BUTTERFLIES FLY AWAY (30 page)

“Flowers for you Carrie, aren’t they beautiful” a
large vase of white roses and peonies.  The attendant handed her a card.

“The scent of these flowers remind me of you, Nico x”

Nico returned later in the afternoon.  He had
stopped by the nurse’s desk for an update and checked with the security team
that there had been no incidents in his absence.  Carrie was sleeping in
the room when he opened the door but despite his best attempts his arrival
awoke her.  “Hello you,” he kissed her on the lips and sat down, “I see
you got my flowers, how are you feeling?”

“I feel okay, a bit queasy but that’s passing. 
Thank you for the lovely flowers.  How has your day been?”

“I think my Dad is kicking ass as we speak but we
could do with Belle back on the team, she is still saying she ‘resigned’,”

“I will speak with her later but if she has made her
mind up Nico, I can’t change that”

“Okay.”  He spotted the jar of blondies. 

“Go ahead, they are delicious Tansie made
them.  She visited earlier with Monique”

He unscrewed the lid of the mason jar.  
“I know it’s disloyal to Terri but I think Tansie should open her own bakery,
she makes the most amazing cookies for the inn”

“Wow, they are delicious”

They spoke for a while and Nico told her he took
Beau for a walk earlier.  That the puppy was looking for her at their
usual spot.  

“You told me that you had finished things with Lea
but this week’s headline story says different” she passed the magazine over
towards him. 

Nico was silent as he read the article. 

“Carrie this is a load of trash, I’m sure the
interview was given months ago but I will have my people check,”

“Nico I don’t need your people to check it I just
need you to tell me if there is any truth to it”

“Here’s the unvarnished truth.  I’ve been
dating Lea for around two years.  It was an arrangement that has suited us
both.  I ended the arrangement last week.  Babies, we never discussed
it.  Marriage, never an option.  Tell her I love her? 
Never.  The only women I have told them I love them are my Mother, Sister
and Grandma.  No one else.”

He was emphatic in his response and she believed
him.  Never was a strong word to use.  Strong enough to make her
believe him.

“In black and white it seems real, I feel as though
we were cheating on her but I understand there was nothing to cheat on if your
relationship was over”

“Carrie it suited us both.  It helped her
career and I had a girlfriend when I needed one.  It was convenient. 
Yes I bought a new apartment in Tribeca as the article says but not as a home
with her.  I wanted a place of my own when I’m in New York.  She has
never stayed there I only closed the deal last month after narrowing down the
search for the last six months.”

“I don’t even have the right to ask you these
questions, I felt a little foolish reading the article,” she didn’t add that
she felt a little jealous too.

“You have nothing to feel foolish about,”

Nico stayed for a couple of hours and Carrie assured
him that she would be fine on her own that night.  No need for him to stay
with her.  Belle was visiting later so she wouldn’t be short of
visitors.  When Belle arrived she had kindly bought Carrie some new
pyjamas much to her relief.  She placed them in a drawer and handed the
magazine article for Belle to read through. 

“We talked about it; I don’t have any rights with
him Belle.  I am the one with all the emotional issues but I still smarted
reading it.”

“Are you okay with what he told you?”

“Yeah Belle, I’m not completely naïve to think that
he doesn’t have a past but it’s a recent past.  I don’t know what
direction our relationship is going or what will happen when I get out of here
and back home.  I have to take things day by day just now.  Did the
Doctor tell you when I can get out of here?”

“He said a three to five days depending on your
progress, why?”

“I’ve been thinking about my plans for going
home.  Terri has a wedding at the Inn this weekend the rooms are all
booked out solid.  I only asked for my room to be kept on until Thursday
as I was due to fly home then.  Whenever I get out of here I will need to
find somewhere to stay until I can fly”

“Don’t worry about that we will get something
sorted,”

“Okay, sorry Belle, I feel a bit sick, the room is
spinning a little,”

“Do you want me to get a Doctor or Nurse?”

“No no, I’m just going to lie flat and hope the room
stops to spin,”

Despite her protests Belle got one of the nurses and
they asked her to leave the room whilst they examined Carrie.   
A short while later they allowed her back in having given Carrie an
anti-sickness jag to help with the nausea and dizziness.  Relieved that it
was nothing more serious Belle sat with Carrie. 

“Oh Carrie, you had me worried there”

“Sorry Belle, I thought it would pass.  I feel
much better but so sleepy.  I’ve been wondering, what are you going to do
about LA are you going back to the Esperanza?”

“I resigned Carrie, that ship has sailed darling”

“Do you know Gino has gone out to LA in Nico’s
place?”

“No, when did this happen?”

“He flew out this morning, Nico asked him to go,”

“What?  I didn’t think Gino was hands on, I
thought the golf course occupied his time,”

“I don’t think that matters, he still founded the
company and Nico says he is very aware of what projects they are working on”

“I said I would speak with you and discuss if you
wanted to return or not.  It’s your call Belle,”

“It’s a bit of a pickle I guess but I have enjoyed
working not just with Nico but the Devanti team at the Esperanza.  I do
love a challenge”

“Don’t worry about me, go I will be fine,”

“We will see about that, you are still on the road
to recovery and I’m not bailing out now”

Belle left promising to contact back home.  She
could tell that Carrie needed her rest and reluctantly left.  Still
undecided about a return to LA. 

Dr Petersen continued examining Carrie and reading
through her notes, “I think you are on the road to recovery Carrie we could
look at discharging you tomorrow.  The headaches have lessened along with
the dizzy spells”

“That’s great news but when do you think I will be
fit to fly home?”

