clothes. Gavin
bent to retrieve her neatly wrapped gift he nearly fell on and
straightened to hand it back to her. When he stood his chest
locked, his face flushed, and he suddenly forgot where he was
headed. Standing before him was Kelly Riker, his girlfriend of
three years. He hadn’t seen her since pro athlete Gavin went in to
the hospital.
“Gavin?” Her eyes widened, and he recognized
them instantly. They were deep blue in the center, iced on the
edges. He saw the way they looked at him back then. He saw late
nights in the theater parking lot. He saw a dark green prom dress
that fit her like a glove.
“Kelly! Wow…” He could feel the blood in his
cheeks, the back of his neck was on fire. His throat felt like
sandpaper. He tried to think of something to say, his mouth moved a
few times. Nothing came out.
“How long have you been working here?” She
smiled when she said it.
His mind was a blank. Her hair was pulled
back but still blonde. Her frame had widened, but he thought it was
an improvement. He tried to look for her left hand, but it was
under the present. The question finally hit him.
“A year or two. Since, well, since I came in
for my knee I guess. Couldn’t stay away.” His lips formed a weak
smile. He was warming, but not as quickly as athlete Gavin
would’ve. “What about you?”
“I started last month. On the tenth.”
The eleventh was their anniversary. He
couldn’t believe he remembered, but when he did it hit him like a
ton of bricks. Somehow he had managed to block her out, forget that
part of his life and focus on school and therapy. Now it was like a
flood, feelings pouring out he hadn’t felt in ages. His gut
tingled, his mind raced.
“The tenth? Wow. How was the first
month?”
“Good. This is my floor actually.”
“Really?” He glanced around. “Cardiac?”
“Pulmonary.”
“Right, I knew that.” He fumbled with his
hands, then bent to pick up the bag he’d forgotten all about.
“So what floor are you on?”
He gathered the bag, rolled it in hands a few
times to hide the excess, and stood.
“Me, I’m on third. OR tech.”
“Gavin King, saving lives. I never would’ve
thought.” She winked as she said it, her eyes dancing even in the
fluorescent light. She looked younger then, like she did when he
met her.
In high school, during Gavin’s senior year,
he had a small locker on the English hall. Directly below it was
one of a lighter color, belonging to a junior he didn’t know. Each
day during the changing of classes he passed a pretty blonde haired
girl in the crowd waiting to get to the locker wall. He wanted to
speak to her, but the crowd was always pushing and shoving and he
never had much time to track her down. Besides, he didn’t have much
trouble with finding a girl back then. Every Friday night the
stands were full of scouts, and his backseat held the cheerleader
flavor of the week.
One day, when he got to his locker, a neatly
folded note sat on top of his textbooks. His name was printed on
the front, a heart where the dot on his ‘i’ would go. There was no
name on the note, but somehow he knew it was from her. Three more
followed, and the next week he stopped in the crowd and took hold
of her hand. He asked if she would go to dinner with him, and her
face lit up like the lights on a football field.
They were inseparable until he broke his
knee. His sophomore year in college the pro scouts had their eyes
on him, but he skipped practice more than a few times to visit
Kelly at the Community College back home. The day before a blitzing
linebacker ruined his life, he was out shopping for an engagement
ring.
Athlete Gavin blamed the injury on himself
and the object of his focus. He hardly spoke to her in the
hospital, watched her leave crying more times than he could count.
Disappointment and resentment made him cold and lonely. When he
went home with a huge brace and a set of crutches her visits
dwindled to once a week, and then stopped
bent to retrieve her neatly wrapped gift he nearly fell on and
straightened to hand it back to her. When he stood his chest
locked, his face flushed, and he suddenly forgot where he was
headed. Standing before him was Kelly Riker, his girlfriend of
three years. He hadn’t seen her since pro athlete Gavin went in to
the hospital.
“Gavin?” Her eyes widened, and he recognized
them instantly. They were deep blue in the center, iced on the
edges. He saw the way they looked at him back then. He saw late
nights in the theater parking lot. He saw a dark green prom dress
that fit her like a glove.
“Kelly! Wow…” He could feel the blood in his
cheeks, the back of his neck was on fire. His throat felt like
sandpaper. He tried to think of something to say, his mouth moved a
few times. Nothing came out.
“How long have you been working here?” She
smiled when she said it.
His mind was a blank. Her hair was pulled
back but still blonde. Her frame had widened, but he thought it was
an improvement. He tried to look for her left hand, but it was
under the present. The question finally hit him.
“A year or two. Since, well, since I came in
for my knee I guess. Couldn’t stay away.” His lips formed a weak
smile. He was warming, but not as quickly as athlete Gavin
would’ve. “What about you?”
“I started last month. On the tenth.”
The eleventh was their anniversary. He
couldn’t believe he remembered, but when he did it hit him like a
ton of bricks. Somehow he had managed to block her out, forget that
part of his life and focus on school and therapy. Now it was like a
flood, feelings pouring out he hadn’t felt in ages. His gut
tingled, his mind raced.
“The tenth? Wow. How was the first
month?”
“Good. This is my floor actually.”
“Really?” He glanced around. “Cardiac?”
“Pulmonary.”
“Right, I knew that.” He fumbled with his
hands, then bent to pick up the bag he’d forgotten all about.
“So what floor are you on?”
He gathered the bag, rolled it in hands a few
times to hide the excess, and stood.
“Me, I’m on third. OR tech.”
“Gavin King, saving lives. I never would’ve
thought.” She winked as she said it, her eyes dancing even in the
fluorescent light. She looked younger then, like she did when he
met her.
In high school, during Gavin’s senior year,
he had a small locker on the English hall. Directly below it was
one of a lighter color, belonging to a junior he didn’t know. Each
day during the changing of classes he passed a pretty blonde haired
girl in the crowd waiting to get to the locker wall. He wanted to
speak to her, but the crowd was always pushing and shoving and he
never had much time to track her down. Besides, he didn’t have much
trouble with finding a girl back then. Every Friday night the
stands were full of scouts, and his backseat held the cheerleader
flavor of the week.
One day, when he got to his locker, a neatly
folded note sat on top of his textbooks. His name was printed on
the front, a heart where the dot on his ‘i’ would go. There was no
name on the note, but somehow he knew it was from her. Three more
followed, and the next week he stopped in the crowd and took hold
of her hand. He asked if she would go to dinner with him, and her
face lit up like the lights on a football field.
They were inseparable until he broke his
knee. His sophomore year in college the pro scouts had their eyes
on him, but he skipped practice more than a few times to visit
Kelly at the Community College back home. The day before a blitzing
linebacker ruined his life, he was out shopping for an engagement
ring.
Athlete Gavin blamed the injury on himself
and the object of his focus. He hardly spoke to her in the
hospital, watched her leave crying more times than he could count.
Disappointment and resentment made him cold and lonely. When he
went home with a huge brace and a set of crutches her visits
dwindled to once a week, and then stopped
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