Summer Swing

by Delia Delaney

  “Okay, so I won’t make you look at it, and I won’t make you touch clean gauze…” He lifted his arms over my head, still with one attached to the other. “But I will hug you hello, since you’re not opposed to it.”

  With a smile I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him back. My face reached his shoulder and I liked how I fit against his height.

  “It’s very nice to finally meet you,” he said.

  “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

  We released each other and kind of stood there for a moment. I liked the little bit of stubble on his chin, and his deep hazel eyes were much brighter in person.

  “So I think you’re a lot prettier in person,” he actually said.

  He seemed a bit shy about the compliment, but I liked that, and it put me at ease.

  “Thank you. I was actually thinking the same thing about you,” I admitted. “You know, that you’re prettier in person.”

  He grinned. “Cool. I’ll take that.” After a brief pause he said, “I didn’t know you had green eyes, though.”

  “Oh?”

  He shook his head. “I guess pictures don’t do you justice. And you’re actually a little taller than I expected, as well.”

  “Is that a bad thing? I’m not very good at slouching unless I’m on a snowboard.”

  “No, that’s not a bad thing at all,” he chuckled. He put his hand on my head and then brought it straight across to beneath his chin. “Five-nine?”

  With a smile I replied, “Yep.” Since he’d used his bandaged arm to do the measurement, it brought me back to reality. “Oh gosh, we need to get you to the ER.”

  He shrugged. “Oh this little thing? Nah, it might even stitch itself if I wait another hour.”

  I playfully rolled my eyes and he laughed. Then I motioned for him to get in the car. As I started the ignition, he picked up some papers as he sat down.

  “Ten Fears That—”

  I snatched them out of his hands and could feel my face burn with embarrassment.

  “Wait, ten fears that what?” he asked with a smile. “Did it say ‘ruin’? Ruin what?”

  “It’s nothing,” I told him, stuffing the printout between my door and my seat.

  “Ten fears that ruin what?” he asked again.

  “It’s just something from work.”

  “Well I want to know what you’re working on.”

  “It’s not something that I’m working on; it’s just something that someone else, uh, was working on and gave to me to look over.” I guess that was the truth.

  “Hmm, well can I read it? I’m up for learning anything about fear and ruining things.”

  I laughed as I pulled out of the driveway. “So how’d you hurt yourself?” I asked, changing the subject.

  He slightly smiled, knowing that I was totally detracting from the article he wanted to read. “Uh, well, I was carrying in a box from my truck, and had my bat bag on my shoulder. Wyatt has this mirror on the wall with these metal design things on it…”

  I nodded my awareness of it. “So his ‘metal art’ got you?”

  “Well first my bag caught the corner of the mirror and tore it off the wall. On it’s way down to break into six pieces, it tore my arm open.”

  I cringed, but I tried not to let him see how truly disgusting that was to me.

  “His ‘metal art,’ huh?” Gage continued. “Sounds like something I’m gonna have to replace?”

  “I have no idea,” I chuckled. “My sister actually got that for him.”

  “Uh-oh.”

  “She complained that he didn’t have any mirrors in the house besides the little one in the bathroom. Wyatt told her that mirrors were girly, so Dawn got him that one to prove they could actually be ‘manly.’ ”

  “Yep, that manly thing did some serious damage.”

  I glanced across the car to his arm. “So did you really see bone? Wait, don’t answer that. Okay, so did you?”

  He smiled at me and then slightly nodded his head. “Yeah, it’s pretty deep.” We were both quiet for a few seconds until he said, “I feel a little underdressed.” He looked over the gray slacks and button-up blouse I was wearing, and then looked down at his own attire, which consisted of jeans and a t-shirt.

  “Oh, I haven’t even changed from work yet,” I explained. “I was just heading home when you called. Normally I’d be in jeans too. But the blood on your pants is probably overdoing the casualness of the look.”

  He laughed and looked down at the left side of his jeans. “I didn’t have a chance to change, either. When you’re bleeding to death your pants are the last thing on your mind.”

