by Beers, B. A.
Reaching out, he cradled her chin in his left hand using the thumb of that hand to caress her right cheek. Viewing her closely, he saw and felt her head nod slightly in agreement to his question about helping her. Not taking his eyes off her, he reached into his pocket with his right hand and felt for the syringe. He not only found it, but also felt small packets of what he knew to be alcohol swabs. Thank you, Rick, he said silently to the physician that had slipped them into his pocket.
Removing the items from his pocket, he positioned them on his lap. He had to bring his left hand down from her face to prepare the injection. Now with both hands free, he wasted no time opening the swabs’ packet. Thankful she had on a T-shirt instead of the sweat top she was in earlier this morning, he gently prepared her arm for the injection. She didn’t flinch during the injection, handling it like a real trooper. Recapping the syringe, he dropped the used items back into his pocket to dispose of later.
Knowing it would take a few minutes for the sedative to work, he visually examined the rest of her. Her left forearm, which she held tightly to her body, was wrapped in a towel that he recognized as one of Grandma Jo’s. Mark attributed the dampness of the towel and the bulk to the ice pack which was positioned there by David. Mark noticed that the right forearm, which was cradled around her left, was badly scraped and still oozing blood. The front of her T-shirt was dirty. He saw that she would need new sweat pants to replace this pair, for both knee areas were ripped. Mark gathered, from her condition, that she had not been walking when she fell. Her injuries were caused either by a car that had tossed her a great distance, or she was running like the hounds of hell were at her heels.
Seeing Sami’s shaking turn into swaying, Mark sat back on the bench to be in a better position to catch her if she fell. She saw his movement and leaned over in his direction, resting her right shoulder and cheek against his chest.
Surprised and pleased, Mark placed his hand on her back to offer her support. They sat in that position until Mark was satisfied that the sedative was in full charge of her, gauging the time by her pressure on his chest. Liking the feel of her body against his, he delayed their re-entrance into the emergency room longer than it was necessary. Reluctantly, he helped Sami back to her feet, knowing that her welfare and the limited effectiveness of the sedative took precedence over his feelings. Like a walking zombie, Sami allowed him to guide her back into the hospital, this time without a fight.
Within record time, the emergency room’s staff took the x-rays, set the fracture and cast the arm. She was released into Mark’s care with prescriptions for pain and antibiotics and her discharge instructions.
***
Grandma Jo and David were still in the waiting room when Mark appeared with the drugged Sami. With David’s help, Mark got her into his truck. Giving the prescriptions and the towel to Grandma Jo, he asked if she and David would stop on the way back to have the ‘scripts’ filled, and to buy bandages to attend to her other wounds. Nodding, Grandma Jo handed him the house keys.
Walking with David to his car, she called back. “I’ll also see if I can find her something else to wear. See you soon.”
Mark hopped into the truck and headed to Grandma Jo’s house with the barely conscience woman in the passenger seat next to him. At the house, getting Sami out of the truck was a chore, but after several attempts, he had her on her feet. She was rather unsteady in her balance, but on her feet nevertheless. Guiding her to the front door, he propped her up against the wall as he unlocked the door. Once inside, Mark debated where to place her. She was still filthy, and oozing fluids from the unattended areas, so the bed was not the answer. He spotted the recliner near the door. A good plan for the moment he thought, but it needed to be covered to protect the fabric. He cursed himself for not having either Grandma Jo or David come with him. His macho self-image had told him that he could do it all by himself.
“That was real stupid,” he voiced out loud. He only saw two options – he could take her with him in his search for a protective cover, or he could prop her up against the wall. Both plans had their advantages and disadvantages. He finally decided on a third option as he walked over to the recliner. “I’ll buy Grandma Jo a new chair,” he said, as he lowered Sami slowly into the recliner.
Kneeling in front of her, he untied her shoelaces and removed the shoes. After removing her socks, he rolled up her pant legs to better view her injured knees. Both were red and scraped with a hint of bruising, but otherwise, they were not in need of immediate care. He lowered the pant legs back over the knees. Glancing up, he saw a drop of bright red blood drip on her lap from the injury on her right arm. Getting to his feet, he hurried to the bathroom in search of soap and water to clean the wound. Knowing that a bath would be better, he would just have to wait until Grandma Jo returned to accomplish that feat. Right now, he needed to stop the flow of blood from her arm.
Grabbing a wash cloth and soap, he turned on the faucet and lathered up the cloth. He spotted a large barrette on the counter and picked it up with his soapy hands. Turning the water off and grabbing a nearby towel, he headed back to Sami.
Realizing he needed to secure her hair away from her face first, he dropped the towel and wash cloth next to the chair. Opening the barrette, he moved behind her and proceeded to pull her hair back off her face. After he had captured all loose ends, he closed the barrette. He returned to the front of the chair and kneeled, looking into her drooping face. Her eyes were closed. Mark knew that the combination of the pain killer and sedation injection was keeping her pretty doped up.
