Chapter Sixteen
Reese
Iwas dreaming.
Kelly and I were at the beach, and he was holding me in the water.
I could see the wave coming for us, but I couldn’t move.
I tried to yell, to get Kelly to move, but I couldn’t talk.
I couldn’t outrun it. I was swept deep into the ocean, reaching for the surface, but my left hand felt warm and wet.
I was drowning, but all I could feel was the wetness of my hand.
I reached with my left hand for something, anything to save me.
I gasped as my eye snapped open, and my eyes met a concerned Ted, who was licking my hand.
Sweat drenched me as I realized I was at Kelly's house. I was wrapped in Kelly’s arms, and he was sound asleep.
His face was soft, completely at peace as the light from the TV illuminated him.
I glanced down at my watch and saw that it was 3:32 AM.
I looked back at the TV and saw an ad for a kitchen knife playing.
When had I fallen asleep? I reached around carefully for my phone, but didn’t feel it. Slowly, I untangled myself from Kelly, careful not to wake him. I looked for my phone as Ted followed at my heels.
Ted whimpered as he pressed his whole weight into me. I lowered myself to see if he was okay, but Ted pushed his head into my chest, forcing me to pull him close.
Was he making sure I was okay?
I didn’t say a word as I hugged Ted, my heart rate beginning to slow and my breath becoming more even. Once he seemed satisfied with my calm state, he backed away.
“Thanks, buddy,” I whispered. Humans were so undeserving of dogs.
With only the dim light of the TV, I spotted my phone poking out from under Kelly’s arm and reached down to grab it. Ted’s face met mine, and he showered me with kisses.
“I love you, too,” I whispered to Ted.
Kelly almost jumped at the sound of my voice. He rubbed his eyes and found me sitting on the ground.
“You what?” His voice was thick with sleep.
“I was telling Ted that I love him,” I repeated.
He looked around in a daze, taking in the dark living room. “What time is it?” He yawned and rubbed his eyes like a child.
“It’s a little after 3:30 AM,” I said, rising from my spot.
“In the morning?” he asked, his eyes still roaming the room.
“Yes, in the morning, Kelly,” I said softly. I went to sit next to him on the couch. “I have to go home. Or, back to Beth’s.” Despite her kindness, Beth’s house would never feel like my home.
“Do you need me to drive you?” Kelly started to get up, but I pushed him back down. He fell back easily.
“No, that’s okay. I drove myself, remember?”
“Are you okay to drive home at this hour? I have a guest room you can stay in,” he said, his voice laced with concern. His eyes seemed to clear a bit as he became more alert.
“I’ll be fine. Beth’s is only about fifteen minutes away,” I said.
“Promise me you’ll text me when you get home,” he demanded.
“I promise. Thanks for such a great day,” I said, truly meaning it. If it had been a date, it would have been the best date of my life.
“When can I see you again?” His eyes looked dark gray in this lighting, pulling me in.
It would have been easy to settle back into the couch, but as comfy as it was here, none of this was real. I was only here because Kelly was holding up his part of the deal. Nothing more.
“I’m free next Saturday. Same time next week?” I smiled, memorizing the way Kelly’s face looked in this light, knowing I would never see it again.
“Deal. Besides, you still owe me shave ice.” He smiled back.
“I am a woman of my word,” I said as I rose from the couch, and Kelly followed me to the door.
I opened it and stepped into the fresh night air. It was still humid out, but the day had cooled off just enough to make me shiver, wishing I hadn’t left my jacket in my car. I stepped through the door and looked back at Kelly, slumped in his doorway. His hair was sticking up in every which way.
Without another thought, I went to smooth some of Kelly’s hair down.
He froze as my hand slid down to his face.
His eyes were almost black now, locked on mine.
I leaned in, and he closed his eyes. Under the moonlight, I figured the rules didn’t apply as I kissed the side of his cheek for one brief moment.
He groaned slightly. “I think you’re going to kill me, Reese.”
I didn’t ask what he meant because I felt it, too. “Goodnight, Kelly,” I said as I backed away.
“Goodnight. Text me when you get home.”
“I will,” I promised for the second time.
I got into my car and backed out of his driveway. I looked back and could still see Kelly hanging in the frame of his door. My eyes stayed on my rearview mirror, waiting to see when he went back in. But he never did. He was still in the doorway as I drove out of sight.
The next few days passed in a blur. The day after our non-date date, Beth had a lot of questions for me.
Most of them revolved around how large Kelly’s penis was.
She didn’t believe me when I told her what had happened; we ate dinner, watched a movie, and fell asleep. She wouldn’t let it go for days.
Now, I was back at work, and today was my second day on my own. Luckily, neither Charlie nor Alana was working, and I felt much more at ease.
One of the worst parts of being a traveler was getting the worst assignments in the department and usually having to work weekends. To my surprise, I had another weekend off coming up, but I couldn’t escape the bad assignments.
Every department had one area where no one wanted to work.
Usually, the ED was divided into pods and given names.
One hospital I worked at simply had them grouped by color: red pod, green pod, blue pod, yellow pod.
Some of them had specific names. Like trees: aspen, birch, cedar, pine.
Some were simply based on what direction they faced: north, south, east, and west. But they all had one section with a name that matched how horrible it was to work in that section.
Here, that area was called the ‘lolo’. It was maybe the worst one I’d encountered yet.
