Page 137 of Things I Read About
“Hell yeah, he is.” Shep smiles and turns his charm on the nurse. I look at Sadie who smiles and rolls her eyes. “Ma’am, you’re a superstar, really great at your job. But my buddy here, the marine who just took a bullet for us, he’s clearly distraught over his girl. I’m sorry to ask this, but you gotta move him into this room.”
“What?” My dad and the nurse say in unison.
“Not possible,” The nurse replies.
“Please.” Shep tries pleading instead. “If you don’t, he’ll just keep tearing everything off and coming up here,” he says, wincing and stretching out like he may have pulled a muscle when he caught Nate.
“Seriously?” She replies to Shep, totally exasperated.
“Seriously. He has to tell her he loves her.”
“Wait, he what?” I squeak the words.
Shep throws his head back and looks at the ceiling, face cringing. “Shit.”
35
NATE
Shit, that hurts.
Everything hurts.
Voices bring me out of my pain haze.
“I’m sorry I told her, but it worked, didn’t it? The nurse is a romantic.”
“It wasn’t your place to tell her!”
“I got excited!I’ma romantic,” Shep says. I think.
“Don’t try to be adorable to get out of trouble.” That’s Canton 2.
“Is it workin’, though, lil’ bit?”
Okay, that’s definitely Shep. Shep and his wife.
“You know I can hear everything you’rewhispering,right?”
Sally.
Sally!
I try to open my eyes, but they aren’t cooperating.
“I’m sorry, Sal.”
“It’s okay, Shep. It… he didn’t mean it.”
“Ugh, Shep!” Sadie scolds her husband. “You big dramatic showboat. You ruined it! You are in deep this time.”
“Bambi!” I hear women’s heels click away. Pain shoots through me so I have to focus to hear Shep goes on. “Sally, I’m sorry, he said all this really sweet stuff about idioms and how you were his girl, not ours and I really think he means it, okay? Just give him a chance, when he wakes up. Give him a chance. I gotta go save my marriage real quick.”
More steps.
Mumbling and whispering.
“Why would he tell Em, Shep, and Matt that, if he didn’t mean it?”
