Our Forever Crazy Love: Contemporary Romance

by Jennifer Nolan

  “How is he?” I ask.

  “Still unconscious.”

  “Did you get any sleep last night?”

  “A little, I think. Thank you again for staying with me.”

  “Of course. Let me go grab us a coffee. I’ll be right back.”

  When I get back, Rach is on the phone. I presume it’s with her mom, as she’s telling someone there is no point in them coming back to the hospital this morning. “I’ll call if there is any change,” she says and hangs up.

  “Your mom?” I ask, handing her a coffee.

  “Yep. She’s always up early and I knew she’d be sitting by the phone waiting for an update. She wanted to come back, but I told her you were here with me. And I’d let her know if anything changes.”

  “Hey, has anyone reached Luis’s parents yet?”

  “I’ve tried, but it’s near impossible. They left yesterday on a fourteen-day cruise out of Rome. I sent them an email, but who knows when they will get it. I didn’t say too much because I’d rather speak to them on the phone, if possible. Before I freak them out with too many details of what’s happening, I thought I’d wait and see what the doctors say today. If things take a turn, and I believe it won’t come to that, I could always try reaching out through the cruise line. There is nothing they can do right now, and I hate to shock and worry them when they are so far away. I don’t believe Luis would want that either.”

  “Yeah, probably not. Hopefully, things will improve later today and there won’t be a need to reach them.”

  “Exactly.”

  Minutes turned into hours, and before we know it, the whole day has passed and there hasn’t been any change in Luis. He remains unconscious. I step away a few times briefly to fetch us some more coffee or use the washroom but basically remain at Rach’s side the entire day. We still have tons of food, so I offer some to the nurses. They appreciate the gesture.

  The announcement over the PA system warns that visiting hours are ending. Rach insists I go home and get some sleep in a real bed. And although I beg her to do the same, I know there is no chance she will. Deciding I’ll be more useful to her after a proper night’s rest, I agree to leave, but only after her cousin Georgia comes to relieve me.

  In the morning, I wake up refreshed and ready to get back to the hospital. Before heading out, I pack a small cooler with food for Rach and anyone else who may visit today, along with a couple of thermoses of coffee. I mean, sure, we can get coffee at the hospital, but that doesn’t mean it tastes great. Personally, I’m over it.

  On the way to the hospital, I stop by Rach’s apartment, using the spare key she leaves at my place, to pack up some clean clothes, her toiletries, and her laptop.

  Fortunately, Bob is still out of town until tomorrow so I am able to avoid the office and handle any pressing matters remotely. This allows me to spend the entire day at the hospital with Rach, doing my best to comfort her, even though I know the only thing that will do that is Luis waking up. Doctors try their best to reassure her, but admit they were not expecting him to be unconscious this long. So we wait. Another day comes and goes.

  “I hate to leave you here, but I have to get back to the office in the morning and should try to grab some sleep. Are you sure you’ll be okay tonight?” I ask.

  “Yes, I’ll be fine. Georgia is working a bit later tonight but promised to pop in as soon as her shift is over. Plus, the nurses said they’d bring up a cot for me tonight so I can sleep in Luis’s room. And you brought me everything else I need, so don’t worry. I’ll call you if there is any change.”

  Nodding, I give her a hug and head home.

  Chapter 17

  Bob’s back and greets me as soon as I get to the office. Little does he know I’ve already been in for almost two hours. “Hey, good morning! I see everything is in tip-top shape around here.”

  “Good morning, yes. It’s nice to have you back. How was your trip?” I ask.

  “Great, but I hear rumours you may be leaving me for a position in Rockhurst’s office?”

  “Well, yes. It happened rather unexpectedly. But nothing has been decided, at least not that I’m aware of. When I met with Mr. Rockhurst, he told me you spoke very highly of me. I appreciate that.”

  “I did indeed. You’re too bright to be stuck working here forever. You won’t be easy to replace, but that will be for me to worry about,” Bob says smiling.

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I haven’t even been offered the job.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you will be.” He winks and walks into his office.

