Chapter 1 of 2: Immobility

"Where's that frosty?" he moaned.

"There, there." She patted his uninjured hand. "First, we gotta get you to the hospital."

Sitting next to Henry lying flat at the bottom of the skatepark bowl, Eliza looked up and saw two paramedics peering over the lip of the bowl. With the help of the young skaters, they brought down a stretcher. Ensuring his broken right arm was stabilized to prevent further injury and securing Henry onto the stretcher were easy; getting back up proved a lot trickier. Slowly, they all made their way back up, and Henry was loaded onto the ambulance.

"My cool delicious frosty …" he continued to mumble.

"Sir, please take it easy, and we'll get you to the hospital as quickly as we can." Sheila, one of the paramedics, said.

"Can I go with him?" Eliza asked.

"Not 'can I', Eliza; it's 'may I' …" Henry mumbled from inside.

"Yes," Sheila replied. "Normally, we'd ask you to ride up front, but perhaps, it's best if you rode with him in the back. My partner will drive. Is that okay, Mark?"

Sheila's partner nodded.

"Okay let's go …" Sheila climbed in first, followed by Eliza.

They didn't have to go far, but through the entire ten minute drive, Eliza held his hand, reassuring him she was still there. He continued to mumble wordless sounds for a few minutes before slipping into unconsciousness.

Henry rode the board expertly down the bowl one side and back up the other side, flipped the board twice, to land effortlessly and safely on the board. Eliza removed her sunglasses and looked approvingly at him. He could tell she was impressed. Riding the bowl back to where Eliza stood, he dismounted smoothly from the board. "So, Eliza: what do you think?"

"That was hot, and I think …" she replied coyly, slipping her arms around his neck. " … that I want to kiss you …"

"About time …" he leaned forward.

"Henry …"

"I want you …"

"HENRY!"

The cotton around his eyes finally cleared, and he opened his eyes. Henry saw he was no longer outside. He looked at his surroundings: he was dressed in a hospital gown, lying on crisp sheets in a bed, in a hospital room under low illumination. There was a big window, and it was dark outside, but what time it was he didn't know. He panicked until he realized he couldn't move his right arm. Ah yes, and there's the cast. And the moment he saw the cast, his brain connected the dots to earlier events. That's when the rest of his body made the final mental to physical connection. He groaned in pain.

"Henry?"

And to compound this peach of a day, his friend witnessed the whole damn thing. Yes, there was physical pain, but also, the pain of total embarrassment. His head plopped back onto the pillow, as he closed his eyes and quietly muttered curses in a mix of English and Korean.

"Hey. How are you?" Holding his left hand, Eliza asked with worry in her voice.

Unnerved by that unusual tone in her voice, he opened his eyes to her. "Unnnhhhhhh … like I've been run over by a tank."

"You fell hard. It wasn't pretty. Total epic fail, Henry."

He chuckled. "Tell me about it: I was there. What hospital are we in?"

"We're in Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center."

"No way. The same one you came in when you got hit by a car?"

"Way. Henry, I'm glad you're okay … considering …" She nodded at his cast.

"Thank you, Eliza. I'm glad you're here." He squeezed her hand in gratitude.

"Ah, he's awake!" A nurse announced, carrying a clipboard in his hand.

"Do you know when I can leave?" Henry wanted to crawl home and hide there. Preferably for the next month.

"Henry, you just got here - what's the rush?" Eliza was irritated because frankly, she was a little scared when he was put onto a stretcher, and she rode with him in the ambulance to the hospital. She was also irritated, because she wasn't sure he knew that she had in fact been scared.

"You may have to stay overnight for a couple more tests to ensure you don't have a big concussion or head trauma. Good thing you wore that helmet, and it's real lucky you only got away with a broken arm. The doctor will be by soon to check up on you and to answer any of your questions." The nurse attached the clipboard at the end of the bed, and left the room.

"Well, when you put it that way …" Henry turned to Eliza. "Guess I might be staying the night."

"I can stay here with you if you'd like."

I'd like that a lot. "Eliza, that's really nice of you, but you don't have to do that. Don't you have plans with Freddy? You both should celebrate your victory over Corinne McWatters."

