by Kayt Miller
“I know why she’s here, Trish. I overheard some people talking. Bill wants her back.” He steps closer to me forcing me to move back toward the wall. He’s standing so close I can feel his breath on my face. “But, you aren’t coming back Roni.”
“I’m not?”
“No you fat, bitch!” shouts Trisha.
What is the deal with that chick? I ignore her because I swear Chris is even closer.
“You aren’t coming back because if you do, I’ll make your life a living hell. You’ll wish you were dead.”
Jesus. I’d wish I were dead? I stutter, “Are…are you threatening me?”
“It’s not a threat, fatty, it’s a promise.”
At that exact moment the elevator dings it’s arrival on the lobby floor, and the doors slide open. Chris and Trisha walk out like nothing happened. I, on the other hand, am shaking like a leaf. Now I know for sure they were the ones who left those nasty messages on my machine. They are crazy and unpredictable, and I just don’t need that right now.
I step off the elevator and quickly walk out the front door. I don’t look at anyone. I don’t wave goodbye. I don’t speak as I make my way out to the sidewalk. Before I can give it more thought, I grab my phone and dial Bill’s private number.
“Did you decide already?” he asks optimistically.
“I can’t do it. I can’t work in that environment. It’s too…” dangerous.
“What happened? You just left. What happened between my office and now?”
I hesitate. I won’t tell him about Chris and Trisha in the elevator. I can’t. I’m not afraid of Chris Smith, not really. I just don’t want to be that person. I’d feel weak. “It’s nothing. I just can’t do it. Thank you for the offer. I appreciate it, Bill. Have a good day.” I click the phone off and walk away from the building in my neighborhood. It’s too far to walk, but I want time to think and need the fresh air to get perspective on my disaster of a life.
Ah hell, I could be pregnant.
Chapter 45: Mick
I wake up slowly. I seem to be sleeping my life away. The last thing I remember is a nurse putting something into my I.V. I think it was pain medication. My eyes are still closed because I know there’s too much light in my room. I can sense it. Once the fog lifts, I hear voices. It’s my mom and Emily, and I hear three words I never want to hear again.
“Lauren was here?” I ask mom and Emily.
Emily nods and speaks first, “Jen called her. Apparently, you said her name to Roni, so Roni assumed you wanted to see Lauren. She saw Jen out in the waiting area and told her what you’d said. Jen told Roni she should leave because she ‘wasn’t family.'”
I scoff then wince in pain, “Jen’s not family.”
“I know,” adds my mom. “Not anymore.”
“So, Roni left?”
“Of course she did, sweetheart. She was upset. I don’t blame her one bit,” mom says looking directly at my sister.
“I know, mom. Jeez. I feel terrible that I gave Roni such a hard time. I didn’t know,” admits Emily.
“Okay, I’m confused. What are you talking about? Why did you give Roni a hard time, Em?”
She explains how she was upset with Roni for leaving and for not answering her phone or text messages. She thought Roni was bailing on me. “How is it she was the one who stayed with me last night?”
“After she heard Emily’s lovely messages, she came right over. I was the only one here, and I felt she should be the one you’d want to see if you woke up.”
I nod. I was glad to see her, that’s for sure. I close my eyes trying to concentrate on the conversation and not on the pain in my body and head.
I feel my mom’s gentle touch on my arm, “Sweetheart, do you need something for pain?”
“It doesn’t work. Every time I wake up, it’s the same.” Emily giggles. “What’s so funny?” I ask sounding irritated. Pain makes me cranky.
“Dude. You’re hilarious when you’re on morphine. You don’t remember?”
“No,” I remember it going into the I.V., but that’s it. “Why? What happened?” Mom was laughing right along with Emily.
“Oh, honey. You can’t help it. It just made you say some hilarious things,” mom is sugar coating. I can tell.
“Tell me,” I growl then regret it. It hurt.
“Let me tell him, mom.” Emily sits on the edge of my bed and begins to recount all of the crazy things that came out of my mouth when I was on the pain meds. Evidently, I told everyone I loved them. I named every nurse ‘Betty.' I talked about Roni and how much I loved her and I rambled about the baby and flying pixies.
