30
Elvira
THE WAIT WAS LONG. The hospital felt cold and eerie.
The last place I wanted to visit after my father died.
I always make a habit of avoiding this place as best as I can.
And now someone else I love was in here too.
When I got the call, Effie immediately drove me here.
We learned he needed to go in for an emergency procedure, and they needed a next of kin to sign the papers.
Levi had made me his next of kin in the stint we've been married.
I signed without thinking, and a few hours later I was waiting for him to recover as doctors and nurses tried to resuscitate him.
Hoping he makes it out okay. Hoping he does not die.
Effie had gone back to close the shop. We had left in such a rush she hadn't locked it fully or set the alarm. “It would just be my luck to get a treasure trove only for it to get stolen,” she had said.
So now I was alone. Waiting. Playing games on my phone and waiting. Reading a book and waiting. Then, when all else failed, I stared at the white walls until the door opened. The doctor had a smile on her face.
"The procedure was very successful," she said. "You can talk to him now," she said.
My heart leaped with joy. I jumped from my seat and let the doctor lead me to Levi's hospital room, my feet moving too fast. He was in bed, tubes sticking out of his body, monitors beeping, and an oxygen mask on his face. As soon as he saw me, he weakly lowered it and smiled at me.
I went over to hug him. Tears streamed down my cheeks, shaking with relief. He held me weakly. His body felt frail, or was it the hospital gown? When I withdrew and wiped my tears, I said, "You almost died. You know you're not supposed to eat shellfish!"
I could have punched him if he wasn't so weak. Levi chuckled and wheezed and had to suck in oxygen. "What were you thinking?"
"I had no idea the dish had shellfish in it.," he said after removing the mask. He smiled weakly and reached for my hand with his free one. "I am just glad you're here."
"You made me your next of kin."
"You're my wife. I wanted it to feel real, even though it was fake." He wheezed again, wanting to say more, but I put on his oxygen mask. He was too sick to do more than speak in bouts.
"Rest," I said and sat on the chair next to his bed. I had already called his family when I got here, and unfortunately all his siblings were out of the country. I sent a text to each, telling them he was doing okay and speaking to me. And then I fell asleep.
"Elvy?"
I woke up the next morning to Levi standing over me. My neck creaked from the uncomfortable position I had slept in. I stretched only to realize that he was out of bed. He was standing in front of me barefoot, his hairy legs sticking out of a hospital gown. "What are you doing! Get back in bed!"
He chuckled. "You were snoring."
I put my hands to my mouth as though that would stop the noise I had already let out in the middle of the night. He giggled again. Almost like a little boy. "I missed your snores."
I shot up from the chair, the tight muscles in my body protesting at the sudden move. I stretched again and realized Levi looks like someone who has been awake for quite a while. A monitor next to him connected to the cannula in his wrist.
"How long have you been awake?"
"Long enough to speak to all of my siblings. Thanks for that, by the way." He smiled. His skin was healthier this morning. It was pinker, and his lips no longer had the blue tinge of death they had yesterday. And most importantly, he was breathing well. He coughed. Better than yesterday, at least.
"You freaked me out yesterday," I said.
"Sorry. The guys were too happy to celebrate our findings, your findings, that they forgot I had an allergy.
The restaurant we went to had these meat cakes.
The server assured me they had no seafood in them.
I shouldn't have eaten them. I should know better.
" He blushed. "But I was drunk and not thinking clearly.
And I only found out they did in fact have shellfish in them twenty hours later when I could not breathe.
It felt like having little ants crawl up and down your throat," he exhaled as though he was remembering the moment.
"Calling nine-one-one was a chore, but I did it. "
The image of Levi writhing on the floor, hands clawing at his neck as he struggled to breathe and trying to call the hospital, was horrific. The scratch marks, while less red now, still marred his neck.
"I'm so sorry." I went to hug him. He embraced me fully, his hands sliding around my waist. I didn't care that he smelled of hospital disinfectant and medicine. I was happy he was here with me. Alive.
