InHap*pily Ever After (Incidental Happenstance) (36 page)

            “Candy,” Lexi
said, getting more aggravated by the minute. Another ping of her computer
signaled yet another email; she glanced at the screen to see the subject, “Go
You!” and gritted her teeth. Candy looked at her expectantly and smiled warmly.
“I’m not going to be able to go to your dinner on Saturday…”

            “Well, we can
always move it to the next Saturday if that works better for you all; not a
problem!”

            “It is a
problem,” she said simply. “It just isn’t my thing. I appreciate the invite,”
she said to be polite, “but my fiancé and I have a standing date on Saturday
nights, so…”

            “Oh gosh,
that’s right—a Fourth of July wedding, right? Have you picked out a dress?”

            Damn it, she
was a sucker for showing off her dress, and Candy probably knew it. Lexi pulled
up the picture on her phone and handed it over.

            “Oh my gosh,
it’s absolutely beautiful!” Candy gushed. “I love how the sparkles look like
fireworks—it’s just perfect! I can’t wait to see it in person. You know, a few
of the girls and I have been talking about hosting a bridal shower for you…”

           
Damn it
exponentially
, Lexi thought. She’d never even considered inviting Candy to
her wedding. She sucked in a breath and held it, counting slowly to ten. The
last thing she wanted to do was start shit at work, but she also couldn’t let
Candy think she’d be invited, and then piss her off later. “You know,” she
started, “Ryan and I are really stymied on how to keep the guest list short. We
have very limited space, and he has a huge family…”

Candy
wasn’t shaken. “Oh, I bet that’s hard! Hey, any chance I can sit at Dylan’s
table? Obviously Tia will be up with the wedding party, and so there’ll be an
extra seat at his table and I don’t currently have a boyfriend…”

Lexi
cringed on the inside, especially when she thought about making Dylan sit
through her obnoxiousness all night, but held her composure. “Sorry, Candy, but
I really have to limit my guest list to my closest friends, and…”

“But
we’re friends!” she exclaimed. “And I’d be positively heartbroken if I didn’t
see your big day! You and Brian are just so perfect for each other, and I…”

“Ryan,”
Lexi corrected. “His name is Ryan.”

Candy
shook it off. “That’s what I meant! Now where did that come from?” she pondered
openly, shaking her head. “Of course I know that! And, I have a good friend who
does make-up for the Channel 6 News—I’m sure I could get her to do yours on
your wedding day. It’ll be my gift to you!”

Lexi
retreated into her own thoughts for a moment. This is what Tia would be going
through for the rest of her life, she thought, wondering if anything that came
out of the mouth of someone who wasn’t a real friend was genuine, or if it
would always be fabricated for their own benefit. It was what Dylan had been
dealing with for years, and she had a new understanding of where he came from.
No wonder he went out in disguise. He’d never have a second of normalcy if he
didn’t.

“Wow,
Candy,” she said. “I really appreciate that you’d want to do that, but really,
I have all the details pretty well planned out.” She paused, unsure of how to
continue. “And I’m really sorry to tell you this, but I’m not sure I can fit
you in. We had the preliminary guest lists made over a month ago, and really,
we don’t hang out socially, or anything, and you weren’t on it.” Candy looked
stricken. “You wouldn’t believe how many people are trying to get invited just
to meet Dylan,” she said, hoping it might ease the situation. “It pisses me off
that people who barely know me are trying to get an invitation to my wedding
not to see me get married, but hoping to score some time with the ‘Sexiest Man
on Earth.’ I hope you’re not offended—it’s nothing personal, it’s just that I
have to keep to my original list, and I had precious little room for coworkers.
I’m really sorry.”

Candy
was very obviously offended—she did a pitiful job of hiding it, but she forced
a smile, and stood. “Well,” she said, “I could maybe just come after dinner,
then? I wouldn’t be in the way or anything—I won’t even drink—or I’ll pay cash
at the bar—I’d be devastated if I missed out!”

