Hammer & Nails

by Large, Andria

  “On it,” Nate says and pulls out his phone to call 911. I hear Nate talking on the phone with 911 as he starts for the door and pray that the ambulance gets here quickly.

  “Can’t Nate take care of the finger?” her dad, John, groans.

  “No! You made Nolan cut it off so you can take care of it!”

  I hear Nate’s laughter fade as he runs outside to Harley’s truck. Harley strokes a soothing hand down the back of my head and neck. “Deep breathes, Nolan, you’re hyperventilating.”

  “So…much…blood…I feel sick,” I pant and prop the elbow of my good hand on my knee then drop my forehead into my hand.

  “Don’t look at it. Keep your hand elevated, you’re going to be fine,” she says, continuing to stroke my head and neck with one hand while her other hand is under my elbow helping me keep it elevated.

  “It’s starting to hurt,” I moan.

  “Okay, sweetie. Nate’s called the ambulance and they should be here any minute,” she says softly.

  Nate comes rushing back in with Harley’s first aid kit. She’s got a pretty decent kit because of the possibilities of something like this happening. She starts wrapping my finger in gauze.

  “I got his finger on ice,” John’s strained voice says from somewhere in front of me.

  If I lift my head, I might barf, so I don’t even bother trying to see where he is. He sounds like shit, though.

  “Good, hopefully they can reattach it,” Harley murmurs. “You’re doing great, Nolan. Just keep breathing,” Harley says, her voice calm and in control.

  Thank God, she is calm because if it were the other way around, I’d be freaking the hell out. I can’t believe that my finger just got cut off. The pain is starting to really set in and it’s bad.

  ~ Harley ~

  It’s been a long friggin’ day. We obviously spent almost the entire day at the hospital where they reattached Nolan’s finger. It took a couple of hours because the surgery is so tedious. The doctor said that the reattachment went well and he should be fully healed in a few months, but it’s hard to say what kind of mobility he will have. That’s a wait and see kinda thing.

  I guide Nolan, who is doped up on pain meds, into the house. The doctor wrapped his middle finger along with his pointer and ring fingers, using them as a brace. Nolan shuffles into the bedroom and crawls onto the bed using his good hand. The hospital gave him a pair of scrubs, since his clothes were ruined from being covered in blood. He lies down on his back and sighs heavily.

  “Let’s get you out of these scrubs,” I murmur and start by pulling his shoes off.

  Nolan just grunts, his eyes drifting closed.

  I untie the string at his waist then pull the pants down his legs. I then help him sit up so I can work the scrub shirt over his head, being careful with his hand. Nolan lies back down.

  “Thank you for everything today, Harley. I would have been lost without you,” Nolan murmurs sleepily, his bleary gaze barely able to focus on me.

  I smile and sit down on the bed next to him. I smooth my hand over his hair. “You’re welcome.”

  “How did you know what to do with my finger?” he asks.

  “With the possibility of losing or injuring fingers in my profession being so high, I read up on it just in case,” I tell him.

  “You’re so smart,” he murmurs, closing his eyes again.

  “Thank you. How about you get some sleep?” I suggest, leaning down to give him a kiss on the lips.

  He nods. “Okay.”

  “Okay.” I smile and kiss him one more time.

  “I love you, Harley,” he whispers, cracking his eyes open to look at me.

  My heart flutters madly in my chest. Does he really mean that or is it just the pain meds talking?

  “You do?” I breathe.

  He nods. “I knew it the day after I spent my first night here with you. When I argued with my dad that morning at work, I told him twice that I loved you.”

  Oh my god! He’s serious! He might not have meant to tell me while on pain meds, but he really does mean it. Tears prick my eyes. He loves me! And I love him. This past month has shown me that and I fall more and more in love with him every day that we’re together.

  “I love you, too, Nolan,” I murmur, leaning down to kiss him on the lips again.

  Nolan smiles against my lips. “Say it again,” he whispers.

  “I love you.”

  “Remind me tomorrow in case I forget,” he mutters right before he drifts off.

