Unbelievable (40 page)

“And the other thing about Lilah I’m not crazy about is . . . well, it’s kind of stupid really, but she loves the color orange. I mean, really? Orange? I hate the color orange.” He sighed. I laughed.

“I decided to look it up and see what the experts have to say about people who like orange.”  He picked up the notepad and began reading. “Okay, the adjectives for an orange lover are
passionate, energy, happiness, enthusiasm, fascination, creativity, determination, attraction, and success. Those are perfect words to describe Lilah. So, as you can see, you need to do whatever it takes to fall in love all over again if you have to; she’s that awesome.” He stopped for a moment, blinking back tears. “She fills my heart . . . no. She fills my
soul
. Never has anyone made me this happy. Never in a million years would I have thought a girl like her would be a good fit for a guy like me. But I was wrong. Read the list. Fall in love with her again. Remember, it’s filed under ‘unique,’ just like Lilah.” He reached for the phone and the video ended.

I pressed the phone to my chest, my heart so full of love for Cole I feared it’d burst. I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. How did this amazing klutz man with a heart of gold fall in love with me?

I sat up, knowing I needed to get back to the waiting area, but not wanting to break the beautiful euphoria that filled my heart.

“Delilah, it’s over.” I bolted off the pew at Booker’s words.

“No! I begged. I made promises.” I grabbed the front of his shirt as I spoke, shaking Booker, as if it were entirely his fault. The bliss I’d just experienced vanished that quickly.

He placed his hands on my shoulder. “I meant the surgery’s over,” Booker said kindly. “Cole’s in recovery.” Then
, as if he realized who he was comforting, his hands shot off me like water droplets on a hot pan. His momentary compassion evaporated.

“Why didn’t anyone call me? I told Maggie to call when she heard something.” I pulled my phone out. I’d turned it off when my father called, never turning it back on.

“Your father called three times. He let a pretty nasty voice mail. Patient he is not,” Booker informed me unnecessarily.

I shoved past Booker and ran to the waiting room. Maggie and Seth were speaking to the doctor. “The nurse will bring you back in about ten minutes.”

“How’s Cole? What did she say?” I asked as the doctor walked away.

“Not much. She said the surgery went well, Cole’s resting comfortable and we can go back to see him in about ten minutes.” Maggie gave me a hug. “You look terrible.” She brushed hair from my face.

“That’s it? Nothing else?” I spun away, rubbing the ache in my head.

“The doctor can’t say much without Cole’s permission
, thanks to the HIPAA laws.” Maggie took my elbow and led me over to the chairs.

After what seemed like forever, a nurse came out to us. “I can take you back to see Cole now,” she said to Maggie and Seth.

“Come on, Lilah, Booker.” Seth waved us over.

“I’m sorry, only two at a time. I’ll take you two back,” she pointed to Maggie and Seth, “Then you two.”

“No.” No way was I going back with Booker. If Cole didn’t recognize me, he’d probably break out in a dance. “You three go, take your turns. I’ll wait.” I slumped into the nearest chair, telling myself that all was well. If not, they wouldn’t be letting us see him.

Maggie stepped over and took my hand. “Come. You and I will go first.”

“No. That’s not right either. You all are family. I’ll wait my turn.”

“Lilah, we want you to go first. Come on,” Seth assured me.

I shook my head, but before I could protest, Booker spoke. “Delilah, unless you want me to arrest you for obstructing visitation in a hospital zone, go see Cole.” He even offered me a half-smile.

Maggie looped her arm with mine and pulled me through the doors behind the nurse. We approached the second bed on the left. Cole lay there with a large bandage wrapped around his head and two different IV lines going into his arms. I dug my fingernails into the palms of my hands to keep from crying.

Cautiously, I approached. “You’ll need to stay five feet back from the bed.” The nurse instructed us, to which we both nodded.

Cole’s eyes fluttered open as Maggie called his name. “Hey, Magpie.” His voiced carried a scratchy tone.

“Hey, yourself. How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Like I have a gigantic head.” He gingerly tapped the bandage. “No pain
, though. It’s the first time I’ve ever taken pain medicine. Well, except for aspirin. It works really well.” His eyes drifted shut as he spoke.

“I have someone with me
who’s anxious to see you,” she said.

I stepped closer before remembering what the nurse said and stepped back as Cole opened his eyes to Maggie again. She pointed at me.

Slowly, Cole’s bandaged head turned. He blinked a few times, and then smiled. “Lilah,” he whispered. “I remember.” He drifted to sleep with a smile on his face.

**

I went directly home and crashed, sleeping for ten hours straight. I woke at five a.m. and went for a run before showering and getting ready to see Cole. We were told he wouldn’t be allowed visitors again until ten this morning. I intended to be there first thing. I grabbed my phone, remembering what Booker had said about Daddy leaving a message. He didn’t seem too worried about them so I hadn’t bothered to listen yet. I wanted to focus on Cole, not Daddy. I tucked the phone into the pocket of my yellow capris and left.

I arrived at the hospital ten minutes early. They’d moved him to a private room and it took me several minutes to find him through the maze of hallways. The room was surrounded by windows from floor to ceiling, and the curtains were open. Cole sat upright in bed, a sketch pad on the bedside table.

“Knock, knock.” I slowly pushed the ajar door open. He looked up as I entered. I noticed the puffiness of his face as I stepped closer. I swallowed hard and drew on my Dreser skills of deception. I smiled as if nothing were wrong.

“Hello, beautiful woman I remember so well.”

