by Katie Dowe
Three days! So he’d been in the hospital that evening when he hadn’t turned up for her triumph.
For a moment, Heidi wondered if it had been fate’s joke. Had that been the price she’d had to pay?
No, she was being morbid, of course.
“How bad is it? Which hospital is it? Can I go to see him?”
Rick seemed to hesitate for a moment.
“He’s got somebody with him all the time. I’m sure he’d like it if you went. Look, I’ll meet you there this afternoon. How about that? I can explain what happened, and you can stop freaking out. And I can introduce you to his family.”
Heidi had wondered if she’d end up meeting his family, but this was far from how she had imagined the scene.
“Heidi?”
She snapped back to the present.
“Yes. Yes, please, Rick. As soon as you can. I… Oh, God. Is he in immediate danger?”
“No. The doctors say there’s a good chance he’ll wake up when he’s ready – when his body is ready. They don’t expect any permanent damage if… when that happens. It’s just a waiting thing now. His chances are excellent, Heidi. He’s in excellent shape.”
Heidi let him reassure her a bit before she finally hung up.
As if the bones in her legs had turned into liquid, she just slid to the floor.
Christian was in the hospital.
He was in a coma.
And even if Rick had tried to sound very optimistic, he had said ‘if’.
‘If’ Christian woke up.
Suddenly, the idea that he might not wake up seemed almost too awful to contemplate.
Finding her strength again, from somewhere, Heidi got to her feet and took a deep breath.
She splashed some cold water on her face, and wondered what to do next.
She did what seemed natural. She went across the hall to Mrs. Spinelli, and told her all she knew.
When she cried, Mrs. Spinelli held her, and Heidi took all of that comfort that she offered.
And she was grateful for it.
“It’ll be all right, love,” said Mrs. Spinelli, and Heidi tried hard to believe it.
“It has to be. Mrs. Spinelli, it has to be all right.”
Heidi, for once, canceled on her dogs. She felt awful about doing it, but she couldn’t face even her beloved canine friends at the moment.
It felt like something inside had broken.
Had she known how much he was beginning to mean to her? The attraction had been elemental, but it had become something more, and she hadn’t expected that.
At six, she was waiting outside the hospital, hoping that Rick wouldn’t be late. She should go in and ask what was wrong, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it, somehow.
It was with relief that she saw Rick walking towards her.
“Rick…”
“Hey,” said Rick, and launched right into it without wasting time with niceties.
“There was a fire, a pretty bad one, three days ago.”
She nodded.
“The night of my performance.”
Rick nodded, too.
“Yes. It was in the afternoon. We got the call, from emergency dispatch, and it seemed like routine. The fire was on the second floor. We followed protocol, but we didn’t know that there was a child on the third floor. Nobody told us until we’d declared the building clear. We’d cleared it, floor by floor, but the kid had been left alone and was hiding under the bed.”
Rick paused, obviously reliving something he had no wish to think about.
“We were told by a neighbor. We were trying to get things under control, but the blaze… It was pretty bad. Christian didn’t even think twice. He ran in. The entire place was about to go up. We suspect arson. It felt like there was an accelerant involved. Whatever it was, the smoke… Christian has the training to counter it, and he had his gear, but it was too much. He got to the kid, placed his mask over the kid’s face, and got out. I don’t know how he managed to get out, Heidi. He should’ve collapsed in there. But he almost made it out before he gave in to it. I was about to go in after him when I saw him, and he fell. I ran in, grabbed the kid, and another guy grabbed him. We managed to get them both out.”
Heidi felt like she couldn’t quite believe her ears. Things like this didn’t happen in real life, did they?
But she looked at Rick, and knew that they did.
“How’s the kid?”
A ghost of a smile flickered over Rick’s face.
“Kid is fine. Made it through. Needed a couple of days in the hospital, but other than a sore throat, almost as good as new. Drew us all so many pictures, too. She says she’s going to be a firefighter, too.”
Heidi tried to smile.
Rick saw the effort it took, and patted her hand.
“The doctors say that it’s a matter of time, mostly. Christian is extremely fit, and there doesn’t seem to have been oxygen deprivation bad enough to cause any permanent damage. That in itself is a miracle, Heidi. Now we just need to wait for his body to fix itself, and he’ll wake up. Then we can both kick his ass.”
Heidi chuckled, but it was a weepy, watery sound, absolutely nothing like her usual, full-bodied laugh.
Rick wiped away the tear that trickled down her cheek.
“There, now. He’ll be fine. Sing to him. He’s always loved to hear you sing. He was looking forward to your performance. I should’ve called you, but I’m afraid it’s been such a time…”
Heidi shook her head and interrupted.
“No, you had too much on your mind, obviously. It’s fine. I’m glad I finally managed to get through to you. I was beginning to wonder just what the hell was going on. I mean… He’d been there, all along, and suddenly he wasn’t. And I realized that I didn’t know enough about him to be able to drop by to his place, or anything. I don’t even know where he lives. I had to call and call before I finally got through to you.”
Rick nodded, sheepishly.
