Babygirl and the Mean Boss (5 page)

             
Nicole
carefully drew in her swollen lip.  “
Marty, I
can take care of myself.”  There was
not another word spoken for almost a full minute
.

             
Marty sighed.  “I’ll be back
later
.”  He got up and left
without a backward glance
.

             
Nicole felt a sudden emptiness.  She knew that Marty was taking her response
,
or lack thereof
,
as
stub
bornness.  It wasn’t.  There just wasn’t anybody that Nicole could count on.  She couldn’t go home to family that didn’t exist.  Nicole felt fear.  Not of what was happening to her, but of the
familiar
solitude.
He did not understand that even if there was a family they wouldn’t want her. They wouldn’t take care of her. They never had in the past and they wouldn’t now.

~
***
~

             
Hours later she heard the door open.  The drugs had put her into a fuzzy little cocoon. 
It had been years since she had acquainted herself with
narcotics… and what scared her was that she was enjoying it.

            Nicole
surprised herself
further
when she
was
disappointment that it was a Doctor entering her room and not Marty.  It gave her a moment of pause to think that she was actually missing Marty’s company.  In a million years she would have never dreamed that would be possible. 

The Doctor
examined her, poking and prodding.  They talked at length about her injuries and it seemed to Nicole that
he was being intentionally vague
.  Every question she asked was met with the same response:  ‘We won’t know until you heal’
.  In other words, I have no idea, just guessing here
.

Her worst injury was the head injury that could have long terms affects on her health…of course when she asked what kind of long term effects, the Doctor rambled off a lot of technical terms until her head began to swim.
 

             
“I think you should be able to eat solids and drink liquids.”  Her cracked and dried lips did appreciate that!
 
Nicole suddenly put her concerns behind her at the thought of a cool
cup
of water.

             
She
was eating
soup
when the door opened again.  Marty walked in and Nicole felt herself smile cheerily
before she quickly hid it
.  He was all cleaned up and wearing fresh clothes. 
For the second time in a week
Nicole took a moment to admire his good looks
,
remembering
the first time she’d seen him.  She had stopped in the restaurant for a cup of coffee. 
Having just that day, moved
into her small efficiency apartment
, she
was happy to see a restaurant within biking distance. 
Taking a seat at the bar she felt her
stomach
grumble as she sipped the coffee
, enjoying the aroma
that wafted from the kitchen
and wishing that she had more th
a
n five dollars to spend. 

             
Amid all of the pleasant chatter, stood one silent man that
seemed absorbed in flipping one thing, deep frying something else, placing orders up on the pass thru.  She watched as he yanked down one order, filling it with quiet efficiency.  Big was her first thought.  He was tall and thickly built with solid muscles, though not like a body
builder, more like a sleek linebacker.

             
After finishing her coffee and breaking down to order a slice of lemon meringue pie that tasted like heaven
and was obviously homemade,
Nicole had asked the waitress if they needed any help.  She had never worked in a restaurant before, but she knew what hard work was…and working backline with Marty was about as hard as it got.

             
After her breath jaunt down memory lane, Nicole curiously watched him enter the room. 
He had a shopping bag in his hands.
 
             

“How do you feel?”

             
She reached for the remote control of the television set and turned down the volume.

“Better.  Sore.  The doctor took out my I. V. And, I can eat and drink now.”

             
“Good.  I talked to him a minute ago.  He said that I
should be able to
get you out of her
e
tomorrow.”

             
“That soon?”  She asked,
nervously
.

             
“You’ll be okay.”  He assured her.  “I went home and showered and brought you some of my sweats and a t-shirt to wear home.”  He gestured to the shopping bag.

             
Nicole’s brow went up in surprise.  “Thanks, Marty.  I wish I could
get cleaned up, too
...I still have blood all over me.”

             
“Maybe you can.”  He buzzed the nurse.  When she responded he asked about
a
shower.  She didn’t see any reason why not.

             
Marty watched as the nurse removed the splint and brace.  She carefully unwrapped the bandage from Nicole’s head.  It was matted and tangled with dried blood.  It disgusted her and she wished Marty wasn’t there to see it.  He took his cue and
eased out of the room making some vague statement about making a phone call.

