Healing Gabriel (15 page)

“Hi Uncle Gabe!”

“Hi Nat.” 
Gabe smiled at the young
girl as she hopped out of the car.  He picked her up and kissed her soft cheek.

“How was trick or treating last night?”

“Good.  I got lots of candy.”

“Well,, make sure you don’t eat it all at once.  You’ll get
a tummy ache.”

The little girl rolled her eyes.  “I know.  Daddy already
told me that.  I had to eat all of my supper tonight before I could even have
one piece of candy.”

Gabe smiled and set her down on the ground.  Vincent and
Delilah crowded around her and she giggled as they licked eagerly at her hands
and face.

“Hi Peter.”

“Hello Gabe.  How are you?”

“Can’t complain.  Where’s Lacey?”

“She’s uh, visiting a friend.”  Peter looked away and Gabe
sighed.

The friend would be Morgan.  A week after he told her he
couldn’t be with her anymore, she had moved out of the guesthouse.  It had been
over two months and he had no idea how she was or where she was living.  Lacey
had refused to tell him.  His sister had been angry and disappointed with him
when he wouldn’t tell her why he had driven Morgan away.

“I know you two were dating Gabriel.”  She had told him, two
weeks after Morgan had moved out.  “I guessed it the night of Peter’s birthday
party.  Why did you break up with her?”

“Didn’t Morgan tell you?”

“She won’t talk about it.  I know it had something to do
with that silly little bitch Sally and whatever the hell happened in the
hallway that night.  All Morgan would say is that you broke up with her.”

“How is she?”  He had asked quietly.

Lacey had glared at him.  “If you want to know, then ask her
yourself you giant idiot.  You’ve made a stupid mistake Gabriel.  Morgan was
the best thing that ever happened to you and you know it.”

He had sighed and stared into his cup of coffee.  “Please Lacey.
 I don’t want to talk about it okay?”

At the look of pain on his face, her gaze had softened and
she had reached out and took his hand.  “It’s not too late Gabe.  You can still
fix this.  Morgan cares for you deeply.”

“It is too late Lacey.  Can we just drop it?”  He had nearly
pleaded.

Now, he cleared his throat and crouched beside Natalia. 
“How is school going honey?”

“Fine.  I miss Ms. Wilson.  I don’t like the new teacher.” 
The little girl pouted briefly.

“Well, you’re in grade two now.  You knew you’d have a
different teacher this year.”  Gabe patted her gently on the back.

“Nu-uh Uncle Gabe.  Ms. Morgan got moved to be the grade two
teacher.  She is my teacher this year.”

He frowned at her in confusion as Peter cleared his throat
nervously.  “Nat, why don’t we go and visit Lemon?”

“Okay!”  Nat took Gabe’s hand.  “C’mon Uncle Gabe.  Take me
to see Lemon.”

“Just a minute Nat.”  He glanced at Peter.  The man was
looking decidedly uncomfortable and Gabe was starting to get a bad feeling in
his stomach.

“Honey, if Ms. Wilson is teaching grade two why do you have
a new teacher?”

“Because Ms. Wilson is sick.  She’s in the hospital.” 
Natalia answered.  “Can we go see Lemon now?”

The blood draining from his face, Gabe stood up and stared
at Peter.  “What’s wrong with her?  Why is she in the hospital?”

Peter cursed under his breath.  “Gabe, she’s fine.  She just
– she cut herself and it got infected.  She didn’t go to the doctor and it
turned into a pretty bad blood infection.”

“How bad?”  He asked hoarsely.

Peter licked his lips nervously.  “Pretty bad.  She went
into the hospital four days ago and they’re not releasing her for at least
another two days.  They’ve been pumping her full of antibiotics since they
admitted her.”

“Jesus!”  Gabe nearly shouted.  “Why the hell didn’t you or
Lacey tell me?”

“Well, why would we?  You broke up with her and haven’t
spoken to her in weeks.”  Peter replied.

Gabe dug into his pocket and pulled out his truck keys as
Peter frowned at him.  “Gabe, where are you going?”

“To the hospital.”  Gabe replied grimly.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”  Peter said nervously. 
“Lacey is with her right now and besides, she’s doing better.  I’ll have your
sister talk to her and if she wants to see you, we’ll let you know.”

“I’m going Peter.”  Gabe growled and pushed past the man.

