2013 LuRe Yule Challenge - Wide Awake (1/3)
Title: Wide Awake
Author: sleeper6
Characters: Luke, Reid, a comatose Noah, the Snyders, and a few OCs
Rating: PG-13
Summary: A loose interpretation of the Sandra Bullock film, While You Were Sleeping: Reid pretends to be involved with a guy in a coma to get close to him. But then his family arrives . . .
Disclaimer: All belongs to the As the World Turns, not me.
His smile.
That is the first thing Reid noticed about him back in July when he entered the train and Reid’s life. People don’t smile when they see Reid-no, they usually cringe and cower, and Reid’s fine with that. But this guy, every time without fail, enters the train and smiles at Reid.
Well, truthfully, he smiles at everyone. The guy is blind and can’t see who he’s looking at, but that doesn’t matter. Reid likes to pretend that the tall, handsome brunet smiles only at him. It helps that Reid makes it a point of sitting in the guy’s line of sight so that if he could see, he’d see Reid first. And he’d smile.
Reid sits up straighter as the doors open and Blind Bunyan (the guy is tall, muscular and wears a lot of plaid shirts) walks in, his cane guiding him to an empty seat. This is the part where Reid is always tempted to stand and offer his seat to the guy and maybe start a conversation. But lucky for Bunyan-and not so lucky for Reid-the train is never full. Thus, Reid never stands. He merely sits and observes the guy.
He can’t be older than twenty-three or twenty-four, Reid surmises, maybe he was a college student before the incident happened that robbed him of his sight. Reid knows the guy wasn’t born blind since he has some trouble navigating his way around, as if he’s learning still how to live without his eyes. He’s apparently single since he’s always alone. He never talks to anyone on the phone that he carries in the front right pocket of his pants, and the phone never rings. He doesn’t seem very sociable, which is probably why Reid likes the guy. He doesn’t talk to anyone on the train, just like Reid, and mumbled responses the one or two times he was asked random questions by random people. But unlike Reid, he smiles at everyone and anyone, especially at Reid.
That smile. That must mean he’s friendly. Reid just hasn’t seen him be friendly with anyone. And Reid’s fine with that. He wants Blind Bunyan to be friendly only with him-if Reid ever talks to him, that is.
Reid’s not afraid to approach Bunyan. Reid Oliver is never afraid. He’s just not used to meeting men outside of a bar or club. He meets his bed mates with a simple glance or nod, nothing more. And once they’re in bed, well, there is definitely no talking. With this guy, though, Reid would have to talk. And Reid Oliver doesn’t do small talk; it’s a waste of time. And he’s not very good at it either.
Reid supposes he can initiate a conversation by complimenting the guy’s coat. It’s a navy coat, and the color brings out the bright blue, vacant eyes. The coat looks expensive. Maybe Blind Bunyan is a rich, preppy kid and not the lowly train rider that Reid thinks he is.
Or maybe not. In all the months that Reid’s seen him, this is the first time Bunyan looks richly dressed. Maybe it’s an early Christmas present from a boyfriend . . . or girlfriend. Reid doesn’t know for sure that the guy is gay but he hopes, wishes, fantasizes.
They’re approaching the stop where Bunyan always gets off. Reid wonders where he goes the three days out of the week that they share a train. Reid’s been tempted to follow him a few times, but then he remembers that he’s not a stalker or a love-sick teenage girl and remains seated, staring out the window of the train as Bunyan heads for the station exit, his cane leading the way.
Bunyan stands as he hears the train approaching his stop and holds on to the metal bar beside the door.
And suddenly, without any rational thinking-so unlike him-Reid stands from his seat and walks towards the guy. Maybe it’s because he’s horny and hasn’t been intimate in months (has it been almost a year?) and Bunyan is young and extremely attractive. Or maybe it’s because it’s a week before Christmas and Reid is tired of spending it, along with every other holiday, alone in his condo with a microwavable meal on his plate. Whatever the reason, before he can stop himself, Reid gently touches the guy’s sleeve.
“Do you need help getting off?” Reid asks, immediately realizing how that sounded. “Do you need help getting somewhere?”
Bunyan moves his head toward Reid’s voice and smiles.
That smile. Reid inhales. It’s even nicer up close.
“No, I’m okay. I’ve got it,” Bunyan says.
“Be careful. It’s snowing heavily out there.”
“I will.”
Reid’s left hand begins twitching, a tic he can never control. “I-I’m Reid. My name, I mean, it’s Reid.”
“I’m Noah.”
Before Reid can say anymore, the train stops and the doors open. Noah walks out. Just as the doors close and before the train proceeds to Reid’s stop which is just a few blocks away from Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he’s worked for five years, Reid stares in shock as Noah slips on the ice on the platform. Noah hits his head against the pavement when he falls on his back.
Reid bangs on the doors. “Open them! Open them!”
The doors open, and Reid rushes out, kneeling next to Noah. “Noah? Noah, can you hear me?”
Noah’s eyes remain close. Reid carefully lifts Noah’s head and feels the warm blood beneath him. He takes off his jacket and places it under Noah’s head, applying pressure. “Call 911 now!” he instructs to a bystander who’s standing over them.
“Noah, come on, open your eyes. Open them. You can’t quit on me,” he bellows loudly. He then caresses Noah’s face and touches his lips. His voice softens. “Come on, Noah, you can’t leave me alone, not now. Who’s going to be my Christmas date, huh?”
