Love Immortal (15 page)

Ashley stood at the locker room door,
completely dumbfounded. She couldn’t believe that her best friend
would dis her on such an important matter. Couldn’t she at least
share the tiniest bit of information? Was it good? Were they going
to see each other again? She turned to walk toward the elevators.
It wasn’t until she was standing in the elevator, rising toward her
job in obstetrics that it occurred to her that Collin shouldn’t
have been able to stand there and talk to Jewell. He shouldn’t even
be able to stand. Ashley pulled her phone out and hit the message
key. U O me the 411! TTYL or LS! She hit the send key on her phone
and tucked it back in her pocket.

Feeling her phone vibrate, Jewell knew it was
Ashley asking for information. She knew it wouldn’t be Collin, he
didn’t have her number. She would have to remedy that the next time
she saw him; if there was a next time. She felt giddy, anxious,
worried, and excited all at the same time. She knew her face was
flushed. She walked towards the file room with a pile of folders
that Nurse Yohanan had given her to put away. Usually the nurses
didn’t do the filing, there was a high school girl who did the
filing during the day but she had been sick for the past week and
Nurse Yohanan hated disorganization.

When Jewell reached the file room, out of
Nurse Yohanan’s sight, she pulled out her cell phone and replied to
Ashley…k. She figured she would have to tell her everything. What
was everything? What would she tell Ashley? She put the last file
on the shelf and walked back out to the nurses’ station. Things
were crazy. Apparently, while she was brooding over her situation,
there was an accident where six people were injured. None of the
wounds were life threatening, but there was plenty to do. Whatever
she thought about Collin would have to wait.

Things finally slowed down just after
midnight. Jewell ducked into a treatment room to send a quick text
to Ashley. Can u eat? She didn’t even have time to put her phone
back into her pocket when Ashley replied: mEt me inda cafe 10
mins.

It was almost twenty minutes before Jewell
made her way down to the cafeteria. Ashley was waiting, leaning
against a wall, tapping her foot impatiently. When she saw Jewell
walking down the hallway, she stood up and strode to meet her.
“It’s about time! This has been absolutely killing me! So what did
he say?”

Jewell looked around at the other people in
line. “Let’s get our food and sit down first.”

“OMG! I swear you are doing this just to
irritate the heck out of me.”

Ashley didn’t even look at what she was
taking, but filled her tray quickly and moved to the register.
Jewell chose a little more carefully, choosing a Cobb salad, even
though she wasn’t even sure that she could keep that down, the way
her stomach was knotted like a fist.

After they paid, Ashley made a bee line to
the first available table she saw. Jewell walked past her and found
a table that was a little more private. The cafeteria was busy, but
not so much so that they couldn’t put a few tables between them and
the other diners.

Ashley set her tray on the table and sat. She
put her elbows on the table resting her chin in her hands, staring
intently at Jewell, obviously waiting. Jewell took her time,
wickedly enjoying her friend’s impatience and frustration. She
carefully removed the plastic cover from her salad, and placed it
next to herself like a bowl. Next, she opened her packet of
dressing and squeezed it into the upturned salad lid, making sure
that she had squeezed out every last drop. Next, she picked up her
napkin, unfolded it, and flipped it out to lay it gently in her
lap.

“For the love of all that’s holy! Get on with
it!” Ashley practically exploded with pent up frustration.

“Fine.” Jewell finally conceded. “As you
probably guessed, that was Collin. What did you think?”

“Hot. Very, very hot. What else?”

“Well…he said he missed me.” Jewell grinned,
a little embarrassed. “And…I said I missed him. And then he said he
would meet me after work.”

“That’s it?” Ashley flung her hands out
indicating that she had expected more, and much juicier details.
“Did he kiss you? Did you kiss him? What was it like when he was
holding you after you nearly passed out? Details, girl, I need
details!”

“There aren’t really any details. I don’t
know. I felt so safe in his arms, it felt right. It felt like our
bodies and souls were two pieces of a puzzle that fit together
perfectly. He smelled good. He felt, oh man, he felt…so good; his
muscles, his arms squeezing me, holding me like he didn’t want to
let me go.” Jewell stopped for a moment, taking a bite of her Cobb
salad, trying to think of what else her friend might like to hear,
trying to catch her breath after replaying the episode with Collin
in her head.

