It took a good ninety seconds for him to respond. “Hey…in a feckin’ accident,” he slurred. “Some asshole hit me.”
“I know, I know, a taxi. But you’re okay. I mean, it’s nothing serious and… Gary, I’m so sorry.” Rachel couldn’t help but feel responsible. “This was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime. I can’t believe this happened.”
“Yeah, stupid gobshite,” he groaned, barely perceptible before his eyes fell shut once again. Hoping he was referring to the taxi driver and not her, it made Rachel smile. He was obviously high on the medication.
“Hey, sorry for being nosy,” Kim whispered from the doorway, “but what doesthatmean? He’s been saying it off and on all morning too.”
Rachel was grinning. “It’s sort of an Irish swear word?”
“Ah, I see. Well, pardon me for saying so, but I always thought that accent was kinda sexy.” The nurse chuckled, going to the top of the bed and doing something with the saline drip bag. “Even with that bruised face, I can see why you fell for this one.”
Rachel smiled proudly. “Yes, I really did fall, hard and fast,” she replied. “I just wish I could let him know that I…” Her voice trailed off, and when Kim looked at her questioningly, Rachel shook her head. “Never mind. I’m rambling.” She didn’t know if it was a combination of being basically alone in a strange city at Christmas or just the excitement of bearing a big secret, but for some reason, she felt very much at ease with this nurse. Maybe it was the fact that Kim had also fallen for a motorbike enthusiast?
“Christmas,” Gary mumbled suddenly. “You’re gonna love what I got you. Wait till you see it.” He seemed to be talking to himself, and Rachel wondered if he was even aware that she was there. “And you should see my cuff links.” That was the last thing he managed before the drugs got the best of him yet again.
“Well, now I’m intrigued,” Kim said, smiling at Rachel. “Wonder what he got you that’s s’posed to be so great?”
“Actually, I kind of already know,” she confessed, unable to hold it in. She winced, hoping that telling someone else might help absolve some of the guilt. “I already opened up the package.”
“You’re kidding me! And what did you get?”
When Rachel didn’t answer but instead looked guiltily at a sleeping Gary, Kim raised an eyebrow. “Something tells me you could use a cup of coffee and a chat right now, sweetheart,” she said, grinning. “I’m due to take a little break soon. Wanna join me? Trust me, he’ll never know you left.”
Rachel looked from Kim to Gary. He certainly wasn’t going anywhere. “Thanks, I’d love to,” she said.
“I can’t go far, but let me grab us something from the machine and you can join me in the lounge,” the nurse said, already moving in that direction.
“Thank you. This is so nice of you.” Rachel was delighted to have someone to talk to. She hadn’t wanted to unload such troubling news on anyone back home just yet, especially given the time of year.
“So I take it you two had big plans for Christmas?” Kim asked as they picked up two cups of coffee with creamers, sugar packets, and stir sticks.
“Well,someoneobviously had big plans.” Rachel paused as she stirred her sugar. “But I knew nothing about them.”
Kim nodded in the direction of Gary’s room. “You mean that good-lookin’ Irishman back there.”
“Exactly. Problem is, it was supposed to be a surprise. A big surprise. You see…” She told Kim all about the Tiffany’s bag that had been with Gary’s shopping. “I’m sure you’re a good nurse, but I think you’d be an even better detective.”
“Well, don’t be so sure about that. And don’t feel so guilty either. See, typical guy—didn’t have his shopping done or gifts wrapped by Christmas Eve. Then when he’s rushing back to try and make up for lost time, he goes and gets himself hit by a cab.” Kim shook her head in mock exasperation. “If you ask me, it’s his own damn fault you found that ring and probably his own fault he got mowed down in New York traffic too.”
Rachel laughed out loud. “Oh, I really shouldn’t be laughing, but thank you. Telling someone is such a load off my mind.”
Fifteen minutes after the start of Kim’s “ten-minute break,” the two of them were still chatting away.
“It’s funny,” Rachel was saying. “I suppose you just never know who you’ll end up with. I don’t know…there’s just something about Gary. This is so like him, hitting me out of the blue like this, catching me completely off guard. It’s exciting. He’sexciting.”
“Exciting is good. Hell, so are big rocks on your finger. Not that I would know, mind you,” Kim said, looking at her own hands with some sarcasm. “Just be sure you’ve got the lasting friendship stuff going on too. That’s one thing Al and I have. I was only kidding before about him choosing the Ducati over me. At least I think I was,” she said, smiling at her own joke. “We’re really pretty crazy about each other, you know. Got married young and have been together a long time.”
“I want to be like that,” Rachel said dreamily. “Gary believes in me, and that means a lot. He’s a builder, you know, and last year, he helped my best friend and I turn our dreams of opening a restaurant into reality. He gave us the cheapest construction quote by far and later admitted it was only because he wanted to ask me out,” she said. “He worked day and night to get the refurbishments finished on time, and then the day before we opened, he pulled up to the bistro.” She smiled at the memory. “We were just having the equipment hauled in, and I was covered in dust and paint. I was exhausted and looked a complete mess, and I looked up to hear someone revving a bike. It was Gary. He insisted on helping us out…as a favor.” She shook her head. “Looks like he’s surprising me for the second time, and again it worked.”
“Italmostworked,” Kim clarified. “You make sure he gives you a proper proposal too. Don’t let on for a minute that you know about that ring.”
“Of course I won’t. I’m just dying to have it on my finger though. Oh, you should see the size of it,” Rachel cried excitedly. “It’s absolutely breathtaking. Must be worth a fortune.”
Rachel noticed Kim twisting the wedding ring on her own finger. It was a simple gold band.
“I would say one thing, and don’t get me wrong now. This is just the standard advice I give to all my friends who have gotten engaged, mostly ’cause marriage is such a huge leap.”
“What?” Rachel sat forward, only too happy to get the benefit of this lovely woman’s experience.