It was not only a small area with a desk barely big enough to fit a computer, but you were also by yourself.
In the nursing world of the ED, you usually rotate through different positions.
One day, you might be the trauma or code nurse, taking care of critically injured or ill patients and being one-on-one with them.
Some days, you worked in triage, checking patients in as they arrived.
At Pacific Central, I’d been assigned to the lolo for the last two days. On my first day, there was a nice CNA who checked in on me now and then. But no such luck today. I was taking care of these patients all on my own, and I was used to this as a traveler, but I was still tired.
It was towards the end of my day when a man in hunter green scrubs approached me at my lolo nursing desk.
He had dark brown hair and deep brown eyes to match.
The word ‘MD’ was poking out underneath his ID badge.
He was on the younger side as far as doctors went, probably no older than thirty-five.
He was tall, well over six feet, and he had a strong and defined chin, making him by far the best-looking guy I’d met in this hospital.
But not the best-looking guy I’d met on this island.
“Hi,” he said, once he was right in front of me. “I’m Erik. I don’t think we’ve met yet...Topanga?” He said my name like a question as he read it off.
I looked at his badge and saw his name was Erik Taylor. “Hi, Dr. Taylor, I actually—”
“I love Boy Meets World!” He interrupted me. “I had the biggest crush on Topanga growing up.”
It was rare that I ever had this kind of reaction to my name, and I couldn’t help but blush. “She is pretty great,” I agreed. “My legal name is Topanga, but I go by Reese.”
“That’s a pretty name, too.” Dr. Taylor smiled with a perfectly straight set of teeth.
I ignored the compliment and asked instead, “What can I do for you, Dr. Taylor?”
“Please, call me Erik,” he said, waving this off. I would never call him that. “I just wanted to say hi. I saw your name on the list and didn’t recognize it. And they have you working in the lolo of all places.”
“What does lolo even mean?” I asked.
I’d been wanting to ask someone all day, but no one had spoken more than a few words to me. So far, this might be the most stand-offish assignment I’d had yet. There seemed to be some kind of cool kid club that I wasn’t invited to.
“It means crazy or dumb,” he laughed like he thought the word was lolo itself. “Are you permanent staff?” he asked, leaning against my desk.
“No, I’m just a traveler.”
“Well, stick in there. This crowd can be hard to break into, but it’s worth it once you’re in.” He winked.
“I’m not worried about it,” I said quickly. It bothered me, but I didn’t want him to know that. “I’ll be out of here before I get my membership card.”
Dr. Taylor laughed at my joke, slapping his thigh. “That’s a good one. Well, if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. You don’t need a membership to be my friend.”
Wow. It was rare for a doctor to be this approachable. I could feel he was genuine in the way he looked at me.
“Thanks, Dr. Taylor. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Erik, okay?” he said again before wandering off.
There were only two hours of my shift left when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out and instantly smiled when I saw Kelly’s name.
Kelly: How do you feel about pulled pork, poi, and bad fire dancing?
I smiled, feeling like a schoolgirl as I texted back.
Me: I don’t know what poi is, but I will never say no to some good pork and strangers endangering their lives.
Kelly: One of the dancers won’t be a complete stranger. Kahale does fire dancing for one of the local luaus in town. He can get us in for free. I figured it was a Hawaiian staple that you needed to experience at least once.
I was starting to think that I could do any activity with Kelly and it would be fun. I had felt like myself for the first time in years when I was with him.
Me: You had me at ‘Kahale does fire dancing.’ Sounds like a date.
Kelly: Perfect. Do you want me to pick you up, or do you want to meet at my house?
I had only seen Derek a few times in passing in the last week. He hadn’t said anything to me, but there was a certain air around him. I had heard him and Beth arguing the other night. It made living there uncomfortable and tense at times. I didn’t want to subject Kelly to that.
Me: I’ll meet you at your house.
Kelly: Sounds good. Come over at 3:00 PM.
Me: I’ll be there.
Today was only Wednesday, and I still had to work one more day. It felt agonizing to have to wait so long to see Kelly again. He was slowly becoming my best friend. We texted throughout the day, usually until one of us fell asleep.
My phone buzzed again, and I looked down, expecting to see another message from Kelly. Instead, it was from my mom.
Mom: How’s it going in Alaska?
Alaska? We had definitely discussed that I was going to Hawaii for this assignment. We hadn’t spoken since I’d gotten here, but I knew that she and my stepdad, Paul, were traveling. I think they were somewhere in Asia this time. They must have gotten back if I were hearing from her.
Me: I’m actually in Hawaii. I’m staying with Beth.
I had wanted to add ‘remember,’ but I didn’t give her attitude. It’s not how our relationship worked.
Me: Things are going well, though. I’m enjoying my time here.
My mind instantly went to Kelly.
Mom: Oh, I’m sorry! I knew that. It’s the jet lag. Just wanted to check in on my sweet girl. I’m going to bed, but call me sometime this week. Xoxo
If they were home, then it was only 9:30 PM in Salt Lake City, Utah. My mom had always been early to bed and early to rise. I couldn’t remember a single time I had slept past 8:00 AM when I was a kid.
I wondered if Kelly had gotten to sleep in. I wondered what it was like for him to grow up in such a large family. Did he ever feel as disconnected from his family as I did from mine?