The Perfect Gift
A broken ankle, a dislocated shoulder, and a sprained wrist won Pam a “short stay” at the hospital. At least that was what she thought the doctor said between the objections like “I’m a nurse” and “I know how to take care of myself.”
Nancy, on the other hand, was beside herself. Behind closed curtains, she whispered her elation. “This is better than the game night I was planning. You two can get to know each other without the distraction of other people.”
“Sure. Me. No makeup. In this lovely teal blue hospital gown.” Pam flicked at the tie that held the gown pinned at her waist. “This is the perfect situation to get to know someone.”
“You never know.” Through a sideways glance accompanied with an elbow nudge, Nancy added, “If you saw the conversation between Noah and Jorgen earlier.” She peeked out the door and hurried back to the side of Pam’s bed. “Jorgen tried coming to the room after visiting hours. Noah told him only family and close relations were allowed past the doors.”
Pam gasped. Did Noah overhear what Jorgen said to the nurse at the station too? The last thing she needed was the kind doctor’s pity.
Her voice lowered so Pam had to lean in to catch what she said. “Jorgen called Noah a control freak. Noah said it didn’t matter. Jorgen had to wait until morning.” Nancy slapped the air. “I’d never seen the man that flustered. We thought we were going to have to call security to get him to leave.”
Horror. If there were one word to describe what Pam felt it would have to be horror. She lived a life that was dull in other people’s eyes. She spent her days working with people in their later years. Her evenings consisted of watching a cooking show on television or cute cat videos on Facebook. She had received more attention from Jorgen in the past twenty-four hours than she had from any man in the past six months. Even worse, it wasn’t the hearts and flowers attention. It was the damsel in distress message. Pam was a lot of things, but a damsel was not one of them.
The pain medication Rachel had given her a while ago started taking effect, and Pam found it difficult to push away the sleepy feeling.
“You know I think it is more than a coincidence that Noah showed up the same week that doofus of an ex-boyfriend of yours left.” Nancy rubbed Pam’s good arm. The last thing Pam heard before nodding off was, “Life has a funny way of making things work out better than we ever expected.”
Pam poked at the pale toast in front of her. It lacked the warmth to soften the margarine square. She had been in the hospital a little under two days, and her home beckoned for her return. The home where her own toaster faithfully gave her slightly burned toast that she enjoyed in front of the news. Perhaps it was the Styrofoam bowl they used to serve the oatmeal, or maybe it was her all around attitude—Pam’s world was gray.
“You need to eat to keep up your strength,” Nancy who had just come in for her shift was a little more than enthusiastic to suit Pam’s mood.
“If you were a real friend, you would have slipped me one of those donuts I know you have hidden by the ice machine,” Pam grumped.
“Ha,” Nancy pulled a napkin wrapped around something out of her pocket and placed it on the tray in front of Pam.
Pam’s disposition brightened a little. She pinched off a piece of the donut and threw it in her mouth. “I’m sorry I doubted you.”
“Knock, knock, knock.” The masculine voice came through the door before the face appeared. “Is it safe for me to come in?” He didn’t wait for an answer.
Pam noticed the button-down shirt tucked in enough to accentuate the lean abs before assigning the name to the voice. The gray Percocet induced haze she had been in for almost two days lifted. Her world wasn’t brighter, but it certainly was clearer.
“How did I not notice how healthy you looked before?” The pain medication got the better of her, and she spoke without knowing what she said until it was too late. Her impulsive behavior ruined her chance of creating some distance between Jorgen and herself.
Taking her compliment as a welcome, Jorgen held out a bouquet of carnations in front of him and strode closer to her bedside. “I came bearing gifts.”
Pam sat taller and straightened the blanket to hide as much of the hospital gown as possible. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Nancy scrunched her nose like she picked up a scent that aggravated it.
Undeterred by her cool response, Jorgen offered Nancy a fake smile, “Is there someplace I can put these?”
“Do you want my answer to that question?” Nancy sassed.
“C’mon now. Bedside manners.” Jorgen stepped around Nancy and set the flowers on a shelf set beneath the window. He turned to talk to Pam, “This place is harder than Fort Knox to get into.” His eyes sparkled, “How are you doing, Sunshine?”
