Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
While we’re sitting there, I realize I have to call Brenda. It’s never fun conversing with her, but she’s Ben’s mother and needs to know what’s going on. As much as I’d love to text her, I’m not that insensitive. I step away from my family and make the call.
“Brenda, hey, it’s Elle.”
“What’s wrong with Ben?”
I inhale deeply, wishing we had a better relationship. “He’s in the hospital.”
“What did you do?”
Oh, I don’t know, nurtured him, taught him what it’s like to have a family.
“You should come to Beaumont,” I tell her.
“So, help me, God. If he dies, I’ll sue you.”
Yep, of course you will.
“It’s hard to explain, but he has a bad infection and they’ve put him in a medically induced coma.”
“You know why this is, right?”
Nope, but you’re going to tell me.
I stay silent.
“If you hadn’t convinced him to return to that Podunk town, none of this would’ve happened. He was just fine when Brad and I were there, and now this.”
Never mind that Ben wanted to be here.
Before I can respond, my phone is taken from my hand. I stand there and watch Liam, with my mouth open.
“Brenda, Liam Page here. Listen, I don’t like the way you’re speaking to my niece. My suggestion, get to Beaumont.” He hangs up and hands my phone back to me. “I’m sorry, Elle, but enough is enough when it comes to her. Next time, text her. Go be with Ben. He needs you right now.”
Liam walks me back to the ICU door and waits with me until the door opens. “Let us know if you need anything, we’ll be right here, waiting.”
“Thank you,” I say as I give him a hug. “I love you.”
“Love you too.” He kisses the top of my head and urges me through the door.
In Ben’s room, the nurse tells me there hasn’t been any changes, not that I expected there to be, but I thank her and sit down in the chair next to his bed.
“Mack met the puppy,” I tell Ben. “He and Peyton are on their way to get him. I don’t know what we’re going to do with him right off, but I didn’t want to take any chances that someone else could buy him.” I laugh. “I don’t even know what kind of dog he is or anything, yet when you sent me the picture of the two of you, I knew we needed him. Now we just have to think of a name. It has to be something catchy though and nothing ordinary like Fido or Rover. We should make it unique. Something that will make people comment because of how it stands out.”
I rest my arms on the edge of his bed. “Of course, this means you need to wake up so we can do this together. It’s not fair to the puppy. I could see it in his eyes, he’s already in love with you, just as you are him.” I move my head to rest on his hand, thankful there are no tubes or wires coming from it. My tears wet his skin and the blankets covering him. I can’t stop them, even if I tried.
Ben needs a miracle.
24
BEN
“Happy anniversary.” I lean down and press my lips to Elle’s. She responds in kind and places her hand on the back of neck to pull me closer. I smile against her mouth and try to pull away. “Babe.”
“It’s been forever, Ben.”
I can’t help but laugh. “It’s been hours.” A lesser man would be upset if his wife didn’t remember the last time he made love to her, but I know Elle’s joking. It’s been an ongoing joke between us since my medicine made me delirious and I’d forgotten her name once. In my defense, I was sick and in the hospital.
“Hours to you, feels like months to me, Ben.” Elle tries again to pull me on top of her. I oblige, but with no intentions of making love on the couch. Those days are long past us. When you have children running around, they can walk in on you any time. The last thing they need to see is my white ass thrusting in the air.
Instead, I lie down next to her and she rolls over onto her side. “I can’t believe we’ve been married for ten years now,” I say to her while her finger toys with the buttons on my polo shirt.
“That’s a long time, right?”
I nod. “There was a time in my life . . .” My voice trails off. I don’t need to finish my sentence because we both know exactly what I’m going to say. There was a time in my life when I thought we wouldn’t end up together. Yet here we are celebrating our ten-year anniversary.
“Do you remember our wedding?” I ask as I push her hair behind her ear. In all our time together, she hasn’t changed, hasn’t aged. It’s like I’m still staring at twenty-something Elle James.