Chapter Sixteen
His chest hurt. On the bright side, pain meant he was alive and the transplant was a success. At least, Henry was pretty sure that was what it meant.
Henry should be used to the pain by now. It wasn’t as intense as his first operation for the grafts but it still was there.
The doctor and nurses had him on some nice drugs, he thought fuzzily as he listened to the beeping of monitors.
Cracking an eye open, he saw the room was dimmed.
It must be night hours. Good, he could go back to sleep, Henry thought drowsily.
As he turned his head to get a more comfortable position, Henry’s hand moved and he felt something warm against it.
Moving his head the other way, Henry frowned as he saw Ben sleeping uncomfortably in the chair beside the bed, leaning sideways against Henry’s mattress with an arm and his head resting on it.
His little brother was going to have a serious crick in his neck.
“Ben,” rasped Henry. He flicked his hand against Ben’s arm. “Ben, wake up.”
Ben jerked his head up, blinking. He had a sleepy smile once he realized Henry was awake. “Hey. Good morning.”
Henry watched as Ben ran a hand over his face, trying to make himself more alert. Ben looked at his watch. “It’s four in the morning.”
“Early,” agreed Henry. He didn’t regret waking Ben. His brother looked a little worse for wear but at least he wouldn’t have a sore neck.
“The doctors said there were some mild complications but you came through okay. It’s probably going to take you a little longer to recover than a normal person. They said to take it easy with you, especially for the first while,” confided Ben.
“When can I get out?” wondered Henry. He would be happy to get back to some semblance of normalcy and not have to visit doctors every week.
“When you are ready and not any sooner,” warned Ben. “The last thing you want is a relapse or further complications. Take the doctor’s advice.”
Henry nodded, even though he would prefer to be home. He might be stuck convalescing for a while, but it was nice to chat with the kids and hear the sounds of the family down the hall. Plus, maybe Daisy would keep him company during the day.
And Cora was there. Henry always felt better with her around.
“They put you in double occupancy because Cora was determined to stay the night. She’s sleeping in the other hospital bed.
Adam is in one of the glass bassinets from the nursery,” mentioned Ben.
“I promised the doctors a hefty donation for surgical equipment in return for letting us have whatever visiting hours we wanted.”
Henry looked at the other side of the room. When he had first woken up and glanced that way, he had automatically assumed it was another patient in the next bed. He hadn’t even thought to wonder why he wasn’t in a private room.
Cora was sleeping on her side, facing towards Henry. Sure enough, Adam was nearby, sucking on one of his fists which made Henry smile.
“Remember that conversation at Christmas when we talked about the girl who you used to like? I might have accidentally realized you were talking about Cora,” admitted Ben. “And I might have let it slip to Cora.”
Henry turned his head to look at his brother. He wasn’t certain how he felt about Cora knowing his feelings. Part of him suspected that she knew, but felt only friendship towards him. However, there had been that kiss before his surgery.
Probably because she was scared, he told himself. Things would likely go back to normal and they would return to just friends status again. It wouldn’t be good to get his hopes up.
Ben seemed a little uncomfortable in the silence as he shifted in his seat. “I’m sorry about that. However, if you and Cora ever did get together as a couple, I’m pretty sure everyone in the family would be okay with it.”
“Ben,” said Henry before clearing his throat and trying again.
“If that ever did happen, it would be up to Cora, on whatever timeframe she needs. She’s been through a lot and I’m not going to pressure her.
I think she needs some control in her life, to be able to make her own choices.
She may not choose me, after everything that happened with Nate.
We might always just be friends. Whatever happens, I can wait and be patient.
I would prefer it if you don’t tell anyone else.
I don’t want to embarrass or make Cora uncomfortable.
You know how Max and some of the others can be when they get focused on something. ”
“Okay,” nodded Ben.
“I’m going to try to get some sleep,” murmured Henry as he closed his eyes. He didn’t want to talk about Cora anymore. She was a dull, sweet ache that never seemed to go away.
Cora felt guilty for eavesdropping on Ben and Henry’s conversation.
She also felt better for having heard Henry’s replies.
He was letting her be in control of the situation, to dictate what she was comfortable with. He understood that she needed time. He was mindful of her needs.
Henry had always understood her, Cora reflected. It was part of why she loved him.
Cora could admit that to herself now. She was slightly scared but she also knew that Henry would give her all the space and time she needed. He was patient, kind, and made her feel safe. He listened to her.
She understood now why he had left. At the time, Cora had felt like Henry had abandoned her.
She had reasoned that he had given her space as a newly married bride to be with her husband, but still felt the ache of his absence.
There was no way Henry could know how things had changed between her and Nate so rapidly.
Cora hadn’t known that he had loved her enough that he had to leave because it was too painful to see her with Nate. Sure, she had known Henry was interested in her, but she hadn’t known he had loved her even then.
She couldn’t undo the past, decided Cora. She could only change the present and work towards the future she wanted. She wanted that future to have Henry in it. Not in a relationship right away, she wasn’t fully ready, but someday soon.
With that warm thought, she drifted back to sleep.
It took time for Henry to be deemed recovered enough to return to Cora’s home.
He had ditched the oxygen and walker but was using a cane.
The physio department was making progress with his endurance and he promised to come in for numerous appointments.
