“Want some ice?” I asked.
Wesley opened his eyes and nodded. I gave him an ice chip and he sucked it between his dry lips with a grateful smile. “Oh man, ice is so good,” he murmured, closing his eyes again. Alycia and Mom chuckled softly, and I grinned lightly at them. “Gimme another one,” he said, smacking his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
I held another ice chip to his lips and he caught my hand in his, sucked in the ice and kissed my fingertips. I blushed to my ears and Wesley chuckled quietly, laying his head back on the pillow. I closed my eyes and forced a smile, knowing Mr. and Mrs. Carroll were standing right behind me.
“So, where were you? I was waiting forever,” Wesley asked, opening his eyes and looking at me. His voice was still quiet and raspy, but it lost its dry edge.
I shook my head side-to-side. “No one came to talk to me. I didn’t even know you were out of surgery until my mom called and got your room number,” I explained, squeezing his hand. As I spoke, I had a creeping suspicion, but I banished it from my mind.
“Huh, that’s weird. I wonder why?” Wesley asked rhetorically, looking up at the ceiling. “But you’re here now, so I guess it doesn’t matter,” he added, smiling at me.
There was a knock at the door and a middle-aged woman in a knee-length white coat with black hair pulled taut in a bun stepped over the threshold, smiling kindly. She had a stethoscope draped around her neck and hugged a large metal clipboard to her chest.
“Hello, I’m Dr. Amani, Wesley’s surgeon,” she said in a thickly accented voice. She stepped into the room and made eye contact with each of us. “Wow, you’ve got a full house. Must be a pretty popular guy,” she laughed, showing large, white teeth. She set her clipboard down on the bed table and felt for her stethoscope.
“Well, it’s supposed to be family only,” Mrs. Carroll remarked quietly, crossing her arms and shifting her stance.
Dr. Amani ignored her, or pretended not to hear, and she placed the wishbone end of the stethoscope in her ears. “How are you feeling?” she asked Wesley, tilting her head to the side.
“Tired,” he answered, blinking slowly. “A little achy, but mostly tired.”
Dr. Amani felt around Wesley’s back and chest with the stethoscope, then pointed to his right side. “Can I take a look?” she asked, referring to Wesley’s incisions. Wesley pulled up his gown beneath the knit blanket and Dr. Amani inspected the cuts. “On a scale of one to ten with ten being the worst, how’s your pain?”
Wesley glanced at me and then at the doctor. “Probably a six. A five or a six, I think,” he answered.
“Well, we can get you some more painkillers for that,” Dr. Amani said, pulling Wesley’s gown back down. “Your incisions look good. The surgery went very well, and I expect you’ll be back to normal in no time,” she said with a friendly smile. “Now, you don’t have stitches, but Steri-Strips that’ll come off on their own in a few days. You’re going to be tender on your right side and it’s not uncommon to feel some pain in your shoulder. But, all in all, you’re looking really good. We’ll schedule a follow-up exam in two weeks, so until then, no work, no driving, no heavy lifting. We’ll go over that again at your discharge as well as give you a prescription for oral painkillers. I recommend staying in bed, especially the first two days because you’ll be pretty tired, and no sleeping on your stomach, only on your back and maybe a little on your left side. Just take it easy the next two weeks and your body will heal itself,” Dr. Amani explained in a whirlwind of words. She picked up her clipboard and jotted some things down. “Do you have any questions?” Wesley looked at me and then shook his head. “Well then, I’ll send in a nurse for more Demerol and if you’re feeling well enough, you may even be able to go home tonight.”
Wesley smiled and bowed his head slightly. “Thank you very much, Dr. Amani,” he said quietly and genuinely.
Dr. Amani smiled again, hooking her pen in the breast pocket of her white coat. “I’m glad I can help,” she answered earnestly. “Take care and get well soon,” she said, stepping backward and leaving the room, still with her pleasant smile.
Wesley rested his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes. He looked exhausted with dark circles under his eyes. He was so different from the usually bright and vibrant man that I fell in love with, and it broke my heart to see him like this. Wesley gripped my hand and furrowed his brows. He opened his eyes and it took a moment for his vision to focus on his parents at the foot of the bed.
“What did you mean when you said ‘family only’?” he asked quietly.
Mrs. Carroll glanced at me and then shook her head. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it,” she said dismissively, patting Wesley’s toes over the knit blanket.
Wesley noticed her look in my direction and he tightened his grip around my hand and narrowed his eyes. “You meant Toren, didn’t you?” he asked.
“Honey, it’s all right, we just want what’s best for you,” she said, giving me a glare that might as well have been a knife in my heart.
“He is what’s best for me,” Wesley said violently, his pale face gaining color. “He was the only person I wanted to see when I woke up, and you went out of your way to make sure he wasn’t here! Did you actually tell the doctor not to talk to him?”
“Sweetheart,
