~*~ Late that night ~*~
I had X-rays, I had surgery on my wrist and ankle. My darling
brother made my birthday loads better when he told me my nose wasn’t broken.
Just busted and bleeding as if I had gotten into a fight. I was glad to know
that I had blown quite a few of my injuries out of proportion. I could have
sworn I was falling apart at the seams! Busted nose, fractured wrist, fractured
ankle I was cool with! Christopher Reeves fell off a horse and is paralyzed
from the fifth vertebrae down. I listened to him talking in this professional
voice I heard him use with his patients. That's why I was examining my brace
and not taking him seriously at all-- I was his sister and refused to be
labeled as anything other than! Damnit.
"--It’s gonna be bruised in the morning and a little swollen
but it’s not broken. But
your wrist is fractured. You must have used your arm to break your fall. Other
than that it's all bruises that will go away in due time. We're gonna keep you
here so’s you can get some rest-- are you listening to me, Sam?!"
I looked up and shook my head. Anthony rolled his eyes then
walked over and knelt down beside the bed. He kissed my forehead. "What
are you doing dragging one of the Backstreet Boys to the hospital with
you?" he asked quietly.
"Backstreet Boy?" that caught me by surprise. Although
I was sure I recognized his face from somewhere.
"You didn't know that's Kevin Richardson down there in the
lobby worried about you?"
"He's worried about me?" my head didn't hurt so much
anymore so Anthony nodded. "You want me to send them up?"
"Sure."
He left and a little while later Liv and Kevin stepped into the
room each carrying a
fistful of helium balloons, Kevin had a white teddy bear, as well and Liv had
flowers.
"We just raided the gift shop!" Liv's blue eyes lit up.
"We made them rich!"
"Ohmigod," I couldn't believe it, "these are all
for me?"
"Yes, birthday girl," Liv said. She and Kevin set
everything down on the table beside a window. "It was Kevin’s idea,"
she put slight emphasis on Kevin's name and shot me some very suggestive eye
contact. I smiled at him. For the first time all day moving my mouth didn't
cause my whole head to throb.
"Thank you so much."
"I dunno I just felt so bad that all this shit happened to
you on your birthday. I feel for you, though, I really do, cause, uh, my wife
divorced me on my birthday."
Mine and Liv's jaws both dropped. Already there were tears in
Kevin's eyes.
"God..." I said softly, "Damn, I am so sorry,
Kevin."
Liv, always up for a none-of-your-business-story, plopped down on
a small couch near the bathroom. "Do you wanna talk about it?"
Kevin sat my balloon and the cute little teddy bear down on a
table alongside Liv's flowers. He sat down right beside my bed and told us that
his wife Kristin just came to him the evening of his 30th birthday and laid it
all out for him. I told him to stop when a tear slid down his cheek. I wiped it
away in an attempt to be there for him now the way he had for me all day.
"You loved her didn't you?" I asked softly.
He nodded.
I sighed and gave him a hopeful smile. "Well..." I was
'standing on my soap box'
right then, "I just feel that... whatever happens, happens for a reason.
Like, the time when my first dog, Tiny, he was a rotweiler, tried to attacked
Liv when we were twelve; who knew we’d become best friends after that?"
Liv and Kevin both laughed and he wiped another tear. I was glad
to have got him laughing.
"I mean, maybe, somewhere there's some beautiful lady, fully
compatible and right for you, waiting for you to fall in love with her. The
real deal this time," I had to get one more quip in to banish the
queasiness I felt when he looked right into my eyes. I actually felt my heart
flutter inside my throat. "And anyone who would divorce you on your 30th
birthday sucks anyway."