Shaking Off the Dust (26 page)

“He’s sorry you were hurt. He wants very much to speak with you, but he will wait until you have healed,” Enrique translated.

Tomas turned to Vincent and barked a command. Vincent stopped the car and twisted around to argue, but Tomas had a gun pointed at his temple.

“Tom, help us incapacitate the driver. He deserves to have his heart crushed,” I wished my mouth were functioning better.

“Sure, sugar.” Tom put his hand in Vincent’s chest. I cringed when I heard him scream.

Tomas took his gun and hit him with the butt of it. Vincent went quiet and slumped over. Tomas pulled him out of the front seat, dragging him behind the car. The trunk opened, and Vincent was shoved in with a brutal push. I could hear his body, probably his head, strike against something. Tomas got in the front seat and turned to us, speaking in suppressed rage.

“Tomas will drop you off at the first open business he comes to, but that he will talk with you again, when you are better,” Tom explained. “Enrique is giving him all the personal information his sisters told you and explaining that they need to leave this world and go into the light of God. Enrique will arrange for Tomas to talk with you as soon as you are better. If Tomas will help them to find the persons responsible

for this plane crash, you will usher his sisters into the light and he can be there. Agent Eneas is certainly taking advantage of the moment.”

“Great,” I sighed. “Enrique, I need to close my eyes now.”

“Hannah, wake up and look at me.”

A light shone into my face, so I turned away from it. The car was moving fast and I could feel every bump. Someone was trying to pry my eyes open.

“Hannah, please let the doctor check you.” That was a voice I knew so well now, a voice worth opening my eyes for, so I did.

Takeshi sat next to Dr. Santiago, only I wasn’t in a car, but an ambulance. Things were improving by the moment. I tried to smile, but ended up grimacing instead.

“I’m very happy to see you,” I said through clenched teeth. “When did I get here?”

“We picked you up a few minutes ago. Enrique says you’ve been out cold for over forty-five minutes.

We’ve been worried.” Takeshi had hold of my hand.

Dr. Santiago shone a light in my eyes and had me follow his finger and simple commands. He felt along my cheek and jaw, gently probing with his fingers. “We are going to a private hospital that the embassy uses. You should have some tests done. I don’t think anything is broken but we need to check it out.”

“Where’s Enrique? They hit him many times.” I found if I spoke slowly enough I could say my words better, but opening my jaw hurt. A lot.

Takeshi put his fingers over my lips. “Shush, Hannah. We can all see it hurts to talk. You don’t need to right now. Enrique is in the car behind us and will be seen at the hospital too.”

“I’m not hurt bad, I’m just a wuss. I’ll be fine.”

“Now you will be quiet,” Takeshi insisted.

We arrived at the hospital pretty quickly, or I’d fallen back asleep. I kept trying to decide in my head why this last week, with all its many assaults on my well-being, seemed like a not-so-bad time. I suppose it was Shimodo’s hand in mine.

An x-ray, CAT scan and EKG later, Takeshi held ice on my face. I could open my mouth enough to take pills.

Dr. Santiago came back into my little curtained area in the emergency room and Enrique was with him.

He had stitches along his left eye and cheek, but he didn’t appear too bad.

I realized I still hadn’t seen what I looked like in a mirror.

“So? I assume everything came back okay on my x-rays.” I started to get up out of the cart I was on.

“Where are you going?” Santiago demanded.

“As soon as you give me the all clear, I’m going into the bathroom alone to see how hideous I am. From the careful expressions on everyone’s face, I expect I look much worse than I am. I’m figuring elephant-woman category. Then I hide out from everyone until I get my real cheeks back to normal.” I looked at Takeshi, Tom, Enrique and Bill, who had just come into my room. “That means every one of you. Either you put honest-to-God real expressions on those mugs of yours or I refuse to be around you.”

Dr. Santiago laughed. “Settle down, Hannah. It is badly bruised. You have a hairline crack in your jaw, although it’s not through the bone, so it should heal without a problem. As hardheaded as you are, your brain is a fragile thing. Tonight you stay with us. If you behave, tomorrow I let you go. You will do nothing strenuous for three or four days. Ice, elevation, pain meds and real expressions on everyone’s faces are my prescription.”

