5 Just One Kiss

I let Taylor drive the Porsche to the hospital. At one of the lights some guys pulled up in a jacked-up pickup truck and rolled down their window.

“That thing as fast as it looks?”

“Faster,” Taylor said.

“What about you?”

Taylor just shook her head. When the light changed, she rebooted the driver, then left them stalled at the light.

We were the first of our group to the hospital. The woman at the information desk sent us to the fifth-floor lobby waiting room.

About ten minutes later my parents and the Ridleys arrived. My dad immediately walked back behind the doors that separated the waiting room from the surgery and recovery area, then came back out just a few minutes later.

“I talked to a nurse. She said Cassy was still coming out of the anesthesia, but the surgery went well. She said they’ll let us know when we can come back. It should be within the hour.”

The rest of our group arrived in ones and twos until everyone was there. About an hour later, Ian said, “They’re taking her to her room.”

I wasn’t aware that he had been watching her the whole time, reminding me what a different world the two of us saw.

“She’s still asleep,” Ian said. “Her eyes are closed.”

“We should let her sleep,” my mother said.

“Do you want to get something to eat?” Taylor asked me. “I’m hungry.”

“Me too.”

“There’s a cafeteria on the main floor.”

“Can I join you guys?” Tara asked.

“Of course,” I said.

Ostin and McKenna decided to come with us as well.

The food at the cafeteria was pretty good. I got a chicken salad sandwich with chips and a fruit cup. Taylor got a Cobb salad.

I had asked Ian to text us when Cassy was awake, so we sat in the cafeteria eating nachos and talking. It was several hours later when Ian finally texted. By then we’d figured Ian had forgotten, and we were already on our way back up to the waiting room.

“Perfect timing,” Ian said as we walked into the room.

“She just woke?”

“No. She woke more than an hour ago. But she’s been talking to the doctors for almost forty-five minutes.”

I glanced over at Taylor, who frowned. They must have been telling her about her cancer.

Ian said, “Whatever they’re talking about, it seems pretty intense.”

“Why do you say that?” I asked.

“They look intense. Including their heartbeats. And Cassy keeps crying.”

“She’s been doing a lot of that lately,” McKenna said.

Just then one of the doctors we’d talked to before came out. My parents and I went over to talk to him.

“Did everything go okay?” my dad asked.

“Yes. We were able to remove all the shrapnel. It looked like infection had started to set in, so we got it just in time. We have her on antibiotics.”

“Does she know about the cancer?”

His brow fell, as did his energy. “Yes. We told her.”

“How did she take it?” my mother asked.

“Bravely,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s the mood-depressing properties of the anesthetic or all the trauma she’s been through, but she didn’t seem as concerned about the cancer as you’d expect. She didn’t seem that concerned with the treatments either. All she said about her treatment was that she’d think about her options.”

“She’s been dealing with some very difficult things,” my mother said. “She’s lost some close friends.”

The doctor slowly nodded. “I understand.”

“We’ll deal with one problem at a time,” my father said. “What are her next steps?”

“That’s going to be up to oncology. They’ll likely put her through a regimen of chemo or radiation, but that will depend on her oncologist’s assessment.”

“Thank you,” my father said. The doctor was about to go when my father asked, “Were there any hiccups?”

The doctor’s mouth twisted in a peculiar way. “Funny you should ask. There was one extremely peculiar incident. Just before the surgery, as she was going under the anesthetic, everything in the room froze.”

My dad tried to look surprised. “You mean all the electronics in the room froze?”

“No, the electronics were fine. We froze. The people.”

My dad continued to act bewildered. “The people froze? I don’t understand.”

“Froze, like statues. I know it sounds bizarre. With the anesthesiologist, CRNA, surgeon, two nurses, an intern, and me, we had seven people who witnessed and experienced it firsthand. All of us were frozen for about seven seconds.” He cocked his head slightly. “I was hoping you might shed a little light on that. Perhaps there’s something unique about the young woman we were operating on? Maybe some witchcraft at play?”

My dad shook his head slowly. “I have no idea. Maybe it was a leak with the anesthetic. You said it happened as you were putting her under.”

I was impressed that my dad had come up with that.

“The anesthetic was in her IV.”

“And you’re really sure it happened?” my dad asked.

“Oh, we’re sure. After we could move again, we were all pretty affected by it. One of the nurses started crying. And since everything in the OR is recorded, we have the whole incident on video.” He looked into my dad’s eyes.. “First, there was a young man who could see things without an X-ray, then a young woman who can stop motion. Interesting youths you’ve surrounded yourself with.”

“I don’t know what to tell you.”

“No, of course not.”

As the doctor was leaving, a nurse came through the double doors. She looked at my parents. “Are you with Cassy?”

