THIRTY-TWO
Nikki
Lovely memories float through my mind. The Bernard Arena is packed. Dalt receives the perfect short outside pass from Dak right out of the faceoff. The crowd goes wild when Dalt hits a scorcher and the puck sails to the back of the net. The vision of Dalt and I at the quad having a one on one soccer game fades into view. It’s a blustery autumn day, and the weather is crisp and clear. Fallen leaves crunch under our feet as we crisscross the field. I giggle at Dalt’s amused frustration when I manage to use some fast scissor cuts to tease him with the ball, fake the direction I’m going, and then sail the ball into the goal. I want to smile now, remembering how he tackled me to the ground, laughing at how he was going to punish me when we got home for tricking him. I can’t make myself smile. I’m stuck in this tunnel of thick darkness, unable to move. My mind sweeps toward another memory of Dalt and I swaying in each other’s arms to the lilting warmth of Perfect. Dalt’s whispering in my ear. I can almost feel the warmth of his breath on my face.
I hear his voice somewhere in the distance. It sounds methodical, like he’s reciting something. What? Poetry? I can’t make it out. I can’t move toward his voice to hear him better. Instead I float away. Dalt calls to me. I understand his words this time.
“Nik, baby. Open your eyes. Come back to me, please.”
I try to move toward him. I have to tell him what I set out to tell him before he leaves for California. He can’t leave me. I won’t let him leave. We love each other. We belong together.
I can’t move. The darkness is too thick and heavy.
I feel the soothing stroke of a hand moving down my arm. My skin tingles in response. It’s Dalt. I know it’s Dalt. I force my fingers to move to catch his hand as it moves down.
“Nikki! Can you hear me?” He sounds panicked.
I can hear you! I want to scream, but my lips won’t move. A twinge of pain shoots down my leg and I jerk in response.
“Just wiggle your finger again if you can hear me, sweetheart.”
Wiggle my finger. How hard can that be? I can do that.
“That’s it, baby. You’re doing it. Rachel, I think she’s waking up!” Dalt’s voice gets louder. Who the hell is Rachel? And why is she waking up here? I struggle to force my eyes open. I need to see Dalt, talk to him. I get my eyes open.
“Nik, open your eyes. You can do it,” Dalt pleads with me. I hear his words clearly now. I feel the warmth of his fingers on my face. I want to turn my face into his hand, touch my lips to his fingertips, but my head throbs when I try to move it.
Dalt’s soft breath tickles my ear. “Do it again, baby. Open those beautiful blue eyes for me.”
I have to do this. Dalt is begging me and he sounds so concerned. I blink and slowly push my eyelids open. There’s not much light. I can see the blurred silhouette of someone. I can’t focus. It’s too difficult. I close my eyes again.
“No, baby. Don’t close your eyes. Please look at me, Nik. I need you to open your eyes.”
Dalt needs me to open my eyes. I can do this. I push my lids open and force my vision to adapt to the blurry dim light. I see his beautiful face. I try to reach for him but I can’t move my arms.
“Where…” I want to ask where we are but my throat is too dry. It hurts to talk or even swallow.
“We’re at Maine Coast Memorial,” Dalt says. “You were in an accident. Your truck skidded on the wet road.”
I remember. “I was coming to you.” My words are raspy. I don’t recognize my own voice.
“Yes. You were coming to me because I was stupid enough to leave you. I’m so sorry, Nik.”
“I won’t let you leave. You can’t leave.” I close my eyes. It’s exhausting trying to express what I need to say to him.
“Nik, please keep your eyes open. Listen to me. I’m not leaving you. I promise I’ll never leave you again. Never. And you have to promise to stay with me. I love you with all my heart. You’re my reason for living. Chloe and I need you.”
Chloe.
I try to sit up. My head pounds and a sharp pain shoots down my leg.
“Wait, Nik. You can’t get up.”
“Chloe?” I ask, dropping my head back onto the pillow.
“She’s fine. She’s been at home with Matt or your mom’s friend Ellen for the ten days you’ve been here.”
