Page 107 of Dark Endures

“You.” What do I say to a man who saw me at my worst? Mom doesn’t have any guidance on that. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Do you mind if I visit with you for a while?” He gestures to the chair next to my bed.

And distract me from the dismal television, not at all. “That would be nice. Thank you.”

“My name is Kyle.”

“Mindy.” I try to hold out a hand, but almost tip over. Banging even my own weight onto my ribs wouldn’t be a good thing.

“There’s no need for formalities.”

What do I talk about with a complete stranger? “So you work here in security?”

“Once in a while, when I have time, I volunteer here. Mostly, I work in private security.”

Private security? “You mean like following rich people around and yelling at paparazzi?”

He smiles. “Something like that. They mentioned you don’t enjoy watching television. There’s a special exhibition in the Urbium Art Museum this month. Would you like to view it with me?”

Art! “I’d love that. I planned to attend it in person.” If I could find a few hours on one of the free Saturdays.

He puts it on the television that the doctors set up for me. And high-resolution images pop up onto the screen.

“It’s almost like we’re there.”

“But there’s nothing quite the same as being in the room.” Kyle smiles.

“Agree. There you can feel the life of each piece of work. Well, most of them. I don’t get some of this Postmodernism Art.”

“Me either. The squiggly lines representing pain or joy—” He shakes his head. “—They just look like squiggly lines to me.”

“Exactly.”

We watch the exhibit, chatting like we’re old friends.

When it comes to an end two hours later, I want to beg him to start it all over again. “Thank you, this was amazing.”

“I had fun.” His eyes cloud over. “Can we talk?”

“It’s never good when someone around here wants to talk to me.”

Kyle chuckles. “This one won’t be too bad. I’ve been working here almost since I got out of the military. I’ve seen women come and go. The ones with the best outcomes let people in to help them. Lying here alone isn’t good for you. So what I’m going to do is share some of mine with you.”

Huh?

“They’re a little rough around the edges and most of them couldn’t tell a Monte from a Degas, but you couldn’t find a better bunch.”

He’s going to share his friends with me. Tears eek out of my eyes.

“Now, don’t go crying. Nothing scares a guy more than tears.”

I carefully brush them away. “You don’t seem scared.”

His lips tip up to the side. “I’m shaking in my boots over here. I’m just better at hiding it. Plus, I know where to get a bunch more art exhibits like the one we watched today.”

“Really?”

“Sure do.”

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