Page 55 of Unexpected Adventures

“Of course. I had to get up to go to the bathroom. I guess I just got up a bit too quickly.”

“That’s it? What do you remember next?”

“Abby,” she starts, clearly becoming impatient. “I must’ve gotten dizzy by moving too soon. Really, I’m fine.”

“What do you remember next, Sylvia?” I press her.

She plops back against her pillows, sighing. “I remember Millie looking over me, asking me if I’m okay. I remember waking up in this very uncomfortable bed. I remember thinking this room smells like they tried to wash out the scent of a dead person.”

“Sylvia!”

“Well, that’s what I remember! God, how I hate the smell of hospitals. No matter how much disinfectant they use, it just smells bad. And then they try to cover it up with those automatic freshener dispensers. That just makes it worse!”

Now I have a hard time holding back my giggles while Shaun stifles a cough to cover up his laughter. This must give Sylvia time to size Shaun up, because her eyes light up the more she looks at him.

“Shaun.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“How did you meet Abby?”

“She picked me up off the side of the road.” He grins.

My sharp inhale goes unnoticed as they continue with one another.

“Is that so?” Sylvia says wryly.

“Yes, ma’am. My car overheated, so she and Denise gave me a ride.”

“So helpful, our Abby.”

Although it was really Denise doing the driving, and me just sitting there like a bump on a log.

“That she is,” Shaun replies, clearly enjoying this exchange.

“Now wait a minute…”

“Abby, don’t interrupt,” she says, trying to look sternly at me before returning her attention to Shaun. “And so, you live down there?”

“No, ma’am. I live right here in San Francisco, too.”

“Well, now, you would’ve been coming back home anyway.”

“In a few days, but, uh, Abby and I returned separately, so…”

I decide to break in before he could go into any more detail. “Sylvia, you can’t leave.The doctors need to be sure you’re all right.”

“I’ll say if I’m all right or not, and I am. I want to go home. Now, my clothes.”

Just as she tries to make another move to get out of the bed, the door opens. Millie comes back in, followed by who I assumed to be the doctor. A middle-aged man in the prerequisite white coat, eyeing all of us in the room.

“Oh, Ms. Montgomery, is this your family?”

“Certainly. Now, when can I leave?”

“Well, initial tests show no broken bones, no internal injuries. Mild concussion has been confirmed. I’d like to keep…”

“And what I’d like is to go home, to the comfort of my own surroundings.”

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