Fifteen Weekends

by Christy Pastore

  Alex felt a twinge of pain in his gut as he rolled forward when the car came to a halt. He offered Ethan a half-smile and said, “I’m glad you found Emily. Let’s stay positive, okay?”

  Alex’s mind drifted to thoughts of Amanda, thinking he might fall apart at the mere thought of her lying in a coma unable to move or speak. Alex could see the hell Ethan was going through, suddenly grateful for the awkward situation he was currently dealing with in his own life.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Across town Vince and Amanda were preparing to jet off to St. Lucia for a week-long vacation. The flight crew had just finished their pre-flight checks, and Amanda had settled into her seat with a glass of champagne before takeoff. Earlier that week Amanda had visited her parents in Bloomfield Hills and reconnecting with them after all this time filled her heart with joy. Emotions ran high as they discussed a range of topics, from what to do about Julie to restoring her trust fund.

  One issue had been resolved, at least as far as Amanda was concerned. When she confronted Vince about seeing him with his ex-wife and kids he seemed visibly embarrassed. He apologized profusely for not being totally honest with her about the situation, confirming what Alex said about his kids not knowing their parents were divorcing was true. Vince told Amanda he and Jennifer, or Miss Tennis Whites as Amanda now referred to her, had decided there was no easy way to break it to them, but since Jennifer was practically engaged to her new man, they needed to tell the kids soon.

  “Alex,” she announced startled to see him on the plane.

  “Hey guys. Vince, here are those documents you needed,” he said calmly while handing Vince a folder. “I got caught up at the hospital, with my friend, Ethan, whose girlfriend is in a coma.”

  “Are you talking about Emily Greene?” Amanda asked.

  “Yeah,” Alex had a puzzled look on his face. How do you know about that?”

  “Well, I know Emily, we’re…friends.”

  “Oh, well her condition is the same. I feel bad for Ethan. He’s worried sick, but I worked with the police and they caught her stalker. So that’s good news.”

  Vince handed Alex a glass of scotch saying, “Well brother, if anyone can catch a bad guy, it’s you, Alex.”

  She arched an eyebrow in their direction, inquiring, “Brother?”

  “Yeah, this slightly less handsome guy, is my little brother,” Vince stated proudly.

  Amanda bit her lower lip to keep from saying something she might regret. Brothers? BROTHERS! You’ve got to be kidding me.

  Alex looked away from Amanda’s icy glare and muttered, “Half-brother.”

  As they stood side by side, Amanda noted Vince and Alex both had the same trim build, but no other physical traits would link them as sharing DNA. Then she noticed they were both left-handed and cradled their scotch glasses the exact same way—two fingers underneath, two on the side with their thumbs moving from the rim to the side as they took a drink.

  “Technically, yeah, we have the same mother, but my dad died when I was four and mom married Alex’s dad. A few years later this little guy came screaming into the world followed by our sister, Amy.” Vince said.

  Suddenly Amanda felt nauseous like she might throw up. She placed her champagne on the table in front of her and rushed towards the bathroom. The smell of the alcohol was making her feel queasy.

  “Amanda, are you alright?” Vince said looking up from his newspaper.

  “I’m not sure Vince all of a sudden I don’t feel so good. Oh…oh no.” Amanda covered her mouth and ran to the lavatory where she proceeded to vomit.

  “Amanda, are you okay?” Alex asked sweetly as he tapped on the door.

  “Scarlett, tell Jim that we need a few minutes before take-off please,” Vince instructed.

  “Right away, Mr. Everett.”

  Amanda emerged from the bathroom pale as a ghost. Tiny beads of sweat had formed on the back of her neck. She felt a little better, but she was terrified she had food poisoning again.

  “I think so. I might just need some sparkling water.”

  Alex led Amanda back to her seat gripping her arm softly. “Scarlett, can you please get Amanda some Perrier please?” Alex asked.

