Chloe pointed to Hannah and Hannah lifted her purple wrist.
The doctor nodded and put the films up on the light box. “See, here, and here,” he said to them with his back turned. “You have a small tear in the muscle, but no break. That’s good. No fracture, just a sprain.”
He flipped the light box off and turned back to the girls. “Ibuprofen, ice, rest. Good?”
They nodded at him.
“Good. The nurse will be back in a moment to check you out.”
The doctor left and the Hannah sat with her head resting on her friend’s shoulder as Chloe rubbed her back.
The nurse returned shortly after that, scribbling on a clipboard. “So, just a sprain, that’s good news!” she said enthusiastically, but got no reaction from the girls.
“Hmm,” said the nurse. “Seems to me like there might be something else going on here. Are you sure you didn’t get any other injuries, dear?”
Hannah looked up slowly. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Not to your head?” asked the nurse as she walked over to Hannah.
Hannah shook her head without looking up.
“Hmm. And what about your heart?”
Hannah snapped her head up and eyed the nurse suspiciously.
A smile came over the kind woman’s face and she sat down next to Hannah on the bed.
“Listen,” she said. “I might have wrinkles now, but way back when, my skin was as smooth as yours and my heart was just as fragile. I can see your wrist hurts honey, but it’s nothing compared to what’s happening inside.”
Hannah felt fresh tears form in her eyes.
“Why don’t you tell me what really happened?”
Chloe jumped in and told the nurse everything, beginning with the first night at the Blue Moon and ending with Hannah’s fall at the society event.
The nurse smiled at them both and got up. “Here, sign this,” she said as she handed Hannah the clipboard.
“That’s it?” Chloe asked, surprised that she wasn’t going to give them any advice.
“Yep, that’s it,” said the nurse.
“But what about the Sheikh and the singing and the money?” Chloe couldn’t believe that this woman was just going to let them spill their guts and then not do anything to help them.
“Listen,” she said, giving Chloe a stern eye. “First of all, this is a matter of the heart. I don’t care if he’s a sheikh, a prince, or a toad for that matter. The only thing that matters here is love.”
Hannah raised her head slowly, trying to ignore the throbbing in her wrist.
“Love of another and love of singing,” the nurse said matter-of-factly. “And it’s pretty obvious to me that those are two things you are not able to live without.” With that, she smiled, and turned and left the room.
TWENTY-ONE
The injury to her wrist prevented Hannah from working at the catering company for at least two weeks. She knew the time had come to do what she dreaded: grovel and try to get her job back at the Blue Moon. She awoke the next morning and laid in bed, staring at the ceiling and wondering how she had come to this place. Just six weeks before things had been going great. Well, maybe not great, but they were going, she thought ruefully.
Hannah cursed herself for her decision to leave New York and fly to El-Shakanish. How could she have been so stupid? To think that she could take off for a tour around unknown parts and then return home like nothing ever happened was insane. And now, with her heart broken and her arm in sling, she was worse off than she had been before she left.
She got up and mooched around the apartment, wondering what she could say to Harvey to get her job back. Chloe had told her that the replacement he had hired was not nearly as talented as her and was only bringing in half of the guests that Hannah used to draw, and she was hoping to use that to her advantage.
For the first time since she had returned from El-Shakanish, Hannah went through her costumes. She ran her fingers over the dresses that hung in her closet, each one bringing back a memory of a different night, a different club, a different performance. She looked at the maroon dress, the one she had been wearing the first night she met Sadiq, and felt her heart quiver. She ran her fingers over it, remembering his scent, his smile, how open he had been with her that night on the rooftop of the hotel.
She let her mind wander back over the six weeks, through all of the limo rides, the hand holding, the laughter. She remembered the sunsets they watched, the meal he had cooked for her, and the way their bodies moved in harmony when they made love, and before long, Hannah was overcome with emotion. She slammed the closet shut and tried to close off the memories of Sadiq, but the door wouldn’t close. She looked down and saw a small object on the floor and picked it up. It was the CD he had made for her.
Hannah put the disk in the player and turned it up, listening to the soulful sound of her own voice come through the speakers in her little apartment. As day turned into evening, she stepped outside onto the fire escape and let the sounds wrap around her, mingling with the sounds of the city. She loved the way it made her feel, the rhythm, the music. She listened to the drummer, the horns and the piano, tapping her foot and swaying her head in the cool night air.
After listening to it, she felt a new resolve. She didn’t want to have to swallow her pride and go back to the Blue Moon, but she would do it anyhow; whatever it took to survive. What was it the nurse had said? The only thing that mattered was love—love of singing and love of another. Well, Hannah thought. At least I have some control over the singing part.
She climbed back in from the fire escape and took a quick shower before heading down the stairs and to the subway. She didn’t put on a gown or makeup. She wasn’t performing tonight; she was going back as a guest—a very humble, desperately sorry guest who wanted her job back. She was just praying that Harvey would find it somewhere in his cold heart to give her another chance.