Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
At the third floor, I stepped out and turned to the right, following the long hallway to another small reception area that sat outside a pair of locked double doors. I grinned easily at the familiar face behind the desk.
“Byron! I should have known I’d see you today,” the nurse greeted.
“Hi, Elaine. What are you doing here today? I thought you were off Saturdays.”
The thirtysomething with bright-red hair sighed heavily. “Kevin had his first orthodontist appointment last week. Poor kid needs to have two teeth pulled and braces. So, I’m here trying to work some overtime for braces.”
I winced. “And you thought you were done with braces after Kristin got hers off.”
“I should have known better,” she muttered as she picked up the phone. “Let me call back to see if Ronnie’s ready for guests. Just have a seat for a sec, hon.”
I placed the box of cookies on the reception desk. “For you and the rest of the team, if you don’t mind passing them along.”
She clicked her tongue at me. “I know you’ve been told you don’t need to do that,” she said, even as she pulled the box off to the side.
“I do it because I want to.”
While she chatted with a nurse in Ronnie’s ward, I sat in one of the plastic chairs with a thin cushion, trying to refrain from pulling out my phone to check for work emails. This was the one time I needed to be fully present, no thoughts about work or anything else.
Except maybe Sebastian.
For the first time in my life, I wished I’d brought someone else. I wished Sebastian were sitting next to me in one of these uncomfortable chairs, holding my hand as we waited to be shown back. He would have filled my ear with silly talk about a bunch of nonsense or even work talk. Anything to keep my mind from worrying about things I had no control over.
Sebastian would like Ronnie. He’d know how to talk to Ronnie. The man could talk to anyone and everyone with complete ease. Without a doubt, he and Ronnie would be fast friends inside of five minutes.
And maybe that was the problem. What if Ronnie saw Sebastian as a friend, and we didn’t work out? Ronnie wouldn’t be able to understand why Sebastian wasn’t coming to visit him any longer. He would be crushed, feeling utterly abandoned by Sebastian, through no fault of his own.
As much as I now wanted to introduce Sebastian to Ronnie, it was better to wait. If we actually made a relationship work, if we were truly boyfriends and we had a future together, I would bring Sebastian here. But not yet. It was far too soon.
Still, it would have been nice to have him here, holding my hand.
“Byron?” Elaine said, breaking into my wandering thoughts. I instantly leaped to my feet, my heart freezing until I saw her smile. “You can go on in. He’s in the dayroom. He’s having a good day.”
The tension that had seized my chest released, and I felt like I could breathe again. With a nod, I walked to the doors that buzzed as I approached them, signaling that she’d unlocked them for my entry.
Stepping inside Ronnie’s ward was like stepping into a magical world. The walls were painted more colors, even though the palette remained soft and comforting. There were more pictures of animated characters, and the furniture was more comfortable. A round nurses’ station sat in the center of the main hallway while large open rooms sat on the left and right. The dayrooms where the residents could mingle with each other, watch TV, or take part in various planned activities. Past the dayrooms were two long hallways that contained some other therapy rooms, along with the residents’ private quarters.
A couple of the nurses waved to me in greeting and pointed me toward the right, where I located Ronnie sitting at a table with the jumbled pieces of a puzzle.
“Hey, Ronnie!” I said, infusing a boatload of excitement and joy into my voice while part of me ached to see him like this, even after all this time.
Ronnie was now thirty-three, but there were already gray hairs showing in his short, dark-brown hair. He was pudgy and so damn tall. Probably even taller than Sebastian. My brain kept screaming that he was supposed to be married with kids by now. I’d have seen him on weekends between his fishing trips, and he’d have complained about his job or his wife wanting a new car.
Instead, he stared at me for a second with a vacant look, and I worried he didn’t recognize me. It wouldn’t be the first time. If he didn’t, I was preparing to play it off that I was an old friend. Trying to explain that I was his little brother was too stressful for him.