Pam smoothed any stray hairs that may have escaped from her ponytail. While she was happy to see him, she was also completely unprepared. Her thought strayed from the course of cooling things between them to what to do to impress Jorgen. If she knew he was visiting, she would have put on some lip balm and mascara. Something. Anything to look fresher than she felt. “What are you doing here?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Jorgen pushed the bag toward her. “I come bearing gifts that will make you feel better.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” Pam gushed. Her curiosity pushed forward as she strained to see through the tissue paper.
“We kissed and you fell for me.” He grinned playfully at his joke. “I should be doing a lot more than this.”
A friendly voice came from the doorway. “I heard your kisses were deadly. This is the first time someone is here to prove it true.” Pam was so engrossed in Jorgen's presence she hadn’t noticed Rachel had stepped into the room with a manila folder in her hand.
Rachel waved away Jorgen’s response of laughter. “Don’t let him fool you.” She gestured toward Jorgen with the file. “This one’s a heart breaker.”
The conversation in front of her made no sense to Pam. The last time she saw Jorgen and Rachel together, he was flirting with her.
Jorgen wagged his finger in warning at Rachel. “Family is supposed to keep secrets. Wait until Easter. I have a couple of stories to tell on you.”
Rachel and Jorgen were not siblings? At the mention of it, she noticed the resemblances between them. Their hair had the same auburn streaks mixed in with the brown, and their eyes had flecks of silver that caught the light.
Nancy cleared her throat. “I have to check on a couple of other patients.”
“That’s why I came in here,” Rachel explained. She held out the file. “I had a question.”
Pam and Jorgen watched both women walk out of the room. When they were out of sight, he pushed the present closer to Pam, “Open it.”
She ran her fingers along the top of the bag with letters written in faux glitter. “I’m afraid to.”
“It’s nothing racy,” Jorgen encouraged. “Rachel helped me. She’s my closest cousin.”
His voice took on a softer tone. “I explained to her how you wanted to be just friends and I was having a hard time with it.” His eyes softened with unsure wanting. “I still want to be more than friends.”
Pam hoped beyond hope that she wasn’t in the middle of a prescription drug induced hallucination.
He continued, “You see, I’m good at catching a woman’s attention. Keeping it is where I struggle.” His eyes glanced back to the spot where Rachel had been standing. “I hope you like what we chose.”
Knowing that Rachel was his cousin was a gift in itself. Here she thought Jorgen had cast her aside when he was talking to his cousin for advice. She was never so happy to be wrong. Pam teased the paper out of the bag. Beneath the layers of tissue, something pink and textured caught her eye. Pam reached into the bag and pulled out the garment.
Jorgen’s eyes brightened in anticipation.
Pam unfolded the fabric. He had brought her fleece pajamas! Soft pajamas that covered her in all the right places. “How did you know?”
“Rachel said warm pajamas say cozy.”
Pam thought to herself, How did Nancy not know they were cousins? She said, “Rachel was right. This is exactly what I wanted.” Pam caressed the fabric. She wanted to be comfortable.
“About the pajamas?”
Was that uncertainty in his voice? “Yes, they are the perfect size, and they send the perfect message.”
He sat a little taller, and his shoulders lowered. Until she saw him relax, Pam had no idea he was on edge. She reached for his hand and squeezed it. “Thank you very much. This means more to me than you can ever understand.” And it did. Instead of unicorns, rainbows, and broken promises, he offered her his heart, warmth, and a message of stability.
Nancy whisked into the room. “It’s time to get you to your physical therapy appointment. Up and at em, my gimpy friend.” When Pam didn’t reply she said, “Do you need me to get a wheelchair or do you want to practice with your new walker?”
“Neither.” Pam’s heart raced, and her eyes widened in horror. The last thing she needed was for Jorgen to see her looking like she belonged in a nursing home. He’d change his mind about her.
Jorgen covered his mouth with his hand in a poor attempt to veil his chuckle.
“I’m glad you think this is funny,” Pam grumbled.
“It is so funny I may never kiss another woman ever again.” He winked. “I mean look at what happens when I do.”