Bluebird

Chapter 5

five

“ABOUT DAMN TIME you answered your phone,” Mike said when I picked up my cell the next afternoon. “Deb’s asked me to call about fifty times today.”

“It’s my day off, what do you want?” I yawned as I shoved my feet into a pair of slippers to go check the mail, since I’d forgotten to yesterday. As soon as I stepped outside, I regretted it. Fuck, it was cold.

“Deb’s making lasagna. Wanted to know if you’d come over later.”

“Lasagna, huh? I dunno. Sounds suspiciously like a pity invitation to me.”

“Come on, you’ve gotta eat. Besides, she’s got a friend she’s been wanting you to meet—”

“And there it is.” I tsked. “Never thought you’d set me up, man. That’s cold.”

“What’s cold is your bed. I’m just tryin’ to help out my friend here.”

“I don’t need any help.”

“If I have to watch you wait at Joe’s one more time for that guy to walk in—”

“I don’t wait,” I said, rolling my eyes and pulling a thick stack of envelopes out of the mailbox. Okay, scratch that. Maybe I hadn’t checked it all week. “Tell you what, call the guys up and we’ll do Bar on Broad one night this week.”

“Yeah? I’m down for that. Oh, and I meant to ask you…”

Whatever he’d started to say went in one ear and out the other when I looked up and saw Reid walking the lake path and coming up my street. He had evidently already seen me, because there was a smile on his face as he waved in my direction.

“Ollie?” Mike said. “Did you hear what I said?”

Mail in hand, I waved at Reid to come over, and as he crossed the street, I said, “Uh, Mike, I’ll call you back.”

“Wait, are you coming tonight?”

“Later,” I said, and hit the end call button as Reid stepped up onto the curb. Without a hat on, I could see that his normally thick, dark hair was starting to grow back. “Hey. You found me.”

“I was in the neighborhood and all,” he joked. “Just getting some fresh air.”

“Oh yeah?” I raised an eyebrow. Dressed in dark jeans that sat a little loose on his hips and a collared shirt and light jacket, Reid didn’t look like someone going out for a walk. But with the way his nose and cheeks were tinged pink from the cold, it looked like he’d been outside for a while.

“Yeah.” His eyes dropped to my clothes. “Did you just wake up?”

I looked down at the faded blue t-shirt and sweatpants I’d fallen asleep in when I got home late last night. I probably looked like a rumpled mess, and there was no telling what my hair was up to. Running my free hand over the slept-in strands, I said, “Busted.”

“Late night, huh? Work or pleasure?”

“Pretty sure you know the answer to that,” I said.

“I thought maybe you’d taken up my suggestion of bowling.”

“Wouldn’t think of going without you.” The words came out without any forethought, but once they were out there, it didn’t seem like such a crazy idea.

“That would be cool. I mean, as long as you don’t think I’m some kind of charity case.”

He said it like a joke, but there seemed to be truth behind the lighthearted tone. The thought was laughable to me, and I realized then that maybe he was as lonely as I was, for different reasons. “Not at all. We should do it.”

“Yeah?”

“Definitely.”

Reid’s relieved expression turned apprehensive. “Look, I’m sorry if this is weird, it’s just…everyone feels like a stranger right now. And I know you said we don’t really know each other, but…” He bit down on his lip. “You’re the only person who feels familiar to me.”

It was ridiculous how much my heart thrilled at his words, even as my head tried to remind me that I was dealing with someone with a traumatic brain injury who’d had his whole world turned upside down. Not exactly the time to be swooning, Ollie.

Reid pulled his jacket tighter, and it was then that I realized how damn cold it was, and like an asshole, I’d left him outside to freeze. Not to mention I was still in a thin t-shirt.

Remembering my manners, I inclined my head toward the house. “Do you, uh, want to come in?”

Reid’s lips tilted up into a grateful smile, and when he nodded, I shut the mailbox, my stomach flipping, and headed up the walkway to the front door.

“Be careful on this step,” I said, kicking at the unsteady brick on the third stair. Reid sidestepped it as I opened the door and moved aside for him to go in first.

He entered tentatively, like any stranger walking into someone else’s house would. Seeing him there, heading down the hall, was utterly surreal. How had life dealt a hand that had Reid walking through my house right now?

He came to a stop as the hallway opened up into the living area, and I was grateful at that moment that I wasn’t a slob of a bachelor.

Not much of a decorator, either: a couple of comfy grey couches, an oversized recliner chair, glass coffee table, TV, and entertainment center.

