As the Dawn Breaks

by Erin Noelle

  Not wanting to leave the hospital while she’s in surgery, I join Christian and Sarah for a quick bite to eat in the hospital cafeteria. They seem to be in better spirits now that they’ve been able to talk to their son, but with Katrina still far from being out of the woods, we are all still cautiously optimistic. A short while later, we return to find her in recovery, and they believe they’ve found the issue—a perforation in her small intestines. Fingers crossed, they’ve rectified the issue and they’ll allow her to return to consciousness soon. I’ll feel so much better once I see her eyes open and hear her speak.

  Another hour spent with her during the night visitation, I continue my storytelling; this time I relive our funniest moments together. First, I remind her of the time I tied her to the tree to test out my rope knotting skills, which subsequently led to her peeing in her pants, ‘cause I couldn’t untie all of it fast enough. Then there was the afternoon I attempted to teach her to drive a stick shift—key word: attempted.

  By the end of my time, fat tears of laughter are streaming down my face, and I’m not quite positive, but I think I saw her lips twitch a little. Maybe she can hear me. Either way, I have no intentions of stopping. I’m already counting the hours until I can return in the morning to check on her and continue talking to her, reminding her how much she’s loved.

  I wish Lucca’s parents a good night. Their son’s continued recovery will also be a part of my prayers tonight. I catch a cab to my hotel, and since I’ve already showered, I lie down on the bed, atop the covers, t-shirt, jeans, and shoes still on, and fall into a hard, fast sleep. Between the overnight flight and the stress of the day, my mind and body have both raised the white flag in surrender.

  The following morning, waking early to get to the ICU wing, I’m still extremely exhausted, but even more disappointed to find out I won’t be able to see Katrina during the early morning visiting hours. She’s back in radiology having tests ran to see if yesterday’s surgery was successful. Thinking I’ll drop in to visit with Lucca for a bit, I’m surprised to find his room empty as well. Thankfully, there’s a nurse passing by as I emerge, who tells me he’s in transit being moved to a regular room, and a slight glimmer of hope shoots through me. Maybe today will be full of good news all around. I leave yet again feeling a bit like a boomerang, back and forth from the hospital to the hotel, and I grab a quick bite to eat before slipping in a few more hours of shut-eye.

  I crawl out of the taxi just before midday. The scorching August sun beats down on me, drawing out a light sweat, even in the minimal strides it take me to get from the car to the hospital door. Finally feeling rested and refreshed, I enter optimistic, keeping the faith. Stepping into the elevator alone, I punch the button for the second floor, and as the doors begin to shut, I hear someone call out, “Wait! Hold that elevator, please!”

  Instinctively, my arm shoots out in-between the closing doors, triggering the motion sensor and forcing them to reopen. The petite, young woman, donned in a white doctor’s coat, doesn’t look up at me when she first steps into the lift. She’s too busy fumbling around with her purse tangled in her long blonde hair, duffel bag twisted around her elbow, and phone falling to the floor. Being the gentleman my mama always raised me to be, I bend down to pick her cell up for her at the exact moment she does the same.

  “Oh, thank you. I’m so sorry,” she says softly.

  Then, as if I’ve stepped directly out of reality and into a dream, one I’ve had at least seven hundred and seventy-two times, my senses are inundated with an intimate familiarity—the sweet voice of an angel, the arousing scent of tropical paradise, and when she finally peers up from the ground, her unforgettable, stunning green eyes. Our stares lock vehemently onto one another’s, neither of us moving from our kneeling position, and I do the only thing I can think to do.

  I kiss her.

  SUNDAY MORNING DOES NOT go as planned.

  Oversleeping, outdated milk, the gas light coming on in my car, and a fussier-than-normal toddler are all major factors in my running late for the shift I’m covering for Noah. Not ideal.

  Naturally, by the time I make it into the elevator, I’m a hot mess—figuratively and literally. My hair is knotted around the straps of my purse and bag, which have somehow managed to spiral out of control around my shoulder, and I drop my phone on the floor as I try to type out a text to my sister.

