It Must Have Been Love

by LaBaye, Krissie

  “OK, but I swear, if he’s the least bit strange, I’m leaving there and then,” Angie chuckled, unable to resist Maria’s whining pleas.

  “Yay! Thanks Angie, you won’t regret it. We’ll have a whale of a time, I promise.”

  When the day of the carnival arrived, Angie was nervous about meeting the stranger, who so far she only knew as ‘Kevin’s friend’. Determined not to appear too over-dressed, Angie spent a good half hour sifting through her wardrobe. Pulling the second to last hanger from the wardrobe, Angie groaned loudly. “Too bright,” Angie grumbled as she replaced the neon pink top back on the closet rod. The last hanger held her last hope, and if that weren’t right, she’d have to start all over again. “Perfect,” Angie declared with confidence. She had found the perfect top. Now all she had to do was find something to go with it.

  Once Angie had decided that a skirt was out of the question, it was too cold for shorts, and whatever she chose needed to be comfortable, the task became a lot easier. Five minutes after selecting the perfect top, she’d made her decision. Wearing her best-loved jeans and a plain white tee shirt, she felt smart but understated, perfect for a blind date.

  A knock at the door accompanied by the constant ringing of the doorbell told Angie that Maria had arrived. After an extra large squirt of her latest musk perfume onto each wrist and either side of her neck, Angie was ready to go. Hurrying down the stairs, she could hear Maria’s over-excited voice. Angie hoped that Maria wouldn’t let slip that she’d be spending the day with a so-far nameless individual. It wasn’t that Angie wanted to hide things from her parents, but there seemed no reason to worry them unnecessarily. After all, they were going to a very busy carnival in a very public place, and Angie wasn’t stupid enough to go anywhere secluded with someone she didn’t fully know.

  As Angie entered the living room it was clear that Maria hadn’t ‘let the cat out of the bag’, as both of her parents were still smiling. The best way to keep it that way would be to leave now. So, in order to ensure a rather hasty exit, Angie ushered her still chattering friend through the doorway.

  It wasn’t long before the girls had completed their journey, and an ever-excitable Maria had talked all of the way. A short walk and they would be at the carnival itself. Maria had arranged it that they would meet Kevin and his friend there. As the two girls got nearer to the carnival entrance, they each strained their eyes to get the first glimpse of Kevin’s friend.

  “I wish you’d found out his name, Maria. I feel like such a fool meeting someone when I don’t even know their name.”

  “Sorry Angie, but you know me, dizzy daydream. I totally forgot to ask Kevin his name. Of course, if he’s too tasty, I might just have to steal him away from you, whatever he’s called.”

  “You’re terrible, Maria. You’ve only been going out with Kevin for five minutes and already you’re planning on dumping him for some unknown guy!”

  “No of course not, I’m only joking. No, I’ll let you keep him for yourself, so long as you agree I can be bridesmaid at your wedding.”

  The two girls laughed childishly as they finally got close enough to get a good look at Kevin’s friend. The two guys were chattering and laughing, but stopped immediately as the girls arrived.

  Kevin introduced his friend, “Chris, this is Maria, my girlfriend, and her friend, Angie.”

  Angie was immediately taken by Chris’ deep brown eyes and warm smile, as she mumbled her faint greeting. “Hi, Chris.”

  “Hi, Angie,” came the equally faint reply.

  Maria and Kevin gave each other a knowing glance, and then as Maria linked arms with Kevin, she whispered something in his ear. They led the way into the carnival, as Chris and Angie followed closely behind. Unsure of whether or not to follow suit, Chris offered up his arm inviting Angie to link in. Although Angie had only just met Chris she felt totally at ease with him, and figuring she might as well enjoy the day, she linked arms with him. Angie could feel the blood rushing to her face. Concerned that her cheeks might now be the same color as her new earrings, she blew gently upwards to cool herself as discreetly as she could. If Chris had noticed her reddened face, he was at least gallant enough to keep it to himself.