  I chuckle, give him one more kiss on his slack lips, and then leave him to rest. I’m tired and could probably sleep, but I need to unwind my brain a little bit. I go out into the living room and watch TV for a little while before crawling into bed and snuggling up next to the man I love.

  The next morning, I wake up to Nolan groaning in pain. When I open my eyes, Nolan is sitting up, his feet on the floor, and his back to me.

  “Hey, let me get you your pain medicine,” I tell him and throw the covers aside.

  “Please,” he croaks.

  I rush into the kitchen where I placed his bottle of pain pills on the counter last night. I grab a pill and a glass of water then go back into the bedroom. Nolan is still sitting on the edge of the bed, hunched over, clutching his injured hand to his chest. The doctor warned that the pain could be intense because of all the nerves that are in your hand and fingers. And the pain can last throughout most of the healing process.

  “Here, sweetie,” I murmur.

  Nolan holds out his good hand and I set the pill in his palm. He tosses it in his mouth then takes the glass of water, downing half of it. He hands me back the glass and mutters a pained, “Thanks.” I feel so badly for him. This is not going to be a pleasant recovery, and the doctor told him to take it easy for the first week.

  “Nolan, you need to call your dad and tell him that you need to take off from work for a week or two,” I say, knowing that he is going to hate having to call his dad.

  Nolan told me shortly after it happened that he got into a huge argument with his dad about me. He left out the part where he told his dad that he loved me, though. His father hasn’t spoken to him since. Not even at work.

  Nolan groans. “I can’t take off; I have too much to do for the benefit.”

  “Babe, you can’t drive while on pain meds much less function well enough to get work done.”

  Nolan hangs his head. “Fuck.” he sighs. “I, at least, need to go into the office to give all of the benefit stuff to Brock so that he can take over. Do you think you can take me?” he asks, lifting his head to look at me.

  “Of course.” I smile.

  He tries to smile but it falls short, instead just looking like a pained grimace. “Thank you.”

  ~ Nolan ~

  Harley helps me get dressed in the one pair of Adidas training pants that I have and a plain white long-sleeved T-shirt. It’s November now, so it’s getting really cold out. Once I’m dressed, she makes me eat a banana to put something in my stomach so I don’t get sick from the pain medicine. I don’t think that she realizes how naturally nurturing she is. She’s going to make a great mother someday.

  Harley gets dressed in jeans and sweater. She’s been leaving her hair down when she’s not working because she knows I like it. And I think it’s really sweet that she does it just for me. It’s then that I remember our little conversation last night before I fell asleep. Damn, that’s not the way I wanted to tell her that I loved her, but I guess it was as good a timing as any.

  As she helps me into my coat, I ask her, “Were you supposed to remind me about something today?”

  She smirks. “Yes, I was.”

  “And? What was it?” I ask, cocking an eyebrow.

  Her smile widens. “You told me that you loved me last night,” she says, buttoning up my gray peacoat.

  I smile. “And?”

  She looks up into my eyes, clutching the lapels of my coat. “I love you, too.”

  I nod and lean
down to kiss her.

  “I’m happy that you actually remembered,” she says.

  “Well, I meant it. I love you so much, you mean everything to me,” I reiterate.

  She smiles softly and I can see her eyes well up with tears. “That makes me so happy, you have no idea. And you should know that you mean everything to me, too.”

  I drop my forehead to hers. My heart feels so full that I’m pretty sure it might burst. To think that only a few short months ago we were at each other’s throats most of the time. How did that turn into love? I really have no explanation, but I’m glad it did.

  After a quick kiss, we head out to Harley’s truck. A few minutes after we pull out of the driveway, my cell phone rings. I dig it out of my pocket and check the screen. It’s John Jameson. I swipe my finger across the screen to answer it.

  I put the phone to me ear. “Hey, John.”

  I see Harley glance at me from the corner of my eye.

  “Hey, Nolan,” he murmurs softly. “How are you feeling today?”

  “I woke up hurting, but the meds are starting to kick in, so I’m doing better.”