  Vince sat in front of her gently rubbing her leg. Amanda reached out and touched his face as he kissed the inside of her palm. Settling back in her seat Amanda felt really tired. In fact the last week or two she had been overly exhausted. Looking out the window of the plane at the beautiful blue sky, her mind began to wonder. Reaching for her phone she checked her calendar. Her mind was screaming at her, and there it was in black and white—her period was two weeks late. Am I pregnant!?

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Ethan sat in Emily’s hospital room after work staring out the window. It was a beautiful day, and she was missing it. She had missed so much already, and now Emily would miss the last weekend of summer.

  “Emily, you’ll find this interesting. Summer is considered to be from Memorial Day Weekend to Labor Day Weekend. So, I guess technically, we’ve spent fifteen weekends together as a couple. I know you wanted to rip my head off for causing you to work the majority of Memorial Day weekend, while all I wanted to do was rip your clothes off,” he said and laughed to himself. “Happy Anniversary Em, we’ve been together all summer,” he sighed. He stood silent for a few moments trying not to lose his mind over the agony of seeing Emily lying in the bed motionless. “I miss you,” he whispered. “Please come back to me. Babe, you’ve gotta wake up.” Squeezing Emily’s hand, which was soft and cool, he laced his fingers with hers. The pricking of tears began to well in the corner of his eyes. Ethan took a deep breath kissing her on the lips gently, he stepped back and walked out of the room.

  Ethan was overcome with emotion. His heart was aching for Emily. Standing at the elevator he took out the keys from his pocket as the doors opened. Ethan nearly ran into a tall guy with dark brown hair as he stepped forward, because he was looking down at the white tile floor.

  “Oh…” his voice broke, he was distracted. “Sorry man, that’s my fault,” Ethan said as he entered the elevator.

  The guy politely brushed past Ethan calmly saying, “Not a problem.”

  Ethan needed to get some coffee, but not the bland coffee from the cafeteria. He was tired of drinking that stuff. Arriving at the parking lot, he slid into his car and drove to the Bagel Beanery.

  Back at the hospital, the nurses’ station was relatively quiet. Two female nurses were seated at the reception desk on Emily’s floor, and the waiting room only had one person sitting in a chair watching Ellen.

  “Can I help you sir?” said a rather large lady wearing red rimmed glasses and carrying a clipboard.

  “Yes, I’m looking for Emily Greene’s room. I heard she was on this floor.”

  Tipping her glasses up with her index finger, she pointed to the right, directly at Emily’s room. “Are you a friend of Miss Greene’s?”

  The man smiled at her nodding his head, “Oh yes…we’ve been friends for a long time. I’ve known Emmy since she was in grad school.” The words dripped from his lips with a sultry smoothness.

  “Emily sure is lucky to have such a good-looking friend like you come to visit her. Too bad she won’t be able to see your fine self, she’s been in a coma for a few weeks now. Maybe your sexy voice can bring her out of it,” she said with a hearty laugh while winking at him.

  “I’ll see what I can do about that,” he said, giving the nurse a wink with one of his piercing greyish-blue eyes, while revealing a sly half smile.

  He walked past the nurses’ station where all three women watched him intently as he entered Emily’s room. Upon entering, he took his sunglasses and placed them in his shirt pocket. Standing at the edge of her bed he sighed deeply, placing both hands fir
mly in the pockets of his blue shorts. He moved to Emily’s side and clasped her hand while rubbing his thumb over the top of her smooth skin.

  “So Emmy, you’ve gone and managed to get yourself in a coma.” He let out a deep sigh as he gazed at her sleeping peacefully.

  The Emily he saw lying in the bed was not the same girl he saw the day he left. She looked pale, her flushed cheeks were hallowed and her normally svelte frame was boney.

  “I read about the accident in the paper. I’m so sorry this happened to you, Emmy. I know you can pull through this. You’re such a strong person.” Looking around the room he noticed all the cards and flowers.

  “You’ve got a lot of people that want you to come out of this, Emmy. Plus, I’m back now, and I want to tell you where I’ve been and why I couldn’t see you all these years.” He brushed a strand of hair out of her face and gently grazed her cheek with the back of his hand. “It’s a pretty crazy story, but I know you’d be proud of me.”

