All I'll Ever Ask (The Greatest Love Book 1) (4 page)

When the nurse came back into the room, she was shocked at the change of the atmosphere in the room, there was now a sense of peace. The patient had gone from throwing a tantrum about her half shaven head, to looking like an angel at peace. The nurse looked down at the sedative in her hand and put it back onto her tray and headed out of the room to allow Camille to rest. The nurse suddenly smiled, knowing the presence of the Holy Spirit was in the room. She gave a silent thanks to the Master and knew this child of God, would be made whole.

Chapter 2: Destiny or Rebound

Downtown Trauma Center

Benjamin George Adams

Benjamin, a newcomer in Camille’s life, waited with her friends while she was transferred from recovery to her room. Paige and Karen had filled the room with balloons. Her clients and employees of ITS sent flowers and edible fruit arrangements. The entire nursing staff had come into the room, to see the suite that had been decorated for royalty. Ben held his breath with anticipation as the doors opened and stood to his feet, as Camille was wheeled in. Karen and Paige rushed to her, each taking over at one side as the nurses stepped in to assist.

Ben noticed Camille looked drowsy from the drugs and he could not miss the bandage on her head. However, none of it subtracted from her beauty. Even in her fragile state, she was stunning. Ben jolted in Camille’s direction when he heard her slowly attempting to say his name. It came out as a slur, “BEN-JAM-EN.” Ben approached her bed and gently took over propping Camille’s head up on the pillows and operating the head portion of the bed, as the nurse was instructing. This was to be done to keep the blood flowing properly to Camille’s brain, preventing any clots.

When Camille was properly positioned, she whispered to Benjamin. “Y-you do-do not ha-have to be here.”

Ben gave an alarming smile and leaned in as close as possible to Camille’s face and said firmly. “There. Is. No. Where. Else. I. Would. Rather. Be.”

***

Alcoholic Anonymous Meeting – Frankie Jones

Frankie took the stand. At six feet and three inches tall, he had to lean into the microphone to be heard. “Good Afternoon, my name is Frankie Jones and I am an Alcoholic.” He paused for the crowd to say, “Hi Frankie.” Then he continued with his testimony. “My alcoholism caused me to lose my wife of eighteen years and strained my relationship with my twin daughters. They stop speaking to me their senior year in high school. I was in denial and convinced myself they were busy enjoying their final year of school. I had to accept reality the day of their graduation, they refused to allow me to attend the ceremony.”  Frankie gripped the side of the podium and glanced down as if he had paper he was reading from, only there was none. He looked back up and began again with tears in his eyes. “I was so proud that morning, so proud and sober.” He said with a chuckle. “To see my girls, Dawn and Autumn, graduating as class valedictorian and salutatorian. Imagine my shock and horror when my ex-wife, their mother Shayla, told me outside the arena, that they did not allot a ticket for me. I knew it was because of all the Hell I had put them through. Nonetheless, I could have fallen through the ground as she spoke to me. But crap, I couldn’t blame Dawn and Autumn for shutting me out, or Shayla for divorcing me. The height of my alcohol abuse and cocaine addiction was during their high school years. When I would drink and use, I would have total black outs with no recollection of what I would have done. My girls and wife, sorry ex-wife, said I never hit them but I would destroy everything in our house. I would wake up some times after binging to find no dining room table, car windows busted out, my girl’s laptops missing or busted up. I was a monster and they shut me out. Because of my reckless choices and behavior, I spent my girl’s graduation day with booze and my best friend, Cocaine. The next day, I woke up beside a young lady who could not have been much older than the twins. Looking at the sleeping, naked frame beside me, I could not remember if her name was Sharon, Karen, or Marion. I had hit rock bottom! I decided then to make a change. I bailed before she woke up. I left her a wham bam, thank your ma’am note and cab fare. I ran for my life out of that motel room, into rehab where I stayed for 3 months.”

“Over the past three years, I have admitted that I am powerless over alcohol. I have accepted I cannot manage my life without a higher power. I have come to believe that there is a power greater than myself. I’ve allowed Him to restore unto me sanity. I made a decision to turn my will and life over to Him, He cares for me. I have searched fearlessly into my own moral inventory. I have repented to God and my family. I have made amends. Today, my daughters are juniors at Spellman College and are on the President’s list. We have a better relationship than before my addiction. Shayla, my ex-wife, is now my best friend. We attend church together every Sunday morning and have lunch afterwards.” Frankie wiped the tears from his face and made eye contact with his group of peers who struggle with his same demons and said, “It is with great remorse that I say…I have been sober for 10 hours. I have fallen but I am standing again. I will continue to fight for my sobriety.”

***                                                                             

One week later - Downtown Trauma Center

Benjamin and Kevin sat in the hospital’s cafeteria over a light lunch. The ladies were helping Camille freshen up, undoubtedly celebrating Camille’s pull through from surgery. Everyone was thankful that after a week, her scans showed no signs of swelling and the spinal x-ray reports returned normal. Although, she had mostly slept the last week, Camille was expected to make a full recovery.

Ben viewed this news, as a true miracle from the Lord. He called his mother Ellen and gave her the victory report and asked her to thank the church’s prayer warriors. Ellen told Ben she would indeed pass the word on, she also hinted that she could not wait to meet this new angel in Ben’s life. At that moment, Ben knew even over the phone, his mom could pick up his connection to Camille. He said his goodbyes and promised to stop by soon to see her.

Ben was face to face with Kevin, who was asking why he felt obligated to be at the hospital every hour on the hour for the last several days. Ben sighed and said, “I don’t know man, it’s like a tether formed between us the week we talked over the phone. We developed a routine. A brief check in every morning and at night we talked for hours. When I saw her get out of her truck that night, I can’t explain it; I just know this is where I need to be.”