The ambulance arrives minutes later.
“Did you call it in, ma’am?” the paramedic asks a woman with a cell phone in her hand. She is standing a few feet away from Reid and Noah.
“Yes.”
“Do you know him?”
“No, but the guy with him does. He’s his boyfriend,” she says, having overheard Reid’s pleads to Noah.
Noah is loaded onto the gurney. “I’m going with him,” Reid says, ready to flash his doctor’s badge if the paramedic denies him.
“Of course, sir,” the paramedic says immediately. “You have every right to be with him.”
Reid thinks that’s an odd thing for the paramedic to say, but gets into the ambulance without giving it anymore thought.
Upon arriving at the emergency room, Reid runs behind the paramedics and hospital attendants as they rush Noah into an exam room.
“What do we have here?” the emergency room doctor, Dr. Keene, says as he touches Noah’s head, which has been bandaged during the ride over.
“Laceration to the upper left side of the head. Doesn’t look too deep but he needs a CT scan to rule out internal bleeding. External bleeding is under control and blood pressure is stable,” Reid states as he stands in front of the exam bed where Noah is laid.
“And you are?” Dr. Keene says, looking over at Reid.
“Noah Mayer’s boyfriend,” the paramedic says, pointing to Noah. “That’s Noah Mayer.”
Reid’s eyes widen. “Wait, what? I’m his boyfriend?”
The paramedic smiles. “Yeah, the lady at the station told me.” With that, he exits.
“And you’re a doctor?” Dr. Keene asks.
Reid is still confused by his sudden status as someone’s boyfriend-specifically, Noah’s boyfriend. “Uh, yeah, I-I work over at the brain institute on St. Clair. I’m Reid Oliver.”
Dr. Keene smiles. “Nice to put a face to the name. I’ve heard about you.” He writes notes in Noah’s chart. “Well, you can stay here and assist if you like. I know it’s generally a conflict of interest since you’re involved with the patient but you’re also the Reid Oliver and I might be able to use your help.”
Reid knows he should clarify his actual relationship with Noah, but he’s too concerned about Noah’s well-being so for now, he says nothing as he and Dr. Keene examine their patient.
Noah Mayer, 22, diagnosed with immediate monocular blindness due to traumatic brain injury after falling off a ladder, resulting in possible irreversible damage to optic nerve
Surgery to reduce swelling of and hemorrhaging in and around the brain, November 2009
Referred to Dr. Ross Wright, neurosurgeon, at Rush University Medical Center
Scheduled for rehabilitation and treatment every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday with Dr. Wright, July 2010-present
Reid closes Noah’s file and places it back on Dr. Keene’s desk in the too-small office. Dr. Keene was paged to assist another patient but asked Reid to wait for him here so they could discuss Noah. The file was sent over from Rush University Medical Center after Reid found Dr. Wright’s card in Noah’s wallet, which the paramedic gave to him in the ambulance.
“He’s a patient at Rush,” Reid said as if he’d known all along.
“Why?”
“Because he’s blind,” Reid said. That he had known.
But before Dr. Keene could interrogate Reid further-and possibly expose the truth-he was called away, leaving Reid to read up on who Noah Mayer was. Sure, he could tell Dr. Keene the truth, but after wanting to know more about Noah for months, Reid finally does and realizes he wants to learn more, especially if he can help Noah get his sight back.
Reid doesn’t do romance, and he doesn’t like all those saccharine romantic comedies that exist only to make you believe in something that isn’t real, but he thinks his life right now would make a damn good plot for a movie. The handsome, hot, and very single brain surgeon restores the sight of the object of his affection, who then wakes up and falls into bed with his savior.
I’d buy an overpriced ticket to see that film, Reid thinks with a smirk.
“Dr. Oliver?”
Reid nods as Dr. Keene enters the office and sits behind his desk.
“So . . .”
“So . . .”
“Noah’s doctor says he’s afraid to operate.”
Reid snorts. “I’m not surprised. Most neurosurgeons oughta be slicing salami someplace.”
“Well, I am surprised, surprised that you haven’t performed the surgery yourself. He’s your partner, after all.” Dr. Keene looks suspiciously at Reid.
It was good while it lasted. Reid leans forward in his chair. “Yeah, about that. I’m not actually-”
“Where is he?”
“How is he?”
“Can we see him?”
“Let us in to see him!”
“What the hell?” Dr. Keene stands, hearing the shouting outside his office. Reid follows him out.
Two women, a man, a teenager, and two children crowd around the nurses’ station. A redheaded woman bangs on the counter. “We need to talk to someone now! Where’s the director? The big chief? The top doc?”
“Can I help you?” Dr. Keene asks.
The woman pushes her stylish sunglasses onto her head. “You run this place?”
“I’m one of the supervising emergency doctors.”
A thin brunette in a gray coat approaches Dr. Keene and Reid. “We’re looking for Noah Mayer. We got a call that he was here, that he was in an accident.”
“And you are . . .?”
“She’s his mother,” the redhead says.
“Mother,” the brunette mutters.
“You are?” Reid asks without thinking.
“You don’t know her?” Dr. Keene asks Reid. He turns to the woman. “And you don’t know him?”
