A Five-Minute Life

Thea’s smile froze. “Here?”

“Yeah. I just moved into town and I was—”

“My sister. She’s coming here.” Her delicate brows furrowed, confusion clouding the crystal blue of her eyes. “And my parents. They’ll be here any minute.”

“Okay.” Inhale. Exhale. “I was wondering if maybe, you’d like to—?”

“How long has it been?” Thea hugged herself and looked around as if seeing her surroundings for the first time. Her breath shortened. “I don’t know this place.” Her gaze darted to me. “How long has it been?”

“How long…?” I blinked. “I don’t know—”

“Who are you?” Thea’s eyes were wide now, panic bright in their light blue depths. “How long has it been?”

Did she want the time? I started to check my watch, and then it dawned on me. Like a tidal wave of cold water dousing the tiny, flickering flame between us.

Oh, fuck, you jackass. She’s a patient. A resident.

“How long has it been?” Thea shrieked, her voice echoing through the foyer.

“I d-d-don’t know…” I stammered to the pounding of my pulse.

She took a step back from me. “They’re working on my case,” she said. “The doctors. I had an accident. How long has it been?”

I glanced around the empty foyer, looking for help. “I… I d-don’t…”

“Miss Hughes, there you are.”

I spun to see a small woman with dark hair and eyes in a nurse’s pale blue scrubs striding quickly down the hallway. Relief lanced through me. The nurse shot me a curious glance and gently took Thea by the arm.

“Miss Hughes always seems to find her way to the front door.”

Thea turned her wide-eyed gaze to the nurse, whose nametag read Rita. “How long has it been?”

“Two years, Miss Hughes,” Rita said. “The doctors are working on your case.”

“Right,” Thea said, taking a deep breath and clutching Rita’s arm. “They’re going to figure out what’s wrong with me.”

Rita smiled and nodded her chin at the oil painting. “This picture is lovely, don’t you think?”

Thea relaxed and her smile started to return. “Absolutely. Look at the way the light shines over the curve of the apple.” She turned to me. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

I nodded, staring. “Yeah. Beautiful.”

She beamed and offered her hand. “Hi. I’m Thea Hughes.”

“Jim Whelan,” I murmured. My hand rose on its own and took hers, feeling as if I were having an out-of-body experience.

What the fuck is happening?

Thea gave my hand a strong, one-pump shake. “Nice to meet you, Jim.”

Rita cleared her throat. “You must be our new orderly?”

“I start Monday.”

“I’m Rita Soto.” Her smile was warm. “Welcome to Blue Ridge.” She nodded at the empty front desk with a frown. “I see Jules is on another smoke break. Thank you for keeping Miss Hughes company.”

“Sure,” I said, unable to look at Thea any longer; my eyes ached. “I better go.”