  Does Bob know more than he’s letting on? I’m sure I’ll hear one way or the other before too long. In the meantime, I’ve got a lot to keep me busy right here.

  Ted walks up to my desk looking fine in his light grey suit and crisp cornflower-blue shirt. “Good morning,” he says, all business. “I’ve got a meeting with Bob this morning, he’s expecting me. Okay to go on in?”

  I hesitate to answer. His eyes are so blue; I’ve never noticed how blue before today. Maybe it’s his shirt that’s making them pop.

  “Vivienne, did you hear me?”

  “Oh, sorry, Ted. Yes, go right in.”

  It’s half-past nine when I get the call. “Hello, Vivienne. It’s Joel Rockhurst calling.” As if I wouldn’t recognize his voice.

  “Good morning, Mr. Rockhurst.”

  “I’m calling because we’ve concluded all our interviews, and I would like to officially offer you the position as my executive assistant.”

  “Wow, that’s great! I’m honoured. Thank you, sir.”

  “Carolyn is going to email you the offer, including the compensation plan. Look it over, and don’t hesitate to call me if you have any questions. If at all possible, I’d like your answer by tomorrow morning.”

  “Yes, of course. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. I do hope you’ll accept. I think we’d work well together.”

  “Thank you again,” I say as I hang up the phone.

  I can hardly believe it. I open my email, but nothing has come in. Who am I kidding, it’s not like I really need to look over anything. Of course I’m going to take the position.

  I text Rach to share the news.

  Hey, how’s Luis?

  Thought u could use some good news.

  Rockhurst called—I got the job! I’ll come to the

  hospital after work. Should I pick up dinner

  on the way?

  Rach texts back immediately:

  That’s fantastic! So proud of you!

  No change here. Yes please, dinner sounds

  great.

  No matter what life throws at Rach, she’s still my biggest supporter.

  After work, I do as promised and pick up some dinner on the way back to the hospital. Rach is keeping herself occupied on her laptop when I arrive.

  “Hey, I’m back, and I brought burgers and fries. Thought you could use some comfort food.”

  “Hi, yeah, that sounds good. Thank you.”

  “I’m guessing there’s still no change with Luis?”

  “Nope. The nurse is in with him now, checking his vitals and switching his IV bags,” she says, grabbing a couple of French fries from the bag and stuffing them in her mouth.

  “Hard to believe it’s been over seventy-two hours already since his accident. Did you get any sleep last night?” I ask as I look around. “What time did Georgia leave?”

  “She left before noon. She had some things to take care of and, honestly, she wasn’t helping. All she did was pace back and forth. I was sure she would leave a wear pattern on the floor if she hung around here any longer.”

  I unwrap my burger and take a bite. “So, what have you been doing since she left?”

  “There’s not much to do. I spoke to my mom a couple of times and wandered down to the cafeteria to grab a Greek chicken salad for lunch. But other than that, I’m waiting, hoping Luis will show us some sign he’s still in there. The doctors finally did admit
to me today that he is actually in a coma. They said it could be days, weeks, or even months before he wakes up. I’m choosing to believe it’s going to be days and I’m hoping he knows I’m here. It’s so strange, talking to him and not getting any response, not even a flicker…”

  “I’ve heard people in comas can hear and are aware of what goes on around them.”

  “Me too, that’s why I won’t give up on him. I know if the situation was reversed, he’d be here talking to me, encouraging me to fight. I’ll continue to do the same for him.”

  “You’re amazing, Rach.”

  “That’s what the nurses keep telling me. Enough about that. You got the job! That’s fantastic. Tell me everything.”

  “Well, Mr. Rockhurst wants me to let him know by tomorrow, but my mind was made up before I even opened the email.”

  “You got the offer by email? Gosh, you’d think he’d have at least phoned you.”

  “Oh, he did. He had the official offer put in writing and emailed to me following his call.”

  “That makes sense, I guess. How do you think Bob will take the news?”