“Another week, give or take a day or two, I wouldn’t
rush to make that long flight but you will know if you feel that your symptoms
have significantly reduced”

She thanked him and contemplated this latest
update.  It was Thursday, the day she was due to fly home and the day that
her booking had ended at the Inn.  Fortunately Terri had kept the room on
until Friday for her but it was needed for Saturday.  It was doable. 
She could go back to the Inn, pack and find somewhere else to stay. 
Simple.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“What?”

“You are not fit to stay on your own, in some
unfamiliar hotel,”

“Nico, I will be fine, I have managed the last
twenty eight years of my life”

“Belle, talk some sense into her,”

Carrie was explaining her plans for her proposed
discharge from hospital tomorrow. 

“No way Carrie are you going to a hotel, I won’t
allow it”

“I beg your pardon Nico but since when did you
become the boss of me?  I’m an adult and I decide where I am going, not
you”

“Carrie darling, you can’t stay in some flea pit for
another week or so”

“Belle, I’ve already thought of that Terri has a couple
of places she has recommended for me that she uses if she is fully
booked.  She already feels terrible about it but it’s no one’s
fault.  She has a business to run and needs the rooms.  I trust her
recommendations that there will be no flea pit involved”

Carrie settled back in the bed and continued, “If Dr
Petersen says I am well enough to leave I will be going”

“If you won’t listen to reason, you will have to
stay with me”

“What! No way, I am not staying with you; I am
perfectly capable of going to a hotel”

“Belle, cover your ears,” he instructed a warning,
“Oh like the other day, how will you manage in the shower?”

“Nico, it’s different now that I don’t have the drip
or my hands bandaged as much as before, I have more mobility, I only have to
wear the sling for my wrist for a few weeks”

Their debate raged on and Carrie finally conceded to
staying in one of the guest houses on the property, not in the main
house.  Belle also agreed to return to LA and free Nico’s father from the
Esperanza.  The hotel was back on track after some tough negotiations with
Gino and the project teams. 

Belle had packed Carrie’s belongings from the Inn
and they were moved to the guest house.  She had brought Carrie some
clothes to wear and had called home to explain where Carrie would be staying
for the next week.  A conversation she hadn’t shared much with
Carrie.  She downplayed it saying Carrie was staying at their generous
suggestion given the accommodation dilemma at the Inn.  No mention of any
romance between Carrie and Nico. 

Dr Petersen was happy with Carries progress and left
her with some words of advice.  “Your body has gone through quite a
traumatic experience Carrie.  Take plenty of naps during the day if you
feel tired or fatigued.  It’s perfectly normal to feel frustrated that you
can’t snap back into your routine.  Your body will let you know.  So
plenty of rest, I need you to drink lots of fluids and try to keep up your
carbs and sugar levels.  It’s all part of your recovery”

“Thank you Dr Petersen I appreciate all that you and
the staff have done for me here”

Carrie was dressed in the soft black leggings, a
white vest and long shirt that Belle had packed.  She stood in front of
the mirror in the bathroom of her hospital room.  She had left her hair
down and loose.  It covered the bruise and scratch on her cheek when her
hair fell forward.  The little butterfly dressing removed from her
cheek.  The dressings on her hands were just pads not as bulky as before
but they were slowly healing.  The grit had done its damage.  She
still needed the support of the sling for her wrist but it too was on the
mend.  The technicolour glory of the bruise on her shoulder was
spectacular in its vivid shades of purple and yellow.  It was tender to
touch but it looked far worse that it was.  She pulled the shirt back over
her collar bone.  Her attempt at looking as normal as possible for leaving
the hospital included a spray of her perfume and some of the lip balm.

Nico was waiting.  Dressed as she was
accompanied to seeing him during this down time of jeans, boots and a loose
t-shirt.  The citrus scent of his cologne that was so familiar to her.

Was that her heart beating faster at seeing
him?  Oh she had it bad. 

“Hello” and kissed her on the lips.  Their
first ‘proper’ kiss since she had been admitted to hospital.  His hand
sweeping up and down her back, pulling her closer. 

“Hello you,”

“So you are back to wearing kissable vanilla
then?”  She laughed knowing he was referring to her lip balm and its
kissable lips promise.

“Indeed I am and it seems to be working”

“Are you ready to leave?”

She nodded and picked up her bulky tote bag which
she had attempted to clean the blood from.  It was sadly beyond
repair.  One of her last links with Rob.  She tucked it under her
good arm.

Carrie signed the discharge papers, collected the
x-rays and paperwork that were hers to take home.

“The bill, can I have that please?”

“Mrs Reynolds-Davies, your bill has already been
settled by Mr Devanti”

“I told you that I would take care of the bill, I asked
for you to be moved to a private room.  No arguing”

The guest house or beach house as Carrie thought of
it was like a little bungalow home.  A single story building with
weathered deck boards leading from the large ceiling to floor windows and doors.
It had magnificent views of the bay that could be admired from the chairs on
the decking or from the comfort of the large living area.  Two overstuffed
sofas surrounded the stone fire place.  A stack of logs in a basket. 
All ready for use.

“There are two bedrooms along the corridor, Belle
arranged for your things to be unpacked in one of the rooms.”

The kitchen was equipped with everything you would
need.  Cream shaker style cabinets and a wooden counter top in an L
shape.  Cooker, fridge, dishwasher anything that you could need from a
home from home. 

“I’ve had the fridge stocked but let me know if
there is anything missing and I will have it ordered for you.”

“Thank you Nico, for everything, I know I have been
a bit of a grouch, sorry”

“You haven’t been Carrie, you look tired, come
on.  I think you should get some rest,”