  I kneel down to pick it up at the same time as the other person in the lift, who so nicely kept the door open to the slowest elevator on the planet for me, and we nearly bump heads.

  “Oh, thank you. I’m so sorry,” I apologize politely.

  Then, I look up into the stranger’s eyes…but they’re not so strange at all.

  Big, brown, and warm.

  Recognizing, remembering, and…kissing?

  His soft, supple lips are pressed against mine; his tongue tenderly strokes, requesting entrance that I grant without a second thought. My hands are full of my belongings, so all I can do is stay right where I am, frozen on my knees, and kiss him back.

  The elevator dings, jolting me back to reality. As the door opens, which I didn’t realize ever closed in the first place, I pull away and scramble to my feet, then take off to the closest women’s restroom I can find, completely uncaring I’m on the wrong floor.

  Splashing water from the sink onto my face, I stare at my reflection with bewilderment. I’ve officially lost my mind. I really need to sleep more at night or something, because I’m apparently not handling the stress of work, school, and motherhood as well as I originally thought. I’m now imagining strange men are Leo and kissing them in elevators!

  It takes several minutes before I’m ready to reappear from the bathroom, and with each step towards the door, I pray whoever he is, I won’t see him again. I’ve never been so mortified over my own behavior. Slowly, I push the heavy door open and look both ways, up and down the hallway, to make sure the coast is clear. I exhale a huge sigh of relief when no one out of the ordinary is in sight and hurry back over to the elevators. I’m now really late for Noah’s shift.

  Twelve long hours on my feet, and the only thing on my mind is a nice, hot, relaxing bath. Well, that’s not completely true. Despite staying relatively busy throughout the day, my mind continues to wander back to the kiss.

  As I wait for my supervisor to read through my shift reports, I bring my fingers to my mouth, lightly tracing my lips as I remember how perfect it had felt, just like Leo’s lips, and I wonder if I hallucinated the entire thing. I know Leo’s not here, not in this hospital, not in this city, not even in this country.

  Maybe I’ve been holding out hope he’d realize the connection we had and come back one day.

  Maybe after two years I just need to let it go.

  Once I’m given the okay to leave, I swiftly gather my things and head for the exit; my morning class will come quicker than I’d like. Stepping out into the tepid, midnight air, I give Sammy, the night security guard, a brisk nod and smile before turning towards the direction of my car.

  And that’s when I see him. Again.

  Dressed in the same navy t-shirt and jeans from earlier, he’s leaning against the side of the building, hands in pockets, waiting for something…or someone. Our eyes meet and I suck in a sharp intake of air; I must be delusional. His gaze—those oh-so-familiar brown eyes—beckon me to him. I have to get closer. I have to prove to myself it’s not really him. My pulse increases exponentially with each and every stride I take in his direction, as does my internal body temperature, leaving me burning from the inside out by the time I’m within a few feet.

  “Trystan,” he rasps, low and throaty, almost as if it hurts him to say my name.

  His voice stops me dead in my tracks, my heart now threatening to explode with a multitude of emotions. “Leo,” I whisper in return, unsure of what else to say.

  “Come here, beautiful,” he opens his arms with an inviting smile.

  Launching myself into his embrace, I don’t hesitate a s
ingle second. I’m not sure why he’s here, or even if this is some crazy dream, but I don’t care. I’ll deal with my disappointment when I wake up.

  “I’ve missed you so much,” he murmurs into my hair, holding me tight against his body. “You have no idea how much I’ve thought about this moment.”

  “What are you doing here? How did you know? How long have you been here?” I fire questions at him as they inundate my mind, pulling back marginally so I can see his face, my brain still confirming it’s really him…he’s really standing right in front of me.

  He brings his strong hands to my face, cupping my jaw as his thumbs gently caress my cheeks. I know the smile on his face is reflected on mine; I can physically feel the joy beaming out of my body. “I’ve got so much to tell you, Trystan, so much to explain,” he bends down to rest his forehead on mine, “but I know you’ve got to be tired. You’ve been here all day. When can we sit and talk?”

