Michelle was lying in a hospital bed, where it seemed she spent a majority of her time these days, when she heard the door to the room open and saw Eliza slink in. Michelle put her magazine down and smiled as Eliza quietly shut the door behind her and approached the bed. Eliza pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down, as Michelle put her magazine face down, but still open, on her lap.
"I brought you breakfast," Eliza said, handing Michelle a styrofoam cup and a then, after opening up a small, brown bag, she pulled out a few breakfast sandwiches and handed her one. Michelle unwrapped it and immediately began chowing down ferociously; Eliza giggled and said, "wow, I didn't know you were that hungry." "You know that bit comedians do about airline food?" Michelle asked, mouth half full of breakfast sandwich, "...hospital food is somehow worse." "Maybe the quality of food is directly proportional to where you're consuming it," Eliza said, shrugging. "I doubt that," Michelle said, "if that were true, 'home cooking' would be good regardless of how terrible your home life is." Just then the door opened again, and this time Delores entered. She smiled at the girls as she shut the door behind her and approached the bed. "Hello Eliza," Delores said, patting her on the shoulder as she stood beside the bed, "I see you brought food." "She's my hero," Michelle said, mouth half full of sandwich, "someone give her a medal." "The doctor is on their way in, so you should probably finish that as quick as possible," Delores said, "they probably won't like seeing you eat that sort of thing in a place designated for protecting your health. Be like eating a giant cookie in front of a dentist." "I don't care," Michelle said, taking a sip from her cup, "I'm just happy to eat anything that doesn't make me feel any sicker than I already do. Eliza, you're the best." Eliza looked downwards, hiding her blushing cheeks, not wanting to be embarrassed. Anytime Michelle complimented her, she couldn't help but feel like a giddy child. Regardless of whether she ever felt the same way for her as Eliza felt for Michelle, she didn't care. She was just pleased enough making Michelle feel even the slightest bit better at the lowest time of her life. *** Meanwhile, in the hallway across the hospital, Beatrice was on her way towards Michelle's room. She hadn't meant to take the long way around, but she'd accidentally parked on the wrong side of the hospital, and now she needed to walk through the entire hospital to reach her. Bea checked her watch and sighed, shaking her head. She'd only been up for an hour, and had thrown on whatever she could find easily around the bedroom. She hadn't even brushed her hair, for god sakes, and she was still expected at the studio at some point today after this. As she walked past a room, she heard the sound of her own voice on, and stopped. Bea backed up and peered into the room, seeing the Beatrice Beagle show playing on the television bolted into the corner of the ceiling; her eyes then wandered from the TV to the little girl lying in the bed, hugging the Beatrice Beagle doll. Bea smiled and entered the room, standing by the bed and watching the show with the girl. The girl, Ashley Harding, looked up to Bea and waved, making Bea wave back. "You like Beatrice?" Bea asked, and Ashley nodded; Bea smirked, adding, "so do I. She's smart and she's brave. She's the best dog." "She makes me feel safe," Ashley said quietly, "whenever I'm here, I always have her on the TV, or have my doll, and she makes me feel safe. I'm not as scared when I have her." "Dogs are good like that," Bea said, "they're always here to help us through the worst times, so long as we give them love back. I think it's good that you have something like that. I'm glad she makes you feel safe, especially in such a scary place during such a scary time." Ashley squeezed the doll to her chest, and Bea had to keep herself from openly crying. Instead she patted Ashley on the top of the head and smiled warmly. "I'm sure Beatrice will be happy to see you get through this," she said, "you just stay brave, okay?" Ashley nodded, and Bea nodded back at her before turning and exiting the room. Once back in the hallway, she leaned against the wall and started crying silently. Michelle was right. Beatrice belonged to everyone now, and she could no longer pretend this wasn't the case. The dog was for the world. Bea turned and put her back against the wall, covering her face with her hands and wiping her face free of tears. When she pulled her eyes away, she noticed Lexi and Keagan standing there. "Oh," Bea said, quickly wiping her face on her