by Tey Holden
Karen shook her head and smiled amidst her tears as she, again, rested her head on Addy’s chest. “I love you.”
“Come to bed with me.”
“Addy, I don’t think I should. They are going to throw me out.”
“Then they’ll have to throw both of us out. And that’s not going to look good, and we’ll have to sue them for patient mistreatment.” Addy laughed. “Oh God! I’m beginning to sound like Isabella laughing at my own jokes!”
Karen chuckled. “God, I love you so much!” It was hard to believe that as bad as things had been Addy was already joking. Addy scooted over to the side, and very carefully and mindful of her arm, Karen got in the bed with her. It was good to be laying next to her again. “Try to relax and get some rest, baby, be careful with your arm there. Are you going to tell me what happened to your arm?”
Minimizing all the details, and reassuring her of her well-being, Karen told her what happened. Karen didn’t notice the tears, until she heard the sobs. “Addy, why are you crying?”
“Because you are hurt. Are you sure your arm will be fine?”
“Yes, it will be.”
“How many stitches do you have?”
“A bunch.” Karen wouldn’t tell her. There was no need to upset her more.
Addy was still in anguish thinking of the pain and the hurt. “Calm down, love, all is okay. I would have cut off my arm, if only for this moment. This is just a small price to pay for having you here.” Addy knew that what Karen said was true, and it was the reason she couldn’t stop crying. Karen kissed her gently. “Ssssh, please don’t cry any more. Let’s be happy that we are here, and that we have each other. We will heal soon, and all will be back to normal, you’ll see.”
Addy nodded. Their foreheads touched, their eyes were closed, as they gently began to caress each other’s faces, and tenderly kiss each other appreciating every second of that moment, and thanking God for it. Addy kissed her on her forehead and on the top of her head. “God, you smell good!”
Karen chuckled. “I’ll have to ask the hospital what shampoo they use if you like it so much.”
Addy smiled at her. “It’s not the scent of your hair that I was talking about, although that is also good. I was talking about you, your scent.” Karen smiled as she covered Addy’s mouth with a kiss.
“Ker, if you do that again, we may be in very serious trouble.”
Karen chuckled. “I’ll say! With all the stuff you are hooked to, and my arm, we would definitely be in some kind of tangle.” Karen held her hand and kissed it while they laughed. They lay contently in bed holding hands with their eyes closed.
“Ker, you know that thing we’ve never done when we make love?” Karen looked up. Her green eyes were searching Addy’s face. Karen knew exactly what Addy was talking about. She whispered. “Yes?”
“I want to.”
Karen smiled. Her eyes loving eyes searched Addy’s face. “We’ll see. For now, let’s plan on getting ourselves out of the hospital and in better shape, okay?”
“You don’t want to? I know how you feel about it, but I thought that you wanted to try it with me?”
“I do. I want to, but I think that we have other issues to overcome before we can get to that matter.”
“Yes, I agree. I might have had a blow to the head, but I’m not crazy. So, it’s a yes?” Addy smiled suggestively.
Karen adored the playful look. “Yes.”
“Good.”
“Double good for me.” Karen chuckled. “Sometimes I have trouble believing that I’m talking to the same woman who didn’t even want to see me naked in New York.”
“That’s because you are not. That was another woman. She was half the woman I am now. That woman now knows what real love is, and cannot think of not sharing all of it with the one she adores.”
Karen melted. The green eyes seemed to float in pools of water. This time it was Addy’s lips engulfing Karen’s. “I love you, woman, with all my heart and soul.” They kissed again. Two minutes later, she was contently resting asleep on Addy’s shoulder. It was the first night she had actually slept the whole night since the accident.
When the night shift nurse came in and saw the bedding arrangement, she was not happy. Addy was awake and before the nurse could even open her mouth, Addy spoke. “Nurse, she hasn’t slept in days. Please, don’t say anything, and let her stay here.”
“Alright, but if anyone asks, I didn’t see anything.”
“Thanks.”