“I hate being a patient in the hospital. One night is all I will stay, and that’s only because I’ll be sleeping it away, so it doesn’t matter where I am. Takeshi, will you be okay?”

He nodded.

“Now show me to the bathroom.” I walked out of the curtain leaning to my left, but essentially stable.

Takeshi stayed at my side. There were about twelve curtained areas and maybe five or six had patients.

A nurse came up to us and spoke in Spanish.

“Bathroom, please,” I asked.

“Si. Yes, of course,” she answered in accented English.

I could see my swollen cheek in my peripheral vision and decided I’d leave smiles for later. We followed her to the bathroom and I closed myself in there, peering in the mirror. I wasn’t impressed. I mean, I’d seen worse at my job. There was a dark bruise with swelling from my right eye to my lower jaw. No cuts, although there seemed to be a dented area where the ring had caught me. There was another bruise on my left cheek. Tom was right, you could almost make out the shape of a hand. Now I checked in a nonprofessional, non-nurse, vain-woman way and decided I’d hide my face from everyone.

I sat on the toilet and had good cry for a minute or two, until the nurse knocked on the door. I yelled I was fine. Here was my plan—stay in a dark room, alone for a week at least, and send away anyone who came to visit. Not that it would be anyone other than Takeshi. If this didn’t turn him off from wanting me, nothing would. Unless I also morphed into a raving bitch, which considering how things were going was a possibility.

Rinsing my mouth a dozen times, I tasted blood and suspected my breath was overwhelming. A toothbrush and toothpaste was what I needed and none were to be found in here. My finger and the soap would have to do and I was gentle enough to feel like I was making some progress. I splashed my eyes and dried off.

Another knock on the door reminded me I should give the nurse a break, so I opened the door. Takeshi stood there, the nurse behind him. He gently touched my face and smiled at me.

“Your room is ready.” He pointed to the wheelchair in front of him.

I realized he was favoring his left leg. “I will go for this little joyride, but once we reach the room, you will show me your leg. If you get to see the elephant woman, then I get to see your wounds.”

“That seems reasonable.” He helped me into the wheelchair and leaned into my left ear. “Don’t cry, Hannah. You’ll break my heart.” He kissed my forehead.

The nurse led the way to a private room on the second floor.

“Where will you sleep, Takeshi?” I worried.

“The chair makes out into a bed.” The nurse opened the chair and showed us.

I was already tired again so I made no demure and crawled under the sheets. “I hurt.”

The nurse glanced from Takeshi to me. “I’ll bring you some pain medications.”

I closed my eyes and felt the bed move. Takeshi was sitting next to me.

“I won’t be separated from you again.” He caught my hand in his, bringing it up to his lips to kiss my fingertips. “Not ever again.”

The nurse brought a pain shot and I rolled over and took one in the behind. Takeshi stayed sitting on the bed until I fell asleep.

I woke to the new day with a raging headache and pain in my face. Intense throbbing from my jaw to my neck brought a sob when I tried to move my head. I groaned and tried not to cry out again.

Takeshi came to me. “Hannah, I’ll get the nurse for another shot. Try to breathe through it. I’ll be right back and begin some pressure points.”

He was gone for only a minute. He pulled me up as he slipped into the bed behind me. It made me dizzy and I almost threw up. But he settled me against him and started to use those magic fingers on my neck and my wrist. The headache seemed to grow less intense, by the time the nurse came in I could move without throwing up.

Dr. Santiago came in to check on me during this episode and decided I needed to stay in the hospital.

To tell the truth, it was a relief. I drifted back into a half-sleep for the entire day and the next. Takeshi was always there.

The light through the window was my early morning wake-up call. I sat up to find Takeshi sleeping on the foldout bed. I felt so much better that I crept past him and into the bathroom. When I came back out, he was sitting, watching me as I went to him.

“I need to see your injuries.” I sat down and made him put his leg up into my hands. I touched the long suture line. There were twenty-nine stitches along his calf.

“My poor Takeshi, and here I got all the attention. That doesn’t make any sense to me.”

He pulled his leg out of my hand. “Perhaps Dr. Santiago will see how much better you are. I’d like to move to a bed that we can share.”

