Wrong in Love

by March, Aisling

  “Hello!” he said, letting her pull him around the corner. “Glad to see me?”

  “You can’t go up there,” she said.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” he smiled.

  “I’m serious.”

  “Why not?”

  “That nurse told Will that my boyfriend was here yesterday. If she sees you up there and says something, Will is going realize you’re not my boyfriend from Florida. Then he’ll want to know the truth.”

  “I see. So what do you suggest I do?”

  “Wait until your friends leave. Then you can come up as my boyfriend,” she said. “I can’t even believe I just said those words. I’m disgusted with myself.”

  “Won’t my coworkers wonder what happened to me? What if they say something?” he asked.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” she sighed. “I’ll try to get to them first.”

  She left Colin standing in the lobby and dashed toward the elevators. She pushed the up button hard, repeatedly.

  “That won’t make it come any faster,” said Colin, coming up behind her.

  “Go make a phone call or something,” she said, crossing her arms.

  The elevator dinged, signaling its arrival, and Anna quickly got on, shoving at the “Close Door” button. Colin watched her from the other side, a smirk on his face. She rubbed at her temples. She could feel a headache coming on.

  She had a solid thirty seconds to come up with a plan as the elevator made its way to Jocelyn’s floor. She hoped to get to Jocelyn’s coworkers before they got to her room. She would casually mention that Colin was making a phone call and would be upstairs shortly. Hopefully they would forget about him until they were downstairs.

  The elevator doors opened and Anna took off, hurrying in the direction of Jocelyn’s room. She’d counted on the group getting stalled at the Nurse’s Station, but they weren’t there.

  “Dammit,” she said. Her heart sank when she saw them standing around Jocelyn’s bed. Now she wouldn’t be able to tell them that Colin wouldn’t be up. She’d have to hope for the best.

  “So they don’t know when she’ll wake up?” one of the men asked. Anna squeezed around the group and went to sit on the windowsill.

  “No,” said Will. He had stepped away from Jocelyn’s bed to let her coworkers in, but he still hovered nearby.

  “Poor Jocelyn. See, Tim, I told you she wouldn’t look like Sleeping Beauty,” a tart bleached blonde said to the man.

  “Jeez, Sophie, that’s hardly appropriate right now,” said Tim.

  Sophie. Anna had heard about Sophie’s jealousy and was glad that Will was nearby, lest the horrid girl decided to pull the plug.

  “I’m Eleanor, I’m the HR manager. Jocelyn and I worked very closely together – we do work closely together. I’m leaving her desk exactly how it was so she can come back to it,” said the older woman. Anna could see her eyes dampen, and she knew Jocelyn must have made a positive impression on everyone in the office. Well, everyone except Sophie, of course.

  “She’d appreciate that,” said Will.

  The group stayed just twenty minutes before getting ready to leave.

  “What happened to O’Neil?” asked the first guy.

  “I think he’s downstairs making a phone call,” Anna said quickly, hopping off the windowsill.

  “How do you know Co-” started the older woman, but she was interrupted by a shriek.

  “Sophie, what’s wrong?” exclaimed Eleanor.

  “She moved!” screamed Sophie.

  Jocelyn moved.

  Shouts and tears came as everyone descended upon Jocelyn’s bed.

  CHAPTER 20

  “I’m so sorry, I really thought I saw her move,” said Sophie once the doctors and nurses had left the room.

  “It’s all right, dear. The doctor said that’s common,” said Eleanor.

  “Tell that to her parents,” said Tim.

  Lois was in the corner of the room, crying, being comforted by Edgar. She’d been the most excited when Sophie had shouted that Jocelyn had moved, and she’d been the most distraught as the group realized Sophie was wrong.

  “We should go,” said Eleanor. She put a hand on Sophie’s back and started to lead her from the room. Sophie discreetly looked back at Anna and winked. It didn’t go unnoticed by Tony, who glanced questioningly at Anna.