sweater sleeve, "god, I'm...I'm sorry. Hi girls." "Are you okay?" Keagan asked. "As okay as one can be expected, given the circumstances," Bea replied, "what's going on?" Keagan and Lexi exchanged a look and then Lexi sighed, approaching Bea. "...I think I know what we can do to save her," Lexi said. "...I'm listening," Bea said softly. *** "I hope this doesn't qualify as a last meal," Michelle said, leaning back on her pillows as Delores adjusted them for her; she continued, "I mean, I could have worse, but I sure hope I get to have more meals. Still, even if it was, at least I went out on a high note." Delores finished fixing the pillows, then excused herself to use the bathroom. Eliza looked down at her shoes and grimaced. Michelle reached over and touched her knee, causing Eliza to tense up and look away more. "Are you okay?" Michelle asked. "...I didn't...when my mom died, I didn't get to say anything to her," Eliza said, "and I always regretted that it happened so quickly because, ya know...there was no goodbye of any kind. In fact, the last thing we did was kinda argue. She probably died thinking I was mad at her. You never know when the last time you might talk to someone might be, and if that's the case, isn't it good to tell them something before you don't get the chance to?" Eliza looked up at Michelle, who's head cocked to the side, curious, smiling at her. Eliza felt warm inside, like the sun was shining inside her. Eliza started to feel nervous, and began pulling some of her hair down to her mouth, chewing on it out of habit. "You're my best friend, whatever it is you can talk to me about it, you know I won't judge you," Michelle said, and Eliza nodded slowly, cautiously, as if the mere act of nodding would somehow give away the secrets threatening to spill free from her lips like waves over an ocean breaker. "...I think...um...I think I-" she began, when the door opened again, and Beatrice, Lexi and Keagan entered, interrupting. "Michelle," Bea said, hurriedly approaching the bed and hugging her, "sweetheart, I can't believe I'm about to say this to you, but...everything's gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay. Lexi has a plan." Lexi seated herself on the bed, and took one of Michelle's hand in her own. "As you know, I recently got a lot of money from my fathers business," she said, "and, uh...for a bit I thought I'd be selfish, and use it to make my life better. Got a new car, wanted to get a new apartment, that sort of stuff. Still plan to do some of that, but that's beside the point, hah. But then you got sick, and I realized that the best thing I can do is help you instead. So...along with insurance from the company, I'm going to help cover the costs of a transplant surgery." "A transplant? I don't even know anyone who would-" "I'm going to," Beatrice whispered, kissing Michelle's hand, crying again but smiling, "I'm going to donate to you. We have the same blood type. I'm a bit older than you, obviously, but that's really the only hangup. Michelle, you gave my life back to me, so now I'm going to give your life back to you, okay? It's the least I could do for you dragging me out of that hole I called an existence in exile." Michelle wanted to break down. Never once in her entire life had she experienced, nor expected, this level of generosity, especially not from someone she'd only known for almost two years. Beatrice was going to donate a lung to her? This seemed...insane. But, as Michelle had learned, sometimes insanity was all that worked. Eliza, likewise, couldn't believe her ears. Her jaw was full on dropped. "Now we do have to run some tests first, obviously," Bea said, "and you can't eat or drink anything the day before, but it should be capable of being done in the next few days. We have the money, I'm a willing donor, there's no reason we can't expedite this process posthaste." "...Beatrice," Michelle whispered, reaching up and hugging her, before turning and squeezing Lexi, whispering in her ear, "thank you so much. I'll find a way to repay you." Lexi patted Michelle on the back. "Just repay me by getting better," Lexi whispered back. Michelle couldn't believe her luck. But what Bea had said to Ashley was true, and she knew it. A dog was there to help, protect and save, and that's exactly what she intended to do for Michelle, come hell or high water. *** Liam entered Leslie's office, knocking on the door as he waltzed in. Leslie looked up, slightly irritated as she dropped her pen on the table and leaned back in her chair, folding her arms. "What is the point of knocking if you're already entering?" she asked. "To give the illusion of respect?" Liam