by Taylor Hobbs
As if fate sensed her desperate need to feel grounded in her current life, Remy looked up from the paperwork just in time to see Sebastian burst into the waiting room, so out of breath it would have been comical had the circumstances been different. Waving his arms and full of his usual drama, he spotted Remy, frozen in her chair at the sight of one of the last people she ever expected to see in an emergency.
“¡Señora! Madre de Dios, you’re okay.” He rushed over to her, taking her hand, pen and all, into his own. “It is a miracle,” he babbled. “Rosa from the market saw the ambulance returning from your village, and she told Teresa at the salon, who knows my wife, who told me that you had been in an accident and were headed to Coruña. What has happened, my dear?”
Incredibly touched and a bit surprised at his concern, Remy relayed the incident to Sebastian. When she got to the part about the beam falling on Jack and his severe head injury, Sebastian clutched his heart and gasped. “And you found him? You thought he was dead, no?” His face paled, and he looked sick at the thought of stumbling across such a scene. “You are a very brave woman, Remy. It is because of you that he is here.”
Remy knew that Sebastian meant his words to be comforting, but instead they engulfed her with another wave of guilt. She was the reason that Jack was here. Squirming in the hard seat, Remy changed the subject. “I had no idea word got around so fast in Ortigueira. Not that I’m not grateful for it today.” She gave Sebastian a wan smile.
“Why, of course Galicians look out for their own,” Sebastian said. “You are not alone here, now or ever. Word is spread to help those in need. I thought you might need a friend, and now that I know you are uninjured, I will ask you if there is any other way I can assist.” He bowed his head, then straightened up again. “I know!” he said, and snapped his fingers. “You will come to my house for dinner and to stay the night. My wife will cook. She has been looking forward to meeting you for some time. She says she wants to meet the woman who embarks on crazy adventures. You inspire her, I think.”
“Oh, Sebastian, that is very kind of you, but I think I’ll stay here in case something happens. I just don’t feel right about leaving Jack in a hospital all alone. There is probably a cafeteria here I can scrounge a semi-edible meal up in.”
“I wish you would reconsider, Señora Remy. It will be a long night.”
“It would be a long night regardless of where I was, Sebastian,” she said. “At least when I’m here, I feel a little bit more useful.”
Sebastian seemed at a loss for what else to do. “I can sit with you,” he offered.
“That’s okay, I’ll probably take a nap soon anyway. Thank you for coming. It meant the world to me.”
Slightly cheered by Remy’s admission, Sebastian realized he was being tactfully dismissed. At this point, Remy was too worn out to entertain anyone. “I will return in the morning, Señora. Please do not hesitate to call if your plans change tonight.” He leaned over and gave her a spontaneous hug, seeming to surprise even himself. “I am truly grateful you were not in the accident,” he said. “I thought to myself, ‘No, it is not possible’ when I heard the news. You belong in the village, I felt it the first time you saw it. It would not have hurt you. Yet, I did not suspect it would hurt you in a different way.” He pulled away from the embrace looking troubled. “My prayers to you and Jack.”
With much less fanfare than he entered the hospital, Sebastian left. The waiting room seemed to shrink without his presence, each family member returning to their own little world of worry instead of the blessed distraction of eavesdropping on a flamboyantly loud realtor. With no word of update on Jack’s condition, Remy curled up in her chair and fell into a troubled sleep.
****
Around four in the morning, Remy’s consciousness emerged from a foggy haze to realize that a doctor was speaking to her. “What?” she asked.
The translating nurse standing beside the doctor answered for him. “Your husband is awake,” she said.
Instantly alert, Remy was on her feet. “Can I see him? Which way to his room?”
The nurse and the doctor both shook their heads. “He will need to be monitored for a time, and then you can see him during visiting hours. But this is a good sign,” the nurse reassured her. “Go home and rest. Come back later this morning.”
