When the last couple of the Friday night crowd paid for their bourbon-glazed salmon, pan-seared striper, and the chocolate torte that they’d shared that featured heart-shaped strawberries floating in thick, sweetened cream, they put on their coats, and Francine locked the door behind them. She leaned against it, and let out a huge sigh.
“And we’ll do it again tomorrow,” she said. “Twice.”
Maddie was so tired she barely made it up the stairs to Rex’s apartment, which was freezing—she’d never thought to turn the heat up a bit when she’d arrived. Quickly donning her nightclothes, she realized her feet were cold. Because surely Rex wouldn’t mind if she grabbed a pair of socks, she tiptoed to his bureau, pulled out a pair, and slipped them on.
Ahhh, she thought.Much better.
Then she headed toward the bed and fell asleep before, burrowed under the covers, she could get caught in a web of worrying about him, for him, for her. When she finally woke up Saturday morning, the room was bright, the sun reflecting off Edgartown Harbor, spritzing sparkles across the ceiling much the way they appeared upstairs in her new bookshop. She allowed herself a peaceful smile, until she realized her feet were hot. And her phone was ringing. Loudly.
Fumbling her way out of bed, she grabbed the phone from the nightstand before it kicked over to voicemail. If she’dstopped to check caller ID, she would have known who was on the line.
“Maddie?”
She rubbed her eyes. “Yes?” The voice sounded vaguely familiar, as her still-groggy brain struggled to emerge from its fog of sleep.
“It’s me,” a male said hoarsely. “Rex.”
She knew she must be dreaming again. “Rex?” she whispered, as if she spoke too loudly she’d be wide-awake and her dream bubble would burst.
The next sound was a cross between a rumble and a cough.
“Sorry. Can’t talk well.”
Which was when Maddie knew it was him, it really was. She sat down on the edge of the bed.
“Rex?” she said, more loudly that time, hoping it might somehow help him clear his throat.
“I was an accident.” His voice sounded as if it was being filtered through gravel. His sentence didn’t make sense, and yet, of course, it did.
“So I heard.” Her eyes filled with tears. “How do you feel? Are you still in the hospital?” Kevin hadn’t had an update for a few days, and Maddie hadn’t had the courage to ask. Or to call Annie, not that she had her number.
“Annie’s house,” he replied. “Nurse.”
Did he mean that Annie was nursing him?
“Is Annie there?” she asked. “Can I talk to her?”
“Nurse,” he said.
She tried to form her words again, hoping if she enunciated differently he might better understand. But as she began, another voice came on the line. A female voice.
“Hello?”
Maddie swallowed. “Annie?”
“No. This is Beth. One of Rex’s nurses.”
“Are you at the hospital?”
“No. His doctors agreed he could leave as long as he has twenty-four-seven nursing care. I’m on seven-to-seven, morning to night. He’s been at Ms. Sutton’s house a couple of days now, and my shift just started. We also have an aide on duty. Anyway, he insisted I let him call you.”
Maddie bit down on her lip that had started to quiver. “How … how is he?”
“He’s coming along. He has physical therapy twice a day and occupational therapy once every afternoon. For all he’s been through, he’s doing well.”
She closed her eyes. “He won’t be coming home for a while though, right?”
“That’s not for me to say. I only know the doctor won’t release him to travel until he’s well enough. But his daily progress is good.”
