Anything but Ordinary(13)

“I could leave, you know,” he said, attaching the blood pressure sleeve.

Bryce held her tongue. The sleeve pinched her arm, hard.

“Yep, could go at any time,” Carter said softly as he held up a stethoscope to her chest. “Got plenty of other fun things to do. Mrs. Hidalgo likes it when I put the telenovela on for her in the afternoon, even if she can’t exactly say so. And the bedpans always need washing, so…”

At that, Bryce burst out laughing, picturing the awful hum of the fluorescent lights and sickly smell of the neurology wing. Carter laughed, too.

Carter helped her down the pathway and opened the door for her. Bryce got in the car.

Carter turned over the ignition a few times. “I guess there’s no point in convincing you to bring your chair.”

“Nope. It’s inside, where it belongs.” Bryce tapped the dashboard. “Let’s go!”



Ten minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of Los Pollitos. “Is the food here good?” Carter asked, peering through the windshield.

“I don’t know,” Bryce said, opening the car door. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll call you when I’m done.” But before she could climb out, he was on the passenger side, offering her a hand.

He walked her to the entrance and pulled open the doors with their chili-pepper handles.

“Wait, you’re coming in?” She turned to face him.

He stood, hands in his pockets, looking at her. He pursed his lips and shrugged.

Bryce took her hand off the door. “You don’t need to come in.”

Carter scratched his chin. “First of all, you can barely walk. Second of all, I am a free citizen and can go wherever I want.”

She looked around. No sign of Gabby’s or Greg’s cars, or at least the cars they used to have. She did need help walking.

Then she heard Carter mutter behind her, “Third, I want nachos.”

She laughed as he helped her through the open door.





he dimly lit restaurant smelled like spice and meat cooking. Laughter floated from the scattered tables. A mousy-haired hostess approached, smiling nervously. “Are you Bryce Graham?”

“Yeah,” Bryce said, trying to smile back. “I’m looking for my friends? They’re, um—”

“They’re here. Come with me.”

Bryce was almost putting her whole weight on Carter’s forearm, but there was nothing much she could do about it. They followed the hostess through rows of booths, hearing Bryce’s name murmured in low voices.

Bryce licked her dry lips. This was it.

Gabby and Greg sat shoulder to shoulder at an elevated table near the bar. Their heads were close together, as if they were whispering. They didn’t see her at first.

Gabby was beautiful. Her black hair was out of its usual braid, flowing, and her features had become more refined, high cheekbones and large eyes, lips tinted with a darker color than her favorite bubblegum gloss. She wore a turquoise wrap dress and ballet flats. She was describing something to Greg with hand gestures, her face lit up.

Bryce let go and approached them in small, shaky steps. She waved to Carter slightly as he backed away somewhere. She was in another world now.

Greg had filled out, and his hair was longer. He nodded at what Gabby was saying, but didn’t look at her. He stretched his arms behind his head and put them back down, rubbing his eyes with his palms. Gabby laughed, trying to pull his hands away from his face, shaking him to “Wake up!” Greg laughed with her, still rubbing his eyes.

Suddenly Bryce was standing right in front of their table. She tried to pull down her T-shirt over her shorts, but Gabby spotted her and screamed.

She leaped off her chair and wrapped her long arms around Bryce’s neck.

“Hi, Gabby,” was all Bryce could say.

She smelled the same, like shampoo and lavender, and Bryce wanted to go back to her room and lie on the floor while Gabby lay on her bed, talking up to the ceiling. Why don’t we talk like they did in the olden days? Gabby used to sigh. Like, then, instead of “please,” they said “prithee.” Prithee, she would repeat, and laugh. Prithee, prithee, prithee…

Greg beamed at Bryce. She didn’t have to think about whether or not she would kiss him, because he began his tight hug with his mouth on her cheek, and ended it with a kiss on the other. She felt his stubble between her jaw and her neck, his back muscles against her palm. He stepped away, putting his hand through his blond hair the way he always did when he was nervous.

“Oh my god,” the three of them kept saying. “Wow.”

When they finally sat at the small table, they had to laugh. The world had become their own for a few minutes, and now they were back in a restaurant, and people were staring. Carter sat by himself a few tables away. He lifted his soda in Bryce’s direction and gave a small smile.

“So, you can walk, first of all,” Gabby said, gesturing to Bryce’s legs. “How is that possible?”

“Gab, let her off the hook for a second.” Greg addressed Gabby, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Bryce. She bit her lip, looking down when she met his intense, deep-blue gaze. “She just sat down.”

“No, it’s all right,” Bryce said. “I’ve had to work my ass off,” she began, and at the sight of them sitting there, waiting, everything poured out of her. She told them about waking up, about the hospital, about Carter and Dr. Warren. They listened, commenting and laughing at all the right moments. They waved away the waitress. They asked questions.