As I recall the previous night, one of the nurses stops in to check my vitals and takes the bedpan. Not very appealing, but hey, I can’t get out of bed. I never thought I’d wish for the day that I could use the toilet again. I guess you just have to appreciate the little things in life.
After she replaces the clean bedpan, I ask her if Melanie will be in today. She gives me the bad news, saying Melanie has the day off and won’t be in until tomorrow. Great. This day is going to be shit.
A few minutes later, the nurse returns with my breakfast and informs me that Dr. Ferguson will be in shortly to assess my burns and refit the brace if necessary.
Once she leaves, I decide it’s the perfect time to call Aunt Maggie. I pull up her contact info on my cellphone and hit the button to connect the call.
As the phone dials, I look at my tray of food, only to find a scoop of bland scrambled eggs and a cup of watery oatmeal. Ugh. I would kill to have some of Captain’s eggs right now.
The phone rings a few times before Aunt Maggie answers, “Hello.”
“Hey, how’s it going up there?”
“Oh, it was an eventful evening. Franco and Amelia announced they’re having a baby. You’re going to be an uncle!”
A sense of pride and happiness fills me. “Wow, you’re going to be a grandmother. You must be thrilled!”
“Oh, honey I can’t stand still!”
“Put Franco on the phone so I can congratulate him.”
She gets my cousin and we talk for a couple minutes. Even though he’s only three years older than me, we’ve never been close, not like brothers. In a way, I think he’s always been a little jealous of my relationship with Aunt Maggie. While growing up, he was hardly around, always at a friend’s house, and when he was home he kept to himself.
Even in high school, we wouldn’t talk or acknowledge each other in the halls. When some of my friends found out we were cousins, they had a hard time believing me. It’s not like Franco treated me poorly, he just alienated me in a way. I always wanted a sibling and hoped that one day we could be that to each other, but it never happened.
When he was twenty-four, he met Amelia in law school and they married two years later. He found a job at a firm up in Bridgeport, Connecticut and they’ve lived there ever since. It’s no surprise that he hasn’t come to visit me here in the hospital, but I have to admit it still hurts.
******
It’s been a whole day since I’ve seen Melanie and the distance kills me. Every time my hospital room opens, I secretly wish it’s her and end up being disappointed when it’s not.
Just as I think about her walking in the door, someone knocks and pushes it open. I glance over and see Carter peeping his head inside before stepping forward and closing it behind him.
Happy to see a friend, I call out, “Carter, hey!”
He walks over to give me a hug. “Hey Roman. How’s it going? You’re looking better since I saw you last.”
“Yeah you notice a difference?”
He nods. “Yeah, your face isn’t as red.”
I shrug. “Hmm. I can’t really tell, but that’s a good thing. So, how’s everyone at the firehouse?”
“Everyone’s fine. We all miss you. The Captain made his special eggs again this past Sunday. You gotta tell me his secret.”
I shake my head. “Nope, Captain’s orders. I’m taking that recipe to the grave.”
He scoffs. “Fine whatever. But besides that, it’s been pretty quiet. Most of the emergencies have been minimal, nothing as large as the last one. So, any idea when you can come back to work?”
“I…uh. I have no idea. I haven’t really thought about it.”
His eyes widen. “Wait, you’re not coming back?”
Looking away for a moment, I think about how to answer. “Well, I don’t know. I mean, I have to heal up first, and then there’s physical therapy and god knows how long that will take. Could be months before I’m back to the way I was and even then, there’s a chance that I won’t be the same. On top of that, I’ll be out of shape and will probably have to retrain my body to withstand the demands of being a firefighter.”
Just then the door opens and Melanie waltzes in. She stops as she notices Carter. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’ll be back later.”
She quickly exits before I can say anything. Carter stares at the door, watching as it closes, then turns to me. “Damn, no wonder you want to stay here so bad. She’s hot!”