One of the physio people even joked he might make it back onto the track team if he kept up the good work.
Henry wasn’t quite that optimistic. However, he hoped to be able to do normal human things. Right now, he was seeing improvement which made him happy. Mostly he simply felt better. He wasn’t as out of breath, or as tired. It was a blessing to be on the mend.
Even though he was cleared to be home with Cora, Ben came with Max to help him into the house and get settled.
“Do you remember that time you put Michael on the billboard?” grinned Max as they all hovered while Henry made his way up the porch steps.
“You did what?” wondered Ben as he looked at Henry in concern. Ben was carrying Adam’s in his carseat and had the diaper bag.
“I was young and in college. Michael needed some fun, so I got a picture of him and put him up on seven billboards. I advertised that the city’s most eligible bachelor needed a date,” calmly explained Henry with a fond smile as Cora unlocked the door.
“He even put on there some reasons to date Michael,” mentioned Cora as she rolled her eyes. “I think one of them was ‘I’m rich’.”
“There was also ‘I open doors for ladies’ and ‘I save sea turtles’,” chortled Max.
“He did. I once had a turtle and was sneaking it into Aunt Rachel’s house and Michael caught me. He made me bring it back to where I found it,” dryly replied Henry as they all went inside.
“How do I not know this stuff about you?” wondered Ben with curiosity.
Henry shrugged. “I can’t remember what the last thing on the list of Michael’s attributes was. Anyhow, I also put Michael’s personal cell phone number on the billboard.”
“I think it was ‘I’m quiet but have a fantastic sense of humor’,” recalled Cora, tilting her head as she thought.
“He was getting thousands of calls,” grinned Max. “He honestly had no idea why until one day Michael saw one of the billboards.”
“What happened? What did Michael do?” questioned Ben. Cora took the baby and diaper bag from him.
“He pulled Henry out of class to speak with him,” responded Cora as she went to put Adam down for a nap.
“I honestly thought I might have gone a little too far that time,” sighed Henry.
“He was so serious when he sat me down to talk. Michael had to get a new phone number. He made me promise to take down all the billboard advertisements. He told me that I needed to start behaving a little better and think about the ramifications of my actions. Then he smiled at me and said ‘please, don’t ever get involved in my dating life again’.
At the beginning he had thought these people were applying for an open position at the Pharmaceutical company.
So he told them where they could apply. The company got thousands of applications for the position of his girlfriend or even wife. ”
“No,” breathed Ben in surprise.
“It was an HR nightmare,” chuckled Max. “Michael was pretty embarrassed when HR called him in to have a talk.”
Henry could well believe it. Michael was a very reserved person.
Ann had helped him open up but he was still a very quiet person.
At the time Henry had thought he was perhaps doing his cousin a favor.
Now he realized it had been a step too far.
“Thankfully he took the joke well. I had the billboards changed the next day and never pranked Michael again.”
“I can’t believe you did that,” replied Ben, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Henry will have to tell us what else he got up to some other time. Looks like you are getting tired, my friend,” mentioned Max.
“It’s been an eventful day,” agreed Henry as he led the way to his room. Ben followed him, making sure he got there safely.
“I am okay to walk around and do simple daily tasks,” dryly said Henry with a smile. “It’s okay.”
Ben shrugged. “If you need anything, I can help.”
“Just to lay down for a while. Give me a twenty minute power nap and I will be good to go again,” decided Henry. He was awake more hours than he was asleep these days, however he still needed small naps.
“Then I guess I will say goodnight. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Ben told him in farewell as he left Henry’s room.
Henry laid down on the bed. It was nice to be back home. It didn’t smell like a hospital, or have the beeping machines, or the nurses coming in to interrupt while jotting down notes.
It was home and Henry was happy to be back.
He didn’t know how long he slept but it was Cora who woke him. Daisy was sleeping on one of his legs causing a pins and needles feeling. Daisy half opened an eye to watch Cora bring in a glass of water and some pills.
“It’s time for meds,” stated Cora as she sat down on the bed.
Henry sat up, pulling his numb leg out from under Daisy who continued to sleep. He checked his watch before taking the pills and water. “That was more than twenty minutes.”
“I expect you slept longer since you have been awake since this morning, waiting to get discharged from the hospital,” mentioned Cora as she leaned back against the headboard. “I have some leftovers from supper. Are you hungry?”
“I’m still full from the food Max snuck in from Elle’s dinner,” replied Henry as he set the water glass on the side table. “Are you ready to watch the next episode of The Gorgeous and the Botoxed ?”
“Are you sure? You don’t need to rest?” wondered Cora in concern.
“I just had a four hour nap. I can stay up for an episode of our favorite show,” decided Henry.
Cora reached for the remote. “Your favorite show? Somehow I doubt that.”
“It’s grown on me. Maybe tonight is the night I finish an episode,” replied Henry as he settled back against the pillows.
They watched the drama unfold on the screen as Tex walked down a dark alleyway only to have a shadowy figure follow him.
Two episodes later, it was Henry who was shutting off the television as Cora leaned against him, sleeping soundly. At some point during the second episode, she had taken hold of his hand, threading her fingers through his.
Leaning his head against the crown of hers, Henry looked at a sleeping Daisy with a smile before drifting off to sleep.