“Who is he?” the brunette asks.
“He’s your son’s partner, his boyfriend.”
“You are?” the brunette asks, her eyes widening.
“For real?” the teenage girl, a younger version of the brunette, asks in a very surprised tone.
The redhead raises her eyebrow. “Oh my, a doctor.”
“Wow, Noah traded up,” the teenager quips.
“Faith, hush,” the man says.
The brunette extends her hand to Reid. “Hi, I’m Lily.”
Reid shakes her hand. “Dr. Reid Oliver.”
“And I’m Lucinda Walsh, Lily’s mother,” the redhead says, smiling at Reid. She points to the man. “This is Holden, Lily’s husband.”
“I’m Faith,” the teenager says before pointing at the young girl and boy. “And this is Natalie and Ethan.”
“I’m five,” Ethan says, holding his little palm in the air.
“So you’re the Mayers?” For some reason, this is not what he imagined Noah’s family to look like, not that he’d imagined it . . . much.
The adults and children look at each other and laugh.
“No, no, we’re the Snyders,” Holden says.
Reid looks confused.
“We’re Noah’s adoptive family,” Lily clarifies. “He used to date my son.”
“What?” Reid and Dr. Keene ask simultaneously.
“Your sons were boyfriends? You know there’s a word for that?” Reid asks. Okay, this is not how he imagined Noah’s family at all.
Lily quickly shakes her head. “No, they were boyfriends before we adopted him.”
“So they weren’t together after they became brothers?”
“Well . . .”
“Lily, stop,” Lucinda orders. “You’re gonna scare him off.” She smiles at Reid. “Where’s Noah? Is he okay? Can we see him?”
“Dr. Oliver will explain Noah’s situation,” Dr. Keene says. “I need to check on some patients.” He pats Reid’s back and whispers, “Good luck with all this.”
Six pairs of eyes look expectantly at Reid.
There’s never an easy to way to break bad news. “Noah is in a coma.”
Lily gasps. “What happened?”
“He slipped and hit his head on the ice. I was, uh, with him so I brought him here but unfortunately, he hasn’t regained consciousness.”
“But is he going to be all right?” Holden says.
“I’m working on it,” Reid says.
“So you’re his boyfriend and his doctor?” Faith asks.
“Yeah.” He’ll tell the truth soon.
“That is, like, super romantic,” Faith says. “It’s, like, a movie.”
See? I’m not the only who thinks so. “Look, they usually only allow two visitors at a time but I know Noah would want you all in there with him. Put the shrieking on silent, though, or you’ll have to sulk alone in the waiting room, got it? Follow me.”
Lily pats Reid’s arm. “Thank you so much, Dr. Oliver.”
“Oh, Noah,” Lily gasps loudly before covering her mouth and looking apologetically at Reid. She stands beside the bed. “We haven’t seen him in a few months. We were notified only because I’m his emergency contact. Ever since he and Luke . . . he keeps his distance.”
“And him moving into the city to get treatment further alienated him from us,” Holden adds.
“Which is precisely why we don’t know a single thing about you, Doc,” Lucinda says, looking Reid up and down.
“I’m a neurosurgeon who lives in Chicago. That pretty much sums it up,” Reid replies matter-of-factly.
“Oh, darling, there’s gotta be more than that for you to have attracted the attention of our young man here,” Lucinda says. “And without his eyesight, too.”
Faith smirks and winks at Reid. “Or did he attract you?”
“Faith!” scolds Lily. “The only thing that matters is that Noah gets better and comes back to us and maybe this is a good thing-not Noah falling, I mean, but this accident. It brought him to us again and I think this is good.” She smiles softly at Reid. “And we got to meet you.”
Lucinda stands behind Lily and put her hands on Lily’s shoulders. “After all the troubles this family’s faced this year, I hope you’re right, dear.”
“Dr. Oliver, would you like to join us for dinner later?” Holden asks.
Lily brightens. “Oh, yes, please, Dr. Oliver, we’d like to have you over.”
“Yes, we would,” Lucinda chimes in. “We’d love to get to know you better.”
Faith claps her hands. “Yes! And you can tell us how you met and when you first kissed and where you take your walks in the park.”
Dinner with the parents? Already? “Uh, I don’t think I can. I have to go over to my building and check on a few patients and then follow up on some cases.”
“Come to our house! We’re getting a big, big tree,” Ethan yells, jumping up to show Reid the presumed height of the tree. “It’s gonna be this big.”
Natalie jumps higher. “It’s bigger!”
Reid is tempted to accept the invite just so the kids can quiet down, but then he realizes that they’ll probably be doing even more jumping and yelling at the Snyder Shack so he says nothing.
“Please?” Lily asks again. “We’re having ham and homemade pie that my mother-in-law baked just for our Christmas decorating night.
“I have to work, Mrs. Snyder.”
“Call me Lily.” She hands Reid a card from her purse. “In case you change your mind.”
Lily, Lucinda and the kids walk out. Holden approaches Reid. “We worry about him. Our other son too. When they broke up, they were different, sadder. We all felt it. But now Noah’s got you. And we can only hope Luke finds someone else too. And if you can’t come by tonight, then drop in whenever. Don’t be a stranger.”
Reid exhales. He wants to laugh at how random and fast things happened. Just that morning, he didn’t know Bunyan’s name. Now, he’s been invited to his boyfriend’s adoptive family’s home for dinner and Christmas decorating.
