why they stayed together. Two people who hated and resented each other had wasted their lives being together. She preferred to be alone and miserable than spend a life with someone she didn’t love.

Michael and Ruth walked into the hospital room and Jane’s first thought was that there were too many people in the room and when the nurse came in they would be all kicked out. She wanted to be first out the door, but family loyalty kept Jane there and also to keep an eye on Gale’s ramblings.

“I stopped by to tell you that I’m taking Angie to Dublin with me. I need to spend roughly a week over there.” Mickey announced to the room.

“You are?” Angie said and craned her neck to look up at Mickey.

“Well, I’m not leaving you here alone to get into more trouble. We leave tomorrow morning.” Mickey advised her.

“Is everything all right Mickey?” Michael asked him.

“All is well, thanks, just some family stuff to take care of and then I’ll be back,” Mickey said. “Say your goodbyes Angie.” He told her.

A chorus of safe travels were called out and Mickey pushed her out of Gale’s hospital room.

He pushed her in silence through the corridors and out into the early evening.

“Stay in the chair Angie, don’t move, I’ll bring the car around,” Mickey told her.

She nodded her agreement and watched as he wandered away with her backpack over his shoulder.

Unzipping the front pocket of her case she took her lip balm and dipped her finger into the pot of balm. Smearing some over her lips she pressed them together and put the pot away.

“Which flavour?” Mickey asked, he had pulled up to the kerb and had wound down the window. He grinned and got out of the car and wheeled her around to the passenger side.

He opened the car door and then lifted Angie out of the wheelchair and up into his arms. He pecked her lips with a kiss and considered that her lip balm tasted like.

“Strawberry, tastes great, you should wear it at all times. You never know when I’d like another sample.” Mickey said and placed her in the car.

Angie had lost her ability to talk, he had taken her by surprise by telling her that she would be going to Dublin with her. Since that moment, she had processed that he had taken over her recovery. She had called her boss at the hotel and when she tried to explain that she had been instructed to take a week off, he gave her two weeks off with full pay. Her boss had changed from obnoxious to overbearing and caring.

She accepted her time off with a sense of relief and now that she had been invited to go to Dublin she started to relax. A holiday in Ireland was what she needed and the company of Mickey would be the icing on the cake.

He drove them to her house and let her stand on her own two feet this time, to settle into her home. Once he had checked several times that she was ok, he left.

She didn’t expect him to return until the morning when they would travel to Ireland. The first thing she needed to do was to find her passport, straight after she had a shower.

Angie wandered through to her bedroom wheeling her case behind her. She had been given strong painkillers and spare dressings for her head. She unpacked the few things that Lilly had brought to the hospital and left the case open, she would use it as her hand luggage on the aeroplane to Ireland.

Her phone beeped indicating a message had come through, swiping the screen and punching in her code she read the message from Mickey.

Take a bath and not a shower, I’ll be there in half an hour to wash your hair. Make sure you don’t get the dressing wet.

She stared at the screen absorbing his words and instructions. A thrill of excitement ran through her chest that he was returning. She hurried and drew a bath, she wanted to have finished bathing by the time he arrived.

The intercom system alerted her to a visitor. She had dressed in yoga pants and an oversized t-shirt after her bath. Looking at the camera screen she saw Mickey and released the door. Switching off the TV, she turned the radio on and waited for him to arrive at her door.

It didn’t take long for him to arrive and there was a triple rap on the door. She took a peek at her spy hole to look at Mickey.

He had a well worn leather jacket on with blue jeans and a navy t-shirt. She spent a little too long admiring the view.

“Open the door, Angie.” Mickey hollered.

She unchained the lock and swung the door wide, inviting him in.

He looked freshly showered, his hair still damp on top. The short sides and back had dried probably before he left his house.

“Come in Mickey, make yourself at home.” Angie offered and closed the door, attaching the chain once more.

“Are you hungry? I could make you some dinner.” Mickey suggested.

She spied the plastic bag in his hand full of packets and vegetables.

She was starving and grateful for someone to cook for her.

“I could eat, what did you have in mind?” She asked and asked him to follow her into the kitchen.

“A simple pasta dish but first we need to wash your hair,” Mickey said.

“I thought I wasn’t allowed to wash my hair.”

“You’re not but I can, the cut is out of your eyesight and you need to make sure that you don’t damage the stitches,” Mickey said while he unloaded the contents of the shopping bag on the counter top.

He removed his jacket and hung it on the back of one of the chairs at the dining table.

He wore a short-sleeved t-shirt revealing his tanned muscled arms.

“Is there anything you don’t like?” Mickey asked her and started looking through her cupboards searching for the correct frying pan.

“I pretty much like everything,” Angie replied and sat at the dining table, watching him get to work on dinner.

“Good, now before I start there is something I want to discuss first.” He said and came over and sat on a chair next to Angie at the table.

He moved the chair Angie was sitting on so that she faced him. He took her face in his hands and kissed her. This time it was with passion, pushing her to open up to him. She kissed him back with tenderness, slowing his kiss down. She wanted to relish his touch and discover a connection you can only have with a kiss.

He broke away when he felt he was losing his control.

“I wanted to kiss you last night, I had decided yesterday that I meant to show you how much I desire you in body as well as the mind. You then got careless and got hurt and then I had to wait. So, Angie, can we try and be a couple?” He asked, hope was conveyed in his expression.

“I would love to Mickey, but can you reduce to the passionate kisses until my headache goes. The throbbing in my head has just increased ten-fold.” Angie asked and grimaced at her request. She loved his kiss but wanted to throw up with the pain.

“I’m sorry Angie, that was selfish of me, I should have asked. Forgive me?” He asked and kissed her forehead.

“I’ll forgive you once you have fed me.”

He left her sitting while he prepared the meat and vegetables. Once he had set the pan bubbling, he came back to Angie.

“I need to check your head dressing, can we go to the bathroom?”

“Sure,” Angie replied and showed him the way.

Angie sat on the vanity counter top and swung her legs against the doors underneath, her heels hit the wooden doors rhythmically.

Mickey asked her to turn her head to the side so he could see the wound dressing and untie it. The hospital had placed a large pad over the stitching and wrapped bandages around her head like an Alice band. Her curls were flattened down.

“You look adorable with this dressing, but I need to remove it, you may feel a bit of pain and your hair pulling. The shaved part should grow back quickly.” Mickey said and reached around to the nape of her neck to untie the knot.

“What shaved part?” Angie screeched, she tried to jump off the unit to see her bald patch.

Mickey held the flat of his hand against her chest and stopped her from moving.

“Stay still, you probably were unconscious when they did it. Your stitches are about two inches long, so I can’t imagine there is much shaved. You have enough curls to cover up any gaps, so stop stressing. You’re alive, that’s what matters.”

Angie didn’t have a snappy reply so she sulked instead as she sat patiently while Mickey changed her dressing.

“Will you take a picture of my bald patch, so I can see?” Angie asked.

“No, keep still.” He snapped, “You're vain and it’s unbecoming in a beautiful woman.”

Angie smiled and turned into the perfect patient.