Well, Remy didn’t have anywhere else to go, and she wasn’t about to wake up Sebastian and his family. She had no car, and taking a taxi all the way back to Ortigueira just to turn around and come back to Coruña a few hours later was pointless. But after the news that Jack was out of the woods, there was no way she could fall back asleep.
Keyed up and bursting with the odd energy that fills a person in the hours from two to five a.m., Remy paced the deserted hospital. Not even the sterile smells that trigged painful memories could bring her down at that moment.
Remy’s hospital phobia started when she found out that not everyone who went into the hospital came out cured. That was what she had always assumed when she was a young child—that people went to the doctors when they got sick, and then the doctors could always make them better. The notion that people could go in and get worse, and then return to the outside world completely altered without so much as a “Sorry, we did the best we could,” astounded Remy when Jameson returned home. From then on, a hospital was a place where bad things happened to Remy and those she loved.
Adding on the trauma of multiple pregnancy loss, Remy had yet to experience an instance where it wasn’t bad news at the hospital. She was honestly astounded that Jack had woken up. She quickly reviewed the events of the last eighteen hours. Had she accidentally slipped up? Had she made any sort of wish? She was sure she hadn’t said the words, but had she tried to make any sort of bargain?
No, she reassured herself. It had been chaotic and scary, but she was almost one hundred percent sure that she hadn’t been the cause behind Jack waking up. Which meant, miracle of miracles, it was the doctors, because it sure as hell wasn’t Remy.
Jack is going to be okay. Tears streamed down her face as she meandered down unfamiliar hallways, not caring which direction she took. But now, more than ever, Remy was convinced that Jack needed to stay away from her. She was only good at bringing him pain and putting him in danger.
Maybe the right thing to do would be to stay and play nursemaid to Jack until he was healed enough to go back to New York. However, it would only entrench them deeper into each other’s lives, and Remy couldn’t risk more injury to Jack. He wouldn’t understand, though. He would just assume that Remy abandoned him again when he needed her most.
Good. Maybe that will stop him from still chasing me, and he will finally get the point through his thick head, Remy told herself with venom, trying to ignore the sadness at giving Jack one more thing to hate her for. Hopefully this would be the final straw for him, and he would give up and move on. Remy could be the evil shrew for the rest of her life in his stories, as long as he was still alive to tell them.
Just then, her phone beeped with a text message. It was from Anita, and read
—Getting on a plane, I’ll be there soon. It will all be okay. Love you.—
Over the past few months, Remy had forgotten that she was loved. She felt so alone all the time, wrapped up in her own life and drama. But this whole time, there were people—unexpected people—who loved and cared about her enough to drop everything in their lives to make sure she was supported. She had been ignoring the signs to wallow in her own self-interest. All of Ortigueira had been worried for her. Sebastian’s family, too, and Anita. Jack had flown halfway around the world to prove to her that he still loved her.
And Bieito. That thought shocked Remy into a full stop. Bieito didn’t love her, obviously. But he had shown that he cared, connected with her on a deeply emotional level to where it mattered most to Remy—in her art. She had been too insecure after their interaction, and brushed him off completely after a perceived slight, when really it had probably been a misunderstand
ing. She was surrounded by love in her new life, if only she could pull her head out of her ass long enough to appreciate it.
Remy felt her reserved exterior crack the slightest bit. I can lean on people, and let them in, she decided. After careful deliberation, Remy sent Anita back a simple text—You are a true friend. I can’t wait to see you. All my love.—
Remy found it was actually true, too. She couldn’t wait to see Anita, though it could have been under better circumstances. As far as Anita gossiping about her personal life, well, that was water under the bridge now in the face of such an important time. Though Anita had her faults, she could always be counted on as Remy’s waiting room person.
Remy’s growling stomach finally stopped her pacing feet. The hospital cafeteria was still dark, and seemed to follow the trend that no self-respecting cafe in Spain ever opened before nine a.m. If she wanted to get something to eat, she had to track down a vending machine. A couple wrong turns later, and Remy accidentally exited the hospital and found herself stuck outside.
