He hadn´t seen the truck pressing into the lane when he had gotten the green lights. And then the ambulance rushed to their side, he was taken to the ER without clear memory to all of it. His head hurt too bad, and he was feeling sick, otherwise there seemed no damage. The last thing he heard or realised was that they wanted to do some x-ray…
Kristoff woke to some woman´s voice speaking to him asking how he felt, and when he opened his eyes, there was this old nurse, clearly old schooled the way she scanned him with furrowed eyes and checking on his blood pressure.
"You are lucky, Mr. Bjorgman, a severe concussion but nothing more, though you must rest and lay still. In case you need the bathroom, please ring for help! You´re not allowed to get up on your own, understood?!"
"Yes, ma'am." He swallowed his fear as she looked somewhat threatening to him, this ... Yelena, according to her name tag on her shirt. But then, even before she had left his bed, Kristoff had sunk back into a vague slumber.
And when he woke later, with no reference to time or place he was in, his bladder sent an emergency call up to his brain. So, this still worked, at least…. Oh, that hurt and wasn´t there something… Never mind. He tried to get up, but his head roared on command of this moving efforts and then the room swayed, when Kristoff tried to sit up, and he fell back into his pillows. Great, what now? Oh, that scary one… hadn´t she said something about ringing the bell?
Kristoff reached for the bell button that was attached to the bedside. And when Yelena came into the room he flinched inwardly. Was she the only one working on that floor? Yelena didn´t fuss and helped the young man out of bed, holding the infusion stand with one hand and steadying the tall patient with the other. At least, she seemed really experienced in handling big guys like him and that for the moment appeared a great benefit to Kristoff.
The handy nurse had placed him safely on the toilet, the hospital nightgown neatly draped before him and made sure he sat safe, just leave him for privacy, commanding once more that he would not get up by himself.
"No." He promised wearily, nearly toppling over when the dominant nurse pushed his torso backward to lean against the wall.
"Okay, you stay there and don´t move. I will be back in a jiffy."
"Yes, ma´am." He answered in a slur and nearly dozed off again, while his bladder released by its own. That felt good, at least…
"Oh, good that you´re here, could you please go and check on the patient in room no 202? I should be on my way to room no 210!"
"Sure!" The younger colleague had just started her shift and nodded comprehendingly.
There was a knock on the bathroom door, somewhere far away, in a faint distance… And then a younger nurse was entering the room, like in a blur but clearly nicer and her features seemed so much softer than Yelena´s…. Wait, that voice….?
"Sir? Are you alright? Sir, can you hear me?"
Kristoff tried to open his eyes more efficiently and lifted his head from the wall to get a straighter look at the person with the friendly, yet somehow so familiar voice… Goodness! It was her!
"Kristoff?!"
"Anna?!"
"Goodness, it´s you… here?"
"You… here, too…?"
"Well, I´m working here. I just started my shift and have not yet got an overview of new entries from today. What happened?"
Kristoff stared at her, and his head started spinning. Worse! He realised where he sat on and that he hadn't even managed to clean himself up… His eyes grew wide until they hurt, and he squeezed them shut in diffusion and squirmed on the pain.
"Oh, dear, we better get you back to bed. You shouldn´t be up so long for now." Anna sounded concerned and started to arrange his getting up by pushing the infusion stand a bit aside to get a better hold of him.
Wow! She had always been strong but shed seemingly lifted him from this seat like he weighted practically nothing. Must be a technique-thing. After all, he hardly managed to get any body strength right now. This was too embarrassing, what will she think of him appearing like a senseless dummy hanging around like that.
"You could have asked for the urine bottle, you know?"
"Your colleague said I should call for assistance." He pressed out.
"That´s right, because having the blood circulation running is important, too. Yelena is tough with those things. Next time, I rather check on your state before heaving you out of bed. My strength is limited, too, you know."
She chuckled and rubbed his arm up and down to emphasise her well-meaning.