             
The nurse wouldn’t leave Nicole alone in the shower so she made it a quickie.  It
still felt good
, but it scared her to see all the blood pooling around her feet.

             
Painfully she got into a fresh gown and the nurse helped her to replace the brace.

             
“I’ll be back in a jiff with fresh bandages and I’ll have your boyfriend come back in.”

             
“Oh…that’s not….”  Nicole felt her cheeks flush.  “Thanks.”  She mumbled.

             
When Marty came back in he stared at her hair.  It was washed and cleaned but a mess all over her head.  What could she do about it, though? 
She had just discovered that she had
forty
stitches
crisscrossing the back of her head
!

             
The nurse had left her with a very inadequate hairbrush.
Using her good
left hand
she c
arefull
y dragged it through the tangle
of curls.

             
Marty grimaced along with her.  “Careful…”

             
“I’m trying-
”
She replied, feeling her face grow hot.

             
“Here give it to me.”  She looked at him uncertain but he took the brush out of her hand and tentatively began to brush
the ends, gently gripping the length in his fist to avoid tugging the stitches.  “Okay?”

             
She nodded and he continued.

             
Nicole was wide-eyed with shock. 
Kendall should be seeing this. 
T
his is truly unreal…Marty
i
s doing her hair.  Maybe she was still unconscious and this was all a freaky dream…

             
“Marty?”

\

             
“Yeah?”
  He mumbled in deep concentration at his task.

             
“This is very weird…”

             
He chuckled.  “Please don’t tell anybody at work.”  She liked the sound of that chuckle.  It wasn’t something he did often.
             

             
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
  She asked seriously.

             
He paused in his struggle with her hair.  “
Why would
n’t
I be
?” 

She turned
carefully
and looked up at him.
“
I appreciate it, I really do.  I just don’t understand…
why you’ve stayed with me.
”
  It embarrassed her to ask it in such a blunt way, but she truly didn’t understand.  Marty was as cold and distant as they came; mumbling his greetings and finding fault easily.  He was sarcastic and could curse a blue streak at the drop of a dime.  On top of that he had a temper and was known to throw food, dishes, and spatulas when he was pissed.  So, to see him brushing her hair with painstaking gentleness was – to say the least – disturbing.

             
His gray eyes stared into her brown ones.  Something stirred in Nicole; a warmth
, s
omething she hadn’t felt in a long time.

             
“I feel partly responsible for what happened to you.”

             
That surprised her
.
“
But why?
”

             
“
Because you’re on a bike--at night--alone.”

             
“Why would you be responsible for that?”

             
“Because…”  He looked uncomfortable.  Gently he turned her head back around so that he could continue brushing her hair.  “Because you work for me and when you leave my establishment it should be safe for you to get home.  I don’t think riding your bike in all weather, at night is
particularly
safe.”

             
“You’ve…thought about this before?”

             
“Yeah.  I think about all you guys…even if you all think I’m just
plain mean
.”

             
Nicole turned back around.  His face was its normal stern but she saw a twinkle in his eye.  Did he always have that twinkle
?  Was that how it really was with Marty?  He wore a cold mask but it was only hiding that twinkle
?

             
The door opened and the nurse returned with
a tray of antiseptic and gauze
. 
With an approving smile she nodded at the sight of Marty grooming Nicole
. 
“You’re lucky, Sweetie, to have such a good boyfriend.  He never left your side once when you were unconscious.” 
Marty put down the brush but didn’t so much as open his mouth to correct the nurse’s assumption
.
  Nicole kept her eyes lowered, confused and uncomfortable.

The nurse cleaned and applied salve to her stitches.  When she was fin
ally
f
inished torturing her poor scalp
, she
a
nnounced that they wouldn’t need bandages and warned her to clean the stitches once a day.

How was she supposed to do that? She had shoulder length hair that was
like a 1960s afro right now! She guessed that she should be thankful that she hadn’t had to get her head shaved. Not that she really cared about such things. The last thing she cared about was her looks.

After the ordeal, Nicole had a killer headache and the nurse left leaving her
more painkillers.