Nothing on the walls except a massive framed abstract that hung over the couch. Clean. Simple.

“You’ve got a great place,” he said.

“It’s nothin’ fancy, but it’s home.”

“I like it.” His hands disappeared into his jacket pockets. “I think I must’ve had a decorator work on mine or something, because none of it seems like anything I’d like. I mean, it’s nice, but…not homey, if that makes sense.”

“Perfect sense. Can I get you some coffee or anything?”

“Oh, I don’t drink coffee, but water would be great.”

Doesn’t drink coffee…? Guess no one had clued him in to his latte habit. “One water comin’ right up.”

“Thanks,” he said, as he perused my collection of movies stacked full on one of the entertainment center shelves. “By the way, I searched online for Ant-Man yesterday. Ended up watching the movie.”

“Oh yeah? And?”

“Not bad. But I still say if you’re gonna be a superhero, Superman’s the way to go.”

“I don’t think anyone would disagree with you about that,” I said, handing him an iced water and then heading back to the kitchen to fill up a mug with fresh brew for me.

When I came back, Reid was still standing in the same spot and sipping on his drink.

I gestured toward the seating area. “The couches don’t bite, you know. ”

“Oh… Right. Of course,” he said, rounding the coffee table and taking a seat in the middle of the couch, while I took the recliner.

Lifting the mug to my lips, I took a sip and then said, “So.”

“So.” He picked up one of the picture frames on the coffee table. “Is this you and your family?”

“It is.”

“Only child?”

“Just me.”

“Do your folks live around here?”

I shook my head. “Just me.”

“You’re not very forthcoming, are you?” he teased. “Where do they live now?”

“They don’t. They passed away when I was seventeen.”

Reid’s mouth snapped shut and he looked back at the photo. “Don’t I feel like an ass. Sorry.”

“Don’t be. It was a long time ago.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did they…”

“Die? Car accident.”

Reid’s head shot up.

“A truck driver had been on the road too long. Fell asleep at the wheel. He veered into our lane before my dad could move, and hit us head-on.”

“Shit, Ollie.” Reid set the picture back down.

“So I know what it’s like to wake up and not know who you are. I didn’t for a few days, and even when my memories came back, I wished to God they hadn’t.”

He was quiet for a long time. “I’m so sorry that you had to go through all that.”

“It’s okay. Makes you grow up fast.”

“Is that why you decided to go into the medical field?”

“Good guess.”

“If I’m asking too many questions, you can tell me to shut up.”

I chuckled. “I imagine you have a lot of questions in general right now.”

“That I do.”

“Then fire away.”

“Yeah? You asked for it,” he said, then took a sip of his water and leaned back on the couch, one arm spread along the back. “Why’d you decide to become a paramedic? Why not a nurse or doctor?”

“I think the decision was made for me the night of my accident. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the woman who got to me first. She was able to get me out of the car before it caught fire.

She saved me. Stayed with me. Gave me a fighting chance.

I want to be the first one on the scene to try to give someone else that chance. ”

“Like me?” Reid said, a small smile curving his lips.

“Like you.”

“That’s pretty brave. Do you ever get scared?”

“All the time.” Especially when I saw a certain someone’s crushed red Mazda3…

“I don’t think I could ever be in the medical field. I’d probably pass out at the first sight of blood.”

“You wouldn’t believe how common that is,” I said as I ran a hand over my hair.

It occurred to me then that I was still in my pajamas with my hair doin’ what-the-hell-ever, while Reid sat on my couch in perfectly starched jeans.

Oh well. Too late now. I coughed to clear my throat and took another drink of coffee before saying, “My buddy, Mike…his first day on the job, and we got called out for a fall. So we get there and the guy had cut his cheek pretty good when he fell. Had blood running down his chin and neck. But the thing about facial lacerations is that they bleed like crazy, so it looked worse than it was. I sent Mike out to get some supplies and later found out he’d puked his guts everywhere.

All over the bushes, the sidewalk. He will never, ever live that down. ”

Reid let out a loud belly laugh. “That would be me. Needle prick and I’m out.”

“Yeah, maybe stick to teaching those middle schoolers.” Oh. Wait. Open mouth, insert foot. Again. “I mean…if you ever go back to it. Shit, sorry.”

Confusion filled his face. “How did you know I did that? Taught middle schoolers?”

“You told me. The day of…” I gestured in his general area and realization dawned in his eyes.

“Oh. So that’s what we talked about? My job?”

“Mhmm. You said you’d been teaching for a few months and they could be a handful.”