He felt the hair on the back of his neck begin to rise. He had the sensation that he was being watched. He searched for the source, and spotted the two spaniels eyeing him from the entrance of the kitchen. Neither dog moved; they just watched him anxiously. The dogs are concerned, he thought, signaling them to come over. They approached him slowly with their heads down and their eyes wide open. Molly went directly to Sami’s side and laid her head on the arm of the chair, whimpering softly. Mark reached out and placed his hand on her head trying to reassure her that Sami would be fine. Molly ceased her whimpering and eyed him nervously, but after a moment, she laid down next to the chair. Ollie followed her lead and spread out next to her. Mark chuckled at Molly’s influence on his dog.
“Ollie, old boy, these females already have us wrapped in their power,” he commented to his dog.
Standing up to take off his jacket, Mark tossed it on the couch. Mark looked at Sami’s battered face again and grimaced, bringing him back to the task at hand. Picking up the wash cloth that he had intended to use to clean her arm, he changed his mind and proceeded to wash her face. A bump had formed over her left eyebrow, and it made him shake his head, knowing that it would take a couple of days for it to disappear. While gently cleaning her face, he thought how the hospitals nowadays left the task of administering to some minor injuries to the patient or family member. Suddenly, he missed the good old days when the patient’s welfare was top priority, instead of money. He didn’t blame the doctors; he knew that it was the system’s fault, not doctors’ lack of real concern. However, remembering Sami’s behavior in the emergency room prior to his entrance, he probably could see the reasoning for their expedient care.
Now, with some of the grime off her face, he examined it closely. Satisfied that there didn’t appear to be any signs that there would be much scarring, he started moving toward the bathroom to rinse the wash cloth in order to attack the arm’s rash. His movement caused the two dogs to lift their heads in unison. “Stay there, kids, and watch her for me. I’ll be right back,” he directed them. They settled back down again. A smile spread across Mark’s face as he realized that they shared his concern for the injured woman in the chair.
Walking back into the bathroom, he realized that his current procedure for cleaning her wounds was unpractical. What he really needed was to get her into a tub filled with hot water. Inspecting the tub, he was thankful to see that he could position her i
n it so as to allow the cast on her left arm to rest on the tub’s rim, thereby keeping it out of the water. Determination motivated him. Having her in the tub would aid in cleaning the wounds, and the temperature of the water would sooth her damaged body.
“I’m a doctor, for God’s sake,” he blurted out in frustration to his reflection in the mirror. “I have only her best interests at heart.” His reflection mirrored his discomfort at the idea of removing her clothes.
You are a doctor, Mark. Do what you have to do, Pat’s voice advised him. Mark nodded, and turned toward the tub. Leaning over, he plugged the drain and opened the water valves to fill it, checking the water’s warmth until he was satisfied the temperature was just right. Standing next to the tub, watching it fill, Mark had to force his mind to shut off. He found that the very idea of bathing her was causing a reaction in his body that was extremely inappropriate. He needed to focus on her needs right now. He had not felt this way regarding any woman in so long that it frightened him. This woman had gotten under his skin. She had found a way into his heart. He had felt it from the first moment he had heard her voice, and now he could not stop thinking of her. Standing there, hesitating in bathing her, he knew that he was falling for her.
Determining that the water level was now high enough, he turned off the water flow. Standing up, he shoved his feelings deep within him, knowing that when the time was right, he could act on his emotions later. Now was definitely not the time. He had not had these feeling of desire in a long time; he believed that they had been buried along with his beloved former wife years ago. He had the rest of his life ahead of him, and was now excited at the prospects of the future. Refocusing his thoughts to the task before him, he instructed his body to be patient. Stepping into the doctor’s persona, he exited the bathroom.
***
Standing in front of the semi-conscious Sami, Mark debated his next move. He noticed that Rick, the attending physician at the hospital, had cast her arm in such a way that getting her T-shirt off in one piece was not possible. Remembering that Grandma Jo kept scissors in her knitting bag, he scanned the room for it. Spotting it next to the couch, he moved in that direction. Removing the scissors from the bag, he returned to Sami and proceeded to cut the top by following the stitching on the left side of the shirt. With scissors still in hand, he pondered if he should give her damaged sweat pants the same treatment.
His thoughts returned to the experience of dressing her several nights earlier, when she has been in a hypnotic trance, and a faint smile played on his lips. This experience would be similar due to her current dazed state. Recalling it had been a difficult experience, one not worth repeating, he decided to take the advantage and hurriedly cut the seams on both sides before he had second thoughts. Placing the scissors aside, he reached behind her and brought her to her feet, causing the pants to drop from her body.
Supporting her in his embrace, he walked backwards down the hall to the open bathroom door. He noticed that the dogs were getting to their feet and following them. “So, you two want to be chaperones,” he muttered to the animals. “It will be a tight squeeze in there with you two, but I guess I have no other choice.”
