by Lily Robins
“Pardon me if I slip out for a brief nap. I’m on a morphine high…at the moment.”
She looked at his eyes and at his fluttering lids, and she kissed his hand. “I’ll be right here.”
*****
Later, he woke up and saw six people file into his room, one by one. All of them had tentative smiles on their faces—even Ben Housman, who was next to last, shuffling in before Wyatt Wainwright did, who closed the door behind him. Roman looked at all of their faces, realizing how much seeing them meant to him.
All six had their eyes either on him, or on Jess. He smiled, and figured that Jess was as surprised as he was at seeing these people. She must have pulled up the chair beside his bed, and he couldn’t see her, but when she stood, he finally saw her in profile and took hold of her hand again. Ben Girard was the first to speak.
“I told ‘em she looks just like that actress—Julie somebody,” he blurted out and then offered a brilliant smile in a failed attempt to hide his embarrassment, taking hold of Hope’s hand for support.
“She does!” Gloria Schiller, Iris Gilbert and Hope Canard said nearly in unison, their eyes fixated on Jess.
Demurely, Jess smiled and said, “I can’t imagine that,” while squeezing Roman’s hand.
Roman introduced the six who stood looking at Jess and him. “And this is Jess—the woman who has decided she’ll marry me.”
Appearing to melt in rhapsodic glee, it was obvious that Iris was adoring the fact that, not one, but two romantic couples were standing right before her eyes. Ben Girard and Hope Canard were shyly continuing to hold hands.
Gloria led a chorus of smiles, remarking, “You’ve definitely made a huge difference in Dr. Mayer’s life.”
“Yeah,” said Wyatt. “On many of our Friday meetin’ days, Doc would look downright bummered out.”
Surprise furrowed Roman’s brows, “I did?” He had thought he’d done a great job of hiding his personal feelings from The Group.
“We all knew that you were struggling,” Gloria smoothly remarked. She smiled again and said to Jess, “We’re alcoholics—recovering from our addiction.”
Momentarily stunned, Jess rebounded without a hitch when she revealed, “My brother’s an alcoholic, probably due to the fact that our dad was.”
Roman had no idea that Jess had family members with the disease. He squeezed her hand a bit more.
“It slips up on ya,” Ben Housman admitted. “But doc here—he keeps us from fallin’ off the wagon.”
“Not really,” Roman confessed. “You—yourselves—do that. I started an AA group because there wasn’t one here in this city. But I’m the one who has benefitted from The Group, because I’ve had the privilege of watching each of you emerge from debilitating illness to become sober, unique, reliable individuals. You’re the bravest people I’ve ever met, and you’re my close friends. I’ve needed all of you to keep me going. Long week-ends and depression aren’t the best of companions. I want to become more open—more honest with all of you when we meet again.”
Ben Housman sputtered out, “When’s that gonna be? I mean…you got shot, doc, and you’ll have to get over what’s happened to ya.”
Looking at everyone, and then turning to look at Jess’s high wattage smile, Roman answered, “Friday, Ben. The Group always meets on Fridays at nine.”
OTHER BOOKS BY LILY ROBINS
The Patient: A Love Story
The Choice
Paul Reloaded
The Good Joe
The Neighbor
The Witness
Remembrance