Chapter 35
“I can walk.” I made a shooing motion at the wheelchair Jacques had pushed into the room. “I don’t need that thing.”
Jacques regarded me placidly and didn’t budge away from the bed. Only a few minutes earlier, he’d nudged me awake to inform me that Dr. Nikas was about to attempt to wake Kang, and would I like to observe?
Hell yeah, I wanted to observe, and I was grateful to be woken up for the event, but I didn’t need to be carted around like an invalid. I’d slept for two straight days, out cold since I first woke and talked to Dr. Nikas on Friday. I felt perfectly fine. More than fine. I was chipper as fuck.
I was wrapped in gauze from ankle to wrist—though not as heavily as the day before—with a bright pink hospital gown over it all. After I grabbed my phone off the nightstand, I set my feet on the floor and carefully straightened. There, that wasn’t so bad. Legs were holding me up nicely. Emboldened, I took a careful step. And another. “See, I can walk just whoa.” My legs folded, and my butt dropped into the wheelchair that Jacques shoved smoothly under me. In fact, his timing was so perfect it was as if he’d been expecting me to need it.
“Thanks,” I mumbled and gathered the shreds of my dignity around me. “But I can wheel myself there.” I set the phone in my lap, slapped my hands onto the wheel grip things and gave a mighty shove. And another. And one more.
“Okay,” I panted after the exertions of moving a whole foot and a half. “I can be a lazy slug.”
Jacques smiled and said nothing as he wheeled me to the Head Room.
• • •
Kang was back in his tank, floating like a mummy-fish. Jacques parked me out of the way by the far counter, then set to work with Dr. Nikas in a flurry of measurement-taking and probe-connecting. While I waited, I checked my phone for messages. Two voicemails from an out-of-state area code waited for me. Probably a telemarketer. One from Allen as well. But nothing from Nick. My heart sank, leaving behind a giant aching hole. I blinked furiously to keep back tears. What the hell did I expect after rotting to pieces in front of him?
“Oh dear, I nearly forgot.” Dr. Nikas lifted a plain white envelope from the counter then crossed the room and held it out for me. “My deepest apologies, Angel. I should have given you this as soon as you came in.” At my perplexed look he smiled and added, “It’s from your father.”
My heart lifted a few inches off the floor as I took it. “It’s cool. Thanks.” As he returned to his equipment, I tore the envelope open, spirits rising at the sight of my dad’s cramped handwriting.
Angelkins you know i love you. You keep doing good like you been doing you hear me?
The tears spilled over, and I didn’t try to stop them.
You got you some good people taking care of you here at this place. Ari says your a champ. He’s right but i don’t need nobody to tell me that. Your my Angelkins.
A lovely warm glow of happiness spread from the center of my chest to the tips of my freshly regrown toes. Dr. Nikas made my dad feel comfortable enough to call him Ari, which meant that my dad made Dr. Nikas feel comfortable enough to invite him to use that name in the first place. Two of my favorite men in the entire world got along. Total happiness.
I been to see you ever day since you got there. Marcus been by too but he looked too tired and sad-like for me to pick a fight with him. Ari says you might wake up tomorrow so thought to leave you this letter in case you get up before i get here. I was fucked up hard with seeing you in that tank and all. Thought they was drowning you. Ari and that french guy finally got it through my thick skull that it was the only way to make you you again. Turns out they was right. I sat by you today and watched you sleep. Sang you those songs you love to hate. I like to think you heard a little bit and it made you smile inside.
“Angel?” Dr. Nikas said in a voice filled with concern. “Is everything all right?”
His worry was justified, considering I was flat out bawling. “Yeah. My dad,” I gulped out through sniffles. “He wrote that he sang to me yesterday.”
“He did indeed.” Dr. Nikas smiled broadly as he tweaked settings. “Loud and long.”
“Oh dear god,” I said, mortified yet at the same time ridiculously tickled that he’d sung for me and didn’t give a shit who heard. “Let me guess: Pinball Wizard, Paradise by the Dashboard Light, and Shut Up and Kiss Me?”
Humor danced in his eyes. “Those are the ones. His voice is actually quite good. You remember him singing them to you?”
“Only from about a billion times at home.” I let out a laugh. “He was probably hoping to annoy me enough that I’d wake up and yell at him to stop.”
Dr. Nikas chuckled, and I dove into the last of the letter.
Tomorrow i got to go into Tucker Point for a while then i’ll swing by to see you in the afternoon. Wanted to tell you Nick checked in with me to make sure you was doing okay. Way he’s feeling right now i don’t know if he’ll be calling you direct but you need to know he’s thinking about you no matter what it seems he’ll come around. I love you Angelkins. Dad
My heart squeezed firmly back into place. Smiling, I swiped happy tears away then lifted my phone and took a picture of the letter. I didn’t give a rat’s ass if it seemed weird. I wanted to be able to look back at that letter anytime I needed a reminder of how fucking lucky I was.
I carefully replaced the letter in the envelope then listened to the voicemail from Allen.
“Angel. Just wanted to let you know that your, um, primary care physician, Dr. Nikas, contacted me about that, er, procedure you’re having done, and your sick leave is approved. Hope to see you back on your feet soon.”
Yeah, that was one hell of a procedure I’d had done. I looked down at my brand-new body and let out a tragic sigh. Too bad the Angel 2.0 version didn’t come with actual boobs.
Since Jacques and Dr. Nikas were still prepping stuff, I went ahead and checked the voicemails from the out-of-state area code.