Chapter 16
A House Guest
Every time Martin talked with Randi he felt refreshed and ready to face the day. Today, he was even ready to face Celia and her memory issues. He was so at ease with the fact that Randi was okay with him visiting Celia he stopped by Tony’s to pick up a Tony Burger and those special fries she loved.
This was one thing that was very strange about Celia. She normally didn’t want to touch finger food, but a Tony Burger - that was a different story. He pulled into the ‘take out’ lane, and with his baseball hat and glasses, no one seemed to care who he was.
It was a busy California Saturday and everyone was out and about shopping, eating or just running errands in general. He wore a t-shirt as well as a long sleeved black shirt. It was a nice January day but the hospital would be cold inside.
It was around lunchtime when he got to the hospital, and since he knew what room Celia was in, went straight there. Though he was in a good mood, he didn’t want to ruin it with a run-in with Vicky so early in the day.
Tapping on the door he heard someone call, ‘come in’. The voice didn’t sound like Celia’s, and when he entered, he found a nurse changing her IV. The look Celia gave him wasn’t a good one. He figured it had something to do with the fact that he hadn’t made time to visit her the day before.
He had meant to, but never made it. He wasn’t sure what the nurse would say about the food so he kept his hands behind his back and gave her a smile as she stepped out of the room. Once the door was closed he sat the bag on the table. “I thought you might be hungry for something besides hospital food.”
“That’s what I had for a snack this morning. I haven’t eaten since so, yes. It smells good.”
“Would you like me to set it out for you?”
“Sure. Knock yourself out.” Her tone was not that of the old Celia so he wondered what was going on. She must have caught the expression on his face because she looked at him with her brows furrowed.
“Have you talked with my mother this morning?”
“No. I came straight in. I’m sorry I didn’t make it over yesterday. I don’t have a good excuse. I see you received the flowers.”
“Yes. Nice gesture. And since you haven’t spoken to my mother, I’ll give you the good news. My memory is just fine. The doctor’s aren’t sure what triggered it but the events of the last few weeks have returned, and I remember everything.”
“I see,” Martin said, knowing that she was back to hating him. In a way that was good, but he didn’t want them to be like this. He knew better than to offer her a handshake and ask, ‘can’t we be friends?’
“How are you feeling? Is the pain any better?”
She turned looking at him with a disgusted look. “Are you talking about my body or my broken heart?”
Martin let out a short sigh as he placed her burger and fries on the table. He noticed her grimace a time or two as she raised the bed into a sitting position.
It did bother him to see her in this condition, but he wasn’t sure she would believe him. He needed to say something and address the matter.
There was no use in changing his stance on what their relationship had come to so he didn’t pull any punches, but he also wasn’t as blunt as he could have been. “I’m not sure anything I say will sound genuine.”
“Then why bother?” she snipped.
“I don’t know. Maybe I’m sorry I hurt you. I don’t expect and I’m not asking for forgiveness. I just want you to know I’m sorry. I didn’t respect your feelings. I was self-centered and I owe you a huge apology.”
She didn’t say anything; she just began to eat. He was sorry he had hurt her, and if he could go back, he would change things. He knew that saying things like, ‘I tried to get you to cancel the party’ or ‘I told you it wasn’t the right time’ wouldn’t matter.
He stepped back feeling his presence wouldn’t do anything but hurt. He didn’t expect her to accept his apology. He was relieved she hadn’t thrown the food at him, so before she asked him to leave, he spoke, “If you need anything, let me know.”
“Do you really mean that?”
“Yes,” he said. He wasn’t sure what she had in mind but he turned waiting to see what she had to say.
“I’ll need a place to stay. The apartment I’m in right now isn’t set up for a person in a wheelchair. I assume I’ll be in the wheelchair for about six weeks.
“I understand. What do you have in mind?”
When she turned and looked at him, he had an idea of what she wanted. He started going over the answers he could give her. What would Randi say? Would she care? Did he need to consult Randi before he said ‘yes’ or ‘no’?
“I’d like to stay at the house. My mother will be here helping me out. She’ll need a place to stay. Mike and I will be working out plans and we will need a place to meet since I won’t be able to come and go as easily as I once could.”
“That’s true.” He crossed his arms and waited.
She looked at him with a bit of a smirk. “I want to stay in the house for this time. You can come and go as you please with your little twit of a girlfriend.”
That was not going to happen Martin thought, but then again, he didn’t want to tell her ‘no’. She deserved something for all he’d put her through and he nodded. “I’ll arrange it. You can stay for eight weeks.”
“I plan on staying a lot longer than that. I want to buy the house. You still plan on selling it, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Good. I’ll have my mother go to my apartment and get the things I’ll need. When I can, I’ll talk to a couple of banks and see if I can the loan started.”
Martin nodded. They both knew that Celia would never have that kind of clout. He felt sorry for her but not so much that he was willing to just let her have the house. In time, they’d work things out. Right now she needed something positive to focus on, and for now, he was willing to let her have her way.