Chapter 31
31
G loria burst out laughing. "Oh, my God, Sean, she heard you. She actually heard you."
He laughed. He put his hand over his chest. It likely pulled on his muscles a little. It pulled on hers when she laughed.
He said, "I'm busted."
Mina grinned. "That wasn't a dream?"
Sean shook his head, "No, hon. While you were out, we were here. And when we walked in and started talking to you, your heartbeat increased. The medical staff said it was a good sign that you could hear us. Your mom started talking about some fun times the two of you had over the years, and not to get too morose, but I don't have those things to share. So I wanted to give you something to look forward to, and I remembered you said you wanted to go to see Harry Potter World and get a wand. So I made that promise to you. If you got better and you came back to us, we would do that. So I guess that had a pretty good pull, right?”
Mina chuckled. "I guess it did. That's cool. And I'm going to hold you to it."
Sean nodded. "You're welcome to hold me to it. I wouldn't back out on that."
The door opened, and the doctor entered the room. "Hello, everyone. It's time for me to do some tests."
"I'll start by asking a series of questions. First off, are you okay with guests here during your tests?”
Mina grinned. "They're my parents, and yes, I'm fine with them being in here."
The doctor looked into her eyes and nodded.
"Do you know what month it is?”
"July."
"What day is it?"
"Saturday."
The doctor grinned.
"What time is it?"
Mina smiled. "I have no idea."
The doctor chuckled. "To be honest, I don't either."
Mina looked across the room to her and Sean standing back but watching with relief.
The doctor took a deep breath. "Just a couple more questions. What color is your mom's shirt?"
Mina shook her head slowly. "I dislike that shirt, but she loves it. It's black."
Gloria huffed out a breath. "It's a beautiful blouse."
"Mom. It's too stark for your coloring and with your dark hair, it leaves no color at all, especially when you aren't wearing lipstick."
Gloria crossed her arms in front of her but said nothing. Sean leaned close to her ear. "I think you're beautiful."
Her cheeks warmed as she slowly turned her head to look up at him. "Thank you."
He grinned, then looked at Mina and winked. Mina smiled in return and it was beautiful.
The doctor finished typing into the computer on the stand in her room. "In light of the fact you got all of my questions correct except the time. I really needed to know what time it was." He grinned at Mina. "And the fact you can chastise your mom's choice of clothing, I’d say you should be ready to go home in the morning. I'd like you to stay tonight for a couple of reasons. One is that I’m ordering a CT scan to make sure there isn’t a brain bleed, and that team is gone for the day. And, two, because I'd like to make sure you can sleep tonight without aid. Since you were out for a while, it's necessary to make sure you're well enough to go home. Any questions?"
Mina frowned slightly. She lifted her right shoulder and dropped it down. "Can I eat something?"
"Yes. I'll ask one of the nurses to call down to the kitchen and have something brought up. Anything else?"
Mina glanced her way again and Gloria stepped forward. "Should she expect headaches for a while after this? What can she take to relieve some of the soreness? Anything she should avoid?"
The doctor nodded. "All good questions." He turned to Mina. "You may have headaches for a time. I'm sure the swelling isn't completely gone. It'll take a while for that to go down completely. As to your soreness, you can take pain relievers as needed, just don't overdo them. Gentle movement on a regular basis will keep you from stiffening up, which is when you feel the soreness the most. Avoid lifting anything more than ten pounds for a couple of weeks as that adds pressure in your head. You should call your regular physician and make an appointment next week for a follow-up."
"Okay. Thank you."
The doctor nodded, turned to Sean and herself. He held his hand out to her and shook her hand first, then he nodded and shook Sean's hand. "I'm a fan of Hart & the Hurricanes. It's nice to meet you in person."
Sean grinned and shook his hand. "Thank you for following us."
The doctor nodded and left the room. Soon the nurse came in with a menu for Mina to select what she'd like to eat and a separate menu for tomorrow morning. She unhooked the IV bag, leaving the needle in place, while Mina studied the menu. As soon as the nurse left the room, she and Sean each pulled a chair closer to Mina's bed so they could chat.
Mina looked Sean in the eye. "I'm feeling a bit better. Are you both ready to talk?"
Mina's eyes shifted to hers. She turned her head to look into Sean's eyes and he shrugged a shoulder.
"How about this? Let me run down to the cafeteria and get us something to drink and eat. We'll eat with you, and we can talk then. Deal?"
Gloria nodded as she stared into his beautiful green eyes. He had fine lines around them. She could see them now. He hadn't shaved this afternoon and his dark five o'clock shadow, with silver streaks in it, added a bit of mystery to his handsome face.
Mina replied. "Okay."
"Gloria, what do you want to eat and drink?"
She cleared her throat. "I'd like a cup of coffee and a piece of pie."
He laughed. "Pumpkin?"
She giggled slightly. "Yes."
He grinned, winked at Mina, and left the room.
She turned back to Mina and stared into her eyes. Mina reached forward, slowly so as not to cause pain, and took Gloria's hand in hers. "Do you still love him?"
Gloria scoffed. "How could I? We barely know each other at this point."
"Do you love that he's here and knows about me?"
"Love?" Gloria shrugged. "My feelings are all over the place, Mina. I've missed the hell out of him for all the years he's been gone. Every time I looked at you, my heart hurt all over again. But he's been so solicitous last night and today. I know he's hurt beyond belief at what's happened. I don't know how I can ever make that up to him. I know he's still handsome and my heart still beats rapidly when he looks at me. I know I'd love for us to get past this and perhaps start all over. But I don't know what that looks like."
Mina's eyes looked over her head and past her. Gloria spun around, immediately sorry she did because her muscles rebelled. But Sean's face had a look on it she'd never seen before, and it took a few moments for her to realize he'd heard her.