Immediately burying the hint of jealousy, I rebut his statement. “Nah, she’s all right, kind of annoying actually. She’s always in here pestering me to eat.”
“Ha! Well I’ll trade places if you want, because if that girl gets to undress me and give me sponge baths all day then count me in.”
I laugh at his request. “You’d be disappointed because a male nurse gives me one.”
His face twists and he raises his palms. “Oh, yeah no. I’m good.”
We laugh in unison and Carter hangs with me for the next hour or so. Dr. Ferguson stops by during Carter’s visit and checks out the brace. He twists my shoulders and upper back, ensuring the brace is doing what it’s supposed to do.
He instructs me to raise one leg and then settle it slowly back down. I can only lift each leg a few inches off the bed, but it’s a definite improvement. He then checks the stitching where they cut me open and he informs me that the stitches are almost ready to be removed. After a quick glance at the gauzes on my face, hand, and lower side, he leaves and tells me he’ll be back tomorrow.
After Carter leaves, I call Aunt Maggie to see if they’ll be stopping by to visit. With back-to-back cake orders, she’s slammed at the bakery today, and Uncle Vinny is stuck at home fixing the furnace.
Dinnertime rolls around and Melanie still hasn’t returned. Jackie came by a little while ago and changed my bandages but that’s the only other contact I’ve had today. I channel surf as I pick at my meal. Steamed rice with grilled chicken and peas is on the menu today. I silently wish for a saltshaker as I chew the bland chicken. All of a sudden, the TV goes out, as if it lost power. Great.
I buzz for the nurse and inform her that my TV isn’t working. She says someone will be right in to check it out. Minutes later, my favorite nurse walks through the door.
She nods toward the TV. “Hey. I heard something about a busted TV.”
I point at it. “Yeah, it just went out.”
She walks over to it, looking upward to inspect it. “I can’t see any loose wires or anything and I’m not a cable technician so I can’t tell if it’s the TV itself or the cable connection. Best thing I can do is get a tech to come out tomorrow. Is that all right?”
I groan. “Yeah, that’s fine.”
She walks up next to the bed and notices my full plate of food. “I see you haven’t eaten yet. You know, the less you eat, the more malnourished you’ll be, and the longer you’ll need to stay here.”
I flash a smile. “Do you have any cookies left?”
She laughs. “You sound like my goddaughter. Do I need to play airplane with you too?”
I shake my head. “No, I’ll eat. I just don’t have anything to do.”
She takes my fork and chops up the chicken into little pieces. “Why don’t you read a book?”
My face frowns. “A book? I don’t have any and I don’t read much anyway.”
She gasps. “You don’t read? Why not?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know, I just never got into it. The only books I read in school were for homework.”
“Hmm. You could watch TV on your phone.”
I look at my phone. “True, but that would kill my data plan.”
She stabs a piece of chicken with the fork and motions for me to open my mouth. “Open.”
I twist my face with an amused expression. “Are you really going to feed me right now?”
She insists. “It’s the only way I’ll know for sure that you’ve eaten. Now open up and let’s make th
is quick.”
I huff at her, but oblige, letting her feed the rest of the chicken to me. In a way, it’s relaxing and insightful to see her in her element, caring for someone and loving her job. I’m certainly glad that I’m the one she’s caring for, but is she doing it because she wants to or because she has to? She doesn’t force me to eat the rice because that is not happening anyway and disposes of the tray once I gobble up the peas.
She returns a half hour later, after completing the rotation with her other patients. She sits in the empty chair and clasps her hand. “So, how’s your aunt?”
“She’s well, but busy. They’ve been getting a lot of cake orders and usually I would help her, so she’s a little overwhelmed at the moment.”
I see her eyes drift off as a blank stare descends upon her face. “You okay?”
She shakes away the weird look. “Yeah I…I just remembered the day I went to get the custom order of éclairs and you were covered in flour.”
That same volt surges through me and I look away, trying to think of anything to change the subject. “So, you play charades?”
