New Beginnings

by KC Richardson

  “I brought you a change of clothes and some toiletries. I thought you would stay here last night after Brenda called to tell me about Kirsten’s accident.”

  “Thanks, Al, I really appreciate it.”

  When they reached the cafeteria, Jordan perused her options and chose a sandwich even though she didn’t have much of an appetite and would have never left Kirsten’s side if Kirsten hadn’t kicked her out. She was picking at her food when she heard someone call her name.

  “Jordan?”

  She turned around and was stunned to see Anna, one of her study partners from physical therapy school, standing there. She hadn’t seen Anna since graduation because Anna had moved out of town to take a job in a hospital in San Diego, and they’d lost touch.

  “Anna. What are you doing here?” She stood and embraced her.

  “I moved back last year when a PT position opened up here. I did my last internship here and really loved it, but there weren’t any openings when I graduated. What are you doing here?”

  “My partner was in a car accident last night, and she’s up on the neuro floor.” Anna’s look of concern touched her. “She’ll be okay, but she has a concussion and a broken arm. She kicked me out to get something to eat. Hey, you remember my best friend, Alex, right? And this is my partner’s best friend, Brenda. Guys, this is Anna. We went to PT school together.”

  Anna shook hands with Brenda and Alex. “It’s good to see you all. Jordan, let me give you my number so we can catch up sometime.”

  “I’d love to. Hey, I have a favor to ask. I’ve been here since last night. Can you get me into the locker room, so I can take a quick shower?”

  “Sure, come with me.”

  “Wait here, girls. I’ll be back in about fifteen minutes.” Jordan grabbed her bag and followed Anna to the locker room.

  Jordan took the fastest shower in history, and when she returned to Kirsten’s room after she’d said her good-byes to Brenda and Alex, she found it empty. Jordan began to panic even though the doctor had told her he’d wanted Kirsten to get another scan. She hurried to the nurse’s station.

  “Where’s Kirsten? Is everything okay?”

  The nurse that had the morning shift looked up from a chart. “Oh, sure. She’s down in radiology. She should be back soon.”

  Jordan went back to the room and sat in the chair. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes for a few minutes. A knock at the door woke her, and she opened her eyes to see a tall man standing in the doorway staring at her. She recognized him as the man she’d seen Kirsten kissing the day before, her soon-to-be-ex-husband, John.

  Her insides twisted with jealousy. Even though Kirsten loved her, this was the man she had been married to. He had known Kirsten in an intimate way. Jordan wanted to punch him then throw him out of the hospital room, out of Kirsten’s life. You said you would be the woman that deserved Kirsten’s love, and that wouldn’t be the way she would want you to act. She sighed in resolve.

  “May I help you?”

  John stepped forward with flowers in his hand. “I’m looking for Kirsten Murphy.”

  “She’s getting a CT scan right now, but she should be back soon.” Jordan stood and extended her hand. “I’m Jordan Roberts. You must be John.”

  John appeared uncomfortable when she said her name, but he recovered quickly and shook her hand. “John Hennessy. How’s Kirsten doing?”

  “She’s feeling better today. She has a concussion and a broken arm, but the doctor says she should be okay.”

  “That’s good.”

  An uncomfortable silence fell, which gave Jordan the opportunity to study the man before her. She had to hand it to John for how cool he was being. If she were in his position, she probably wouldn’t have been this nice. If she and Kirsten ever broke up, she couldn’t see herself shaking hands with the person that would be Kirsten’s new love. She hoped she would never have to test that theory.

  John handed her the flowers he was holding. “I’d appreciate it if you would give Kirsten my well-wishes. I hope you know how lucky you are to have her in your life.”

  She accepted the bouquet. “Believe me, I do. Are you sure you don’t want to wait for her?”

  John shook his head. “No, I just wanted to see how she was doing. Take care of her, Jordan.”

  “I will. It was good to finally meet you, John.”

  Jordan sat back in the chair and just had to shake her head at the oddness of the past couple of days. She was physically and emotionally exhausted and vowed that when Kirsten was well, they were going away for a few days to relax. Some of her energy returned when Kirsten was wheeled back into the room.

