Love Immortal (6 page)

“Hey ugly. Whatcha up to?” She grinned as she
started unpacking a curling iron, along with various cosmetics.

“What are you doing here?” Jewell asked,
incredulous. She looked at the clock; it was still an hour and
forty-five minutes until their shift started.

“Your dad called. He said he thought you
might need a little help and asked me if I would mind coming in
early to give you a hand.”

“Oh, for the love of…” Her voice trailed off.
It was impossible to hate her dad, but sometimes she wished he was
just a little more obtuse.

As Ashley plugged in the curling iron and
started laying out the cosmetics, Jewell asked herself what she was
doing here. It was obvious that her feelings for Collin must be the
result of the nurse – patient relationship. Or maybe it was that
longing for something that you can’t have. He was really handsome,
but obviously he wouldn’t have any interest in someone like her;
for heaven’s sake, she still lived with her father! She knew that
guys just weren’t interested in her. Even the boys that she had
grown up with, the ones that didn’t tease her, the ones that
actually defended her, treated her more like a sister. They never
liked her that way.

When Ashley had finished setting up her
make-shift beauty salon, she dragged a chair over and placed it
with the back to the mirror. “You can’t see until I’m
finished.”

It didn’t take Ashley long to finish her
makeover. Curling Jewell’s hair took the longest, but as Ashley
dusted the mineral powder base on Jewell’s skin, she commented
about how pretty Jewell could be if she just made a little effort.
She dusted on the blush, and used a gray eye shadow “To bring out
the blue in your eyes, and give you a sultry look,” she had
said.

“Okay…look!” Ashley told Jewell turning her
chair toward the mirror. What Jewell saw was astonishing. It wasn’t
that she had magically transformed into a super model, but she
really didn’t look quite so plain. It was an interesting
revelation. When she turned around, Ashley held up a blouse
apparently expecting Jewell to change out of her Tinker Bell
t-shirt before heading upstairs. When Ashley finally pronounced her
acceptable, Jewell headed for the elevators.

Jewell didn’t want to take the stairs today.
In fact, she almost hoped that the elevators had stopped working to
give her an excuse not to go see him. But it seemed like it had
been only seconds when she heard the elevator ding, and saw the
doors open beckoning her inside. She pushed the button for the
sixth floor and watched the doors close, trapping her into her
decision. As the elevator moved slowly past each floor, all she
could do was wait, and think. Maybe the electricity would go out
while she was in the elevator. Maybe she would be trapped inside
for hours, unable to escape. She wasn’t sure which idea frightened
her more; the idea of being trapped in the elevator, or the idea of
facing Collin only to find that he was truly uninterested.

When the elevator doors opened, she left the
elevator and walked slowly to his room almost without conscious
effort. Again, she stood in front of the door, too frightened to go
in, too frightened to run away. She took a deep breath and pushed
the door open. He was sleeping, with his back to her again, on his
left side. It made sense that he was always facing away from the
door when she entered, it was probably more comfortable to lie on
the side that had suffered less injury.

As Jewell stood in the doorway, Collin was
dreaming. In his dream, Collin was suddenly standing at the house
in South Carolina where he lived when he first arrived in the
states a couple of years ago; the fragrant flowering vines winding
along the long fence enclosing the property. The smell was
intoxicating, enchantingly sweet, inviting. The smell was fresh,
almost fruity in its fragrance with a subtle hint of spice. It was
alluringly feminine, enticingly romantic. That was when he saw her,
standing by the gate, waiting for him. But as with many dreams, the
closer he came to her, the further away she seemed, forever out of
reach. As he thought about the bouquet, trying to remember the name
of the flower so abundant at that home, the delicate scent of the
small flowers slowly drew him from his dream. That was when he
realized that the smell was in his room. He slowly rolled to his
back, careful of his injuries, to see where the aroma was coming
from.

Collin watched her standing in the door.
Honeysuckle, that was the name of the vine, the smell in his room;
it fit her, he thought. When he saw her this morning, she smelled
of antiseptic soap and alcohol. As he thought about it, he realized
that he had smelled the honeysuckle this morning, but not as
strongly. This scent, this fragrance was her. This was how she was
supposed to smell; of freshness and beauty, not sterility and
medicine. He looked into her eyes. She was anxious, unsure of what
he felt. He tried to smile, to reassure her, but knew when he felt
the lopsided turn of his lips that his effort would be futile.

