Her Picture

HER PICTURE



      “Here it is Lyle,” Gary said handing him the picture.  Lyle reached up from the hospital bed and
winced.  The pain was excruciating.
      “Who is she?” Gary asked.  “I know I've seen her somewhere.”
      “She's special,” Lyle said, looking into her crystal blue eyes smiling a little.
      “Do you know her?” Gary asked.
      “Yeah.  Yeah I do,” Lyle said.  “In a different sort of way maybe we all do.”
      Gary grunted.  “How you feeling buddy?”
      “Okay,” Lyle said looking at his friend.  “Just a little weak.  It's tender too.”
      “Well,” Gary said. “You've had a hell of a past couple of days.  I'm not surprised.  I'm glad you're going to be alright but if you ever do that again I'll personally beat the shit out of you myself, got it?  It ain't worth it!”
      “Yeah, yeah,” Lyle replied smiling up at his friend from the hospital bed.
      “Well it's not Lyle! Shit! Just let 'em have the money.  Don't be a damn hero.”
      “I know buddy,” Lyle said.
      “You could have been killed Lyle,” Gary said looking into his friend's eyes.  “You could have been killed.”
      “I know Gary,” Lyle replied.  He sighed while setting the picture of the woman on the nightstand beside his bed.
      Gary watched as Lyle did and then walked over to the windows in Lyle's room, looking out at the sky. A storm was slowly rumbling in and it looked like a rough one. He turned back to his friend lying in the bed watching him.
      “I'd better head out before this thing comes in Lyle but I'll come check on you tomorrow okay?”
      Lyle smiled at Gary. “Sounds good to me bro. I'll see you tomorrow. I'm getting a little tired anyway. Think the pain killers are kicking in.”
      “Good,” Gary said. “Oh! I almost forgot. I grabbed you some crossword puzzle magazines and some word searches as well. I'll set them over here next to the picture.”
      “Thanks buddy,” Lyle said, watching Gary set the magazines down on the table next to his bed.
      “No problem at all mi amigo,” Gary said smiling at Lyle.  “You okay?”
      “Huh? Yeah, I'm good man. Why?”
      “You just look a little pale is all,” Gary said looking at Lyle in the bed.  “Maybe it's just the change of light with this storm coming in.”
      “Ah, got'cha, “ Lyle said. “Actually, would you mind drawing the blinds for me before you head out Gary/”
      “Not at all,” Gary said and walked over to the windows and brought down the blinds. “Probably a good idea what with the storm coming and all.”
      “Yeah,” Lyle said, pulling the covers up over him.
      “K buddy, I'll see you tomorrow then. Get some good rest.”
      A nurse came in to check on Lyle.
      “Hello Gary,” she said with a smile.
      “Hello,” Gary returned. He could not remember her name as she apparently did his and felt kind of bad about not remembering her name but hoped he pulled it off okay with a simple hello.  The nurse smiled again and went over to Lyle's bed.
      “Lyle should get some rest,” she said turning to look at Gary.
      “Yep,” Gary said. “Just heading out. I'll be back tomorrow.”
      “Sounds great!” the nurse said with a smile.      
      “See ya Gary,” Lyle said from his bed.
      “See ya tomorrow Lyle!” Gary said as he and the nurse left Lyle's room.  They parted ways as Gary walked over to the elevators thinking to himself about how pale Lyle looked. The nurse did not seem to notice it though so perhaps he was just over-exaggerating maybe.  Gary stepped into the open elevator and rode it down to the main floor of the hospital. Once outside he looked up at the troubled sky. Thunder was starting to boom and lightning flashed off in the distance. Gary walked to his red F-150 and got inside and left the parking lot of the hospital and onto the main street and headed home.
      Once home Gary made himself some dinner, pork chops and sweet corn followed by salad and buttered bread. The rain soon began falling so Gary was happy he had made it home and beat the storm. He thought about the woman in the picture. She was certainly captivating. The look on her face made your heart skip a beat. When Gary was done with his meal he washed the dishes and lounged in front of the television as the thunder and lightning began making its presence known.