“Ten…ten days?”
I’ve been in the hospital for ten days? How is that possible?
“Yeah. You had us all pretty scared there, crazy girl. What were you doing racing around in the middle of the night during a storm? Don’t you know I can’t survive without my air to breathe, without my sunshine, without my reason for living?”
For the first time I can see well enough in the dimly lit room to notice Dalt’s disheveled appearance. His clothes are rumpled like he’s been sleeping in them, his face is covered with the scruff of several days of not shaving, and there are dark circles under his eyes.
“Me either. It’s why I had to tell you…” I can manage to push out through my dry throat.
“I know. Everything you had to tell me is exactly what I was going to tell you as soon as I confronted my father. It just took me a little longer to figure it out. I’m a guy, after all. Our brains aren’t always firing on all cylinders.” His coy smile is as heart melting as ever.
“I’m going to get Rachel. Don’t close those beautiful blues. Okay?”
My puzzled expression prompts Dalt to answer my unspoken question. “Rachel is the nurse. I’m going to get her. I’ll be right back.”
I try to reach for his hand. He bends down and whispers in my ear, “I’ll be right back. I’ll never leave you, Nik. How many guys are lucky enough to be blessed with a hat trick of chances at the most amazing girl in the world? My prayers have been answered today, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life showing you how grateful I am.”
***
A young nurse with a short black bob haircut walks into the room, Dalt following close behind. She appears to be a little older than me.
“Welcome back. I’m Rachel, the attending night nurse. How are you feeling?”
“My throat.” I try to gesture toward my neck but my wrists are restrained.
“Feeling a little scratchy? It’s from the trach tube. How about some water?” She pushes a button to raise the upper portion of my bed.
When I nod, she holds a plastic cup to my lips and I take a few slow sips from the straw. I relish the coolness of the water as it washes down and soothes some of the parched scratchiness in my throat.
“I don’t think you’ll be needing these anymore. They’re just a precaution to make sure you didn’t pull out any tubes,” she explains, undoing the restraints around my wrists. She hands me the cup to hold. “Small sips, please.” She glances at Dalt. “Okay, dreamboat. You did good with all your reading. Now you’re going to have to leave her to us for a little while and let us take care of her.”
“Is she going to be okay?”
“I’m okay.” I assure him. I don’t want him to leave but he looks like he needs about a week’s worth of rest himself.
“She’ll be fine,” the nurse says. “Her doctor is on his way. Why don’t you give a call to her family and let them know she’s awake? It’s the middle of the night but they’ll want to know. And then you might want to try to get some rest yourself before we have to start taking care of you as well.”
“I don’t need rest. I’m not leav—”
“You’ll have a few hours to rest up before you can see her again.” Nurse Rachel must be a strong little thing because when she pushes Dalt toward the door, the wall of hockey muscle actually moves. “She’s in good hands and she’ll be right here when you get back. Go take care of yourself.”
“I’ll call your mom and Matt and I’ll be back soon,” Dalt says to me over his shoulder as the nurse closes the door behind him.
“He’s relentless, isn’t he? I think if he read Cat In The Hat one more time something was going to go bump and make us all jump when he passed out in complete exhaustion and fell off his chair right here in this room.” Rachel chuckles. “But all his reading must have worked its magic because here you are.”
“Reading?”
“That boy must have sat here and read every classic children’s book ever written three times over. Did you see the stack of books he brought in?” She points to a pile of books in the corner of the room. “He told us you’re going to be a famous writer of children’s books yourself one day.”
I smile at Dalt’s confidence in my writing abilities. Now I realize it was his voice I heard reading to me, pulling me out of the murky darkness.
“It was sweet, really. You’re a lucky girl to have a guy love you so much he didn’t want to leave your side for a minute.” Rachel removes an IV tube from my arm.
“Yes. I am.” Every muscle in my body unwinds in simultaneous relief. This time when I close my eyes it’s to relax into a comforted slumber.