The air in the room intensified. Helena took a deep breath and told herself to remain upright, to look stronger than she felt. Bethany glanced from Helena to the patient and back again before saying, “I have to head out. Take care of yourself, you two.” She then swept past Helena, leaving them alone for the first time since their frantic drive to the hospital.
Helena still didn’t know his name. But goodness, he was just as handsome as she’d thought he was yesterday, with thick eyebrows and dark, wavy hair. Her heart pounded. Slowly, she sat in the chair beside his bed, rubbed her knees, and asked, “How are you feeling?” She guessed she looked even worse than he did, given the fact that he was so good-looking and she looked the way she looked.
“Better than ever.” The man smiled. “I guess you saved my life? Does that sound hokey to say?”
Helena laughed. “I don’t think so. But I didn’t do anything. Not really. That was the doctor. And, well. You wouldn’t have stepped in the glass if I’d just warned you to watch out.”
“I think the correct story is that I snuck onto your property without your permission, got myself hurt, and then basically demanded that you drive me to the hospital,” the man said.
Helena laughed, despite herself, despite everything. “So you remember everything?”
“Up until I passed out,” he said. “I must have been a sight to see!”
Helena had a passing thought that she was grateful to herself for having slept over at the hospital, if only so she could share this moment with this beautiful man. Probably, he’d be out of her life soon. But she could reflect on this moment. She could remind herself of this time when she’d felt alive.
“What were you doing out there in the storm?” Helena asked.
The man shook his head, embarrassed. “I’m a relatively new sailor. I checked the weather earlier in the week and decided to spend all day on the boat. At first, the clouds didn’t scare me, and they brought a nice, sturdy wind for me to practice on. But all at once, things got dire. I was trying to work my way back to the port so that I could tie up on Nantucket and grab a hotel on the island or something. But I really thought it was going to be the end, there in front of your place. I decided I had to trespass, or else.” He grimaced.
“You don’t live in Nantucket?” Helena asked. She was a little disappointed.
He shook his head. “I just moved to a little town near Hyannis. I’m from the Midwest, but I thought I’d give the East Coast a chance. I figured, you know, I’m forty-six. I’m not getting any younger. And I’ve always wanted to live by the water.”
Helena smiled. “I just moved to Nantucket. Yesterday, actually.”
The man’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding. I trespassed on your very first day?”
Helena laughed, then felt her smile dim as exhaustion came over her.
“I feel awful,” the man said, rubbing his chest.
“How could you have known?” Helena forced her smile, not wanting to show her hand in front of this man. “By the way,” she said. “I don’t know your name.”
“I don’t know yours, either,” the man said.
Helena watched as his smile widened. She wondered if he wanted to tell her. She wondered if, somewhere on the mainland, he had a girlfriend or responsibilities he needed to tend to. She didn’t want to pressure him into giving her anything more of himself.
Suddenly, it occurred to her that it was very strange to have stayed at the hospital overnight—that it probably made her some kind of freak. Her cheeks were hot. Nervously, she got to her feet.
“Where are you going?” The man asked, laughing.
“I’ve already taken up so much of your time,” Helena said.
“What are you talking about?” The man beckoned for her to sit again. “Will knowing my name keep you here? I’m Matteo.”
Helena caught her breath. “That’s a great name.”
“It’s okay.” He shrugged. “But it’s not as good as yours. Which is…?”
“Helena,” she said, sitting back down again. She wet her lips. “Is there someone you want me to reach out to? Someone you want to call?”
Matteo considered this, rubbing his thighs. “Honestly, it’s just me, mostly,” he said. “My parents live back in the Midwest, and I don’t have many new friends in my new town.”
He was lonely, like she was, maybe. What were the chances? Helena had thought she was the loneliest person in the world.
Not long after that, a nurse came in to tell Matteo he could leave whenever he wanted. “You’ve been cleared.” Helena left the room so that Matteo could get dressed. When she returned, she found him laughing with the nurse about how his shoe had been ripped apart and cut off during the surgery.
“I can take you back to my place,” Helena said. “Or drive you to the mainland?” What was she thinking? She was exhausted. She needed to sleep. She probably wouldn’t be able to make it.