“Hello, sexy beast with a huge bandaged head.” I laughed and stepped toward him. He put up his hand, signaling me to stop.

“What’s wrong?” I whispered, a chill creeping around me.

“Nothing. Well, not nothing, but it’s going to be fine. I promise,” he assured me.

All my fears, all my trepidations forc
ed me into the chair by the door. “Please explain.”

“When they did the MRI several days ago, the tumor appeared a little weird. Most times benign—noncancerous—tumors are well defined. Cancerous tumors, however, are not.” His eyes drifted shut as he spoke, but he kept talking. “My tumor was mostly defined, but part of it was a little off, if you will.” He settled deeper into the bed, clearly
drowsy. Taking a deep breath, he continued.

“When they got inside, they removed the tumor and discovered it was
premalignant, or precancerous, which is kind of what they thought in the first place.”

“Cancer.”
I dropped back in the chair, shaking.

His eyes popped open. “Lilah,
pre
cancerous. They’ve embedded what are called radiation seeds into the tumor’s cavity. It will kill off any residual
pre
cancerous cells.”

I could barely hear him over the swooshing of blood in my ears as my heart pounded.

“You’ll need to stay away from me for forty-eight hours. While Port Fare General’s protocol is only twenty-four hours, I’ve researched this a bit and some studies suggest forty-eight. With you, I’m erring on the side of caution. That also means you can’t stay long today. Sorry,” he said, his mouth turning down.

Cole opened his notebook, pushing it down the bed toward me. “I drew this. The whole thing is quite ingenious
, really. The internal radiation is called Brachytherapy, and it has few side effects. It’s delivered right where it’s needed. Like I said, ingenious.”

My gaze dropped to his drawing of a brain, along with the vintage Cole notations surrounding it. I picked up the drawing, forcing my mind to get in control.

“So these seeds will kill off any cancer and you’ll be okay?” I arched my brow in doubt.

“Yes. They should.”

“Should?” I asked hesitantly.

“I’ll need to have scans done regularly for a while to make sure, but the prognosis is excellent.” He smiled as his eyes drifted shut again. “Lilah, they did it this way instead of taking tissue so I’d retain my full brain function. I remember everything. I remember you.”

I stepped toward him, desperate to wrap myself around him, only he held up his hand, reminding me. “How long before I can touch you again?” I asked.

“Tomorrow, four o’clock,” he scowled.

“Fine, tomorrow at four you have a date in my arms.” His sleepy eyes met mine in agreement. “You need to get some sleep.” I set the notebook down. “I’ll be back later.”

“Sorry. It’s the radiation. A side effect is drowsiness.” He lowered the head of his bed
‘til he was almost flat. “I’ll try and get a short nap in before Booker comes at noon. He’s not going to take the news well either.”

I stood at the door and watched his weary body relax into sleep, wanting desperately to touch him. As his breaths fell into the soft rhythm of sleep, I tiptoed to his side and kissed his cheek. “I love you.” I stroked his jaw once and left. I hurried to my car and drove directly to my apartment, immediately Googling “precancerous cells and Brachytherapy”
on my phone
when I got inside.

Chapter
33

Cole wouldn’t allow anyone to stay longer than ten minutes per visit, and only two visits per day at that. Overkill, if you ask me. His surgeon stopped in while I savored my first ten minutes of the day with him. When she mentioned that maybe Cole’s restrictions were a bit extreme, he rattled off several studies he’d read on about
Brachytherapy
and the recommended precautions after surgery
.

“I see,” she said, a crooked smile on her lips. “It appears that the surgery didn’t affect your memory.”

“Nope, not at all.” He grinned at me, squeezing my hand. “Now, kiss me goodbye, Lilah. You’ve been here for eleven minutes.”

I gently kissed his still battered face and left for his house. I hoped to have the painting completely done and the furniture ordered over the next three days. I wanted to have everything in place when he arrived home. Maggie came by after her micro-visit with Cole to help finish the painting.

“Sorry I couldn’t help yesterday,” she said, wiping at a paint dribble with a rag. “Booker didn’t do well after hearing about Cole. I didn’t want to leave him alone. Seth has exams so he can’t miss school.”

“Booker’s hard to figure out. To me, he’s a cold, ruthless man, but when I hear you talk about him, I start to believe maybe he has a heart after all. Very confusing.”

“Book’s a tease. He also has a short temper, but he’s a kind, giving man, too,” she said softly, adding, “He’s also extremely overprotective. A lioness protecting her cubs has nothing on Booker.”

“I guess,” I replied, though my suspicion still held; Booker would never get past my DNA. I gathered the brushes and rinsed them in the kitchen sink
when we finished painting.

At three forty-five, I drove to the hospital. With no more time constraints, I could hardly wait to see Cole. I jogged down the corridor and straight to Cole’s room, bumping into Dr.
Maxwell as she came out.

“Hello, Dr. Maxwell.”

“I’m sorry, Lilah, but no visitors today.” She escorted me to the nurse’s station. “And it’s Allegra, remember?”

“Why can’t I see him?” I asked, crossing my arms over my stomach.

“There’s been a small setback with Cole. His brain’s swelling somewhat. We put him on steroids and are monitoring him closely, but for now we’re not allowing visitors.” She patted my arm.

“Swelling? Isn’t that dangerous?” I choked out.

“It can be. Lilah, Cole’s young and healthy, and the tumor was very small. I have no reason to believe he won’t recover completely,” Allegra assured me. “If we have to, we can reopen the skull to allow the brain to swell, but again, we have him on steroids. More often than not, it solves the problem.”