A Few More Nights (Slice of Life) (4 page)

Marc had missed his flight.  He could take a flight to Anchorage, pick up a charter to Fairbanks and still get there on time to catch the weekly flight to Prudhoe Bay. As he made his way over to the Delta terminal, his phone started to chime.  He was hoping it was Nadine leaving him a sexy message that he could replay over and over during the next six months; instead it was Rolland.

“Have you boarded the plane?”

“No, I missed my flight. What’s up?” Marc was getting worried, and stopped to take a seat; he knew something was wrong. 

“It’s Nadine,” he told him but quickly added, “She is okay—banged up, but okay.” 

The color had drained from his face, this could not be happening to him again.  Rolland filled him in on the details of the accident and waited his brother’s instructions. “Come get me. I will be on the curb at the Delta terminal!”

             
Selena Jordan was on the satellite phone with her daughter trying to sound as if she wasn’t worried.  Nadine loved that her mother had found her calling later in life and was a very successful travel writer and blogger.  Her current assignment had her in a remote area of Honduras and it would take several days to get back to the U.S.  Sympathy rang through the phone as her daughter told her of the accident, her broken right foot and broken left hand. Selena joked that at least the two casts would counterbalance each other.

             
As an only child, it was moments like this that Nadine hated the most.  She had no one to rely on but a handful of friends.  Bena and Felisha had arrived to offer comfort but her mind was somewhere and on someone else. She closed her eyes sending warm thoughts to Marc.  She would keep this quiet until he got settled and she was better; there would be no Skyping until her face had healed.

             
Bena was fussing over the carelessness of the hospital staff that had cut away the pants leg of Nadine’s suit to put on the cast. The smell of Marc must have still been on her skin and in her nose because the scent of the man was so strong it was almost palpable; but she also realized Bena had gotten quiet and Felisha’s eyes were really wide. He walked into the hospital room, plopped himself on the bed beside her and scooped her into his arms. “Baby, are you okay?” When she heard his voice and felt his hands, it was actually real, he was here. Nadine’s left eye was swollen shut, and her face was scarred with glass cuts, but the two breaks were the worse.

             
“Marc, you missed your flight?”

             
“Lucky thing that I did.” Gentle fingers caressed the swollen skin around her eye while again holding her close saying silent prayers of thanks that she was indeed alright. Bena just stared. Felisha’s jaw was agape and she stood there looking like a suffocating fish. Marc released her, took stock of the room, and introduced himself to the two friends, before he stepped out of the room to call his boss to let him know he had missed the flight, but the supplies were in route.

             
Felisha, finally able to find her voice, “Who is that white man, Nadine?” Bena took a seat in the chair in the corner, “You never said he was that fine, girl!”

             
Felisha and Bena got into a small argument that Bena knew about the mystery man and she did not.  Marc walked back into the makeshift room, looked at the two women, and gave them a “cut out that racket look.”  They both got quiet.

             
“Marc, there is no need for you to stay, you can head back to work,” Nadine told him calmly as her fingers stroked the muscle on his arm, “My mom will be here on Monday, I will be okay.”

             
Marc had no intention of leaving her alone for three days, and he was staying. “Sorry my Beauty, it looks like you will be stuck with me, besides, it gives me a few more nights with you and a chance to meet Mom.”

             
He turned to Bena and chatted with her about what he needed and asked for her help.  Bena lowered her chin and gazed at him over her wire rimmed spectacles. It was a standard schoolmarm tactic to intimidate little bad boys in the classroom. Marc stared back at her.  Bena stared at Marc.  Finally, he smiled, and threw his arm around her and embraced her in a hug.  “I like you Bena. We’re going to be good friends.”

             
Bena’s only response was, “Dang, you smell good.”

            
 
Bena watched in amazement as her hard ass, “
I don’t need a man to take care of me
” best friend, allowed a very intense, but gentle, man to take care of her.  Marc carried her into the building, into her apartment, and gently placed Nadine on the couch.  As he went to prep the bed and get his lady a change of clothing, Bena took a seat, watching, listening, and learning more about the relationship between the two.  She offered no assistance, but remained patient in the large arm chair.

             
In the bedroom, Marc saw the unmade bed and the half-removed sheets.  He completed stripping the bed, loaded the washer with the dirty linens and stopped to give her a pain pill before he would move her to the bedroom. Bena still said nothing as he administered the pills, made sure she drank enough water then took clean linens from the closet to make the bed.  In her mind, she thought she should volunteer to help, but this was just too good; it was like watching a movie. Bed now made, pillow sufficiently fluffed, Marc returned to the living room to remove Nadine’s one shoe and help her to the bedroom. Lips close to her ear, “Beauty, I need to get you in the bed.”

             
Nadine, fully feeling the effects of the Vicodin, smiled sheepishly at him, “Okay, but I only have one good hand and one good foot,” she blew air kisses at him, “I think I can still work some shit out for you, Baby.” 

