Unforgettable (3 page)

“Even when she passed out and hit her head, I wasn’t concerned at first. I thought she might need some help getting up, you know? Pick her up, dust her off and send her on her way. I never thought…then, when I pulled her limp body into my arms, I knew something was seriously wrong. Her face, her beautiful face… I just wanted to protect her. I prayed she’d be all right but when she wouldn’t wake up, I was terrified. When she finally opened her eyes and smiled at me, I was elated! I felt… I…” he trailed off and bowed his head. He was unable to put words to an emotion he couldn’t even name or understand.

“I know,” Susan said, gently rubbing the back of his hand. “I know. Brittany brings out the best in people, and the protectiveness, always. She’s a special lady.”

“Miss Brittany Spring?” a doctor inquired from the doorway of the waiting room. Both Susan and the man walked over to him.

“How is she? Is she all right?” Susan asked immediately.

“She has a slight concussion but, other than that, she’s fine. She’s awake now, so one of you can go in and see her. I want to keep her here for another hour or so for observation, then you can get these prescriptions filled and take her home. She’ll need to stay inside for a week or two and get lots of rest. No bright lights and little or no exercise. Keep her out of the heat and allow her to do only what she feels capable of doing. She’s going to experience bad headaches and dizziness off and on for a while, but they should pass in a few days. That’s what these prescriptions are for. If she’s not back to normal in a couple of weeks, or if she feels worse, experiences blurred vision, or if the headaches continue, bring her back and I’ll run more tests,” the doctor said.

“She’ll be all right, now? She just passed out from the heat and hit her head and that’s all?” the man asked, wanting to make sure the doctor hadn’t overlooked any other problems.

“I promise you, Ms. Spring will recover completely. From what she told me, her car’s air-conditioner broke down a few days ago. Halfway to the store, she began to feeling sick but it wasn’t until she was walking through the parking lot that she felt so weak her legs gave out. Factoring in the heat radiating from the pavement and nearby cars, it’s most likely she lost consciousness from heat exhaustion. That’s probably why it took so long for her to wake up since she just barely hit her head. Once she was removed from the heat and cooled down, smelling salts brought her around immediately.

“Now, would one of you like to go see her? I’m sure she’d love to have someone to talk to while she’s waiting to be released.”

As Susan went back to talk to Brittany, the man returned to the waiting room, relief obvious on his face.

“Oh, Susan! Thank God! A familiar face…I was beginning to think I’d be in here forever with strangers poking and pulling at me. I’ve got one heck of a headache. Get me outta here, will ya? You know how much I hate hospitals,” Brittany said, trying to sit up.

Susan pushed her back down easily with one hand, glad to see Brittany acting like her old self.

“You’re not going anywhere, missy. At least not for a few more minutes, so just sit back and relax. I don’t know why you’d go out in that heat when you know how it affects you. You could have seriously hurt yourself.”

“Yes, Mother Sue,” Brittany replied, teasingly. Susan always acted like a mother hen when someone was ill or injured, especially when it was Brittany.

“Don’t ‘Mother Sue’ me, young lady! You scared me half to death, passing out and not coming to for over twenty minutes.”

“Oh! That reminds me…I had the strangest dream while I was unconscious. I didn’t know you could have dreams when you were out cold.”

“Dream? What kind of dream?” Susan asked curiously.

“I dreamed that I died and went to heaven…”

“Oh, Brittany! Don’t even talk about dying. I wouldn’t know what to do without you.”

“It’s okay, Susan. My guardian angel was there to protect me. Well, he had to have been my guardian angel because he was dressed all in white and he was holding me so protectively, keeping me safe, and he called me, ‘little one.’ Oh, and he was the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen in my entire life. It’s funny, though. I always imagined angels would have wings.”

“Sweetheart, I hate to tell you this, but that was no dream,” Susan said.

“You mean I did die?” Brittany asked a little too loudly.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake…no, silly! Would you please stop talking about dying! I mean, you woke up for just a few seconds in the parking lot and what you saw was the man helping you. He came to the hospital to make sure you were going to be all right and he called me to let me know what had happened. He’s nice and he’s also worried about you.”

