I floated, devoid of body and mind. Only the sensation of weightlessness was with me. My mouth hung open, far away, feeling as though it belonged to someone else entirely. From somewhere in the darkness, an alarm was going off. The alarm was trying to wake me up. A loud ringing, a siren that screamed for me to flee from the darkness. Bodiless, I was unable to turn away or close my ears to the sound. Soon, it grew so loud that it was the darkness itself.
“We’re moving her to surgery, now!” a different woman’s voice exclaimed. Blinding lights cut through the darkness as my eyes were pried open. A woman dressed in blue scrubs was pointing a flashlight into my left eye and then she pried open the next eye and did the same. I looked at her intently and her face was determined and stoic.
“Miss Facet,” the woman said. A word floated up into my mind and I grasped onto it: doctor. “You’re in good hands. We’re gonna patch you right up.”
“Ok,” I croaked, the syllables coming out slowly and disjointed.
I was moving, strapped to a gurney or some sort of bed. People were yelling all around me, but not angrily. There was a dialogue occurring all around me that I couldn’t understand, yet I knew it was about me. At some point, I felt scissors caress against my skin as they cut through the dress that was soaked with my blood. I randomly thought of the carpet in my office, now stained with the spilled glass of whiskey and my blood. If I could have laughed, I would have.
My eyes opened to slits and I saw people staring down at me, faces clad in hospital masks and hair hidden with blue caps. Everything on them was blue. When a gloved hand lifted above me, I saw a plastic apparatus in the hand that was fastened around my mouth. The people around me clad in blue began to hand each other things and talk in stern, collected voices. In the distance, I could hear classical music.
I breathed in. A dreamless sleep grew with every break that cut out all of my vision and left the sky full dark.
I awoke. My eyes opened half-way and I looked around. Beige walls surrounded me. A machine beeped next to me and I strained to turn my head to look at it. Screens showed numbers that I had no reference for and one machine showed a line that jumped every few seconds with a beep. I saw a number next to the line and figured out that this was my heart-rate.
I moved my head back and it was like moving the Earth itself. It was heavy. All of my limbs were heavy. I was able to lift my arms, but some invisible force pushed against it as nothing ever had before. I felt like newborn babe, without strength and without agility. I opened my mouth and licked my dry lips, breathing in deeply through my nose as I did so. A large yawn escaped me and slowly my jaw closed again.
“Julie,” a woman’s voice said. I looked to my right to the source of the voice and I saw a woman in her early forties standing there, clad in green scrubs and a white jacket. A stethoscope hung around her neck. A badge was clipped to her scrubs that I could not make out.
“How are you feeling? I imagine you’re a little fuzzy from the painkillers.”
“I’m… alright,” I said. As I spoke, I started to grasp onto the meaning of the words as they came out of my mouth. “Am I in the hospital?”
“Yes, you are. You had surgery twelve hours ago that lasted for three hours. You are in the medical ICU. I’m your doctor, Hannah Lexington. I was the head surgeon during your operation.”
The warmth that had been so welcomed in the ambulance was still with me. I could feel the pain of my shoulder, far away, but it wasn’t bothersome. It was so distant that it was though it wasn’t even there.
“How bad is it?” I asked slowly. The morphine dulled the fear, but a wild thought crashed through the wall of opiates and for a moment I was sure that the doctor was going to tell me I was now debilitated.
“The bullet missed your heart by about an inch. It also missed your lungs and all major organs. It entered on your upper chest and exited out just next to your left shoulder blade. You lost a lot of blood, and the tissue around the area sustained a serious trauma, but since the paramedics were called quickly, you were brought here before any further damage from blood loss could occur.”
I searched my mind for the memory of what happened after the shot. Nothing was there. I couldn’t remember the ambulance drive at all, but I knew that I had been brought here by a man and a woman. They had called me lucky.
“How did they know?” I asked, my voice hoarse and thick.
“Apparently the woman above you called it in,” a man’s voice said. I looked around the room and noticed that two men were in the corner by the door. One was sitting in a chair, checking his phone, while the other stood calmly.
“These men are police officers,” the doctor said. “They want to ask you some questions, despite my misgivings about stressing you immediately after you’ve woken up.” The doctor gave the two police officers a disapproving look.
“It’s much better to do this when it’s still fresh in the witness’s mind,” the sitting officer said.
“It’s much better for the patient to get some rest and not be stressed out by reliving the horror she just survived.”
“No, it’s alright,” I said, my voice thick and raspy. “I can answer some questions. I’m a little woozy from the meds, but I want them to at least start working on catching Marilyn as soon as possible.”
“Marilyn?” the standing officer asked.
“Alright,” the doctor interrupted. “I think I’ll stick around and make sure nothing goes awry.” She eyed the two police officers mistrustfully and sat down next to the bed, crossing her legs and watching them intently. I immediately liked this woman.
“First, what did you mean when you said ‘the woman above me’ before?” I asked.
“She’s a graphic artist. She said she was working late on a project and heard an argument break out below her. It was too muffled for her to hear the exact words, but she heard yelling and then she heard a gunshot and then a car peeled out of the parking lot,” said one of the officers, a thick brown mustache below his nose and a huge bald spot on the front of his head.