“You look better today than you did
yesterday.” He grimaced. The medicine was definitely not helping
his ability to charm her with his smooth vocabulary. “I mean,
you’re not in your scrubs. Your hair looks nice when it’s down.
Aren’t you working?”

“Well, no. I got to work a little early so I
thought I’d come by and see how you were feeling.” She didn’t move
further into the room, she felt awkward and uncomfortable; still
unsure of his feelings.

“Can you sit down? Do you have some time to
stay?” He was afraid that like before, she had only come by out of
professional concern for his wellbeing, that upon seeing his
improving condition, she would leave again to check on other
patients or ready herself for her shift.

“I’d like to, if you don’t mind.” She walked
timidly into the room and sat carefully on the edge of the recliner
next to his bed.

“I was hoping that you would come by again. I
know you don’t need to come up here, that I’m not part of your
duties anymore.”

“Really? You wanted to see me again?” Ugh,
too eager. Maybe he just liked having someone to talk to. It seemed
obvious that no one came to visit, and most nurses didn’t spend a
lot of time socializing with their patients; not because they were
unkind, but because they were usually very busy and responsible for
many patients.

“Yes, I really wanted to see you again.” He
tried his lopsided smile again, hoping that it wasn’t too hideous.
He had scrupulously avoided mirrors since arriving. He moved his
good hand to the edge of the bed, palm up, an invitation.

When his hand moved to the edge of the bed,
Jewell felt a flash of hope move through her and the butterflies
turned into bats. Did he want her to hold his hand? She slowly
moved her hand towards his, hesitant, but eager. She gently brushed
the tips of her fingers against his and was shocked at the sudden
searing heat that surged through her body and turned to a
smoldering burn. Collin carefully curled his fingers, pulling her
hand into his.

She was overjoyed when his hand curled around
hers, holding her, unwilling to let go. His touch was warm, like
hot chocolate on a winter day. It warmed her hand the warmth flowed
through her, engulfing her in his touch

They sat like this, without speaking, until
Jewell had to leave for her shift. It wasn’t an uncomfortable
silence. That it felt so normal made it that much better. Jewell
didn’t want to leave, almost couldn’t leave, but she had to. He
looked at her as she stood up and released his hand. “Will you come
to visit again?”

“Of course.”

* * *

At the end of her shift, Jewell couldn’t move
fast enough to change. She slipped out of her scrubs, and back into
the outfit she had been wearing the night before. Instead of
waiting for the elevator, she ran up the stairs. She arrived on the
sixth floor, breathless. She took several deep breaths as she
walked towards his room. When she stood before his door this time,
there was no fear, no hesitation. She pushed the door open slowly,
it was still early in the morning and she didn’t want to wake him
if he was sleeping.

He was waiting, lying on his back, looking at
the door. “Honeysuckle,” he said when she came to sit in the blue
vinyl recliner next to his bed. He was smiling, only half of his
face, but she knew that if it could, it would light up his whole
face.

“What?” It was a strange greeting, and
confused her.

“That’s what you smell like; honeysuckle. It
was really strong last night when you came in, but it’s more subtle
now; hidden a bit under the antiseptic soap smell.” He wrinkled his
face in disgust.

“Yeah, the antiseptic soap doesn’t smell
really great does it? The honeysuckle is from my yard at home. It’s
pretty much taken over and choked out anything else that had been
trying to grow. My mother planted it, so my dad refuses to dig it
up – though I don’t think it would hurt to trim it back a bit now
and then.” She smiled, thinking of the summer that she almost gave
her father a heart attack when he came home and found her pulling
it up by the handful. “I like to collect it when it blooms and make
potpourri with it.”

“The smell suits you. I remember it from the
last spring my uncle and I were living in South Carolina. It grew
on the fences there. The fragrance when it first blossomed was
overwhelming. It was almost enough to make you dizzy. It bloomed
all summer, but the smell wasn’t as strong as in the spring. I
would sometimes walk along the fence so I could breathe in its
fragrance, it made me feel…content. I wasn’t sure why; it reminded
me of something, but I never figured out what it was. Have you ever
had that happen, you hear something, or smell something that you’ve
experienced before, but no matter how hard you try, you just can’t
remember what it was?”