On
the chance to try and lure Dylan into your bed
, Lexi thought to herself.  She’d go for Dylan first,
Lexi was sure about that, but she was just as certain that he’d never even pass
her a second glance. Candy wasn’t picky though, and she didn’t seem to know how
to take no for an answer, either. Dylan would never forgive her if he had to
sit through dinner in Candy’s company. “I’ll have to see what the final list
looks like and let you know,” she said to avoid a further confrontation. She’d
deal with it later—she had a feeling she was going to be pissing a lot of
people off in the long run when the invites were actually handed out. But, no
matter what, it was her damn wedding, and she certainly wasn’t going to go out
of her way to accommodate people who weren’t even friends.

 Candy
forced another smile, and tried to appear cheery. “OK!” she said between
clenched teeth before slinking out the door.

            Bo’s hospital
room was an explosion of color. There were so many cards, flowers, and gifts
flooding in that they quickly ran out of places to put them, so Tia and Dylan
started delivering some of the bouquets to other patients. The entire staff all
knew that the boys from InHap were hanging around the hospital, and more than a
few made it a point to make a quick round of Bo’s floor during their shifts.
Tia would stop them, and ask if there were any patients on their floors who
weren’t getting visitors, or who might be cheered up with a bouquet. When one
nurse said they’d be even cheerier if the flowers were delivered personally,
they each took an armful of vases and made some rounds. This was one of the
things Dylan did with his charity, she knew, and they fell into a daily rhythm;
spending time with Bo and whoever showed up to keep watch each morning, and
strolling through the hospital in the afternoons, delivering flowers and
signing autographs or taking pictures with the patients. Dylan left a guitar in
Bo’s room, and on several occasions played a few songs in the waiting rooms or
the common areas on the floors.

            It was a great
feeling, bringing a little bit of happiness to the people confined to hospital
beds or wheelchairs, but the best part for Tia was when they visited the
children’s ward. Inevitably, they ended up there every day, Dylan stepping
easily out of his “cool rock star” mode into the role of “goofy child
entertainer;” leading the kids in rousing renditions of songs from Disney
movies and classic kids’ favorites. They took a trip over to a local toy store
after seeing the well-worn pile of board games in crushed boxes stacked
helter-skelter on shelves in the activity room, and brought a couple new games
to the kids each day. Of course, they ended up playing them, as well.

            Tia loved
being around the children. Her former students had only been back in school for
a week, but she already missed them and found herself wondering if Austin had
mastered his multiplication tables or if Ashley had yet found the joy in reading.
On any other year she would have welcomed a longer holiday break, but knowing
she was never going back gave it a completely different feel. It made her feel
good to sit with some of the older kids and help them with their lessons while
Dylan played
Old Maid
with the younger ones.  Bringing genuine smiles to
the faces of the sick children and their bone-weary families was the brightest
spot in the ever-growing string of days with no signs of improvement in Bo, and
soon the rest of their group sought a bit of solace in the children’s ward as
well.

            Every day,
they made their way back to Bo’s room hoping for a sign that he was coming back
to them, and every day, they were met with a solemn shake of the head by
whoever had watch duty at the time. They took turns reading Bo the newspaper
or  books, singing to him, playing his favorite television shows, and trying to
coax him out of the dark place where he dwelled; but they never seemed to be
able to manage more than a moan or the slight squeeze of a hand. It was
draining them emotionally; trying to keep a positive energy in the room for Bo
while communicating the lack of progress with sad eyes and haunting glances; 
but each one of them crowded into the tiny room every morning, thankful that
the hospital was lax with the two-visitor rule where InHap was concerned.

            “You’re really
brilliant with the kids, Tia,” Dylan said one afternoon as they headed back
toward Bo’s room. Tia had done an impromptu history lesson with four
upper-elementary aged patients, and Dylan found himself as captivated as the
students by her energy and presentation. Having gone to school in Australia, he
really didn’t know a whole lot about American history, and he was fascinated by
her descriptions of the Patriots and the reasons behind the American
Revolution. “I can really see what an amazing teacher you are.”