As he maneuvered Sami into the bathroom, he quickly decided to leave on her undergarments. Knowing that the water would soak them and thus, leave nothing to the imagination, he felt that discretion is the better part of valor. He would leave the removal of those items for Grandma Jo to handle. With this decision made, his comfort level increased.
Mark seated Sami on the edge of the tub. Positioning his left leg on the rim to support her, he balanced her against his left thigh. He turned and secured a towel from the rack to carefully place around the cast. With her cast covered, he worked her right arm out of the T-shirt. One last step, he choked, before he could submerge her in the tub; the T-shirt needed to be removed from around her neck without touching her face.
“I should have thought to cut this off, also,” he said to the softly moaning woman. It was too late in the game for that idea, knowing that he had left the scissors next to the chair in the other room. There was no other option; he had to take it off over her head. “Sami,” he began, “this will hurt a little, but I need to get the shirt off.” He knew that she was in a fog, but even with the effects of the drugs, this move would cause her pain. Grabbing the front of the neckline of the T-shirt securely in his right hand, he yanked down hard on the fabric, hoping that it would give a little more. Holding his breath, he lifted the shirt up and away. It just slipped past the knot on her forehead, and came off without so much as a whimper from her. He threw the shirt to the side, barely missing the commode and landing in the wastepaper basket instead.
“Nice toss.”
Startled, Mark jumped when he heard the voice behind him as his foot almost slid into the water. Grandma Jo chuckled, which aggravated his already churning stomach.
“Help me!” he ordered.
“Help you? How?” she responded, now laughing so hard she was hysterical. “I can’t even get into the bathroom. I think you have exceeded the maximum occupancy as far as I can see.”
Concentrating on Sami, Mark shot back. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Mark, you’re no small person. Combine this with the dogs; I couldn’t get to Sami if I wanted to. There is just not enough room for all of us,” Grandma Jo explained.
Mark had forgotten about the dogs, and visualized what Grandma Jo was saying. “Okay, I get the idea. Ollie, get out of the way and let Grandma Jo in,” he barked at his dog.
Ollie immediately picked up the meaning behind his master’s tone and ‘hotfooted’ it out of the room. Molly, on the other hand, appeared to be reluctant to leave her mistress.
Shifting his body to see the worried animal, he spoke to her directly in a softer tone. “Go, Molly, follow Ollie. I will take care of her.”
Molly’s eyes fixed on Sami.
“Go on, girl,” Mark urged. “Wait outside the room.” He heard her whine once, then saw her drop her head and slowly follow Ollie out of the room. With the dogs gone, Grandma Jo moved in. Taking one view at the situation in the tub, she removed her jacket and rolled up her sleeves.
“Grab a pillow or extra towel to place under her arm,” Mark directed.
Turning, she dashed from the room, returning just as Mark had gathered Sami back up on her feet. Mark backed up to the commode to let Grandma Jo step past and place the extra padding, wrapped in plastic, down next to the tub. She turned and removed Sami’s undergarments.
Mark felt extremely grateful and relaxed now that Grandma Jo was here. Her presence kept him focused on the situation. With his right arm already under Sami’s arm, he dropped his grip to around her middle and picked up her naked, battered body enough to allow Grandma Jo to swing her legs in the warm water. Mark motioned Grandma Jo to change sides. “I need you on my right,” he directed. “Stack the padding on the rim and watch her cast. Try to position it gently on the cushion.”
“Got it,” she responded.
Mark lowered Sami’s body slowly into the tub. Hearing a satisfied sigh from her, he knew that it had been the right move on his part. With Sami now stretched out in the tub, Grandma Jo offered him a towel to dry his arms and shirt.
“We need to address her wounds,” he stated, wiping his arms.
Grandma Jo nodded and reached for the wash cloth and soap. “I can do this myself,” she said, already lathering up the cloth. “You look frazzled. Get out of here and I will call you when I am ready to get her out.”
Mark gazed longingly at Sami, but turned and departed the room.
***
NINE
Mark entered the hall, and three pairs of anxious eyes greeted him. The dogs accounted for two pair and David was bringing up the rear. Mark patted the heads of the two dogs and looked at David. “Give me a second to change clothes, and I will be right back.”
David nodded and turned, asking Mark if he would care for a soda.
“Yes, than
k you,” Mark shouted back and entered his room.
Knowing that he would have to fetch Sami back out of the tub later, Mark decided on a T-shirt that could be removed easily. Thinking of her in the tub, Mark tried to focus his mind on her injured face, but all he could see was the shimmering water caressing her beautiful body. He was in trouble and knew it.
“I am not letting her go,” he spoke quietly and with conviction to the dogs lying on the floor near him.
He opened the door, and instead of turning in the direction of the kitchen, went straight into Grandma Jo’s master bath. Turning on the cold water faucet, he cupped both hands into the gushing water, and bringing his head down, splashed water on his face. He hoped this action would cool his thoughts, but it only succeeded in getting him wet. Drying his face and head, he searched for other options to cool his increasing desire, but finding none, he stormed out of the room.
