"Do you really think it's going to take us that long to get to the hospital?"
"I'm afraid it might."
"Is there a lot of traffic?"
"No, there shouldn't be on a Sunday. But Daniel...you probably don't realize how far out of your way you were from where you thought that night in the storm. You must have made a wrong turn somewhere along the way and went quite a bit north of Lawrence. My parent's cabin was off the beaten track, halfway to White Mountain."
He blinked, "Did you say White Mountain? But that's in…"
"New Hampshire. That's right. The bridge you went off was just southeast of Concord, New Hampshire. You didn't notice the license plates, I guess. Honey, you were hell and a handbasket from Lawrence! But as it turns out, the Lawrence Hospital is actually supposed to be better equipped to deal with um...you know, cases like yours.
I was told when I called that they have an excellent orthopedic surgeon on staff there. So even though Concord is closer, they recommended I take you to Lawrence. Are you doing okay, though?
If the pain is too bad, I can still take you to Concord instead. They could give you something stronger than aspirin and whiskey there before they moved you. It's up to you. Don't think you have to be a hero."
"No, that's your job, right?" he teased, wincing slightly when they hit a bump in the road.
She shook her head, "Like I haven't heard THAT a million times before, smart ass! Anyway, like I said, it's your call. I'm not in your pain. Just don't think you have to be manly and suffer in silence. It's not really you to do that. Besides, I don't want you passing out on me again. You're a lot harder to move."
He blew out a breath, and shook his head, "No. I'm hanging in there right now. Might as well take me to Lawrence now if that's where I'd end up anyway. I've held out this long,"
"Okay. Then try to sit back and let someone drive who actually knows how."
"Thanks a lot! Be nice. I am in pain."
"Yes, sweetie. I'm well aware."
He raised an eyebrow, "Sorry, was I a really big baby while I was
...incoherent?"
She laughed, "I'm not going to lie. You were. All I know is, you need to bite the bullet with that Betty girl of yours and either go back to London with her and camp out on her doorstep or give her a really good reason to make her stay here."
"No offense, but you sound a lot like my mother!"
"None taken. Your mom sounded like a very nice lady. I'm probably closer to her age than I'd like to admit. I'm guessing that's the reason why you were able to smooth things out with your girl Betty without her being too jealous."
He shook his head, "She's not my girl. At least...well, certainly not anymore. She hasn't been for a very long time. I'm not sure she ever really was. Betty has always been a force of nature; a force I had no control over. Not really."
"Is that so? That's not what you said repeatedly while you were delirious. I know something that might take your mind off your pain. I like listening to audiobooks when I'm driving. Why don't you read your new book to me?"
He shrugged, "It's too long. Besides, I have no idea what happened to my flash drive in the crash. Before the storm, I was having trouble getting it to load to my email to send it to my publisher. I don't think she ever got it. I was going to take it to her when I got back from the tour in Lawrence."
She gestured to her phone, "Why don't you see if it's on your sent emails on that thing. If not, tell me all about it. Give me an oral summary of your latest work. And about how you met Betty. She sounded like a real nice young woman. She was definitely concerned about you!"
The lopsided grin on his face told her her trick of trying to distract him from how much pain he was in was working at least a little. He nodded, "Yeah, Betty is...well, I'm sure I bored you enough talking about her in my delirium."
She shrugged, "I found what you said so far pretty interesting, actually. I'm always a sucker for a delayed gratification story. I'm a huge Persuasion fan."
"Persuasion?"
She looked at him incredulously, "You never heard of...Jane Austen, dear boy? You know it's a good thing you're good looking. I thought you were a novelist. How do you not know that?"
"Because I'm a man. Yes, of course I've heard of her. And even read some of her stuff. But Austen wrote women's novels. Her books were… well-written, granted, but the equivalent of a chick flick! That's a completely girly novel. Come on, give me a break."
"Interesting choice of words. And girly? Says the man who was the editor of a very "girly" magazine and has made his name writing a book about fashion! Not to mention, you have better manicured nails than I do!"
He looked at his hands, "What's wrong with getting a manicure?"
"Nothing. Just...read me your book...please? I'll be honest, I'm mainly thinking of you."
He grinned, "Yeah, I know. You think if you get me reading, and talking about Betty and me it'll distract me from my pain."
"I guess you really aren't a total idiot."
"Not all the time, anyway. I'm just very, very slow to realize how lucky I...was until I lost her."
"Like Captain Wentworth and Anne?" she smiled.
He rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Okay, fine. You win. I'll read you my stuff. I found the sent email file attachment. Just so you know, though, it's definitely going to take a lot longer than forty-five minutes to tell this story." He smiled and took a deep breath, "So, Betty...and me. Where do I start?"
"Well, I don't know. You're the writer. But isn't it customary to start at the beginning?"
He smirked, "Sure. Unless you begin at the end, then incorporate a flashback or other literary device. That can work, too. If you want to give the reader the glimpse of the future, let them know that, no matter how fuc...um messed up things get, there will eventually be a happy ending of some kind. It gives them hope, and keeps them reading till the end."
"Literary device", huh? Listen to you. I guess you really are a Hahvahd boy, aren't you, Danny boy?"