“He didn’t kiss me. I mean, he did, but not
really. It was like, his lips just brushed against mine and they
were so soft, and his breath was so warm. And then he whispered to
me that he would see me after my shift.”

“Wow. That is so cool! So, you think he’ll
really be there, waiting for you?” Ashley hesitated then answered
her own questions “Yeah! Duh! You should have seen the way he
looked at you!”

“Really? Like how?”

“I don’t know. It was like Romeo looking at
Juliet.”

Jewell blushed and stared down at her salad,
pushing it around idly.

Ashley watched her for a minute. “There is
one thing though…” She let the thought trail off.

“What?”

“Jewell, you know as well as I do that he
should still be in a hospital somewhere. Don’t you think that’s a
little…I don’t know, weird? Does it bother you?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about
it yet. I guess it does, sort of. I asked him about it, he says he
doesn’t understand either.”

“Well, I guess we’ll find out sooner or
later. Maybe he’s with a travelling circus or something. Come see
the amazing healing man. Break his arm and watch it mend before
your eyes!”

“Yeah maybe.”

* * *

The time between “lunch” and quitting time
seemed to drag on forever. Though the ER had been busy, Jewell’s
thoughts were elsewhere. She thought, not only of the perfect line
of his jaw, his beautiful, hypnotic eyes, his chiseled muscles
beneath his tight black t-shirt, but she also contemplated his
curious recovery.

She was definitely in love with him. She knew
that without a doubt. It was exactly what her father had described
he felt when he found his wife, her mother; the perfect fit of two
souls, two hearts, merging into one; two halves of a puzzle, the
picture unclear and incomplete without the other half. She knew it
when she was with him, but more unmistakably, she knew it when she
was without him.

But there was a part of her that was scared.
Frightened of what this meant, how this would change her life. But
even more so, she was terrified of the implications of his
incredible propensity to heal. Medically, what she had seen was
unnatural; inhuman. What was he? He looked human. He most
definitely felt human, but he was something more. What that was is
what troubled her. When she found out, would she be able to make
the right choice? Would she be able to run if that was what she
needed to do? What if running was the only answer, but she
couldn’t? What if her feelings for him kept her from thinking
clearly?

These thoughts floated through her mind
amidst the broken bones, the crying children, the soaring fevers.
The question ultimately came down to, “could she pull the plug?”
How many times had she seen families agonizing over that decision?
Was the decision selfish if they decided to pull the plug, or
selfish if they didn’t? And after it was done, it could not be
undone; there was no turning back. Perhaps in this case, it would
be best if she let go, if she just…pulled the plug.

Finally, she saw the day shift milling around
the nurses’ station. It was a relief to know that she would soon
see Collin again, but she agonized over what she would do when she
confronted him. Would she follow her heart, or follow her head?

As Jewell finished changing, Ashley shoved
everything into her bag, shoved Jewell’s clothes into her tote,
grabbed both bags and pulled Jewell toward the door. Jewell allowed
herself to be pulled along behind Ashley until they reached the
doors to exit the hospital. Jewell jerked her arm out of Ashley’s
hand and did her best to glare at her.

“Excuse me, but this would be my date…if he’s
even here.” She felt a knot develop in the pit of her stomach at
the thought of Collin not showing up as he had promised.

“He’ll be here, and fine; just hurry up!”
Jewell was a bit overwhelmed by Ashley’s excitement, and it was
beginning to make her nauseous. Jewell paused and put her head down
between her knees, taking several long slow breaths. When she felt
composed enough to face Collin, she steadfastly walked out the
door, Ashley following.

He wasn’t waiting next to the door as he had
been when they came in. Jewell’s heart skipped a beat as she
quickly scanned the parking lot. When her eyes found him, leaning
casually against one of the pillars to the parking garage, her
heart leapt into her throat. She gasped, and grabbed on to Ashley
for support.

Ashley put her arm around Jewell’s waist as
she started to lead Jewell in Collin’s direction. Collin didn’t
move, but his eyes followed her, capturing every nuance of her
movements, memorizing her walk, her face, her hair.