“It would have been great if she gave us the license plate, but she said she was so terrified that she killed the lights in her office and hid under her desk when she made the call,” the other officer said. He was much younger, probably a rookie. “Understandable, I suppose.”
“That young woman saved your life, it might not be a bad idea to thank her when you get out of here,” the mustached officer said.
When I got out of here, I was going to send that graphic designer to the Caribbean on an all-expenses-paid trip.
“Now, can you tell us what happened?” the mustached officer asked.
“A woman named Marilyn Benedict shot me,” I said. The young officer wrote down the name immediately and then showed it to his partner, who then nodded. When I didn’t continue speaking, the officers looked at one another and exchange a glance that I couldn’t read.
“Please, we know you’re tired and hurt, but tell us about the entire night.”
“I planned on getting some dinner by myself, but I was driving and spotted a nightclub. When I saw it, I decided to stop in for a drink, maybe dance a little bit.”
“What was the name of the club and who owns it?” the young officer asked.
“Leon Christensen, a client of mine, owns it. It’s called the Nova,” I said, my voice shaky. Saying Leon’s name filled me with a feeling of heaviness that caused my shoulder to ache, despite the morphine. The young officer wrote down what I said and then all eyes were back on me.
“In the club, I had a drink or two and I was dancing. It was fun,” I said, remembering how I had gotten lost in the beat. How good the drinks had warmed my belly. How the feel of the dance floor beneath my heels had been wonderful. “I started talking to this guy and we had another drink before we decided to get out of there.”
“Get out of there?” the balding officer said, a hint of something disapproving in his voice.
“Yeah, we left,” I said defensively. The yo
unger officer was writing everything I said furiously. When I said that I had left with a man, I saw a wry smile adorn his face.
“We took his car. Then we decided to go back to my office.”
“What was the man’s name?” the younger officer said, looking up from his pad of paper.
“Tom. I didn’t get his last name.”
“So you bring home this guy, this ‘Tom’, and you don’t even get his last name?” the balding officer asked incredulously. “Is this a regular thing for you?”
“We didn’t go back to my place,” I protested. It was a strain to talk and the officer’s tone wasn’t helping. “I said we went back to my office. Try and pay attention.”
The officer’s face turned red with embarrassment or anger. The younger officer suppressed laughter, shook his head and continued to write.
“We were having a drink at my office and listening to some music.”
“Wait, did anybody see you leave the club with this man?” the older officer asked.
Stills’s face shot out in my mind. The look of confusion as I made out with a complete stranger on the dance floor. The look on my face as we walked by him, only adding to his confusion.
“Yes, the manager. His name is Stills. His last name is Stillwagon. I don’t remember his first name. He was the one who hired me to find a match for his friend. He’ll remember me.”
“Did you bring this man home, oh, excuse me, to your office, for sex?” the older officer asked snidely.
“What business of it is yours why I brought him to my office?” I asked angrily. “He’s not the one who shot me.”
“Alright, I think that Ms. Facet needs her rest,” the doctor interjected, obviously upset with the tone that the officers were taking me. “I think it’s time that you both leave.”
“Alright, alright. We’re sorry,” the older officer said, trying to smooth over his remarks.
“I’ll talk to you,” I said, pointing to the younger officer. “Not you, or I’m going to bed.” I eyed the balding officer angrily.
“Tell us what happened when you got to your office. Try to be specific, I know it’s kind of awkward but it actually might help,” the younger officer said calmly.
“We had a drink and talked for a little bit. I put on some music and then things started to,” I said, pausing to think of how to continue. “Things escalated. I didn’t hear her come in.”
“So your companion, Tom, saw her as well, correct?”
“Definitely.” I had a flash of Marilyn jerking him off into her palm. “He’ll absolutely remember her.”
“What happened when she walked in on you two?”
“Well,” I said. I was unsure as to whether I should give the full details. My face started to blush when I thought of the absolute ridiculousness of what had happened even before she had shot me. “She told him to leave, and when he wouldn’t she basically grabbed him and threatened to claim he tried to rape her or that he actually did. Tom was so freaked out that he left.” It was the truth, minus a few bizarre details. If they questioned Tom, if they could even find him, and he told them everything, my story would still hold up even without all the details.
“Sounds like a real stand up kinda guy,” the balding officer interjected, shaking his head.
“Marilyn started ranting about Leon. See, she had shown up at my office a few days prior and tried to get me to arrange the two of them. She said that a cousin had told her I was looking for potential matches for him, which was true.”
“You run a matchmaking service, correct?” the young officer asked.
“Yes. Leon Christensen was a particularly difficult client to match up so I reached out to all of my previous clients and contacts to try to find potential women. Marilyn must have found out that way, or she was just stalking Leon and found out about it some other way and lied about having her cousin arrange a meet-up. I don’t really know.”
The doctor was listening just as intently as the officers, fascinated with the story. I could see lines of worry cutting across her otherwise pretty face. I smiled at her and she gave me a small smile back.