  “That’s good. Listen, I feel just terrible about what happened…”

  “John, come on, I know you didn’t mean it. It was an accident. Don’t beat yourself up about it,” I tell him.

  I give Harley a glance. She gives me a grateful smile.

  “I really appreciate you calling to check on me, though. It’s more than my dad would have done.”

  “You’re practically part of the family now, Nolan, you know that.”

  I can’t help but smile. “Yeah, I know.”

  “If you need anything, let me know, okay?”

  “I will, thank you.”

  “Will you be able to make it to dinner tonight?”

  “Yes, sir,” I reply.

  “Okay, see you tonight then. Bye, Nolan.”

  “See ya, John.”

  I hang up. Harley places her hand on my thigh and gives it a squeeze.

  “Thank you for that. He honestly feels so horrible about what happened,” she says.

  “I know, but really, it was an accident. I know he didn’t mean to do it.”

  “Think your dad will believe that?” Harley laughs.

  I chuckle. “No idea.”

  “Think you’ll be okay for dinner tonight?” she asks.

  “Yeah, I think so,” I nod.

  “Okay, good,” she smiles.

  We walk into my office ten minutes later. We get a bunch of curious looks from people working in the pit and I can’t blame them. I mean, the boss’s son walks in with a woman they’ve never seen, with his hand bandaged up, AND he’s wearing Adidas pants. That is something they have NEVER seen.

  I grab everything pertaining to the benefit and ask Harley to carry it down to Brock’s office. I never told her that Brock is my co-worker and is the one who recommended her, so she’s probably going to be shocked. His office door is closed, so I knock and wait for him to call “Come in.”

  I open the door, keeping Harley behind me. Brock frowns hard as he looks me over.

  “What the hell happened to you?” he asks.

  I smirk and step aside, letting Harley become visible. Brock’s eyes widen comically as he bursts out laughing. Harley slides me an amused glance and sends an elbow into my side. I grunt and flinch.

  “Hey, no abusing the injured man,” I tease.

  She snickers and walks into Brock’s office with the files she is carrying for me. She smiles brightly when she sees Brock.

  “Hey, Brock! What are you doing here?” she asks.

  “I work here, this is my office,” he replies with a chuckle.

  “It’s good to see you again!” she exclaims, going around his desk to give him a hug.

  “It’s good to see you, too.”

  She glances between us. “I guess I know who recommended me to you now,” she says to me.

  I nod. “Yep.”

  Brock glances between Harley and me. “Wanna tell me what happened?” he asks, motioning to my hand.

  “Uh…I kind of cut part of my finger off,” I mutter, rubbing the back of my neck.

  Brock blankly stares at me. “I’m sorry, what?”

  “We were doing work on his house. He was cutting wood trim with a miter saw when my dad stopped by and clapped him on the back just as he was bringing the saw down. Nolan jerked his hand. Zip! Cut the top of his middle finger right off!” Harley explains animatedly.

  Brock’s mouth drops open before he barks out a laugh, slapping a hand on his desk. “Oh god! That’s too fucking funny!”

  “Shut up! It hurts!” I exclaim, fighting off a smile.

  After Brock’s laughter dies down, he asks, “So what are you doing here?”

  “I need to take a couple of weeks off; doctor said that I need to take it easy, so I was hoping that you could take over managing the benefit.”

  Harley plops the files down on his desk. Brock groans. “Dammit man, you know I hate this kind of shit.”

  “I know, and I swear I will try to help from home as much as I can, but I’m on pain meds and can barely see straight, let alone manage the details for the benefit,” I tell him.

  He nods. “Alright, man. I got you. But you’re gonna owe me.”

  “You got it. Thanks, Brock.”

  Brock smirks. “So, what’s the deal with you two?”

  I roll my eyes. “Here we go.”

  “What? You’ve been denying that you’ve had a thing for Harley from the beginning and here you are, coming in here together.”

  “Aw, baby, you didn’t tell Brock that you loved me from the moment I called you MC Hammer?” Harley coos.

