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The next time I wake,I want to move. My entire body aches and my hip hurts in this position. I gather all my strength and try to shift my body, but I can’t.
“Lilah, can you hear me? That’s it, baby, see if you can open your eyes.”
That voice speaks again.
A squeeze on my hand alerts me, and I try but fail to squeeze back.
“Lilah, wake up, honey.”
The voice is so familiar…
Jimmy.
Jimmy is here.
I might not smile on the outside, but I smile inside. He came back for me.
I open my eyes and light filters in for a moment before the demands I’ve placed on my body take their toll. Sleep calls to me again. Even though I want to see Jimmy, I’m not strong enough to fight off its hold.
* * *
I noticethe soft sound of equipment around me. A small hum and an intermittent beep. I’m not lying flat on my back; my front half is raised. I think I’m in the hospital.
The same grip that has been present on my right hand every other time I tried to wake up is still there. This time, rather than wasting energy trying to move my body, I concentrate on opening my eyes.
After a few tries, I pry them open into small slits, but I close them immediately from the glare of the overhead fluorescent lights. After a few seconds, I open them again, better prepared this time.
Jimmy sits in a chair beside my bed and holds my hand, leaning forward, asleep.
He looks awful. There are bags under his eyes and his clothes are rumpled. His hair is mussed and not in his sexy, effortless way. In a way that makes me think he hasn’t seen a shower in a while. Even so, it’s been so long since I’ve seen him that I can’t help letting my gaze travel up, down, and all over him.
I open my mouth to say something, but my throat is so parched, it’s painful.
I squeeze his hand. I’m so weak.
I swallow the little saliva there is in my mouth and croak, “Jimmy.”
His eyes fly open and he sits straight up. He’s looking at me as if I’m a figment of his imagination.
I force a small smile. I’m not sure why I’m here, but what I am sure of is that we haven’t seen or talked to each other in a long time.
“You’re awake.”
The relief in his voice makes my eyes well with tears.
He leans forward, hands extended as though he wants to cup my face, but he stops and glances at the equipment. “I should let the nurse know. They told me to let them know when you wake up.”
He seems unsure of what to do. Not at all like the man I know, who’s always so full of confidence and self-assuredness.
He disappears through the door, which gives me a minute to examine my surroundings. The hospital is clean, and my stay here must be on Jimmy’s dime. It’s a private room with a living room suite to my left and a full bathroom to my right.
I look down at my body. I’m hooked up to IVs and other equipment. I try to remember what brought me here. Was I in a car accident? I don’t think so. I don’t seem to have any casts or anything.
Before a recollection forms, Jimmy returns with a nurse who looks a few years older than he is. She gives me a professional smile as she approaches the bed and looks over the equipment. “Hi, Lilah, my name is Julie and I’m your nurse. I’m going to give you the once-over and call the doctor to let him know you’ve woken up, okay?”
I nod numbly.
Julie proceeds to poke and prod me while making idle chitchat. “I bet you’re thirsty aren’t you, darling?”
