His parents’ brief visit earlier in the night still irked him. He wished he could start over with a clean slate and go far away from here. His values weren’t aligned with the people who were aligned with him. When he thought about it, they never had been. Glancing down at his IV, he had images of escaping in the night, going to his place, packing a suitcase, and disappearing. He could start over. The money was nice, very nice, but he could make a living. He could make a life.

But that damned IV was a strong reminder that he didn’t have the luxury of living a life on the run, a life without healthcare, or his trust fund. His body had betrayed him just like Jude.

He couldn’t care about Jude anymore. Or where she was. What she was doing. She had betrayed their love by leaving him to drown in it. She had betrayed their future by abandoning it. She had betrayed him, his hope finally faded. Like the windows in the buildings across the way, his bright light for a life went out and he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

A nurse with gray hair pulled back in a bun tiptoed into the room. He opened his eyes and saw her checking the IV. “What time is it?” he asked, his voice still rough with sleep.

“Sorry. Did I wake you?”

Her voice was kind enough for him to want to reassure her. “It’s okay.”

“It’s just after three in the morning. How are you feeling?” she whispered. Touching his head, she smiled at him. “I think you’ll be released tomorrow if you’re up for it.”

“I’m up for it now.” Taylor sat up.

“Slow down.” She angled the bed up to support his back. “You’re here for the night, so settle back in. I brought a fresh pitcher of water a little while ago.” She pulled the tray closer. The coffee Katherine had brought him was gone. “Can I get you anything? Are you comfortable?”

“I’m fine,” he said, returning her kind smile. “Do you know anything about my results?”

“You’re not worse. That’s good news. The doctor will be here in the morning to go over everything with you.” She leaned against his bed and said, “You know, my mother has Parkinson’s disease. There are many reasons to what causes severe symptoms, but with her, stress brings it on. Have you been stressed?”

He didn’t lie. “I have.” Something about her compassionate eyes made him confess, “I lost the love of my life. And even though my life may not be long compared to some, she made me believe we would be together forever.”

He gulped. Suddenly feeling he shouldn’t have admitted that to himself, much less to a stranger. He poured himself a cup of water and avoided the sadness he could see in her eyes.

When a few awkward moments passed, she covered his forearm with her hand, and said, “I don’t think you’ve lost her. I saw her in here earlier. It’s obvious she still cares about you, and deeply.”

“Katherine doesn’t care about anything that doesn’t revolve around her salon-filled, socialite-anointed existence.”

She sighed, but gave his arm a gentle squeeze. “I’m sorry.”

Nodding, now he felt embarrassed.

The nurse moved to the other side of the bed. “Would you like me to close the blinds? When the sun rises, it will wake you if I don’t.”

“Leave them open. Thank you.”

“Get some rest, Mr. Barrett. You’ve had an eventful night that I’m sure you don’t want to repeat in the new day.” She walked to the door, but as if she had forgotten something, she returned to his bedside. “I shouldn’t be doing this…” She looked over her shoulder, then back to him. She had his full attention, but his grief lingered. “I know you said she doesn’t care about you, but she wanted to leave these for you. I checked your chart to make sure it was okay, to err on the side of caution. But it’s fine. You can have them.” She pulled a small bag from her pocket and placed it in his palm.

The nurse left, but Taylor’s eyes never left the bag in his hand.

Jellybeans.

TAYLOR FLIPPED THE sheet off him and stood up, slowly, making sure his legs were steady, ready to support his weight. They were, though his knees were damaged from the earlier fall. He grabbed his IV and wheeled it with him toward the door.

The gown was breezy in the back, but he had on his boxers so he didn’t care. He only cared about finding that nurse again. Walking into the hall, he could hear the sound of monitors, coughing coming from a room nearby, and the soft voices of nurses discussing a file. He walked down a bit and saw a nurses’ station. The same one who gave him the jellybeans looked up and was surprised to see him, but then worry creased her forehead. “Mr. Barrett, is everything all right?”

He held out the jellybeans. “Who gave these to you?”

When her gaze left his hand and reached his eyes again, she looked perplexed. “The young woman in your room earlier.”

“Which woman? What color hair did she have?”

Her eyebrow rose. “How many women visitors have you had, Mr. Barrett?” she teased.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Was she blonde or brunette?”

She glanced at the other nurse, then laughed, very lightly. “Brunette.” Her hand went to a spot on her arm. “About here. Very sweet girl. We spoke for a few minutes about how you were doing, but she couldn’t stay since it was after visiting hours.”

Taylor stared at her in disbelief. “Sundress?”

The nurse smiled. “Yes. Cream colored with tiny flowers all over. You do know her, right? She seemed to know you very well.”

His fingers closed around the baggie. “Yes. I know her very well, too… or I thought I did. How long ago was she here?”

She checked her watch. “At least three hours ago. It was late.”

Disappointment set in, and Taylor dropped his head forward, hoping the nurse couldn’t hear the pounding of his heart.

“If it makes a difference,” she started. When he looked up at her, she came closer. “She asked how long you would be here at the hospital and said if you were here tomorrow night, she would come again. I joked with her that next time she needed to come during visiting hours.”

“What did she say?”

“She said she would try, but no promises.” The nurse laughed as if that had been the most charming answer ever.

“That sounds like her.”

“Who exactly is she? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“For too brief a time, she was the one who made forever seem possible.”

The nurse’s expression softened, and she gently patted his shoulder. “You need your rest, Taylor.”

He agreed. His body was tired just from standing here. “Okay, but if she returns when I’m sleeping, will you wake me and please let her visit?”

“Of course, I will.”

“Thank you.”

When Taylor returned to bed, he ate the jellybeans. He always hated the popcorn ones, but tonight, they were the best things he’d tasted in a long time. Looking out the large picture window, he slowly chewed and savored each candy, then lay back.

Jude had been here.

She had left the candy for him. To Taylor, that meant Jude wanted him to know she’d been there. Out of the blue, like his forever, hope felt possible again. There was no way he was going to get any rest now. So he just lay there smiling.

Three hours earlier, in a large single-family brownstone ten blocks away from the hospital where hope was growing, Jude snuck back into her room. The door had been oiled and didn’t make a sound. This was just the way she liked it. She would have to thank Roman in the morning.

After getting ready for sleep, she climbed into the posy-covered bed and rolled to her side. She smiled in the darkness of the room. She couldn’t help it. Seeing Hazel made her happy, even if he wasn’t hers to be happy over anymore. The nurse had been kind to ease Jude’s worry, reassuring her that he would be fine, or at least not worse.