Nightingale

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Speak of the devil...

I must've stared at my engagement ring for hours. I put it on at least a dozen times and took it right back off. I hadn't seen the ring for years, but every time I slipped it on, I felt like it had always been there. Bittersweet memories of the night he proposed flooded my mind. Michael was so afraid the ring would fall out of his pocket that he held it in his mouth. I noticed he hadn't said much and was acting awfully strange. I thought he planned on breaking up with me. I was a nervous wreck by the time he dropped down on one knee. He looked up at me, his rich brown eyes so warm I thought I would melt. Then, he grinned widely and pushed the sparkling five-carat diamond to show between his upper and lower front teeth. I was so excited that I snatched the ring from his lips almost taking his teeth in the process. Not exactly a storybook proposal, but nothing was like a fairytale for us. There always seemed to be one obstacle after another. I'm pretty sure Snow White never accused Prince Charming of trying to kill her. So much for riding off into the sunset on the back of a white horse, huh?

I picked up the phone to call him at least twenty times but only got the nerve to dial his number once. A lot of good it did. I was so nervous that I almost hung up when he answered. "Hello?" Michael said with irritation.

I cleared my throat. "Hey, Michael. It's Sam."

"What do you want? I'm busy, and it's late," he said coldly.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Darcy brought me the engagement ring you gave me. I didn't realize it was ever found. Anyway, it was your grandmother's, so I thought you might want to come by and get it tomorrow." The other end of the line was so silent I thought he'd hung up. "Are you still there?"

He sighed heavily. "I'm here. Listen, I'll drop by if I have time. I've got a lot of packing to do. The board hearing is at the end of this week, and I seriously doubt they will reinstate my hospital privileges after what I pulled. I've been offered another job upstate, and I think I'm going to take it. If I don't see you before I leave, give the ring to Eddie."

My chest ached and I felt as if I could barely breathe. "Were you going to leave without saying anything?" I managed to choke out.

"What's left to say? I think you covered everything this morning. Goodbye, Samantha," he said quietly and hung up.

I sat there holding the phone, stunned. I was getting really good at screwing things up. These days all I had to do was open my mouth. Pretty sure I set a new record this time. I set the phone on the nightstand and slid the ring onto my finger. I decided to wear it until I gave it back, you know, so I wouldn't lose it.

I lay restless for hours trying to go to sleep. I blamed the lumpy hospital bed for the first few, but as the dark night outside my window lightened to a smoky gray, I finally admitted to myself that the mattress wasn't the problem. The fact he wasn't there beside me was. Fine! He obviously didn't have the balls to face me, so I wouldn't give him a choice. I carefully disconnected my IV and clamped off the saline lock still inserted in my hand. I pulled myself out of bed and made my way slowly to the shower. I turned on the water and came back out to grab a towel from the bedside table. As soon as Dr. Jackson made his rounds, I'd tell him to discharge me whether he wanted to or not. Claudia would be on duty, and she could sneak me out of here. I was so preoccupied with my new plan that I didn't hear the soft knocking on the other side of the door. I jumped with surprise when it swung open, and I groaned with pain as every muscle in my body burned like fire.

I turned to scream a line of obscenities at my intruder but was stopped short by Huey's apologetic smile. "I didn't mean to scare ya, sugar. Wanted to stop by on my way to the hardware store and see how you was feelin'," he said sweetly and hobbled toward me with a fistful of flowers.