  So it had been a ploy, a distraction from Tim’s question about Colin. It was a cruel way to save Jocelyn, but Anna supposed it had had to be done.

  After Jocelyn’s coworkers left Edgar said he was taking Lois back to the hotel to rest. Thinking her daughter was waking up had taken a lot out of her, and she needed to rest. Tony went with them, saying he’d be back that evening. Anna stayed in the hospital room, riddled with anxiety at the thought of Colin coming up. Any minute he would walk into Jocelyn’s room, acting like Anna’s boyfriend, when in reality he would be visiting his girlfriend, with his girlfriend’s husband standing just a few feet away. If the truth came out, Will would be furious. And if he knew Anna had a part in it? She couldn’t even imagine his disappointment in her.

  When Colin finally walked into the room, Anna felt her heart stop. It was almost the way it had felt when she’d first started dating Jonathan, but this was different. This was because she was nervous, not because she was attracted to Colin. She straightened up.

  “Hello,” he said with a smile. He strode to where Anna was standing and kissed her on the cheek. Her heart started beating again, more rapidly than usual.

  “Hi hon,” she said, trying to sound casual. “Will, this is my boyfriend, Colin. Colin, this is Jocelyn’s husband, Will.”

  “Will, nice to meet you,” said Colin. His intense green eyes took in Will, comparing himself to the competition. Didn’t Will notice?

  Colin put a hand out for Will to shake.

  “You too. I’m glad that Anna has someone here for support, and you’ve got to be better than the last guy,” said Will.

  “You were friends with the last guy,” pointed out Anna.

  “Everyone makes mistakes,” said Will with a shrug.

  “How is Jocelyn doing?” Colin asked Will.

  “Same. No change. I imagine Anna’s kept you filled in,” he said.

  “Oh, she has, she has,” said Colin. He looked at Jocelyn sadly, longingly, and with a desperation that made Anna uncomfortable.

  “Why don’t you take a walk?” she asked Will.

  Will looked from her to Colin, thinking about it.

  “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to get a coffee. Do either of you want anything?”

  They shook their heads and Will was gone.

  “Did I miss anything when my coworkers were here?” he asked. He went to Jocelyn’s side and took her hand without hesitation.

  “No. Someone asked where you were, but Sophie covered for you.” She waited for his reaction.

  Colin looked up, surprised.

  “She knows, but I thought she’d rat us out as soon as she covered for us. It was nice of her to help us out,” he said.

  “Yeah,” said Anna. She felt awkward watching Colin as he stroked Jocelyn’s face gently, being careful not to touch her bruises.

  “I’ll leave you alone for a few minutes,” said Anna. She stepped out into the hallway and pretended to be checking her voicemail. She didn’t want to stray too far in case Will came back and wondered what Anna’s “boyfriend” was doing alone with Jocelyn.

  A few minutes later Colin came to the doorway.

  “It’s hard to see her like that,” he said.

  “It sure is,” said Anna.

  Will came back then, rounding the corner near the Nurse’s station.

  “Did she wake up?” he asked, a small smile on his face.

  “I wish,” said Anna.

  “Me too,” he said. He led them back into Jocelyn’s room where he took his seat near her head again. He popped open a can of Coke. “So how did you two meet?”

  Anna froze. She hadn’t thought about t
hat. Why hadn’t she? It was only natural that Will would ask about their relationship, especially since before yesterday he’d never heard of Anna’s new boyfriend.

  “We met at a wedding,” said Colin. He put an arm around Anna. “At my best friend’s wedding, to be exact. I was the best man and Anna was the photographer.”

  He smiled at her and Anna was amazed at the ease in which he lied. She supposed she shouldn’t be; he probably lied all the time.

  “Oh yeah? See Anna, and you thought that working Saturday nights would be bad for your social life,” said Will.

  Anna forced a laugh.

  “So what part of Florida are you from?” asked Will.

  It was Colin’s turn to laugh.

  “I moved to West Palm Beach a few years ago. I thought I’d see this “South” I’d heard so much about.