            “You’re pretty
amazing yourself,” she replied with a smile, “although I would never have
guessed that you’d be such a ruthless “Candyland” player. I mean really,
Miller, I saw you pull that double-purple from the middle of the deck.”

            “Prove it,” he
grinned, raising one eyebrow and lacing his fingers through hers. They got into
the elevator to go back up to Bo’s floor and Dylan turned to Tia. “Hey. I’m
serious when I say that you are amazing with those kids, love. You don’t bat an
eye at their afflictions and that helps to make them forget about being sick
for a while. It might be something to think about—if you wanted to do this from
time to time, you could do it through the charity…you could still work with
children; even set up some activities or lessons to do with them, if you
wanted.”

            “That same
thought is already dancing around in my head. I remember telling you at
Sing
Along Cassidy’s
how much I respected the personal appearances you made
through the charity. I would love to be a part of that; especially with the
kids.”

            “We also have
those youth programs at the ranch. Bo helps run one for troubled inner city
kids, combining drumming to beat out aggression and taking care of the animals
to nurture respect for others. Denny has two-week program for kids with
disabilities, and I help out with that one whenever I’m at home. You could jump
into those, or even create one of your own if you want to. Just because you
can’t teach doesn’t mean you can’t still impact kids.”

            She pulled him
into a tight embrace just as the doors slid open. “Have I told you today how
much I love you? I completely agree—it could be amazing.”

            Brie was
rushing toward them as they stepped into the hall. “He’s awake!” she blurted,
her smile telling all. Tia and Dylan shared an excited glance. It had been over
two weeks of standing sentinel over his withering frame, and although none of
them would admit it out loud, the hope that he’d come back to them intact faded
just a little bit every day. The look in Brie’s eyes, however, told them all
they needed to know. Bo was back! “The nurses are in there right now, and the
doctors will be up in a bit. His blood pressure’s good, his eyes are working,
he’s able to answer questions about what year it is and who the president is…”
a tear fell from her eye, and a giggle escaped with a sob. “…he told them the
president was Mickey Mouse, and that it was the year of the rat. A rat named
Penelope Valentine.” Their smiles grew and they simply nodded to each other; to
anyone who knew him, those statements were proof that the Bo they knew and
loved was going to pull through just fine. They fell in line behind Bo’s
obviously elated older sister and rushed back to his room with grins on their
faces.

            Bo was sitting
up in bed for the first time. When Dylan and Tia walked in, he grinned, then
winced at the pain the effort brought to his still-puffy face. He’d had moments
of semi-clarity over the past couple of days, but this was the first time he
was actually awake and alert.

            “You look like
a hot fucking mess, my friend,” Dylan said, his smile wide. “But in this case,
I couldn’t be happier.”  He pulled Bo into a gentle embrace, careful not to
squeeze too hard.

            “Yeah, well only
one of us gets to be the pretty boy,” he teased back, extending his hand to
Tia. “Congratulations to both of you. I can honestly say that I’ve never known
two people more meant to be together.” His voice was gruff and scratchy, but
Bo’s usual quick wit and teasing lightened all of their hearts. He was going to
be OK.

            Tia leaned
over and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. “It’s so good to have you back,
Bo. You had us scared for a while there. And thank you. Now that you’re back,
we have all kinds of reasons to celebrate.”

            Bo held out
his hand to Tia. “Let me see your ring, darlin’.” She placed her hand in Bo’s
and his one good eye popped out of his head in fake surprise. “Damn, Strummer
Boy—is that thing real?”

            “Bloody hell,”
Dylan laughed. “Why in the world does everyone keep asking me that?”

            Ty gave him a
little shove and laughed with him. “I think the last time I saw a rock that
big, I was at the Tower of London, checking out the Crown Jewels.”

            Angelo chimed
in. “I’m so sorry guys; we really should have celebrated that.”

            Dylan shook
his head and Tia smiled. “Yeah, well we’ve had a few other things on our minds,
and rightly so. It wasn’t a time for celebrating.”

            “And it
wouldn’t have felt right without Bo,” Tia added.

