After a lot of persuasion, Jimmy talked Georgia into going to Evanston Hospital. Covid patients had overrun the ER, but Jimmy and Georgia were allowed to sit in a separate room. Still, she had to wait two hours to be seen. An X-ray confirmed the cracked rib. Doctors took a CAT scan of her skull. Satisfied that her concussion was mild, they let her go. Georgia didn’t get home until after ten. Her body throbbed with pain.
For the next three days, she lay in bed, letting Jimmy take care of her. The pain in her rib slowly subsided to a dull ache. Her bruises turned purple, and the lump on the back of her head started to recede. Jimmy applied ice and heat to her side and the lump on her head. He made her swallow Advils three or four times a day. He even called JoBeth and asked her to keep both Vanna and Charlie for a few nights.
While Georgia was grateful—the experience of being nurtured by someone who loved her was new and unfamiliar—she grew impatient. By the fourth day she was ready to rejoin the world. That night they ordered in pizza and ate it in bed. Afterwards she took a shower and persuaded Jimmy to join her.
She’d always considered their lovemaking an equal opportunity adventure, but that night she initiated it. Despite her bruises, she rolled on top and did things she knew he liked. This man knew implicitly when to take care of her and when to leave her alone. She’d needed protection and he’d been there. She wanted—needed—to show him how much she loved him for that. No one understood her like Jimmy. Not Matt, Pete, or any other man she’d been with.
As Jimmy grew more aroused, though, the tables turned and he took over, making her forget everything except the feel of his lips and his touch. All the while, he was careful not to press his body weight on her. She felt protected and excited at the same time. She needed him inside her, filling her up. He complied.
The next morning, he appeared, freshly showered and dressed. He sat at the tiny table in her kitchen. Georgia poured coffee and toasted a couple of bagels.
“What are you doing today?” she asked.
“Taking a ride up to Nauvoo. Thought I might have a conversation with Raymond Benson.”
“Is that so?”
“It is. So, what do you have planned? Feel okay to pick Vanna up at Oakton?”
“Actually, Vanna said her friend Marcy is going to bring her back to JoBeth’s and drive her and Charlie back here.”
“That’s nice of her. Who’s Marcy?”
“They’re in the same English class. Vanna’s turning into a pretty good writer, you know. I read one of her essays the other day.”
“Good to hear.” Jimmy smiled. He knew about Georgia’s dyslexia and how difficult it was for her to read. “But you didn’t answer my question.”
“What am I doing today? I’m coming with you. That’s what I’m doing.”
“Georgia—”
“No argument. We’re in this together.”
He stared at her. She prepared herself for a “no,” but he surprised her. All he said was, “Bring your Glock.”