Peter watched as he climbed into his truck and drove away. 
He pulled out his cell phone as Nat tugged at his jacket.

“Daddy?  Can we go see Lemon now?”

“Yes honey.  Just let me give your mom a quick call okay?”

* * *

“She’s sleeping Gabe.”  Lacey was waiting for him and she was
blocking the doorway of the hospital room.  Without speaking, Gabe simply
picked her up around the waist and moved her aside.

She huffed in surprise as he strode into the room.  It was a
semi-private room and there was an older woman lying in the first bed.  She
gave him a cool assessing look as he passed her and peeked around the curtain
that was drawn around the next bed.

Morgan was lying in the hospital bed.  Her face was pale and
she was thinner but he still felt a rush of relief at seeing her sweet face. 
He sat down in the chair beside the bed and picked up her hand.

“Don’t wake her – she needs rest.” Lacey had hurried in
after him.

“You should have told me Lacey.”  He brushed a stray strand
of hair back from Morgan’s face and let his fingers linger on her soft cheek.

“She asked me not to.  You hurt her badly Gabriel.”

“I know.”  He said softly.

Lacey rested her hand on his shoulder.  “You’ve seen her. 
You should go now.”

“No.”

“Gabe – “

“I’m not leaving her.  If you want me to leave then you’ll
have to bring security in and trust me – I’ll make a scene.”

She snorted in anger.  “Gabriel Dern, I swear you are the
most stubborn man alive.”

“How bad is it Lacey?”  He asked quietly.

“It could have been much worse.  She was feeling shaky and
nauseous at work.  She had a really high temperature, and the nurse at the
school asked the administrators to call an ambulance for her.  She got lucky. 
It wasn’t severe sepsis and it didn’t damage any of her internal organs, but
they decided to keep her at the hospital for a few days so they could monitor
her while they gave her IV antibiotics.  Plus, the cut on her leg was pretty
bad.  The doctor had to make the cut longer and deeper to drain the pus and
infection from it, and for the first few days it had a drain in it.  The drain
is out now but it’s stitched up and pretty sore.”

“You should have called me.”  He said angrily.

She scowled at him.  “I told you before – she asked me not
to.”

He didn’t reply and she sighed and kissed the top of his
head roughly.  “Tell Morgan that it was Nat who spilled the beans, not me.  And
tell her I’ll see her tomorrow.”

“I will.”  Gabe continued to stroke Morgan’s face.

“Gabe?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too Lacey.”

* * *

“I’m sorry sir, visiting hours are over.  You’ll have to
come back in the morning.”  The nurse tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

“I’d like to stay the night.”

“Only family members are allowed to stay after visiting
hours.”  The nurse said firmly.

“I’m her boyfriend.”  Gabe smiled at her.

“Really?”  The nurse gave him a suspicious look.  “She’s
been here nearly a week and you’re just showing up now?”

“I uh – I was out of the country.  It took me a few days to
get back.”

The nurse sighed.  “Sir, I think – “

“Are you Gabe then?”  The old woman in the bed beside Morgan
had poked her head around the curtain.

“Yes.”

The woman looked at the nurse.  “He’s her boyfriend.  She
talks about him enough.”

The nurse nodded. “Fine, you’re allowed to stay.  I need to
change the bandage on her leg.  Can you step back please?”

Gabe nodded and moved out of the way as the nurse pulled the
sheets down.  Morgan’s right leg was bandaged from her knee to nearly the top
of her thigh, and he sucked in his breath when the nurse unwrapped the
bandage. 

“Jesus Christ.”  He whispered.

He stared at the long cut that snaked down her thigh and
stopped just above her knee.  It was stitched together and although it was
obviously healing, the skin was swollen and sore looking.

“Is it strange that she hasn’t woken up at all?”  Gabe asked
worriedly.  He had been there for nearly three hours and she hadn’t stirred.

The nurse shook her head as she finished wrapping Morgan’s
leg.  “No.  She was awake for most of the day and the pain medication we give
her makes her sleepy.  She’ll probably sleep through the night so you might as
well go home and get some rest.”

“I’d rather stay.”  Gabe sat back down and picked up
Morgan’s hand as the nurse nodded and left the room.

The old woman poked her head around the curtain again. 

“Thanks.”  Gabe gave her a small smile as she let her eyes
drift over his ruined face.

“Ayuh.  How did you get those scars?”  She asked bluntly.