  “Uh, ummm, I’m not sure.” I try to think, try to remember what my schedule is for the next few days, but it’s useless. My brain activity has melted into a puddle of, This isn’t a dream at all. Leo’s really standing right in front of me, talking to me and touching me.

  Chuckling softly, he lowers his face to mine, hovering less than an inch from my lips, waiting for my approval, then delivers a tender kiss full of understanding. “I’m just as overwhelmed as you are, Trystan, believe me. Do you want to call me tomorrow and let me know? It’s late, and I’m sure you need to get home tonight to the baby.”

  “No,” I insist; any semblance of tired I was feeling floated away the second he uttered my name, “I’m fine now, if you are. She’s staying the night with my sister, since I had to be here.”

  I know I sound a bit desperate, but I don’t want to let him out of my sight, afraid he’ll disappear again if I do. Something in the back of my mind whispers I’ve got something important to do in the morning, but for the life of me, I can’t remember what it is right now. Aurora is safe and taken care of, and that’s the only true concern I have.

  He grins and kisses me again. “Come on then, beautiful. We’ve got a lot to catch up on and a sunrise to watch.”

  FROM THE MOMENT TRYSTAN dashes out of the elevator, I can’t stop thinking about her and what all of this means. Even when I am sitting with Katrina during the midday visitation, her citrusy scent lingers in my nose, the feel of her sultry lips tattooed on mine, and my mind is continually focused on Trys—what she’s doing here, how she’s even more beautiful than I remember, and what my next move is. I wanted to wait for her outside the bathroom she scurried into, but decided we both needed some time to organize our thoughts. Plus, I needed to get a Katrina update, since I wasn’t able to see her this morning.

  Dr. Files, the same middle-aged physician who’s been attending to Katie-bug all week, greets me as I exit her room, with what I guess you can call a smile on his face. “Mr. Basille, I’ve got good news for you and the Ellis’. Do you have a moment?”

  “Of course. They just texted they’re on their way down from Lucca’s room to see Katrina for a few minutes,” I reply, my spirits hopeful.

  On cue, Sarah and Christian turn the corner down the hall, heading in our direction. Once they recognize we’re waiting for them, they rush their steps until they’ve joined us.

  “Leo.” Christian lifts his chin towards me. “Dr. Files,” he repeats the motion at the other man, “what’s the latest?”

  Sarah slides her arm around my waist, delivering a quick hug as we all wait for the doctor’s update.

  “The surgery yesterday on Mrs. Ellis was indeed successful. The internal bleeding has stopped completely, and the swelling on her brain, like Mr. Ellis’, has begun to subside. We’re keeping her sedated for now, but plan to ease off the anesthesia later this afternoon. She may or may not be awake for this evening’s visitation, but should definitely be somewhat alert by tomorrow morning.” He pauses and pushes his glasses up on his head.

  “We will continue to monitor her and to administer the pain meds for at least a few days here in ICU, at which time we’ll run another series of scans, ensuring everything is healing properly. Her diet will be modified, basically liquids for a while, and then we’ll slowly introduce soft foods and so on. Assuming all goes as planned, her full recovery period will be in the range of six-to-eight weeks,” he explains, making eye contact with all three of us. “Understand she’s undergone two major surgeries in the last three days, and thankfully, she’s young and in good health otherwise, but nevertheless, her body will take some time to adjust. If anything else changes, we’ll let you know, but that’s the plan for now.”

  “Thank you, Doctor,” we all offer in unison before he walks away.

  Smiles are shared all around from myself and the Ellis’ at the good news, and as they go in to see Katrina, I have a moment, one of those moments where everything in life suddenly makes sense, when all the open-ended, unresolved questions all point to the same answer. A moment I’ll never ever forget.

  I need to find Trystan.

  I need to tell her everything.

  I need to tell her she’s my answer in life.

  I know it all sounds crazy, and there’s a good chance she’ll tell me as much when I unload it all on her, but I have to take that chance. Finding forever happiness is more than worth the risk of temporary humiliation. I will not allow pride, typically the greatest distance between two people, to stand between me and the woman—the life—I’ve dreamed about since the moment she walked away from me over two years ago. I refuse to let that happen again…not without a fight.