Flying Pixies?
When Emily said the last part, I looked at my mom. She nodded her head. “Mom?”
“Emily explained the situation. Don’t worry I won’t spill the beans. I’ll wait until you talk to Roni first.”
“Roni doesn’t know,” I say to myself. “I didn’t tell Roni, did I?” I’d hate for her to learn about the condom situation like this.
“Who knows, dude. You were on morphine last night too so you may have said a bunch of shit.”
“When she left, I got the feeling she wasn’t coming back. What did I say to her?” I know it was mostly about the hot doctor but I need to be sure.
Mom and Emily look at me sadly. “We don’t know. We could ask your nurse. Is she still here?”
It’s late in the afternoon. I wouldn’t think she’d still be here, but I’m not sure. “I don’t know.”
Emily hops off the bed and makes her way out the door. In minutes, she returns with Betty. “Hi, Betty.”
She cackles at that. “Sweetie, I’m Gladys.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“No problem. Your sister said you had a question. What did you want to ask me?”
“Were you in here last night when I was under the influence of pain meds?”
Gladys smiles, “Yes, darlin’. I witnessed that train wreck.” She cackles again.
“Did. Um. Did I say anything to the girl that was in the room?”
“Oh, sugar. You said a lot. I think you shocked her a little bit.”
“Please. Tell me what I said.”
Taking a deep breath, Gladys recounts everything I said about Roni, to Roni and to Gladys, a.k.a. Betty.
“Fuck!” I say and feel the pain race through my tired body.
“I’ll get you some…”
“No! I don't want morphine. Can I get something else?”
“I’ll buzz the doc. I’ll see what he recommends. I’ll be back.”
Gladys leaves, and I stare up at the ceiling. I told Roni I loved her. I called her my girlfriend. I practically told her she was fat but had enormous breasts. But the thing that, I’m sure, got me into hot water with her was the deal with the expired condoms.
“She knows about the condoms,” says Emily like she’s read my mind.
“Yeah, and she knows that I talked to you about them before I spoke to her.”
“Oh, Michael. How could you? What were you thinking? I knew you and Emily are close, but you totally screwed the pooch with Roni now,” says mom. She’s not laughing.
“I know.” I totally screwed the pooch. “She’s not coming back, is she?”
“I wouldn’t,” adds mom. She sounds disgusted with me and she should. I’m disgusted with me. “So, you’d better figure out a way to fix things. Decide what your real feelings are and go from there. Don’t say things you don’t mean or she may never trust you. Trust is the key to a good marriage.”
“Marriage?”
“Yes. Marriage. Good gracious, Michael. When are you going to pull that handsome head out of your bottom? It’s time to be a man and do right by Roni. You love her, and she loves you. What’s so hard to understand about that? Sure, Lauren hurt you but Roni didn’t. She wouldn’t. I could tell that the minute I met her. She’s a keeper. Don’t fuck this up, Michael.”
Emily spits out the drink of water she just poured into her mouth. Mom d
oesn’t cuss. Ever. I’d love to smile and laugh at her for dropping the f-bomb, but this is serious. I can’t fuck this up––again. I’ve done nothing but fuck things up with Roni since the minute I met her. How could she love me? She should hate me. Hell, maybe she does.
Chapter 46: Roni
I walk for five or six blocks in a fog. I should get something to eat, but nothing sounds good right now. I just want to sleep. I raise my hand to hail a cab when my phone rings. “Hello?”
“Roni? It’s Emily Flynn. How are you?”
“Fine.” What does she want? “What can I do for you, Emily?” I stand at the spot near the street. I don't want to deal with a cab while I'm on the phone.
“It’s Mick.”
“What? What happened? Is Mick okay?”
“Well, he’s very upset. Agitated. When are you coming back? You seem to calm him down.”
“I’ll come now.” Hanging up the phone, I raise my arm to catch an available taxi. One does an illegal U-turn in the road and squeals to a stop in front of me. “Get ready for a bumpy ride, Roni,” I grumble to myself. “Northwestern Memorial Hospital please.”