She stares at me with a lost look. “Charades? Yes, I’ve played before.”
“Okay, let’s play. It’ll be my entertainment for this evening.”
She looks at me, confused. “You want me to play charades? Right now?”
I smile. “Sure, why not?”
A low snicker comes out of her as she stands up and thinks about her first challenge. “Okay, I’m only doing movies.”
I nod and watch attentively as she starts her first clue. In a slow motion, she starts to bend backward as is she falling to the floor. Her hands fly around her in a swaying motion and her body twists as though it’s trying to avoid something. The movie immediately comes to mind and I spit out, “The Matrix!”
She signals that I’m correct and starts to maneuver into the next challenge. She rushes to the TV, pointing directly at it. Okay, something to do with the television. She drops to the floor and I have to sit up to see her crawling in a twisted and haunting motion. She crawls slowly to the bed, progressing to a stand as she creepily walks. Her hands are pointed downward as her fingers twist into a ghoul-like form. Still unsure of the movie, she rotates her ring finger in a circular motion and finally it clicks.
“The Ring.”
She claps her hands. “Good! Okay, one more.”
She stands by the window and motions as though she’s ripping her clothes off. She stares at the moon and bellows in silence as though she’s howling, her puckered lips pointing toward the moon as her head tilts backward.
Smiling at her act, I say, “An American Werewolf in London.”
She shrugs. “I was going for Teen Wolf but that works too. You’re pretty good at this. Are you like some charades champion?”
“I used to play all the time with my aunt and uncle. It’s one of my favorite things to do. Sometimes the categories get so outrageous it becomes a hysterical mess of just nonsense.”
She sits back down in the chair. “You know, you’ve never mentioned your parents. Did your aunt and uncle raise you?”
Her question strikes a chord and old wounds start to surface. I wince at her curiosity and she notices my reaction.
Feeling a range of emotions I’m not prepared to deal with right now, I push the button to lower the bed and tell her I’m starting to get tired. She heeds my innuendo and dims the light in the room.
Before she exits, she gazes at me and wishes me a good night.
Melanie
I DON’T EXACTLY know when it happened, but lately I’ve noticed a difference in Roman’s demeanor toward me. He’s calm and not as loud or as cold as he used to be. There seems to be something warm and humble about him now. I can’t exactly pinpoint it, but I have definitely seen a change in him.
As I sit at the nurses station, Dr. Ferguson calls me over to assist him with Roman’s daily exams. I follow him into the room and give Roman a soft smile as I enter. Dr. Ferguson directs me to hold his head steady as he twists his body from left to right. He then assesses his burns and asks Roman his threshold of pain; thankfully, it’s down to a three. In the past week, his pain has dropped each day, and we are confident that he should be fully healed in about two more weeks.
Within a few minutes, the exam is finished and we exit the room. I update Roman’s chart on the computer just as Amanda walks by.
“So, what’s going on with you and Roman?”
Confused, I ask, “What do you mean?”
She hisses, “Don’t act dumb. You know exactly what I mean.”
I shake my head and turn back to the computer screen. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t think that I didn’t see you sneaking into his room on Thanksgiving. What were you guys doing?”
“Nothing, we were just talking.”
She is clearly suspicious and trying to get me to say more. “You sure?”
I insist, “Yes, we talked and I left. I was only there for a short while.”
Her eyes check me up and down, scanning for some indication that I might be lying. “Hmm. I’ll leave this alone for now, but don’t think I’m not watching you two.”
I call out to her as she stalks off, “There’s nothing to watch because there’s nothing going on!”
******
The cab pulls up to the curb and parks as I pay the driver his fee. I step out and into the apartment building. After climbing three flights of stairs I come upon apartment 3B and knock, waiting for its resident to let me in.
The door swings open and Gia greets me with a smile. “Wassup girl! Come in.”
I hug her as I step inside and look around her new place. “Wow, this place is huge! How the hell did you find this place?”
