Catherine offered a gentle smile, but I knew she was hurting inside. Her words struck a chord in me, though. It made me think a lot about Michael and how easily I got swept away by him. Although I loved Michael and always would, it would only ever be as a friend. He would always have a special place in my heart, but would never actually own it. My heart belonged with Stephen.
“But when I heard she was hurt…” Catherine stopped and I saw the pain in her face. She gripped the steering wheel as her eyes filled with tears.
I did the only thing I could and rubbed her shoulder. “It’s okay to let it out, Catherine. You’ve been through so much, it’s only natural that it would all come tumbling out at some point. There is only so much a person can take.”
She nodded, and took some deep breaths before she carried on, “It…it somehow awoke something within me. I seemed to have this new sense of purpose. The problem being that without the purpose, what was the point? Lisa-Marie was my purpose. She is my purpose. I…I hope I’m making sense.” She chuckled through her tears.
“You’re making perfect sense, Catherine. You love her.” Catherine sighed and nodded. Her tears were falling and she was desperately trying to wipe them away so she could see the road.
“Do you need to stop for a moment to take a breather?”
Shaking her head, she inhaled sharply and blew out. “No, I’m fine. I don’t know what’s come over me.”
“Catherine, you’ve been cooped up in hospital for days, wondering whether the love of your life was going to wake up. Of course it’s going to take its toll. You have every right to let the last few days out. It’s what your body is telling you it needs. Just listen to it. You will feel better in the end.”
Stopping in a parking space, Catherine turned to me. “I hardly know you, but I feel like you’re a really good friend.” I smiled, thinking how true it was that I felt like that at times. “Has anyone ever told you that you have this knack of making people feel calm? I don’t know what it is, but when I was falling apart just then, it seemed like the moment you touched me, I felt like I wasn’t alone.”
Taking off my seatbelt, I offered Catherine a hug. “You aren’t alone, Catherine. I’m your friend now, and will always be there for you. For both of you. I just wish you would have come to me with your fears. I could have been here for you a lot sooner.”
Pulling away from me, she shook her head. “You’ve had enough to deal with lately. You didn’t need me to add to your woes.”
I could understand why she felt that way. Everyone was feeling a little preoccupied with one thing or another lately. Sometimes life had a way of spinning in circles.
“Sometimes sharing your fears and anxieties helps to lessen the burden. You took it all on yourself when you have people who would have been more than willing to share it with you. I want you to know that if you ever feel lonely again, I will be there if you need me.”
Putting her hand on my arm, she smiled. “Friends.”
I placed my hand on her arm, too. “Friends.”
Taking a deep breath, I opened the door. “Well, let’s go see how the woman of your dreams is doing, shall we?”
Smiling brightly, Catherine said, “Yes—let’s.”
Walking into the hospital had the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. It wasn’t too long ago that I was a patient—waking up to the thought that Stephen was no longer with me. Feeling a tight knot in my stomach, I quickly remembered the dream I had this morning. It was the same dream, but Stephen was there. He was somehow able to get into my subconscious. How he did it, I don’t know, but it filled me with a new sense of hope. He could come to my dreams, and if that was all I could have of him, I’d be more than willing to take it.
Taking the lift to the third floor, we were immediately greeted by a mass panic. Alarms were going off and everyone was running around.
“Oh no. They’re not going anywhere near…” I started.
“It’s fine. They’re running in the opposite direction.”
We walked the rest of the way in silence. Now that we were getting away from the pandemonium, all seemed quiet. We passed a few rooms and Catherine eventually stopped in front of her door. She knocked and we both heard Lisa-Marie shouting for us to come in.
When I laid eyes on Lisa-Marie for the first time since I left the hospital, it had an immediate effect to my system. When I left her a few days ago, she was pale. Her normally bouncy auburn hair was lifeless, and her bright, childlike freckles had seemed to fade from her cheeks. Now, all her colour was back, making the freckles stand out more. Her hair had more body, and her eyes sparkled with a new sense of mischief. But, most of all, her smile was back. A smile I never thought I’d see again.