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The voices around me are a haze of noise, and I can’t sort through it. I can’t even open my eyes.
“Can someone grab her husband from the hall?”
Husband?That’s a dirty word now. I don’t have one anymore. Never did, actually, if you wanna get technical about it.
Did I hit my head? Is that why I’m hearing nonsense?
“Don’t worry, darling,” an unfamiliar female voice says, presumably to me. “You’re okay.”
Of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be okay?
I peel my eyes open, one micro-blink at a time. Bright lights shine above me, blinding and relentless. But I can start to make out a human shape next to the uncomfortable bed I’m lying in.
“Where am I?” I croak. I don’t recognize my own voice.
“You’re at Saint Mary’s Hospital,” the woman explains. “You’re okay. Just hold on a moment. I’ll get your husband.”
There’s that word again.I want to tell the woman that I don’t have a husband. I had a sort-of-not-husband, but he left and took my money with him. But before I can launch into that spiel, she’s already gone.
I rub the blurriness out of my eyes and sit up.
I’m in a hospital, but it’s unlike any hospital I’ve ever been in. Homey touches everywhere take away some of the antiseptic blandness that makes every hospital I’ve ever experienced feel so inhumane.
This one isn’t like that. Fresh flowers rest in a vase next to my IV bags and pleasant prints of rolling meadow landscapes line the walls. A TV in the corner plays soothing nature reels on a slow loop.
I’m admiring the bronze light fixture over the sink when I realize there’s another nurse in the room. She’s got one of those Cindy Crawford moles on her cheek.
Mama had one under her right eye that she always hated. She swore when she had enough money, she’d get it removed. I wonder if she has. I doubt it.
“Can I get you anything, ma’am?” the nurse asks with a comforting smile.
“Water would be nice,” I mumble.
There’s a water pitcher next to flowers. She fills a cup for me and tucks it into my hand. “Drink slowly so you don’t make yourself sick,” she instructs. “If you’re hungry, we can have something brought up for you in just a bit.”
I take a few sips and have to force myself not to gulp it down. I’m parched. “This place is like a hotel.”
The nurse smiles. “The private rooms are quite nice.”
Private room.Sounds expensive. I have no idea how I made my way to a private room. I have no idea how I made my way to a hospital at all, actually.
“I’m sorry if this sounds dumb, but… can you tell me what happened?”
Her eyebrows knit together for a moment before she consciously unclenches and puts her Good Nurse face back on. “I believe you were in a car accident. I don’t know the details. Perhaps you should wait until your husband comes in.”
I stare at her, trying to sort through the tangle of memories and questions in my mind. Maybe Anthony is still my emergency contact, but even if that were somehow bizarrely true, there’s no way he’d answer a call, right? And even if he did, he sure as hell wouldn’tshow uphere, right? Lord knows he hasn’t answered any ofmycalls. Was the prospect of my death enough to coax him out of whatever hole he crawled into?
“My… husband is here?” I ask tentatively.
“Yes, ma’am,” she says gently, clearly under the impression that what she’s sharing is comforting information. “He’s out in the hallway speaking to your doctor. I’m sure, once he’s done with the paperwork, he’ll be in to see you.”
Nothing about this makes sense.
A car accident. So… I was in a car. That’s a place to start.
Where was I going? Maybe to work?
Work…
