Bosom Bodies (Mina's Adventures) (25 page)

When they headed toward the elevator, Mina
m
emorized
every turn
. She
intended
to go back
later to
see Diego all by herself. There was nothing complicated about
the route.
All elevators sported big signs mapping the location of the ICU
. They went down
two
floors
and
crossed
through two
massive secured doors
after Nurse Smith punched
in a
code. Now that could be a problem
. M
aybe there was another way in
. M
aybe this was for specialized personnel only.

They rolled by the nurses
’
station without stopping, down a wide corridor with doors on both sides. The last door on each side was a glass door and the whole upper wall seemed to be made of glass also
. On the inside, curtains were drawn closed.

Diego’s room was easy to spot. A man sat by the door. Mina had no doubt the man was a cop. Her heart fluttered
,
and she had to fight the impulse to jump off the wheelchair and run to Diego. She wanted to hold his hand, stroke his face
. S
he needed to touch him
,
to assure herself he was alive. Instead, she behaved like she promised she would.

Nurse Smith stopped near
the man
by the door. T
hey ex
changed glances, nothing else. T
hen the man got up and went inside Die
go’s room. A few minutes passed
, the curtains opened.

The room was
dim
ly lit
,
and
transparent
curtains
tented the
bed.
There were
all kind of tubes
and
blinking boards
. T
he man in the bed could have been anyone, body and face covered in bandages or cast
—
she didn’t know which.

“Can I go in?”
s
he asked Smith.

The nurse shook her head.
“Only approved personnel can enter the room.
”
 

Margo’s labored breathing
sounded behind her. T
he whole scenario felt so wrong.

“Is he going to be okay?”
T
he knot in her throat made it hard to talk, made it hard to breathe.

“I’m sure he is getting the best care available
,
” Nurse Smith said.
“Detective
DeFiore
will keep you posted on the patient’s progress.”

That’s it?
Behave Mina. You promised.

“Can’t I go into the room? Just
for
a mo
ment. I won’t get out of the chair.
I swear.”

“I’m sorry, Miss Calvi
.
It’s for the patient
’s well
being
. You can talk to
DeFiore
.
He’s your
best chance.” Without hesitation, she w
h
irled the wheelchair around and headed back.

Mina was seething
. H
er hands gripped the
arms of the
wheelchair
,
and her eyes welled up. She wanted so bad
ly
to get near Diego, to know he was going to be okay. If she could talk to him, she just knew he would recognize her voice. She felt an unexplainable bond between them. A bond that transcended the sexual attraction, something much deeper, something she never felt for another man.
Oh, God, please make him ok
ay
.

By the time Nurse Smith dropped her off in her room, supper was being served.

“Margo, why don’t you go home
?
I bet you are tired
,
and it looks like you’ll be the one driving me home in the morn
ing. I’ll be fine.
I’ll watch a little TV and go to sleep. Not sure why I have to stay overnight, but so be it.” Maybe she would sneak down to the ICU after everyone went to sleep.

“Okay then, I’ll be here by nine
a.m.
,
and don’t try to sneak back to see your friend. Don’t deny it
.
I can see it in your eyes. Well, call me if you get lonely
.
I’ll tell you about the windshield guy.”

“I knew it
,
” Mina said
.
“Your flat tire story didn’t fool me.”

Margo laughed, checked her lipstick in the bathroom mirror and left.

A few minutes later a young woman brought a tray with her supper
,
adjusted the bed, refilled her water glass, and left. Mina toyed with the mashed potatoes and the chicken. She couldn’t stop thinking about Diego. Was he suffering? Did he have broken bones? Would his family come and visit?

The phone on her night table rang. Although the room had
two
beds, she was the only
occupant.
T
he phone call had to be for her
. S
he picked it up.

“Hello, hello…” a few clicks, then, “Mina, God, finally.” Brian.
“Mina, my sweet Mina, I’m so sorry. Adams told me what happened. I should have never left. I’ll make it up to you. A miracle happen
ed
. B
ad choice of words, but at this point it felt like a miracle.
The American Embassy called us.
I don’t know how they tracked us down. Just when I’d given up, I got the call. Our new passports are waiting for us at the airport. We are on our way home. We’ll be back before Christmas.”

In her mind’s eye Mina remember
ed
that morning, not so
long ago, in Diego’s condo.

“Give me their names. I may be able to help.”

“Names? What names?”

“Brian and his mother.”

“What do you care?”

“I care about you.”

“Mina, did you hear me?” Brian’s voic
e snapped her out of
reminiscing.

“Yes, I did
.
I’m so happy for you and your mother. Glad your problems are solved.”

