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Finally, on the third day, one of the nurses took pity on her and rolled in a lounge chair that folded down into a single bed. She handed Laila sheets, a blanket and a pillow and said, “Don’t tell anyone I gave you these. They were in the room when you got here. Okay?”
Laila nodded. “Got it. And thank you very much.”
The nurse jerked her head toward Jase. “Now that you’re here, he’s directing his anger at you instead of us nurses. A bed for you seems like a fair exchange.”
Jase told her several times a day to go home. Every time he did, Laila rolled her eyes at him. After her second week at the hospital, it looked like Jase started working harder at his physical therapy. When he returned from PT, his clothes were soaked with sweat. It had clearly paid off, because he began walking with a cane instead of a walker.
Finally, the day came when the doctor walked into his room around nine a.m., just like she usually did. “Jase,” she said, studying her patient. Laila was pretty sure she saw admiration in her eyes.
Then the doctor looked at her. “Laila.” This time she was sure the admiration was real. “How are you both doing?”
Jase gave his usual one-shoulder shrug. “Beats dying, I guess.”
Smothering a laugh, the doctor glanced at Laila. “We’re good,” Laila said.
The doctor nodded. “Yeah, you are,” she replied. “I’m releasing Jase the day after tomorrow. That’s to give you time to figure out where you’re going,” she said to Jase. “I don’t care where it is, as long as you’re not living alone and there’s a good rehab facility close by.” She glanced from Laila to Jase, then back to Laila. “Do you have family you can stay with, Jase?”
Jase shook his head vehemently. “Ain’t happening, Doc.”
“Then you can stay with Laila. Or a friend. But I need a name and an address tomorrow.”
Laila stared after the doctor as she walked out of the room, then turned slowly to look at Jase. “Great news, huh?”
Jase stared down at his hands. His left hand was smoothing down the scarred skin of his left thigh. “Yeah. I guess so.”
“You should be thrilled,” she said, leaning closer and trying to catch his gaze. “You get out of the hospital. Get to eat regular food again. Do whatever you want to do. Within reason, anyway. What’s not to be happy about?”
“Where the hell am I going to go, Laila? I will not stay with my parents.”
“Do they even know what happened to you?” she asked.
He shook his head. “We don’t have that kind of relationship.”
“You don’t have the kind of relationship where you tell them you sustained a serious injury in service to your country?” she asked, shocked.
“No.” He pressed his lips together. “They didn’t want me to go into the Navy. Basically cut me out of their lives when I enrolled anyway, and I was happy about that. When I turned twenty-one, I got that inheritance from my grandparents’ estate. I didn’t want that, either, but I had no choice. And it came in handy.” He glanced at her, then away. “Used some of it to charter that jet in Kabul.”
“Okay,” she said, trying to sound calm. Cool. “Then where do you want to go?”
He turned his head away and didn’t answer.
“The offer to stay with me still stands,” she said softly. “My house has a few stairs to get inside, but it’s all on one story. And there are two very good hospitals in Madison. One is the University hospital. I’ve heard they have a great rehab department.”
She’d heard because she’d done some research. For complicated injuries, it was the best rehab facility in Madison.
“I can’t impose on you like that, Laila,” he said, staring down at the sheet as he pleated it with his fingers.
“I offered, Jase,” she said, keeping her voice even. “That means it’s not an imposition. If you don’t want to stay with me, that’s fine. But they’re not going to let you out of here until you find someone who’ll put up with you. And I’m guessing that number is small. Getting smaller as we speak.”
Jase shrugged one shoulder. “I’ll think of something.”
“Okay. A nursing home it is.” She shoved her earbuds into her ears and turned up her music so she wouldn’t be able to hear him. Stared at her e-reader without actually seeing the words.
She’d listened to two songs when one of the earbuds was yanked out of her ear. Her head shot up and she found Jase standing beside her chair, his cane gripped in one hand.
“Fine,” he said. “I’ll stay with you. Are you happy now?”
“Should I be?” she shot back. “Are you going to be as much of a pain in the ass as you’ve been to the nurses and therapists here?”