Levi was discharged that morning. The doctor said he needed to rest, which he protested against, but after I told the doctor, I will make sure he follows her instructions, Levi relented.
Levi had called Jones, who drove to Nolan's apartment, where he had been staying for the weekend.
The apartment was empty when we arrived.
"You've been here alone all weekend? Magnus wasn't here?"
"No. He had an off weekend. But I went out, remember?"
Not exactly the same, but I let the matter rest. I told Levi to sit and went to collect his luggage in the guest room.
When I came back into the living room, he was standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows looking out at the city below him, his back to me, his hands casually shoved into his jean pockets.
My breath hitched in my throat. I could not believe I almost lost this magnificent man.
I was away one moment, and he was almost gone.
He must have felt my presence because he turned around, seeing me, he smiled. My stomach wobbled. Will I continue to act like this in his presence? Like a teenage girl experiencing her first crush? Part of me did not mind.
I cleared my throat. "Let's go," I said.
We got to his place in the afternoon, and I put away his bag, despite his protestations. "You're treating me like a child," he had said.
"If you stop whining like one, I will stop."
That shut him up for the day. He let me take the lead, and when I asked if he had taken his medication, he simply answered yes.
We sat down to watch a movie. He wanted to watch Pride and Prejudice again, so I put that on and opened a packet of ready-made kettle corn.
He had bought a cupboard full of all kinds of popcorn, I realized.
Ready-made, microwavable, caramel, and some good old-fashioned packets of plain popcorn.
He even bought some with flavors I didn't know existed.
For someone who didn't care for junk food, it was surprising.
"What's with the popcorn? " I said when I came to settle down on the couch next to him. I placed the bowl between us and scooped a handful.
"I don't know. I enjoy watching movies with you. And that's what people do when they watch movies, right?"
"Okay, Mr. I-Don't-Own-A-TV. Looks like you'd be needing one of your own soon."
His arm went around my shoulder. He squeezed to my side, squishing the silicone bowl between us. "Would I?" He gestured to the TV and said, "Looks like I already have one."
I was about to launch into a protest about how our pre-nup states that we both come out of the marriage with what we came with, but before I could do so, Levi pressed the play button and the movie began playing.
The movie resumed at the marriage proposal scene. I glared at him. "How many times have you watched this?"
A flush of pink crept into Levi's cheeks. He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. "A couple of times."
"Uh. Huh."
"Don't uh, huh me. It's a perfectly fine movie. The set design is gorgeous. The soundtrack is angelic. The color grading is amazing, and Keira Knightley should have won best actress."
"Have you watched the behind-the-scenes extras yet?" I've never seen him this passionate about anything outside history.
"A couple of times. You know, I do like what they did with the Bennett's house, even though technically it would not be the type of house some like Mr. Bennett would own."
"Right. And have you signed on to the release of the director's cut petition yet?"
He jerked, eyes wide. "There's a petition!"
I nodded.
"Fuck me, I need to get on that."
I shook my head, smiling. "Now I don't know if I should introduce the nineteen ninety-five version to you yet. I fear I created a superfan."
"I've since read the book a couple of times, so I guess I am already one."
We settled back to watching the movie again.I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this. Not just the movie, but watching the movie with Levi. There wasn't much we were doing, just sitting in silence, and yet it felt like the best time I've ever spent with someone.
We were in the middle of the movie when the doorbell rang. "You ordered something?" he asked.
I shook my head.
"They will go away. I am not expecting visitors," he added.
The doorbell rang again. "It could be something important," I said as I disentangled from Levi's embrace. "A friend or a neighbor or something. Maybe there's a fire."
Levi rolled his eyes as I got up."Let the world burn," he shouted after me. "They will stop the fire without us."
I went to answer the door on the third ring. When I opened it, standing in front of me with her back to me was a woman wearing a casual white silk blouse and pink linen pants. When she turned to face me, thick rim sunglasses partially covered her face, but I immediately knew who she was.
"Rebecca."
She gave me a bright red smile. "Hey darling."