Chapter
22
Mariah
woke with a warm hand on hers. The minute she woke up, she knew where she was.
The hospital. She knew the smell all too well. She felt her head throb and her nose
was stuffed up. She looked up and saw Kevin.
"Kev?"
"I'm
right here. Do you need something? Aspirin?" he asked, concerned.
"No,
I'm fine. How long have I been here?"
"About
two days. You just caught a cold and the doctor wanted to monitor you up close.
She's afraid you might..." He faded off, not finishing his sentence.
"Have
a relapse." she finished for him. He nodded. She fell silent, then broke
the silence and said quietly, "Where's Brian?"
"He's
at a meeting with our managers. He's missed the last two because he wanted to
look after you. He asked me to come, the managers said it was okay. He'll be
back, don't worry."
Mariah
nodded her head and closed her eyes recalling what the scene that had landed
her back in the hospital. Suddenly, her eyes flew open.
"Kevin,
what day is it?"
"It's
Tuesday. Why?"
"No,
I mean the date."
"August
3. Why? What's wrong?"
"Nothing...well...can
you take me somewhere?" she asked, her eyes pleading with his.
"Well,
I don't know if you're allowed to sign out today, but I'll find out. Okay? Just
hang on."
Mariah
nodded her head and Kevin left the room. When he came back he had a smile on
his face.
"Alright,
you can leave now, but you have to come back for a check up tomorrow."
"Thank
you so much Kevin!" She jumped out of bed and went into the bathroom to
change. When she was in there she noticed that she had no clothes to change
into except for the ones that she arrived in. They were cleaned and hanging in
the closet. She went back out to get it. When she got back out, Kevin had
stepped out of the room, so she changed there.
There
was a knock at the door.
"Come
in!"
"Are
you ready?" asked Kevin stepping into the room.
"Yeah,
I guess so. Let's go." Mariah didn't even give the room one last look, but
just walked out in a hurry. Kevin closed the door wondering why Mariah was in
such a hurry.
When
Kevin drove into the driveway, Mariah quickly jumped out of the car, then she
stooped down and said, "Thanks Kevin. You're a real friend."
"No
problem." said Kevin smiling.
Mariah
smiled back and closed the door. She opened her door, turned and wave and
walked into her house.
Meanwhile,
Kevin was outside fiddling around with his radio. He couldn't seem to get the
one station he wanted. He did that for about 10 minutes when the front door of
Mariah's house opened again. Mariah stepped out changed and when she looked up,
she was surprised.
"Kevin?
What are you still doing here?" she asked.
"Nothing,
I just couldn't get the station I wanted. I've been trying to get it for the
past 10 minutes. Where are you going?"
"Uh,
no where..." she said quietly and hesitantly.
"Come
on Mariah, you're suppose to be in bed resting. Just tell me, it's okay."
Mariah
looked at the ground, then glanced up and Kevin and said, "If you really
want to know, why don't you drive me there?"
Kevin
saw the look on her face and knew that something was upsetting her. "Of
course, hop in."
"Okay,"
she said after getting in the car. "First we have to go to a
florist."
They
stopped at the florist shop and she pick up some beautiful lilies. Then when
she got back into the car, she directed him to their next destination. When
they pulled up, Kevin was surprised. Mariah got out of the car quietly and
Kevin followed suit. They walked in side by side, neither one saying a word.
Kevin glanced over at Mariah and he saw slow, silent tears falling from her
eyes. Finally, they reached the tombstone. Kevin stood back a little, letting
Mariah have her space. Mariah approached and put down the flowers while drops of
tears fell on her father's tombstone.
"Happy
Birthday, Dad." whispered Mariah. She knelt there for quite some time. Her
tears seemed to wash some of the dirt that was accumulating over time. Soon,
she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Kevin's eyes red
from his own tears.
"Come
on," he said quietly. "Why don't we get you home? It's getting
late."
Mariah
nodded solemnly. She said one last good bye, kissed her finger tips and touched
the top of the tombstone. Then she turned around and walked away with Kevin
consoling her with his arms around her shoulder.
***