  “Emmy, please come out of this so I can talk…talk to you. I have missed you so much. Being apart from you, every day was like a dagger to my heart. I didn’t expect you to wait for me. Someone as beautiful as you…” His voice began to tremble, and he swallowed hard. “I had to stay away. My life depended upon it. Your life depended upon it.”

  He leaned over and touched his lips to hers, giving her a kiss and then whispered in her ear, “Emmy, if you can hear me, it’s me, Craig. I need you to get well soon.” He stood up and reached for the sunglasses in his pocket.

  “Pardon me, but who are…are you?” Ashleigh’s voice trailed off.

  Craig turned around to see a woman with long brown hair holding a cup of coffee with a laptop bag over her shoulder staring at him. At this point Ashleigh’s mouth was open, and her hazel eyes looked as if they were going to pop out of her head.

  “Hi. I’m sorry… I wasn’t trying to intrude. I heard Emmy…I mean Emily had been in a terrible accident, and I wanted to come by and see her. I’m Craig Walker.” He walked to the end of Emily’s bed offering his right hand to Ashleigh.

  “Craig, yeah I know you,” she said shaking his hand firmly. “Actually, Emily has told me quite the story about you—Houdini.” She paused, waiting for his reaction. A ghost of a smile crossed his lips as he shifted uncomfortably. “Craig, I saw you at Heathrow airport a few months ago. You helped me with my bag.”

  Giving her a once over then cocking his head to the left, he replied, “I’m glad I could help you. Sorry, but I don’t remember.” His thick dark eyebrows knitted together as if he was trying to recall where he’d seen Ashleigh.

  “Never mind that,” she said firmly, releasing the grip she had on his strong hand.

  Craig shot her a perplexed look.

  “You know, Emily’s a bit upset with you,” Ashleigh said, placing her coffee cup on the table.

  “I’m sure she is,” he said with a light chuckle. “I have a perfectly logical explanation for my absence. And you are?”

  “I’m Ashleigh Preston, Emily’s best friend. I am on my way to the airport. I’m leaving for London to see my fiancé, but I wanted to spend some time with her before I left.”

  “Can you tell me anything more about her condition? I mean is she going to be okay?” Craig’s voice was filled with concern. Ashleigh could see that he genuinely cared about Emily’s status.

  “I don’t know, the doctor’s aren’t saying too much. The good news is that she is breathing on her own. The bad news is she has some brain swelling, and they don’t know how it will affect her until she wakes up.”

  “How long was she under the water?”

  “The doctors estimate about seven or eight minutes, but they have no way of being absolutely sure. Ethan was able to revive her in fewer than five minutes. If she had been under the water longer than ten minutes he might not have been able to revive her so quickly.”

  Craig shook his head and placed his hand on Emily’s leg giving her two gentle pats. “I assume Ethan is her boyfriend?”

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but yes, and he will be back here any minute so you better move along,” she instructed firmly. “Sorry Houdini, I’m not trying to be rude. I just don’t want any tension in this room.”

  “I understand. Here’s my card. Will you call me if there’s any change with Emily?”

  Looking at the card Ashleigh saw that Craig lived in New York City and was a Senior Energy Markets Analyst with CME Group. The mystery of Craig Walker had Ashleigh growing more curious by the minute.

  “Okay Craig, if anything changes I’ll call you. Take my card. Don’t be a stranger—Houdini,” she said with a hint of sarcasm.

  Craig headed out the door and walked to the elevator. Ashleigh heard one of the nurses say, “Bye handsome.” Ashleigh rolled her eyes.

  “Boy Emily, he’s completely in love with you,” she whispered. “Goddamn it Emily, wake up out of this coma so we can discuss that Craig was just here.” Ashleigh slumped down in the chair next to the bed and took a sip of coffee. She saw Ethan getting off the elevator and quickly placed the card in her laptop bag.