“You have some high expectations if you think I’m letting you stay with the elephant woman. I don’t want anyone to see me up close for at least a week. I don’t even want to think about it.”

Takeshi spun me to face him. “I told you already. I will not be separated from you again. I’ll sleep on the floor, but I will be with you.”

“I’m hideous, Shimodo. I don’t want to be seen, especially by you,” I whined impatiently. “We will be in the same place. I don’t want you waking up to this.” I pointed to my face.

“Hannah, you don’t understand me at all if you think you are disfigured. I would kiss every inch of your face, if I didn’t know it would cause you discomfort. It angers me to see it, because I feel that I did not protect you enough. I failed you.”

I hugged him. “You could never fail me, in that I have no doubt.”

There was a knock on the door. “Well, look at you, Miss Campbell. You are up and much improved from yesterday. How do you feel?” Dr. Santiago asked.

“I’m much better. Do I get to leave the hospital today?”

“If you think your pain is under better control. What about your head?”

“It doesn’t hurt so far. My face hurts. But my headache has eased and the nausea is gone. I think I’m cured, although this face is still very scary.”

Takeshi looked seriously at Dr. Santiago. “I think she needs something for constipation. I’ve noticed she is more full of it lately. I expect it’s the pain medications.”

Dr. Santiago shook his head. “You two are perfect for each other.”

Takeshi nodded. “I’ve explained that to her, but it is good for others to remind her.”

“No, don’t make me smile or laugh, it hurts too much,” I complained grimacing.

Takeshi made me take pain pills at regular intervals throughout the day and although I complained I didn’t need them that often, I was glad. Minutes before they began to kick in, the pain would begin throbbing in my face.

It was late afternoon before Enrique and Bill drove us out of Madrid to a private estate in the wine country of Spain. Takeshi demanded assurances that it would be safe.

The home sat nestled in rolling hills dotted with grape vines. It wasn’t exactly a house. It was a villa with breath-taking views and large richly embroidered furniture. Our bedroom was beautiful, with a king-sized bed and heavily embroidered drapes and chairs. I threw back the doors that led to an overhanging porch and walked out to see a cacophony of colors in the landscape. “Takeshi, come here. This is stunning,” I called, but it sounded like I was upper-crust New York rich as I talked through clenched teeth and closed mouth.

He came up behind me and wrapped himself around me. “This is the Spain we need to see. You can relax here. This whole place is restful and everyone, including me, will cater to your every need.”

“You always do cater to me. Aren’t you sick of it yet? All you do is take care of me. I know I’m tired of it.” I leaned back into him.

“There’s a huge bathroom with a claw-foot tub big enough for four people,” he whispered in my ear.

“It’s a shame you can’t join me.” I stepped out of his arms. “All those stitches won’t let you soak like I plan to.”

“You are so cruel to me,” he murmured.

I went to the bathroom with him trailing behind me. I started to run water in the tub and rummaged around until I found towels, soap and shampoo. I undressed, with Takeshi removing my clothes one piece at a time. His hands lingered on my shoulders and my legs as he helped pull down my pants, but he didn’t initiate any caresses. He helped me get into the bathtub. Sinking into the warm water I sighed. The water relaxed every aching muscle.

I opened my eyes to see Takeshi leaning over the tub. Half the water had been drained out and he replaced it with more warm water. “You fell asleep. It’s been forty-five minutes. You’re getting pruned.”

He handed me a pill and a glass of water, and nodded his head.

Too content to argue, I took the pill. “These will put me to sleep again. I suspect you prefer me that way, none of the backtalk.”

He was stripped down to his pants and wasted no time taking them off after the water stopped. He slipped in behind me, resting his left leg on the edge of the tub. I traced the long line of stitches, tiny sutures, like a plastic surgeon would place.

“You need the rest to heal, Hannah. I miss your sassy mouth, but I can wait until you are feeling better.”

I settled back against him while his hands drifted down my arms. It was the barest of touches, but I felt safe. I woke in a warm bed, with the familiar scent of Takeshi behind me. He’d changed his side of the bed, so that I lie on the less painful side of my face. His hand lay over my hip and his breath caressed my neck. He’d honored my request, that he not see my face first thing in the morning, in the only way he could.