Gifted Ch. 03

"Wow," she started, "now what?"

"I don't know," Sawyer said as he slipped free of her warmth. "I do know that I need to see you again." Her smile would have lit up the darkest night. He kissed the tip of her nose and eased off the bed. Lien-hua sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. He reached down, retrieved her clothing and extracted the boy shorts before he handed the rest to her. "Mine," he said putting them to his nose and inhaling with a smile.

"And everything that goes in those," she said in husky voice, accepting the bundle of clothing. "I have to work tomorrow through Sunday, and barring an emergency, I get off at six." Lien-hua quickly dressed, as Sawyer eased the hospital gown back over his shoulders.

"I'll be here Sunday at six for you, bring a change of clothes," he took her hand in his and she leaned into him.

"Like I'll need clothes." He kissed her forehead and as much as he hated to let her go, she extracted herself from his grasp and lifted herself onto her tippy toes, kissed his lips softly then left the room, knowing if she didn't go now, she wouldn't go, ever.

Sawyer watched her go, and felt part of him go with her. He eased himself back into bed and was covering himself when Zoe came back into the room.

"Jesus Christ Sawyer," she said exasperated as she flopped back into her chair. "Could you two get any louder? I thought you were killing that poor little thing." She said with a wicked grin. "Christ how long has it been?" It took a second for her to realize what she said. "Fuck Sawyer, I'm sorry," she said touching his arm.

He shook his head, "no, its alright. It has been a very long time." He said staring off into space, absently caressing Lien-hua's panties in his fingers. He was surprised that the pain of his loss wasn't as sharp as it had been in the past. He still missed Sarah and her touch, but he was healing.

"Really?" she asked when she saw the nurse's panties in his hand. He grinned guiltily and shrugged. The door opened and the squeaking shoes of the night nurse thundered in the room.

To say Lisa was a large black woman, would be like saying the Grand Canyon is a big hole. Every bit of six foot five inches, well over three hundred pounds of woman. Her scrubs bulged in several places, those of her voluminous breasts, and her ample belly. She reminded Sawyer of a Sumo wrestler. She had a large round face that was built to hold a smile, but not at this moment. She had a hard disapproving look as she eyed Sawyer up and down.

Lisa looked over at Zoe and began talking to her. "That poor girl has been chased by all manner of men, and women," she said as she began taking his vitals. "Never giving them the time of day," Lisa said holding his wrist, looking at her watch. "Then this white boy gets wheeled onto her floor, and the poor thing can't think straight." She wrote on her clip board, then produced a manual blood pressure cuff.

Sawyer glanced as Zoe, then the automatic device on the wall as Lisa wrapped his arm in the blood pressure cuff, placed the cold disk of the stethoscope under it and began pumping. Zoe rolled her eyes and smirked. Lisa pumped and pumped the small black ball, to the point that Sawyer could barely feel his finger tips. "I would take it as a personal insult should anything happen to her," she said tilting her head and raising her perfectly penciled eyebrows. With her thumb and forefinger she released the pressure with the hiss of escaping air.

Sawyer could think of only one thing to say: "Yes ma'am." Lisa nodded her head as she wrote on her clip board. She removed the cuff, and stuffed it back in the pocket of her scrubs.

"Glad we understand each other," she said with a nod. The hardness drained from her face, and was replaced with a kind smile. "It musta been sumptin good, ain't never seen her smile like that. 'ell that gurl almost glowed when she left outta here." She said. "I'll be back in a few minutes with your discharge papers," she said making her way towards the door.

When the door closed Zoe burst into laughter, nearly falling out of her chair. "Damn Sawyer, I think the Amazon would have taken you for a spin if her friend hadn't lay claim," she said gasping for breath, laughing at her own unintentional pun.

"Fuck you Fassler," he said getting out of bed. He kicked her chair good naturedly and leaned over her getting the bag she had brought a few days ago while he was comatose. She continued to giggle even as he pulled the gown from his body and threw it over her head.

"EWWW!" she screeched as he disappeared into the bathroom.

__

Sawyer let himself into his apartment, and stepped inside. Even when the lights came on, the smallness of his one bedroom hovel, was still oppressive. Worse, it was a reminder of how he failed to honor those he had lost. He had let the beautiful four bedroom ranch-style house, that Sarah had painstakingly decorated, go back to the bank when he didn't care to make the payments.

After only an hour in the guilt ridden castle, Sawyer left for a walk along the boulevard to clear his head. As he walked, he stretched out his mind and listened in on people's most intimate thoughts. He could feel the emotions of those he touched. As he walked, he chuckled, cried, and loved from those he touched. Then he felt the overwhelming anguish. Sawyer closed his eyes and focused on it. It was the pain he was all to familiar with a poor soul in horrible pain. He found her sitting at a table of an cafe with outdoor seating close to sidewalk. Her name was Kelly, she was only thirteen years old, and she wanted to kill herself.

The hostess seated him a few tables over from the girl and handed him a menu. Sawyer was able to watch her, without seeming to stalker-ish. He pretended to study menu as he touched Kelly's mind again. She was a plump, but plain looking girl with long black hair pulled into a loose pony tail. He could see that when nature was finished with her, she was going to be very pretty. She had started to develop ahead of the other girls in her school, which was leading to terrible ridicule from both the boys and girls.