  “Hi, baby.”

  “Hi. Why is your hair wet? And where did you get different clothes?”

  Jordan sat next to Kirsten’s bed. “Alex brought me a change of clothes, and when we were in the cafeteria, I ran into an old friend from PT school. She works here now, and she let me into the locker room to take a shower.”

  “I’m glad you got cleaned up. You weren’t looking too hot, Ms. Roberts.”

  “I have some other news for you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “John came by to see you?”

  Kirsten’s eyes widened, and she groaned. “Oh, God.”

  She gave Kirsten a kiss. “It’s okay. He was very nice. He asked how you were doing, and I gave him the rundown. I hope that was okay.”

  “Of course. We’re friendly to each other. I wonder how he found out though. Brenda must have called him.”

  “I can see why you were with him for so long. He seems like a nice guy. He brought those flowers for you.” She pointed to the table.

  “He is. When I’m feeling a little better, I’ll tell you what he said to me yesterday.”

  “All right. Why don’t you close your eyes and rest for a while?”

  “That sounds good. Will you be here when I wake up?”

  “Of course. I’m not going anywhere.”

  A few hours later, Kirsten and Jordan were talking quietly when Dr. Gaffney entered the room. “Well, Kirsten, your CT is normal. How are you feeling?”

  “A little better. My headache is still there, but it’s not as bad as it was this morning. My eyes still hurt, but it’s more like pencil erasers poking me in the eyes rather than ice picks.”

  Dr. Gaffney laughed. “Any more feelings of nausea?”

  “No, and I gotta tell you, Doc, I’m more than a little hungry.”

  Dr. Gaffney held his hands up in surrender. “All right, I’ll order you some food, but just some soup and crackers for now. If you’re able to tolerate that, we’ll try for a regular breakfast tomorrow.”

  “Thanks, Doc.”

  “Anytime. I’ll check back with you tomorrow, and if you continue to improve, we’ll have you out of here by lunch.” Dr. Gaffney walked out.

  Kirsten looked to Jordan and pointed her finger. “You need to go home and get some rest. I love you more than life and think you’re the most beautiful woman in the world, but you look like shit.”

  Jordan laughed and grabbed Kirsten’s finger. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll go home when visiting hours are over and not a minute before. I just want to sit here and hold your hand while you sleep.”

  “You drive a hard bargain, Ms. Roberts, but you have a deal.”

  Jordan drove home that night thinking of how close she had come to losing Kirsten—not only from the accident, but from her own stupidity. She vowed to tell and show Kirsten every day how much she loved her. Hopefully, this would be the last night they would ever spend apart.

  Chapter Fifty

  Kirsten woke in the middle of the night to a nurse checking her monitor and writing in her chart. She would be glad to finally be out of the hospital. There never seemed to be a moment of peace between nurses or other hospital staff roaming the halls and talking or someone coming in her room to check on her. She couldn’t wait to get out of there and go back to Jordan’s. Although she was certain Jo
rdan would be fussing over her more than the nurses did, at least it would be because she loved her.

  She thought about how she’d felt when Jordan had told her she loved her. She wished the circumstances had been different. She wished their declaration of love had come over the romantic dinner she had planned followed by an all-night session of making love. Instead, she’d been in a hospital room doped up on pain medication with her brain all foggy from her concussion. She didn’t doubt Jordan loved her. She could tell by the look in Jordan’s eyes when they were together. Kirsten wondered if she hadn’t been hurt, if Jordan hadn’t been scared of seeing her lying in the hospital all banged up, if Jordan would’ve had the courage to say those three words.

  Kirsten understood why Jordan had been hesitant, and she knew it had nothing to do with her. Jordan had confessed when they’d first gotten together that she was afraid Kirsten would leave her for a man. She understood that doubt had come from Jordan’s discovery of Kelly’s betrayal. She recognized that Jordan had taken a huge leap of faith in allowing her in, but the fact that Jordan had so quickly jumped to the conclusion that she was getting back together with John worried her. She shouldn’t have to pay for another woman’s sins.