“Yes,” my mother said.

She asked my father, “Are you Michael Vey?”

“I’m Michael,” I said.

She turned to me. “The patient requested that you come talk to her first. Alone.”

This caught me by surprise. I glanced over to Taylor, but before I could say anything, she said, “Go ahead. It’s okay.”

“She’s in 324 East,” the nurse said.

“I’ll be right back,” I said.

I walked through the double doors, then stopped a passing nurse. “Which way to 324 East?”

“You’re in the East corridor,” she said politely. “Room 324 is at the end of the hall, about three doors past the nurses’ station.”

“Thank you.”

When I got to her room, I peered inside. Cassy was alone, lying in the bed with her eyes closed. There was an IV taped to her arm as well as wires connecting her to the machines behind her. I rapped on the door lightly, then walked in. Her eyes opened, and she smiled when she saw it was me.

“Hi, Michael,” she said softly. She was dressed in a hospital gown, and her hair was slightly matted on one side. The sheets were pulled up to her waist. “I know,” she said. “I look gorgeous.”

“You always look gorgeous,” I said.

She smiled, but her eyes looked sad. “Thank you.”

“How do you feel?”

“I’m on a lot of pain meds….”

“They say you’re going to make it,” I joked.

Her smile diminished. “Is that the good news or the bad news?”

“That’s the good news.”

“Well, it’s short-lived,” she said, then added softly, “Like me.” She looked into my eyes. “Do you know?”

Her question squeezed my heart. I nodded slowly. “Yeah.”

“When it rains, it pours, right?”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Jax should have let me go with him. It could have spared us all this.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. I noticed her eyes were welling up; then a tear fell down her cheek. I took her hand.

She looked up into my eyes. “I think I’m done, Michael.”

“Done?”

“With everything. Being electric. Saving the world. The Electroclan.” She hesitated. “Life.”

I didn’t know what to say.

“I’m sorry, I’m just so tired. I was tired three years ago. I don’t know why I came back.” She looked up at me, then took a deep breath. “That’s not true. I know why. I came back to see you. I wanted to know for sure whether there was a chance that you and I…” She stopped. “As usual, wrong place, wrong time. Unrequited love.”

I squeezed her hand. My chest ached.

“My heart feels so broken, Michael. It’s like, just as it starts to heal, something else breaks it worse. I can’t imagine it will ever heal.” She wiped a tear off her cheek. “I can’t imagine ever feeling joy again.” She exhaled slowly. “I guess it doesn’t matter anymore. Not for long, anyway.”

My eyes welled up with tears. I asked, “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to go back to Switzerland and breathe in the mountain air.” She blinked away some tears, then said, “Maybe try to heal.”

“What about treatments?”

“Why? To extend a life I’m tired of?” She breathed out heavily. “I always thought that if I died young, I would die a hero.”

“You are a hero,” I said.

“But I didn’t die that way. You know what I mean?”

I nodded. “I know. I’ve thought the same thing.” For what seemed a long time, we just looked at each other. Then I said, “Your love isn’t unrequited. You have no idea how much I’ll miss you.”

She said, “Me too.” She put her hand on mine, then said, “Do you think that if you had met me first, it would have been you and me?”

I considered her question. “Honestly? Probably.”

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. “It’s just not fair. The timing isn’t fair.”

I didn’t know how to answer her.

“Could you do me a favor? Would you kiss me? Just once. The way we would have kissed if the timing was different?”

I looked into her sad but beautiful eyes, then nodded. I leaned forward and we kissed. It was a sweet and passionate kiss—more passionate than I think either of us expected. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t mean anything. When I stood up, there were tears streaming down her cheeks. She smiled at me lovingly.

“Thank you. That means more to me than you’ll ever know.” She continued to hold my hand. “Be careful, okay? Bring Abi back safe. Tell her I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for her.”

“I will.” For a moment we both were quiet. Then I asked, “When are you going to tell the others about the cancer?”

“Would you tell them?”

I wiped a tear from my cheek. I swallowed, then nodded slowly. “If that’s what you want. Are you going to say goodbye to them?”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry. It’s too hard. Would you do that for me too?”

“They won’t like that.”

“I know.” She rubbed her thumb over my hand. “Tell them that I’m very sorry. And I love them all. More than I can say.”

We both just looked at each other for a while longer, unsure how to end. Finally I said, “Take care of yourself, Cass.”

She smiled sadly. “I’ll think of you until the day I die,” she said.

I closed my eyes tightly. Then I leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll think of you too.”

As I started to walk out, she said, “Michael?”

I turned back.

“Please don’t forget me.”

“How would I do that?”

As I walked out the door, I heard Cassy start to sob.