  “So you really were bleeding to death, huh?” I smirked.

  “Possibly. I kind of feel a little light-headed. Is that a bad sign?”

  “Yes,” I said emphatically, looking him over.

  “What if I’m not sure it’s just your presence that’s making me dizzy? How do I tell the difference?”

  I slowly smiled as I directed the car to the emergency entrance. “I don’t know. I guess you’ll have to get this arm thing taken care of first, and then you’ll have a chance to figure it out later.” I stopped the car at the sliding doors.

  “Good, I have something to live for,” he said as he got out of the car.

  Chapter Three

  I quickly found a parking space (well, as quickly as it took to find a space at the very far end of the parking lot) and made my way into the emergency room. Gage was filling out paperwork when I spotted him on the opposite side of the room.

  “First things first,” he said as I sat down beside him.

  “Are you feeling okay?” I asked. “You really don’t look so hot.”

  “I go from ‘pretty’ to ‘not-so-hot’ in a matter of minutes?”

  “Gage, do you feel okay?”

  “Uh, no not really…”

  I made him stand up with me and took the clipboard from him and his insurance card. I walked him up to the front desk and said, “He really needs to be taken care of.”

  The woman stationed there barely looked up at me. “He can wait in line like the rest of ‘em, honey.”

  I took a slow breath to keep myself composed. “Blood takes priority the last time I checked, and he’s gonna pass out if he doesn’t lie down. And don’t call me ‘honey’,” I added.

  She finally looked up at me. “Is the paperwork even completed?” she asked smugly.

  I glanced at the form in my hand and began adding a few things to finish it up. All it needed was the date and a description of how the injury occurred. “Sign,” I told Gage. He did what I asked and I set the clipboard on the counter. “All done,” I told her.

  She slowly took the forms and glanced them over. “You forgot to circle where the injury is,” she smiled, pointing to a diagram of a body on the paper and handing it back to me.

  “You know, if this were my parents’ hospital, we’d be treated a lot friendlier than this,” I told her, circling the dang left forearm of the diagram. “People there are treated as guests, not nuisances. Maybe I should just let him pass out on the floor and he can bleed all over the place.”

  She looked a little bit apologetic, but I decided that wasn’t good enough. I actually took a wad of the gauze off of Gage’s arm to prove a point, and I probably shouldn’t have. All I wanted to do was show her how much blood there was—I could already see that it was starting to soak through—but the blood soaked section came off too, and I got a good look at the massive gory mess.

  “Oh, gosh,” I said, trying not to fully react like I wanted to.

  “Now you’re going to make her pass out,” Gage told the receptionist as he re-covered his arm. “And then you’ll have an extra patient.”

  “Come on,” the woman motioned. I couldn’t tell if she was just as grossed out as I was, or if she was just sick of us, but his arm definitely needed attention and she led us to a room right away. She left us without even saying anything further, but I was kind of
glad because I just sat down in a chair and put my head between my knees.

  “Sorry about that,” Gage told me.

  As I was still upside down I pointed to the bed and said, “You lie down.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  I could hear him sit down and then he asked, “Are you okay, Ellie?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just trying to think of as many creative adjectives as I can to describe your arm right now. It will add a nice touch to my diary.”

  He laughed, and he was lying back on the bed when I finally sat up.

  “Actually I’m trying not to think about it at all, because if I do, I’m either going to throw up or pass out. I’m not sure which would be more impressive to you.”

  “Hmm, what if you throw up and then pass out?”

  I scoffed. “Gee, you’re helpful—”

  “Happy Saturday evening,” a British accent greeted us. A very nice-looking doctor smiled at us as he put on a set of sterile gloves, and then made his way to Gage’s arm.

  “I’m Dr. Farrell—”

  “Oh gosh,” I said, knowing he was going to take the gauze off.

  I turned my body away from them just as I heard, “Oh, nice. How’d you manage that one?”