The driver throws the car into gear and hits the gas pedal causing my head to fly back into the rear headrest. Ouch!
When I walk into Mick’s room, it’s filled with his family. Hank and Sophie are there along with Beth and Emily. Sarah Flynn is sitting in the one and only chair in the room and Mick? Well, Mick is happily eating a fruit cup and something resembling pudding. What the ever-loving hell? “Um, Mick? Are you okay?”
He looks up at me and gives me a huge smile. “Babe! You came back!”
“Of course I did. Emily called and told me you were having problems.”
He looks at Emily then at his mom then back at me. Before he has a chance to speak, Sarah jumps in, “Roni, honey, we just wanted you to come back. He’s worried about what he told you last night when he was under the influence.” She leans into me to whisper but no joke, Sarah Flynn cannot whisper. She’s whisper-shouts loud enough for the rest of the patients on this floor too hear. “He wants to talk to you about the condom situation.”
I turn to Mick so fast it makes me dizzy. I grab the foot railing on his bed for support, “Are you kidding me right now, Mick? Your mom knows? Did she know before I did too?” I shout.
By now, every Flynn has my full attention. Mick speaks, “Can you all leave us alone for a minute? Without a word, they all scatter like rats on a sinking ship. “Babe. Let me…”
“No! Let me explain. I do not appreciate your family knowing my business before I do. This conversation should have happened between the two of us. In private. It’s personal. It’s none of their business right now, Mick!” I’m panting now.
“Babe, come on. You need to take it easy…”
“Do not tell me to take it easy, you asshat. How would you feel if I kept something like this from you, but I told everyone else? This is my life we’re talking about. I’m going to have to deal with this on my own if I’m pregnant. I can’t trust you to… to…” I’m lightheaded. I’ve gotten myself so worked up I feel…
Chapter 47: Mick
“Roni?”
“Roni!” Fuck, she’s fainted or passed out. “Mom! Hank!” I shout as I press every single one of the buttons on my bed. I can’t get out of my bed because I’m practically attached to it thanks to my leg. Not to mention my catheter is hooked up somewhere too. I lean over the bed as far as I can and see her eyes. They are closed, and she’s as pale as a ghost.
“Mick? What’s…” mom says as she runs into the room. She looks down and sees Roni on her back at the foot of my bed. “Oh, goodness, what happened?”
Before I can reply, a nurse and an orderly run in. “What happened?” the nurse asks.
“I don’t know. She was talking then she wasn’t. One minute she was standing there, the next she was falling backward onto the floor. I think she fainted. She hit her head.” Fuck. She’s hurt. “Help her, please,” I whine. I feel the burn of tears and wetness on my cheeks. “Help her.”
In less than five minutes, they’ve gotten a gurney into my room, and they’re lifting her onto it. She’s still out. Her head hit the terrazzo floor hard. There was no blood but fuck. “Mom? Can you get someone to get me out of my bed? I need a wheelchair.” I wipe away a stray tear.
“Honey, you can’t be moved.”
“Mom, help me get out of this bed! I need to go with her.”
Nodding, Sarah Flynn marches out into the corridor. I know she’ll get it done because she’s, well, Sarah Flynn. Sure enough, an orderly, a nurse, and a doctor all walk in. Yeah, that sounds like the beginning of a bad joke.
“This isn’t a good idea,” says the doctor on duty.
“I need to go with her. She could be pregnant with my kid. I need to know she’s okay.”
Without words, they lower the side rails on my bed, grab my catheter bag, and pull the only remaining I.V. bag filled with antibiotics out from behind my bed. It hangs on a little hook at the back of my chair. Next, I’m lifted out of bed and placed in a chair that props up my leg. I’m not gonna lie, getting moved into the chair hurt like hell, but it’s worth it if I can be with Roni.
The orderly wheels me out of the room and down the hall. “Where did they take her?”
“The ER.”
I remain silent on the trip back downstairs. Hank follows close behind with his phone up to his ear. We’re ushered into the internal waiting area hoping to get the word that she’s all right.
“Her parents are on their way.”
“You called them? How did you…”
“We exchanged numbers when you had your accident. I thought they should know.”
