Chapter 2
They left the observation deck and walked beyond the front desks and past the family room, crowded with a handful of exhausted parents grabbing dinner provided by a church group. He held the door to the Pediatric Oncology Unit open and Erin wandered into the main hospital hallway without a mask for the first time in months. Oh, well, wasn't like she could catch her death twice.
Directly in front of them was a long hall with one side full of floor-to-ceiling windows. Looking down was a back-alley type area of the hospital, but straight ahead, on a rising hill at distance of 20 blocks or so, sat the most beautiful church she’d ever seen.
He paused beside her and soaked it in. "What a view."
Erin smiled at the awe in his tone. She felt the same every time she saw the tall, pointed spires and stained glass windows. Lit from the base, it was a glorious visual of an old gothic cathedral. "That's St. John's Cathedral. There's an even better view upstairs."
"That's hard to imagine."
It really was hard to imagine. The gothic architecture of the old building was visually arresting from every angle. It might seem intimidating at first, all that gray stone, but mostly the church gave her a sense of steadfastness and hope. Like it could withstand anything and so could she.
She turned her gaze to study the guy beside her. Taller than her and either the same age or a little younger. Lines of wisdom beginning in his brow and on the sides of his mouth when he smiled. He had to be a patient, she just got that kind of vibe from him. "Have you been in Spokane long, new guy?"
He laughed. "Is that your smooth way of asking my name?"
She shook her head at herself and smiled at the floor. "That's me, Erin Kowalski, Miss Smooth."
He started wandering opposite the windows, checking out the large picture boxes set in the wall. Ghostly pirate ships filled with bejeweled, shiny plunder lay inside. "Davis Mathers, and yes, I am new. Just arrived today."
"So everything is bright and shiny, then."
"More like crazy new. Complex, but a lot better than I feared."
She nodded in understanding. Living in a hospital was not an easy thing to do. They reached the end of the hallway and stood in front of out-patient pediatric oncology. It was dark and closed down for the evening. They settled on the cushy sailboat-shaped waiting bench. "How long will you be here?"
Davis smiled at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "I'm not sure yet. It kinda depends."
Erin grinned, holding her fists against the bench and straightening her arms. "Only in a hospital does an answer like that make sense."
"Yeah, I bet it can get pretty bad here." His gaze searched her face.
She rushed to assure him. "Not really. I mean, it's not always the best. Spinal taps are the stuff of nightmares, but the rest is pretty standard. MRIs, needles, blood infusions, vomiting…"
His eyebrows drew together as he shuddered.
She wasn't helping alleviate his fears, was she? Erin gave him a sheepish grin. "But that's the disease and those are the tests. The people are what keep it from haunting you every night when you go to sleep. Smiling faces. Kindness." She indicated the bench. "The decorative themes that give your mind something fun to focus on."
Davis nodded at the bench. "They are fun, aren't they?"
"Oh, you haven't seen anything, yet." Erin grabbed his hand and static electricity zapped her. She laughed and pulled him up. "You've gotta see the fish hallway."
His forehead twisted until he managed to look both amused and skeptical. "The what?"
Erin led him back down the windowed hallway and past the doors to in-patient pediatric oncology, where she had people waiting to tell her goodbye. Immediately sobering, her steps slowed.
She should probably leave him to explore on his own and go back to her room. Her mother would panic when she noticed Erin had gone. Her family was stressed and overwhelmed. It was irresponsible of her to disappear on them like this.
But as she looked to her side, saw Davis' charming grin and realized they were still holding hands, she just couldn't let go. One more memory. One moment of excitement. One feeling that her life had been leading to one specific moment. Was that too much to ask for?
Several kids exited the doorway in front of them, the handicap access button holding the doors open for them all as their parents led them to the elevators. Princesses, knights, monsters and witches filed inside the roomy elevators, chatting and laughing. Erin grinned and walked through the open doorway in front of them.
"This is the fish hallway." Smiling, she watched him take in the ocean of blue under his feet and the dangling laminated fish hanging above his head. Each one bore a caption and a name. The walls were windows, looking down on the hospital from the skywalk.
It was a space for childish delight. Even her parents weren’t immune to the charm. Whether waiting for her to emerge from surgery or just crossing through the building for tests, passing through this area was like a blanket of peace settling over them, encouraging smiles.
Davis looked her way, his eyes lighting up. "What are the fish for?"
"Donations made."
He nodded. "I love the theme."
"Me, too. It's carried all the way through to the main peds unit. Kinda soothing." It certainly had been to her every time she'd needed it. So much could be ignored, if not forgotten, in the right surroundings. Like the fact that it really was time to leave him. "I really should get back…"
Erin trailed off, looking toward the doors they'd entered.
Davis faced her and held both her hands in his, the strength of his hands wrapping around hers causing her nerves to hum attractively. "Are you sure? Anything I can do to persuade you to stay with me for just a little while longer?"
Promise me forever? Yeah, like that could happen. They'd just met, knew practically nothing about each other and that thought occurred to her? Well, of course it would. It wasn't about him. It was about living long enough for some of her dreams to come true. Erin grimaced. It was time to say goodbye.
The doors at the opposite end of the hallway sprang open and another group of children ran through, pulling bewildered parents after them. Screaming, pale and appearing genuinely terrified, the children passed Erin and she stumbled back into the handrail along the skywalk, narrowly avoiding getting run over. "What on earth?"
Then the menacing object of their fear appeared. Taller than anyone she knew, a wraith with a billowing black cloak Voldemort would envy and a black face more twisted than a Scream mask, flowed toward them. Charcoal wisps of smoke extended in tendrils around him, inspiring fear and dread that trickled ice through her veins.
Erin stared in awe. "That is the most amazing costume I have ever seen."
Davis tugged on her hand. "Costume. Right. Let's go."
Her brows drew together as he pulled her through the other doors, still open from the children. As were the elevator doors they slid through just before they closed. "Do wraiths scare you?"
Davis met her gaze, took a deep breath to speak, then froze. Several thoughts seeming to cross his mind before he said, "These do."
Death Is Becoming Page 2