Monroe and I looked at each other confused. When I turned
back to look at Joel his brow was furrowed and he asked “You are Anna right?!” I shook my head and bit my lower lip. Monroe
gripped my shoulder and turned to leave and find the doctor.
“How much do you remember Joel?” I asked.
“Well I was in Afghanistan and ...” he replied
“No, anything beyond that?
Like what year is it?” I asked
again...
He looked at me like I was asking him if he had just walked
across the moon. Then all of a sudden
his demeanour changed and he a huge smile broke out across his face as he
yelled “GOTCHA”. I slapped his arm and
was crying and laughing at the same time.
“You’re an asshole!!
I seriously thought something was wrong!!!!”
“Hey don’t abuse the patient! They will call security for
stuff like that...” he was holding his arms up to protect himself.
“They will need a coroner when I am done with you!! Do you
know how much you scared me?!”
Joel continued to laugh and then stretched his arms behind
his head “Baby I am fine, it is a broken leg and some rehab. I have been through worse, but this doesn’t change
anything. I still want us to be together.
So the move will have to happen pretty quickly because I can’t get
around on my own just yet...”
“Baby about that...there is so much paper work we have to
do, we haven’t even filled in any forms, we only have so long to get
married...I ...”
“Isabella, I already started some of the paperwork. I’ve retained an immigration lawyer; I know
what we need to do. All I need for you
to do is be ready to go. Are you ready
to go?”
I realized then that I wasn’t ready to go and shook my
head. Joel sat there staring at me with bewilderment in his eyes. It was almost like I had told him I wanted to
break up.
“What happened? What changed? You were ready to go a week ago...”
“Joel I want us to be together, I really do. And I will come home with you and be there for
you for your entire rehab. I am just not
ready to uproot my life permanently. We
can play house for a few months or whatever it is, and see how it goes. We get to see if we are fully compatible
living together before we actually live together.”
Before he could answer Monroe walked in with the good
doctor. He wanted to examine Joel and
asked us to step outside. Monroe asked
if Joel had remembered and I told Monroe about his practical joke. Monroe smirked and said “Well he is messing
with us now...pay back is going to be a bitch!”
I giggled at his statement because I knew Monroe was not going to drop
that. The doctor came out and was trying
to explain why Joel may have had spontaneous amnesia to which we both
apologized and explained that Joel was playing a practical joke on me. The doctor smiled and walked away shaking his
head.
We walked back to the waiting area and found Duane and
Trevor asleep on the couch. I felt bad
that I had kind of ditched both of them, but was happy that we were together.
Monroe started tapping around on his phone and he booked us into a Hilton that
was close by. I leaned over and gently
shook the guys awake and told them we were going to a hotel. Monroe offered to drive over, to which Duane
sleepily agreed to. I excused myself and
went to Joel’s room and told him we would be back in the morning. “Please don’t go, can you stay with me? I can shift over and you can sleep in the bed
with me...” He went to move and winced in pain. “Joel I will stay, but I will sleep in the
chair here. But I need to get some
caffeine so I will be back.” I kissed
his forehead and then again softly on the lips and walked out of the room.
I went back to the waiting area and told the guys I was
staying but I needed to find some caffeine, so I told them to go ahead and just
bring me some clothes tomorrow. I hugged
all three of them and went in search of a coffee machine. I sought out someone in scrubs and asked
where I could get a coffee, to which the person directed me towards a bank of
vending machines. I got myself a horrible
machine coffee and a bag of chips and headed back to Joel. When I got back he was semi awake, my guess
fighting whatever they had given him to sleep.
I sat in the chair next to him, putting my items on the bedside table,
and grabbed his hand gently. He smiled
and gripped my hand “We have a lot we have to talk about...” I shook my head “Not tonight. Get some rest. We can talk tomorrow.”
The next morning I woke up to the sound of laughter, and
when my eyes opened there were my guys all standing around Joel. The three of them seemed to be enjoying some
Starbucks; I stretched and sat up in search of my caffeine. Monroe handed me a London Fog and winked; not
even breaking stride from the conversation.
I took a long sip of my drink and gazed around. I knew Joel and I had a lot to talk about, as
I watched them all laugh and joke with each other I was hit with a wave of
sadness. This is what I would miss...my little
family.