He shrugged, as he continued, "I used to be. I used to be a lot of things. Like...a major asshole. To all women. Especially Betty when she first started at Mode as my assistant.
God knows why, but in spite of me trying to get her to quit her first week by working her like a slave, and treating her like shit, then trying to humiliate her, she stayed. I got my head out of my ass long enough to apologize.
She forgave me, and came back. Not only that, but she actually helped me look good in front of my old man. Not an easy feat, considering most of my life I was never able to satisfy my father."
"I'm sorry. Not to interrupt, but I have to ask; why did you hire her in the first place if you were so set on getting rid of her?"
He sighed, hanging his head, "I didn't. My dad did. He thought...I would never be interested in Betty. He caught me sleeping with my assistant. I sort of did that. A lot. But he liked Betty's spunk, her fire. He figured she'd help me turn things around. Stop thinking with my…."
"Yes, we both know what with. Why didn't your father think you would be interested in Betty back then? Was she married or something?"
"No. She...was young. She looked...different. She wasn't into fashion back then. She had braces, and glasses and her hair was kind of frizzy. She used to lose pencils in it when she drank too much coffee and got all...buzzed.
She was like my own little butterfly. Buzzing around me. Waiting on me hand and foot. And yet, telling me when I messed up, helping me want not to mess up all the time.
Betty always told me the truth. Even when nobody else would. I would do anything to keep that look off her face. That look of disappointment in me. I used to call it her "judgy butterfly" look."
Diana glanced over at her pained passenger sympathetically, "You were in love with her even back then, weren't you?"
He nodded, "Yeah. I was. I was just too stupid to know how much until I had lost her, until it was too late."
"Didn't we already decide...it's never too late for a happy ending? After all, I heard you two flirting just now. That didn't sound like a man who's given up hope. It sounded like you planned on getting some TLC from your little "Nurse Betty"! She laughed at his grin.
"Okay, okay. Don't get too excited, lover boy, you'll start running a temperature again thinking about her. Go ahead. You've given me the present situation, now, start reading. Let's hear the flashback."
He nodded, choosing to skip over the somewhat personal forward he had written for Betty. "Fine. Here goes. Chapter One: How do I possibly start this? I suppose I should have known ..."
He read the first five chapters. He trailed off, practically mumbling as he finished the end of the "page",
"when we stood on that bridge, staring out at the city, our city, sharing its beauty and magic together, it felt like we were the last two people on earth. I have never felt so close to anyone before or since that night. She had already shown me her concern, her care for me, her loyalty and how much she was willing to do to keep me from pain.
She could have let me sit there, waiting for Giselle. I wouldn't have blamed her. It certainly wasn't in her job description, all the many, many things she did for me.
After that night, I somehow knew things would never be the same between us. We were far more than boss and employee. We were friends...but far more. All I've ever had to say is "I Need You" and Betty always comes to help. She's always there for me." his voice drifted off as he fondly remembered that night on the Brooklyn Bridge and how it had changed his relationship to his one-time assistant.
Diana's voice startled him out of his silent reverie, "We're here. But before we go in there, I've gotta know. That time you took Betty on an all night date, why didn't you try to kiss her that night? How is it Daniel Meade, mister playboy himself wouldn't make a play? Oh wait, is it because she wasn't some pretty model back then?"
He shook his head, "No. Even back then, I knew you can't always judge a book by its cover. It was my father's idea that he didn't think I would be attracted to her. But I've always told Betty how beautiful she was. I'm not quite that shallow. Well, okay, maybe once upon a time I was. But that was definitely before I met her. Before I got to know her. She...changed me completely."
"Yes, yes. So you said. She somehow magically "changed everyone". But I don't understand, how. Is this Betty girl some kind of Mother Theresa?"
"No. It's not that. It's kind of hard to describe. She just has this positive attitude and always sees the good in everybody. She makes you want to do the right thing. It's like she's somehow able to make you strive for the best in yourself. She works her ass off, sets a good example, but it's much more than that.
She's kind. She's sweet, she's… funny. Sometimes she's a little clumsy. Okay, more than sometimes. The girl is a total klutz. An adorable one."
Diana smiled, seeing how smitten he clearly was, "Yes, so you said, with the first day, her running into the door and such."
"That was just the tip of the iceberg. My Betty is incredibly cute, but I wouldn't stand too close when she's wearing heels that are too high, had one too many Mango Margaritas or is on a caffeine high and sounds like one of the Chipmunks."
Diana laughed, "Chipmunks? Mango Margaritas, huh? Interesting taste in women you have."
Daniel's eyes fluttered, "Yeah...she's...amazing. Are we here yet?"
She nodded, "We're here. Look at that. My little ruse actually worked. I managed to distract you from your pain a little. I'd say it seems you and "Your Betty" may yet end up together. From what I could tell of your conversation, she was doing her share of flirting. And after all, she did come all the way here to join the search party for you, Daniel. Daniel...
Daniel? DANIEL! WAKE UP! HELP!" She shook him with no response, then jumped out and ran towards the hospital emergency entrance, yelling at anyone she saw standing outside. "Somebody...can I get some help, please? I have a man who's very hurt here."