Kevin nodded with understanding and said, “I hear you man. I just want to make sure you are not seeing this as some type of second chance at redoing things with Lauren. I don’t want you using this accident with Camille as a substitute for Lauren you know, like a second chance or something. You have to admit with the trauma of it all – it is similar.”

Ben held his hand up stopping Kevin’s vomit of words. “First off, I just told you I can’t explain what I am feeling. I will always regret not making the right decisions with Lauren but she is gone. Camille was stealing pieces of me, from conversations alone. When I saw her last night, she was breathtaking. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Despite her half shaven head and bandaged body, I still want to be near her. I can’t leave her now. When Camille was hit by that car, she was coming to meet me. When I knelt beside her at the scene something just clicked in me. Man, I can’t explain it but I am here and I know this connection I feel, is not me substituting Camille for Lauren.”

Kevin sighed and attempted to speak but his cellphone alerted him of a text.

“Look Ben, this is Paige. Camille’s dad is at the airport and I need to scoop him up. Do you want to ride or stay here?”

Ben opted to stay with Camille. He certainly did not need any more awkward moments with Kevin and he wanted to be alone with Camille. Benjamin knocked on the hospital door lightly and pushed the door open when he heard a light voice say, “come in.”  He walked eagerly into Camille’s room and to her side, bent down and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. “I am so happy to see you awake. You gave us quite a scare there.

“I’m sorry Ben. You have been so patient. This has been a horrible beginning of a new friendship. Not to mention the worst first date, ever.”

“No such thing. It has been full of adventure, suspense, and is still going strong.”

Camille looked at him with a look of bewilderment and tried to laugh but the throbbing in her head would not allow it.

“Why are you laughing Ms. James?”

“You are corny and quit with the Ms. James.”

“I guess that was lame.” Ben shared in the laugh with Camille.

“Seriously, Ben, thank you for staying and making sure I’m okay. I promise when I am all better, I will give you a call for a redo. You have a life and a career to get back to. I don’t want to keep you any longer.”

Ben looked at Camille with confusion. “Camille, I don’t want to wait for a redo. I want to be here. I want to continue to get to know you without any breaks.”

“Ben, I am not myself. I have half my head shaven and the doctor says it could be six to eight weeks before my speech and motor skills return to full capacity. I have made some personal and spiritual vows while being here. It would not be fair to you. I don’t know who I am anymore or what’s next for me. Please Ben, I can call you to chat on my progress but I don’t want you to feel like you need to give me some kind of charity friendship because I could not cross the street.”

“Camille, I want to continue to see you. I can work from anywhere. I have my laptop bag and my 2 mobile devices with me. I have not missed one call or conference meeting in the last week. I want to share in your recovery, not out of charity or pity but because I care for you. You are beautiful on the inside and out, bandages and all. Besides, you just had brain surgery a week ago and you are speaking clear enough to push me away. So I don’t see anything fragile or confused about you. Please allow me your friendship. I too have been working on my relationship with the Lord, maybe we can do it together.” Ben gave Camille the most desperate and pleading look he could manage. He was serious about not experiencing any breaks in getting to know her.

Camille’s stubborn will broke as she looked at Ben’s pitiful expression. “Well Benjamin, I can see why you are successful. It’s very hard to say no to you with that kind of sales pitch.”

Quickly his face broke into his alarming smile and he scooted a chair next to her bed. “Now give me the scoop on your father. I don’t want him to kick me out when he arrives.”

Camille smiled. “Have you heard of the saying…what you see is what you get?”

Ben confirmed yes with a head nod.

“Well, Jacob Darius James, is the opposite. He is one to observe and speaks only when there is pertinent information to request or demands to be given out.”

Ben jerked his head backwards and raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Really. But don’t look like I just said my dad was some big, mean guy. He simply does not deal in nonsense. There you have it, the 4-1-1 on my daddy.”

“Camille is that all the information you are sharing?”  Ben said with wrinkles creased across his forehead.

Camille giggled at the perplexed look Ben was giving her.

“Camille, seriously, I barely got you to agree to let me stay. I don’t want anything messing up my opportunity of getting to know you.”

Camille could see his sincerity and felt it was a little intense, after a couple of weeks knowing one another. Not considering she spent the last week in and out of consciousness. She tried to move the conversation away from their budding relationship. She could not think of where they were headed, under the influence of morphine. Camille tried her best to speak clearly. “Ben we practically just met, it is no need to be tense, regarding my father. We have not been on an actual date. I will just introduce you as a friend of Kevin’s. I will even say you are a Good Samaritan, who has not left my side.” Camille tried to offer a genuine smile but reached for her forehead with her bandaged hand, as her smile turned into an anguish fueled grimace.

Benjamin jumped to his feet and rubbed her forehead with his left hand and lowered her bandaged hand with his right. He spoke softly to her.

“Camille, are you okay? Did cutting me down to size, give you a headache?” Camille rested her head back on the pillow and closed her eyes while Ben slowly massaged her temples. Ben begin to hum a song, then softly sang with a melodious voice. Ben’s touch and voice became a sedative to Camille as the headache began to recede.

Camille focused on the lyrics he was singing softly in her ear, while sitting on her hospital bed, holding her hand. The lyrics were clear and direct to Camille. Benjamin George Adams could not be cut down to size nor was he backing off. Camille asked the name of the song and artist. Ben informed her it was, All I’ll Ever Ask, performed by Freddie Jackson on a Najee CD. Camille allowed herself to fall to slumber, under the rapture of Ben’s voice.

Love means so many different things

But you're all that matters

and this is all I'll ever ask of you

Tell me your dreams, so they can be mine too let me be there to help them come true