Sorry it took me SOO long to get this one up. The next one WILL be sooner, and I thank you for your patience as I struggle with the chapters necessary to get the story to its end.
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He had been looking forward to an afternoon alone. He loved Abby's company, but they needed time apart, time to decompress. He'd been grateful that she'd turned down his offer to come with her and help pack. He would have just been in the way, and they both knew it.
But now she was sending Ralene over to keep him company. To babysit. He'd only met Ralene briefly a couple of times, when she'd brought Abby's mail over. Those brief visits were sufficient for him to know that an afternoon with Ralene would not be fun. Oh well; like Abby he could fake happiness if he had to. Or least fake gracious hospitality.
The doorbell rang and Luka buzzed her in. It would be Ralene, of course. He wasn't expecting anyone else. He opened the door and saw her climbing the stairs. The familiar ponytail. The familiar smile. And when, she greeted him with a cheerful, "Hi, Luka!" the familiar breathless tone of voice that made Luka want to put a pulse-ox probe on her finger ... just to be safe.
"Abby told you I was coming?" she asked.
"Yes, she did. But you don't have to stay. I'm really doing great, and I'm sure you have better things to do today."
"Don't be silly! My calendar is bare and I'm always happy to help Abby anyway I can. And really ... anything could happen, couldn't it? Anything! When I think what happened last time ... oh, I get chills, Luka. If something went wrong and I wasn't here ... nobody was here ... oh, I'd never forgive myself."
Luka realized that he was standing in the doorway, blocking Ralene's access to the apartment. Though she could have ducked under his arm if she really wanted to.
He stepped back. "Come on in, Ralene," he said with a barely concealed sigh. She pushed past him into the apartment.
"Abby still worries about you so much, and so do I."
Luka opened his mouth to reply, to assure her again that he was fine, there was no cause for worry. But Ralene was still talking rapidly. "I just love this apartment! I can see why Abby's in no rush to move out. It's sooo much nicer than our building. I'll bet your plumbing actually works too, doesn't it?
Luka smiled. He couldn't help it. Her cheerful energy was rather endearing in its own way. And he certainly didn't have to worry about her oxygen level. She'd been talking continuously since she arrived, not even pausing for breath, and wasn't showing the slightest hint of hypoxia. Ralene, apparently, didn't need oxygen. She made Luka think of the Energizer Bunny. Maybe she ran on batteries. And ran, and ran, and ran.
As if on cue, Ralene stopped for breath and smiled at him. "I'm sorry. I know I'm babbling."
"It's ok," Luka said.
"Really ... I'm not usually like this. But I don't get much chance to talk to people. I live alone, and with Abby gone now I don't even have neighbors to talk to. At work I spend 8 hours in a cubical with a computer, so when I finally do get a chance to talk to someone ..." A shrug and a smile. "I get carried away."
"It's ok," Luka repeated. And it really was. He knew how she felt. He'd spent much too much time alone himself. He didn't usually mind being alone, but for someone as clearly extroverted as Ralene, it must be hard. Even for himself it wasn't always easy. And he had dealt with his own loneliness in ways far less healthy ... far more self-destructive than Ralene's method. He smiled at her. "Can I get you something? Lunch? Coffee?" Hmmm. ... maybe not coffee. Ralene on caffeine was a frightening thought.
"No! I'm supposed to be taking care of you. You take it easy. Just point me to the kitchen. I'll make you lunch. Or coffee."
"The kitchen's just behind you, but I was actually going to send out for something. There isn't a lot of food in the kitchen just now. Abby's going to bring me all the cans from her kitchen tonight. And, I hope, go shopping tomorrow."
"Sending out for something's ok. I'm not much of a cook anyway."
"Do you like pizza?"
"Sure. I love pizza." She looked at him thoughtfully. "So Abby says you're feeling a lot better?"
The change of subject startled him for a moment. "I'm getting there," he said. "I won't be ready to go back to work for a few more weeks, but I'm getting my strength back."
"You look better. You look really good ... healthy I mean." A bit of a blush. "Not that I know what you looked like before ... I'd never seen you before you were ... hurt, y'know, but you look like you're doing better. Abby must be taking really good care of you. It must be great to know so many doctors and nurses ... they can take care of you when you're hurt."
"Just one's all I need," Luka said softly. "Let me order that pizza, ok? What kind of toppings do you like?"
"Whatever you like. But no pineapple."
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Luka got up to put the leftovers away.
"I can do that," Ralene said quickly.
"I'm supposed to be moving around," Luka reminded her. "Didn't Abby tell you that?"
"Yeah, I guess she did. I just don't want you to tire yourself too much."
"I think I can handle the 2 meter walk to the refrigerator."
Luka put the pizza and breadsticks in the fridge while Ralene put the few dishes in the sink
"What now?" Ralene said. "What would you like to do, I mean?"
Luka hesitated. "I am a little bit tired. I think I'll go lie down for a little while." He wasn't really all that tired, and Abby was right about Ralene; she grew on you after a while. He was finding himself increasingly amused rather than irritated by her boundless enthusiasm. But still, after almost two hours, he was ready for a break.
"Ok. Do you need anything?"
"What did you have in mind?"
"I could bring you some tea ... or rub your back."
"No thank you." Ralene looked hurt. "I'll let you know if I need anything, ok?"
"Ok." Ralene's habitual smile returned. "Should I wake you in a couple of hours? Abby says you need to move around, right?"
"I won't sleep long enough to worry about," Luka assured her. "You're welcome to watch tv, or read, if you can find something that interests you. I'm afraid most of my books are medical. Or Croatian."
"I'll find something on tv. My Croatian's a little rusty, I think."
Luka smiled at her, then escaped into the bedroom and shut the door behind him. 'She means well,' Abby had said. And Luka knew she was right. But still, a few hours apart would be a good thing. He looked at the phone for a moment. Maybe he should call Abby. But no, she was busy. He'd be seeing her again soon enough. And a few hours apart were good for them too.
Stretching out on the bed Luka picked up the book from the bedside table. He hadn't read for pleasure in a long time. Usually it was all he could do to keep up with his professional reading. But a good thing ... the only good thing ... about being stuck at home for two months was that he was finding time to read again. Abby had brought him a stack of trashy novels from the hospital gift shop last week, and he'd worked his way through two of them already. He opened the book and settled down to read. After a few pages he found himself blinking sleepily. He shut the book and shut his eyes for a moment to rest them.