“Huh.” He scooted forward on the couch, his elbows on his knees. “So let me get this straight. We’d never spoken before, but I complained to you about my job?”

“To be fair, you were having kind of a shit morning.” I shrugged. “The latte machine was down.”

Reid looked at me like I’d lost my mind, and then he began to chuckle, softly at first, and then louder until he dissolved into a fit of hysterics.

I didn’t know what he found so funny, but his laughter was contagious and had me grinning.

No matter what the cause, it was good to see him laugh like that.

“I don’t know why I’m laughing,” he said, coughing as he tried to get a hold of himself.

“I know this isn’t funny at all. I just find it weird that my day was horrible because of supposedly scary middle schoolers and a broken machine.

What’d it do, spew all over me when I walked past it or something? ”

“I almost wish it had. Then what happened after could’ve been avoided.” I clamped my mouth shut and scrubbed my face. Obviously I hadn’t meant for that to come out the way it probably sounded to Reid’s ears, and I attempted to clarify. “I only mean so you wouldn’t have been in the accident—”

“I know what you mean, Ollie,” Reid said, sweet understanding in his smile. “But I guess that leads me to something else I’ve been curious about. Something personal.”

Personal, huh? Five bucks said the word gay came out of his mouth next, but since I’d been prepared for that, I said, “You can ask me anything.”

He dropped his eyes down to where he was rolling the glass between his hands. “Why did you come visit me in the hospital?”

Okaay, so not the word gay. Instead, he’d asked the one question I didn’t want to answer.

“Is that something you do with all the people you help?” he said.

I thought about lying, telling him I always snuck into patients’ rooms to check up on them, but when I saw the sincerity in his eyes, I couldn’t fudge the truth.

“Honest answer?” I said, and he nodded. “No. No, I never visit patients after we transition them over to the hospital.” Before he could ask the question I knew was on the tip of his tongue, I added, “Sometimes I check on them in other ways. Call up to the ER, and if a friend picks up the phone, they’ll give me a brief rundown.

But I shouldn’t even be doing that, because it’s a patient privacy violation. ”

Reid’s brows lifted. “It is?”

“Yes.”

“And the day of the accident was the first time we ever spoke?”

“Yes.”

He rubbed his forehead, as if he was deep in thought as he took in what I’d said. “Then I don’t understand. Don’t take this the wrong way, but…why were you in my room when I woke up?”

“Because…” I was at a loss for words. “You have to understand, I saw you every day. You always came into the same place I did, Joe’s, and you got your daily latte—yes, you drink coffee.

And I don’t know, Reid. No, we didn’t know each other, but it felt like I knew you.

You were familiar to me. And when I took the call and saw it was you in that accident?

I had to know that you were okay once I left, whether it was wrong or not. ”

Reid didn’t move, didn’t blink. Just stared at me as he seemed to process what I said. Or maybe he was seeing through what I said to the other why, which didn’t need to be mentioned. But then he nodded and looked down at the drink in his hands.

“I appreciate that, Ollie. I hope I would’ve done the same for you, had our positions been reversed.” He went to lift his glass to his lips and stopped. “Wait. Did you say I drink coffee?”

I couldn’t help the chuckle that left me as I lifted my mug. “Only a latte every day. Have you even tried coffee lately?”

“No. I just assumed I hated it.”

“Care to try some?”

“Uh…I’ll take a raincheck,” he said, then finished off his water. “So… Did you have any plans today besides answering all my questions? I’m guessing you probably have to work, huh?”

“No, I’m off today. Several things I could be doing, I guess, but I don’t usually get to relax and do a whole lot of nothing.”

“And here I am, bugging the hell out of you.” Reid got to his feet.

“Where are you going?”

“I think I’ve probably taken up enough of your time.”

“What? No, stay.” Then before I knew it was going to come out, I said, “How do you feel about pizza? And maybe a movie? I promise I have something better than Ant-Man in my stash.”

The line between Reid’s brows creased. “You want me to stay?”

Hell yes, I do. But now wasn’t the time for that much enthusiasm. “Sure. No pressure, but you look like you could use a chill day yourself.”

Reid chewed on his lip as he seemed to debate with himself, and I wondered what it was that made him want to leave. Did he feel like he was stepping on my toes? Or, worse, did he think I’d hit on him or something? “If you’re sure…”

“I’m sure. But there is something important we need to discuss if you stay.”

Reid sat back down on the couch. “And what’s that?”

“Pepperoni or sausage?”