  Her stomach flip-flopped when she wondered if Jordan would ever fully be able to trust her. She didn’t think she could spend the rest of her life walking on egg shells, worried about what Jordan would think when she saw her talking with a man, regardless of who it was. She knew that she would have more conversations with John as their divorce moved ahead. She fervently hoped that Jordan could trust her to talk to John without thinking anything of a romantic nature was going on. She had to somehow let Jordan know she could trust her and that she would never do anything to betray that trust.

  She pulled the sheet and blanket up to her neck to ward off the bone-deep chill that enveloped her body at the thought of not being able to spend the rest of her life with Jordan. She considered the attention and care Jordan bestowed upon her—not just in the hospital, but before the accident as well—the nights spent cuddling in bed, the ear Jordan had offered when she’d needed to vent, the shoulder she’d provided for her to cry on, the lazy Sundays spent snuggling on the couch or lounging in the pool, sharing their hopes, dreams, and fears. The chill began to dissipate.

  Kirsten thought about Jordan’s meeting with John earlier. She wished she could have been a fly on the wall to observe that interaction. But she couldn’t recall any anger or fear in Jordan’s eyes when she’d told Kirsten about their talk. In fact, Jordan had seemed almost at peace when she’d said that John seemed like a nice guy. She thought Jordan would definitely think so once she told her what she and John had talked about when she’d seen them kissing.

  She shuddered when she recalled that scene. When she’d first spotted Jordan through the window, time had seemed to move in slow motion. She wished she could erase those thirty seconds so that Jordan never would have seen that kiss, as chaste as it had been. Although, if Jordan hadn’t seen that, hadn’t run away, who knows how things between them would be? Maybe it had taken her being in the hospital, seeing how afraid Jordan was of losing her, to realize how much Jordan cared for her.

  Jordan had promised she would never leave her again. Kirsten believed that things always happened for a reason. Maybe that was why the accident had happened. Maybe it had taken all of this pain for them to realize what they meant to each other.

  There were always going to be moments of uncertainty or doubt in a relationship, and so far, they’d had their share of theirs. But deep down inside, Kirsten knew if they could talk about the issues as they arose, they could work it out. Jordan had always been honest about her feelings when she’d finally voiced them, and she was confident that Jordan would continue to do so. She trusted Jordan with her heart, with her love, and with her future. She would do everything she could to let Jordan know she could trust her, too.

  The chill she’d felt earlier had been replaced with warmth and peace. Her heart finally settled, and she drifted back to sleep with visions of her future with Jordan filling her dreams.

  Chapter Fifty-one

  Jordan arrived at the hospital early Sunday morning after first stopping at Kirsten’s to pack some clothes. Kirsten had told her where to find the spare key and the items she wanted. She was early for visiting hours, but the nurse recognized her and waved her in.

  She was pleased to see Kirsten sitting up attempting to eat her breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, and oatmeal with her non-dominant right hand. “You have quite the appetite. Your tummy must be feeling better.” She picked pieces of dropped food off the front of Kirsten’s drab hospital gown.

  Kirsten smiled brightly at her. “I’m famished. I haven’t had a decent meal since lunch on Friday. And before you ask, my headache is low-level, and my eyes are feeling better. I’m ready to blow this Popsicle stand.”

  “I can’t wait to bust you out of here. How’s your arm?”

  “It’s okay, still sore. The orthopedist assigned to my case came by about an hour ago. He said the swelling is down and wants me to come to his office on Tuesday for a cast.”

  She sat next to Kirsten on the bed after she’d moved the table that was holding her food. “Looks like you’ll need some physical therapy after you get the cast off.”

  Kirsten put her finger on her chin and looked up. “Hmm. You might be right. I wonder if the ortho can refer me to someone good.”

  She playfully pinched Kirsten’s side, making her giggle. “I got your referral, baby.” Jordan grabbed the spoon and began feeding Kirsten her oatmeal. “Let me help you with that. Looks like you’re wearing more food than you’re eating.”

  She was nearly done feeding Kirsten when Dr. Gaffney walked in. “What’s up, Doc?”

