The waiting room chairs were full of people sniffling with sinus issues, cradling maybe-broken arms, and bending over with stomachaches. Dree barged right past them all and through the swinging doors that led to the central nurses’ station, dodging the sick and wounded with practiced ease.
Caridad Santos saw Dree coming first, and her mouth widened into an O as she pointed and began shouting, “It’s Dree!It’s Dree!”Caridad sprinted down the hallway, her black hair bouncing and rubber-soled shoes squeaking on the hospital tile as she ran.“Andrea Grace Catherine Clark!I thought I was never going to see you again! Are you all right? Are you okay? Where the hell have you beenbecause I have missed you!”
Dree held out her arms to her sides, braced herself with her legs wide, and caught Caridad more than hugged her. Within a few more seconds, a jubilant scrum of nurses surrounded Dree, all of them hopping up and down.
The intercom said, “Code blue, room 306.Code blue, room 306.”
Half the nurses took off running down the hall.
Six of them remained to interrogate Dree as to what the hell was going on with her.
Dree gave them the most abbreviated version of the story she could because Caridad hadn’t told them any details beyond that she’d heard from Dree and she was alive.
“I didn’t know if you wanted me to.” Caridad protested.
“Better safe than dead in a ditch,” Dree said and finished her story with, “And then he proposed, andhere’s the ring!”
A hush fell over the crowd of nurses, and as one, all their heads tilted as they looked at it.
Caridad asked,“Is that real?”
“I haven’t tried writing my name on a window yet, but it’s supposed to be.”
“Wow.Who’s the rich guy?”
Dree held out her arm to Maxence, and he strolled over and allowed himself to be introduced. She left off theroyalandprincething again. It seemed like gloating at that point.
Caridad looked at Dree, looked diagonally up at Maxence, and looked back at Dree. “Oh my God, and he’s tall, too.”
The other nurses laughed, Dree laughed, and they all had a good time.
They stayed for a few hours, talking with friends who had a few minutes between patients or who were getting on or off shifts. They all wrote down their phone numbers on a piece of paper for Dree to input into her new phone, as soon as she got a new phone.
She needed to do that.
Dree assured them that they could all come and stay with her in Monaco anytime they wanted to.
As they were walking outside the ER doors, Maxence noted, “I don’t think the palace is that big.”
Dree was giggling, still giddy from laughing with all her friends again. “It was so nice of you to hang out for a couple of hours while I talked to people you didn’t know. Thanks.”
He squeezed her hand. “You were adorable, and they seemed lovely.”
The western half of the sky glowed like scarlet roses sinking into fire.
Dree paused for a moment, a little homesick for desert sunsets.
A big red passenger van was parked next to their blue rental SUV. Someone had switched the letters of the manufacturer’s name on the front of it to readDORF.She chuckled at it.
“What’s funny?” he asked.
She pointed.“DORF.Must be one of those Swedish brands.”
Maxence laughed and walked around to the driver’s side of the SUV. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that brand in Sweden. Perhaps I’ll ask Victoria about it the next time I see her.”
“Who’s Victoria?”
“Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. She’ll be the queen someday. She’s exceptionally sweet. You’ll like her.”