  Just hearing Gage use the word “rip” when he was referring to his flesh made my stomach churn. I tried not to listen to his explanation of the injury, so I plugged my ears for the rest of it. After a few seconds someone touched my shoulder, and both the doctor and Gage were staring at me.

  “Ellie, you don’t have to stay in here,” Gage told me. “Why don’t you just wait out there?”

  “Okay,” I replied right away. I felt bad as I stood to leave, but I was sure I would pass out if I stayed.

  “He’ll be just fine,” Dr. Farrell smiled. “Just give him a kiss for bravery and he’ll be good to go.”

  I paused where I was, wondering if it would be rude to just leave without responding.

  “I don’t think she’s tough enough to come near my arm,” Gage said. He gave me a quirky smile and winked at me.

  “Oh, to wish a loved one comfort before he suffers through two layers of stitching?” the doctor smiled. “I’m sure she can muster something up.” He moved himself to the counter to prepare his tools and that was enough for me.

  “You know where to find me,” was all I could “muster up” as I left the room.

  I’m not even sure how long I was out there waiting, but I at least got in a thirty-minute phone conversation with my sister. She had called and just wanted to know if I’d met up with Gage yet, so I quietly sat in the corner of the waiting room and went over the details of our first date.

  “I’m sorry, Ells,” she said for the third time. “But at least you guys have something to remember the day by, huh? I wish you would have come further north; it’s kind of dull at my hospital tonight.”

  “Find out who this witchy lady is at the reception desk. She’s been giving me the evil eye all night.”

  “Can she hear your phone conversation?” Dawn chuckled. “You know how annoying that is.”

  “Oh, I know. People don’t know how to have quiet conversations in public. But no, she can’t hear me. I’m too far away from everyone, near the elevators.”

  “So what was her name again?”

  “I think it was Linda.”

  “I wonder if she’s the same Linda that used to work here a year ago. She used to be on the maternity floor, but too many people complained about her. I know that Linda works at a different hospital now. Describe her.”

  “Uh, plump, reddish-brown hair—”

  “Bright pink lipstick?”

  I laughed softly. “Yeah.”

  “Yep, that’s her. If you’d had chocolate she might have let you guys go right in.”

  “Sheesh, what is it with you women and chocolate?”

  Dawn laughed. “What is it with you not liking chocolate?”

  I shrugged to myself. “I don’t know.”

  “So what do you think about Gage? I don’t want to pry if you don’t want to talk about it, but I just thought I’d ask…”

  “Even though the evening hasn’t exactly been ideal, I do really like him, Dawn. He’s just… I don’t know. There’s something about him that I just really like. I don’t know what that is exactly. Maybe it’s because he’s easy to talk to. Oh gosh, and he’s got the cutest dimple on his cheek,” I found myself saying. It kind of surprised me because I sounded so immature. Wow, I sounded like my sister.

  “Ooh, I know,” she agreed, and I could tell she was practically squealing with excitement that I was divulging such information. “What do you think about the rest of him? Physically I mean.”

  I thought for just a second. “Well, he’s in great shape. I could tell that just by hugging him—”

  “You already hugged him—?”

  “And even though I was trying not to look at his injury, I couldn’t help but notice his hands and arms. Very nice. And his smile—”

  I looked up when I noticed someone stop right in front of me.

  “What about his smile?” Dawn asked eagerly.

  “Uh…it’s right in front of me,” I murmured. “Gotta go.”

  I hung up the phone as Gage dropped into the seat next to me.

  “You’re not able to go yet?” I asked him.

  “Nope. Doc wants to talk to you first. He’ll be out in a minute.”

  “Why does he need to talk to me?”

  “Oh, he realized he had a chance with you when you wouldn’t kiss me.”

  I eyed him carefully to see if he was joking, but he didn’t seem to be.

  “Well did you tell him I’m not interested?”

  “Was I supposed to?”

  “Uh, yeah,” I replied, as if to say “duh.”