  “Hey, Ashleigh,” Ethan said, his voice was tight. “Did anything interesting happen while I was gone?”

  Drumming her nails on her coffee cup, Ashleigh shook her head. Interesting was an understatement.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Sitting on the balcony at Liam’s high-rise apartment while enjoying a cup of tea, Ashleigh gazed across the London skyline. In a matter of months she was finally going to live in the city of her dreams. Liam had just purchased a fabulous two bedroom apartment in Central London a few months ago on One Commercial Street. The view alone was worth the money. Ashleigh had some of her stuff moved in already, what little she could bring with her from the states that is, which was mostly clothes and some smaller items. For now, she had held off on putting her place on the market, she wasn’t about to leave while Emily was still in the hospital.

  Looking at her laptop she began researching florists in Wales. Liam’s mother, Paige, had sent her a sheet of vendors they frequently work with at the Castle to make the wedding planning a little easier. Even though they had yet to set a date for the wedding, she knew Emily would be pissed if she stopped her life just to worry about her being in a coma. The least Ashleigh could do was a little research, possibly start a Pinterest board. She was thinking of giving up social media altogether since Emily’s accident, but instead she resolved to be more cautious of her posts.

  It was nearly one in the afternoon. As soon as Liam returned home from work they would be leaving for Wales to visit his parents. They desperately wanted to throw her and Liam an engagement party, but Ashleigh did not want to have the celebration until Emily came out of her coma.

  Ashleigh was pulled from her thoughts of Emily by the buzzing of her phone. It was a number she did not recognize, but she answered anyway.

  “Good Afternoon, this is Ashleigh Preston.”

  “Miss Preston, hi, this is Connie at Memorial hospital. We have some news regarding Emily Greene.” Ashleigh’s heart started to beat rapidly, and she felt her throat tighten. Please God, let it be good news.

  “Yes, is everything okay? Is Emily okay?”

  “Miss Preston, Emily is awake. She has been awake for about an hour.”

  Ashleigh was overcome with emotion. She was utterly relieved, and tears sprang from her eyes. She composed herself and replied, “That’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time. Have you called Ethan Carlson?”

  “Not yet, he is next on our list.”

  “Thank you, Connie. Thank you very much. Goodbye.” She hung up the phone to call Liam, but he walked through the door just as she was pressing his number.

  “Hey! I was just about to call you. Emily is out of her coma
!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. A smile crossed Liam’s face. Ashleigh jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly.

  “I’m so glad to hear your news, darling. Do you want to depart for Grand Rapids to see her?”

  “You won’t be upset that we aren’t going to be able to see your parents?”

  “Darling please, your friend just came out of a near month long coma. I think my parents will understand.”

  “Wait, why are you home so early anyway?” Ashleigh inquired.

  “What? Can I not take off early to come home and spend the rest of the day with my gorgeous fiancé?”

  “Okay, that’s perfectly acceptable. Now we have to check the flights to Detroit. I cannot wait to see Emily.” Ashleigh kissed Liam on the cheek and began to walk away, but he pulled her into him kissing her deeply. She looked up at him and he said, “Have I told you how much I love you?”

  “Yes, but I never grow tired of hearing you say it. I cannot wait to marry you, Liam Frost, and the sooner the better. We’ll set a date on our flight.”

  Ethan and Emily wheeled their carryon luggage through the hordes of people at JFK airport. They had at least an hour before their flight to London. It was the weekend of Liam and Ashleigh’s engagement party.

  “Can you believe Liam and Ashleigh are getting married in just a few months?” Emily said taking a seat at the bar.

  “Em, they’re getting married in less than two months. Is your memory still that fuzzy?” Ethan joked. She smiled and playfully punched his arm.

  “I guess,” she shrugged. “Ethan, since I missed the last few weeks of summer, I think you should whisk me away to a tropical island somewhere.”

  “Ms. Greene, you have some of the best ideas. I’d love to take you somewhere hot, where clothing is optional,” he said, grinning wickedly.