Just as she spoke, she collapsed onto the ground. The pain in her head intensified while her vision faded to a blur. All she could feel was the jarring light from the sun and a shadow rushing toward her.
“Joan!”
That was the last thing she heard before falling unconscious. It felt exactly like when he dived over to protect her head from an oncoming basketball a long time ago. The concerned look he had now was the same as then.
Larry’s mind drew a blank. Joan, are you going to torment me with this tactic just because you can’t win the argument? That’s really despicable of you. As he dashed over and pulled her into his embrace, he hugged her so tightly as if he was about to crush her.
“What’s wrong, Joan? Wake up! Don’t sleep!” Larry saw that her lips were pale and forehead covered in sweat. Her wet fringes had stuck messily over her face. Every time she appears in front of me, she would always be in some sort of trouble.
Picking her up, Larry carefully placed her in the front passenger seat. After that, he floored the accelerator and sped toward the hospital. With his left hand on the steering wheel, he held her hand tightly with his right.
Thinking back, he was also holding her hand in the bright white hall when he vowed to grow old with her and to never abandon her. But ever since their misunderstanding, they always argued when they saw each other. He admitted that the stress from work and the blurry lines between her relationship with Dustin caused his frustration to mount. But after giving the matter some thought, he realized that he never gave her an opportunity to explain.
“Joan, please be alright. When you wake up, I will patiently listen to whatever you have to say. I promise I won’t be angry or argue with you. Also, I won’t blame you anymore. So let’s just reconcile.”
Joan’s furrowed eyebrows suddenly eased, as if she had heard Larry’s words. At that moment, she felt like she was in an empty tunnel that stretched beyond where her eyes could see. No matter how hard she tried, she could never reach the end. In her dream, she was surrounded by a thick fog. Despite her desperate attempts at clearing it with her hands, it simply grew thicker. Before she knew it, she couldn’t even see the path ahead of her.
Suddenly, she felt someone holding her hand. The hand felt like a source of energy that continuously fed her feeble body with the warmth she needed. She wanted to respond to it but was simply too weak to do so. After that, she felt as if the hand was slowly drifting away and she had no way of hanging on to it. Before she knew it, she was all alone again, pitiful and helpless.
As Larry got down, he ignored the stares of passersby as he carried her into the emergency room. After that, he saw the white stretcher moving further and further away from him. As the giant red doors gradually closed in front of him, he kept praying in his heart, hoping that everything could return to the way it was, giving them a new start.
“Are you Joan’s husband?”
“Yes, I am. Doctor, how is she?”
“It’s nothing serious. She just suffers from anemia. Stress and irregular meals have likely caused her fainting spell. I have prescribed some medicine for her which she needs to take after meals. Anyway, all she needs is to just take more supplements and maintain a healthier lifestyle.” The doctor wrote a note. “Take this to the pharmacy to collect her prescription and you will be done after paying.”
Extending his hand to receive the note, Larry’s knitted eyebrows finally relaxed. “Alright. Thank you, doctor.”
The doctor laughed instead. “As for you, don’t worry too much. Most women will more or less suffer from a little bit of anemia. Once you are home, remind her to get some rest and don’t tire herself out.”
After being put on the drip, Joan’s condition improved. Sitting beside her, Larry held her hand tightly, as if time had turned back to when they first met.
At that time, he was the star of the basketball team. As he was preparing for an important match, he had to be constantly at practice. Hence, they agreed that he would head to the basketball court first while she would get some drinks. Usually, people would go dating at the cinema, the park, or even the library. But for them, it would always be at the basketball court.
