An Early Spring

by Ann Lister

  “Okay.”

  “Did Nick show you how to wrap your ankle?” the doctor asked Colby.

  “No.”

  “I’ll have the nurse give you a quick lesson before you leave,” he said, standing from the chair.

  An hour later, Colby got the green light from the doctor to leave, but Nick still had not returned from the mountain.

  “Colby?” the nurse called to her from the admittance desk. “There’s a Tom Cates on the phone for you.”

  Colby grabbed her new crutches and hobbled out to the nurse’s desk to take the call from her supervisor.

  “Glad to hear you made it down from the mountain in one piece,” Tom said to her.

  “Barely,” she replied. “How did you know I was here?”

  “I’ve been calling the triage unit for updates since we were evacuated,” Tom said.

  “I’m fine.”

  “Listen, we have a shuttle bus taking us to the airport in an hour. Your ticket is good to fly home with us on the next flight to Los Angeles. If you’re ready, I can have someone meet you at the triage building and bring you to the hotel lobby. How does that sound?”

  “Is that my only option?” she asked, fearful she might not have a chance to say good-bye to Nick.

  “It’s the only one I’m offering.”

  Colby turned to the nurse and pressed the phone against her chest. “How much longer do you think Nick will gone?” she asked.

  The nurse shrugged. “It will probably be quite a while. He’s got two more rescues to do before he comes back to base - and that’s if he doesn’t get any new calls.”

  “Is there anyway I can contact him now by phone?” Colby asked.

  “I’m sorry, but I’m not at liberty to release personal information for our staff.”

  “I understand,” Colby said to the nurse, then lifted the phone to her ear. “Tom, I’ll meet you in the lobby in an hour.”

  “Do you need help?” Tom asked.

  “I’ll handle it,” Colby said.

  “Okay, you’re on your own.”

  “Which is exactly how I like it, Tom.”

  Colby hung up the phone and asked the nurse for a piece of paper and a pen. If she wasn’t going to be able to see Nick, then she’d leave him a note with her phone number. It wasn’t the best way to express her feelings for him, but for the moment, it was the only option she had. She took the piece of paper into an empty examination room and began to write.

  Dear Nick,

  There was so much I needed to say to you before I left, but time slipped away. I think I could have used one more day with you, although I doubt even that would have been enough time to say everything I wanted. I never expected to feel this way about you. You were a wonderful surprise, coming at a time in my life when I had stopped looking, and there you were, saying and doing all the right things. You made me smile and laugh, which are two things I haven’t done much of lately. I know we never discussed what would happen after we were evacuated, or how we might try and make something between us work, but I want you to know I am interested. You made me happy and I’m not sure I’m ready to walk away from that. If you have any interest in seeing me again, I hope you’ll call. If not, then I’ll understand. You are an amazing man and I’ll never forget you.

  Colby

  At the bottom of Colby’s letter, she added all her personal contact information, including her email address, then neatly folded the letter and asked the nurse for an envelope. Colby sealed the envelope, wrote Nick’s name on the front of it, and handed it to the nurse.

  “Could you please make sure Nick Gaffney gets this letter?” Colby said.

  The nurse nodded and set the letter on the edge of her desk, then left to assist another patient. During the onslaught of an afternoon heavy with emergency traffic coming through the medical building, Colby’s letter to Nick was covered on the desk with several patient files, completely obscured from view and subsequently forgotten.

  With no other reason to stay, Colby asked for assistance to the lobby. A medical technician helped her into a wheelchair and pushed her to the lobby, making small talk while they went along the connecting walkways and corridors. All nine of her co-workers were waiting for her when she arrived in the lobby, each expressing their concern for her well being.

  Colby ignored their fake sentiments and fought to keep control of her emotions. All she could think about was leaving without having the chance to say good-bye to Nick and it hurt. She wondered if he’d be upset when he realized she had gone back to California without seeing him or if he’d think is was easier this way. She ached to know his feelings for her; if he had any at all.

  By the time she arrived home at her L.A. apartment, she was numb. The last few days were nothing more than a blur.

  “I’m starved,” Glen stated as he and Nick approached the door to the triage building. “Care to join me for dinner before you head home?”

  Nick shook his head. It had been several hours since he had left Colby in the examination room. He was eager to find her and spend whatever remaining time she had before she left for California. Having dinner with Glen was the last thing on his mind.

  “I might have plans,” Nick said.

  “Plans with who?” Glen asked.

  Nick smiled faintly. “Who do you think?”

  Glen stopped Nick on the steps outside the medical building. “Colby Hansen?”

  “Maybe - if she’s still here,” he said, then quickly added. “I hope she’s still here.”

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea, Nick?” Glen asked.

  “She’s no longer my patient. Whatever I do now, isn’t breaking any rules.”

  Glen smiled. “What you do with her now has nothing to do with what you’ve already done, and it’s the stuff you’ve already done that could get your ass into trouble.”

  Nick shrugged and opened the door to triage. “All I can say is, if I lose my job, it was well worth it.”