  “I was hoping she’d be awake,” Lois’ voice came from the door. She was carrying a box of takeout, and she looked better than earlier, but still upset.

  “Lois, I didn’t expect you back so soon,” said Will, standing so Lois could take his chair.

  “I couldn’t really rest with her here. What about you, Will? When are you going to go home and sleep?” asked Lois.

  “I’ll leave when Jocelyn leaves with me,” said Will. Anna felt Colin bristle.

  “You must be Anna’s friend,” said Lois, turning to Colin.

  “Yes, I’m Colin,” he said.

  “I’m Lois, Jocelyn’s mother. It’s good of you to come all the way here to be by Anna’s side,” she said.

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said.

  He gave her a hug, and Anna wondered if it felt like he was meeting his future in-laws for the first time.

  “This is Jocelyn’s father, Mr. Mendes, and her brother Tony,” said Anna. Colin stepped forward to shake each of their hands.

  “Call me Edgar. You’ve met Jocelyn’s husband, I assume,” he said.

  “I have.”

  “He’s been here day and night since the accident happened. He won’t leave Jocelyn’s side.”

  Anna saw this made Colin uncomfortable. Perhaps he did have a conscience.

  “Well, we’d better get going,” said Anna. “I don’t want to crowd you.”

  “Oh, you’re always welcome Anna, you never crowd. But it’s good for you to get out. Recharge your battery. Colin, take her to dinner, will you?” asked Lois.

  “It would be my pleasure,” said Colin.

  Anna forced a smile.

  “Okay then,” she said. She gathered her things and followed Colin out of the room and into the hallway.

  “I have no intention of going to dinner with you,” she said, in case that wasn’t obvious.

  “You heard Lois. I’m to take you to dinner,” he said. His accent made it hard to say no, but she did.

  “It’s really not necessary though. There’s a lovely little bistro in my hotel-“

  “That I’m sure you’ve been eating at every night,” said Colin.

  Anna said nothing. It was true, but she didn’t want him to know that. She hit the button on the elevator and as soon as the door opened, stepped in.

  “Come on, let me take you to get something to eat. There’s a great restaurant with every type of food imaginable. It would be impossible to not find something that you liked. Besides, it might do you some good to get a change of scenery, and I’d love to spend time with someone that is as close to Jocelyn as you are,” said Colin, stepping in beside her.

  Anna narrowed her eyes. It would be nice to eat with someone outside of the hospital, and Colin was easy to look at, if short on character. She was just about to agree when the conversation of two women on the elevator interrupted her.

  “Tonya can’t call in sick,” said one.

  “She did,” said the other.

  “Who’s going to photograph the babies? Some of them may not live long enough for her to get better,” said the first one.

  Lord, that sounded tragic. Anna whirled around.

  “I’m a photographer,” she said.

  The two women stared at her.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be listening in, but I am a photographer,” she said.

  The first one blinked back her surprise.

  “Would you mind helping us out for a few hours? We need someone to do newborn portraits for families in the NICU. We have a camera and everything, but no one knows how to use it,” she said.

  “That’s no problem,” said Anna.

  “It isn’t easy; each of the babies is there for a reason, and some won’t make it through the night,” said the second woman, and Anna couldn’t tell if she was warning her or challenging her.

  “I can handle it,” said Anna.

  Colin grabbed her arm.

  “Are you sure? You’re going through an awful lot yourself,” he said.

  She shook him off.

  “It will make me feel better to be doing something productive instead. You can be my assistant,” she said.

  Now it was Colin’s turn to look surprised.

  “Okay,” he said.

  “Great, you two come with me then. I’m Janet, by the way,” said the first woman as the elevator doors opened again. They followed her down the hallway to the NICU, where they had to wash their hands and then put on protective gear. Then Janet handed Anna a camera bag.

  “I have no idea what you do with this thing. Take it from family to family and ask if they’d like you to photograph their baby, free of charge. When you’re done, come back here,” she said.