“Marilyn demanded I arrange a meeting. When I said no, she pulled a gun. I tried to call 911 when she made me call Leon, but after I dialed the number, she snatched the phone from my hand. That was when she realized what I had done. She completely freaked out and shot me. I passed out shortly after that.”
The young officer was silent for a while as he wrote. He flipped over two pages, scribbling wildly on each page, rushing to get the story on paper.
“Is there anything else you can think of that might help us find Marilyn?”
“Yes,” I said, a realization dawning on me. “I have a file on her at my office. It has her address, well, at least it’s an address. Whether it’s hers or not I don’t know. You can search my office for it, of course. I give you permission to go in the file cabinet for the women, but only the women. I’m gonna have to get my lawyer to accompany you though, I don’t want my clients freaked out thinking I’m letting the police sort through their personal information.”
“That’s completely fine,” the officer said, rising from his seat. He walked next to my bed and rested his hand on the bar that prevented me from rolling out. “We’re glad you’ve made it through.” It was strangely touching.
“Call my secretary and she can arrange for a time with the lawyer. Tell her it’s absolutely urgent.”
“No problemo,” the young officer said. “Is there anybody else you’d like us to get in touch with?”
“No,” I said quietly. It wasn’t entirely a lie. I didn’t want to talk to my mother until I was out of the hospital, she would only freak out anyway. My dad was probably too busy on vacation with his latest secretary conquest.
The two officers thanked me, the balding mustached one with a slightly disgruntled tone, and then left. The pain in my shoulder was throbbing and I was feeling achy all over. The doctor began to check me and then she turned right to me and smiled.
“Do you need some more morphine for the pain?” she asked.
“Oh, god yes.”
The weight of my body lifted away, fizzling out into the ceiling. I felt a warmth envelope me like a soft blanket and all the pain dissipated as it wrapped around me tighter. The doctor’s voice drifted away until finally there was silence in the room, although I didn’t mind the doctor talking. My eyes were closed and a small smile touched my lips. My world was without worry or care. The hospital room disappeared completely.
Chapter 19
A warm sun shined down on my skin. I felt its radiance absorb into my exposed flesh and it felt wonderful. I could see the sun as an orange globe behind my closed eyes and I smiled as I basked in its healing light. From somewhere above me, a bird cooed and a dozen other birds answered its call. I felt grass beneath my fingers and I laughed at nothing in particular.
“More wine, my love?” a man’s voice said to me.
I opened my mouth to reply, but no words came out. A hand caressed the side of my face and it felt as warm and welcoming as the sun, filling my heart with excited joy. I leaned my head over, still closing my eyes, and kissed the fingers that had just departed from their caress.
“Today is,” the man said, pausing for years before he finished the sentence. “Perfect.”
I laughed again, feeling better than I had ever felt. Lips graced my forehead and I felt them plant a small kiss on my warm skin. I opened my eyes to see Leon leaning over, his face hovering over mine. The sun illuminated him in light from behind and he glowed before me, beautiful. I reached up a weightless arm and held the side of his face.
“I missed you,” I said breathlessly. No sound came out, but Leon smiled and moved his head over and kissed my hand.
We were running, running nowhere and running everywhere. Water shimmered to the left of us and I looked out over a vast lake where small disturbances of water glimmered light from the sun in my eyes. We ran faster, our feet skimming through the water
and the coolness of the lake feeling wonderful against our naked feet. Leon ran in front of me, his hand outstretched behind him as it held mine. I followed, giggling with happiness.
We were in front of a fireplace, Leon laying on his back and laughing. I couldn’t remember the joke and it wasn’t important anyway. Sweet wine touched our lips from glasses that we raised in a toast to life and nothing more. What more was there to celebrate? The space we were in was large and roomy, uncluttered by artifacts and belongings. The rug beneath us felt so soft and fuzzy that I wanted to roll myself in and sleep forever.
“Don’t sleep forever, unless you dream of me.”
Time passed. Forever passed by us and the world ended and began again. Leon kissed my lips and I felt the wetness of his tongue against mine, soft and gentle. I ran my hands through his hair and felt the back of his neck as I pulled him closer. I let out a small laugh of disbelief that this could be so wonderful.
“It is wonderful.”
Outside again, the sun lower in the sky, but still bright. Shadows cut across the ground as we walked through an orange grove. Trees stood tall among us and Leon reached up and picked an orange down, holding in his hands as he studied it. He peeled it and handed me a slice. Wet orange juice flowed down my chin as I bit down and I gorged myself on fresh orange that I knew must have tasted incredible but for some reason my taste buds were dull, unresponsive to the taste of anything. For a brief moment I had a sensation that this wasn’t real, this was nothing more than a beautiful dream, but the thought was hard to hold on to, hard to make real.
We came to a clearing where a blanket was spread out on the ground. As I saw it, I was suddenly looking up at the sky and I realized I was already laying down. The sun was shaking in the sky, flames so radiant and beautiful coming off of it that tears formed in my eyes at the mere sight of it. Mountains in the background climbed higher and higher and I marveled at them, the snow melting on the tops as they climbed towards the sun which exploded with more flame.
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