  By the time Nick returned to triage, the nurse holding Colby’s letter had gone home for the day, and all visible signs Colby had ever been inside the building were gone, too. He found the technician that had brought Colby to the lobby and grilled him for information.

  “I don’t have much to tell you, Nick. I wheeled her out to the lobby and she met a bunch of people,” the technician told Nick. “There was a shuttle bus waiting for them out front and she mentioned something about having to fly back to L.A. and not being very happy about it. That's all she told me.”

  “Damn it!” Nick said loudly, attracting the attention of Glen.

  “What’s going on?” Glen asked, coming around the corner.

  “Colby’s gone,” Nick said softly.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Rick said he left her in the hotel lobby with her co-workers. They all left for the airport a while ago,” Nick shook his head in disbelief and sat down in a chair, hanging his head in his hands. “I can’t believe she left without saying good-bye.”

  “Did she tell you she’d wait?” Glen asked, a little surprised by his friends reaction.

  “We really didn’t have time to discuss it,” Nick said. “I told her I’d find her when I came back from the rescue, but I didn’t expect to be gone six fucking hours!”

  “She probably had plane reservations and couldn’t wait.”

  “Damn it!” Nick swore again, standing up from the chair and marching toward the door to leave.

  Glen followed Nick outside. “I’m a little confused why you’re so pissed off.”

  Nick stopped and spun to face Glen. “I have no way to contact her, nor does she have a way to call me - unless by some fucking miracle she manages to call triage while I’m inside the building.”

  “I bet that’s what she’ll do. And whoever takes her call, will get her phone number, and you can call her back.” Glen finished his statement, assuming he had solved the problem, and expected they’d now go eat dinner.

  Instead of following Glen, Nick tur
ned away and began walking toward the main lodge of the resort. Glen changed direction in mid step and walked beside Nick.

  “Dare I ask where you’re going now?” Glen asked Nick.

  “The bar. I need a drink.”

  Glen sat down next Nick at the bar and ordered a bottle of beer.

  “What the hell happened in that cabin?” Glen asked Nick. “I’ve never seen you this upset over a girl not sticking around long enough to say good-bye. Usually, you can’t wait for them to disappear.”

  Nick shook his head and rubbed at his forehead. “A lot of stuff happened inside that cabin, things were said and otherwise…implied. It was amazing - all of it,” he said, sighing loudly. “I still can’t believe she left.”

  “You really like this girl?”

  Nick glanced at Glen. “Yeah. A lot.”

  “She must have been really good in the sack.”

  Nick’s eyes connected again with Glen’s. Anger distorted his facial features. “It was the best I’ve ever had, asshole, but it went way beyond that.”

  “The best you ever had?” Glen asked. “That’s quite a statement coming from you.”

  “Shut up. I’m done talking about this with you.”

  Glen took a swig of beer. “I’m sure she’ll call once she gets home. Give it a few days.”

  A week passed and Colby still hadn’t heard from Nick. She had wandered around her apartment in disbelief for days, her heart shattering into tiny pieces with every passing hour. It didn’t seem possible that she could have completely misread his affection for her. He seemed so genuine and real, but the absence of his phone call expressing any future interest, told her he was not the man he had portrayed himself to be inside that cabin.

  At the beginning of the second week, Colby quit her job and packed up the contents of her office, never to return again. She went back to her apartment and began to pore over the job classifieds looking for a new opportunity, something completely different that might offer her a fresh outlook on life. She sent her resume to several potential job prospects, only to get the same response: she was over-qualified.

  Late one night, she was scanning the internet looking for career opportunities and stumbled on the website to the ski resort that employed Nick. She found the link to the Search and Rescue department and saw a group photograph of the EMT crew. Standing in the back row was Nick, looking as handsome as she remembered, wearing his black ski pants and bright, red coat with the large white cross signifying first-aid, on the front. Tears quickly pooled in her eyes. It had been over a month since she had left the resort. She wondered what Nick was doing, if he was with someone new, or if he was in as much pain as she.

  She noticed another link on the resort website for employment opportunities and opened the file. Two particular jobs jumped off the page at her, one actually asked that all applicants be multi-lingual. Without giving it much thought, she emailed a copy of her resume for both jobs to the addresses supplied and went to bed.

  Two days later, a human resource representative from the ski resort called and conducted a phone interview with Colby.

  “Colby, how would you feel about coming out and taking a look at our resort. I could show you around, give you an idea of what the job would entail. Would you be interested in that?”

  “I’ve seen the resort,” Colby said. “And, the job description sounds acceptable.”

  “Well, I don’t usually discuss the income scale over the phone but, considering how impressive your resume is, I’m prepared to make you an offer.”

  Colby listened to what the woman had to say. The money wasn’t as much as she was accustomed to, but the job itself was better than what she had been doing and certainly the cost of living would be cheaper there than living in Los Angeles. With a heavy heart, Colby agreed to the terms of her employment. In a week, she was expected to fly back to the resort and meet with the human resource people and sign a six month contract. After three months on the job she would have the choice to either extend her employment contract, with a pay increase, or fulfill the six months and return to California.

