Great Times Are Coming

My ukulele falls into my lap the moment I see Kian.

The curtain around my bed, separating me from the ER's main floor, is pulled back by a frantic Kian. He's standing in front of me with a maroon duffle bag hanging roughly on his slumped shoulders.

"Hey. Are you okay?"

"How did you know I was in the ER?"

"Uh, your mom texted me. Are you in pain?"

"They gave me something but it's not entirely helping with the blisters on my arm."

"Bethany, I'm s-sorry this happened to you."

His eyes dart between my bandaged arm and the machines next to me. His hollow stare makes my eyes drop.

"I told your mom I can take you home since she's not able to come right away."

"Nurse says it's gonna be a long night."

"Well, I'm prepared for that."

Kian swings his duffle bag to his front and starts pulling items out of it. I lift my chin to meet his tawny eyes.

"We have reading material, uh, spare clothes with flour stains. Unfortunately, they're my clothes but we could find medical tape and sort of stick it around the top of your sweatpants . . . Gummy Bears, all kinds of . . . hey, don't be scared."

He catches me sniffing.

"Do you want the doctor?"

I nibble on my bottom lip.

"Bethany, it was an accident."

I frown. "I shouldn't have been standing so close to the stove."

"But you're okay now."

Hearing the hope in his voice makes another tear stream down my cheek.

He holds my hand into his.

"Which bag of gummies do you want to open first?"

- - -
- - -

"Maybe we should switch to something less sappy."

He says while dropping the fashion magazine down his lap. Kian's reading and flipping through People Magazine and I have to admit that it is kind of sappy.

"Why don't you play more for me?"

He eyes my ukulele while the corner of his mouth quirks up.

"You know that I only know how to play one song, McLazy."

"But I like it."

In that moment, I feel my walls coming down. No matter what Kian says, he somehow makes me feel calm and without a doubt happy. He's still grinning a hopeful smile and it's just fitting.

I grip my favorite instrument and begin strumming a C major. My fingers don't bend as nicely as I desire but every mistake I may have done disappear the second I hear Kian's soft giggle. A flush creeps up my face as his chuckle grew louder. As I switch to an E minor chord, I notice Kian swaying a bit in his chair. He's bobbing his head, like, it's the greatest time of his life, while sporting the same angelic smile as before. His eyelids are relaxed and his lips are at ease and that's how I want him to be.

I play a F chord and back to a C and realize that Kian is closing his eyes. He's humming badly and he can't seem to be on key, but that's okay. I continue playing the rest of the chords for Over the Rainbow and shut my own eyes. The majestic tune shuts off the beeping noises near my bed and all the doctors outside my little area and it's amazing. My shoulders start to loosen up and fingers start to relax. The moment is brief, as it always is, once my curtain is pulled to the side once more.

My eyes dart open as I fix my attention back to my uke. My fingers are still gripping onto the neck of it once I realize that it's Kian's cousin holding onto my bed divider. John's eyes are red and full of despair and all it's doing is staring blankly at me.

"Hey, John."

"Oh, thank god, you're okay."

Kian cracks his eyes open to the sound of his relative's uneasy voice. He first lifts, then draws, and finally furrows his eyebrows all in one fluid minute the moment his sees John. While quickly jumping out of his chair, Kian quietly watches John inch closer to hug me.

"I am so so so so sorry. My phone died when I got to the train and I came here as soon as I can. When I heard the message from your mom, I just raced time to get here." John looks at Kian briefly. "Thanks for being here, man."

Kian arches his back with his hands in his pockets while nodding, "Oh, of course."

Kian backs away farther from my bed and smiles one last time. "Uh, I have to get going but Beth, feel better, okay?"

Kian leaves without saying another word. And it hurts.