He approaches Noah’s bed. “Interesting family you got there, Noah. Why didn’t you tell me you dated your brother?” He laughs, shaking his head at the odd family situation. “And what kind of pie does your other grandma bake? Is it any good?”
Noah remains still. Reid stares at him.
My sleeping boyfriend.
More like a complete stranger in a coma.
Reid looks at the card in his hands. It’s been a long time since he’s been invited to someone’s house during the holidays. Oakdale. Reid has never been there. He only knows it’s a suburb about thirty minutes outside the city. And he knows there’s a train that can take him there directly. He wouldn’t have to switch trains.
He looks back at Noah. He can’t do it. No matter what they think, it isn’t true. None of it is. Reid may be a lot of things, but he’s not a liar or a fraud. The best thing, he knows, is to help Noah wake up, restore his eyesight and maybe get a smile from him in return. And that’s it. No dinner with the family, no bonding with the dad or the siblings, no Christmas decorating-no decorating of any kind.
Reid can do it, keep his distance. He’s survived long enough without people and drama and all the conflicts usually associated with family, especially during the holidays.
Yeah, I don’t need any of that.
He stuffs the card in his pocket, says goodbye to Noah, and walks out.
It’s barely seven when Reid finishes for the day. He zips his jacket and heads to catch the train that will take him to his 2-bedroom, 2-bath condo in the Ukrainian Village of Chicago’s west side. Reid makes good money. He could’ve lived anywhere he wanted when he first moved to Chicago from Dallas. He could’ve been neighbors with the President in Hyde Park or ran into Oprah in ritzy Old Town. But Reid is practical and sensible and couldn’t pass up the great deal he got for the condo that’s not too far from the hospital.
He’s just put a frozen turkey meal in the microwave when the doorbell rings.
“Hi.”
“Hi.” Reid smiles and moves aside so the woman can enter. She practically bounces into the living room and sits on the couch.
“So, where are we not going this time?” Reid asks as he sits in the chair opposite her.
Kalyna is a tall, slender twenty-four year old with slightly crooked front teeth and round brown eyes. She’s the only daughter of the Ukrainian couple that lives next door to Reid. They met when her dad introduced her to Reid, praising everything but her shoe size, hoping his single daughter and the doctor could go to dinner and a movie, his treat. Reid declined politely and tried to avoid her from then on. But then he saw her crying on her front steps one chilly night when Reid was returning from the hospital. She apologized for her dad’s behavior and then, through subsiding tears, asked why Reid turned her down.
“You’re not a man, right?”
“No,” she replied with a slight accent.
“That’s why,” Reid said with a smile.
“Oh.” The girl was smart. “I bet my father will wish he had a son.” The girl was funny.
They talked for a few more minutes after that-well, Kalyna did. She wasn’t in any rush to find a man to marry but felt like she was disappointing her father by staying single. Reid didn’t have much to say to that, but it was okay with her. She liked that Reid listened.
“Maybe he just doesn’t want you to be lonely,” Reid finally said. It was getting cold and he was starving.
“You’re all alone and you’re not lonely,” she said.
Reid simply nodded his head.
From then on, Kalyna stops by Reid’s place to pretend to invite him out. Her father somehow manages to buy her tickets to the best plays, concerts, museums, all in the hope of enticing Reid, whom he still doesn’t know is gay (“as long as he doesn’t know, he won’t try to find me someone else”). She actually invites Reid (“so I don’t have to lie to my father”), Reid declines, and then after a few minutes of chatting, she returns home. “Until our next non-date,” she teases before walking out.
Reid doesn’t find her too annoying so he keeps letting her in.
“I’ve got tickets to The Nutcracker,” Kalyna says, holding two tickets in the air.
“And I’ve got a soggy turkey dinner,” Reid retorts.
“Ouch. You’re turning me down for turkey?”
“Food always wins,” Reid says.
Kalyna laughs and looks around the room. “You don’t have a tree.”
“Good observation.”
“You’re not gonna get one?”
“I don’t like Christmas trees.”
“But they’re so much fun to decorate,” Kalyna argues.
“If you’re a girl or a kid,” Reid says, standing when he hears the chime of the microwave.
“You’re not a girl but even you were a kid once. Didn’t you like trees then?” she asks as he stirs his small turkey dinner.
Reid looks up at her. “There weren’t a lot of Christmas trees when I was a kid.” He swallows a piece of his wet turkey.
Kalyna knows it’s time to go. She never comes between Reid and his food. “Well, my father got us a very tall and fluffy one. Me and my mother dressed it in red and silver.” She sighs. “I know I complain a lot about them but it’s nice to have them around during the holidays. Life is more happy.” She waves at Reid. “Until our next non-date, Doctor.”
Reid shoves another piece into his mouth. It’s suddenly dry and tastes like cardboard. He tosses the meal into the trash and takes Lily’s card out of his pocket. He stares at it.
He’s always been alone but he’s never felt lonely, not the way he does now.
“Well, Noah, it looks like I’m visiting Oakdale tonight,” Reid says as he puts his jacket on. “Maybe you can wake up in time to join us for the decorating. Your family misses you.” He grabs his keys and pauses at the door. “I miss you too.”
