Underneath It All (4 page)

Chapter VI

What I Want

The hospital was a fifteen-minute drive, but we got there in less than five. I didn’t know how he did it—but he did.

Reeve parked the car and we briskly entered through the automatic double doors. The acidic smell of antiseptic and medicine and the metallic stench of blood made me cringe. I always forgot how much I hated hospitals.

“Excuse me, I’m looking for Brandy Ferrero,” I asked the nurse at the front desk. My body was shaking with anxiety, wracked by fear for my mom’s condition.

Reeve put his arm around my shoulders and gave me an easy smile. He had a knack for it…knowing exactly when I needed to be held and when I needed to be annoyed or treated normally.

The nurse’s fingers flurried across the keyboard. “Brandy Ferrero?” she confirmed.

“Yeah,” I nodded.

“How are you related to her?” she asked while clicking her mouse and keyboard buttons.

“She’s my mom.”

“She’s currently in operating room 345,” the nurse said. “Unfortunately, you can’t see her at the moment, but you can wait outside in the lobby up on the third floor,” she added.

“Thank you.” I bowed my head and pushed off from the front desk.

I felt wobbly and faintly queasy as I began taking unsteady steps toward the elevators. I was not sure if it was because of Reeve’s arms around my shoulders or the nauseating smells and sights of the hospital, but it was probably both.

When we stepped out of the elevator, I saw Dad standing next to the row of plastic chairs flanking either side in front of the operating room.

“Dad…” I called.

“Agata.” Dad sobbed as we embraced.

“It’s going to be okay,” I whispered soothing his back. “What happened to her?”

“She slipped on the stairs, fell, and broke her hip. The doctors admitted her so they can operate and replace the broken part.”

“When can we see her?” I asked with a multitude of emotions overwhelming me. Mom had to be okay, she just had to.

“The doctor said after the operation she’ll be in recovery about an hour and then she should be awake from the anesthesia. Come on, let’s sit down. We’ve got a lot to look forward to now.” Dad informed me as he led us to the seated wall.

He eyed Reeve for a second; I had totally forgotten to introduce him.

“Uhm…Dad this is Dean Gates. He was kind enough to drive me here. I was waiting for a taxi, drenched in the rain, and he happened to pass by.”

Dad extended his hand. “Thank you, Dean. I will be forever grateful.”

Reeve took his hand. “Don’t mention it, sir. It was just a case of being at the right place, at the right time.”

“Uhm, Dad his name is Reeve, not Dean,” I butted in. “He is literally our dean…the college dean,” I elucidated, scratching the back of my head.

Dad let out a generous smile, “Nice to meet you.”

“I’m glad to meet you, sir. I’m sorry to hear about what happened to your wife.”

“Thank you.” Dad took a seat beside me on my right. Reeve took the seat beside me on my left. It felt awkward to be between them and not say anything.

We sat in silence for the next thirty minutes; I didn’t realize time could go that slow, but every second without any news was like waiting a hundred years.

Suddenly, the double doors leading to the operating room swung open and the doctor walked out with a subtle smile on his face.

“Mr. Ferrero,” the doctor called.

Dad stood up and rushed over before I even started to get up.

“How is she, doc?”

“The operation went well,” the doctor said. They were wheeling her out of the operating room and into a recovery room as he spoke. “We fixed the broken end of the hip with metal pins to set the bones securely in place. The nurses can explain everything you need to know later on. You should be able to see her in just a little bit,” he added as he shook Dad’s hand, and with that, the doctor left.

Ten minutes later, a nurse came and escorted us to the recovery room.

Mom was still asleep when we entered the room, but the nurse sitting next to her told us that she was about to wake up. Under general anesthesia, it would take about forty-five minutes to completely wake up.

“I’ll just stay outside,” said Reeve and I gave him a quick nod.

Mom had woken up, barely, a couple times, but had quickly fallen asleep again within the hour.

After thirty minutes, another nurse came in and they transferred her to a regular room.

“I’ll just stay outside for a while, Dad.”

I was surprised when I saw Reeve still was seated on one of the chairs in the hallway.

“Hey,” I softly said, moving forward to sit next to him. “Didn’t expect to find you still here.”

He just gave me a half smile and all the anxiety I was feeling seemed to vanish.

My eyes were staring down into the phone on my lap, which I had pulled out. I unlocked the screen and typed a quick text to Mikael and Tats. I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes, listening to the soft chatter of nearby nurses and the distinct tune of static radio music in the distance.

My eyes snapped open as the phone vibrated. I grabbed it and unlocked Tats’ text.

Oh my gosh! I’m sorry to hear that Gats. We’re on our way!

“How is she?” Reeve finally asked.

“I really don’t know yet. She was catheterized and may develop a urinary tract infection. She will probably have little appetite because she will not be able to move around…” The stress of my babbling got to my head, and soon I was crying.

Reeve held my hand, resting it on my knee, and gave a small squeeze. “She’ll be okay,” he reassured me as his thumb brushed over the back of my hand.

I quickly recovered my composure and turned to look at him. His ocean blue eyes were gazing at me, captivating me in their depth. “Thank you. I already took so much of your time Dea—”

“Call me Reeve,” he said, cutting me off.

“Oh-okay, R-Reeve. It’s okay if you want to leave.”

“I’ll hang around if you want me to stay. I’ll go only if you push me awa—”

“Gats!”

He was cut off by a loud roar from Tatiana across the hallway.

“…or maybe I’ll go now that your friends are here,” he continued.