  Wandering from stall to stall and ride to ride, everyone was enjoying the day. Angie couldn’t help but notice that Chris appeared to on the same wavelength as her in many respects. Not only did he share many of her likes and dislikes, he had even dressed similarly. OK maybe it wasn’t particularly spooky that he had also chosen a white tee shirt and jeans, but it showed a similar taste in fashion.

  The foursome had a great day at the carnival, and while Chris and Angie would continue to see each other, the relationship between Maria and Kevin would fizzle out very soon after the day of the carnival. Kevin would go on to marry a psychology student, while Maria would later fall deeply in love with a garage mechanic. For a long time afterwards, Chris and Angie would joke about their first date, and they would raise a glass to the two people who helped them find each other. Recently though, they had frequently and bitterly cursed Kevin and Maria for introducing them to each other in the first place.

  Chapter Four

  When Angie entered the large modern hospital entrance, it looked very different from the last time she had been there. The aroma had also changed, and in Angie’s opinion, not for the better. Some people might prefer the new rather malodorous smell to the traditional scent of pine disinfectant that was once mandatory in every medical establishment. However, Angie preferred the good old-fashioned smell that signified that a place was clean and germ free. After all, the old style smell had the added benefit of masking the sometimes-unpleasant bodily odors that are commonplace in hospitals. In all those years that they had visited the fertility department of the hospital, she had watched the old building evolve into a new more sophisticated establishment with one extension after another until it was almost unrecognizable. It was true that most of the changes were for the better, but the decision to ban the ‘clinical’ smell was definitely not the right one, in Angie’s humble opinion.

  A few inquiries at the shiny acrylic metallic framed reception desk sent Angie in the appropriate direction to hopefully locate Chris. She was pointed in the general direction of the elevator and staircase. Having been told that she needed to go to the fourth floor, Angie deliberated on whether to take the elevator or climb the stairs. Although she detested using elevators, Angie knew that the more sensible and much quicker option was to take the elevator rather than the staircase. Chris always used to hold her hand whenever they used an elevator, but at this moment there was no one to hold her hand. Angie reluctantly joined the waiting people.

  When the elevator finally arrived, Angie clenched her fists tightly until she could feel her long nails digging into her palms. Squeezing into the crowded elevator only made Angie more nervous. It also gave her a new found empathy towards claustrophobics. Crammed in like sardines, she naively hoped that everyone else in the metal cage would want the fourth floor, and therefore expedite her stomach-churning journey. Angie was soon to be disappointed as various occupants requested floors two and three. Both floors two and three saw multiple people come and go, and although it was all over in only a minute or two, the journey had seemed to last forever. When the red LED display indicated four and the computer generated voice concurred, Angie pushed her way to the front ready for the shiny stainless steel doors to open.

  There was an extremely loud sigh of relief, which echoed through the long empty white corridor as Angie exited the crowded elevator. She promised herself that she would leave the building via the four flights of stairs. Her heels clicked noisily on the shiny floor, and feeling conspicuous, Angie began to tiptoe. It was taking too long though, so noise or no noise, she had to get a move on. Now walking much heavier on her feet the heel clanking grew louder as she began to hurry along the passage way. Pausing for a split second to read each door sign, she was beginning to think she had been given the wrong directions. Then
finally, she found the department she was looking for.

  Once through the double doors Angie approached the nurse’s station, clearing her throat as she walked.

  “Excuse me, I was told that my husband, Christopher Morris, was here. How is he, is he badly hurt, could I see him?” Although she had promised herself to remain calm, Angie was spewing out the questions without giving the nurse time to answer.

  The nurse, who was an average-built ‘forty-something’ redhead, calmly walked round from behind the counter, smiled and touched Angie gently on the arm. The light touch accompanied by a genuine smile was enough to reassure Angie, at least for the moment anyway.

