The Immortal

A half hour later, I was still drawing and Frank was watching cartoons when I heard someone enter the room. I looked up to see the same nurse from yesterday, Donna, pushing a food cart.

“Breakfast.” She said cheerfully.

“Good morning Donna.” I said as she placed a tray of food in front of me and then Frank.

“Morning.” She said brightly. “What are you in for this time Frank?”

“Broken legs.” Frank sighed, throwing the casts on his legs a reproachful look.

“I told you mucking around onstage was going to get you hurt.” She said, in a motherly disapproving tone.

“Oh I wasn’t onstage when I did this.” He said, gesturing to his legs. “I was helping my band mate Ray move and I fell down the stairs.”

“Typical.” She scoffed rolling her eyes. “How’s that band of yours doing anyway?”

“Great.” He said brightly. “…well…sort of. We just fired our last bassist.”

“Again?” She asked, raising her eyebrows in surprise. “How many does that make now three?”

“Four.” He said with a grimace.

“You know, you should give my son Michael a call.” She said. “He play’s bass.”

“He does?” Frank asked, his face lifting instantly. “What’s his number? Can I call him now?”

“Sure.” She laughed, pulling a small notebook from the front pocket of the blue scrubs she was wearing. “Hey Gerard, can I borrow your pencil?”

“Yeah, here.” I said as I handed it off to her.

“He’s working at Barnes and Noble at the moment,” She said as she scratched the number down on a clean sheet of paper. “But I know he’s been looking for a band to play in.”

“Then I will definitely be giving him a call.” Frank said as Donna ripped off the piece of paper and handed it to him.

“I know he’ll appreciate it.” She said before walking over to her food cart by the door. “Enjoy your breakfast boys.”

“Thanks Donna.” Frank and I said before digging into the breakfast in front of us consisting of scrambled eggs, bacon, and orange juice.

“Aunt aye acon?” Frank asked through a mouthful of eggs.

“Excuse me?” I asked, raising my eyebrows at him.

He chuckled a little and swallowed before restating his question.

“Do you want my bacon?”

“You don’t want it?” I asked.

“I’m a vegetarian.” He explained as he shoved another forkful of scrambled eggs in his mouth.

“Oh.” I said. “Sure.”

I lifted my tray of food up with my good hand and extended it across the space in-between our beds so he could scrape his bacon on my plate.

“Thanks.” I said as I pulled my tray of food back in front of me.

“Ur ‘elcome.” He said through another mouthful of eggs.

“Enjoying your breakfast boys?”

I looked up from my plate of food to see Rachel leaning casually in the doorway with some of her charts.

“Mhmm.” Frank nodded as she walked into the room to stand in the space in-between our beds. “’Av oo ome oo ech on oor avorit aitents?”

“What?” She asked, turning to me for some sort of translation.

“I don’t know what he said either.” I said before taking a bite of one of the strips of bacon.

Frank rolled his eyes and swallowed the food in his mouth before answering. “Have you come to check on your two favorite patients?”

“Who say’s you’re one of my favorites?” She laughed.

“I’m everyone’s favorite darlin’” He answered, grinning.

She rolled her eyes and turned to look at me. “How are you holding up?”

“Fine.” I shrugged, taking another bite of bacon.

“Any pain?”

“Mmm…no.” I replied.

“Good.” She said and marked something on one of her charts. “How about you Frank? You in any pain?”

“Nope.” He said, making a small popping noise on the end of the word. “Can I go home any time soon?”

“What’s the point?” She asked. “You’ll just end up back here within the next couple weeks.”

“I promise not to get hurt again if you let me out.” He said, folding his hands and giving her a pleading look.

“Not a chance Frank.” She laughed. “You’ve still got rehab to go through to get your legs back in working order.”

He rolled his eyes at her and started humming a song that sounded ironically like Rehab, by Amy Whinehouse.

“What about me?” I asked. “Can I go home soon?”

“Sorry Gerard.” She sighed, giving me a sympathetic smile. “You’ve got to go to rehab too for that arm.”

“Ha, ha.” Frank laughed. “You’re going to rehab too.”

“And the other doctors want to run some test on you.” Rachel finished.

“What?” I asked. “Tests?”

“Gerard you’re a walking medical miracle.” She said. “And now the talk of the hospital.”

“I am?” I asked quietly.

“Dude you got hit by a semi truck full on and lived.” Frank said rolling his eyes. “Of course you’re the talk of the hospital. You should be dead.”

The same could be said for someone else I know.” Rachel said, turning to scowl at Frank.

“I’m a lucky guy.” Frank laughed. “What can I say?”

“What kind of tests?” I asked uneasily. I didn’t like the idea of tests. Tests meant questions, and questions meant I was going to have to come up with a story. Great.

Well I know they want to do at least a CAT scan today of you’re up for it.” She said. “Probably a MRI too.”

“What about me?” Frank asked. “Don’t they want to run any tests on me?”

“You fell down a flight of stairs Frank.” She said rolling her eyes at him. “That was just a fluke, an accident.”

“Well so was mine.” I interjected.

“A pretty damn incredible accident.” She muttered. “I still can’t figure out how you could have survived.”

“What’s to figure out?” I asked uneasily. “I’m alive. Isn’t that all that matters?”

“Yeah but we still want to run some tests.” She said.

“Tests.” I repeated. “Fantastic.”