“Hey,” was all he said. That one single word
was enough to make Jewell’s knees weak.

“Hey. I didn’t know if you would be
here.”

“I promised I will always come for you.”

“You did.”

“So what now?” Ashley’s voice cut into their
conversation like a knife. They both turned to look at Ashley.
Ashley shrugged.

“Well,” Collin said, “Are you working
tonight?”

“Yes,” Jewell replied forlornly.

“Maybe we could spend a few hours together? I
promise I’ll get you home before lunch. Will that give you enough
sleep before work?”

Ashley answered. “Of course it will!”

Jewell and Collin both glared at her. Ashley
crossed her arms defiantly.

“Actually, Ashley and I rode together…”
Jewell shrugged.

Collin turned to Ashley, “Would it be okay if
I brought her home? I promise to take good care of her.” Collin
winked at Jewell.

Ashley didn’t answer this time, wanting to
find out if that was what Jewell really wanted. After all, Jewell
had been the one to drive them to work. If she didn’t want to go
with Collin, she could just tell him that she had to drive Ashley
home. This was Jewell’s call to make.

Jewell thought for a moment. She wanted to go
with Collin, but what did she really know about him. She was
absolutely and irrevocably in love with him, she knew that. She
also knew that there was something about him that was not…human?
She knew his uncle was a doctor and that he had lived, or so he
said, in several different places over the years. Not a very
promising profile. Her head said she should take Ashley home and
tell Collin that maybe they could double with Ashley and her date
on their day off. Her heart told her to let Ashley drive herself
home. She looked at the keys in her hand and resolutely handed them
to Ashley.

“I’ll call my dad to let him know I’ll be
home before lunch.”

Ashley looked at Jewell, trying to give her
an “are you sure” look. Jewell could see that Ashley had some
reservations as well. Jewell smiled, and nodded at Ashley. You can
pick me up tonight at five. Don’t wreck my car!”

Ashley gave Jewell a sarcastic grin, “Oh
yeah! I’m going to go out and spin some tires in your smokin’ Ford
Focus.”

“Focus, huh?” Collin asked. “Very practical
car; inexpensive, great gas mileage, and as cute as you are.” He
smiled.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you at five then.
Don’t stay out too late!” Ashley turned to walk toward where they
had parked the car earlier.

After Ashley was out of hearing range, Collin
asked, “Are you sure you want to do this? You look a
little…apprehensive. Maybe another day would be better? I don’t
want you to do anything you don’t feel comfortable with.”

Jewell smiled. “I am very comfortable with
this.”

“Well, I thought we could start with beignets
and coffee, if that’s all right with you?” He held out his hand,
offering to let her take it.

She looked at his hand a moment, and then
settled hers into his warm grasp. She had almost forgotten how safe
she felt just holding his hand. They walked slowly to his car,
Collin staring at Jewell, Jewell staring at her feet.

“Well, this is me,” Collin said, pressing the
unlock button on his key chain.

“Wow, 'Vette. Very nice. Is this the LT?”

“2LT. You know your cars.” He opened the
passenger door so she could get in, and walked around to the
driver’s side.

Jewell waited for Collin to start the car
before answering. “Yeah, my dad always liked sports cars;
everything from muscle to performance. He has a ’72 Mustang”. They
talked cars until Collin pulled into a lot near the river. It was
gated, and had an attendant. Figured. Jewell couldn’t imagine
parking this car on the street.

“I hope Café du Monde is okay with you. It’s
a little touristy, but they have the best beignets in town as far
as I’m concerned.”

“Sounds good.”

They ordered beignets and café au lait and
sat at one of the tables where they could watch the carriages roll
by. A man playing a saxophone sat right next to the café playing a
soulful blues melody.

After breakfast, they walked, hand in hand to
Artillery Park. Jewell always marveled at being able to look up at
the boats as they passed by. Because New Orleans was below sea
level, the river was actually above them. It was still early, so
there were very few people, and a light fog drifted above the
river. They could still hear the haunting melody of the saxophonist
playing near Café du Monde.