“I was in a car accident as a teenager.  The car caught on
fire.”  Most people didn’t mention his scars, and the woman’s bluntness had
surprised him into answering.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”  She squinted at him.  “You’re a
good looking fella aren’t you?  Even with those scars.  I can see why she
fancies you.”

Blushing a little, Gabe stared at the woman.  “Does she
really talk about me?”

“Ayuh, she does.  O’course, she only says your name when
she’s sleeping but it’s still talking about you ain’t it?”

“Yeah, I guess it is.”

“Are you really her boyfriend?”

“I – I used to be, sort of.”

“Well used-to-be-her-boyfriend Gabe, my name is Mary.”

“Hello Mary.”

The old woman dragged a chair over and sat down on the other
side of Morgan’s bed.  She patted Morgan’s arm gently.  “She’s a sweet girl
then, ain’t she?”

Gabe nodded.  “Yes, she’s very sweet.”

“Did you mess it up or did she?”

“I did.”

“Ayuh, I figured.  Not to be sexist sort-of-her-boyfriend
Gabe, but it’s been my experience that it’s usually the fella who messes it
up.  If you don’t mind me askin’, what did you do?”

“I told her I wasn’t good enough for her, and that I didn’t
want to see her anymore.”

“Not good enough for her?  Why is that?”  Mary asked.

Gabe laughed bitterly.  “Look at me and look at her.”

Mary stared at him for a long moment, her eyes roaming over
the scars on his face.  “All I see is a man in love.”

“She deserves to be with someone who looks normal.”

Mary snorted.  “Normal?  What’s normal these days?  I have a
grandson who puts things in his ears that make his lobes all stretched out. 
Why, I could fit a damn marker through the holes in his lobes!  And my
granddaughter has tattoos that cover both of her arms from shoulder to wrists. 
Sleeves, she calls them.  Says it’s all the rage now and they make her look
cool.”

She snorted again.  “I say they make her look like a biker’s
whore but I’m an old woman, what do I know about cool?”

Gabe blinked at her in surprise and then startled both
himself and Mary by laughing loudly. 

Mary grinned at him.  “I ain’t told her, but I’ve been
thinking about getting a tattoo.  Always thought a flower tattoo on my arm
would be pretty.  A rose or maybe a daisy.  What do you think?”

“I think if you want a tattoo, you should get one.”  Gabe
grinned back at her.

“How long have you been all scarred up,
maybe-you’re-her-boyfriend-and-maybe-you’re-not Gabe?”

“Since I was a teenager ma’am.”

“She the first woman to see past the scars?”

Gabe nodded and lifted Morgan’s hand to his mouth.  He
kissed each knuckle gently before returning it to the bed.

“Ayuh, I ain’t surprised.  Did I mention that she was a
sweet girl?”

“Yes.”

“Cursed something awful when she first came in though.  She
was determined she wasn’t going to stay.  I think the fever was making her a bit
delirious.”

Gabe smiled a little.  “She doesn’t normally curse.”

“So if she don’t see the scars, then what’s the problem?”

He sighed.  “Morgan is a gorgeous woman.  She’s outgoing and
social, and I barely leave my house.  People – people talk about me.  I’m the
town freak and Morgan feels the need to defend me.  How long do you think it
will be before she grows tired of having to defend me?  Before she tires of listening
to the whispers and seeing the stares when we walk down the street together?”

“Does she love you?”

“I – I don’t know.  She might have once maybe but I hurt her
badly.  I told her I was just using her.  She moved out and now I don’t even
know where she’s living.”  Gabe stared down at his hands.  He had no idea why
he was spilling his guts to the old woman but it felt good to confide in her.

“I don’t want to ruin her life like I ruined mine.”  He
whispered.

“Ruin her life?  Why?  Because she happened to fall in love
with a man who ain’t got the face of a model?”

He gave her a dry look.  “It’s more than just not looking
like a model Mary.”

“Good Lord boy, I swear I ain’t ever met a man who was as
vain as you.  So what if you ain’t conventionally pretty?  Looks aren’t
everything.  I know I don’t know Morgan that well, but she doesn’t seem like
the kind of girl who’s wrapped up in what her man looks like.”

“I told you, it isn’t about that.  It’s about her having to
live her life constantly having to defend me, or listening to people talk about
how she’s with the town freak!”  Gabe said angrily.