Chapter 3 Flowers and Doubts

The doctor responded in a kind and gentle tone, “All you need to do now Miss Preston, is to focus on your recovery.” Karen shifted her eyes up to the doctor and saw him gazing at her with an open, confident expression. She blinked, “Will I really be okay? Will my arm…will my leg work properly after this?” She asked, the fear in her voice clear to the experienced doctor. “Listen, Karen. I’ll be honest with you. There was some nerve damage to both your arm and leg, but we have seen worse wounds heal perfectly. The mindset of the patient plays an important role in this. You need to be confident.” He smiled reassuringly, “And, we are all here to help you through this.” He said, placing his hand on her shoulder again. The tears flowed freely now, Karen felt so helpless, so afraid. Will I be able to heal? By myself? What’s going to happen with the gallery? I’ve been here for a week, a whole week! Jack and his boys will be back at the end of the month. They’ll destroy everything! What am I going to do? She thought and she could not help but weep.

Karen had been in the hospital for almost two weeks. Her head was no longer fully wrapped in a bandage and she was finally sitting up by herself. She was scheduled to start physiotherapy by the end of the week and she had completed a few sessions with the hospital’s top clinical psychologist. She was steadily improving but she had too many things on her mind. The event she had missed was supposed to be a big payday. A lot had been riding on her, however, not only had she missed it, it was probably canceled. Knowing her assistant, Marcy, she would have canceled everything once Karen had not shown up. A large payment was supposed to be made to Jack, a money collector, using the proceeds of that night’s event. Not only that, but all her artists for that event had been banking on her. Some much more than others. This issue was on her mind again when she heard some noise outside and her mind went to the man with the blue eyes. Ever since the last time she woke up and saw Taylor Grey in her room, she hadn't seen him again but the flowers and other gifts had not stopped. Men in suits occasionally looked in on her, bringing expensive flower arrangements, fruit baskets, snacks, and other treats, or simply asking how she was doing. When she heard the noise, she was half expecting one of these people to come in again. And she was right. The door opened and an orderly came in with a fresh basket of lilies. Karen just stared at him as he walked in, smiled at her, and added the basket to the room’s collection. She was not sure why these things kept showing up, but she knew something was up. Though she was a gallery owner, she was still gaining attention and did not have many wealthy patrons, so most of these items would not be from people she knew. Also, she was weary about the special treatment she was being given, because she knew that the room she was in was definitely not an ordinary private room. Her insurance would not be covering this and neither she nor her family would have paid for such prestigious service at any hospital in Colorado Springs. Yet, she was looked after by top-notch doctors, nurses, and attendants. Anytime she thought of these things, her mind would go back to Taylor and she believed he had something to do with it. A few minutes after the orderly left, Karen pressed the call button for the nurse. “Hello ma’am, do you need help with anything?” the attending nurse asked Karen as she entered the room. “Yes, these…flowers,” Karen said slowly; though recovering well, she was recovering slowly. Excessive talking or movement wore her out quickly and she wanted to ask some questions before another set of visitors showed up to distract her. “Who are they from?” She groaned softly at the nurse. “Oh,” the nurse responded, gazing at the flowers that filled the room, “there are many…” “Yes,” Karen cut in, “I mean, the ones without cards. The fruits and other things as well,” Karen asked, heaving slightly as she fought to get the words out. “Who is sending them here?” she asked, staring fixedly at the nurse. She is not making eye contact, Karen mused, leaning back heavily on the bed. But I think I have a pretty good idea who keeps sending them to me. The nurse’s eyes darted about, her hands clasped in front of her, not speaking. Karen smiled weakly and asked her for some water to drink. The nurse, looking relieved about the new request, hurriedly adjusted the bed for Karen and was hurrying out when Karen chimed, “Please no more flowers, or any other gifts, I think I have had enough.”

Karen had fallen asleep after the nurse’s visit and now she woke up to find a new visitor at her bedside. Marcy, her assistant at the gallery, was sitting beside Karen’s bed, holding her left hand in both of hers. She's been crying Karen noticed, as she gave Marcy a small smile. It was a weak smile, thanks to the drugs and other mental exertions Karen was under, but it was enough so that Marcy could see that Karen was lucid and clear-headed. “I'm so sorry Karen. I'm so sorry.” Marcy blurted out, breaking into tears. Karen blinked slowly at Marcy. “Hey,” Karen said hoarsely, her green eyes, soft, looking kindly at Marcy. Marcy wiped the tears from her face. “If you hadn't been on the phone; if you hadn't been speaking with me…” Karen used all her strength to squeeze Marcy's hands. Marcy felt the light pressure and glanced down at her hands then back up at Karen. Karen’s eyes were wide and clear, looking intently at Marcy and Marcy understood that Karen was not mad at her. Marcy sniffled, “I wanted to tell you that the showing that day, we weren't able to hold it so…everything is on hold right now and all the artwork is in storage.” Karen frowned with difficulty and a small grunt escaped her lips. She knew Marcy would cancel it, but it was still disappointing for her to hear it. Marcy hurried on quickly before Karen could interrupt her, “The shows for the rest of the quarter, and the next, have also been canceled.” Marcy rested her hand on Karen’s arm, “We'll reschedule everything. I just wanted to let you know that I've taken care of it all. I've taken care of the artists; they understand the situation.” “Don't worry about anything, okay? Once you’re a hundred percent, we'll get back on the job and everything is going to be fine, Karen.” Marcy sniffed again. Karen stared at Marcy, her face reddening and her lips starting to quiver. She started to speak but no sounds came out of her open mouth.