But that was our victory over that ass-hag bitch, she thought. "How about this - we'll both wait for the doctor, and get their assessment, and if it's N-B-D, I'll leave."

They both looked down, and realized they still held each other's hand. After a slow yet simultaneous release, he immediately felt the exhaustion and yawned. "Excuse me! Why don't you grab a chair, and we'll talk. That way you can help me stay awake until the doctor arrives."

She sat next to his bed. An unusual situation brought an unusual question. "What did you want to talk about?"

Henry looked at her with a little concern. She's at a loss for words, and that might be a first. "We never did talk about what it meant for you to confront Corinne McWatters."

"It meant a lot to me. In case I didn't say it before, thank you. Thanks for standing by me."

"You're most welcome."

"Even if I turned a burn on myself …"

"All that matters is you stood up for yourself. You were very brave."

Eliza giggled. "Brave …"

"Look, I do know it's a big deal. From all the things you've told me about your time in junior high, it was important to face her down and to show her you can stand up for yourself."

"I did stand up for myself, didn't I?"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah!"

"What do you think now about Corinne as a role model?"

"God, no. I've spent so much time in front of the mirror, trying to create a new me. And yeah, I've spent years reinventing myself, and yeah, it seems totes unfair to realize that, while I thought I was taking the 'best' of Corinne to create a new Eliza, she was always putting me down. It was time I put a stop to that, it was time I drew a line in the sand, and I said 'no' to Corinne McWatters."

Henry nodded, with a look of satisfaction and pride. After a few quiet moments, he voiced the thought that'd been nagging at him for awhile. "Huh, that's weird."

"What's that?"

"I've got this sudden craving for cotton candy."

Eliza grinned with a hint of a mischievous smirk. "Really? And how can I help you with that?"

"I smell it; so I crave it."

"I knew you would notice my perfume, Henry."

"Could you get me some cotton candy, Eliza?"

"That might be too much sugar, even for you."

"I dunno. I've had time to get used to it. You know, to too much sugar."

"SRSLY? What is that supposed to mean?" Where was this coming from? How hard did he hit his head?

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Excuse me? Mr. Henry Higgs?"

They quickly glanced at each other, before Henry spoke up. "Yes, hello."

"Well, you're looking no worse for wear. Hi, I'm Doctor Kathy Danthers." Danthers picked up the clipboard from the end of the bed. "Let's see what what you have here … mild concussion, tumbled over ten feet into the pit of a skateboard park. Aren't you a little old to be skateboarding?"

"Probably," Henry replied sheepishly. "Also, old enough to have had better sense than to try that in the first place."

"It was epic …" Eliza added.

Dr. Danthers glanced from the chart to the third person in the room. "And you are …?"

"Oh, I'm Eliza Dooley. I'm his friend. Good friend, actually."

"Normally, this conversation would be between doctor, patient, and immediate family members …"

"It's all right, Doctor," Henry interrupted. "I'd like her to stay, if that's all right."

"That's not typically our policy. But I don't see any harm in having you stay. Besides, by the looks of it, you two look close."

"Oh, we're not … together," Henry added, to a strange look on Eliza's face. "Well, we're not!"

"That may be so, Mr. Higgs," Dr. Danthers replied. "But there's body language, and there's the fact she's had her hands on your arm from the moment I walked in …"

"Oh." Henry looked down at her hands and back up to Eliza. "Well, we are close."

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it, Mr. Higgs." Danthers looked over to Eliza. "Men, we have to tell them everything."

"Don't I know it …"

"Is he usually this difficult?"

"Where do I even begin?"

"The start would be helpful …"

Henry looked back and forth at the women. "Hey, hello? I'm still here …"

Eliza put her fingers on his lips. "Susssh, Henry. Dr. Danthers is talking."

Dr. Danthers chuckled. "Okay, okay. I believe in world peace, but I also believe in peace between a couple …"

"Oh," Henry interjected. "But we're not a …"

Eliza put her fingers on his lips again. "Please go on, Doctor …"

"… even if they're 'just' friends." Danthers air-quoted the word for emphasis. "Let's get to why I'm here. You broke your right forearm, which fortunately was only a hairline break of the radius, and a bruise of the ulna. As you can see, we put your arm in a cast. It'll be at least a couple of weeks before we can remove the cast. Good news is you can go home tonight. Bad news is you've also got a mild concussion, and you'll be experiencing headaches and possible dizziness. Someone should check up on you tonight to make sure you wake up every couple of hours or so. This also means I strongly recommend you take tomorrow off, get plenty of rest, and avoid strenuous activities. Take it easy, and any lingering symptoms should go away in a few days. If anything happens or you experience anything more serious, come back to the hospital. Here's my card." Danthers dug into her coat pocket and presented a business card to Henry.