She locks the door behind me and offers to take my coat. “Brad knows a guy and he hooked me up.”
Spinning around to face her my jaw drops. “Wait, you guys didn’t move in together did you?”
“Hell no! You know I ain’t ready for that.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Oh thank god. I was about to say…”
“Please. I’m not that stupid. We just started dating a month ago. Come on, let me give you the tour.”
She shows off her two-bedroom apartment and I’m jealous. The apartment is located in the heart of the East Village in a cute little brownstone. It’s an older building, but that gives it its character. We first walk into the living room, which has crown molding trimming its walls and light fixtures that look to be a century old. Hardwood floors span across the entire apartment, the high-coated gloss reflecting the light and making the floor shine.
The kitchen is a little tiny for my taste but it has modern stainless steel appliances and a working dishwasher. Damn, I want one of those. The marble countertops shine as the recessed lighting in the kitchen sets a calm mood. The view from the kitchen is incredible. Peering out, my eyes see the entire neighborhood below and just a couple blocks away is the magnificent Brooklyn Bridge. “This view is insane!”
“I know! Tell me about it,” she agrees as she continues the tour.
We chat for about an hour or so, filling each other in on what’s been happening at work.
She passes me a soda. “So Easton’s been asking about you.”
“What, why now? All of a sudden?”
“I don’t know. I just ignore him. He’s a dick. The other day, I overheard him telling one of the other physicians that he’s trying to grow a beard, so I quickly chimed in that he needs to eat more pussy.”
The soda I had just sipped spews out of my mouth. Gia bursts into laughter. I scoff. “You did not say that in front of other people.”
“Damn right I did. He’s a tool.”
I move to clean up my mess. “What am I going to do with you?”
She smacks my ass as I stand up to get a towel. “You love this bitch. Don’t deny it.”
I call back to her from the kitchen, “Yeah, you’re right.”
Once I’m all cleaned up, I return to the living room and continue our conversation. I tell her about Roman’s new attitude toward me and she hints that he might have ulterior motives, but I shoot her down real quick. She continues to nag about it but finally gets the hint.
“So, there’s this Venezuelan place that I’ve been dying to go to. Wanna go?”
“Sure, how far is it?”
She stands up to get my coat and hands it to me. “Not far, about a five minute walk.”
“Okay, let me pee first.”
Seven minutes later, we arrive at the restaurant. It’s a little hole in the wall, but sometimes those are the best kind. It’s much smaller than the Greek restaurant she took me to, but this place has way more customers. Right when we walk in, the aroma of spicy food hits my nostrils, causing my stomach to roll in tumbles.
We grab a seat at the first empty table we find and within seconds the waitress comes over to take our drink orders. Looking over the menu, I can’t even decide where to begin. Everything sounds so good, so I take a quick peek at another table’s food to check out what they ordered. It smells likes heaven but looks as though it would tear up my stomach and I wouldn’t want to have an emergency during my ride home on the subway.
I take a look at Gia as she scans her menu. “What are you getting?”
“I’m actually going to order one of the arepas. The grilled chorizo with spicy cheese, jalapenos, and sautéed peepers sounds delicious. It better be good. What are you getting?”
“Eh, I don’t know yet.”
“Well, hurry up cause the waitress is coming over.”
I look back at my menu. “Order first while I decide.”
After Gia orders, the waitress glances at me. “And you miss?”
Making a rushed decision, I spit out the order. “I’ll have the Pabellón Criollo.”
She takes our menus and stalks off. Gia passes me the bread that the waitress dropped off. “What the hell did you order?”
“It’s nothing fancy, just some rice, beans, and shredded beef.”
“Oh, sounds delish.”
After we finish our meals, we take a little stroll through the neighborhood, looking at all the eclectic stores and soaking up the East Village’s vibrant culture. I decide to do a little Christmas shopping and end up spending more than planned, but that’s all right.
Little Moments Page 14