asked, shrugging, making Leslie laugh. "What do you want anyway?" she asked, picking her pen back up and going back to writing. "Uh," Liam started, scratching the back of his head, "...I just got off the phone with Beatrice, she's at the hospital with Michelle and, well, basically everyone else. Um...I hate to be the one to tell you this, but...your girlfriend's gonna donate an organ." Leslie stopped writing, then slowly looked up. "She's WHAT?" she asked. *** Leslie and Beatrice were standing in the living room of Leslie's apartment; Leslie was pacing back and forth furiously, flabbergasted at this admittance, while Beatrice was standing calmly by the couch, trying to easily explain her reasoning, and how there's no danger involved. "First of all, I have to find this out from Liam-" "Can I help it if he's a blabbermouth?" Beatrice asked, "I would've told you when we got home." "-but then there's the fact that this is dangerous for you, and I...what if something goes wrong? What if she doesn't wake up, or you don't wake up, or something happens and both of you...it's too much to think about," Leslie said, putting her hand to her forehead and groaning, adding, "It's a noble, beautiful thing you're doing, but I can't...what if I lose you?" "I'm sorry," Bea said, "but I can't just let her die. She doesn't have any family willing to donate, she doesn't have long enough to wait on a list. I can fix this, right here, right now. I can't just sit idly by and let her die because of fear. Everything I have right now, I owe to her and Keagan's adoration for what I built years ago. Including you. If they hadn't brought me out of retirement, I wouldn't...we wouldn't have..." Bea sat down on the couch and covered her face, sighing. Leslie walked to the couch and sat beside her, putting her hands on Bea's knees. "...I'm not going to stop you, obviously," Leslie said softly, "I'd never even think of asking you not to do it, that's just selfish. I just wish we could've discussed it more first or something. I wanna make sure you're going to be safe, and that you'll come through okay. You're older than she is. This could really put you out of commission for a bit." "And if I don't, it could put Michelle out of commission forever," Bea whispered, reaching up and touching Leslie's face; she smiled warmly and kissed her on the nose, resting her forehead on Leslie's before saying, "trust me, nothing bad will happen. We will come through this better off in the end for it. But I need to save her. I have to." This need to save something she loved was something Leslie would never understand, and something Michelle would understand all too well. Beatrice laced her fingers through Leslie's and smiled, shutting her eyes. "Everything will be okay," she whispered, "I promise. And you know me, I never break a promise." This was true, Leslie couldn't deny. As of now, she had yet to break a promise. *** Michelle was lying in her hospital bed as Eliza pulled her jacket on and stood up, preparing to leave. She stopped and looked at Michelle, who looked away from the muted television at her and smiled. Eliza sighed and rubbed her eyes furiously, as if she was anxious. "You were gonna say something earlier, before everyone barged in," Michelle said, "if you wanna finish that thought now you can." "...it's okay," Eliza said, "I'll come by tomorrow morning, okay?" Michelle nodded, and Eliza turned, heading for the door. Her hand grabbed the knob, then she heard Michelle's voice, weak and gentle. "you don't have to go," she said softly. This made Eliza stop in her tracks and turn back towards the hospital bed. "i mean...it'd be nice to have company," Michelle said, "i...i don't know when the visiting hours end, i guess, but..." Eliza smiled and walked back to the bed, taking her hand. "If you want me to stay, I'll stay," she said, "all you had to do was ask." So Eliza stayed. And when Michelle fell asleep from the medication, Eliza watched over her until a nurse told her she couldn't stay any longer. Eliza felt like she could finally breath a sigh of relief once more. Michelle would have surgery and she would be alright. She wasn't going to lose anybody. For once in her life, it seemed, everything was actually going to work out. Sometimes it's nice to win.
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Beatrice Beagle follows a young woman obsessed with a defunct pizzeria and kids show featuring a dog mascot. As she uncovers more about its mysterious past, she becomes sucked into the life of the woman who played the mascot, they both discover just how much they need eachother. Archives
April 2024
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