My Happy Ending

"I'm playing this back in high speed," he said. "I'll slow it down when we get to the scenes that you're interested in." The majority of the time Rence was sleeping and alone in the room. Then she started appearing in the room watching over him. After a few days we got to the part where I visited him. Then we got to the part where he woke up and threw me out of the room.

"As you can see, he got really angry as soon as he recognized you," said the white haired man. "Obviously, someone who upset him that much being in his room wasn't good for him. He put you on the list barring you from his room himself."

He started fast forwarding through again. From then on she was in his room almost constantly. There were a few times when other people were with them. They talked a lot. They played games together and you could see her shaking her head. But she always smiled. After a while he did too.

The white haired man shook his head. "Your husband's mental abilities are fine. The nurse engaged him in conversation and asked him about his life to test his memory. She played games with him to test his reasoning abilities. Your husband beat her at scrabble. That's not something that happens often. Like I said before, there is no impropriety here, Mrs. Clark. You seem to be lashing out at anyone who spends time with Mr. Clark because you can't. Again, I'd like to suggest that you seek help. We have several qualified..."

"Didn't I tell you to blow it out your ass already?" I snapped. "God you're all whores. Let me out of here. I'm upset about my husband and you're pimping your shrinks. How much money does this place need? Let me out of here."

I left the hospital with the security guards escorting me all the way. "Have a nice day Ma'am," said one.

"I hope this works out for you," said the other. Suddenly I realized that I had to call the police about my car being stolen. I pulled out my cell phone and called the police first and Marge second. Marge got there before the police did. I filed a police report about my car. When the officer got the security footage from the hospital, it really made me look bad. "We'll be in touch Ma'am," he said.

Marge looked at me curiously. She kept asking me if I was okay and then she drove me home. On the way we talked. "Amanda, I need to tell you something," she said. "And you're not going to like it."

"My day is already fucked up enough," I said. "There's nothing you can say that will make it worse."

"Do you know where your daughter is right now?" she asked.

"Paige doesn't fucking speak to me, so no," I snapped.

"Paige stopped by our office this morning to pick up some work for Rence to do while he's off," she said.

"Well, he's going to have to do something while he's recovering," I snapped.

"Well, Paige didn't come to get his work alone," she said. "Kathryn was with her. They had lunch and talked about moving things around in Rence's condo to get the wheel chair through."

"Okay, that sounds logical," I said. "What are you getting at Marge? What the fuck does this have to do with my problem. Shit, if you're not going to help me get back with my husband, what good are you?"

"I'm trying to tell you that Kathryn is the one who's going to help Rence during his recovery," she said.

"Good, then introduce me to Kathryn so I can go visit with him during the recovery. And for God's sake bring Kathryn up to speed. Let her know what's going on between us so we don't have any friction."

"I think Kathryn already knows all of that," said Marge. "And you kind of know her already too."

"Good," I said. "It saves time. How did she get to watch Rence? Did he hire her from one of those services?"

"Not exactly," said Marge. "She's a nurse. She does this kind of thing for a living. It's actually the perfect solution. Paige and everyone else thought it was a great idea. And with Paige being his actual next of kin it was pretty easy."

"Paige isn't his next of kin," I snapped. "I am. Ask any lawyer. Wife trumps both siblings and offspring. Wife even comes before parents."

"But you're his ex-wife, Honey," she said quietly. "You have no standing at all."

"That's temporary and you know it Marge," I snapped. I was getting angrier by the second and Marge wasn't looking me straight in the eye. "Bitch, I know when you're being sneaky about something so spill it."

"Amanda, don't you want to know where you know Kathryn from?" she asked quietly.

"Alright already," I snapped. I was getting bored with hearing about Kathryn. "Where do I know Kathryn from?"

"She was his nurse at the hospital for the past three weeks. They get along really well together. She hasn't had a vacation in over four years. She took a month off just to take care of Rence." I heard a rushing in my ears like a train was getting closer and finally I just passed out. Everything went black.

* * * * * *

Lawrence

Things finally started to look up for me. Having Kathryn stay with me was both a stroke of genius and a possible mistake. On one hand, it was great having a professional caretaker take care of me. On the other, I'd tried so hard since my divorce not to complicate my life. Kathryn was a definite complication. She was young and very pretty. She was also sassy as hell and built like a brick shipyard. Seeing her outside of that nurse's uniform had me hard all day every day.

But there was more to it. She was also one of the nicest, most compassionate people I've ever met. There were times when I looked into her eyes and we just locked in. I was sure that she knew how I was beginning to feel about her. But she'd told me stories in the hospital about patients who got crushes on their doctor or nurse and started to act foolishly about it. Psychologists even had a term for it. I was sure that was what I was feeling. I rationalized that it was just my being holed up for so long with her being the only female I saw that had lit me up about her. Once I was back in circulation, things would pass. I vowed not to make a fool out of myself.

