“Well, it’s always best to treat these things seriously.”
“Thanks Dr.Winthrop.I really appreciate it.”Kyle shook the man’s hand.“We’ll have some tickets available for you when you need.Just say the word.”
“I might just hold you to that.”
“Please do.”
He departed, and Doc Cheloff explained some more about taking care to rest in order to promote healing, to which Kyle nodded.Then he left to look in on another patient of his, leaving Kyle to the care of a nurse and a team aide, Lee.They helped as Kyle was shunted to a wheelchair, which felt like incredible overkill, but was the hospital’s policy nonetheless.
It took a few minutes to descend in the elevator to the ground floor, minutes where he hoped with every fiber of his being that he’d “accidentally” run into Gen again.She hadn’t been back to see him since Monday.And he hadn’t had the heart to ask Gerry to chase her again.He felt too much like a loser already, knowing she preferred someone else to him, that he knew he would just look pathetic if he kept chasing.
Bumping into her accidentally would be a different thing.And yeah, he might’ve prayed that God would direct Kyle’s paths straight into meeting Gen again.
But it seemed like God’s answer was a no, as he was soon wheeled out into sunshine and fresh air.
“Okay, we’ve got a car for you, so hang tight for a few minutes and then I’ll come get you and we’ll get going, okay?”Lee said.
“Sure.”Kyle thanked the orderly who returned the wheelchair inside.
He sat on a nearby seat and savored the feel of fresh air, the scent of approaching rain, slouching in the chair as per instructions, his baseball cap pulled down.He didn’t mind fans, but really would prefer to not meet them while he still looked like a cripple.Already, thanks to his mostly liquid diet, he’d lost muscle tone, probably five to ten pounds.His body was itching for a solid workout.But that was exactly the kind of thing he was now forbidden to do.
He glanced around, then nearly had a heart malfunction when he noticed a certain person walking past.
“Gen?”he called, but the breeze stole his words away.
She kept walking, headphones on, focused, as she moved to the bus stop across the street.
Huh.She’d mentioned she took the bus, but he thought she must’ve been joking.Doctors didn’t catch the bus, did they?Although, apparently this one did.
He watched as she boarded the bus, taking a seat by the window.She looked out, and he lifted a hand, catching her widened eyes as she noticed him.
He smiled, and that might’ve been the slightest glimmer of her own smile but he didn’t have time to check as Lee drew near in a car, the window down.
“Are you able to walk here?”
“Sure.”
He propelled out of the seat and hurried to the car, instantly noticing a twinge as if his body had protested.The bus had stopped at a traffic light, and he eased into the passenger seat of Lee’s car.
“Okay, where to?Home?”
Was the bus taking Gen home?Would it be stalker-like to ask Lee to follow it?Probably.
Except, would it?Really?How could it be?They were friends.Or they had been.And it would truly ease his mind to know she was okay, that she wasn’t living like she had in the past but was in a safe neighborhood.But if she was to see him or find out that he’d followed her, that probably wouldn’t end well.
“Kyle?”Lee prompted.
“Sorry.Yeah, home.Thanks.”
Lee punched in Kyle’s address to his GPS, and as they sat in snarled traffic they chatted about recent games, including last night’s blowout win against San Jose—and veteran Northwest Ice Christian brothers Jai Mullins and Doug Lehtonen.
Seven zip.“Ouch.”
“Yeah.Great game for The Pirate”—Sam Gustaffsson’s nickname, thanks to his long unruly beard—“but you can’t help but feel for the Sharks still.”
“True.”In losing JT Oskar they’d lost their number one goalie.“It’s gonna take time for them to bounce back from losing a Vezina winner.”
“Right?That’s really gonna suck.”
