Chapter 15
"I can't believe it. Look at this, Ellen." A nurse's aide held a newspaper up for the nurse to see. "Every day I've been on, he's had a paper on the bed. You'd better have a talk with the volunteer who delivers them. I didn't even know that they were allowed to come in to the ICU." The aide put the paper on a shelf behind some supplies, pulling out old newspapers and tossing them in the garbage. Shaking her head, she said, "Looks like I'm not the only one finding them."
Gary opened his eyes, his attention caught by the mention of the word 'newspaper'. He watched anxiously as the aid put the paper on the shelf. So that was where they had been going to.
Ellen frowned, "That's strange. I've never seen the paper guy come by, but maybe he comes through when we're in report. I'll have a talk with the nursing supervisor. He's a sweet old man, but I don't like the idea of people coming by disturbing my patients.
Uh-oh, Gary thought, hoping that the innocent volunteer didn't get in trouble. He pushed the bed controls, moving the head of the bed up as far as the tubing connected to the ventilator would allow. He wanted to attract the nurse's attention to clear up the confusion. The slight re-positioning of the tube, however, caused him to gag and choke, setting off alarms on the ventilator. Well, that was one way to get the nurse's attention, he thought wryly, when he was finally able to breathe calmly, and the alarms had silenced.
"Morning, Gary. How are you feeling today?"
Gary nodded impatiently, and snatched his clipboard off the bedside table. He wrote quickly, before the nurse walked away, 'I asked for the paper to be delivered every day.' He held the note up for the nurse to see.
She cocked her head to the side, "You did?"
Gary nodded, wondering if anyone had ever noticed the date on the papers.
"Well, okay, Gary. Do you want the one that came today? Do you feel like reading?"
Gary scribbled furiously, underlining the two words for emphasis, 'Yes. Please.'
Laughing, the nurse grabbed the paper off the shelf with hardly a glance, and handed it to Gary. "Here you go. I'm glad to see you feeling well enough to read it."
Trying his best to smile around the tube, Gary eagerly took the paper and started leafing through it. He hadn't known it until now when he finally had the paper back in his hands, but the last several days, when he'd been alert enough to think clearly, he'd had a vague sensation that something had been missing. Now, he felt complete.
He couldn't wait for Chuck and Marissa to visit.
"Hey, Marissa, he's looking good." Chuck grinned when they entered Gary's room. It was good to see Gary sitting up in bed, his face alert and his eyes bright. Well, at least brighter than they had been a few days before though he was still a far cry from being healthy.
Marissa smiled, "Does he still have the tube in?"
Gary face fell slightly, his eyes meeting Chuck's in a silent plea to put a good spin on things. "Um, yeah, Marissa. He still has the tube in, but he's wide awake and grinning."
At that, Gary did grin, or at least tried to. His eyes danced as he held the paper up for Chuck to see.
"Is that--?" Chuck grabbed the paper out of Gary's hand and checked the date. "Oh, my God."
"What? Is something wrong?" Marissa stiffened, her face frozen in fear.
Gary's eyes widened and he quickly shook his head, reaching for Marissa's hand on the bed rail. He gave it a reassuring squeeze.
Chuck glanced up from the paper in confusion, "Huh? Oh, no Marissa. It's nothing bad. Gary just handed me the paper."
Marissa sagged in relief, then a smile spread slowly across her face. "Tomorrow's paper?"
"Yeah. I wonder where it's been going, Gar?" Chuck looked to Gary, puzzlement on his features.
Gary jotted down the answer and pointed to the shelf.
"You gotta be kidding? It's been here all along?" Chuck sounded slightly miffed. "I thought it would come to your place, but I hadn't seen it."
"The paper's been coming to the hospital?" Marissa's face took on an amused expression. "I can't believe the paper would come here when Chuck's been staying at your place, Gary." She shook her head, trying to stifle a grin, "But, then I guess the cat knows best."
"Hey, I resent that! I'll show you guys. Just wait. Until you're well enough to do it, Gar," Chuck rolled the paper up, and shook it in Gary's direction, "I'll do everything that you would do."
Gary smiled and nodded. He wrote another note, 'I'm counting on it.'
Chuck read the note out loud. "Ha! See, Marissa. Gary trusts me."
Marissa laughed, "It's not like he has a choice, Chuck."
