“Get out!” My eyes are out on stalks.
“Leona’s Chocolaterie originated in Canet-en-Roussillon, the town where my grandparents live. Mom used to take us kids to the farm every summer and mygrand-méreused to sneak us into the chocolate shop once a week. When the owner’s son took over, he expanded the business, and now they export globally, and they have physical stores in ten different countries. I like to brag I have eaten chocolate from the flagship chocolaterie.”
“That totally earns bragging rights,” I agree before taking a bite of the fruity buttercream chocolate sensation. An explosion of rich flavors melts on my tongue, and I’m in heaven. “This is so good,” I murmur as I swallow the last piece.
“Try this one next.” Beck hands me an oblong-shaped dark chocolate. “It’s an espresso truffle.”
I’m in chocolate ecstasy as I let him feed me chocolate after chocolate, glutting myself on the divine creations until it feels like I might burst. “Enough.” I shake my head and hold up my hand. “I’ll be sick if I eat any more.”
He stares at me with a funny expression on his face.
“What?”
“You, ah, have a bit of chocolate at the side of your lip. May I?” He leans forward, and I find myself nodding. His thumb swipes across the right side of my mouth in a couple of slow sweeps before he removes a monogrammed handkerchief from his pocket and dabs at my face.
I swallow thickly while the vein in my neck throbs more insistently as he cleans me up. If I hadn’t momentarily lost the ability to speak, I would tease him for his old man’s handkerchief.
“There. All done.” His voice sounds gruffer, deeper, and his eyes darken to a molten brown.
I clear my throat as I avert my eyes, looking anywhere but at him. “Thank you.” My gaze flits to the envelope resting on the counter. “What was it you wanted to show me?”
He stands, grabbing the envelope and handing it to me. “I know you’ve been extra concerned these past few weeks, wondering what the doctors might say as the one-year anniversary approaches. I hope I haven’t overstepped the mark, but I conducted some research I think might help.”
“What kind of research?”
“I found examples of people, from all over the world, who were in a coma for years before they woke up. It might give you some perspective and hopefully some peace of mind.”
I clutch the envelope to my chest with shaky fingers. “I thought of googling it, but I was too chickenshit. Afraid I’d find the opposite of hope.”
“I won’t lie. You definitely shouldn’t google it. It’s rare for people to be in long-term comas and even rarer for them to have a happy ending. But there are exceptions to the norm. If anyone can pull it off, I think Garrick can.”
ChapterForty-Six
Stevie
“And this guy Terry, he was in a bad car accident too,” I explain to Garrick as I flick through the pages Beck gave me. I’ve studied them thoroughly in the days since he handed me his research, and it was exactly what I needed to lift my spirits.
So far, Ivy has made no move, and I’m still permitted to visit my boyfriend. But I’m on edge. We all are. We know she’s plotting something, and it can’t be good. “He woke after nineteen years, Garrick! Imagine that?” I babble, leaving out the part where he was left a quadriplegic as I’m trying to motivate and encourage my boyfriend.
“Oh, you’ll like this next one. It’s about a famous jazz pianist named Fred Hersch. Now, he was only in a coma for two months, but he fully recovered, and he even went on to create a concert titled ‘My Coma Dreams.’” I reach out and squeeze Garrick’s hand. “I hope you are dreaming happy dreams, my love.”
I flick over the next case because it’s upsetting. Although the police officer came out of a coma after eight years, he sadly died a few days later due to organ failure.
Beck didn’t censure his research, and I appreciate it. He wants me to be informed but not naïve to the risks and potential outcomes. He found a lot of cases of survivors waking up after years. Not all of them are happy stories. Some survivors ended up severely paralyzed, and others only lived a short time after waking, succumbing to death due to complications arising from being in a coma so long. However, there are plenty of cases where coma survivors went on to lead long lives too, and those are the ones I’m telling Garrick about.
“Aw, this one is super romantic. Zhao Guihua woke up from a car accident after thirty years!Thirty. Years!Holy shit! Her husband stayed by her side all that time, and he was there when she finally opened her eyes. That is true love and devotion.” I lean in and kiss his warm cheek. “I love you,” I remind him before retaking my seat.
“This one gives me a lot of hope,” I continue. “Sarah was knocked down in a hit and run accident, and she was in a coma for twenty years before she woke. Her road to recovery was long and arduous, but she made it. She revealed she was aware of lots of things going on around her while in a coma, and I hope you know we’re all here for you. I hope you hear us and you know how much we love and miss you.” I raise his hand to my lips and kiss his smooth skin.
“I could go on and on. There are lots of cases of people waking up after a long time in a coma, so it can be done. Keep fighting, Garrick. Don’t give up. I need you to come back to me.”
Beck also unearthed a case of a man who woke up from a seven-year coma after being given Ambien. I was very excited when I read that and immediately brought the case to Hugh. We discussed it with Harvey Edwards. Unfortunately, they had already given Garrick the drug in the hope it might wake him, but it didn’t. Hudson’s neurosurgeon dad explained they couldn’t administer the drug long-term to Garrick as it can cause breathing difficulties and amnesia.
It was disappointing, but reading about real life cases of coma survivors has lifted my spirits at a time when they were falling to record new lows. I’m reinvigorated and determined not to give up on him or to relinquish hope.
* * *
Beck drives me home after our mutual visits are over, like he has been doing every night since last Friday. I’m not sure if it’s his way of trying to help me overcome my anxiety, his desire to see me home safely, or a way to prolong our time together. Perhaps it’s a combination of all those factors. Either way, I’m grateful.
