Susan patted Jennifer's hand.
"It's going to be ok, whatever it is".
She nodded.
She opened the water and took a long sip.
A few minutes later, the doctor came in.
"Ok, so it's bad, but not terrible. I am going to send it to have it analyzed so that we can tell for certain what we are dealing with, but I'm pretty sure it was skin cancer. That spot that was on his head ran pretty deep. It ran about 2 inches deep, and was about a ½ an inch wide. That doesn't sound like a lot, but when you put that up against the fact that the average adult human brain is only about 5 inches long, this thing was almost ½ that. It was wrapped around some nerves, and pressing on some points. I extracted all of it, I think. I could not see any evidence of it having grown left and right, but I think this thing was about to head that way. So, he's in recovery, and will be there about an hour. Then they are bringing him to ICU, and he will be there for about 24 hours and then back here if all goes well. As far as long-term effects, we will have to take it one step at a time. I'm confident that he will not have any long-term effects, other than a scar. However, we will have to evaluate that as he wakes up. The areas of the brain this was pressing on affect memory, balance, and emotions. So, if he is having memory issues, or can't seem to hold himself up, or has emotional outbursts, that could all stem from this".
Jennifer nodded.
"How long till you think he's going to wake up?"
"Hard to say. Probably an hour or two. You can stay with him once he's out of recovery till 10 tonight, and then you can come back in the morning at 8".
"Thank you, doctor. How do you think he got this?"
"Ma'am, it's California. He has a convertible, does he not? And driving around with the top down in the California sun is the norm around here. And I'm sure Mr. Hart, like the rest of us, rarely thinks about sunscreen in hairy places, but contrary to popular belief, the hair on your head doesn't protect your scalp from the sun. At least not totally".
She nodded.
"I will have the nurse come get you when he's out of recovery and in the ICU."
"Thank you, I appreciate it".
The doctor left and Jennifer started wiping her eyes.
"See, he's going to be just fine. Skin cancer is very treatable".
"I just hope he wakes up like his old self".
"If he doesn't, I'm sure it will only be temporary".
Max came back in then.
"Oh Max, the doctor was just in. Jonathan is out of surgery and in recovery. We can see him soon. He sent it off to be analyzed, but he's almost certain that it was skin cancer. He's pretty sure he got it all, and said he might have memory, balance, or emotional issues, but that we would know more when he wakes up and can be evaluated".
"So, not best case, but not worst case".
"Precisely".
Max was quiet and didn't say anything.
Finally, he spoke.
"Mr. H. is strong. Miss Edwards. He's gonna make it through. He's got a few things going for him that make it impossible for him to not make it through".
"Like what?"
"Like he's young. Well, compared to me, he's young. And he's in good shape. And he's got you, the love of his life, to come back to".
"I don't know that I would say I'm the love of his life, but thanks".
"I would. He don't introduce me to a whole lot of women, Miss Edwards. And he's never looked at another woman the way he looks at you".
"He's right, Jennifer. You are the first one he's ever introduced me to as his girlfriend. He was engaged to someone named Nikki a few years back, and she had a ring on her finger and everything and he always introduced her as his acquaintance".
"8 months ago, I was wishing I had never met him, and now I can't imagine an hour of my life without him in it. He just has to wake up and get through this".
"He will. He's strong, and he's healthy and he loves you, and he loves his company and he has Max. He has a lot to live for, and he knows that".
She nodded.
She took another drink of water and sat back.
"This waiting is killing me".
"Can I get you anything, Miss Edwards, something to eat, or something?"
"No thanks Max, I'm ok".
Just then, the nurse came in.
"Mr. Hart is out of recovery, and you can come see him".
They all walked down to recovery to see him and Max went in first.
"I won't be long, Miss Edwards".
"Take your time, Max".
Jennifer and Susan sat down outside the room while Max went in.
