My Wife, My Man?

Chapter Fifty-one

"Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law." Romans 13:8

Beep. The sound of irregular breathing. Beep.

That was amongst the various sounds that affirmed life, the slow, synchronized sound that corresponded with the beating of her heart. His hands firmly holding onto hers, gave him the hope that soon her fingers would squeeze his hand. He hoped for it, and it was the same hope he used to protect himself from insanity.

It had been 4 days.

He hadn't prepared himself well in advance; although his heart had feared for the worst, he did not think of the gravity of the accident. His worst scenario hinted towards a broken arm or a leg or if at its most extreme, both, yet none of that was still able to prepare him for the state she would be in.

She was yet to be conscious. Her body, like an inflated balloon ready to explode, was a site of stitches and screws used for the internal fracture to put in place the broken bones of her two legs. Then there were the multiple cuts she had sustained from the broken shield and crushed metals of her car, which now showed signs of slow healing, leaving a pattern of red, pink and blue on her face and arms. The neck brace could not be missed and made prominent the bandage that covered the injury she had sustained on her head.

"...Such an accident should have killed her on the spot, but she's alive..."

Jack felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, a reassurance of hope he had learned to lean on for the past days.

"Maggie," his smile was lifeless as the colour of his blue eyes. "It's like she's sleeping," his voice was a rusty whisper, cracked from the lack of liquid and food. He cleared his throat and attempted to add liquid to the dry river of his mouth. "Doesn't she look asleep?" His head was tilted with narrowed eyes that tried to grasp the details of his sleeping beauty.

From her furrowed brows to a weakened smile, Maggie's face testified to her concern for Jack's sanity. Her hand gave his shoulder a gentle rub as if to encourage him.

He met her face with outstretched lips, a smile that had managed to portray how sad he was. Maggie quickly broke eye contact to rid her eyes of the river of tears that threatened to overflow. She exhaled calmly and, after attempting a look of cheerfulness, found the courage to smile at the defeated face whose only sign of life was the throbbing veins of his forehead.

"Oh, Jack." She feared his health was slowly deteriorating. "Look at what you're doing to yourself. You need to go home and rest, you have been here since..."

"She's in this state because of me, Maggie," the words penetrated through echoes of unshed tears. He sniffed back the tears from his eyes, drying the sweat of his pale face with the back of his hand.

"Oh, Jack..."

A tear escaped through his eyes, which he quickly wiped away. "Tell me how can I leave? How can I..." He shook his head, eliminating from his face the sadness he felt at that moment. "Today, the doctor allowed us to see her for a much longer time. That's good, right?"

A sob escaped from Maggie's mouth. She quickly covered it to muffle any sound of sadness that could travel up her air hole. Diverting her eyes to the ceiling, she dried the ocean of her tears. She nodded, agreeing with the words in his mouth. "I will get you something to eat, and when I come back, do come along and eat, you need strength."

Jack shrugged, knowing that he wouldn't have any appetite to eat.

"And please try to eat."

"I'll try," he mouthed, adding truth to his words with a smile.