      'She certainly is gorgeous,' Gary recalled himself saying to Lyle as Lyle traced his fingers around the woman's face in the picture. Why was she so important to Lyle? Seemed strange, maybe even a little eerie. He decided he would ask Lyle more about it when he visited him tomorrow. Scratching at his right elbow he sighed and clicked off the television and decided to call it a night. He changed for bed and had bad dreams as he tossed and turned in bed, dreaming of the look on the woman's face in the picture as the lightning flashed and the thunder boomed outside.
      When Gary woke he began scratching at both of his elbows this time. They itched really badly. He walked into the restroom and looked in the mirror. At first he didn't notice his elbows but then it caught his eye. His elbows seemed to look a little pale, especially at the areas where he had been scratching because of how badly they had been itching. He shrugged it off for the moment, probably just something he was allergic to, maybe the new laundry detergent he had begun using. “I'll switch back to what I was using before,” he spoke to himself and stepped into the shower.
      The storm had passed and it was a nice drive to the hospital to see his friend. He put his power windows down a bit and enjoyed the new, fresh air the storm had left behind to enjoy. Without realizing it he scratched at his left leg some as he pulled into a parking spot in the hospital garage. He got out of his car and entered the hospital and was soon riding the elevator up to Lyle's room.
      “Hi Gary!” one of the nurses said to him as he proceeded down the hallway to Lyle's room. The nurses had all gotten to know Gary with his frequent visits to his friend Lyle. “Lyle's doing much better today!” the nurse said, walking around to the other side of the nurse's station. “Great!” Gary returned with a smile. The nurse smiled back at him and began looking over some records.
      “Hey buddy!” Gary said entering Lyle's room.
      “Hey Gary,” Lyle replied.  The lights were off in Lyle's room and it was still a little dark because the cloudy weather was still hanging around despite the storm having passed.
      “Mind if I turn on the lights my friend?” Gary asked, itching at his leg again.
      “Not at all.” Lyle returned.  Gary turned on the lights in Lyle's room and walked over to Lyle's bed. Lyle seemed even more pale that he had the day before.
      “Why are you so pale Lyle?” Gary asked at the side of Lyle's bed.
      “Pale?” Lyle asked. He looked himself over the best he could lying in the bed. “I don't think I look pale.” Another nurse stepped into the room and opened Lyle's blinds at one of the windows in the room. “Do you think I look pale Teresa?” Lyle asked the nurse, looking at her.  She came over to look at him. “You look just as fine as can be to me sweetie!” she said looking over his chart some before leaving the room.
      “What makes you think I look pale Gary?”
      “I don't know man. Maybe it's just me,” Gary said itching at his leg again.
      “What's going on with your arms buddy?” Lyle said, looking into his friends eyes.
      “What do you mean bro?” Gary replied, looking at Lyle.
      “Your arms look pale to me if you want to talk about someone looking pale Gary,” Lyle said, reaching a hand up and touching the pale spots on Gary's elbows and forearms.
      “Oh, that,” Gary said.  I tried a different laundry detergent because it was less expensive than the one I've always used before. I think I'm paying for it now,” Gary said with a smile. “I'm going to switch back to what I was using before.” He chuckled.
      “Sounds like a good idea my friend,” Lyle said, looking at Gary's pale spots a little concerned.
      “Do you want your pillows bunched up or anything Lyle?” Gary asked, reaching towards him.
      “Nah, they're fine,” Lyle said.
      “Why is this picture of this woman so special to you Lyle?” Gary asked, looking over at the picture of the woman. He couldn't help noticing that the woman in the picture had changed completely. She was an entirely different person.
      “You really want to know,” Lyle said, looking up at Gary.
      “Lyle! The picture has totally changed!” Gary said emphatically.
      “Huh?” Lyle responded, looking first at the picture and then to his friend with shock in his eyes.”What are you talking about Gary?”
      “It's not the same woman in the picture! Yesterday the woman in the picture had blonde hair and blue eyes. Now this woman in the picture has black hair and it's shorter and styled entirely differently! She looks completely different from the woman in the picture yesterday! She's not the same woman Lyle! Don't you see that?”
      Lyle looked at Gary concerned, his brow furrowed. “She looks the same to me Gary. Are you okay bro?”
      Gary looked at Lyle shocked. “Lyle! Look!”
      They both looked over at the picture of the woman. She was the same woman as yesterday.