  “I can handle that,” said Anna. She took the bag and set it down, assembling the camera and equipment. It wasn’t the same kind she used, but it was similar enough that she had it figured out in just a few minutes.

  Anna handed Colin the bag.

  “Ready?” she asked.

  “I guess so,” he said.

  Each baby was in a section of the NICU that was curtained off with a thick blue fabric. Anna walked to the first one and nervously cleared her throat. She was about to intrude on families in distress, over and over again, in an effort to bring them some sort of solace.

  “Hello?” she said in a soft voice. She could hear murmuring behind the curtain, but nobody came to open it.

  “Excuse me?” she said, this time a little bit louder, but still there was no response.

  Colin pushed past her and made a knocking motion on the curtain.

  “Excuse me, hospital photographers here,” he said, louder than she had, his accent making him sound friendly and hopeful.

  A man with a tired face opened the curtain a little and peeked out.

  “Yes?” he said. Anna could see an incubator behind him, a tiny body inside, tubes coming out.

  “Would you like some photographs of your baby, free of charge?” she asked.

  The man turned to look at someone she couldn’t see, then nodded and stepped back to let them in.

  “Sure. Come on in.”

  Inside the curtain, Anna could see just how frail the baby was. She wore a small yellow hat and her skin was pink, so much pinker than most newborns she’d seen.

  “She was born twelve weeks early,” said a woman sitting in a chair nearby, her face even more lined and exhausted than her husband’s, a weak smile on her face. Anna could see she was beautiful, even now in this terrible time, and she tried to imagine them happier, maybe a few months down the road, taking their baby home from the hospital.

  “What’s her name?” asked Anna.

  “Rebecca,” said the mother, and her eyes went to the baby who was punching clenched fists in the air. Anna watched Rebecca and could feel emotions swelling inside of her. It was so unfair that this tiny thing had to go through this, that her parents had to sit helplessly beside her and just wait. She didn’t know what to say.

  “She’s beautiful,” said Colin.

  Anna could have kissed him then for knowing just what to say when she was at a loss. Rebecca’s parents beamed.


  “Thank you. I’m Laura and this is my husband Drew. I can hold her if that would make a better picture,” said the mother.

  “She holds her all day. I just got her to put Rebecca down to get a break,” said Drew lightly.

  “That would be great,” said Anna.

  Laura gently lifted Rebecca out of the incubator, carefully winding tubes and wires safely around the baby’s body. Anna shot everything; the tender look on Laura’s face, the protective stance of Drew behind them, Rebecca’s instinct to fold into her mother. She kept shooting when tears blurred her vision, blinking them away forcefully so she could do a good job. It was all she could do for this family, and she wanted to do it well.

  Colin helped, moving chairs out of the way, adjusting the curtains for light, helping to position the family. Together they took more than fifty photos before Anna felt certain she’d captured a number of good shots.

  “Thank you so much,” said Laura as Anna and Colin packed up to move to the baby.

  “We are so happy to do it,” said Anna.

  Colin nodded.

  “Good luck and congratulations on your beautiful little baby,” said Colin, tickling Rebecca’s foot with a gloved finger. Her parents smiled.

  When they’d stepped back outside the curtain, Anna let the tears fall freely.

  “Oh, oh no, come here, don’t cry,” Colin whispered, pulling her into him. He smelled intoxicating and she let him envelop her, let her head fall against his shoulder. He held her tightly and she wanted to collapse into him, wanted to let him help her out of there and somewhere she could be alone to wallow in her own sadness. “You did a wonderful thing. And there’s more to do.”

  She stood up then and looked at him. His eyes were concerned and as kind as the first day she’d met him.

  “You may not be as bad as I thought,” she said.

  “I know,” he said, giving her an impish grin.

  Anna laughed and shook her head. She wiped the tears out of her eyes.

  “Okay. Onto the next one,” she said.

  CHAPTER 21

  Three hours later they were done and depleted. They’d handed back the equipment and Anna had taken the memory card, promising to edit the photos and get them back within the next few days. They walked out of the hospital together.