Page 18 of Mountain Bean Dream
All said though, I was happy with the state of my life because it was mine.
Or Iwashappy.
Until Wednesday. Or tonight, after the concert.
Jeremy parked outside my motel room door and walked around to help me out of the car.
Scrunching my face at the pain and discomfort of twisting to step onto the ground, I fought back tears. Again. Poor Jeremy. He barely knew me, and here I was a blubbery disaster. At least when he saw me at work, or in the motel office, I was pulled together. Tonight I was an epic mess. Plus, my head throbbed more than I was willing to admit, my elbow ached, and my pride took a disastrous fall.
He helped me into my suite and flicked on the lights.
I squinted from the brightness, and Jeremy crossed the floor to the bathroom, flipping that light on too. It bathed the area in a soft, muted glow that was much appreciated once the main lights were turned off.
“Thank you,” I sighed, slowly unbuttoning my jacket, and hanging it on the back of the door.
“What can I get you?”
“Nothing. Think I’ll take whatever meds they sent home and watch some TV until I fall asleep.”
“Actually, screen time is prohibited.” He waved the sheet of instructions the nurse had handed me. “However, I found a crossword app. I can read out clues until you get tired.”
With that, I involuntarily yawned.
“Guess it won’t take too long.” He smiled, all warm and sincere. “Why don’t you get ready for bed, and I’ll run out and grab a few things?”
I stood there, unsure of what I needed, or what he felt he needed to grab.
“If you give me fifteen minutes.”
“Fifteen?” I surprised myself with my questioning tone.
He tripped over his words. “Ten. Ten should work.”
I nodded. “Fine. Ten.”
He opened the door. “I’ll knock twice before I enter.” And with that, he exited, closing the door behind him.
Grabbing the few pills the nurse had provided; I chugged them back with some water and went to ready myself for bed, opting to stay in my leggings and sweater. My usual bedtime routine was a little hard to do with only one completely functioning arm, but I managed, still unsure what ached more—my elbow or my bruised ego.
Sauntering back into the main area, I surveyed the space. How was I going to sleep? I only had one pillow, not enough toprop myself up with, but then again sleeping sitting up wasn’t going to happen either. It was impossible to sleep like that. I one-handedly fluffed the life out of my pillow and set it at the head of the bed.
A couple of soft knocks sounded on the door.
Jeremy.
My surprising white knight in work boots, Jeremy stood at the entrance with his hands full. Two pillows tucked under one arm and a Costco-sized reusable bag overflowing in the other.
“Are you moving in?” It was a joke, and thankfully, my question was accepted as much.
He stepped inside and set the giant bag on the floor. “No. My place is nicer.”
A deep frown pushed my eyebrows down and darkened my view.
He did a quick survey of my neat and tidy space. “Yours is nice, don’t get me wrong. Mine is just… bigger. More like an apartment size.”
“But you live here, right? Weren’t all the rooms the same?”
“I do, but mine’s on the second floor.” I continued to stare as if he was speaking a different language. “In the corner. Above the corridor beside the office. Almost two units big.”