  Brock laughs.

  I snort. “No, I didn’t, because I am pretty sure I despised you then.”

  Harley chuckles.

  “So, are you two actually together?” Brock asks, eyebrow raised.

  I nod. “Yes, we are.”

  Brock nods. “I knew it. I knew you two were perfect for each other.”

  “Brock, did you play matchmaker?” Harley accuses teasingly.

  Brock shrugs. “Sorta. I knew when I first met you that you would give Nolan a run for his money. Then when he said that he was looking to reno his house, I just had to give him your card. After that, I just had faith that you two would get together.”

  “Well, your efforts paid off. We’ve been together officially for a month now,” I muse.

  “Officially?” Brock grunts.

  “I couldn’t keep the man out of my pants, Brock, like seriously,” Harley jokes.

  Brock laughs and shakes his head.

  “He just couldn’t resist all of this,” Harley adds, motioning to herself in large circles.

  I snort. “Alright, let’s go talk to my dad,” I mutter, needing to get it over with before I chicken out completely.

  “You go ahead, I’ll hang here with Brock.” Harley grins sweetly.

  “Harley.”

  “Oh, alright, but I’m not to be held responsible for anything that comes out of my mouth in there,” she says and starts for the door. I follow.

  “See ya, Harley,” Brock says.

  “Bye, Brock!” She waves and steps out into the hall.

  I turn and give Brock an expectant look.

  He laughs heartily. “I told you so.”

  “And there is it.” I smirk. “I’ll call you later.”

  “Okay.” He nods.

  I leave his office, closing the door behind me. I take Harley’s hand in mine and lead her down the hall to my dad’s office. His receptionist, Myra, is clicking away at her keyboard when we walk up. Her desk is situated right in front of the double doors that lead to his office. She glances up and gives me a smile.

  “Hey, honey, where ya been?” Myra asks.

  “Just busy with organizing the benefit and the renovations at my house,” I lie. She doesn’t need to know that my dad and I aren’t speaking. Surely, that would make for some g
reat office gossip.

  She easily accepts my explanation and then lets her eyes slide over to Harley. Myra is an older woman, probably in her early seventies, but she looks great for her age.

  “Oh, hi there! Who is this lovely young lady?” Myra asks with a genuine smile.

  “Myra, this is my girlfriend, Harley,” I introduce.

  Harley shakes Myra’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Myra,” Harley says with a sweet smile.

  “You, too, Harley. I think you’re the first girlfriend of Nolan’s that I’ve met and I’ve worked here for fifteen years.” Myra smirks, a knowing glint in her wise eyes.

  Harley grins wide and looks up at me. I can see that pleases her immensely. “I guess that makes me special, huh?”

  I smile lovingly down at her. “Definitely,” I say, twirling a strand of her silky hair around my fingers.

  “I smell a wedding coming soon,” Myra exclaims, clapping her hands excitedly.

  Harley and I laugh.

  “Is my dad in his office?” I ask her.

  She nods. “Yep, head on in.”

  “Thanks.”

  I knock and open one door, walking into the large office still holding Harley’s hand. My father’s head lifts and his eyes glance between us over the top of his bifocals. I watch as his gaze flits over our intertwined fingers before moving onto my wrapped up hand.

  “What’s this?” my dad asks, motioning with his pen at our joined hands.

  ~ Harley ~

  I frown at Mr. Hammerstein. I’m so disappointed in his reaction to our relationship. I thought he was a better person, but I guess I was wrong. Nolan is a ball of tension next to me. His hand squeezes mine in reassurance. I’m not sure if he’s trying to reassure me or himself, though.

  “I’m not here to argue with you, Dad. I just need to talk to you about taking some time off. I had a little mishap yesterday…” Nolan says, holding his injured hand up, “…and the doctor said that I need to take it easy for a couple of weeks.”

  Nolan’s father’s eyes flick to mine, an angry glow to them. “What kind of mishap?” he asks accusingly at me.

  “Why are you looking at Harley? It wasn’t her fault,” Nolan snaps.