In the morning, Addy woke up first. She was delighted to see her love sleeping so peacefully on her shoulder. She examined Karen’s face and as she saw all the cuts and bruises, she began to plant small kisses on her.
Karen woke up smiling. “I like little kisses.”
“I know you do. I want to kiss all of your booboos.”
Karen chuckled. “All of them? I think there are too many. I must look like hell. I don’t know when was the last time I combed my hair or looked in a mirror.”
“Look at me.” Karen did.
“You look beautiful, and I will kiss every single one of them, as many as there are.”
Karen smiled. “I guess I don’t need a mirror then. If that’s what you think, it’s all that matters.” She kissed her.
***
JP and James came to visit every evening. They were happy and very relieved that everything had turned out so well.
“Ker, why don’t you go home with the guys? I’ll be fine, and you need your rest, baby. You need to sleep on a comfortable bed.”
“No, not going anywhere. I’m staying right here.”
James interrupted. “At least why don’t you come downstairs with me and have something to eat? Come on, you need your strength.”
“Go, Karen. I’ll stay here with Addy.” JP replied.
Addy smiled. “Go and bring me chocolate ice cream, all I get here is awful vanilla.”
“Okay, but I won’t be long.”
“Take your time. I’ll be fine.”
Karen and James left and got in the elevator to go down to the hospital’s cafeteria. James smiled at her. “James, home is not home without her there. I won’t leave here without her. I can’t be there by myself.”
“I know, honey, I know.” He put his arm around her and brought her close to him.
***
While James and Karen were gone, Addy talked to JP. “JP, I’m worried.”
“Why sweetie?”
“JP, what would happen to Karen if something terrible ever happened to me?” She was really serious.
JP answered very seriously also. “I don’t know, Addy. I think if she doesn’t die herself, her soul would. You are her everything.”
Addy was deep in thought and didn’t say any more. JP wondered what was going through Addy’s mind. He was worried too, and to actually see JP serious was a very rare thing. “Why think about that? What’s going on?” He had to ask. Her look was really worrisome.
She looked at him. “The fragility of life, how we take it for granted, how we think tomorrow is guaranteed, when it is not. It takes very little to have it all change, and then what? What do you have? There’s got to be something that we can leave behind for posterity.” Suddenly Addy’s eyes opened wide as if she had been struck by some extraordinary idea.
“What?” JP noticed the change on her face and asked wondering what could she possibly have realized to prompt that reaction.
“Nothing, JP, nothing, don’t mind me. I guess when tragedy strikes we have revelations of what life is and should be. My life has been full of surprises. Did I ever tell you I believe in miracles?” She was trying to change the subject. It worked.
“Well, honey, if I didn’t believe in them after what you two have gone through the last few days, I would have to be angostic or an atheist!”
“Agnostic, JP, agnostic.”
“Whatever! You know what I mean.”
Karen and James came back. Karen had a cup of chocolate ice cream in her h
and, and James another for JP.
“Here, and we took a little longer because I had to check with the doctor to know if it was okay for you to eat it.”
“You called the doctor just to ask him if I could eat ice cream?”
“Chocolate ice cream, yes, you didn’t think I was just going to give you something to eat that might make you sick again, did you?”
Addy rolled her eyes. “I wonder what that doctor thought.”
“I don’t care if he thought it was silly. We are not just paying for intelligent questions here, you know? The silly ones are also included. However, if you don’t want it—.”
Addy open her mouth pretending to be outraged and took the ice cream from her hand and began to eat it.
JP began to eat his ice cream. “This caramel and pralines is gre—.” All of a sudden he dropped the ice cream and opened his eyes wide, he was waving his hands in the air and jumping and making all sorts of weird noises, walking backward and twirling. He knocked down a tray and crashed into a nurse, who was coming in upon hearing all the commotion. Everyone was trying to figure out what was happening.