Reid walks out, rushing to catch the train to Oakdale.
Part II
Author: sleeper6
Characters: Luke, Reid, a comatose Noah, the Snyders, and a few OCs
Rating: PG-13
Summary: A loose interpretation of the Sandra Bullock film, While You Were Sleeping: Reid pretends to be involved with a guy in a coma to get close to him. But then his family arrives . . .
Disclaimer: All belongs to the As the World Turns, not me.
His smile.
That is the first thing Reid noticed about him back in July when he entered the train and Reid’s life. People don’t smile when they see Reid-no, they usually cringe and cower, and Reid’s fine with that. But this guy, every time without fail, enters the train and smiles at Reid.
Well, truthfully, he smiles at everyone. The guy is blind and can’t see who he’s looking at, but that doesn’t matter. Reid likes to pretend that the tall, handsome brunet smiles only at him. It helps that Reid makes it a point of sitting in the guy’s line of sight so that if he could see, he’d see Reid first. And he’d smile.
Reid sits up straighter as the doors open and Blind Bunyan (the guy is tall, muscular and wears a lot of plaid shirts) walks in, his cane guiding him to an empty seat. This is the part where Reid is always tempted to stand and offer his seat to the guy and maybe start a conversation. But lucky for Bunyan-and not so lucky for Reid-the train is never full. Thus, Reid never stands. He merely sits and observes the guy.
He can’t be older than twenty-three or twenty-four, Reid surmises, maybe he was a college student before the incident happened that robbed him of his sight. Reid knows the guy wasn’t born blind since he has some trouble navigating his way around, as if he’s learning still how to live without his eyes. He’s apparently single since he’s always alone. He never talks to anyone on the phone that he carries in the front right pocket of his pants, and the phone never rings. He doesn’t seem very sociable, which is probably why Reid likes the guy. He doesn’t talk to anyone on the train, just like Reid, and mumbled responses the one or two times he was asked random questions by random people. But unlike Reid, he smiles at everyone and anyone, especially at Reid.
That smile. That must mean he’s friendly. Reid just hasn’t seen him be friendly with anyone. And Reid’s fine with that. He wants Blind Bunyan to be friendly only with him-if Reid ever talks to him, that is.
Reid’s not afraid to approach Bunyan. Reid Oliver is never afraid. He’s just not used to meeting men outside of a bar or club. He meets his bed mates with a simple glance or nod, nothing more. And once they’re in bed, well, there is definitely no talking. With this guy, though, Reid would have to talk. And Reid Oliver doesn’t do small talk; it’s a waste of time. And he’s not very good at it either.
Reid supposes he can initiate a conversation by complimenting the guy’s coat. It’s a navy coat, and the color brings out the bright blue, vacant eyes. The coat looks expensive. Maybe Blind Bunyan is a rich, preppy kid and not the lowly train rider that Reid thinks he is.
Or maybe not. In all the months that Reid’s seen him, this is the first time Bunyan looks richly dressed. Maybe it’s an early Christmas present from a boyfriend . . . or girlfriend. Reid doesn’t know for sure that the guy is gay but he hopes, wishes, fantasizes.
They’re approaching the stop where Bunyan always gets off. Reid wonders where he goes the three days out of the week that they share a train. Reid’s been tempted to follow him a few times, but then he remembers that he’s not a stalker or a love-sick teenage girl and remains seated, staring out the window of the train as Bunyan heads for the station exit, his cane leading the way.
Bunyan stands as he hears the train approaching his stop and holds on to the metal bar beside the door.
And suddenly, without any rational thinking-so unlike him-Reid stands from his seat and walks towards the guy. Maybe it’s because he’s horny and hasn’t been intimate in months (has it been almost a year?) and Bunyan is young and extremely attractive. Or maybe it’s because it’s a week before Christmas and Reid is tired of spending it, along with every other holiday, alone in his condo with a microwavable meal on his plate. Whatever the reason, before he can stop himself, Reid gently touches the guy’s sleeve.
“Do you need help getting off?” Reid asks, immediately realizing how that sounded. “Do you need help getting somewhere?”
Bunyan moves his head toward Reid’s voice and smiles.
That smile. Reid inhales. It’s even nicer up close.
“No, I’m okay. I’ve got it,” Bunyan says.
“Be careful. It’s snowing heavily out there.”
“I will.”
Reid’s left hand begins twitching, a tic he can never control. “I-I’m Reid. My name, I mean, it’s Reid.”
“I’m Noah.”
Before Reid can say anymore, the train stops and the doors open. Noah walks out. Just as the doors close and before the train proceeds to Reid’s stop which is just a few blocks away from Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he’s worked for five years, Reid stares in shock as Noah slips on the ice on the platform. Noah hits his head against the pavement when he falls on his back.
Reid bangs on the doors. “Open them! Open them!”
The doors open, and Reid rushes out, kneeling next to Noah. “Noah? Noah, can you hear me?”
Noah’s eyes remain close. Reid carefully lifts Noah’s head and feels the warm blood beneath him. He takes off his jacket and places it under Noah’s head, applying pressure. “Call 911 now!” he instructs to a bystander who’s standing over them.
“Noah, come on, open your eyes. Open them. You can’t quit on me,” he bellows loudly. He then caresses Noah’s face and touches his lips. His voice softens. “Come on, Noah, you can’t leave me alone, not now. Who’s going to be my Christmas date, huh?”
