"A little dehydration," the doctor was saying. I nodded, my hands moving in repetitive circles on Malcolm's back. "Coupled with a nice little sunburn, poor kid." She winced and shook her head. "I'll write you a prescription for an aloe cream that will help a lot."
"That's fine," I nodded. We were in a little curtained off observation area, but the curtain didn't close all the way and I could see right out to the main door. It was a fifteen-minute drive to the hospital from the waterfront. Charlie should have been here by now.
Malcolm contentedly sucked on the ice cube from the little plastic cup that the nurse had brought him, dribbling little droplets of water across my sleeve. I bounced him once and then shifted my weight to the other hip. "How about his grandmother?" I asked anxiously, still looking over her shoulder.
"Georgia Kendall?" The doctor flicked through her clipboard. "She's recovering nicely." Her eyes flicked up. "Thanks to you."
I shook my head, trying to dislodge the image of Mrs. Kendall in a heap on the floor. The gash on her head was bloody and nasty looking, but the EMTs had sworn it was only superficial. "She knocked herself out when her blood pressure dropped," they explained. "It's a good thing you came by when you did."
Everyone was congratulating me for being a hero, but I didn't give a shit about their opinions.
I wanted to see Charlie.
"Da!" Malcolm shouted, lurching forward in my arms. "Mama! Mama!"
I looked up to see Charlie rushing down the hall, her hair trailing out behind her like a battle flag. I leaped to my feet, half out of excitement, half out of readiness for a fight. "Is this the mother?" the doctor asked. "And daughter?"
"That's me," Charlie said, snatching her son from my hands and whirling in a tight circle. "Did you escape when MomMom fell down?" she cooed, smoothing his hair. "Did you come looking for Mama to help her?"
"Da," Malcolm said, pointing at me.
Charlie bit her lip and turned. The doctor, sensing the mood shift, stepped back. "I'll be back to check up on you in a half an hour," she said, and then turned to flee.
Charlie stared at me with her mouth open. I stepped forward, with my arms open. "Hi," I said. My arms ached to have her in them. "I came back."
The expression on her face never changed. Still frozen and with a look of utter shock, she turned a little. Then, taking Malcolm's little cup of ice cubes, she took one out and hurled it at me as hard as she could.
"Ouch!" I complained, rubbing the spot where the cube bounced off my forehead. "That actually stung!"
"Goddammit!" she said, chucking another ice cube and then another at me. I ducked, stepping to the side, trying to evade her in the small, curtained off examination area, but
When she lifted the entire cup over her head, I held up my hand. "Why are you throwing ice cubes at me?"
"Because!" she screamed, breathless. Her cheeks were flushed as red as anything, and the way her breasts were heaving up and down was making me forget my train of thought. "You left!"
"I know I did," I pointed out. "But I came back. I'm here now."
"No, you left, you were gone, and I was okay with that. I was just getting okay with that." Her face crumpled. "You can't just, you can't come back again, not after I'm already trying to be good with you leaving."
"Hey," I said. This is not the reaction I was expecting, not at all. I stepped closer, keeping my hands raised as if I was warding off a wild beast. "Hey," I said soothingly. "It's a good thing I came back when I did, don't you think?"
"Motherfucker," she screamed and lifted the cup again. I ducked just in time to save myself, but the cubes clattered across the floor. I heard the sound of murmurs from the other all around us, but nobody came to my rescue, they all seem to know better than to cross Charlie when she was in a temper.
"Why the hell are you throwing things at me?" I asked again. "I thought you'd be happy to see me."
"I am!" she yelled. "And that's the fucking problem!"
I swallowed back my smile. Because even in her blind rage, I loved this girl more than I thought was possible. "Do you want me to take you to your mom?" I asked gently.
She crumpled a little. "Yes," she said dejectedly. "What happened?"
I leaned my head out and signaled to one of the nurses. "We're going to take Malcolm Kendall up to Georgia Kendall's room right now, is that okay?"
"Sure," the nurse said. "I'll make a note that that's where you are. Do you need anything?"
I looked around on the floor. "More ice in a cup?" I said, with a smirk at Charlie, who reddened right up to her hairline. "Lucky for me you have better aim with your car than you do with your overhand."
She pressed her lips together and I could tell by the way her shoulders were shaking that I'd made her laugh even though she didn't want to. She wanted to hate me. She wanted to be furious that I'd shown back up again. But of course I had.
I loved her.
Now I just had to figure out how to tell her.