“That’s an odd thing
to say. My problems are solved,
” Brian said. “
Are
you medicated?”

“I am
.
I am. I’m very sleepy, but I’ll be better soon
.
I’ll talk to Adams, get all the details and this is really good news. So happy you are both safe and on your way home.” She wanted to hang up.

“Mina, you are not going to hang up on me again
. A
re you? I understand
you
’re
annoyed I wasn’t there for you. But when we left, everything was good
.
I’m all my mother has, so it wasn’t like I had a choice. Right?”

She listened, staring at her supper g
rowing
cold on the plate. He did have a choice, but obviously his mother would always come first. And tha
t was okay. R
ight now she really, really didn’t want to talk to him.
Maybe it was guilt for cheating on him.

“Mina, are you there?”

“Yes, but I don’t feel so good, I’m going to say good night and we can catch up when you get back. Have a safe trip.” She hung up.

The truth w
ould
have to be told.
She was never any good at c
heating
or
lying
,
and she owed so much to Diego.
Brian would have to understand. Diego probably saved their lives
,
too. Beside
s
, Brian had family, friends
.
Diego only had her. She pushed the rest of her supper aside
. She had made her decision. She would go to Diego and share it with him.
She would thank him for helping out Brian and his mother.
It didn’t matter if he was in a coma, his heart would hear her.

A nurse came into the room before Mina’s bare feet reached the floor. Th
e
night shift
must have started
because she didn’t recognize the woman.

“Do you need to use the bathroom?” The nurse asked.

Mina gave her a really big smile.
“Huh, yeah, going to the bathroom, brushing my teeth.”

“Need help?”

“Nooo, no help. Thanks.” She went
in
to the bathroom and closed the door.
What now?
Whatever the reason for the nurse’s visit, she wasn’t going to go away. Shit. Might as well face the music. She did brush her teeth and wash her hands, then went back to bed like a good girl.

The nurse checked her temperature and her heart, same stuff. It was getting old
. S
he was just fine.
T
he nurse left and came back with a small tray and some pills.

“What’s that?” Mina asked.

“Your medications.”

“What for? I’m not sick. I’m going home in the morning.”

“Your doctor prescribed them
,
to prevent your wounds from getting infected.”

Her wounds?
She wasn’t going to argue
.
“Okay, give it to me.”

The nurse slid the tray toward her and handed her the glass of water.
Two
small white pills, no big deal. Mina popped them in her mouth and drank most of the water
, t
hen opened her mouth
.

“See? All gone.”

Maybe the nurs
e would get the hint and
be
“
gone
,” too
.

Instead, she lingered, checking the monitor, making notes on the chart, fluffing the pillow.
Don’t they have
nurse’s
aide for that?

It was getting late. Mina
still
wanted to sneak downstairs to see Diego. With the night shift it should be easier
. N
o one w
ould
recognize her. She had to hurry
. S
he was getting tired. Very tired. Her eyelids felt so heavy
. W
hat was going on? What the hell were those pills? She searched the room for the nurse
, but
no one
was
there. Maybe she should just sleep for a while, just a while. Then she would go see Diego.

Mina woke as abruptly as she went to sleep. She couldn’t prove it
but was convinced the pills the nurse gave her had something to do with the uninterrupted night of sleep. What time was it? Seven thirty. Margo would come to take her home in a little over an hour.
Sh
ould she dare try to sneak out of her room to see Diego?

The place was abuzz with nurses and all kind of medical personnel making the rounds, delivering breakfast and meds. Fat chance
she could
walk past everyone unnoticed, especially wearing the one-size fits all hospital gown that didn’t close properly in the back
yet
was big enough for
a
super sized weight lifter.

Better wait for Margo. Mina didn’t know what to do with herself. She turned on the
TV
. The local news w
as
on
.

O
h, my
G
od, Sam Perez’s perfect smile graced the screen. The remote fell o
ut of
Mina’s hand. What were they saying?
She was under arrest for discharging her police
-
issued shotgun on a biker? They called it road rage.
Road
rage?

“Good morning.” The
nurse’s
cheerful voice
snapped
Mina
from her
state of disbelief. She put the TV on mute, but kept her eyes on the screen. Maybe they would show a picture of Diego, give an update. A Dunkin Donuts commercial came on and Mina turned off the news.

“Sorry, good morning. I’m going home in an hour, what do I need to do?”

“Not much, you can start by having breakfast, then you can get dressed
.
The clothes your
cousin
brought
are in the closet.
W
e’ll have some release papers for you to sign
,
and when your ride comes we’ll safely deliver you to your transportation by wheelchair. Sorry, regulations. After that, as far as we are concerned, you’re free to do whatever you want.”