Chapter 10: The wake
Note: Thanks for still being here…. Things will get well, I promise…
They had reached the hospital shortly after, and when the two men entered the reception area, it seemed they stepped into another universe. There were notification signs everywhere and the smell of disinfection and other applications clearly indicated the plain fact of professional medical actions.
Kristoff stood next to the reception desk with a nervous mind, flicking his eyes in any direction to detect Anna, or at least any sign of her whereabouts. And all the while he held her bag tightly to his chest, when he felt a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.
"Kristoff, the lady needs Anna´s health insurance card." Mathias had spoken to the receptionist, who typed into her computer in search for Anna´s data, frowning and retyping repeatedly.
"Excuse me, what was the name again?"
Mathias leaned closer in assistance and not to speak to loudly to the woman.
"Anna Bjorgman. She was just brought in a few minutes ago."
"I´m sorry, I can´t find anyone with that name. Oh wait, the allergic shock?"
Mathias nodded and then turned to Kristoff, who twisted the bag in his hands, unsure if he should rummage around her stuff. He then realised that Mathias was discussing some sorts of names with the woman. Bjorgman… Now, his heart skipped a beat and his stomach clenched, and he turned fully to the reception, speaking with a low voice.
"No. We´re not… Her name is Anna Heart."
The lady nodded understanding and then picked some tablet with papers and a pen.
"I´m sorry, normally we are not allowed to tell you anything if you´re not the patient´s husband or related to her in any way. Is there anyone we can call?"
Kristoff shook his head silently. Everybody was abroad or far away.
The young woman thought for a moment and then shrugged with a sigh.
"Well, since there seems nobody else around, I must ask you anyway now. We did not yet receive yet any information about the young woman´s name and details. Would you be so kind as to fill out the forms for me, just as much as you know? But don´t worry, we have time for this, and you need not rush. Whenever you´re ready just hand it all back to me, if possible, with Miss Heart´s health insurance card."
She held out the tablet for Kristoff and he stared at her, still blurry minded. Mathias then took the papers and pen and gestured that they were taking a seat while waiting. The receptionist nodded, again understanding, and pointed to the waiting area. They might as well help themselves with water or coffee for the time being.
They sat a felt eternity and Mathias would not speak for a while, sensing the young man´s distress. So, Anna was not his wife. The man felt a slight feel of sorry about that fact. But then, it was none of his business. Nowadays things were handled differently by the young people. Nevertheless, he was not fooled and knew very well that this very young man was worried to the ground about that girl. Married or not, this poor chap feared for the life of his love, sure he was…
The emergency room could be compared to a bee stack. Nurses and doctors coming out of rooms, talking to each other, just to disappear in another room again. Every now and then there was a callout for some doctor to please head to here or there through a speaker. Patients were rolled in wheelchairs past the waiting people, and others were transported on beds to the surgery department. And then, when two ambulance medics came closer to fill out paperwork at the reception, Mathias recognised the team that had tended to Anna. One of them noticed the waiting men and came over to them.
Kristoff had laid his head back against the wall with closed eyes, trying to calm his nerves while the await became an agonising act of will, not to jump up and to run into every room in search for his sunflower princess. When he felt the touch on his shoulder, he opened his eyes to look at the man who had previously stopped him from entering the ambulance car.
"Mr. Bjorgman, right?"
Kristoff nodded, eyes wide and ears rushing with agitation. The man blinked at him reassuringly.
"I´m sorry I had to hold you back before. We have safety regulations, you know. But I can reassure you not to worry. Your wife is over the worst. Right now, she´s getting treated and tests are still running, so, you still need a bit of patience please. The doctor will contact you soon. Okay?" The man slightly squeezed Kristoff´s shoulder and left.
"Thank you." That was all that came out of his mouth.
She was going to be fine! She would make it!
Finally, Kristoff dared to relax a bit, breathing more calmly, and trying to get a better understanding of what was going on around him. And then, he turned to Mathias and for the first time since the man had tapped his shoulder at the restaurant´s parking lot, he realised that the older had first helped him getting here and then had waited with him here all this time.
"I don´t know what to say. Thank you so much. Is there anything I can give you for your help and expenses?" Kristoff awkwardly gestured his gratefulness to Mathias.
The other man chuckled quietly with a shake of his head.
"No. Sure not. I´m very glad to hear the good news with you. And then, you´ll need a lift back to town anyway. No, no. Don´t worry. I have time, it´s no problem at all, really."
Kristoff nodded and smiled, thanking for the support. And when he was about to lean back again in his chair, he spotted the tablet with papers still waiting on the little table next to him. He picked it up and started filling out Anna´s data. He then rummaged through her bag, extracting her purse, and looking for her health insurance card. This gave him something useful to do to fill the gap of waiting time. But then, there were so many questions he couldn´t answer, so he had to leave empty spaces. Signing the form at the end, he remembered something and turned to Mathias again.
"Why did everybody think that Anna is my wife?"