"Hey Mr. H. It's me, your honorary pop. I hate that you had to deal with this, I didn't even know you was sick. Some dad I am, huh? Dad's are supposed to know these things. I know I don't say it often, but I love you, Mr. H. I couldn't love you more if you were my own son, and I'm just as proud of you as if you were mine. Miss Edwards is real worried about you, Mr. H. She loves you something heavy, that's for sure. So, if you are going to pull out of this, do it for her. She's the best woman you've ever brought home. I'm going to head back to the house now, and let you rest. She'll be in here in a second. I'll come see you tomorrow".
Jonathan had lots of gauze wrapped around his head, and lots of wires coming off his head, but he was breathing on his own and didn't have any facial tubes.
He headed to the hallway.
"I'm going to head to the house, Miss Edwards. I'll come back in the morning".
"Ok. I'm going to stay here in his room, Max. But if anything changes, I'll call you".
She kissed his cheek and then turned to Susan.
"You can come in with me if you want".
"Only for a moment".
They walked in and Jennifer put her purse down and pulled the chair up to one side of his bed.
Susan went to the other.
"Hi Jonathan, you are so lucky to have this wonderful lady waiting for you. So wake up and tell her you love her so she can stop crying, ok? And as soon as you are ready, Drew will be ready for a golf game or a tennis match, your choice".
She walked over to Jennifer.
"Call me if you need me, ok? I mean that".
Jennifer nodded.
"Thank you for sitting with me and talking to me".
"Oh sweetie, it was my pleasure. Any friend of Jonathan's is a friend of mine, and you are the best friend he's had in a long time".
She gave her a long hug and then left.
"Ok sailor, it's just you and me now. And I'm going to be here till they force me out, and I'm going to be back as soon as they let me come in. You really scared me this time, Jonathan Charles. I guess you wanted to get it out of your system before we got married, huh?"
She laced her fingers through his and kissed the back of his hand.
"You know 8 months ago, I wanted nothing to do with you. And now, I can't get enough of you, and I don't want to spend one day without you, darling. Not one second. I love you, honey. All my heart".
She leaned over and kissed him.
She grabbed her purse and grabbed some Carmex and put some on her finger and rubbed it on his lips.
She leaned over and kissed him again.
"There, that's more like it". She lowered the rail and sat on the bed next to him, and leaned down on his chest. She tried to be careful and not hurt him. She picked up his arm and put it around her, and listened to his heartbeat.
She unintentionally dozed off and slept peacefully on his chest till she felt someone tugging at her hair.
She woke up and looked around for the nurse, but there wasn't one.
She looked at Jonathan and realized he was awake.
"Hi honey. I'm right here, how do you feel?"
"Thirsty".
"Let me get the nurse, hang on, I'll be right back".
She ran to get a nurse and came back to his bedside.
When she did, he was back asleep.
The nurse came in with water a few minutes later.
"I'm sorry, he went back to sleep".
"That's ok. It's to be expected. I'll just put this over here in case he wakes up again".
"Thank you".
She laid back down with him, and scratched his chest some, and just listened to him breathing till it was time to go.
The nurse came and got her at 10:15 and told her she had to go, but could come back in the morning.
"Will you be taking care of him all night?"
"Yes, I will".
"He was assigned room 624, and that's where I'll be if he needs me, so please call me".
"Yes ma'am. You can have another 5 minutes to say goodnight to him".
"Ok, thank you".
She leaned over close to him and kissed him again.
"I love you, Jonathan Charles. Forever, you and me. And this feels like the biggest mountain right now, but one day, it's going to seem like a pebble. I have to go downstairs to my room now, but I'll be back in the morning, I promise. Goodnight darling, I love you".
She kissed him a few times and then covered him with the blanket and left.
She went down to the cafeteria and ordered some food, and took it with her to her room.
She took a long shower and got dressed for bed and then settled in. She tried to eat, but found that she couldn't.
She opened up his suitcase and found his pajama top and got back in bed.
She snuggled with that and fell asleep.