“I do, all the time. I think that’s because I
have a bad memory though.” They both laughed. Then they sat
silently, neither of them knowing what to say.

Finally, Collin looked at her, “Now I know
what it was. I was remembering you; I just didn’t know it yet.” His
gaze moved from her face to look past her, out the window at the
buildings beyond, almost as if he was suddenly shy.

Jewell felt a single tear roll down her
cheek. It was the same way she felt looking at him in the ER, they
were supposed to have met before, but something kept their paths
from crossing.

Jewell couldn’t stay long. She still had to
work. She brushed her hand along his arm as she left, feeling his
hard muscles underneath the flesh. Where her hand touched his arm,
Collin felt a ribbon of fire.

The next morning, Jewell came to sit with
Collin again. “You said you moved here from South Carolina? Did you
live there a long time?” Jewell had never been outside a one
hundred mile radius of her home town.

“No. We lived there when we first came back
to the states. We, my uncle and I, had been living in the UK, but
before that we lived in Italy.”

“Wow.” His life was so much more exciting
than hers. “Is your uncle in the military?”

“Well, no. Not really. We just move around a
lot. I guess my uncle has a severe case of wanderlust.” He didn’t
want to tell her that his uncle was running from something, for
Collin’s whole life, they had been hiding from some unnamed, unseen
enemy.

“So it’s just you and your uncle then? What
about your parents?”

“Both of my parents died when I was very
young. They were murdered.” He shrugged a little, as if he were
trying to shrug off the pain.

“I’m sorry. My mom died when I was ten, so I
know what it’s like.”

“Well, I never knew them, but somehow, it
still hurts. I miss the parents I wish I had, if that makes sense.
My uncle has been taking care of me ever since, and I love him, but
somehow it’s not the same.” He paused for a minute.

“Yeah, I guess I can see what you mean. I’ve
always had my dad, and I had my mom for ten years. I really miss
her though. She’s the reason I became a nurse.” She swallowed the
lump that rose into her throat thinking about her mother. Even
after all these years, it’s still like she died yesterday.

Jewell reached for Collin’s hand suddenly
needing the comfort. “So, you’ve lived in Italy?” Jewell asked when
she felt like she could speak again without her voice breaking.

“Yeah, overseas we lived in Italy, Romania,
France and the UK. Here, we’ve lived in Montana, South Carolina,
and now Louisiana. We usually stay someplace for a few years and
then move.”

“So you have a lot of family?”

“No, not really; they’re not really my aunts
and uncles. Just close friends of my uncle. He’s been travelling
for several years and has met a lot of people. Everyone we stay
with has known my uncle for years.”

“So, are you staying with someone here? Your
‘family’ I mean?” She made little air quotes with her fingers when
she said the word family.

“No, it’s just us this time. We have a house
a ways out of town.”

“I guess that’s why you said you don’t get
many visitors. Just your uncle, huh?”

“I wish! I’ve been here for what, a week now?
And he hasn’t stopped in once!” The irritation in his voice was
obvious.

“Well, I do know he came to see you in ICU.
Carol at the desk said that he checked in on you. He’s a doctor or
something?”

“Well, it would be nice if he would
acknowledge the fact that I’m stuck in this place, and come by to
say hello or something! But that’s Uncle Percy. He’s never been one
for a lot of emotion. Things just are what they are with him. He’ll
probably send a cab to pick me up when I get released!”

Jewell didn’t know how to respond to that. It
seemed strange to her that Collin’s only family wouldn’t come by
for a visit. With most patients, you had to practically drag them
out when visiting hours were over. She felt bad for Collin, but
despite his irritation, she could hear the affection he held for
his uncle in his voice. She could tell that he knew his uncle
really did care about his well-being, even if he didn’t come to
visit. She glanced at her watch. She wanted to stay all day, but
she had to work the night shift and still needed to go home to get
some sleep. She said good-bye and promised to stop by at the start
of her next shift.