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“I love you too.”
She was wheeled down the corridor, into the operating theatre. Jennifer was already there, masked and gloved, waiting for her. “Let’s go, Georgie. This’ll be over in no time.” The anesthetist stepped up to the bed, smiling at her as he explained what he was going to do. Georgie felt tears sting her eyes when he put the oxygen mask over her face and tried to calm herself. Jennifer took hold of her hand and Georgie squeezed it. She felt the needle go in, the anesthetist asking her to count backwards from ten. She struggled. “It’s okay. I’ve got you,” Jennifer soothed. Unable to struggle any longer as the creeping darkness overwhelmed her, Georgie gave up.
* * *
Georgie drifted up from an abyss of darkness. Calm, soothing darkness. She felt light against her closed eyes. Could hear a machine beeping. Hospital. She was in hospital. Surgery. She hated hospitals. Starting to feel panicked, she reached up, trying to pull at the tube in her nose. Someone spoke. A soft, lilting voice. She forced her eyes to open. A face appeared in her field of vision. A lovely, kind face. She’d seen it before.I’ve got you, mo chroi.Oh, she was dreaming. He wasn’t really there. Was he? She reached out, ran her fingers down his stubbled cheek. He was real. Ryan. She smiled. He smiled back, his blue eyes glowing at her as he took her hand in his and held onto it. Brandon. Where was Brandon? He wasn’t dead. “He’s just gone for coffee, mo chroi, he’ll be back soon. You can rest some more.” He went to pull his hand away and Georgie clutched at it.
“Stay,” she whispered. “Don’t leave me.”
“I won’t.”
She heard a chair scrape on the tiled floor. Felt Ryan’s hand rubbing hers. Breathed herself back to sleep.
When Georgie woke again, she was back in her private room with a canula in her hand and a drip by her bed. Brandon was sitting on the recliner, typing on his phone. “Bran?”
He was on his feet and at her bedside in a flash. “Hey! You did great, George. The doctor is really pleased.” He stroked her hair back from her forehead.
“What time is it?”
“A few minutes to twelve.”
“What day?”
“Tuesday. Same day as when you went under. You were only out for a few hours.”
“Oh. Good.” She took inventory. She felt numb all over. The numbness alleviated the pain, but it also creeped her out. “Am I moving my toes?”
Brandon lifted up the blanket. “Yep.”
Georgie blew out a breath of relief. “I think I’m thirsty.” Brandon handed her a water bottle and straw and Georgie took it gratefully. “Can you put the bed up, please?”
“Sure.” He watched her drink, then took the bottle back from her when she’d had enough. “Can you eat, do you think?”
“Are you asking because you want lunch?” she teased.
“It’s fettuccine with vanilla slice for dessert. I’m not gonna say no,” he laughed.
“I’m happy to get it if you like. Makes no difference to me. I’m not hungry now, but I also won’t be hungry later.”
Brandon organized lunch and retreated back to the recliner once the meals were cleared away, allowing Georgie another rest. As she dozed off, she felt a fleeting sense of disappointment that Ryan hadn’t been to see her. She would have liked to have lunch with him.
He was there when she woke up, though, a smile on his face and a pair of crutches in his hand. Georgie smiled back. “That’s not the usual reaction I get when I drag patients out of bed on the day of surgery.”
Throwing the blanket back, she replied, “The sooner I start, the sooner I’m better.”
“That’s the way.” Ryan came forward, leaning the crutches against the bed and holding on to Georgie’s hands. “Carefully does it. We’re just checking how you hold up.” With her hands on his shoulders, Georgie eased herself to the floor. “How’s that?”
“Fine. I can’t feel much.”
“That’s what I like to hear. The codeine is doing its job.” Holding her carefully, Ryan reached for the crutches. Georgie tucked them under her arms as Ryan stepped back. He pulled her drip out of the way. “Off you go.” She took a step, then another, then another. “That’s enough.”
“I can do more.”
“Not now.”
“But—”
“You need to be a tortoise.”