  “He told me I was too good to stay in my current position forever, and while I’ll be hard to replace, he didn’t want me to worry about that. He sounded happy for me. Almost as if he knew before I did.”

  “Do you think he did?”

  “Not sure, but I guess it doesn’t matter. In the email I received, it says they want me to start as soon as possible. Carolyn is hoping to spend some time training me before she leaves and I gather the sooner the better for her.”

  “Well, you deserve it. You bust your butt for that place; it’s nice to see your hard work has paid off.” Rach crumples up the wrapper from her burger and tosses it into the garbage can. “I’m going to go check in with Luis for a bit. Do you want to hang around for a while?”

  “Absolutely, you go ahead. I’ll be here when you come out.”

  While Rach is in visiting with Luis, I finish my burger and call up the job offer I saved to my phone and re-read it. I type up my acceptance letter and save it to my drafts. Think I’ll wait until at least eleven tomorrow morning before responding so I don’t seem overly eager. Then I type up an email to Bob, letting him know I’ve been officially offered the position in Rockhurst’s office and ask how I might be able to help in sourcing or training my replacement. The email is more difficult to write than I expected. I’ve grown rather attached to Bob over the last couple of years and must admit I will miss working with him.

  Rach returns to the waiting room forty-five minutes later, wiping tears from her face.

  “You okay?” I ask.

  “Yeah. I’m okay.” She’s a good liar.

  “Do you still have those old reruns of Friends on your laptop?” I ask.

  “Yes.”

  “I thought we could watch a couple of episodes before I have to head out.” I’m thinking a little light-hearted comedy couldn’t hurt right now, and Rach obviously agrees with me. She proceeds to grab her laptop out of her bag and open it up.

  A few minutes later, during a ridiculous scene where Joey gets a turkey stuck on his head, Rach starts to laugh, cry, and then laugh some more until I can’t tell whether she’s laughing or crying. “Are you okay?” I ask again, handing her a tissue.

  “Yes. I so needed this.” She giggles. “Thank you, V, for always knowing what I need.”

  The rest of the week is pretty much the same. I get up early, go to work, then either run back home and prepare dinner for Rach or pick up something on the way back to the hospital.

  Either way, that’s where I end up: at the hospital, spending my evenings with Rach.

  Tonight is different. I arrive to find her surrounded by family who has brought in all kinds of homemade dishes. Rach laughs at something funny Maria said and Lucca dishes up her famous pastelón, which is to die for. I stay long enough to enjoy a piece and a quick visit, but then decide to head home and take a long hot bath.

  Back at my apartment, I make sure to acknowledge that I don’t do this often enough. Take time for myself, that is. Truthfully, I can’t remember the last time I decided to shut out the world and experience some quiet solitude. I pour myself a glass of wine, turn the ringer off on my phone, dim the lights, and light my favourite rose-scented candle.

  Stepping into the bath, the image of the psychic woman strangely pops into my head along with her warning to put more balance into my life. What is wrong with me? Why do I have such a desire to always try to control things, fix things, change them, even improve them? Other women must feel a similar overwhelming need to always be in control, right? I sink down until my chin is resting in the water and allow the warmth to envelop me. Answers don’t immediately come to me, but for once, I’m in no rush.

  I lift my head to take a sip of wine and add a little more hot water to the tub before sinking back down again. Wrapped in bubbles, I close my eyes and all the pent up tension in my muscles releases. My arms float weightlessly at my sides and my mind begins to quiet. This time is a gift I’m giving myself.

  Though I still pop into the hospital from time to time, I don’t feel the need to stay as long as I did before. Rach’s family seems to have things covered. Even the occasional trips to her apartment to pick up whatever she needs are being handled by Lucca, Maria, or her cousins now.

  On top of that, Rach has become friendly with all of Luis’s regular nurses and they’ve gone above and beyond to make her comfortable. They’ve even allowed her to use the shower in Luis’s room whenever she feels the need to freshen up. Fortunately for Rach, she had several weeks of vacation time saved up, a time I’m certain was for her honeymoon. Nevertheless, it allows her to remain at the hospital without having to worry about work.