I agree. They should know.
Chapter 48: Roni
I wake up feeling like I’m on some sort of amusement park ride––and not a good one. Whatever I’m riding on is rolling down a long hallway weaving in and around people and furniture. Nausea hits me like a ton of bricks. I turn to my side ready to vomit, but nothing comes out. Dry heaves are worse than anything. I heave and choke attempting to get whatever evil is in my stomach out.
A woman I’ve never seen before places a kidney shaped bowl under my mouth. I plant my face into the bowl and heave several more times. Bile is the only thing that comes out, but the bitter, sour taste is enough to make me sick again.
Feeling like I can’t get sick again, I lay back on the gurney. I’ve been rushed into the emergency room. I concentrate on figuring out what happened to get me in here. I close my eyes and think. I remember the cab ride to the hospital. The Flynn family was in Mick’s room. His smiling face and then it hit me. I was yelling at him. I was furious.
I can’t seem to muster up the anger right now. I know it’ll return eventually. The thought that every Flynn knows about the condoms is so embarrassing. “God, Mick. You’re such a tool.” I murmur.
Surprisingly, a doctor enters my curtained off area in only minutes. “So, Ms. McGonigall, is it?”
“Yeah.”
He brings his hand up to me like he wants to shake. I lift my arm to him, “I’m Dr. Franklin. It’s nice to meet you. I understand you took a little fall upstairs.”
“I, um, don’t remember. I was talking and then nothing.”
“A witness believes you fainted. Is there a chance you’re pregnant, Ms. McGonigall?”
Jesus. Did Mick put him up to this? I groan loudly, “Yes. There’s a slight chance. But, the truth is, I haven’t eaten for…. What day is it?” I ask Dr. Franklin.
“It’s Tuesday afternoon.”
“I haven’t eaten since Sunday. Plus, I’ve only had a few hours of sleep during that time. So, that’s probably it.”
“That’s certainly a possibility. When was your last period?”
Shit, he’s not going to let this pregnancy thing go. “I don’t know, two weeks ago maybe a little more? Look. I’m tired and hungry. So, so hungry,” I repeat weakly. Maybe he’ll take a hint and bri
ng me some food. Real food. No pudding.
“Well, let’s hold off on food until we know what we’re dealing with––I’m going to run some tests just to be sure.”
Sure about what? “Isn’t it too soon for a pregnancy test? It’s only been ten days.”
“Probably. But, sometimes ten days is all we need. We’ll take some blood and see what hCG levels are now. Blood work is the best way to find out this early. We’ve got a state-of-the-art lab here in the hospital. They’ll do the lab work tonight so we should have news tomorrow.
I have mixed emotions about this. I’d like to know, but part of me just wants to go home and wait it out. I don’t need the entire Flynn clan descending on me asking about the results. This should be a private conversation between Mick and me.
“We’re going to get you checked in because I’d like for you to stay overnight for observation. You’re not showing any concussion symptoms right now, but we need to be sure.”
“Great,” I mumble. How am I going to pay for this? I lost my insurance the minute I quit my job.
I lay in my bed watching the medical staff work on me. They’ve put me in one of those awful hospital gowns, and they’ve drawn blood. When they’ve done all the poking and prodding they can do, I’m wheeled up to a regular room.
Lifted onto a slightly more comfortable bed, the nurse arranges my bedding and brings a tray table over. “The doctor has ordered you some food. It should be here shortly.”
“Thank goodness!” I’m so hungry I don’t even care what it is. I’ll eat anything.
Turning on my television, I lay back and tune into a comedy channel. Laughter is the best medicine. An orderly enters my room with a food tray. Yay! It’s only got things like clear soda pop, crackers, Jell-O, and you guessed it, pudding. I don’t care. I eat everything on the tray. I sigh deeply I rest my head on a firm pillow and close my eyes.
“Roni?”
I open my eyes slowly and see Mick Flynn rolling into my room in a wheelchair. The man looks good even in that state. His hair is half shaved, he’s bruised and scratched up, but the only thing I notice are his eyes. He looks sad and scared.