Krystal sat beside Gabby’s bed, her head in her hands. Gabby was still dozy and weak, an IV line in each arm. She was in a single room on the ward, not far from the nurses’ station, and the constant beep of the call bell and chatter from staff, along with the hospital smell and the sound of curtain rings swishing on rails, were giving her nasty flashbacks to her time in the ICU with Evan. She’d managed not to go anywhere near a hospital since then, until the other night with Gabby in Sydney. It was ironic that the next time she found herself here, Evan’s heart would again be the focus of attention.
Rejection. Grade four. The worst kind.
‘Will this fix it?’ Krystal had asked the nurse, indicating the bags of medicine hanging beside Gabby’s bed.
‘Hopefully,’ she’d replied, giving Krystal a reassuring smile but offering no other commitment.
Now, Krystal pulled her mobile phone from her bag and checked again for messages, but there was nothing new. Luciano had rushed to Gabby’s side when she’d collapsed at the cafe but he hadn’t been able to organise care for his kids so had reluctantly let Krystal go with Gabby in the ambulance. He’d contacted Gabby’s father. School was nearly done for the day and Gabby’s kids would be coming with Monty. Roxy was picking up Krystal’s boys. Krystal was staying here until either Luciano or Gabby’s family arrived.
She stood and paced, awash with guilt that she might have caused this by asking Gabby to connect with Evan one more time. There was a panicky flutter in her chest. She longed for Gabby to be okay, and she wanted that even more than she wanted Evan’s heart to be okay. She’d loved Evan for his heart, yet, somehow, since meeting Gabby, she’d let go of the idea of its being his heart. It was Gabby’s now. Gabby had life because of that heart, but it was still Gabby’s life and Krystal wanted very much for her to have a long one yet. A part of her might even love Gabby, maybe because of the connection to Evan’s heart, or maybe just because Gabby was a gorgeous soul who was easy to love. Either way, Krystal was sick with worry that she might lose Gabby now when they had only just found each other.
A man with glasses and greying hair walked into the room. A hospital ID swung from his top pocket.
‘Hello,’ he said, holding out a hand to Krystal.
She took it, feeling out of place given she wasn’t Gabby’s next of kin. ‘Hi.’
‘I’m George Thanos, Gabby’s surgeon. And you are?’ He peered at her down his nose, trying to focus through the bottom of his lenses.
Oh. My. God.
Krystal was lost for words, staring into the eyes of the man who’d held her husband’s heart in his hands before sewing it into Gabby’s chest.
She shook herself and let go of his hand. ‘Um, sorry.’ She coughed. ‘Krystal. I’m a friend of Gabby’s.’ She couldn’t stop staring at him. He was the person who’d brought Evan’s heart back to life. George gave her a quizzical look, then turned to Gabby’s bed. He went to her side, placing his hand on her arm with genuine care, a visible connection between them.
‘Gabby!’ he called. ‘Can you hear me? It’s Doctor George. Are you awake?’
Gabby murmured and dragged her eyes open, though it was clearly an effort.
‘There’s my girl,’ George said in a comforting fatherly tone. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Thirsty,’ Gabby whispered.
George nodded. ‘I’m not surprised. The medications will make you feel like that, but we’ve got you on fluids so you will be okay. You know you’re having an episode of rejection?’
‘Yes,’ Gabby said, and swallowed in a way that looked like it must be painful.
‘Okay, well, I have some more news. You might need to stay in here for a bit longer than we first thought,’ he said. ‘The other reason you might be feeling thirsty is that your kidney function test is low. If your levels keep dropping, we’ll have to start dialysis. Do me a favour and hang in there, okay?’
‘Okay,’ Gabby croaked.
He gave her a final pat on the arm, turned to nod at Krystal, and swept out of the room, on to his next patient.
Gabby turned her head very slowly towards Krystal, blinking heavily. ‘Hi.’
‘Hi,’ Krystal said, going to her side. She straightened the sheet around her as she spoke, needing to do something to stop the tremor in her hands, a result of meeting George. ‘I’m so glad to see you again.’