“Oh, thank God! You scared me there for a minute. I remember a man in the parking lot asking if I was okay, but I never saw his face. That must’ve been him. In my dream, or whatever it was, he was so incredibly gorgeous I could have sworn he was a guardian angel…
my
guardian angel.”

“Honey, let me tell you. After what he did for you, and after you get a good look at him, you’ll definitely consider him an angel and, yes, he is that gorgeous and that perfect,” Susan said.

“Where is he now?”

“He’s in the waiting room, waiting to see you.”

“Oh, I’ll have to thank him when we leave.”

“Well, if we can ever get you out of here, I’ll introduce you to him. You’re going to like him, Brittany.”

“I’m sure I will. It was kind of nice just believing he was my personal guardian angel, though. You know what I mean?” Brittany asked. Susan nodded and smiled at her lovingly. She knew exactly what Brittany meant.

“What’s his name, anyway?” Brittany asked.

“You know, I was so worried about you, I forgot to ask him,” she replied.

They talked for a while longer before a nurse came in to tell them that, as long as Brittany felt up to it, she could leave. As Brittany sat up, pain exploded in the back of her head and temples in the worst headache she could ever recall having. After a dozen or so questions from Susan and the nurse, and after a final approval from the doctor insisting she be wheeled out in a wheelchair, Brittany was released from the hospital. She felt ridiculous sitting in that stupid chair but, under the circumstances, she allowed it without too much fuss.

As Susan pushed her to the lobby to meet the stranger who’d helped her, the admitting nurse in the Emergency Room handed her a piece of paper. It was a note from the man, which Susan read out loud to Brittany:

“Dear Susan,

Please forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye, but there’s something important I must do. I spoke to the doctor again and he assured me Brittany was fine and that she would be back to normal in a few days. Please give her a hug for me and best wishes to you both. It was nice meeting you. I only wish it could have been under happier circumstances. You both seem like wonderful ladies and I wish you joy and good fortune throughout your lifetime. I’ll be in touch with you in a few days to make sure Brittany is okay, if I can.

Sincerely yours,

S.D.

PS. Take good care of our Little One and keep her out of the heat!!”

That last part didn’t set too well with Brittany. In fact, it kind of ticked her off. She wasn’t sure what made her more angry, the “little one” by itself, because that proved he was the one she’d thought was her guardian angel, or the “our little one” because it sounded like he knew her so well and that she was some kind of object that belong to him. As if she was some poor, helpless child who needed constant looking after. Well, he didn’t know her at all and she didn’t belong to anybody. She sure as hell didn’t need him.

“Oh, what a shame. I wish you could have met him, Breezy,” Susan bemoaned, calling Brittany by her childhood nickname.

“Ms. Spring, have you ever met that man? Before today, I mean,” the doctor asked as he was passing through.

“No, in fact I didn’t even meet him today. I just recall seeing his face for a brief moment and then nothing. Why do you ask?”

“I was just curious. It took a lot to convince him that you were going to fully recover. Strange, I would have sworn he knew you well. He was so anxious, almost as if…as if you were connected somehow. Not many people left in the world would care that much for a stranger, that’s for sure. Guess you could consider him your guardian angel, huh?

“Oh, well. You go on home now and get some rest. Take good care of yourself and follow my orders to the letter. Call me if you need anything, I’ve got to run. There’s a cast with my name on it waiting to be taken off,” he chuckled and disappeared down the long hallway.

“Well, I guess you did see an angel today after all, Breezy,” Susan said.

“It sure looks that way,” she replied flatly.

“I told you he was a wonderful man. He’s even more special than I thought.”

“It sounds like you two got real close, real quick,” Breezy said, still unsure how to take such a personal letter from a man she knew only as a fuzzy memory in a semi-conscious state. Besides, she couldn’t understand why everyone was so taken by the stranger, especially Susan. For all they knew, he could be some kind of serial killer or something else just as creepy. But, right now, her head hurt, she was tired, and she just wanted to go home.

“Oh, he’s not hard to figure out, Breezy. When all the small talk and barriers are stripped away in a split second, like they were today, it doesn’t take much to see a person’s true colors. What I saw in him was a kind, warm, wonderfully caring man. I think I found a new friend,” Susan said.