"Thank you, Dr. Danthers." Eliza said, snatching the card from Henry. "I'll make sure he's well looked after."

"I'm sure you will, Miss Dooley."

"Hey, can I talk now?" Henry chimed in. "Thank you, Doctor. We've actually been through this before. Eliza got knocked by a car, and I called every hour or so to wake her up. She was miserable …"

"Could you blame me? I dislocated my tailbone, broke my pelvis, and got a concussion …"

"Yeah, that was a ridiculous trifecta."

"From the sound of things, you're in safe hands, Mr. Higgs. If you'll excuse me, I've other patients to attend. I'll have the nurse come in with some paperwork for you to sign, and you can leave after that. Please feel free to call if you have any questions. Good night." Danthers turned directly to Eliza. "And good luck with this one …"

Eliza laughed at Danthers' directive, while Henry rolled his eyes and harrumphed in good nature. They watched Dr. Danthers leave the room. Henry looked down to find Eliza had both hands on his undamaged left arm. Eliza followed where he was looking. Feeling self-conscious, she began to pull away.

"No, Eliza. It's okay." He placed his cast hand on her hands to still them.

She gave him a little smile, and blew out an exaggerated breath. "Some kinda day, am I right?"

"Actually, the last 72 hours have been something. Didn't seem like it was going to end …"

"And it all started when you tasked me to find a role model."

"Did you find one?"

"No, I didn't. I'm still looking. On the one hand, I kinda think it should still be you …"

"But …"

"But I know it's def better if my role model is a woman who can help and guide me professionally."

"Exactly."

Eliza remembered where they were before Danthers stopped by. "Are you still craving cotton candy?"

"Actually, no."

She was clearly disappointed, a fact she didn't bother to hide.

"But I'm very confident the craving will return."

"Anything I can do to help that along?"

He grinned. "Be true to yourself, Eliza."

"Okay, I can do that."

"Though you could be nicer to children …"

"HEY!"

"J/K, Eliza; J/K."

She snorted. "Oh yeah? You realize that you - jumped - me. In public. At a bookstore."

"Yes, I know. Of course. I was there."

"And you realize what this means, right? That you're a grown man who's more than capable of jumping someone."

One of the many things Henry had learned from his relationship with Eliza was the growing ability to give her as much lip as he could take. If he didn't have a cast, he'd be rubbing his hands with glee. "I see. Since you don't seem to be complaining, I have an important question: did you enjoy it? You know, me jumping you?"

"Holy shitdogs, Henry. Did you just say what I think I heard what you just said? Because that would mean …"

"Yes?"

"Uhm, that would mean that …"

Which was the exact moment her phone rang.

Annoyed, she turned the source of irritation over to see who had dared to interrupt them. Her lips twitched when she saw who it was.

"Sorry, Henry. It's Freddy."

"Don't be sorry. Answer the call."

"Hello?" As she turned away talking to Freddy, the look on Henry's face could best be described as 'sorry.'

She finished the call and turned to Henry, a look somewhat rueful mixed with a little bit of resignation. "I gotta go. But so long as you're okay …"

"Yeah, don't worry about me, Eliza. Today was a big day for you: have fun tonight; celebrate your victory."

"As long as you're sure …" She grabbed one of his hands.

"I"m sure …" He gave her hand a squeeze.

"I'll call you after … y'know, to make sure you're okay … and to make you miserable … like you did for me last time …"

"Oh, 'retaliation', is it?"

"What's a little retribution among friends? Am-i-rite?"

He chuckled at their banter. Nothing more was said when they both realized this day, their day was coming to an end.

"Talk to you soon, Eliza."

"See ya, Henry."

Eliza turned at the open doorway. She saw him staring out the window, slowly kneading the part of his exposed left arm where she had placed her hands.