The ambulance arrives minutes later.
“Did you call it in, ma’am?” the paramedic asks a woman with a cell phone in her hand. She is standing a few feet away from Reid and Noah.
“Yes.”
“Do you know him?”
“No, but the guy with him does. He’s his boyfriend,” she says, having overheard Reid’s pleads to Noah.
Noah is loaded onto the gurney. “I’m going with him,” Reid says, ready to flash his doctor’s badge if the paramedic denies him.
“Of course, sir,” the paramedic says immediately. “You have every right to be with him.”
Reid thinks that’s an odd thing for the paramedic to say, but gets into the ambulance without giving it anymore thought.
Upon arriving at the emergency room, Reid runs behind the paramedics and hospital attendants as they rush Noah into an exam room.
“What do we have here?” the emergency room doctor, Dr. Keene, says as he touches Noah’s head, which has been bandaged during the ride over.
“Laceration to the upper left side of the head. Doesn’t look too deep but he needs a CT scan to rule out internal bleeding. External bleeding is under control and blood pressure is stable,” Reid states as he stands in front of the exam bed where Noah is laid.
“And you are?” Dr. Keene says, looking over at Reid.
“Noah Mayer’s boyfriend,” the paramedic says, pointing to Noah. “That’s Noah Mayer.”
Reid’s eyes widen. “Wait, what? I’m his boyfriend?”
The paramedic smiles. “Yeah, the lady at the station told me.” With that, he exits.
“And you’re a doctor?” Dr. Keene asks.
Reid is still confused by his sudden status as someone’s boyfriend-specifically, Noah’s boyfriend. “Uh, yeah, I-I work over at the brain institute on St. Clair. I’m Reid Oliver.”
Dr. Keene smiles. “Nice to put a face to the name. I’ve heard about you.” He writes notes in Noah’s chart. “Well, you can stay here and assist if you like. I know it’s generally a conflict of interest since you’re involved with the patient but you’re also the Reid Oliver and I might be able to use your help.”
Reid knows he should clarify his actual relationship with Noah, but he’s too concerned about Noah’s well-being so for now, he says nothing as he and Dr. Keene examine their patient.
Noah Mayer, 22, diagnosed with immediate monocular blindness due to traumatic brain injury after falling off a ladder, resulting in possible irreversible damage to optic nerve
Surgery to reduce swelling of and hemorrhaging in and around the brain, November 2009
Referred to Dr. Ross Wright, neurosurgeon, at Rush University Medical Center
Scheduled for rehabilitation and treatment every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday with Dr. Wright, July 2010-present
Reid closes Noah’s file and places it back on Dr. Keene’s desk in the too-small office. Dr. Keene was paged to assist another patient but asked Reid to wait for him here so they could discuss Noah. The file was sent over from Rush University Medical Center after Reid found Dr. Wright’s card in Noah’s wallet, which the paramedic gave to him in the ambulance.
“He’s a patient at Rush,” Reid said as if he’d known all along.
“Why?”
“Because he’s blind,” Reid said. That he had known.
But before Dr. Keene could interrogate Reid further-and possibly expose the truth-he was called away, leaving Reid to read up on who Noah Mayer was. Sure, he could tell Dr. Keene the truth, but after wanting to know more about Noah for months, Reid finally does and realizes he wants to learn more, especially if he can help Noah get his sight back.
Reid doesn’t do romance, and he doesn’t like all those saccharine romantic comedies that exist only to make you believe in something that isn’t real, but he thinks his life right now would make a damn good plot for a movie. The handsome, hot, and very single brain surgeon restores the sight of the object of his affection, who then wakes up and falls into bed with his savior.
I’d buy an overpriced ticket to see that film, Reid thinks with a smirk.
“Dr. Oliver?”
Reid nods as Dr. Keene enters the office and sits behind his desk.
“So . . .”
“So . . .”
“Noah’s doctor says he’s afraid to operate.”
Reid snorts. “I’m not surprised. Most neurosurgeons oughta be slicing salami someplace.”
“Well, I am surprised, surprised that you haven’t performed the surgery yourself. He’s your partner, after all.” Dr. Keene looks suspiciously at Reid.
It was good while it lasted. Reid leans forward in his chair. “Yeah, about that. I’m not actually-”
“Where is he?”
“How is he?”
“Can we see him?”
“Let us in to see him!”
“What the hell?” Dr. Keene stands, hearing the shouting outside his office. Reid follows him out.
Two women, a man, a teenager, and two children crowd around the nurses’ station. A redheaded woman bangs on the counter. “We need to talk to someone now! Where’s the director? The big chief? The top doc?”
“Can I help you?” Dr. Keene asks.
The woman pushes her stylish sunglasses onto her head. “You run this place?”
“I’m one of the supervising emergency doctors.”
A thin brunette in a gray coat approaches Dr. Keene and Reid. “We’re looking for Noah Mayer. We got a call that he was here, that he was in an accident.”
“And you are . . .?”
“She’s his mother,” the redhead says.
“Mother,” the brunette mutters.
“You are?” Reid asks without thinking.
“You don’t know her?” Dr. Keene asks Reid. He turns to the woman. “And you don’t know him?”
“Who is he?” the brunette asks.