‘I –’
Just as Gabby started to talk, Krystal’s phone rang. ‘Hang on, that might be your dad.’ Luciano had taken Krystal’s number and passed it on to Monty. She hurried around the bed to her bag but the caller identification said it was from Jasper’s school. ‘Sorry, I better get this. It’s the school.
‘Hello?’
‘Hi, Krystal, it’s Janice.’
‘Oh, hi.’
‘I’m just phoning to remind you that tomorrow is the due date for you to get in your application for the full-time job. I know you’ve been sick this week, so I just wanted to make sure you remembered.’ Janice’s tone was caring, something Krystal found surprisingly touching.
‘Ah, thank you.’
Janice paused. ‘Do you think you’ll be putting in an application?’
Krystal was caught off guard. She hadn’t even begun to put an application together; right now it all seemed very difficult, and with the amount of campaigning Margie already had under her belt she was pretty sure it wasn’t worth it. But perhaps, even more than that, Krystal felt that her time there was done. The job had served its purpose in her life, keeping her from losing her mind and giving her a reason to get up in the morning, but now she wanted something new. Maybe a new job, maybe a stint at university, like Roxy was doing, or travel with the kids, perhaps even overseas to see her sister. Maybe she could start her own business, like Gabby had done. Maybe Gabby would even give her some advice.
She smiled down at Gabby, looking small and fragile there in the bed, fighting with everything she had to stay in this life. If she’d learned anything from Evan and Gabby it was that there was a big world out there and that life was unpredictable and short. It was time to find what she was passionate about and go out and do it.
‘Hello? Are you still there?’ Janice asked.
‘Sorry, yes. Actually, I think I’m going to say no,’ Krystal said, smiling with relief, feeling lighter by the second.
‘Oh.’ Janice sounded surprised.
‘It’s been a great job for me,’ Krystal said. Gabby looked at her quizzically and Krystal gave a small shoulder shimmy out of joy, which made Gabby laugh, and then cough. ‘But I think I have to move on and find something that’s more me, you know?’
Janice paused a moment. ‘Yes, I think I know what you mean.’
‘But I’ll see you on Monday. I’m sure I’ll be much better by then.’
‘Well, just to let you know, as there will now be only one of you left to apply, we’ll open up submissions to the wider community. So if you change your mind, you’ll have another two weeks to throw your hat in the ring,’ Janice said, sounding decidedly hopeful.
‘That’s kind of you, thanks. But I won’t be changing my mind. Have a good weekend.’
‘You too.’
‘What just happened?’ Gabby asked.
‘I just quit my job,’ Krystal said, truly happy.
‘Congratulations.’
‘Thank you.’ Krystal sat down on the chair and leaned towards the bed.
‘I was just about to say that I have something to tell you,’ Gabby said, again swallowing painfully.
‘What?’
‘Evan came to see me.’ She lifted her pointer finger and waved it in a circle. ‘You know, out there.’
Krystal’s eyes widened in surprise, all thoughts of her job or her future vanishing in an instant. Evan had spoken. ‘What did he say?’
Gabby’s eyes filled with tears. ‘He’s moving on. He’s not going to be here with us any more.’
Krystal’s throat constricted so tightly she thought she’d stop breathing.
‘But he had a message for you,’ Gabby whispered.
‘What was it?’
‘He handed me a metal box and said that was the answer.’
‘The answer to what?’
‘Where to find the evidence, I think.’
Krystal scrambled through her memory of the conversation with Trentino in which he listed all the places he might hide evidence. ‘It’s a safe deposit box, it has to be. Oh, I have to call Trentino. I have no idea how to find where it might be.’ She jumped to her feet. Then sat again. ‘But I’ll wait, of course, till your family gets here.’
Gabby smiled and shook her head. ‘They’ll be here any moment. You go. It’s too important.’ Her voice was raspy.
Krystal groaned and shuffled her feet. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Absolutely. I’ll just go back to sleep anyway.’
Krystal flung herself over Gabby to hug her, and realised her heart was right next to Gabby’s – to Evan’s – and for the first time in two years, the world almost felt right again. ‘Thank you. I’ll let you know as soon as I find something.’