I woke up a couple of hours ago. After being poked and prodded by the doctor and nurse, they finally gave me something for the pain. Now I can sit up with the bed raised without wanting to scream. Though just about everything still aches, at least I'm now awake and I've had some broth. They refuse to give me anything but clear liquids yet. And I've at least managed to brush the sweater off of my teeth as well. Now I'm waiting.
Soon I hear bare feet running across the tile floor. I've always thought of him as being extremely graceful, him crashing through the door into my room kind of ruins that mental image. He comes in full tilt and stops just short of the bed and stops moving. I can tell he's afraid to touch me. I hold my hands up to him. He gently takes them and I pull him toward me. He comes closer, but just stands there next to the bed. I look up at him.
"Don't make me come up there," I say smiling.
Abe bends over and gently kisses me. He starts pulling away. But before he can get too far, I grab the back of his head and pull him back down. After a while, my arms give out and I have to let him go. He sits down in the chair next to the bed and holds my hand. I try pulling his gloves off of him. I want to feel his skin, not the leather of his gloves. He takes them off for me and we just sit there holding hands. I'm happy just to sit there and not talk. I lean back and sigh. A few minutes later, Manning comes in.
"Miss Cavendish, you're grandmother has been informed that you are awake," he says. "She'll be here shortly. Abe, I think it best if you are not here."
"No," I tell him, tightening my hold on Abe's hand. "My grandmother needs to know about him."
"She already knows," Abe replies quietly. "We met last week when you…"
"When I what?" I ask him. He won't look at me; he just stares at my hand. I look up at Manning. "Dr. Manning what happened last week?"
"You died," he says simply. "You went into cardiac arrest and had to be revived. Abe, you really should leave."
"He's not leaving," I repeat. "I'm not sure what caused me to have a heart attack last time, but I'm not facing my grandmother without him."
"Miss Cavendish, I don't think…" he starts.
"It's my decision," I interrupt. "He stays."
"Very well," says Manning. He doesn't look to happy as he turns and goes.
"I really should leave," Abe says quietly.
"Obviously you need your hearing checked," I tell him. "I want you here with me. Right now I don't think I can face my grandmother alone. She tends to ride rough shod over everything that she doesn't agree with. And if she has already met you, that means I'm going to be put over the grill again about you. I don't have the strength to do it alone, my love. I need you here."
I pull his hand to my lips and kiss it. He looks at me and silently nods.
"Thank you," I say quietly. "What happened when you two met?"
He tells me everything that happened last week. I sit quietly and listen. When he's done we sit in silence for a minute.
"I remember a lot of pain," I start. "I remember hearing you call my name. I heard Grandmother being mean to you. I tried to stop it, but the pain was too much. I thought it was a dream."
I can feel his hand shaking in mine. I reach over and pull him toward me. The respirator is in the way, but I work around it until I'm holding him. I don't let go until he stops shaking. I let go and he sits back down. And then I "feel" Grandmother approaching.
"She's here," I inform him. I'm starting to get tired, but I know that it's best to just get this over with. A minute later, I can hear her shoes clicking across the tile. A few moments later, she walks into my room with an overnight bag slung over her shoulder. She sees Abe and stops dead in her tracks.
"What is that thing doing in here?" she asks rudely.
"Abe is not a thing, Grandmother," I answer.
"I don't care," she states. "I want it out of here this minute."
"Abe is a he, Grandmother," I respond. "And he's staying."
"It most certainly is not," she replies haughtily.
"I find it very odd, Grandmother, that you would treat Abe this way," I tell her. "After all, you're the one planning my marriage to him."
"You are most certainly not marrying that thing," she retorts.
"Aren't I supposed to marry the first man I Kiss?" I ask her.
"You are, child. But that's not a man," she answers pointing a finger at Abe.
"He's definitely not normal, I'll grant you that," I say. "But that doesn't make him any less of a man then the next guy."
"Now be reasonable, Peggy Sue," Grandmother starts.
"Do NOT call me that," I reply hotly. There's a slight earthquake. I take a deep breath and regain my composure. "Abe is staying. We've Kissed. It's as simple as that Grandmother. No amount of foot stomping and name calling is going to change that. At this point, the ball is in your court. You must decide how you want to deal with this."
"Well, it couldn't have been a real Kiss," she says in a superior attitude. "So we'll just postpone the wedding until you have you're real First Kiss."
"How do you know it wasn't a real Kiss?" I ask barely able to control my anger.
"Because, child, how could it possibly have been a real Kiss with a fish?" she replies with the attitude of someone who's won.
"Then how do explain the dreams I've been having?" I ask her. "How do you explain that every time we tried going beyond simply kissing, we've been interrupted?"
She stands there for a good minute opening and shutting her mouth, not sure how to respond. It's very satisfying to see her speechless. Finally, her brain clicks into gear.
"I am getting you out of here," she says. "Obviously this place has muddled your brain. We'll get you set up in a real hospital where they can take good care of you. Then you can stop all of this nonsense about marrying a walking fish."
"The marriage thing was your idea, not mine, Grandmother," I reply. "And I'm not leaving. Not until the doctor says I'm ready to leave, at least."
"You are obviously not in your right mind, girl," she comes back. "I have to get you out of here for your own good."
She turns to go, but a sudden gust of wind slams the door shut. She stands there for a moment, flabbergasted. That little stunt cost me, but it was worth it.
"Grandmother, I am not leaving," I tell her. "The wedding was your idea, not mine. If you insist on going through with it, then you might as well get used to the idea that it's Abe whom I'm going to marry."
"You can't marry a fish," she says quietly. "You just can't."
"Why?" I ask her angrily. "Because it won't look good on the society page? Have you ever, for one moment, stopped to think about what I might want, Grandmother?"
She partially turns around and looks at me. She actually looks confused, like she just doesn't know what to do.
"I've only wanted what was best for you," she answers quietly. I can see tears starting to form in her eyes. "I'll call the wedding off, if that's what you want."
"I think that would be best for now," I say. "Let us make the decision, please."
She turns to go. As she reaches for the door, the overnight bag slides off of her shoulder. She takes it into her hands and brings it to me.
"Here, Helen packed this for you," she says.
Letting go of Abe, I grab her arms and pull her toward me. I hug her for as long as I can. When I finally let go, there are tears rolling down both of our cheeks.
"I do love you, Grandmother," I tell her. "I just need to live my own life. Okay?"
"Okay," she says giving me a small smile. She gets a handkerchief out of her purse and tries to do damage control with her makeup. "I'd like to come back tomorrow and visit, if that's alright. Maybe we could start over?"
"I'd like that," I reply. She turns and leaves. I feel exhausted, but relieved. It's like a heavy weight has been lifted off of my chest. Abe reaches up and starts wiping the tears off of my face. I grab the hand and kiss it.
"Thank you for staying," I tell him giving him a small smile. "I don't think I could have done that alone."
"You're welcome," he says quietly. He takes my face in his hands and kisses me deeply. When we finally part, he asks me, "So, what did Helen pack for you?"
I had totally forgotten about the bag sitting on my lap. I open it up and start investigating. I pull out basic toiletries and a change of clothes. On the bottom I see something made of a shimmering material. I reach in and start to pull it out. When I realize what it is, I quickly try to put it back in, but Abe's to fast. He grabs it and pulls out the blue green night gown my grandmother bought me. He holds it up and looks at me smiling.
"I can't wait to see you in this," he says.