  “Oh. Well here he comes now. Do you want me to tell him you changed your mind about kissing me?”

  I chuckled uncomfortably. “Is that the only thing that will resolve this?”

  “Yeah, probably.”

  He had a funny look to him and I got a sneaking suspicion. I moved closer to him and put my hand against his neck so I could look into his eyes. “Gage?”

  “Yeah?” he replied softly.

  “Are you medicated right now?”

  He was still for a second and then he lightly laughed, and that’s when Dr. Farrell appeared in front of us. Out of pure insecurity I looped my arm through Gage’s good arm when we stood.

  The doctor cleared his throat slightly. “Eh, it’s Ellie, correct?” he asked me specifically.

  My heart got nervous for a moment, unsure if Gage had just been pulling my leg or not. For extra measure, I decided to hold Gage’s hand when I nodded.

  “I put about thirty stitches in him—ten on the inside, twenty-some on top—so he’s going to be pretty sore for a while. Especially with that tetanus shot in his other shoulder. He is on some pain medication at the moment, so don’t let him make any life-altering decisions right now,” he smiled. “Other than that, here’s a prescription for the pain, and try not to let him do too much with that arm for a while until it starts to heal.” He handed me the paper for the prescription and added, “The stitches can be removed in seven to ten days. The ones inside will dissolve of course, but the ones on top will need to come out. So…do you have any questions?”

  I did, but I wasn’t sure if I could remember what they were. His accent was swirling around in my head and I didn’t like how he was looking at me. Gage had made me paranoid. “Uh, he can play baseball, right? He starts a summer league thing next week.”

  “Yes, we talked about that. His forearm might be sore for a while, but it shouldn’t interfere with his ability to play. Since the laceration was so extensive, he most likely will have some nerve damage along the surface of the skin. That’s completely normal. But in the long run, everything else should be okay.”

  He asked if we had any more questions, and since I couldn’t think of any, he said departing words
and left. I looked at Gage to see if he was ready to go, and he had a funny look on his face.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked.

  He seemed puzzled for a moment, and then lifted my hand that was still holding his. “That’s all it took?”

  “That’s all what took?”

  “To deter him from asking you out?”

  I scoffed. “Oh jeez, he was not going to ask me out.”

  “Yes, he totally was,” he chuckled. He began leading me to the exit when he added, “I couldn’t really lie to him when he asked if you were my girlfriend. ‘Maybe’ sounded a little weird. I wanted to lie, but it didn’t seem right, so when I explained that this was supposed to be our first date, he thought that was kind of funny. He told me he was going to ask you out in case you and I didn’t mesh.”

  “No, he did not,” I laughed. “That’s kind of rude, isn’t it? Telling a guy he’s going to ask out his date just in case she wants another option?”

  Gage chuckled. “Rude? Maybe it’s just a guy thing. He didn’t think you were that into me, so he was betting he had a chance. But he was doing the handiwork on my arm, so I wasn’t going to argue with him.”

  “You are so full of it,” I told him. “You’re just fishing for compliments. You just want me to disagree and admit that I really am into you. Nice play Gage, but it’s unoriginal.”

  “Unoriginal? You think I’m making that up?”

  “Yes, I do. I can’t imagine someone being that bold and saying something like that. Especially when he’s probably ten years older than me.”

  “You really can’t believe that? Guys really are that arrogant, Ellie, especially good-looking ER doctors from England that think the world of themselves.”

  I stopped us where we were on the sidewalk and faced him. I was still holding his hand, and I was rather enjoying it. But with a smile I asked, “So if I went back in there and asked him if that’s what he said…you wouldn’t have a problem with that?”

  He shrugged. “No, if that’s what you want to do. But he might think you’re coming back for him and get the wrong idea.”

  I kind of laughed, thinking that was just his way of keeping me from calling him on his bluff.

  “I dare you,” he added. “Go in there, tell him what I told you, and ask him if it’s true.”