The bright morning sun burned Remy’s retinas. It seemed far too cheerful—mocking, even—in contrast of where she currently stood. Remy tried to turn around and go back inside, but questions kept popping up every time she tried to enter.
What could she say to Jack when she saw him? I’m sorry wasn’t nearly enough. The more minutes that passed, the more anxious she grew. Visiting hours had to have started by now. Was he wondering where she was? Was he even cognizant of his surroundings? Could she face a one-on-one conversation with him about what had happened? Did he blame her for it all?
It is too hard to go back to him once I’ve left, Remy realized. She had been brave before, coming with Jack to the hospital and waiting for him all night. But it seemed like her dawn walk had done more than clear her head—it had stripped her of her courage. Now she was filled with too many doubts in herself to handle the situation alone. So Remy took the coward’s way out, and waited. Anita’s plane would be landing soon, and then she could act as a buffer between the former spouses.
Remy’s head snapped up at the sound of squealing tires on asphalt. A taxi came barreling into view, heading straight for her. The car had hardly stopped when the side door flew open. A bright pink suitcase was thrown out of the back seat, landing with a thump on the asphalt. It was followed by a neck pillow, a bouquet of flowers, and a floppy designer purse. A set of sky-high heels hit the ground next, with a true force of nature wearing them. Remy could almost feel the impact reverberate through the parking lot to where she stood. A head of glossy brown hair popped up over the door frame, and then a set of giant sunglasses.
Reinforcement was here, and earlier than expected.
Chapter Six
Anita slammed the taxi door shut and held out her arms. “Remington! Baby girl, come here.”
This was Anita’s element—taking control of any situation and giving her clients exactly what they needed. Today the role called for supportive best friend with a heavy dose of sympathy. This was the same Anita that Remy had called on during her medical issues. It was odd, though, not being the patient for once, but this was the energy that Remy needed redirected toward Jack.
As Remy fell into Anita’s embrace, she felt her autonomy disappear and mentally gave herself over to her friend. Finally, a person to give her directions and the chance to turn off her brain. It was just in time, too, seeing as Remy had gotten herself stuck in a guilt spiral in the parking lot. She couldn’t leave the hospital, but her feet wouldn’t let her go back inside.
Anita pulled away to grasp Remy by the shoulders. “First things first. How are you? You look terrible.”
“Yes,” Remy agreed. Autopilot was bliss.
“We won’t hash out the past month; now is not the time,” Anita said, and Remy nodded along mutely. “How is Jack doing?”
“He’s awake. Or was awake. The doctors told me at four o’clock this morning.”
“And you haven’t been in to see him?”
Remy just stared at her like a deer caught in the headlights. “All right, then.” Anita clapped her hands together once. “Baby steps. Let’s get you inside.” She looped her arm through Remy’s, and they started toward the building. “Oh shit, my bags!” The agent turned back toward the tower of color sitting on the black parking lot. “Any valets here, by chance? Oh well, there has to be some place inside I can stash them for a little while, right?” Anita flipped her hair and gathered her things. Knowing Anita, she’d recruit some poor young intern to guard them for her.
As if begging not to be left behind, Anita’s phone started ringing. She pulled it from her giant purse and hit “ignore.” “They can wait. It all can wait. I’m here for you, as long as you need,” she promised. “Now, who do I need to yell at so they take us to see Jack?”
If Anita found Remy’s silence disturbing, she didn’t show it. She was more than happy to fill the silence with whatever popped into her head. A stream of consciousness ran out of her mouth with no filter, bathing Remy with a pleasant numbness. When Anita instructed her to “Wait here,” Remy obliged, trying very hard not to think about the fact that she was inside the hospital again. At least she didn’t have to navigate on her own anymore.
“They’re letting us back now,” Anita said when she returned, appearing out of nowhere. That was enough to jump-start Remy’s emotions again, and numbness was replaced by terror.
“I can’t,” Remy whispered.
