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She took it back and added some creamer. “Try it now.”
John took another sip. “Slightly better.” He held it out to her, and she poured in the sugar. He tried it again, then shook his head. “No, too sweet.”
“See. We learned something. Coffee with cream.”
“Maybe.”
“Do you want me to get a fresh cup without the sugar?”
“No. Thank you.” He noticed she wasn’t in her scrubs. “Are you working?”
“No, it’s my day off. I just came in to see you.”
“I’m sure you have better things to do.”
She shook her head. “Nope, I live a very boring life.”
“Well, thank you again, then. Can I have some water to wash down the coffee taste? I think what I learned is I don’t like coffee.”
She poured him a cup of water. “Are you hungry?”
“Yes. I’m very hungry, actually. But how do I know what I like?” He glanced at the coffee cup. “Right. Trial and error.”
“Yes, experiment. But eating hospital food isn’t really giving it a fair chance. I’ll go get you something from the coffee shop across the street.”
He reached for her hand. “Ember, you don’t need to do that.”
“Of course I do. You’re like a little puppy Ifound on the street. I’m not going to abandon you or let you go hungry.”
“A little puppy, huh?”
“I’ll be back in about twenty minutes.”
John watched her leave and shook his head. Apparently, Ember had taken it upon herself to be his guardian angel. He really appreciated it. But surely she had better things to do than take care of him.
He turned on the television and frowned at a familiar show. “How come I can remember that I’ve seen this show?” He turned it off and got out of bed. If Ember was determined to take him under her wing, then he could at least look presentable. He looked at the hospital gown he was wearing. “Pretty hard to do wearing this.”
He went into the bathroom and stared at his reflection. “Who are you, John Sherlock? And is there anyone out there looking for you?”
He washed his face and hands, then ran his wet hands through his hair to brush it back off his forehead. He may have some gray in his dark hair, but he still had all of it. It was cut fairly short and was slightly wavy.
He ran a hand over his chin. It looked like he hadn’t shaved in a few days. Maybe a week. But he’d only been in the hospital since last night. “Were you on vacation? Or do you just not care?” He scowled at himself. “Got nothing to say, huh? Thanks a lot.” He sighed. “How about a name? I’d be happy with that. We can start with my damnname.”
When the mirror still didn’t have any answers for him, he left the bathroom and went back to the bed. He sat on the edge of it and picked up the coffee again. He took a sip.
“Nope. Tastes like shit.” He set the cup down, then laid back on the bed and tried to resist the urge to pick up something heavy and chuck it across the room. That wouldn’t do any good, and it was bound to get him into trouble. But man. It’d sure make him feel better.
When the door opened, he was glad to see Ember come through it with a bag in her hands.
She smiled at him. “Look at you. All freshened up.”
“I figured it’s the least I could do. But I guess it’s a good sign you called me a little puppy and not an old stray.”
Ember laughed as she set three Styrofoam containers on the table. “Okay, I got all the standard breakfast fare. Eggs fried and scrambled. Bacon and sausage. Pancakes and toast. What do you want to try first?”
He looked at all the food. “Goodness. Um… I’ll try the eggs.” He took a bite of scrambled eggs and nodded. “Good.” He tried the bacon and the sausage. “Good and better.”
She pointed at the pancakes. “Try those.”
