#FlashFictionMagic: Cabin Fever

Jonah's life in the rehab center was mundane: meds, transfers to and from the wheelchair, physical therapy, and counseling appointments. Visits from his fellow cops were infrequent, brief, and awkward. He couldn't see the window from the bed, and with his legs the way they were, he couldn't even pace the floor. The walls were closing in, and there was no escape.

Jonah was dozing when he heard footsteps. Nurses' feet were quick and sure, doctors' slower and less urgent. These were uncertain and tentative: a visitor. The shoes had a heel, too, which meant it wasn't one of the guys in uniform, but a woman.

Jonah’s mind conjured the image of a tall slim figure, a long red braid, and a smile that could light the world. But Maeve wouldn't be here. Girlfriends with months invested had walked away at the mere threat of injury in the line of duty. There was no way she'd want the guy who missed their first date because he was having emergency surgery.

And yet the heeled shoes were hers. Jonah tried to sit upright, but Maeve came over and gently pressed him back onto the pillows. “Easy there.”

Jonah stared blankly, wondering if he might be hallucinating. Pain meds could do that, right?

Maeve pulled the tray table to the bedside, along with a chair, and she began to unload a brown paper bag. “I brought burgers. I know we said coffee, but I thought we'd save that for next time.”

“Next time?”

“The second date,” Maeve said. Smiling, she slid a paper-wrapped burger toward Jonah. Then she reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. “Okay?”

Maybe the right thing to do was to send her away. He'd been gearing up to go it alone, to suffer in silence here in this cell. But already the room felt larger. Already the air felt lighter. Already he was thinking about the next time she'd come by. The food looked delicious, too.

“Yeah,” he said, intertwining his fingers with Maeve's, then lifting her hand to his lips. “Okay.”