            “Well, it sure
as hell is time for celebrating now,” Bo said, picking up the remote and
punching the call button repeatedly.

            Within
seconds, the nurse came rushing into the room. “What’s wrong?” she said
quickly, scanning the scene with her practiced eye.

            “We need some
champagne in here right away,” Bo demanded. “We’ve got a few things to
celebrate, and we just can’t do it without some bubbly.” He flashed her a
crooked grin. “So get on it, will you?”

            The nurse, a
heavy-set black woman with tight curls and an even tighter expression, put her
hands on her hips and glared at Bo. “Mmm hmmm,” she said, shaking her head. “Is
that so? The only bubbly in your future, young man, is the possibility of a
sponge bath. And if you hit the call button like that again, you won’t even get
that. You’ll be so raunchy that no one’ll come to visit you, and you won’t have
anything to celebrate. Is that clear?”

            “Oh, I like
her,” Brie laughed.

            Bo stuck out
his lower lip in a pout.

            “I said, is
that clear?”

            Bo nodded like
a chastised child and mumbled, “Yes ma’am.”

            She pointed
her finger at him. “I’ve got your number, Mr. Collins, and I won’t forget it.
Now you behave yourself or I’ll have a word with your therapist and make sure
you’re too beat to be a nuisance.” She forced a serious face, but there was a
twinkle in her eye that shone with amusement.

            Bo dropped his
head, and she turned on her heal and marched out of the room.

            “Well, she put
you in your place, now didn’t she?” Chloe said. “And if you give any trouble to
these people trying to help you, I’ll put you over my knee.” Her stern face was
belied by her wide smile. Ten years had melted off her since Bo was declared to
be out of the woods, and it quickly became clear where both Bo and Brie got
many of their best qualities.

            “I woke up for
this?” Bo said. “Should’ve stayed in the damn coma.”

            Two doctors
strolled in and kicked everyone out of the room so they could examine their
patient. The group paced the waiting room with nervous excitement until Tommy
showed up with a huge sack of sandwiches. They fell on the food like a pack of
starving wolves; none of them had had a proper meal in longer than they cared
to remember, but their appetites had returned with Bo’s consciousness. The
doctors came to see them nearly an hour later, and gave them the best news
they’d had in a long while. There didn’t appear to be any brain damage, and,
aside from a long upcoming stint with physical therapy and a few lingering
effects from his injuries, he was expected to make a full recovery. They breathed
a collective sigh of enormous relief, and walked back into his room with smiles
on their faces. 

            “Do you
remember anything that happened, Bo?” Tia asked. “The accident, I mean.” Bo’s
immediate and extended family crowded into his room, celebrating his recovery
and catching him up on what he’d missed over the time he was in the coma. His
mom and sister were able to corroborate his recollections of Christmas; but it
seemed that his memories were scattered after that.

            “Not a thing.
And I don’t mind if it stays that way. Doc says I may have some fuzzy memories,
or be forgetful for a while, but I’d be more than happy not to relive any of
that. Hard enough livin’ with the aftermath,” he yawned, holding up his casted
arm. “Man, those docs put me through the ringer,” he said absently, shaking his
head.  “It’s really not so unusual for people not to remember New Year’s Eve,”
he said to his frowning mother. She just put her hands on her hips and pressed
her mouth into a thin line, staring him down and giving him the slightest shake
of her head. He knew that she wasn’t buying it. Neither was he, but that was a
worry for another time. Right now he was so exhausted he could barely stay
awake.

            “You know I
love you all, and it’s great to be back among the living. I really appreciate
y’all bein’ here, but I don’t think I can hold my good eye open much longer, so
I do hope you’ll excuse me. I need to rest up for my sponge bath.” He waggled
his eyebrows, but his eyelids drooped, and they all knew that even though none
of them wanted to go, he really did need his rest.

            “How about
dinner?” Chloe suggested. “There’s a little Italian place down the street. Bo’s
treat, since it’s his fault we’ve been surviving on take-out and cafeteria food
for the past couple weeks.”