“Yeah, but you said you were coming.”
“Did you shed a tear when you realized I wasn’t there?”
“Couldn’t stop smiling, actually. Best performance I’ve had.” I grin at my friend. He’s the best, and giving him a hard time is one of my favorite things.
“Eejit.” He cuffs me on the shoulder. “So back to Makenna. Tell me what happened.”
“I just talked to her briefly between sets. She’s from the US, so that’s that.”
“You looked at her like thatwasn’tthat. Not that I blame you, she looked about as bonnie as someone can look writhing in pain.”
She did. But it was difficult to watch. I can normally separate myself from my patient’s pain. I have to, or I would never survive it here. But seeing her in pain felt different, like I’d rather take the pain myself. And yet, she was little more than a stranger.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m gonna keep it simple and find a girl from here. Have you checked in on the migraine in four?”
He gave me a look like he knew I was only changing the subject, but thankfully went with it. “I peeked in a minute ago and he was sleeping.”
“Great, the meds must be working. Keep me up to date.”
9
Makenna
Idon’trememberfallingasleep. In fact, I’m not sure what the last thing I remember is, but I obviously fell asleep because now I’m waking up to beeping and the hum of voices. My eyes are dry and stuck together, but eventually I manage to open them halfway and find two men standing at the foot of my bed. I’d be concerned, but there’s a pleasant buzz zipping around my body. Nothing bad can happen. Everything is certainly fine.
“Have I died? Maybe that’s why my body feels so weird. Those menarewearing white. Maybe they’re angels.” I blink to clear my foggy eyes and notice one of them is wearing glasses. “Angels don’t wear glasses. They have perfect eyesight.”
“Maybe even better than perfect,” one of the angels says.
“Does it always beep in heaven? It’s kinda annoying and I don’t think things in heaven are supposed to be annoying. Or do I just have a bad attitude? I’m not normally like this.” Tears fill my eyes.
The same angel speaks again. “You don’t have a bad attitude. And this isn’t heaven.”
“That’s good. I wasn’t quite ready to go, and eternity is a long time to listen to beeping.”
The shorter angel … man … speaks up. “You’ve had surgery, and everything went well.”
I struggle to clear my throat. The first man holds a cup of water to my mouth. I take a sip and nod my thanks to the man. Even though my eyes won’t focus on him, I can tell he’s tall. I can tell that for sure as he looms over my bed like a gargoyle. This thought makes me laugh.
As my fit of giggles subsides, I blink and try to focus my eyes on the first man.
Their accents finally register in my brain. “Are you guys Scottish? I’ve always wanted to go to Scotland.”
“Aye, we are. And you’re in Scotland,” the gargoyle says.
“I’m sorry, but I would know if I were in Scotland,” I say. My eyes seem to be working much better now, and I take in the shorter man. He reminds me of a glasses-wearing sloth. I’m not sure why.
The taller one, who has moved back to stand near the first,chuckles. “I’m not sure you would at the moment.”
“Whoa. You’re a tall drink of beautiful water.” The man has the most beautiful red hair. Dark, but not quite auburn. It’s on the shorter side of shaggy. And his neatly trimmed beard is a bit lighter than his hair. My foggy mind insists he’s familiar, though I can’t say why. Maybe he looks like someone famous.
“Miss Fore,” the other man says. “You’re in Inverness, Scotland, in the hospital. You’ve had your appendix removed. I’m Dr. Johnson; I was your surgeon. This is Dr. Robertson. He was the doctor who saw you in the emergency department.”
“Dr. Handsome looks like he’d be a good singer,” I whisper to Dr. Johnson. Of all the things to pop into my mind.
This Dr. Johnson man is all business. He doesn’t even smile. I hear the other doctor chuckle again. It’s almost as if he heard me.
“Your surgery went well, and you’re going to be just fine,” Dr. Johnson says. He seems in a hurry.