Every day it got harder. I woke up every morning to her smiling face. Over breakfast we talked about the things we liked and our views on the world. After lunch we explored the common areas around my condo and talked about how we both wanted houses. In my case I was making money hand over fist and had only been living in the condo while the dust was settling from the divorce. Before dinner she ran errands and I worked on the plans and assignments I'd gotten from Darrell. Darrell dropped by frequently to check on me and ask for advice on jobs. Once or twice he and Marge stopped by for dinner or to grill some food. It was really nice the four of us being there together.

I remember Darrell elbowing me in the side and nodding his head towards Kathryn and Marge talking to each other. "It doesn't get any better than this," he said. I had no idea of what he was talking about. "And I'm not getting close enough to this one to even spit at her," he said.

"Darrel, are you nuts?" I asked. "It's not like that with us. I'm just a patient to her."

"Rence, I think you're nuts. Have you looked at the way she smiles at you? She's a nurse, she watches over people for a living. She doesn't smile at patients like that."

"Darrell, you're cracked," I said. "I'm like fifteen years older than her."

"Marge is twenty years older than me and we work," he said.

"You're trying to get me in trouble," I told him. "I don't want to lose my nurse."

"Rence, how much are you paying her for taking care of you?" he asked. I stopped short suddenly. We actually hadn't discusses terms. I was sure that my health insurance would cover most of it anyway. Paige had arranged it, so I was sure that things were fine.

"From what Marge told me," said Darrell. "She's on vacation. She hasn't had a vacation in years. So why would she spend it with you?"

"Maybe she doesn't have anything else to do and just wanted to get away from the hospital," I said. "And since she's probably already getting paid vacation pay, whatever else we're paying her is icing on the cake."

"Oh yeah," he said keeping my same meter and tone. "And maybe monkeys will fly out of my ass and rain down fresh strawberries all over everything." He smacked me on the head lightly. "Rence, I'm twenty seven years old and I'm too old to be trying to rock climb. So you're at least a couple of years past that too. Don't do this to us again."

The next morning when I woke up, Kathryn was already moving about. The whole house smelled wonderful. I knew that I was supposed to get my leg checked out that day to see when the cast could come off and I could start the long process of physical therapy to take me back to where I was.

Kathryn appeared as if by magic and helped get my baggy sweatpants that would cover my cast on. As I looked at her face I couldn't help smiling.

"Someone's in a good mood today," she said. "Is it that he thinks his cast is coming off soon. "

"Oh that's going to happen," I said. "But that's not why I'm smiling." I looked at her harder.

"Do I have something stuck in my teeth?" she asked. "It can't be that bad, I waited to eat breakfast with you."

"There's nothing wrong with you," I said.

"Then why the hell are you staring at me," she asked.

"Because I'm enjoying the view," I said. She started smiling even broader.

"Was that supposed to be some kind of compliment?" she asked. She pushed my chair with far more gusto than she had since we started.

"Kathryn," I said once we'd sat down to breakfast. "Are you on vacation?"

"Yep," she said. "And it's a good one. It'll be even better when you get that cast off. It's only supposed to take six to eight weeks for bones to heal. We've been on vacation for three weeks and you were in the hospital for over a month. I'd expected your cast to come off last week."

"I don't want you to waste your entire vacation on me. I want you to go somewhere and do something. Whatever we're paying you, I'll make sure you still get the full amount," I said.

"You're not paying me," she said seriously. She got really quiet. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"It's not you," I said. "It's me." She pushed herself away from the table and stood up.

"Kathryn, do you remember all of the stories you told me in the hospital?" I asked.

"I told you a lot of stories," she snapped. "In fact, I told you my entire life story at least twice. Be specific."

"Well, you told me about patients who made a fool out of themselves by thinking they were in love with their doctor or their nurse..." I began. Her eyes flashed. I swear I saw lightning and those lips straightened out. She just shook her head and walked out. Not only did she walk out of the room she walked out of the house.

I was sure that I'd messed up and badly. I sat there at the breakfast table and considered my options. Twenty minutes later my daughter called me. I rolled over to the phone and answered it.

"Daddy, what the hell did you say to Kathryn?" she asked. "Forget it. I'm on my way to your place now."

Paige got there and looked at me. I put on my most innocent face. "Daddy, what am I going to do with you?" she asked. "Did you hear about mom? She got arrested again. Darrel and Marge had to bail her out this time." Before we could get into the conversation, the door opened and Kathryn walked back in. She looked like she wasn't happy. I'd seen that look on Amanda's face enough times to be able to ignore it. But seeing the same look on Kathryn's face made me upset too. I knew then that I'd fallen for her and I'd fallen hard.

"Paige, go home," she said. "I've got this covered." My daughter took one look at her and looked back at me. She grabbed her purse, kissed me goodbye and then left.

"You are a fucking idiot," said Kathryn. I opened my mouth to respond and she held a finger up to my lips.

"I'd decided not to ever come back here again," she said. "But I started thinking about it and I decided that there were at least four reasons why we should talk about this."

"Four reasons," I said. "That's a lot."

"The first one is because, you're a man," she said. "And men just don't understand anything that isn't mechanical. Engineers have it especially bad. They can explain an engine to someone in three hundred ways but don't have a clue how they feel."