“He’s your son’s partner, his boyfriend.”
“You are?” the brunette asks, her eyes widening.
“For real?” the teenage girl, a younger version of the brunette, asks in a very surprised tone.
The redhead raises her eyebrow. “Oh my, a doctor.”
“Wow, Noah traded up,” the teenager quips.
“Faith, hush,” the man says.
The brunette extends her hand to Reid. “Hi, I’m Lily.”
Reid shakes her hand. “Dr. Reid Oliver.”
“And I’m Lucinda Walsh, Lily’s mother,” the redhead says, smiling at Reid. She points to the man. “This is Holden, Lily’s husband.”
“I’m Faith,” the teenager says before pointing at the young girl and boy. “And this is Natalie and Ethan.”
“I’m five,” Ethan says, holding his little palm in the air.
“So you’re the Mayers?” For some reason, this is not what he imagined Noah’s family to look like, not that he’d imagined it . . . much.
The adults and children look at each other and laugh.
“No, no, we’re the Snyders,” Holden says.
Reid looks confused.
“We’re Noah’s adoptive family,” Lily clarifies. “He used to date my son.”
“What?” Reid and Dr. Keene ask simultaneously.
“Your sons were boyfriends? You know there’s a word for that?” Reid asks. Okay, this is not how he imagined Noah’s family at all.
Lily quickly shakes her head. “No, they were boyfriends before we adopted him.”
“So they weren’t together after they became brothers?”
“Well . . .”
“Lily, stop,” Lucinda orders. “You’re gonna scare him off.” She smiles at Reid. “Where’s Noah? Is he okay? Can we see him?”
“Dr. Oliver will explain Noah’s situation,” Dr. Keene says. “I need to check on some patients.” He pats Reid’s back and whispers, “Good luck with all this.”
Six pairs of eyes look expectantly at Reid.
There’s never an easy to way to break bad news. “Noah is in a coma.”
Lily gasps. “What happened?”
“He slipped and hit his head on the ice. I was, uh, with him so I brought him here but unfortunately, he hasn’t regained consciousness.”
“But is he going to be all right?” Holden says.
“I’m working on it,” Reid says.
“So you’re his boyfriend and his doctor?” Faith asks.
“Yeah.” He’ll tell the truth soon.
“That is, like, super romantic,” Faith says. “It’s, like, a movie.”
See? I’m not the only who thinks so. “Look, they usually only allow two visitors at a time but I know Noah would want you all in there with him. Put the shrieking on silent, though, or you’ll have to sulk alone in the waiting room, got it? Follow me.”
Lily pats Reid’s arm. “Thank you so much, Dr. Oliver.”
“Oh, Noah,” Lily gasps loudly before covering her mouth and looking apologetically at Reid. She stands beside the bed. “We haven’t seen him in a few months. We were notified only because I’m his emergency contact. Ever since he and Luke . . . he keeps his distance.”
“And him moving into the city to get treatment further alienated him from us,” Holden adds.
“Which is precisely why we don’t know a single thing about you, Doc,” Lucinda says, looking Reid up and down.
“I’m a neurosurgeon who lives in Chicago. That pretty much sums it up,” Reid replies matter-of-factly.
“Oh, darling, there’s gotta be more than that for you to have attracted the attention of our young man here,” Lucinda says. “And without his eyesight, too.”
Faith smirks and winks at Reid. “Or did he attract you?”
“Faith!” scolds Lily. “The only thing that matters is that Noah gets better and comes back to us and maybe this is a good thing-not Noah falling, I mean, but this accident. It brought him to us again and I think this is good.” She smiles softly at Reid. “And we got to meet you.”
Lucinda stands behind Lily and put her hands on Lily’s shoulders. “After all the troubles this family’s faced this year, I hope you’re right, dear.”
“Dr. Oliver, would you like to join us for dinner later?” Holden asks.
Lily brightens. “Oh, yes, please, Dr. Oliver, we’d like to have you over.”
“Yes, we would,” Lucinda chimes in. “We’d love to get to know you better.”
Faith claps her hands. “Yes! And you can tell us how you met and when you first kissed and where you take your walks in the park.”
Dinner with the parents? Already? “Uh, I don’t think I can. I have to go over to my building and check on a few patients and then follow up on some cases.”
“Come to our house! We’re getting a big, big tree,” Ethan yells, jumping up to show Reid the presumed height of the tree. “It’s gonna be this big.”
Natalie jumps higher. “It’s bigger!”
Reid is tempted to accept the invite just so the kids can quiet down, but then he realizes that they’ll probably be doing even more jumping and yelling at the Snyder Shack so he says nothing.
“Please?” Lily asks again. “We’re having ham and homemade pie that my mother-in-law baked just for our Christmas decorating night.
“I have to work, Mrs. Snyder.”
“Call me Lily.” She hands Reid a card from her purse. “In case you change your mind.”
Lily, Lucinda and the kids walk out. Holden approaches Reid. “We worry about him. Our other son too. When they broke up, they were different, sadder. We all felt it. But now Noah’s got you. And we can only hope Luke finds someone else too. And if you can’t come by tonight, then drop in whenever. Don’t be a stranger.”
Reid exhales. He wants to laugh at how random and fast things happened. Just that morning, he didn’t know Bunyan’s name. Now, he’s been invited to his boyfriend’s adoptive family’s home for dinner and Christmas decorating.