Addy was the one who yelled. “I think he’s choking!” James grabbed his arm and Karen came from behind to perform the Heimlich maneuver. When she grabbed JP from the back, she gave him several abdominal thrusts. On the fifth thrust, whatever was choking him shot out like a projectile and hit the nurse, who was standing in front of him, in the eye. The nurse fell and ended up on her back on the sofa. She was yelling and screaming. So was JP. Someone called security, and doctors and nurses came running into the room. All together there were more than twenty people in the room.
“Oh my God! I thought I was going to die, baby.” He was holding on to James. “I think I must have a broken rib also! Oh God!” Karen was trying to hold him, as he complained and wailed.
The nurse on the sofa was crying. “Oh, my eye, my eye, I think I’ve lost my eye! I’m blind, I’m blind!” The doctors checked her and assured her that she was fine, and that she had not lost her eye. They took them both away to be thoroughly checked in a more appropriate location.
As everyone left, Karen turned around only to find Addy grinning. Karen beamed as she came closer.
“I think that we are going to hear about this incident forever.” They laughed in unison. “Hopefully you didn’t break his rib.”
“Oh, God, I hope not. He would never forgive me. I’d be paying back all my life.”
“Well, you’ll have to remind him that you saved his life. Maybe that will compensate for a rib.”
They laughed again. “Do you think our lives will ever be normal?” Addy asked grinning.
Karen sat on the bed and held her hand. She couldn’t stop smiling. “No, I don’t think so. Actually, I think I gave up on that a long time ago.” She chuckled. “As a matter of fact, I’ve sort of gotten used to a totally abnormal life by now.”
“Come here, green eyes, point your lasers at me, and let me have a full charge of you.” The green eyes came closer and kissed her.
“These lasers, as you call them, are fixed on you for eternity.” Karen kissed her again. Addy closed her eyes and they embraced. Karen again lay down on the bed with her and held her. Neither spoke, once again individually enjoying the inner peace of that peaceful loving moment.
“Addypooh, I don’t know how many times, or how else can I thank God for saving you, and for us, for our life together.”
“I know, Ker, me too.”
***
While Addy was in the hospital, they moved her to a double bed room so that Karen could sleep on the other bed, since she had categorically refused to leave and offered to pay for the double room. Karen had been hospitalized for several days as well, but had been released earlier than Addy. Her self-imposed stay at the hospital was beneficial since the nurses were helping her as well. Although Karen was left handed, her inability to use her right arm and her fragile state after the trauma of the accident had left her in need of care. They had already discussed, contracting a home health care service to help them at home once Addy was released from the hospital because neither one was in any condition to help the other.
In the mornings, whoever woke up first took pleasure looking at the other sleep. Waking up to each other was better than watching any sunrise. Karen was usually the first one up. She would get up from her bed, with great difficulty because everything hurt, and come to Addy’s side. In addition to the wounds on her arm and lacerations around her rib cage, the effort she had put to get Addy out of the car, and drag her to shore had left her with many muscular pains and aches.
“Ker, baby, you are still hurting. Did you take your pain pill last night?”
“She did not.” The nurse replied. “She refused it. Maybe you can convince her to take it.” The nurse who was taking care of Addy had gotten to like the pair. She had a lot of respect for Karen, after she heard the story of the rescue and was taking good care of her even though Karen had been officially released from the hospital.
“Why aren’t you taking the pill?”
“I need to be in my right mind in case I need to make decisions regarding your care.”
Ker, if you are in pain, I don’t think your mind will be very clear. I want you to take them, okay? I’m fine now, and I need you to be okay for me.”
Reluctantly, Karen agreed. “Okay.”
The nurse came back with Karen’s medication and gave her a pill to take immediately, and a prescription. “Make sure you pick up the medicine before you leave the hospital. You are going to have to get some medication for Addy also. The doctor will be in shortly, and I think he’s going to release her. We will make arrangements for the home health care provider to send someone over to your home, and they will be waiting for you the minute you get there.” Both women couldn’t wait to be home.
