The door opened and I grinned, waving at my replacement.
"I can come right now," I informed her. "It'll take me fifteen minutes, max, to get there."
"That's wonderful. Be sure to have your insurance card with you," she ordered.
Promising I would, I waved at Melly, my replacement, and rushed out the door.
I arrived at my appointment an hour late, and left an hour and a half later with a surgery date for two days from then.
What did I do once I was done? Not call the man I should've called.
Instead, I went home, took a shower and started getting ready for surgery. Sean worked the next day and I didn't know if I should tell him I was having my colostomy reversal or if he would even be interested. I was busy with pre-surgery bowel preps and laxatives, but I got my duffel bag repacked with comfortable clothes and called my boss to arrange a few weeks off. However, I still put off actually calling Sean. He texted me often, but I never answered.
The next morning, I went into surgery, with no one in the waiting room waiting for me.
Chapter 10
If you're willing to share your bacon with her, she might be the one.
-Dating tips
Naomi
One week later
"Now, I want you to take it easy, young lady," said the doctor who was my ticket out of the hospital after he'd completed my final exam before discharge. "If you have any unusual problems, please feel free to call my office, and my on-call staff will relay the information. If I think what you're experiencing warrants further examination, I'll likely send you straight back to the ER, okay?"
I nodded emphatically.
"Keep taking the stool softeners. Don't be surprised if you're in the bathroom for long periods of time, or if you find that you need to go urgently or frequently," he continued. "Also, make sure that you don't strain. A little blood in the stool is normal, a lot of blood in your stool means you need to call. If at any time something doesn't seem right, call. Okay?"
I nodded once more.
He grinned at me. "I'm glad I got back in time to release you."
I was, too.
The doctor, I'd realized during the appointment to schedule my reversal, was a nice guy. He was a part of the national guard, and went once a month to do his duties. He said he loved being in the military, so he didn't mind the continued commitment. He had spent part of this past week at the Alabama National Guard in Montgomery.
All of my x-rays and scans had come back great. I had healed better than they expected. So I'd taken him up on the offer of the reversal.
In that week's time, I'd had a bad go of it.
I'd found out that I was allergic to two medications. I also found out that pooping wasn't the same as it used to be.
Something that came as a surprise, even though I'd been warned beforehand by the doctor.
"All right, then," Dr. Corvey said as he stood up from his stool. "I'll get the nurse to bring you your release papers."
With that, he left, leaving me wondering just how I was going to get home.
Being in a city that I didn't know, I didn't really have anyone to call-unless I called Sean.
Sean, who I hadn't informed I was having surgery, let alone spoken to since I'd had the surgery done, in well over a week.
He was probably not very happy with me.
But I'd made the decision, not because I thought Sean couldn't handle me having surgery, but because I didn't think he should have to.
We weren't anything. We'd had sex once, and I'd convinced myself that he really wouldn't care.
Yes, I was that insecure.
Yet, deep down inside, I knew that wasn't true. He would've cared, but I'd taken the decision to have him at my side away from him, and I expected him to be a little upset by that.
"All right, Ms. Naomi. Your turn!" the nurse announced.
I clapped my hands excitedly, causing her to laugh.
I'd spent a week with these ladies on the floor, and every single one of them had clapped with me when they'd gotten the news that I was finally able to do number two … out of the right hole.
Now I knew that I would have a friend for life.
She'd even offered to let me borrow her cell phone charger when I'd realized I'd forgotten mine.
Though, that was rejected by me.
It was easier not knowing if Sean tried to call, instead of knowing that he hadn't.
"Ohhh," Abigail stopped me right outside the doorway of my room, and turned back. "I forgot these came for you while you were getting dressed."
She walked to the nurses' station and came back with a vase of flowers.
A really big vase with so many flowers in it that it was obvious that it'd cost a fortune.