My friends, who mastered in the art of perfect timing, didn’t hide the scrutinizing look on their faces as they exchanged glances between me and Reeve when they approached us.

“He happened to pass by when I was waiting for a taxi and he gave me a lift,” I explained.

“Ooooh,” uttered Raven while nodding her head.

“I’m going,” Reeve said over my shoulder.

“I’m walking you back to your car.”

The walk out of the hospital was uncomfortably silent. “Thanks for today.” I let out a grateful smile as we walked to his car.

“Don’t worry too much; she’ll recover fast.” He started the engine, but he did not immediately drive away. He idled for a moment.

I leaned against his car next to him and he rested my head on his shoulder, his hand clutching onto mine. I smiled and squeezed his hand, appreciative of the support he was offering, as well as the warmth his hand bestowed to my icy skin. I felt as if a crushing weight was lifted from my shoulders and I sagged in relief.

I stepped aside after a moment and pulled out a cigarette pack from my pocket. “Mind if I smoke?”

“Not at all.”

I closed my eyes as I blew the smoke from my mouth, feeling my stress melt away.

“How long have you been smoking?”

I looked at him, blowing out a line of smoke into the air and shrugged my shoulders. “I started smoking in college,” I replied nonchalantly.

“Why?”

“It is not the taste that counts. It’s that sense of satisfaction you get from a cigarette that you can’t get from anything else.”

“Psychological pleasure,” he stated.

“You could say that.”

“I used to smoke too. I liked the taste, the feeling, and the ritual. It makes your lungs feel like you’re using them properly for the first time. The addiction is wonderful because it’s so easy to get a fix. I have used many reasons, positive reasons, as to why I smoked, but if I’m honest with myself I knew they were bullshit.”

“And now you have stopped?”

“Yeah, I tried to skip one day, then realized just being near someone who smoked I could smell it on them. So…breathing the air by them is like licking an ashtray. Kissing a girl who smokes must be like…eating the damn ashtray.”

I unconsciously brought my hand down to my side with the cigarette between my fingers and threw it on the ground. I cleared my throat, slightly abashed.

He leaned both hands on the car behind me, caging me in. The wind swept my hair against his cheek, but he did not care. He was backing me up against the car and his face inches away from mine.

“I-I should definitely stop smoking.” My voice was just above a whisper. I was holding my breath not to let him smell the nicotine. I swallowed hard and leaned further, barely managing to stand still.

“Good,” he whispered against my mouth. “Let me know when you do.”

“I should…I…I should get back inside.” I couldn’t come up with the right words to say.

He let go of me, got inside his car, and accelerated on the road.

I went back inside the hospital and at that moment, the doctor walked into Mom’s room.

“Hey, Gats, you okay?” Apple asked.

“Y-Yeah. I’m just a little anxious.”

“There’s nothing to worry about. I’m sure your mom will be fine,” Raven reassured.

The doctor proceeded to discuss the medical issues of my mom, such as her Alzheimer’s disease, weight loss, multiple falls, hip fracture, anemia, and irregular, potentially unstable heart rhythm.

“Are you sure she’ll be okay, doc?” Dad asked.

“Positive,” the doctor offered a wry smile.

We all sighed from the glorious news.

I skipped school to help Dad look after my mom.

***

After three days, her doctor declared Mom well enough to be released from the hospital. Mik didn’t stop sending me messages to be updated about Mom’s condition. He was still on the road. Dad was starting to get apprehensive about the real deal with him. As usual, I came up with an excuse so not to add more stress.

I lined up to the cashier and was about to pay the hospital bills the next morning.

“Ma’am, your bill and main discharge have been handled already,” said the cashier as she handed me the bill, signed by R. Gates.

My eyes practically bugged out when I saw it was a bill paid for more than $35,000 minus the Medicare approved amount of around $15,000.

“Fuck,” I blurted, looking at the list of endless services and tests that were provided to Mom. It was a huge bill and I didn’t know how to react to the fact it had been paid off by Reeve.

He shouldn’t be responsible for paying our hospital bills. It was a kindness I didn’t know how to repay. My earlier calm was starting to wear off. I felt like I was getting sick.

The bill seemed to burn a hole through my sweats pocket. I couldn’t get my mind off it. As I made for the next set of doors I saw Mom and Dad waiting for me.

“Are you ready to go home, Mom?”

She nodded and smiled warmly at me.

“Dad, I have to go to the university; I already missed a lot. I need to catch up with some of the lectures I missed.”

“I’m sorry that you’ve been held up here honey.”

“It’s my responsibility, Dad, and I wanted to take care of Mom as well.”

“You sure you should go to school?” Dad asked and placed the back of his palm to my forehead. “You’re feverish.”

“I’m fine, Dad…this is nothing. I’ll call you later, okay?”

I walked them to his car, bade goodbye and made my way to the university.

I arrived at the campus and went to Reeve’s office. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, checked my hair reflected in the glass window, and then knocked on his door.

“Come in.” He looked at me and cocked his head to one side. “What can I do for you, Ms. Ferrero?”

“This.” I showed him the hospital bill and placed it on top of his desk. I didn’t even bother to sit down.

He raised one eyebrow and leaned back in his chair, smirking. I couldn’t even handle the look on his face at that point.

“I will find a way to pay you back, I promise.”

“You bet you will,” Reeve said, making me feel even worse than I already did. My breathing rose, as did my temperature. Reeve rose from his seat and walked closer to me. “We could find a way to settle that now if you want,” he whispered in my ear, causing me to shiver.