He approaches Noah’s bed. “Interesting family you got there, Noah. Why didn’t you tell me you dated your brother?” He laughs, shaking his head at the odd family situation. “And what kind of pie does your other grandma bake? Is it any good?”
Noah remains still. Reid stares at him.
My sleeping boyfriend.
More like a complete stranger in a coma.
Reid looks at the card in his hands. It’s been a long time since he’s been invited to someone’s house during the holidays. Oakdale. Reid has never been there. He only knows it’s a suburb about thirty minutes outside the city. And he knows there’s a train that can take him there directly. He wouldn’t have to switch trains.
He looks back at Noah. He can’t do it. No matter what they think, it isn’t true. None of it is. Reid may be a lot of things, but he’s not a liar or a fraud. The best thing, he knows, is to help Noah wake up, restore his eyesight and maybe get a smile from him in return. And that’s it. No dinner with the family, no bonding with the dad or the siblings, no Christmas decorating-no decorating of any kind.
Reid can do it, keep his distance. He’s survived long enough without people and drama and all the conflicts usually associated with family, especially during the holidays.
Yeah, I don’t need any of that.
He stuffs the card in his pocket, says goodbye to Noah, and walks out.
It’s barely seven when Reid finishes for the day. He zips his jacket and heads to catch the train that will take him to his 2-bedroom, 2-bath condo in the Ukrainian Village of Chicago’s west side. Reid makes good money. He could’ve lived anywhere he wanted when he first moved to Chicago from Dallas. He could’ve been neighbors with the President in Hyde Park or ran into Oprah in ritzy Old Town. But Reid is practical and sensible and couldn’t pass up the great deal he got for the condo that’s not too far from the hospital.
He’s just put a frozen turkey meal in the microwave when the doorbell rings.
“Hi.”
“Hi.” Reid smiles and moves aside so the woman can enter. She practically bounces into the living room and sits on the couch.
“So, where are we not going this time?” Reid asks as he sits in the chair opposite her.
Kalyna is a tall, slender twenty-four year old with slightly crooked front teeth and round brown eyes. She’s the only daughter of the Ukrainian couple that lives next door to Reid. They met when her dad introduced her to Reid, praising everything but her shoe size, hoping his single daughter and the doctor could go to dinner and a movie, his treat. Reid declined politely and tried to avoid her from then on. But then he saw her crying on her front steps one chilly night when Reid was returning from the hospital. She apologized for her dad’s behavior and then, through subsiding tears, asked why Reid turned her down.
“You’re not a man, right?”
“No,” she replied with a slight accent.
“That’s why,” Reid said with a smile.
“Oh.” The girl was smart. “I bet my father will wish he had a son.” The girl was funny.
They talked for a few more minutes after that-well, Kalyna did. She wasn’t in any rush to find a man to marry but felt like she was disappointing her father by staying single. Reid didn’t have much to say to that, but it was okay with her. She liked that Reid listened.
“Maybe he just doesn’t want you to be lonely,” Reid finally said. It was getting cold and he was starving.
“You’re all alone and you’re not lonely,” she said.
Reid simply nodded his head.
From then on, Kalyna stops by Reid’s place to pretend to invite him out. Her father somehow manages to buy her tickets to the best plays, concerts, museums, all in the hope of enticing Reid, whom he still doesn’t know is gay (“as long as he doesn’t know, he won’t try to find me someone else”). She actually invites Reid (“so I don’t have to lie to my father”), Reid declines, and then after a few minutes of chatting, she returns home. “Until our next non-date,” she teases before walking out.
Reid doesn’t find her too annoying so he keeps letting her in.
“I’ve got tickets to The Nutcracker,” Kalyna says, holding two tickets in the air.
“And I’ve got a soggy turkey dinner,” Reid retorts.
“Ouch. You’re turning me down for turkey?”
“Food always wins,” Reid says.
Kalyna laughs and looks around the room. “You don’t have a tree.”
“Good observation.”
“You’re not gonna get one?”
“I don’t like Christmas trees.”
“But they’re so much fun to decorate,” Kalyna argues.
“If you’re a girl or a kid,” Reid says, standing when he hears the chime of the microwave.
“You’re not a girl but even you were a kid once. Didn’t you like trees then?” she asks as he stirs his small turkey dinner.
Reid looks up at her. “There weren’t a lot of Christmas trees when I was a kid.” He swallows a piece of his wet turkey.
Kalyna knows it’s time to go. She never comes between Reid and his food. “Well, my father got us a very tall and fluffy one. Me and my mother dressed it in red and silver.” She sighs. “I know I complain a lot about them but it’s nice to have them around during the holidays. Life is more happy.” She waves at Reid. “Until our next non-date, Doctor.”
Reid shoves another piece into his mouth. It’s suddenly dry and tastes like cardboard. He tosses the meal into the trash and takes Lily’s card out of his pocket. He stares at it.
He’s always been alone but he’s never felt lonely, not the way he does now.
“Well, Noah, it looks like I’m visiting Oakdale tonight,” Reid says as he puts his jacket on. “Maybe you can wake up in time to join us for the decorating. Your family misses you.” He grabs his keys and pauses at the door. “I miss you too.”
Reid walks out, rushing to catch the train to Oakdale.
Part II