  Dr. Gaffney and Kirsten both moaned. “How original, Jordan,” Dr. Gaffney said drolly.

  She smiled. “I’m sorry. So, what’s the good news? Can I take my girl home?”

  “You can take your girl home. It will take a while to get the discharge papers complete, but if you want to help her get dressed, you can. Kirsten, if your headache or vision worsen, I want you to come see me immediately. If you start feeling confused or having slurred speech, memory loss, or any of the other symptoms listed on this paper, come see me immediately. Do you understand?”

  Even though the question was directed at Kirsten, they both nodded.

  Dr. Gaffney continued. “We’ll remove the bandage from your head before you leave. In fact, let me do it now.”

  Dr. Gaffney unwrapped the gauze from Kirsten’s head and removed the bandage that covered the wound as Jordan stood closely behind. A faint sense of nausea bubbled up in her stomach when she saw the neat row of staples that closed the two-inch gash on Kirsten’s temple. The hair around the cut had been shaved, and Jordan shoved her hands into her pockets to hide the shaking.

  The thought that Kirsten’s injuries could have been much worse made Jordan’s guts twist and writhe. Head injuries were always tricky, and she had seen the damage they could do when she had done an internship on a neuro floor when she’d been in school. The fact that Kirsten would be able to go home in a few hours brought a rush of adrenaline through her body. She took a deep breath and tried to use humor to ease the worry in Kirsten’s eyes as well as her own discomfort.

  “That’s it? That little cut needed all that gauze?” She looked at Kirsten and saw the uncertainty in her eyes. Obviously, Kirsten didn’t find her comments funny. “Honey, really, it’s not that bad. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on.” She brought Kirsten’s hand to her lips. “You even make lacerations look sexy.” The smile that graced Kirsten’s mouth relieved Jordan’s anxiety.

  “I used staples to close the laceration,” Dr. Gaffney said. “When I checked the wound yesterday, it was looking good. It still looks good. Damn, I do nice work. Okay, don’t get your head wet for another few days, then you can wash your hair. I want to see you next Monday in my office, so I can
take the staples out. Do either of you have any questions?”

  They both shook their heads, making Dr. Gaffney chuckle. He shook Jordan’s hand, then Kirsten’s. “Kirsten, I’m glad you’re feeling better. You take care of yourself, and I’ll see you in about a week. Jordan, take care of her.”

  Jordan smiled and looked at Kirsten. “I promise, Doc.”

  Once Dr. Gaffney left the room, Kirsten patted Jordan’s knee. “Help me get dressed.”

  Jordan smirked. “Huh, usually you ask me to do the opposite.”

  Kirsten wrapped her good arm around Jordan’s neck and pulled her closer until their lips nearly touched. “I promise, as soon as I’m better I’ll be asking you to take them off again. I just want to get into your bed and have you hold me.”

  She helped Kirsten out of bed and held onto her when she swayed. “Let me get a nurse.”

  “No, I’m fine. I guess getting up after being in bed for a few days made me dizzy. I really am feeling better.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Kirsten kissed her. “I’m sure. Now help me get dressed.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  By the time Kirsten was dressed, an orderly had arrived with a wheelchair, followed by a nurse. The nurse gave Kirsten her discharge papers and instructions on what to do if she felt worse. Kirsten took a seat in the wheelchair and was taken to the curb where Jordan left her to make small talk with the orderly until she brought her car around.

  Jordan was careful on the drive home, not wanting to go too fast or hit too many bumps in the road for fear of aggravating Kirsten’s headache. Once they arrived at Jordan’s, she helped Kirsten inside and was prepared to take her straight to bed before Kirsten stopped her.

  “Honey, I’ve been in bed for three days. Can I sit out here in the living room?”

  “Sure, but if you get tired, let me know. Do you want something to drink?”

  “I’ll take some water. Can you do me a favor?”

  “Name it.”

  Kirsten gave her that smile that showed her dimples, and she nearly swooned. “Can we order pizza tonight from that place you love so much? I’ve been craving it all morning since I was able to eat breakfast.”