Mathias raised his eyebrows and smirked with a grin, himself more relaxed too now, that further good news was to be expected.
"Maybe because you two appear like a married couple?"
Kristoff chuckled irritated, running a hand through his hair.
"I wish…" Then he shook his head, sighing with frustration.
"Do you like the thought of her being your wife?"
"We hardly know each other. At least… I mean, we have just recently met, and ended up spending our vacation on the same boat. So, yes, we got sort of more acquainted. But I doubt I´m good enough for her."
Mathias had glanced at the young man and felt a strange recognition, reviewing a young man of a long time ago…
"So, you like her, or more than that?"
"More than that."
Kristoff had leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees, and resting head in hands. Normally, he would not talk like that to some stranger he didn´t really know. But then, Mathias seemed a reasonable and trustworthy fatherlike man. And he needed to talk to someone, somehow. He must talk about the one, who he just had feared of losing only a few minutes ago.
"Of course you do so."
Mathias looked around the room and sighed.
"Looks like there is still some time to wait. May I tell you a little story? I will make it short, promise." When he got a short nod from the young one, Mathias leaned back and stared out into the distance, to recall his own story from afar.
"When I was about your age, I loved Halima. But I was scared asking her out and even the more to ask her to become my wife. So, to flee the dread of rejection, I signed in with the army and got called away. First, I left to get a better understanding of what to do. Then time passed and at some point, I had lost hope that she might ever want me at all. And so, I stayed signed in for serving abroad, far away from home. More time passed and then one day, in a forlorn village at the outskirts of some African desert, I came to my senses. Of how dumb I´ve been. I resigned, returned, and faced the greatest challenge of my life. To make it short, Halima had never got married. She had waited for me. Can you believe it?"
Mathias chortled, still swept away about this incredibility and then turned to look at Kristoff, who had meanwhile sat back up to listen more attentively.
"Now, guess how long I´ve been away before returning home."
Kristoff shrugged and pursed his lips in thought. Two, three years?
"34 years." The plain answer sounded like a bad joke.
Kristoff stared at the man and googled him bewildered, his eyes narrowing to little slits.
"34 years?! You´re kidding, right?"
Mathias shook his head with an ashamed shrug.
"No, my boy. You see the complete prove of idiocy sitting right next to you. So, here comes my well-intended advice. Kristoff, don´t waste your time because you fear the refusal. There is no use in postponing and keep suffering the uncertainties." He nodded with a gravely expression, trying to underline his words of wisdom.
Kristoff blinked and opened his mouth, but closed it again, not knowing what to say. Instead, he nodded comprehending dawning, thanking Mathias for sharing this truly incredible story.
Then, a lady doctor approached them and sat down next to Kristoff.
"You´re Mr. Bjorgman?" And when Kristoff nodded, eyes widened in tense anticipation, the doctor continued.
"I´m Dr. Yelena. I have treated Miss Heart. Well, I can give the all-clear now. We managed to control the allergic shock reaction with a measured does of adrenalin and antihistaminic injection. When Anna is back home, she needs to see a devised clinic to have her specific allergies defined. But then, we will inform her clearly about that before her leave. I just tell you so that you are informed, too. Would you have any questions right now?"
Kristoff stared at the woman, trying to comprehend what she had said. But then, one thought cruised his mind constantly.
"Will Anna be alright again physically? I mean, she is a ballet dancer. Does this shock she suffered have any consequences on her physical condition?"
Dr. Yelena looked at the young man fondly and shook her head.
"She will be fine! We had gone through some quick neurological tests just before, that´s why it took a bit longer to come forth with the news. And her nervous system shows no disfunction so far, which means you need not worry.
"That sounds great. So, can I take her home now?"
"Unfortunately, not. You see, we would like to keep her here another 24 hours for monitoring. Just to be sure that Anna is completely okay. In addition, we have given her medication to calm her down so that her body can relax and recover from the strain of the shock reaction. She now needs a few hours of intensive rest. I'm sure you understand that?"
Kristoff nodded, of course he would. But if he could see her perhaps? Dr. Yelena confirmed that in a little while he was allowed to go and see her. Right now, Anna was transferred upstairs to the internal medicine department and prepared for the monitoring. He will get notified when she´s ready to receive visit. With that, Dr. Yelena got up to take her leave.
And before she left, the doctor turned once more and explained slightly amused.
"By the way, you just gave me the answer to a question that had us wondering, when examining Miss Heart. About what she might be an acrobat or the sort. You see, the girl showed a pretty swift response on one reactional test and flicked her foot that fast that she nearly broke the neurologist's nose."
Dr. Yelena held a hand before her mouth and swallowed a giggle, just to be all serious again and walking away like the stern medic.
Kristoff stared after the woman and tried to imagine what that scene must have looked like, and a grin formed on his lips.
Of course, she did that… Oh, how I wish that I could cry out loud ´Yes! That´s my wife! ´