  Not above using my charming ways, I plaster on my best smile as I approach the nurse’s station right down the corridor. The young woman sitting behind the counter looks up at me and grins with a slight blush. “Good afternoon, Mr. Basille. Is everything okay with your sister? Do you need some assistance with her?”

  Glancing down at her badge, I quickly read her name and shake my head. “No, Carrie, my sister is fine, but thank you. However, I do need some help with something.”

  “Sure. Whatcha need?”

  “A little while ago, I ran into a girl in the elevator, who Katrina and I went to school with. She was running late for her shift, and she said we’d catch up later, but I forgot to ask where to find her.” I run my fingers through my hair with acted frustration, but keep my flirtatious smile locked on her. “I’m pretty sure she’s a doctorate student in the psychology program; her name is Trystan Fields…well, that was her maiden name anyway. I’m just not sure where to find her.” I feel bad for lying to her, but it truly is for a good cause.

  She begins typing on her computer before I even stop talking, and I see the recognition flash across her face as soon as she finds Trystan in the database. “Well, I see your friend does indeed have an employee profile here, but other than that, I don’t have much information—not department or schedule. Most people here, especially clinical students and residents, have twelve-hour shifts, so whatever time you saw her getting here, I’d guess she’d get off twelve hours later.” Carrie pulls her eyes from the screen back up to mine, tilting her head to the side. “I hope that helps, hun.”

  Another coy smile and a bob of my head before I leave the station, I tell her, “It does. Thank you so much. I’ll be back for the night visitation.”

  “See you then.”

  The afternoon creeps by, leaving me alone with my swirling anxiety-ridden thoughts. In an attempt to soothe my frayed nerves, I take a dip in the hotel pool, which seems to help a little, but until I get a chance to see her again, to hold her in my arms and tell her everything I want to say, I can’t fully calm down.

  Once I’m back in my room, I throw my jeans and t-shirt back on, and then make my way down to the onsite restaurant to grab a quick bite to eat before I head back to the hospital. I stop and pick up a big foo-foo kind of coffee in the lobby, and drop it off for Carrie, the helpful nurse, as I stroll by en route to Katrina’s room.

 
“Thanks again for earlier.” I wink as I set the drink in front of her, the other nurses standing around openly gawking at me. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, but the guy said I couldn’t go wrong with this one.”

  “Awww, you’re too sweet,” she smiles up at me, “and you’ll be happy to know everything’s still looking good with your sister. She’s still not awake, but her vitals are holding strong. I’m sure by tomorrow morning, she’ll be so happy to see you.”

  “Not nearly as happy as I’ll be to see her,” I respond candidly, pushing off the counter and turning towards Katrina’s room.

  For the entire hour I’m sitting next to the hospital bed, I tell the woman who used to consume my thoughts, day and night, about the one who does now, the one I’m willing to risk it all for. I explain my plan of stalking the doors of the hospital until I see her again, and then everything I want to say to her—all of it, from my childhood to why I moved away—praying she’ll at least grant me the time and listen. I’ll beg if I have to…rent one of those planes that drags messages behind it high in the sky…whatever.

  Before I leave, I thank Katrina for bringing me here, to Trystan, yet again. I’d always thought she’d be my ‘one’, but now I know her role was to lead me to her. Kissing the top of her head, I whisper, “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Katie-bug. Wish me luck.”

  Then, with a fervent enthusiasm I can’t quite explain, I go plant myself directly outside the hospital doors, ready to wait for my forever girl.

  “I LIKE THE NEW RIDE,” Leo boasts as we approach my Tahoe, tapping the side of the charcoal gray SUV lightly.

  I unlock the doors and we both slide in; turning on the AC is my first priority. “Yeah, well, the two-door GTI wasn’t very practical with the car seat, and I just wasn’t ready to be the minivan soccer mom quite yet.” I chuckle, backing out of the parking space. “My brother-in-law found me a good deal on this, and even though the gas mileage sucks, I don’t drive much or far, so it’s not that big of a deal.”