Breezy’s first instinct was to reply, ‘well, whoop-dee-do for you, Sue,’ but she knew that it was the pain and the medication making her so grouchy. She was well aware of just how important friendship was to Susan. It meant the same to her. For both of them, true friendship was one of the greatest treasures on Earth, second only to family. In fact, between her and Susan, it was one and the same thing.

Breezy had to admit it was a wonderful letter and he did sound awfully kind. Everyone, including the doctor, seemed to like him and, if Susan liked him, he couldn’t be all bad. After all, he did save her life.

“He sounds like a nice guy, Susan, and I do hope I get to meet him and thank him for what he did for me today…” Breezy said sincerely, “… but can we go home now? I’m not feeling well.”

“Sure thing, kid. Let’s go home.” Susan tucked the letter inside her purse.

Chapter 3 “Gifts from Above”

The next morning, Susan walked over to Breezy’s house and let herself in, just as she’d done so often in the past. By the time Breezy woke up, Susan had almost finished making breakfast.

“How ya feeling this morning, sweetie?” Susan asked when Breezy finally shuffled through the kitchen and sat down at the table. Breezy was not now, nor had she ever been, a morning person.

“Ugh,” she replied.

“That bad, huh?”

“No. Just a bad headache and my head hurts where I hit it,” Breezy explained, rubbing her head between both hands.

“Can I get you anything for it?”

“Just some coffee or juice so I can take one of those pills the doctor gave me. They helped a lot last night, but they made me awfully sleepy.”

By the time breakfast was over, Breezy’s headache was gone. However, the medication made her so drowsy that she took a nap on the sofa while Susan washed the dishes.

When Breezy woke up, it was late morning. She felt much better, but Susan insisted she remain on the sofa and rest.

Once Susan was done tidying the living room, she joined Breezy on the sofa. They talked about their annual Halloween costume party, which was coming up in a few weeks. Keeping their costumes a secret until the night of the party was a matter of pride and they did their best to trick each other into letting it slip. It wasn’t as easy as it sounded, keeping secrets from each other, considering they worked together, shopped together, lived down the street from one another, and spent every spare second of their free time together. At the moment, Breezy was trying to fool Susan into telling her what her costume was going to be, yet again.

“Honestly, Breezy, you are incorrigible…absolutely incorrigible!” Susan shrieked, smacking her on the arm.

“Yes, I know. I learned from the best…you!” Breezy smirked.

“Well, I was a damn good teacher, wasn’t I?” Susan admitted, tapping her chin with her index finger.

“Yes, you were. Speaking of incorrigible people, when is that husband of yours getting home?”

“He was supposed to get in last night, but he called to tell me his meeting ran too late to catch his flight. It’s rescheduled for this morning so he should be arriving at the airport this afternoon. He probably won’t be home till after two,” Susan explained, just as the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it. You stay put, young lady.”

“Yes, Mother Sue,” she replied too sweetly. Susan just hated it when she did that.

A few moments later, Susan returned with five large, rectangular, florist boxes, each bound with a different colored wide silk ribbon and enormous bow.

“Hey, Breezy! Somebody sent you flowers…lots and lots of flowers!” Susan put the boxes down on the coffee table in front of Breezy.

“Good Lord! Who’d be sending me flowers at all, let alone five boxes of them?” Breezy exclaimed in shock. No one had ever sent her flowers.

“Well, open them and find out, silly!”

Breezy opened the first box to reveal one dozen long stemmed red roses, complete with delicate white baby’s breath and lacy fern leaves for greenery, all tied together by a huge red silk bow that matched the color of the bow on the box.

“They’re beautiful,” Susan whispered in awe. She found a card and handed it to Breezy who looked at it with a puzzled expression. “What does it say? Who sent them?”

Breezy opened the tiny envelope and read the card out loud.

“I wasn’t sure what your favorite color was, so I sent you all the colors I could find. Sorry I missed you at the hospital. Hope you feel better soon.

Your friend,

S.D.”

“How sweet of him. Open the rest of them, Breezy.”