he woke again. Right away he turned his head as if looking for me. I was there; I would always be there for him.
Almost as if I was reading his mind, I reached for the water glass and placed the straw in his mouth. He took a short drink and managed a real smile this time.
“I hope you know you’re probably the most stubborn man I’ve ever met in my life.”
He grinned.
He knew and it was his stubbornness that had kept him alive. I wasn’t about to complain.
He frowned as if he had a question.
“You want to know how I’m able to be here? You’re wondering about the inn?”
He blinked, letting me know I’d guessed correctly.
“It appears you weren’t listening. I explained all that some time ago. No worries, I’ll tell you again. I have a boarder, Emily Gaffney. She moved into the area and is looking to buy a home. She’s a kindergarten teacher; you’ll like her. Our agreement was for her to rent a room over the summer. Recently she found an apartment and planned on moving out soon, but I’ve asked her to stay on. Emily’s been a big help. She’s taken charge of running the inn so I can be here with you.”
Mark closed his eyes, exhausted once again.
“Sleep, my love,” I whispered, and bending down, I kissed his forehead.
Mark grinned as if my kiss was what he’d been needing all along.
—
In the next two days, Mark woke intermittently and for longer periods of time. It wasn’t until the third day that he was able to speak.
His first word to me was “Hey.”
“Hey yourself,” I whispered, swallowing past the lump in my throat.
“You’re beautiful.”
“Yeah, yeah. I hope you don’t have it in your head that flattery is going to soften the lecture I plan to give you.”
His eyes brightened with amusement.
“You have no idea what you’ve put me through.”
“I bet you’re dying to tell me.”
This was the most he’d said to me at one time. “Give the man a prize,” I teased.
Bob Beldon arrived a few minutes later. He stood just outside the doorway, and when I saw him, he glanced toward Mark.
“He’s awake,” I told our friend, relieved and in high spirits.
Bob frowned. “Can I come into the room? The staff was pretty adamant that I could only stay a short amount of time.”
“Five minutes.” By this point I knew the routine well.
“Mark’s awake?”
I shook my head. “Not at the moment; he drifts off easily, but it’s only for a short while. Want me to come get you the next time he’s awake?”
“Please. I’ll be just down the hall.”
I was all too familiar with the waiting area. “Sure thing.”
Mark woke about ten minutes later, and I collected Bob and stood in the doorway during the visit.
“Hey, Buddy,” Bob said, stepping up to the hospital bed.
“Hey,” Mark returned. He rolled his head to be sure I was close by.
I waved, letting him know I was on the other side of the doorway. Only one person was allowed inside the cubicle at a time. I was fudging, standing in the opening, but by this time the staff knew me well. I didn’t expect anyone to insist I move.
“Guess you know you look like sh…” Bob didn’t need to say the word for Mark to get the message.
“No doubt.”
Bob was wrong. As far as I was concerned, Mark was beautiful. That might sound odd. Men aren’t normally referred to in those terms, but I couldn’t think of any other way to describe how I saw him. He was alive. True, he looked like death, which he’d narrowly cheated, but none of that mattered. Not to me.
Bob stayed for only the allotted five minutes. When he left, he indicated he wanted to talk to me outside the room.
I looked at Mark, meeting his gaze, and said, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Okay.”
When I joined Bob in the waiting area, which thankfully was empty, the first thing I noticed was his frown.
“You wanted to talk to me?” I asked.
Bob stuffed his hands in his pants pockets. “How are you doing?”
“Good. Thankfully, Emily is available to look after the inn.”
He kept his head down, studying the pattern on the rug as if a secret code was implanted in the design. “What about your…friend?”
Greg.
“What about him?” I asked, bristling and struggling to hide it.
“Does he know about Mark?”
“He does, not that it’s any of your business.”
Bob exhaled and offered a knowing smile. “So Peggy keeps telling me. I’m worried, Jo Marie.