             
Marc only laughed when he looked at Bena, adding, “I may take one of those pills later myself.”  Nadine’s hand came up and gentle fingers ran across his lips as she puckered up for a kiss. Although he was fully aware she was high out of her mind, he still leaned in to return the affection. Slowly, he began to remove her jacket before taking her to the bedroom.  Nadine tried to help him undress her with one good eye still focused on his lips, “You have a sexy mouth,” she told him as she tried to push her small breast into his face. He was trying to remain focused on the task at hand, but she was not letting up, “I love the feel of your sexy mouth on my…”

             
Bena jumped up, “Okay, I think this is where I will make my exit. Marc, my number is in her cell should you need me.”

             
Marc rose to his feet, “Actually, Bena, I would appreciate it if you would stay with her while I go and get my truck, some supplies and things she may need for the weekend.”  Bena agreed and Marc got Nadine in bed, “I should be only a few hours or so.”

             
Two hours later, Marc returned with bags of groceries, large pieces of foam, and his travel bags. He set his laptop up in her home office, placed the now-clean sheets in the dryer and commenced to making lunch. “Bena, will you stay and join us?”  Bena refused and let herself out of the door.  There was a great deal of coordination that had to be done to get him back to the site before the week’s end, as well as work with Nadine’s insurance company for a rental while her car was being repaired—if it could be repaired. If push came to a fight, he would just buy her a small economy vehicle for now, and use it later as his business vehicle when he returned from Alaska. Staring out the window, deep in thought, he began to wonder about how he felt meeting her mother so soon. Maybe he should just leave those details to the two of them to work out; it was still too early in the relationship to make any real decisions.

             
He did not hear her walk up behind him. Nadine stood there watching this man of mystery that was dropped into her life.  It puzzled her beyond measure that they could be tied together in some cosmic string that neither had any real control over. Her plan had been to let him get on the plane and move forward with her life, thinking the six months would give them some time to realize the ludicrousness of all of this; but maybe she had been wrong.  Again, what would be the odds of him missing his flight at the exact time she had an accident?  This weekend would be the true test if this was real.  She was in no shape to have any intimate anything with him considering her right foot and left hand were broken, her coccyx was bruised and her left arm had been dislocated.  She was sore, nearly blind in one eye, emotionally tapped out, and still high as hell from that pill.  This scenario was only worsened by her inability to get comfortable enough to rest in her own bed.

             
Marc turned and saw her standing there. A feeling of warmth seeped through him.  She looked very vulnerable with one eye patched, an oversized tee shirt, a cast on the left hand, and a booted cast on the right foot. “If you’re hungry, I made us tuna salad for lunch.”  He helped her to the table while he made them plates.  After lunch he showed her the foam that he would use to jury rig the mattress for elevation and braces for the bed so she would be able to sleep.  As a side sleeper, he knew that in her current state, they would have to be clever to ensure she slept well.

             
It brought his heart joy to be able to do so much for her and he welcomed the opportunity to be able to show her this side of him as a provider and life mate.  Marc carried her to the bedroom and gently perched Nadine in the middle of the bed as he cut, shaped, and tested the foam pieces.  Surprise was all over her face when she rolled to her side, laid the cast upon the foam, and the weight of the morning was absorbed into the cushion. She was comfortable. He asked her to roll to her right side and again she was surprised at how he had altered the bed underneath to brace the weight of the cast so that either way she turned she would be able to rest.  He must be one hell of an engineer.

             
Although it had been four hours since the last pain pill, Nadine refused a second dosage of the medication, she wanted to just sit with him. More foam was used on the coffee table to ensure her knee was level with her foot as she rested the cast. His phone chimed and he excused himself only to return shortly with his laptop.  He booted the system up and all the pretty colors made her realize she was still high as an eagle.  Several clicks later, he responded on the phone with a few taps and turned to her.

             
“Would you like to know what it is I do for a living?”  Nadine leaned into his shoulder as he showed her photos of where he worked outside of Prudhoe Bay.  Smiles were shared between the two of them as he showed photos of his crew, along with some of their antics to survive the bitter cold winters. One could not help but notice the sense of family between Marc and the members of his team. One guy showed up in most of the photos, “Marc, who is that?”

             
“Oh, that is Vincent.  He is my supervisor and one of my best friends.  The stories I could tell you about us and surviving our hostile work environment!”  He laughed when he recounted the wolves, the natives, and the saboteurs.

             
Nadine listened for nearly two hours and she knew the pain pill was starting to wear off.  Her thoughts were clear again when she began to question him about how he would translate what he did into a business or a consulting service. She asked for a few pieces of paper.  An hour later, together they had come up with a name for his new business, a slogan, and a rough business plan. She handed him the papers along with a rough sketch of his new logo.

             
He stared at her, then leaned forward and kissed her hard on the mouth, “How lucky am I? Beauty, brains and so much more.  Thank you, Nadine.” The way he said her name had such a permanency in the tone, she went all warm inside.