"But..." I began. She stuck the finger up again. And I snapped my lips closed.

"You're also recently divorced and I remembered how confused I was right after my divorce. I'd decided to never have anything to do with another man ever. I thought with you being so smart and all that you'd be past that by now."

"The third reason is..." she began.

"We're up to three," I said. "So, that other one was two?"

"Didn't I tell you to shut up twice already?" she asked.

"Well, you didn't really say it," I said. "You just stuck your finger...Okay I'm shutting up."

"The third reason is because I did tell you that stupid thing about people falling in love with their nurses because I tell all of my patients that because it does happen and it happens to me a lot," she said. "So maybe I deserved it."

"It really should happen to you a lot," I said. "You're beautiful and..." the finger was back so I shut up.

"And the fourth reason is because I realized that even though you were missing all of my signals, the fact that you told me that whole story about patients being in love with their caregivers meant that you were feeling the way I wanted you to feel," she said.

"So you're saying that it's not always bad for a patient to be in love with his nurse?" I asked.

"Not always," she said smiling for the first time.

"So when is it not?" I asked.

"Good Lord Rence," she said. "Do I have to spell it out for you?" She grabbed me and kissed me. That first kiss was so narcotic that I was immediately addicted to it. I realized then that I'd do anything for another one of those kisses and she gave it to me for free.

When I came up gasping for air she just smiled at me. "So, just for clarification..." I said. "When is it okay to fall in love with your nurse?"

"When she loves you right back," she said, kissing me again.

From that day forward, Kathryn and I have never been separated. We planned out our lives together and unfortunately, unlike when I was with Amanda things didn't go the way we planned. We'd both figured out that we wanted to work for a few more years and then spend some time relaxing and enjoying life. Sure she was only thirty, but we were a pair and we wanted to see and experience so many things. So we figured that she could work on a contingent basis and we'd travel and do things. A year after we got married, along came our daughter and changed the plans. Our daughter, Kate, was totally unplanned, but she's the joy of our lives. I actually thought that my daddy days were over. Her sister, my daughter Paige, loves her. And her best friend is her niece, Tina, Paige's daughter.

Needless to say, Kathryn and I are now going to be working for a few more years while we wait to get Kate into college. Kate has the benefit of an extended family to love her and watch over her which includes her Aunt Paige and Uncle Josh, but also her Aunt Marge and Uncle Darrell. Strangely enough, after Kathryn and I got married, Amanda disappeared into the woodwork. She refused to accept the fact that we were no longer married. Paige tried to get her into a counseling program but Amanda is just set in her ways. For the sake of all of the years that I loved her, I wish her well and hope she's okay out there and has found happiness.

As Kate and I sit in the waiting room at the clinic, Kathryn comes out to me, beaming from ear to ear. Over the past few years, all of that sass and that smile have not only remained intact but have blossomed.

She puts her hands over Kate's ears to prevent her from hearing us. And then whispers. "We have a problem, Honey."

I begin to worry instantly. Kathryn is the love of my life.

"I should kick your ass," she whispers kissing me. "We're going to have to put off the retirement for at least another 18 years from now."

"Why?" I asked.

"You got me pregnant again, dummy." She said smiling. "You need to keep that thing in your pants."

We walked towards the parking lot each holding onto one of Kate's hands. As I got to the door, I noticed some old bag lady, the same one I'd accidentally splashed a block ago. There was something familiar about her face, but I couldn't place it. She has a mouth full of rotten teeth and her breath was awful. Even from as far away from her as I was, it reeked. It smelled like a mixture of alcohol and shit.

She looked horrified and the expression on her face spoke volumes about the life she'd been leading. We walked right past her and headed for my car with her staring at us the whole way. Shit, life on the street must be rough I thought. After getting Kathryn and Kate settled into the car, I ran back and handed her a couple of bucks.

"Thanks Rence," she said and turned to walk away. As I stood there in shock, she moved away even faster and then got on a bus that had just stopper in front of the building. My brain struggled to place her face. She was gone before I even got my wits back.

It couldn't have been, I thought. There was no way that was Amanda. "Rence, come on, Honey," yelled Kathryn. "We have to tell Paige and Marge our good news." I shook my head and headed for my car.

* * * * * *

Amanda

Tears run down my face as I try to find a seat on the bus. Everyone moves away from me or looks away as I try to find a seat. No one wants me to sit near them. I can't believe my husband didn't recognize me. I didn't want him to ever see me like this. Especially since that bitch who stole him from me looks like a million bucks. He actually looks happy. How dumb does he have to be to think he's happy without me? That bitch must have really done a number on him. But sooner or later he'll realize that he's fucked up. Sooner or later he'll realize that without me there's no chance for a happy ending in his life.

Any day now he'll come looking for me so I'd better start getting my shit together. I'll stop drinking tomorrow and that guy I fucked last night will be the last one...unless I get really lonely. But any day now I'll start exercising so I look better. When Rence sees me next time he'll throw that bitch out of his life and take me back. Any day now we'll be back together and we'll spend the rest of our lives together. We'll be starting that happy ending real soon...Any day now.

The end.