  As for my own work, Bob has a niece, Samatha, with an administrative background and he’s decided to bring her on board as my replacement. She has a bubbly personality and is super eager to please. After a few days of training her, I can already tell she’ll be an asset to Bob. Turns out he’s going to be fine without me. Gotta admit that while I’m thrilled Bob has someone as competent as Samatha on his team, I was taken back a bit by the speed at which I’ve been replaced.

  Seems it’s now plausible for me to step out of my current position and into my new one next week. Before I leave on Friday afternoon, Bob calls me into his office. “Well, Vivienne, Samantha tells me you’ve done a fine job training her this week, and I appreciate that.”

  “Honestly, I think you’ve found a good one. She’s going to do a great job, I’m sure of it.”

  “I want to thank you for all your hard work,” Bob says as he pulls an envelope from his top drawer and slides it across his desk towards me. “A little something from all of us.”

  Inside the envelope is a card signed with well-wishes from everyone in the department along with five hundred dollars cash. “Wow, sir, thank you, but you didn’t have to do that. It’s too much.”

  “Not at all. We wanted to. Your dedication to me and this department has been immeasurable. Buy yourself a new outfit or something for your new job.” He comes around from behind his desk and gives me a hug and as he pulls back, he says, “You’ll be missed Vivienne, but you won’t be far so don’t be a stranger. Pop in and say hi every once in a while, okay?”

  “Will do. Thank you.”

  It’s a bit odd walking out this early on a Friday afternoon, but Bob reassures me there is nothing left for me to do. And I told him a week ago there was a personal matter I need to attend to today. I head back out to my desk to collect the last of my things, I pause for a moment and look around, taking it all in one last time before I walk towards the elevators.

  On my way home, I visit my doctor’s office for a quick checkup. I’ve already postponed this appointment three times, so I figure I’d better not miss this one. Height, weight, blood pressure, a couple of vials of blood, and my annual pap smear. Oh, joy. I’ve never met a woman who isn’t a least a little squeamish as the doctor g
loves up, instructs her to put her feet together, knees apart, and relax. Relax? Privates spread open like a turkey ready to be stuffed Thanksgiving morning. Yeah, sure, okay. Relax. Got it.

  “That’s it, Vivienne, we’re all done here,” my doctor announces as he stands to leave the room. “We’ll call you if there are any issues once we get your test results back.”

  “So, no news is good news then,” I awkwardly reply as I adjust my paper gown and swing my legs over the side of the examining table.

  Chapter 18

  Carolyn Gauge is ready and waiting for me when I arrive Monday morning at nine. She wastes no time showing me around, acquainting me with Mr. Rockhurst’s schedule and bringing me up to speed with everything I need to know. And, it’s a lot. Fortunately for me, Carolyn keeps impeccable records and has already created flow charts I can refer to should questions arise. She will be staying on for the next five days to help with the transition.

  The office is quite upscale compared to I-Sales. Here, floor to ceiling windows floods the space with natural light which bounces off the polished porcelain-tile floor. The waiting area is expansive, but a large vintage rug with a soft floral pattern helps to define the space. On top of the rug is a contemporary white-leather seating arrangement, and in the center is a large glass coffee table with bevelled edges and polished chrome legs. A collection of magazines is neatly fanned out on the table together with a large silver vase holding an elegant display of fresh flowers. A rich, grey wooden side table with chrome accents rests against the wall, complete with a hot beverage station. There appears to be a wide selection of self-serve coffees and teas and a tray of freshly baked goods which I saw the staff placing out when I arrived this morning.

  Carolyn catches me looking in that direction. “Every couple of days, a local florist switches the floral arrangement for a new one and each morning, staff from a nearby bakery deliver fresh cookies, squares, and donuts. Our own cleaning staff will freshen up the station each night and restock the coffees and teas, and also ensure fresh milk and cream are in the small refrigerator. So you won’t need to worry about any of that. Mr. Rockhurst likes to ensure his guests are well taken care of. You are welcome to help yourself as well.”