  “Now, first things first. Yes, your husband is here Mrs. Morris. My name is Louise Brannagan, and I’ll take you to see Christopher. We’ve given him something for the pain, so he might be sleeping. Don’t be shocked by the bruises. He’s been checked over, and apart from a cracked rib and a fractured ankle, he’s going to be fine. Someone must have been watching over him, that’s all I can say.”

  “Do you know what happened, Nurse Brannagan? I just got told to come here. I haven’t got a clue what happened to him.”

  “Well, witnesses said Christopher swerved his car to miss a stray dog on the road. Some of the cars had been beeping their horns to scare the dog off the road, but it was just getting more panicked by the racket. Your husband’s car actually went airborne before it rolled over; so I’d say he’s one lucky guy. One witness told the paramedics Christopher’s CD player was still blasting after the crash. The guy had reached in and turned it off. Maybe Christopher hadn’t heard the beeping horns because of the loud music. Anyway, you can ask him yourself in a moment.”

  “It’s just like him to risk killing himself rather than hit a dog, and it’s just like him to have the music blasting,” Angie responded angrily.

  “Well don’t be too hard on him, these things happen all the time. At least he wasn’t seriously hurt. I’m sure you’ll be laughing and joking about it, this time next week. Oh yeah, here’s something you can tease Christopher about when you get him home. Get this; the guy said that the CD was blasting out ‘everybody hurts sometimes’ as he went to turn the music off. I mean that’s the last thing you want to hear when you’re lying upside down with a busted ankle and cracked rib.”

  Although Angie wanted to tell the jolly nurse that she couldn’t remember the last time the couple had joked about anything, she resisted the urge to do so. “Can I see him now, Nurse Brannagan?”

  “Yes, come on, let’s go, and please call me Louise, everyone else does. Nurse Brannagan sounds so stuffy, don’t you think?” the upbeat nurse laughed.

  Before Angie had time to answer her, the jolly nurse was heading down the hospital corridor rather quickly. Angie struggled to keep up with the cheerful nurse as she walked briskly along, past the chattering nurses and hospital carts. Stepping over some unidentifiable liquid and dodging the hospital cleaning lady as she mopped away the spillage, Nurse Louise continued until she arrived at the last door on the left.

  “Alrighty Mrs. Morris, here we are. Now remember what I said about the bruises.”

  “Call me Angie. Could I ask you to do one small thing? Would you come in with me, please?”

  “Yes, of course I’ll come in with you, but honestly there’s no need to panic.” With a reassuring smile, the cheerful nurse led Angie into the small four-bedded room. Despite the ability to house four patients, there were only two occupants in this room. Angie followed the loud sound of snoring to the bed next to the window, but it was coming from an elderly man and not Chris. Directly opposite the noisy sleeper, the curtains were drawn, presumably hiding the silent occupant. The nurse sprinted across the room, flat leather shoes squeaking as she went. Angie followed on tiptoes, in a considerate attempt to avoid waking the snoring patient with the sound of her clanking heels. Her efforts were somewhat wasted, as Nurse Louise grabbed hold of the bed curtain and swished it back noisily along the rails.

  “Got a visitor here for you, Christopher,” she boomed, oblivious to her own volume level and to its effect on the recently slumbering man in the bed opposite.

  Angie was somewhat shocked by the bruises on his face, but not at all shocked that throughout the din Chris had remained asleep. He had always been a sound sleeper and it had always fallen on her shoulders to wake him each morning. The alarm clock would make him fidget slightly, but rarely would he awaken with anything less than a hefty nudge in the ribs from Angie. She had often wondered how he had been managing to wake up every morning since he moved out, but had never actually asked him.

  “Why don’t you sit down and take the load off your feet? I’m sure Christopher will wake up when the effect of the painkillers begins to wear off.”