      “What!” Gary said emphatically, scratching at both of his legs absently.
      “Maybe you're working too hard Gary and not getting enough sleep. That storm was really something last night too.  Sit down and relax,” Lyle said, motioning him to a chair close to the hospital bed.. Gary sat down.
      “You look really pale Gary,” Lyle said.
      “Me! Look at you Lyle,” Gary returned still in shock.
      “Everyone seems to think I look fine Gary, myself too but I'm worried about you.”
      Gary began itching at himself again.
      “Anyway,” Lyle said, looking over at the picture of the woman again, “sometimes I don't know myself.”
      “Don't know what,” Gary said.
      “You asked why the picture of her is so special to me,” Lyle said, turning his head and looking over at Gary itching himself some as he sat on the chair.
      “Oh, yeah, right,” Gary said, glancing over at the picture. She was indeed the same woman. 'Maybe it's this itching, making me freak out some,' he thought to himself. He resigned to bring it up to the medical staff on his way out after visiting Lyle or perhaps to a nurse if another one stepped inside Lyle's room before he was on his way out.
      “What do you mean sometimes you don't know Lyle?” Gary asked scratching.
      Lyle observed this closely.  He looked from the picture admiring her dark hair and then to his friend. “Do you believe in angles Gary?”
      “What?” Gary asked, leaning over the bed rail, trying to stop scratching. “Do I what?”
      “You heard me Gary. Do you believe in angels?” Lyle asked again, looking closely at Gary.
      “Well yeah, sure Lyle. I guess so.” he looked over his shoulder towards the open doorway noticing a few doctors walking by. “Why?” he asked, turning his head back to Lyle and looking into his eyes. “You think she is some kind of angel or something?”
      Another nurse stepped in the room to check on Lyle's readings.
      “Nurse?” Lyle asked looking at her.
      “Yes Lyle?” she returned with a smile.
      “Would you mind bringing us each a glass of water please? I think my friend could use one and I could myself. My throat is awfully dry.”
      “Certainly, “ the nurse replied smiling at them both and began walking out of the room.
      “Ma'am?” Gary turned to look at her.
      “Yes Gary”, the nurse turned back and said, “and it's Alicia silly!” she added with a smile.
      “Right!” Gary replied. “I should have known that,” he said smiling.  “Apologies.”
      “All good Gary. What can I do for you hon?” she asked smiling at him.
      “I seem to be having this itching going on,” Gary said. “I think it might just be an allergic reaction to the new laundry detergent I began using.”
      The nurse came over to look as Gary showed her his elbows where he had been aggressively scratching and his forearms now too.
      “My legs have begun itching as well,” Gary said as she looked him over.
      “He looks really pale to me as well,” Lyle said from his bed. “Why I asked for some water for both of us. I think Gary really needs it.”
      The nurse continued looking at Gary's spots where he had been scratching.
      “I'll mention this to one of our doctor's Gary and someone will come and see you and discuss this.”
      “Thank you Alicia!” Gary said smiling.
      “No problem Gary,” the nurse replied with a smile. “I'll be right back with your waters too of course.”
      “Thank you,“ both Gary and Lyle said.
      “I don't see any paleness in you though Gary,” she added as she prepared to leave Lyle's room.
      “Really!” Lyle exclaimed. To he, Gary was urging toward transparency.
      “What about Lyle?” Gary asked Alicia.
      “He looks fine to me sweetie,” Alicia said leaving the room.
      “Weird,” Gary said looking at Lyle.
      “Weird what?” Gary said looking at his friend.
      “You sure look pale to me Lyle,” Gary said  from his chair.
      “You're the one who looks pale Gary.”
      They both just stared at each other for a moment.
      “Anyway,” Lyle said, “about her,” as he turned his head back to the picture of the blonde woman, “I don't know if she's some kind of an angel. I don't know. Maybe a vision or something,” then began coughing.
      “You okay bud?” Gary asked, looking at Lyle with concern.
      “Yeah, the water will help when she brings it to us. My mouth and throat are just really dry.”
      “K Ly,” Gary said. “C'mon though man! Get out of here! A vision? An angel!” Gary exclaimed with a grin on his face.
      “No. Listen!” Lyle said emphatically.
      “How much blood have you lost?” Gary said laughing.
