So Hold On To The Ones Who Really Care
I always found in funny how quiet the house was when I was home alone. I glanced at the clock again. 3:44 p.m. “Damnit Kate, you just looked at the clock less than five minutes ago. Why did you feel the need look at it again,” I said out loud to myself.
I began impatiently tapping my foot on the floor, then suddenly stopped “Don’t do that, you hate it when Taylor does that” I told myself, getting quite in the habit of talking to myself.
Ugh, Taylor. I glanced at the door again. He had walked out of that very door about an hour and a half ago. We had had one of our fights about god only knows what. It was like a routine. We start a fight, he leaves, and he comes home a little later expecting to kiss and make up. Of course the last part I don’t mind, but we end up never talking out our problems. And so the vicious cycle begins again. Every time I tell myself its not going to happen like that, that we are going to talk it out, but it never works. This time would be no different.
So there I sat at our kitchen table, chin resting on my hand, frown on my face, watching the door. I knew it was going to open soon, but it was always a guess as to exactly how long it would take. The incessant tick of the clock was about to drive me insane. This was taking much longer than usual.
I started to wonder what the hell he always did when he left. I figured he usually went to one of his brother’s houses or maybe just drove around aimlessly for a while. Sometimes he brought me flowers when he came back, but that was only when he’d admit he was wrong. The whole thing really didn’t make a lot of sense to me; but then again there were things about Taylor I never quite understood.
Finally I got sick of waiting by the door like a lost little puppy. I got up and started to do some housework figuring I might as well be a little productive. By 5:00 I was getting pretty worried though. He never was gone that long. That’s when the phone rang.
‘This better be him, and he better have a damn good reason for being gone this long’ I thought heading back to the kitchen to answer it. “Hello” I answered trying to keep a friendly voice.
“Is this Kate Hanson?” an unfamiliar male voice said. He sounded quite official.
“Yes” I answered. For some reason my heart started to pound as if anticipation something bad.
“My name is Dr. Lutkins from the Jenkin’s Community Hospital. Your husband has been in a car accident,” he said. I don’t know how I stayed standing at that point. My knees got all weak and my stomach did many turns. “He’s going to be alright though” he followed quickly.
“What happened?” I asked.
“From what witnesses told the police a car pulled out right in front of your husband. He slammed on the brakes, but he couldn’t avoid hitting it. He wasn’t wearing a seat belt, but luckily the crash was low speed and all he suffered was a pretty good bump in the head” the doctor explained.
“You said he’s going to be alright though?” I asked swallowing thickly.
“Yes, he’s in stable condition right now, and has asked for you. He’s very lucky,” he said.
“Thank you Doctor, I’ll be right there” I told him and softly hung up the phone.
At first I didn’t even think to cry. I grabbed my keys and my purse and headed towards the door I had just been watching for Taylor’s return. Reaching out for the doorknob my hand stopped suddenly. I ran my fingers over the window pains I had stared out of fully expecting Taylor to be back, taking for granted anything that could have happened. Realizing that something worse could have happened, that I could have never seen Taylor walk through that door again, I felt the hot sting of tears in my eyes. I turned and slid down the door having a good cry before I could calm myself enough to get in my car and drive to the hospital.
In a bit of a daze I drove to the hospital and found Taylor room. Standing in the doorway I could see him lying on the bed. He appeared to be asleep. The only signs of injury were a small cut on his lip and a patch of gauze on his forehead. I felt tears sting at my eyes again, but I pushed them away quickly.
Taylor opened his eyes slowly as I advanced into the room. He offered a weak smile. “I’m sorry,” he said softly once I’d reached his bedside. I bit my lip. I wasn’t really sure if he meant for our argument or the accident, but either way, it didn’t matter.
“It’s okay” I whispered reaching out and running my hand down his face. He winced in pain a bit. “Are you okay?” I asked unsure.
“Yeah, I think there’s going to be a pretty good bruise there. I was all achy and my whole head hurt, but the pain killers are starting to kick in” he told me with a smug grin.
I returned the smile but felt the tears well up yet again. A single tear fell unchecked down my cheek, and Taylor look suddenly changed to concern. “What’s wrong sweetie?” he asked.
“I was so scared Taylor” I told him. “And I was sitting at the kitchen table wondering when you were going to walk through the door, and what you were going to say when you did. Meanwhile you’re at the hospital. And what if you hadn’t been so lucky. You might have never walked through that door again. I couldn’t live with myself if the last thing I ever said to you was ‘why do you have to be so damn annoying sometimes?’” the tears were flowing faster now. Taylor grabbed my hand and squeezed it.
“But that’s not the case. We get a second chance,” he said looking into my eyes.
“We never talk about our problems Taylor. We just go on having our arguments and then ignore the fact that they ever happen. And we take our relationship for granted” I finally let out what was on my mind.
Taylor said quietly for a moment. "I never thought about it like that before" he said softly.
"Can we talk about our problems from now on?" I asked.
"Of course we can. I love you, so much. I know I'm bad at expressing it sometimes, and I'm sorry. I want to be with you forever, however long that is. I'm going to try my hardest, and we're going to find a way to work it out" he promised.
I smiled, I knew this time he meant it.
The End