“Well, you’re going to get to know a lot more about him than you might’ve bargained for. You know he comes from a very large family, don’t you?”
Heidi nodded, looking a bit puzzled.
“Well, the family is very close. His father, Jonathan, is the only son, and has four sisters. That means that there are five women in Christian’s life. Each of them wants to see him settle down with a good woman and make them lots of pretty babies to play with and coo over.”
Heidi grinned, and this time, it looked much more like a real one.
“I’ve heard a bit about his aunts. Especially his aunt Susie.”
Rick chuckled.
“Man, aunt Susie has been on my case for the last two days, once she got over some of that panic. When Christian can’t be bothered about the girls, they try to get me set up with somebody. They really want somebody to date this girl, Peggy. They made Christian go out with her once. But she likes Nickelback.”
Heidi made a face of horror, and it wasn’t all pretend.
“You don’t say!”
Rick nodded, sagely.
“Yes, you see what you’ve saved him from. But you’re going to get the third degree, and soon. I think it’s between shifts right now, so you’ll have about ten minutes alone with him before the next aunt turns up. I think aunt Susie had her turn earlier. The others are less persistent. But it might be Christian’s mother, too.”
Heidi felt her heart trip just for a moment.
Meet Christian’s mom? The nerves were a natural and instinctive reaction, she told herself.
Christian’s mom didn’t know about her. Of course not.
Christian and she had a connection, but they weren’t dating. He hadn’t taken her home. He must have dozens of people coming to see him. She would be just one of the many.
Besides, it didn’t matter.
Despite all the reassurances that he was really quite okay, she needed to see that for herself. She needed to see him, and be sure that he looked…
What co
uld she see, really? He’d be in a room, hooked up to machines that would monitor every single thing about him.
And he would get better, she told herself, willing herself back from the edge of panic.
“This way,” said Rick, and found the elevator that would take them to Christian.
“This is the shortest way. I’ve been here a lot in the last couple of days.”
Heidi nodded.
“Did you need medical attention, too?” she asked him, rather belatedly.
“Nothing worth mentioning. A few scraps, and a few tests. Got a clean bill of health. We had guys lining up offering to give blood. That’s part of the deal. When one of us is in the hospital, we give what we can. But no amount of blood will help Christian, will it? We just have to be patient. We’re not very good at patience.”
They stepped out into another corridor, clean and sanitized, with that lingering smell of despair that couldn’t be washed away with any amount of disinfectant.
She didn’t think she would ever be able to smell a hint of citrus again without thinking of the hopelessness and boredom she saw on so many faces.
People in scrubs seemed to move around busily. Somebody was rolled through the corridor on a gurney, but even the sense of urgency seemed to be routine.
There was noise, but not the kind that jarred. Everything was controlled.
For a moment, Heidi felt as if she might suffocate. The too-white lights in the corridor seemed to burn into her eyes.
“Heidi…”
“I’m fine. Sorry. Which way is Christian?”
He took her hand, squeezing it lightly. Heidi was grateful for the comfort and the strength, and let herself be guided to another corridor, where there was a much more muted feel.
“In here,” he said, finally.
Heidi nodded, and took a deep breath.
She could see him, through the glass door. The blinds weren’t completely closed.
He looked so pale, thought Heidi.
She opened the door and walked in.
There were beeps, and a soft hushing sound. He looked pale, and for a moment, she felt the panic pushing against the surface again, before she saw his chest rising and falling steadily.
“Christian,” she whispered, and moved forward to take his hand.
It was warm, she felt, with relief.
But it was only then that it really hit her.
Christian was in a coma. Nobody knew when he’d wake up.
“Oh, Christian,” she said, and sat down next to him, holding on to his hand.
Chapter 8
Heidi didn’t know what made her do it. She’d been told that people in comas often heard you. So she sang.
She started softly, humming, but it didn’t look like it was hurting him.
None of the beeping or hushing sounds sped up or slowed down, so it was definitely not doing more harm.
He had missed her performance, hadn’t he? So she did what came naturally to her, what she had always done to get through everything that life had thrown at her, and she sang.
She wished his fingers would move against her as she sang, but they didn’t.
But when the last note died down, she felt that they weren’t alone. A performer learns to feel the presence of anybody listening to them.
Heidi turned and saw a plump, short woman standing there.
But the eyes…
They were Christian’s eyes.
“I’m Gina. Christian’s mother,” said the woman, and Heidi tried to make her smile charming and easy.
“Hello. I’m Heidi.”
“How do you know Christian?”
Heidi smiled.
“He saved my ass, once. And he comes to listen to me sing, quite often. I missed him a few times and asked Rick what was wrong. And so I heard…”
She trailed off.
Gina nodded.
“You sing very well. It’s no surprise that Christian comes to listen to you.”
Heidi’s smile got a bit easier as she nodded.
“Thank you.”
“You’re very pretty, too. Are you his girlfriend? My boy, he thinks I’ll put any girl he brings home through the third degree. But I’m not so bad. I won’t bite.”
Heidi’s smile froze, just a bit.
“We went out a couple of times, but I guess we didn’t talking about it as if we were dating. But… He matters to me. I’ve come to count on him, in ways I hadn’t realized.”