  “Oh it’s not the drugs. Chris would probably sleep through an earthquake unless I gave him a dig in the ribs.” Angie had suddenly got cold feet, and was in reality glad that Chris was sleeping. Before she had even fully sat on the uncomfortable looking chair next to Chris’s bed, she had already made up her mind that she needed to get her thoughts straight, and she couldn’t do that here. Half standing, half sitting, Angie felt compelled to make her excuses and leave in a hurry. “I think I might just go back home and take care of a few things.”

  “Yes of course. I expect you need to make phone calls, contact family members, etc.”

  “Chris has no family now, just me. But I will have to call his boss, who won’t be at all pleased,” Angie commented with a hint of bitterness as she screwed up her face.

  “I gather you don’t like his boss?”

  “No, I do not. Kenny Blackett is a hard-faced manager who hasn’t got a caring bone in his body. When Chris’ grandmother died, that callous cretin wanted Chris to fit her funeral around his shift schedule. He won’t care how badly hurt Chris is, he’ll only be concerned about when Chris will be back at work.” Angie was very bitter and she had good cause to be. Kenny Blackett knew that Chris needed to keep his job, and for years he had taken full advantage of that fact. Chris had put in more hours than anyone else at the store, he had spent most of the holidays working, and he did all the lousy evening shifts that nobody else wanted to do.

  Angie and Chris had always planned to start their own business one day, but something always got in the way. Every time payday came around, they would put something aside in their savings. They knew they’d need substantial savings behind them to keep them afloat until their business took off. Boosting their savings was just one of the reasons why Chris worked so hard. Then the couple decided that having a family was more important and that the business could wait. Their business plans were temporarily put on hold but the saving continued, as they eagerly prepared to become parents. Before they knew it the years had flown by, the economy was in ruins, and businesses were closing every single day.

  “Listen, you head off home and take care of things. Leave me your number and when Christopher wakes up I’ll give you a call. My shift ends around 7 p.m. this evening, but I’ll be back in around 8 o’clock in the morning. If you don’t hear from me before my shift ends then you know he’s still asleep. You can come back in to see him at any time, but if all goes well, he’ll probably be ready to be discharged sometime tomorrow. Try not to worry, I’m sure things will seem a whole lot better once hewakes up and he can tell you how he’s feeling.”

  “Thanks, Louise, you’ve been so kind,” Angie smiled, “and you’re right too. I’m sure I’m worrying over nothing. I think I just need to keep myself busy, and there’s plenty of stuff to keep me busy at home.” It seemed to Angie that she had been blowing things all out of proportion, and by this time tomorrow the panic would be over for good. She still had to work out whether she should come out and ask Chris to stay with her until his broken bones healed, but there was plenty of time to talk about that tomorrow.

  The walk back to the staircase was slower and much more relaxed. It gave Angie enough time to gather her thoughts and she decided that she wou
ld take the staircase, catch the bus home and take care of business.

  Chapter Five

  When Angie arrived back home she made herself a sandwich and a cup of coffee before turning on the TV and flopping onto the modern plush velvety black sofa. Next, reaching for the notepad and pen from the coffee table, she decided to make a list of things to do. She often found that the mere act of making a list focused the mind, and that prevented the imagination from working overtime. The first thing she would do was make the phone call to Chris’s boss. Of course he would hum and haw about it all, but it wouldn’t change a thing. For once, Kenny Blackett would just have to find someone else to take advantage of.

  Waiting for her coffee to cool off, Angie flicked through the TV channels on the remote control, while at the same time munching on a hastily made salad sandwich. Mayonnaise dripping from her chin, she settled for their favorite music channel. Turning down the volume, Angie reluctantly decided that as soon as she’d finished eating she’d make the call to Chris’s boss. When she did finally make the call, it was just as Angie had expected, but she politely listened to Mr. Blackett’s moans and groans before telling him she would keep him updated. She would have gladly loved to give him a piece of her mind, as it was long overdue. However, she knew that now was not the time to add to the problems, so she kept those thoughts to herself.