And one arm was wrapped firmly around his waist to steady him. That felt so nice…
But of course, she was only doing her job, it was her duty, nothing more… Oh nooo... that awful nightgown... how ridiculous he must look... but it was her job...
She had been his crush ever since high school, but then for college their paths parted and Kristoff hadn´t dared to ask after Anna´s whereabouts, because he had been simply to shy and self-conscious of her maybe rejecting him…
He was supposed to stay for another night to get his cerebral state monitored, and Anna had promised to come back to check on him. With a lopsided grin Kristoff drifted back into a sweet dream´s sleep, wondering what it would be like when she came around to measure his blood pressure, or feel his pulse… Maybe his brain was not working well and they´d order him to stay for another few nights…
Early in the morning Kristoff felt somebody touching him on the arm, applying the measure cuff upon his upper arm. He was still drowsy from sleep, his head roaring less severe than last night, but the imagination of Anna tending to his wellbeing propelled his inner being all flustering.
Tell her, tell her now, before you won´t get a hold of that wonderful girl anymore. But what if she was engaged, or maybe even married? What if she will laugh…? But you got this chance, this moment of closeness, don´t miss the opportunity.
And with eyes still closed, feeling sort of safe in this dark realm - like when playing hide and seek by crouching behind a big tree, Kristoff blurred out his confession.
"Anna, you´re the most incredible girl I´ve ever met – there was never one to be compared to you – since we have parted I had a crush on you… would you give me the chance to take you out on a date?"
"Uhm, no!" The hoarse voice caught the young man out of his dreamy state and Kristoff glared at the woman glaring down at him. He transferred into a shock stare, while Yelena looked at him with a motionless face. And then she sighed, shaking her head.
"You get two minutes to settle this, but she´s on duty and normally I don´t tolerate such behaviour."
Yelena stepped aside and made room for Anna who had been tending to the patient in the other bed next to Kristoff. The older man grinned broadly and signalled Kristoff a thumb up with a mischievous wink.
Anna stepped closer with a fondly smile and continued with the tests, where Yelena had left for her taking over. The elder nurse had turned and left the room with mumbling her lack of understanding for such fuss.
"Anna, I´m sorry. Seems like I trap from one embarrassment to another…"
"Why would you say that? Confessing loving words is no shame to me!"
"Well, first, we haven´t seen each other for a few years and then first thing you find me sitting on a toilet half naked and in a slur. And then…"
"Oh, don´t worry about that. This is my profession, you know."
"Finding helpless guys on the loo?"
She giggled.
"You certainly need not be concerned about that," and bending a bit closer, Anna continued in a low whisper, "I´ve seen others, and believe me, you have absolutely no reason to feel ashamed." She straightened and bit her lips with her eyes blinking at him.
Kristoff goofily beamed at her, while his cheeks burned blushing up to his ears.
"I think only knowing you´re close makes me feel much better again."
"Really?" She beamed back at him, lowering her face only to look at him through her eyelashes. "Well, whenever you feel up to, I´d like to join you on a date."
"You do?" Kristoff tried to sit up, but Anna gently pushed him back down into his cushion. The touch gave him the thrills, and out of instinct, he reached for her hand and pressed it to his chest.
Anna smiled lovingly and bent down a bit lower to be closer to his face, her blue eyes so close that the room seemed to transfer into heavenly sphere, and her freckles were the cutest spots he could gaze on the whole day.
"Yes, I´d like that. I was so happy to see you again, you have no idea… and then I thought it might be nice to meet in a lesser… dutiful atmosphere?"
"I can leave the hospital tomorrow."
"That´s my day off."
"So…"
"I could give you a lift home."
And she brushed a soft kiss to his forehead with a smile.
Anna had left the room and Kristoff drifted back to slumber peacefully, with the biggest smile on his face he could not get rid of for a long time. From afar he heard his neighbour chuckle and complimenting him to such a fabulous catch.
An accident had turned into the best coincidence of his life….