      “Listen dammit!” Lyle exclaimed, looking hard at Gary then began coughing. Alicia came back with two large glasses of water with plenty of ice in each. She handed one to Gary which he thanked her for and put Lyle's glass of water on the bed tray in front of him.
      “Dr. Patterson will be in soon to look at your itching Gary,” she said looking at Gary with a smile. “Really though hon, I don't think there is anything to worry about,” she added putting a hand on Gary's shoulder, “you look fine to me sweetheart.” She asked if there was anything else the two needed and they both told her no but thank you. Smiling, Alicia left the room.
      Lyle took a long drink of his ice-water and set his glass back down on the bed tray looking up at Gary.
      “Somehow she is with me Gary. With this picture. Through this picture somehow. Somehow she is in my life. Maybe in some kind of a different time or something but we are both somehow connected in some way.”
      Gary studied Lyle's face as he spoke. “What do you mean Lyle? It's just a picture, nothing more.”
      “No Gary. There is more,” Lyle said looking over to the doorway as Dr. Patterson entered the room. Gary turned around to see the doctor.
      “Are you Gary?” Dr. Patterson asked looking at Gary as he entered.
      “I am,” Gary replied.
      “I'm Dr. Patterson the doctor said offering his hand to Gary who shook it. “Alicia said you were concerned with some itching going on all over your body?”
      “Yes,” Gary replied. “It started up just yesterday.”
      “Well have a seat here son and I'll take a look.”
      Gary sat down in the chair near Lyle's bed and the doctor began looking him over. Gary and Lyle looked in each other's eyes as the doctor checked Gary.
      “Well, you do have some irritation going on. Do you have any allergies Gary?” the doctor asked, looking up at Gary.
      “None that I am aware of Dr. Patterson,” Gary replied, his eyes still locked with Lyle's. He could have sworn that for just a moment Lyle seemed to flicker in his bed. Maybe he was imagining things again but it sure seemed like it.
      “Well you're awfully pale young man,” Dr. Patterson said to Gary. Lyle looked at Gary as if saying, “See! I told you!”
      “I'll prescribe you a cream which you can pick up on your way home at whichever pharmacy you would like the prescription sent to and I will also go and get you some free samples as well. Apply the cream to the irritated areas in the morning and before you go to bed per instructions.”
      “Okay, thank you doctor,” Gary said, looking at Lyle again. “What about him doctor?” Gary asked.
      “Who? Oh! Lyle you must mean!”
      “Yes, he looks pale to me as well,” Gary added looking at Dr. Patterson.
      Dr. Patterson came over to Lyle's bed and looked at him.
      “I'd say Lyle is looking quite fine actually,” Dr. Patterson said, turning from Lyle's bed to face Gary again. “In fact, he looks much better than he did just a couple of days ago,” the doctor added. “Well, let me go get your prescription called in. What pharmacy would you like it called in to Gary?”
      Gary looked at Lyle shocked for a moment. “I'm sorry doctor, what did you say?”
      “I asked which pharmacy you would like your cream called in to son,” Dr. Patterson said again.
      “Oh! Right!” Gary replied, facing Dr. Patterson. “The Rite Aid please doctor, at 10th and Stanley.”
      “Rite Aid at 10th and Stanley, noted,” Dr. Patterson said and began walking to the doorway of the room. “I'll be right back with your samples as well.”
      “Thank you doctor,” Gary said.
      “Yes, thank you Dr. Patterson,” Lyle said as well.
      Dr. Patterson made a grunting noise and exited Lyle's room.
      “Do you remember the fire Gary, when mom and dad went to Chicago? We lost the cat.” Lyle asked, looking at his friend.
      “Yeah, of course,” Gary replied, pulling the chair over to the bed from the wall.  A nurse paged Dr. Ranker to go to Radiology.
      “When our house was on fire and I couldn't find a way to reach my little sister's bedroom I saw an image in the flames.
      “Her?” Gary asked pointing to the picture of the woman with her lovely, auburn hair. 'Wait,' Gary thought to himself looking at her.
      “Yeah!” Lyle said emphatically, “It was her!”
      “Maybe it just looked like her?” Gary suggested glancing over and seeing her hair back to blond again.
