Part Eight:

On the table in her living room sits a bouquet of wildflowers and a box of chocolates with a card attached. ‘To my wife, Happy Valentine’s Day’, it reads.

On his desk sits a box of chocolate covered cherries with a card that reads, ‘To my husband, Happy Valentine’s Day.’

A chance meeting at the station, at the courthouse, or at any number of places around town, pleasantries spoken out loud; ‘I love you’s’ spoken in secret.

Friends and family watching from a distance just shake their heads and wonder, ‘if they can’t make it who can?’

Winter ends and spring begins. A few dinners together, too many nights spent alone.

*~*

Another month passes and the only thing that changes is the picture on their calendars…

Bo is lying on the couch in their living room; files, police reports, and crumpled up pieces of paper surround him. He tosses and turns as the images play across his mind, the same images he sees every time he closes his eyes.

Across town Nora is sitting on her terrace that overlooks the hotel grounds, a package sits open in front of her on the table. A personalized baby blanket, ‘Sarah Victoria Buchanan, our little angel’, embroidered across the middle, ordered and forgotten, lost in the mail for almost a year.

She sits there unmoving, an empty tumbler lies broken on the terrace floor; the now empty decanter of brandy sits beside the opened box.

Renee walks into the Palace restaurant and surveys the room, looking for her lunch date. She walks back out into the lobby and dials her room, no answer. She dials her cell phone, her office, but still no answer. She pushes the button then releases it, waiting for the dial tone. She quickly dials his number.

Bo is jolted from his sleep by the ringing of his cell phone, “Buchanan.”

“Bo, its Renee…”

“Hi Renee,” he says, still fighting his way back from sleep, “What can I do for you?”

“Darlin’ have you heard from Nora today?”

Bo sat up, a sense of dread immediately washing over him, “No, no I haven’t.”

“We were supposed to meet for lunch. I had some legal work for her and she seemed so excited to be getting back to work, said she wanted to get her life back.”

“Did you call her room, cell phone? Maybe she’s at the office.”

On the other end of the line Renee shakes her head, “I tried all of her numbers, Bo. I keep getting voicemail.”

Bo grabs his keys and runs out the door, “I’m on my way Renee. Why don’t you go up to her room, maybe she’s just not answering her phone.”

Renee hung up and ran into her office, pulling out the master key from her desk. She took the service elevator up to the top floor, arriving within minutes of ending her phone call with Bo. She knocked a few times using her key when she received no answer. She quickly looked around the room, the billowing curtains coming from the terrace doors catching her attention. She walked onto the terrace; calling her name, receiving no answer.

Bo pulls up outside the Palace Hotel, his heart dropping when he sees the ambulance sitting outside the entrance. He pushed his way through the gathering crowd, waving his badge. He jumped on the elevator with the paramedics, his heart racing; the fear trying to choke him as they tell him what they know.

The elevator doors open and Bo rushes down the hallway. He runs into her room followed closely by the paramedics. He rushes out onto the terrace, stopping dead in his tracks at the scene before him. He picks her up and carries her out into the room and lays her on the gurney. He steps back allowing the paramedics to assess her.

One of the paramedics looks up, “Commissioner, we have to get your wife to the hospital immediately.”

Bo follows the paramedics out the door and into the elevator. Two minutes later they’re on their way to LLanview Hospital. Larry rushes through the emergency room doors when the ambulance pulls up a few minutes later.

Bo stands outside her door; thoughts of the last time he stood there flash through his mind. He thought back to just moments before, seeing her sitting there on the terrace chair, the broken glass scattered on the ground, the empty decanter sitting on the table. A box, he remembered a box, what was in the box?

Renee walks over and puts her arm around him, pulling him from his thoughts, “She’s going to be okay.”

Bo shakes his head, “I don’t understand…what happened; why would she do this? She told me it had been weeks since the last time she had anything to drink.” Renee walked over to the bank of chairs and picked up the box that was sitting on her terrace table. She walked back over to him and handed him the box, “This is the box that was on the table.” He takes it from her and sits down, placing it on the table in front of him. He pulled back the flaps and pulls the blanket out. He spreads it out, running his fingers slowly over the embroidered lettering. He looks up at the closed ER door, the tears finally falling, “Oh, Red…”

Renee sits down beside him, “They forwarded this package to her today according to the bellboy on duty.”

Bo continues to look down at the blanket draped across his lap, “She ordered this a few weeks before the accident. Neither one of us even gave it a second thought, after…” his voice trails off as he looks up at Renee, “I can’t lose her too, Renee.”

“You’re not going to, darling.”

They both look up when the ER door opens and Larry walks out. Bo walks over to him, “Larry, what’s going on?”

“Nora is suffering from acute alcohol poisoning. We inserted a nasogastric tube to remove the alcohol that hasn’t been absorbed and also administered some activated charcoal to finish up the absorption process.”

“Is she going to make it through this?”

“She’s extremely lucky Renee found her when she did. She was already unconscious, her breathing was very shallow and her skin was cool to the touch. You got her here just in time.”

“Is she awake?”

“No, she’ll probably be out for a while.” Larry pauses for a moment, “We’ll be watching her closely but I don’t think she’ll need any further treatment. You can go in and sit with her if you’d like.”

Bo nods, “Thank you, Larry.” He turns and looks at Renee, “If you…”

Renee shakes her head, “Don’t think about that now, go in and sit with your wife.” She picks up the blanket and places it back in the box, “I’ll take care of this for you.”

Bo kisses her on the cheek, pulling her into a warm embrace. He squeezes her hand once before turning and walking into the room.

He slowly pushes the door open and stares at her lying on the bed for a moment before walking over and sitting down beside her. He takes her hand in his and brings it up to his face, leaning their hands up against his cheek. He reaches out and brushes a few strands of hair off her forehead. He continues to watch her, caressing the top of her hand with his thumb. He had so much he wanted to say to her but he just couldn’t find the words. After a half hour he stands up and places a soft kiss on her lips. He reaches out to touch her face but quickly withdraws his hand. He lays her hand down onto the bed and stares at her for a few more seconds, “I love you, Red. I just hope you still know how much.” He whispers before turning and walking out the door.

Her eyes slowly flutter open when she hears the door click closed, a single tear falling onto her cheek, “I love you too, Bo.”