***
JP and James drove them home from the hospital. When they arrived, the live in nurse was already there. She introduced herself and helped JP and James to get them out of the car. “Don’t worry about cooking or anything. Andre said he would send you lunch and dinner and we stocked the refrigerator with already made breakfast stuff, so all you need to do is heat them. We also got juice, milk and snacks and yes, chocolate ice cream.”
“That reminds me JP, how’s the rib?”
“Bruised, not broken, girl, you bruised me! I’ve forgiven you on account of you saving my life, but baby you are one tough chick. I wouldn’t want to mess with you. Maybe I should start a rumor about you, so that Mary and Alana would think twice before messing with you.” Karen raised her left eyebrow in a sort of threatening mode.
“Oh, oh! Let’s go James, I think we’ve overstayed our welcome.”
James smiled. “Call us if you need anything, sweetie.”
“Thanks, James. Just take him with you, before I crack another of his ribs.” She pointed to JP.
Addy and James chuckled. When James and JP left, they remained sitting on the sofa in the living room.
“Do you need anything, baby?” Karen asked as if she could do anything for her.
“Nope, I have everything I need right here. Addy leaned against Karen’s good shoulder and took her hand. Karen brought their joined hands to her lips and kissed Addy’s.
“How’s your arm?”
“It’s fine.” It wasn’t fine. It hurt when she moved it and it was very uncomfortable to have it immobilized, but she saw no reason to make Addy anxious about her discomfort.
“Hey, do you want to go upstairs and watch a movie?” When Addy agreed, they called the nurse and she helped them upstairs.
“Let’s watch it in bed because once I take my pills, I don’t want to get up again.”
“Come on baby, let’s get you to bed.” Addy helped her get in bed. She was very careful with Karen’s arm. Addy might have been the one in a coma, but coming out of the hospital she looked a lot better than Karen. Karen had not only gone through the physical trauma of her wounds, but also the emot
ional trauma of thinking she’d lose Addy.
“Addy, with my arm like this, it’s going to be difficult for me to do much for a while.”
“I know, don’t worry. Just relax and take it easy. It will take some time for you to heal, but you will be fine.”
“How about you? You’ve gone through a lot too. Maybe we should call Mel and talk to her.”
“I’m okay, but I will call her. We will make it through this. Are you okay?” Addy smiled as she combed Karen’s hair away from her face.
A tired but smiling Karen kissed her hand. “Yeah, baby, I’m just happy and thankful.”
“Me too.” Addy kissed her forehead and then her lips. A few minutes later, Karen was already asleep. It took Addy a little longer because she remained looking at Karen, and counting her blessings, until her eyes could no longer remain open, and slumber took her away.
For Karen the physical recovery was slower. Even taking a bath was a project because she could not get her bandages wet. She had refused help from the nurse and had washed up the best she could. She would have the nurse run the bath, and then have Addy go in the bathroom to help her.
Addy would help remove her clothes and Karen would get in the bathtub leaving her arm outside of it. Then Addy would bathe her. Karen relaxed and would watch Addy gently soap every inch of her, slowly and more than once. Karen closed her eyes relishing every second. She was enchanted to the point of almost falling asleep in the bathtub. “Addy, if we weren’t both so screwed up, I’d ask you to pay attention to a certain spot.”
Addy chuckled. “I know, baby, and trust me I feel very much like paying attention to that spot, but we can’t even think of that for now. I don’t think that we are in very good shape at the moment.” They chuckled. “Just don’t look at me until we are done, okay?”
Karen chuckled. “Do you really think that’s possible?”
“Try.” Addy smiled.
Addy placed small kisses all over Karen’s body as she dried her. When she reached her face, she kissed her as if there was no tomorrow, knowing that there almost had not been. Everything now seemed to have risen to a new level. Just the thought that they could have lost each other brought new meaning to everything. “Baby, my baby. I so hope God gives me enough life to love you like I want to love you, and to let me enjoy your love.” Karen said nothing. She just leaned into her, and closed her eyes.