  She boxed the things from her apartment she knew she’d need in Colorado and put the rest of her belongings in storage. It wasn’t until the shuttle bus pulled in front of the lobby door to the resort that her heart began to race at the thought she’d soon be seeing Nick again.

  Seeing him wasn’t her only focus, the new job was clearly her first priority, but she needed closure with Nick. No matter how much it hurt, she knew she needed to hear him explain his behavior before she could clear her heart and move-on with her life. It was that simple.

  Inside the hotel lobby, she was escorted to the wing designated for resort employee housing. Until something bigger became available, her housing would be nothing more than a studio apartment - a drastic change from the two bedroom apartment with a distant view of downtown Los Angeles she had called home for the last six years. Nonetheless, she was here and she would make the best of it. Six months was not that long and Lord knows she needed the change in scenery.

  It took two days to settle into her new living quarters and meet with her new bosses. Her job would be working as a linguist liaison with the resort rentals, making travel arrangements for high-end clients from foreign countries. Her ability to speak several different languages fluently would be put to work on a daily basis, which thrilled her. The job was like nothing she’d ever done, which lent a level of excitement but also came with a good dose of uneasiness. Even still, she was prepared to immerse herself into her new role and make it work.

  Chapter Six

  Nick sat outside in an Adirondack chair on the expansive wooden deck surrounding the main lodge during his lunch break. It was mid-February and the sun was already warming in preparation of Spring. The Spring thaw was still weeks away but he was eager for its arrival. With his head tipped back against the chair, his face soaking up the sun, and dark sunglasses concealing his eyes, he tried to keep his mind focused on the beauty of the day. But, as always, his thoughts bounced back to Colby. It was unrelenting, the way her image haunted him. She was with him in his dreams and a distraction to him while awake.

  Almost two months had passed since he had seen her. His heart was still broken at how easily she was able to slip out of his life and back to California without saying so much as good-bye. He wondered if he had told her how he really felt if it would have made a difference; if it would have made her want to stay.

  Glen was seated beside him, persistently trying to get Nick to acknowledge the beautiful women walking past them, to no avail. Nick had not been the same since Colby left and Glen was determined to mend his friend’s broken heart and bruised ego.

  “Have you seen the new girl working in Equipment Rentals?” Glen asked Nick.

  “Nope,” Nick said, without raising his head from the back of the chair.

  “You should. I know you’d like her.”

  “I’m not interested,” Nick said.

  Glen shook his head. “How much longer are you going to mope around over Colby?”

  “Let it go, Glen.”

  “Maybe you should take your own advice,” Glen said. “You gave it your best shot. You called her old company and she’s no longer working there. You have no other options, buddy, so I think its time you let it go. If she was interested, don’t you think she would’ve called by now?”

  “Go to hell,” Nick said, keeping his eyes closed.

  “You need to get laid, Nick. I’m telling you, the new girl in Equipment Rentals is exactly what you need.”

  Nick rolled his head toward Glen. “If she’s so damn hot, then why don’t you go fuck her!”

  Nick saw something move out of the corner of his eye and slowly slid upright in his chair. He lifted the dark sunglasses to the top of his head and quickly focused on the beautiful brunette standing between their chairs; embarrassment coursed through him.

  “Lana, this is my very rude friend, Nick,” Glen said to the girl.

 
Nick grinned sheepishly. “Let me guess, you’re the new girl working in Equipment Rentals?”

  “That would be me,” Lana said, and extended her hand to Nick.

  “I’m sorry you overheard that comment,” Nick said. “No disrespect intended.” Nick shook her hand and noticed an amazing pair of blue eyes framed by long, wavy dark hair.

  Lana smiled warmly at Nick. “It’s okay,” she said, and sat down in the empty chair beside Nick.

  Glen stood up abruptly and offered a lame excuse as to why he needed to leave. Nick gave him a finger gesture and shook his head. He knew it was no accident that Lana was now sitting beside him. It was obvious Glen had put her up to it.

  “So, you’re new to the resort?” Nick asked without any real interest.

  “Yes, I’ve been here about a week.”

  Nick nodded, wishing she would take the subtle hint of his silence as a reason she should leave. Why was it so difficult for people to understand he just wanted to be alone, he thought.

  “I was wondering if you’d be interested in meeting me for dinner tonight?” Lana asked.

  She obviously had no problem getting right down to it. He rolled his eyes at his unwarranted irritation at Lana. She seemed nice enough, maybe a little too young for his personal taste, but definitely beautiful. He liked her eyes. The color reminded him of Colby.

  Fuck. There it was again. Always Colby, right there just below the surface for him, with an unrelenting grip around his heart.

  “Listen, Lana…I don’t want to waste your time,” he said. “I doubt I’d be very good company.”

  “Glen told me you’re coming off a bad break-up, Nick. It’s okay. I’m not looking for a boyfriend - I’m only interested in having a little fun, that’s it. I’ve been here for an entire week and Glen is the only interesting person I’ve met.”

  Nick turned his head, trying to absorb Lana’s statements. Why didn’t she just give him a spare key to her room and request he arrive later, wearing nothing but a red bow tied around his dick? He couldn’t help but smile at her bluntness.