Kelly had been watching to many teen movies where the plain wallflower was made popular by dating the handsome jock. She had worked up the courage to tell a popular boy that she liked him, only to have him and his friends laugh at her. Poor Kelly had been humiliated and run away crying. She hadn't even gone home, knowing that her mother would never understand what she was going through.

The waiter came over to him, and Sawyer ordered an iced tea and a basket of french fries, handing the man his menu. He leaned back in his chair and pretended to watch the traffic. He slipped into her mind, and heard her planning how she wanted to end it. He pushed a little harder and took the form of the voice in her head.

How will killing yourself solve anything? He asked in her voice.

It will take away the pain that Bobby put me through.

What about mom's pain? He asked

Kelly snorted, she wouldn't care. To busy with that new man. Uncle Tommy. Sheesh, she doesn't think I know what's going on.

Are you sure? He showed her an image of her mother on her knees in front of a headstone sobbing uncontrollably. Her bright spirit broken. You know she will always love you first. And daddy long legs? Her nickname for her dad. How would he deal with losing his Princess Thumbelina?

I don't know, she said tying to control the tears. She wiped her face with a napkin. He began flashing images of her life, the good times, the bad ones, and how her mother and father were always there for her. Sawyer pushed a little harder and flashed more images. Her as an adult, tall, and curvy wearing a smart pants suit standing in front of a jury. Then flashed to her looking through a white veil as its being lifted for their first kiss as husband and wife. The warmth of her baby's first breath in her cheek.

What about Crissy and Jessica? He asked about her two best friends, girls that thought of her as the leader of their little group. How would they react to killing yourself? Do you think Crissy is strong enough to do what you do for Jessica? And Jessica, if she lost you, there's no telling what she would do.

They do need me, she said softly.

As much as you need them. He said softly. He let her think on that for a second or two. The pain Bobby Franklin put you through tonight can only make you stronger if you channel it right. You are a smart girl, you can do anything you put your mind to.

You sound like dad, she said.

We are the best of what mom and dad are, Sawyer said. Call mom, tell her what happened. You'd be surprised how much she'll understand. Kelly wiped her eyes and pulled out her cell phone and made a call. She was only able to say "Mom", before she started crying again. She managed to tell her where she was and that she needed her.

Sawyer slipped from the girl's mind, but monitored her as he chewed absently at his fries. He was tossing the napkin into the basket when a tall dark haired woman, with tear streaked mascara took a seat across from Kelly. They leaned close and began talking. Sawyer leaned back and enjoyed his iced tea. He could hear the crying from both mom and daughter, but knew that there was an understanding between the two.

"That was very noble," a deep voice said from the empty seat next to him. Sawyer didn't look, but he knew Thor had materialized in the seat.

"I couldn't let her kill herself," Sawyer said looking at the Norse god. Today he was wearing a faded pair of blue jeans, with hole strategically placed along the legs. His untucked dark green button-front shirt was covered by a black v-necked sweater vest. With stylish black boots.

Sawyer couldn't help himself and had to chuckle. The god looked at him, his eyes narrowing. "Sorry, but now you go for the metro-sexual look?" Thor 's stone visage broke into a wide grin. He waved towards the waiter who was passing by with a full tray of bottle beer. A bottle of Heineken disappeared from the tray and appeared on the table before the god of thunder.

"Aphrodite, Hathor and the Morrígan want to hit a couple of clubs, and want a little muscle to keep the frat boys at bay," he said taking a deep drag from the bottled beer. Sawyer knew that Aphrodite and Hathor were the goddesses of love, Greek and Egyptian. The Morrígan were Celtic goddesses. They are three warrior goddesses Badb, Macha and Nemain. "You've gotten off to a good start," Thor said setting the empty bottle down. "I was asked to give this to you," he said setting a piece of paper, that had appeared in his hand, on the table. It looked suspiciously like a Powerball ticket. "This is from me," he said placing a business card onto the ticket. "Take the money, you'll need the resources," he said staring off at another table.

Sawyer followed his gaze and saw a voluptuous red head with a group of young women laughing. "That's the second time you've been asked to do something for me," Sawyer started. "Who is this mysterious benefactor of mine?"

He looked back a Thor who was looking his wrist watch, he could see the god was debating. The thunder god looked at Sawyer and grinned, "That mortal, is a discussion for another time, now if you'll excuse me, I have exactly two hours before I meet the girls." He said with a wink as he got up and made his way to the woman's table.

Sawyer watched the god sit at the table and engage in conversation with the group of girls. He turned his attention to the slip of paper. He picked up the ticket and looked at it. The drawing was for the following night, and was only one set of six numbers, for the tidy sum of one hundred and eighty million dollars. After cashing out and taxes, it would roughly be one hundred million dollars. Chuckling, Sawyer stuffed it and the business card into his shirt pocket. He dropped a twenty on the table as he made his way towards the exit.

He looked at the mother and daughter one last time, and felt the love and understanding coming from the two. Sawyer smiled as he left the cafe, felling better than he had in years.