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“I’m good for now, Thatch. Thanks again for all of your help last night and today.”
“Very well, then. I’ll come back later to pick up the tray.”
Gina got up and circled around the bed to my side. She reached down and picked up a glass of tomato juice that had a stalk of celery sticking out of it. “Here,” she instructed, handing me the glass, “drink this down, fast.”
“What’s in it besides tomato juice?” I asked.
“Don’t ask,” she replied. “Just do it.”
I did as instructed, chugging it as quickly as I could. It didn’t taste that bad at first, but then the after-burner kicked in. I felt the heat in the pit of my stomach, rising up through my chest, then to my throat. I let out the most disgusting belch that seemed to drag on for a full 10 seconds. Then it was over. My stomach felt fine, the burning had subsided.
“Now,” she continued, handing me a tall glass of ice water, “take these and drink the full glass.” She handed me a couple of ibuprofen tablets that had been placed on the tray. I did as instructed. “Those will get rid of the headache and the water will hydrate you.” She removed the stainless steel domed cover revealing dry toast and assorted melon pieces. “Eat as much as you can,” she advised.
I obliged by taking a slice of toast, biting off a corner and chewing it. Not bad. I forked some melon slices into my mouth, suddenly feeling better. I guess Nurse Gina knew what she was doing after all.
“I'll have to give Thatcher special thanks for picking us up last night and getting us back here safely,” I commented, chewing another chunk of honeydew melon. Gina nodded her head.
“Yeah,” she said, “he’s a pretty mellow dude. He didn’t even bat any eye when you tossed all over the backseat of his car.”
“I did?” I wailed. Was there no end to my agony?
“Uh huh. It was actually kind of humorous. You thought the window was down, so you went to stick your head out of it to puke. You banged your head against the closed car window, fell back onto the seat where you puked and then laid your head in it and fell asleep.”
“How'd I get up here?” I asked.
“Well, I guess Trey called Ray too to ask him to find us at the track so that Thatch could bring us home. So Ray ended up having to leave when he saw how wasted we were and he followed Thatch here, helping to get us in the house.”
“I remember being with you in your bathroom when you were being sick, though. Did I dream that?”
“No, silly. You were just kind of hanging out with me in my bathroom once Ray delivered me there. Then you told Ray you felt like you were going to be sick, and insisted you wanted to puke in Trey’s toilet, so he carried you down here I guess.”
Oh God, I don't want tohear any more!
“Do you realize how angry Trey is with me right now?”
“Why should he be angry with you, Tylar?” Gina sounded pissed. “You don’t remember what you told me last night, do you?”
“I don’t remember a lot of things about last night.”
“Let me fill you in. You told me that it'd been Trey on the phone with you when I walked in your room yesterday, and that he told you he was working on the case all weekend. You told me that you heard the voice of a blond slut in the background telling him that it was time they left for their dinner reservation. I’m not sure how you knew that she was blond. You know, all blonds are not sluts, Tylar.”
I didn’t say anything. I hadn’t realized that I’d confided all of that to her. I wondered what else I might have confided.
“Hey,” she said elbowing me, “That's supposed to be a joke. I’m blond. You calling all blonds whores, get it?”
“I’m sorry, Gina. I’m just thinking about that phone call."
“Listen Tylar,” she said, taking hold of my hands. “I know that we just met a week ago, not even, but I like you. I've got to tell you something that only a friend would tell another friend.”
Oh no, what was it? Did she know something about Trey that she hadn’t told me up to this point?
“I don’t see Trey as committing to anything or anyone. I know that I don’t know him well in recent years, but I can tell you from what I remember, he's a loner. For him to be engaged that one time was a real shocker to me and everyone else. When that ended so badly, I can’t think he'd ever risk it again. I mean fucking him is one thing, but keep your heart out of it, okay?"
I nodded afraid to speak with the lump in my throat. Gina hadn’t really told me anything I wasn’t already starting to believe myself. I mean of course she was right. Only we hadn't even fucked so why the hell did he care what I did?
“I know you're right, Gina. I just have to figure out where I go from here. I can’t continue to work here with him being so close, you know? It'd be hard for me to keep my distance."
“I know,” she said. “We’ll figure something out.”