“I’m coming with you,” Anita said, and took Remy’s hand. “Thinking about it just makes it worse. It’s the anticipation, you know. You’ve built it up too much in your head. I don’t know if you know this, but you tend to do that.” Anita cocked an eyebrow at her, and Remy read the humor in her face. That was how Anita operated. She believed in jumping off a cliff and figuring out how to fly on the way down. Anything else was just a waste of time. Her motto was that life happened too quickly for hesitations. That was what made her such a good agent. Anita’s confidence had gotten her everywhere in life and was always the fool-proof way to open doors that were locked to everyone else. Anita had sold Remy’s first major painting with a similar strategy.
They were perfect for each other, really. An artist that nobody would take a chance on, and an agent who was looking for her first client at barely twenty-one years old. At first, no one took them seriously. But Anita charmed her way into a charity event auction and submitted one of Remy’s most unique pieces, one that had failed to find a home among traditional buyers in the previous months.
People didn’t necessarily want a painting entitled Dead Dog Living hanging up in their foyer. Remy’s brushstrokes and style were too wild and untamed, her use of color was too jarring, and the painting defied any genre category. A “childish nightmare” was how one critic described it.
People felt unsettled when viewing Remy’s early work. There just wasn’t a market for what Remy and Anita were trying to sell. It wasn’t political, it wasn’t a statement piece, and it wasn’t about technology or counter-culture. Nobody could connect with Remy’s art because they had no foundation for common ground. Remy painted with her own unique perspective on the universe. Of course, she saw things differently than other people did, considering she could alter her reality with just a simple sentence. The burden of maintaining the karmic balance fell squarely on Remy’s shoulders. That belief transferred over into her paintings and left those who viewed them feeling off-balance and deeply unsettled.
But for Anita, who was determined to make a name for herself finding the next big thing, Remy’s style was a revelation; she just had to make other people see it. Anita loved the odd, empty feeling when she looked at Remy’s paintings, like she was being left out of a secret. Any assigned value was in the eye of the beholder, and Anita needed to make rich people see the value in being comfortable with the uncomfortable, and that included a painting of a dead dog. All Anita needed was the right audience to launch Remy into the New York art world. Go big or go home was the only str
ategy she had, and the agent bided her time until she found her opening at the annual charity auction for the New York Foundation of the Arts.
If there was any chance that Anita could sell Remy’s painting at top dollar, it was there. They just had to have one good sale and the rest would follow. Done correctly, the one foot in the door would be enough to pique the interest of the rest of the private collectors and make Remy’s paintings an exclusive commodity. Done incorrectly, Dead Dog Walking would sell for a few hundred dollars, just enough to raise a little money from a sympathetic person who wouldn’t even bother to take the painting home with them, forever creating a black mark next to Remy’s name.
Most artists wouldn’t put their faith in a newbie agent to have the connections to launch a career, especially one younger than the artist herself, but Remy was just happy to have someone else around who appreciated her work. It made her feel less crazy and alone, and Anita soon became Remy’s closest friend in an unforgiving industry.
Remy’s painting actually ended up being the most bid-on item of the night, thanks to a mysterious bidder in the back who kept upping the price. Once he started in on the offers, it seemed like everyone else in the audience wanted to get in on the action. Remy looked around the room in amazement as the auctioneer slammed his gavel on the final price—one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. Anita shrieked and threw her arms around Remy, causing more than a few stares their way, but neither woman cared. It was later that evening, during the cocktail hour, that Remy met Jack. The universe had decided to make a lot of things in her life collide that night.
And now, just as Remy had entrusted Anita to hold her hand while navigating her first big break, she trusted her best friend to keep her from falling apart as they approached the next scary hurdle in Remy’s life.
While they navigated the bustling hallways, Remy kept reminding herself that there was nothing to be afraid of because she had nothing to lose. She had already lost Jack as a partner and had insisted that he leave her alone. But seeing him so broken would be a new and raw experience. Squeezing Anita’s fingers like a lifeline, they entered the room.