***The next morning***
Jennifer woke up around 6:30, and got dressed, and then headed downstairs to see Jonathan.
The nurse updated her.
"He slept all night, and his pressures stayed right where they needed to. His drain is working like it's supposed to, and he didn't ask for any pain medicine. Today might be a different story, though".
She nodded. "Thank you".
She went and kissed him and sat next to him.
He woke up about 20 minutes later.
"Hi honey. How are you feeling?"
"Thirsty".
She grabbed his water and straw and he took a few sips.
"Thank you".
"Sure".
She sat down on the edge of the bed and laced her hands through his.
"Are you in any pain?"
"No".
She pushed the button for the nurse.
"Can I help you?"
"Yes, Mr. Hart is awake".
"I'll be right in, thank you".
"Hopefully you will get to go to your regular room today and then we can start working on going home".
He nodded.
"Max".
"He should be here soon".
He nodded.
"Try not to move your head, darling. You have a drain at the top".
"Do you call all your patients darling?"
She looked at him confused.
The nurse came in.
"Glad to see you awake, Mr. Hart".
She checked all his vitals.
"Ok, talk to me. Do you know where you are?"
"Not really. Looks like a hospital".
"Very good. Do you know why?"
"No".
"You had a headache, darling, and we came here because it wouldn't stop. And after some tests, it turned out that you had a tumor in your brain and they removed it".
He looked at her confused.
"Do you remember your birthday?"
"February 10".
The nurse looked at Jennifer and she nodded.
"I'm telling you, my birthday is February 10. I don't know how she would know that".
"Darling, of course I know your birthday, don't be silly".
He let go of her hand.
"Who are you? Are you my nurse?"
"Jonathan, honey-"
"If we met yesterday, I apologize for not remembering".
"Met yesterday? No, we didn't meet yesterday. We met almost a year ago, and we have been engaged for almost 2 months. It's me, Jennifer".
"Engaged? Me? I don't think so…"
She stared at him in disbelief.
The nurse put her hand on her shoulder.
"This is totally normal after the procedure he had. It might be temporary".
Jennifer nodded.
"Jonathan, I know you don't remember right now. But you might later. And I can tell you anything you want to know".
"I don't have any questions".
"Well, you might later".
"I don't think so".
Max arrived then, and came in the room.
"Hi Mr. H., glad to see you are awake".
"Hi Max. Glad you are here."
"How are you feeling?"
"A little out of sorts, but otherwise, I'm fine".
"Great, glad to hear it".
The nurse told him that the doctor would be in to examine him soon, and left.
Jennifer turned to her.
"Thank you, we appreciate it".
"Max, can you do me a favor and take care of this?" He gestured to Jennifer.
"What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to get her out of here. I don't know who that is".
"Mr. H., it's Jennifer. That's Miss Edwards, your fiancée".
"Jennifer Edwards, the one who wrote the article about me? I thought you looked familiar. You have some nerve telling everyone that we got engaged, as if you didn't just try to destroy my entire company and reputation with your lies. I don't know what game you are playing, but it ends now".
"Mr. H., take it easy".
"Jonathan, you and I got past that. And there weren't any lies, and you didn't lose the company. And we are engaged".
"You know, I never figured you for a gold digger. My mistake".
"Jonathan!"
"Max, get her out of here".
"It's ok, Max, you stay with him. I'll go wait outside".
She stood up and headed to the waiting room across the hall.
She had been sitting there for a few minutes when Susan came by.
"Hi, how is he this morning?"
"Awake, which is good. But he doesn't remember me or the fact that we are engaged, which is bad." She dabbed her eyes with a Kleenex.
"I'm sorry, sweetie. Hopefully, it's temporary".
"I hope so. He called me a gold digger".
"Yikes. I'll go talk to him and see if he has calmed down some".
Jennifer sat there, waiting for someone to throw her a lifeline. As hard as she tried, she couldn't help but feel that the fairytale was over.