He stood up and lowered my bed. “Close your eyes, baby. You don’t need to think about anything right now.” I felt him gently climb up next to me and lay on his side. He draped his arm across my waist. I dozed off, feeling safe and protected.
There were a couple of days of tests and scans before I was scheduled to go home. I realized that I hadn’t had a serious conversation with Jamie about the note or what our plan was. He had been at the hospital every day, only leaving briefly to shower at a nearby hotel. Beth, Jerry, and Dylan popped in and out a few times to check on me. Dylan was taking care of Anchovy and my apartment, and Beth had proudly proofread the first thirty thousand words of my novel. I was excited to get back to writing, but I knew there were things that needed to be decided first. I still didn’t remember much from the night of the assault, but the police detective did show me the note I was clutching. The words MARRY ME were smeared in blood, which gave me a strong feeling of unease.
The day before I was scheduled to leave the hospital, they brought a plastic surgeon in to remove the staples from the back of my head and to add tiny sutures to the gash in my forehead. When the doctor left the room, I looked over at Jamie, who was flipping through Techworld magazine. “Hey, handsome. I thought you were done with all that?”
He jerked his head up, closed the magazine, and flung it onto a nearby table, then he looked down at his hands in mock horror, like he had been infected. We both laughed. I stood up next to my hospital bed on wobbly legs. I was still naked underneath the ridiculous hospital gown. Jamie came to my side instantly and held my arm as I walked toward the bathroom. “I just want to brush my hair out,” I said.
“I can brush it for you.”
“I have to do some things on my own, Jamie.” I stopped halfway, feeling dizzy. Jamie had a scared look on his face as he braced my arm and shoulder. I tried to lighten the mood. Smiling up at him, I said, “It’s kind of drafty in here,” and then I reached behind me to feel my naked rear end. His adorable dimple that had been hiding for so many days behind a worried frown revealed itself.
He leaned back to catch a glimpse as I began to shuffle again toward the bathroom. “I’ve missed seeing that cute little ass.” I giggled when he smoothed his hand over it.
“I hope you’ll stay for a few days after I’m released?” I shot him a hopeful look. “You can get reacquainted with my ass.”
“Katy, of course I’m staying. I’m not going anywhere. You’re going to need help. I planned on staying with you at your apartment.” He looked discouraged.
“I just didn’t know if you’d want to.” He was standing behind me as I looked in the mirror and brushed my hair.
“What are you talking about? I asked you to marry me. I was pretty sure you were gonna say yes.”
“Everything seems so jumbled up now.” I felt the familiar stinging of tears filling my eyes.
“You don’t have to decide anything, but I told you, I’m not going anywhere.”
“Don’t you want to be in Napa?”
He stepped toward me confidently, turned me to face him, and reached for my hand. He placed it over his heart and then pressed his other hand to my heart. “There’s nowhere but here. Nothing else matters, you have to see that. We’ll figure everything out together. I want to get to know you all over again, but first let’s focus on getting you home and well.” He bent over to kiss me. When our lips touched, I immediately pressed my body to his. I took his hand and placed it on my bare butt. He smiled against my lips.
Dr. Coco, my regular trauma doctor, came whistling through the door. We both pulled apart quickly and Jamie folded the back flaps of my gown over each other so my backside wasn’t exposed.
“He’s my doctor, Jamie.”
“This is my ass now.” He smirked and then pinched my butt cheek.
“Ouch!” I yelped. “Excuse us. Hi, Dr. Coco.”
When I first met my doctor, he had to tell me his name about ten times. I just kept laughing after he said it, and then I would say, “No. Tell me for real. I have a brain injury and I don’t think I’m hearing you correctly.”
He had a great sense of humor. Instead of being offended, he had mimicked a cuckoo clock and said, “My name is Dr. Cuckoo.”
“Dr. Coco, I need to talk to you,” Jamie said. “In private.”
“You don’t get to talk about me in private.” They both stood there, staring at the ground. “I know what you want to ask him. Very sneaky of you,” I said as he shoved his hands into his jean pockets and teetered back on his heels. I looked over at the interested doctor and blurted out, “He wants to know when we can have sex.”
Dr. Coco chuckled. “Well, you, little missy, are free to do whatever you feel comfortable with, but you should probably take it easy for the first couple of days you’re home.”
“Oh, we’ll go slow,” Jamie chimed in. “I mean, we’ll take it slow.” He was beet red.
The doctor smiled and walked out, laughing to himself.