Gina nodded, and Heidi wondered what on earth had possessed her to say a thing like that.
“The doctors say that he might be able to hear what we say. If conversation, bribes and orders don’t get through to him, maybe your music will. I tried ordering the boy to come right back to us, or else. I tried bribing him with his favorite fried chicken. But neither has worked.”
Gina’s beautiful eyes filled with tears, and Heidi did what came to her, what was instinct for her. She stepped to Gina, and wrapped her in a hug.
“He’s the strongest man I know. He’s not going to let some pesky smoke beat him. He’s the most competitive man I know, too, so you might try insulting him next,” suggested Heidi, and was rewarded with a smile.
“Are you the reason why he didn’t ask Peggy out again?”
Heidi’s eyes narrowed.
“Who’s Peggy?”
Despite herself, Gina chuckled.
“Oh, it will be good for him to hear you, I think. He might come back to us sooner if we’re both mad at him.”
Heidi let a tear spill down her cheek, too, and let herself be comforted, this time.
“Or it might make him chicken out. He’s never had me angry with him. I… I’m sorry, I’m intruding. I’ll…”
But Gina gripped her arms with surprisingly strong hands.
“Oh, don’t even think about it. He never brings his girls home. Now I’ve got you in my clutches, I am going to give you the third degree that he was afraid I would. Take a seat, love. My sisters-in-law will be here soon. They will want to meet you, too.”
Dazed, Heidi sat back down, and wondered just what the hell she had gotten herself into, after all.
Two hours later, Heidi made her way back home, feeling more than a bit dazed.
She had met four aunts, and his mom.
She had had to sing many songs.
She had been taught a few songs.
You wouldn’t think that the apple of their eyes was lying in a coma next to them, judging by the way they acted. They had apparently come to the conclusion that the best way to get Christian to come out of his coma was to give him a good old-fashioned celebration to come back to.
They had even managed to sneak in fried chicken and coleslaw.
And Heidi had to admit that it had been good. It had been excellent, in fact.
She had been given a box, for two, to take home with her, too.
Rick had seen the look on her face and burst out laughing. That had not been very sympathetic or charitable of him, thought Heidi.
“Mrs. Spinelli?” she knocked and called.
“Heidi, my girl. Come on in.”
Heidi walked in with the box.
“Got dinner, Mrs. Spinelli. I’m not singing tonight. Taking the evening off.”
Mrs. Spinelli nodded, and took a good look at Heidi.
“You don’t look too bad. I was worried about you.”
Heidi managed a smile.
“I’m exhausted. From everything I was told, it seems like there’s an excellent chance that he’ll be fine, but it’s a waiting game, now. They used a lot of fancy words that I didn’t understand. And I met his family. Boy, what a family,” said Heidi, and sank right down onto the rug.
“Oh dear. That sounds eventful,” said Mrs. Spinelli, but Heidi heard the laughter in her voice.
“It’s not funny, Mrs. Spinelli. I met his mother and four aunts. They know everything about me now. They know more about me than Christian knew. Seriously, if it really is true that you hear things in your coma, h
e knows me a bit better than I’d want him to, right now!”
Mrs. Spinelli swallowed her laughter.
“You’re not used to dealing with a large family.”
Heidi shook her head.
“But they didn’t seem to hate me. They made me sing for them. A lot. One of his aunts – I think her name is Laura, but goodness knows, it was like having a gaggle of aunts descent upon you like the hosts of heaven or something – has a pretty good voice. She taught me a few country songs. I couldn’t exactly tell her that I seriously dislike country music.”
Mrs. Spinelli nodded again, looking sage.
“Well, looks like you got some food out of it.”
“Cold chicken and coleslaw. And potato salad, I think. Not as good as what you make, Mrs. Spinelli, but it’s pretty damn good. Anyway, so we don’t have to make dinner tonight. We can have beer and proper American comfort food. What do you say?”
The older woman who was the closest thing Heidi had to a mother smiled.
“I say it sounds like an excellent idea, Heidi. We’ll watch some TV, and you can tell me all about your very eventful day. You can have your revenge when your young man wakes up by springing me on him.”
That cheered Heidi up considerably.
To her surprise, she did end up having a pretty good evening. By the time she went to bed, she was even feeling calm enough to think that she might be able to get some sleep.
And she did.
But it was fitful, restless dreams. Most of the fears that she had kept at bay during the day seemed to have been waiting to ambush her in her sleep.
She saw everything that Rick had described, except this time, she was there, and she was supposed to save him.
But she didn’t, and no matter what she tried, she couldn’t make him wake up.
She said his name in her sleep, over and over again, until she finally woke up, her cheeks wet with tears.
“Oh, Christian, you have to be all right. You have to wake up soon. You have so many people who need you in their lives, Christian. You have me, too. I need you, too. You have to come back to us,” she whispered, and hoped that he’d hear her thoughts, somehow, unlikely as it seemed.
And she knew that she would be back at the hospital, the next day, and the next, until he finally opened his eyes, and she saw herself reflected in those compelling eyes again.