      “No. Let me finish,” Lyle said.  “I know it was her. I'll never forget looking in her face as she smiled at me.  The exhaustion went away.  The heavy heat was gone.  It was strangely quiet and peaceful.  Somehow I saw a hole in the wall through the thick smoke and I was able to go through it to reach Stacy's room and get her out.  It was bizarre Gary but it was her.” Lyle looked over at the picture.
      “So what's up with keeping this picture with you now though?” Gary asked looking at it on the nightstand beside Lyle's bed. It seemed to flicker for just a moment.
      Lyle was quiet for a moment, shaking his head back and forth slowly. Gary thought to himself, 'How can they not see how pale he looks.'
      “I'd seen her again when I almost died from that food poisoning about three years later.  I swear to God it's true Gary” Lyle said, looking at Gary intensely.
      'His eyes look so red and irritated,' Gary thought to himself.  “I remember Lyle, you were pretty sick,” he said looking at his friend.
      “I must have been somewhere else somehow,” Lyle said looking at Gary, “but I remember her telling me that I was going to be okay.  She whispered it to me softly while looking into my eyes and after that, I just remember waking up.  But those eyes. Her eyes!” Lyle said again, once more shaking his head slowly back and forth.  “Those incredible green eyes.” He looked over at the picture again.
      “Blue eyes,” Gary grunted, rubbing his forehead.
      “Blue?” Lyle said, looking at his friend with a sarcastic smile on his face. “You okay Gar?”
      “Huh? Yeah, I'm fine Lyle.” Gary said. 'Were her eyes blue?' Gary couldn't be sure anymore. He felt dizzy.
      “When the guy in the store shot me the other night Gary I saw her again,” Lyle said, shifting his eyes to Gary after caressing his wound. “Gary? Hello? Gary?”
      “Yeah?” Gary said, looking up at Lyle.
      “You look...are you okay bro?” Lyle asked.
      “I don't understand Lyle. What's going on here?”
      “What do you mean?” Lyle asked, looking at Gary intently.
      The intercom paged again.  This time for a Dr. Thompson.
      “Something's not right man,” Gary said, looking at Lyle.
      He glanced out of the hospital room window to look at the sunset, briefly struck as he noticed the huge cross on top of the church steeple. It seemed to reach up into the orange and yellow sky.
      “Pretty.”
      “Yeah, she is, isn't she?” Lyle added, smiling at the picture of Alicia on his nightstand.
      The two friends had a moment to glance at each other and then they both faded away.
      Alicia came into the empty room. A moment later Dr. Patterson entered the room as well. The two stood in the room for a moment and then faced each other.
      “I'm not really sure why I stepped in here,” Alicia said exasperated, looking at Dr. Patterson.
      “Nor am I,” Dr. Patterson replied, confused.
      “Well this is certainly awkward,” Alicia added as the two glanced around the empty room.
      “What's that?” Dr. Patterson said pointing.
      Alicia looked where the doctor was pointing and walked over to the nightstand beside the bed and picked up the picture.
      “What is this!” Alicia said.  Dr. Patterson came over to her and looked at the picture.
      “It looks like a picture of you Alicia,” Dr. Patterson said. “Why on earth would there be a picture of you here? Here in this empty room?”
      Dr. Patterson looked pale.
      “Are you okay doctor!” Alicia said, looking at Dr. Patterson with concern on her face.
      “I...I need to sit down,” Dr. Patterson said, motioning to the chair beside the bed.
      “Of course doctor,” Alicia said and hurried over to the chair, bringing it over to Dr. Patterson.
      “Here doctor, sit down.”
      Dr. Patterson sat down in the chair, looking up at Alicia's lovely blue eyes, her beautiful blond hair. “Pretty,” he softly said.
      Alicia smiled down at him. “Sit here and rest Dr. Patterson. You are going to be just fine. I'm going to go get Dr. Litchfield to come take a look at you sweetie. You just relax and we'll be right back.”
      “Thank you Alicia,” Dr. Patterson said. He gently rolled himself over to the picture of Alicia on the nightstand beside the hospital bed in the room and picked it up and held it in his hands.
      “Pretty,” he said to himself again looking at the picture of Alicia with her beautiful black hair and green eyes.



--The End
--MSL2025