Just Me, Him, and Ten Others - (Ruth Harris Series)

Chapter 1

'Hello, Ruth, darling! How are we this fine morning?'
               That was Nurse Olivia. She was kindhearted and sweet, but at times it was painfully hard to not laugh at her theatrical personality. 'Did you enjoy your one and only night of having the room to yourself?'
'I did.' I replied, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. My pyjamas hung over my hands because they were Mama's. I had brought my own, but these still smelt like her perfume, and felt like pure silk.
'And how are you feeling today?'
'Good, thanks.' I yawned. 'When does my new roommate get here?'
'Oh, not for a good few hours yet.' Nurse Olivia smiled too. 'Just between us, I've heard she's quite a character.'
'I'm getting used to 'characters'.' I chuckled. 'Did you see what Cassidy did to the telly yesterday?'
'I heard about it! Apparently her parents insist on replacing it, so that one probably won't last long either.' Nurse Olivia gave me a soft nudge as she giggled and put two towels down on my bed. I sighed at the sight of them: they were worn smooth, slightly greyed, and only slightly bigger than tea-towels.
                Mental hospitals may be meagre places to live, however necessary, but I would take good staff over fluffy, white towels any day. And thankfully, that is what I got. Take Nurse Olivia as an example: I could chat with that lady for hours, and whenever she could she gave us loons extra phone minutes, extra towels, extra butter on our crumpets, and extra companionship. Certain things, like extra privacy, she refused to give, but I don't blame her for that: she cared about us too much to risk letting us hurt ourselves - or each other. Genuine, entertaining people like her could make an eternity in hell almost feel pleasant.
               I think Nurse Olivia had a soft spot for me: she was old enough to be my mother, but never had her own kids. She had Italian roots too, so I was teaching her a few phrases and in return, she shared family recipes that weren't supposed to fall into strange hands. Then I would share them with Mama over the phone, and earn myself some brownie points with her. My attempted suicide in the summer really hit her hard: talking to her on the phone often reassured her that I was back to the same old Ruth (- meaning I was secure enough to not want to die, but still had a lot of baggage to sort through).
               'Oh, Ruth?' Nurse Olivia said before leaving.
'Yeah?'
'How's your book going?'
               I paused, and smiled. This time last year I'd had no hopes, no dreams, and certainly no purpose. Yet, there I was, one year later, sitting on my bed in a psychiatric hospital - of all places! - with more meaning than I'd ever had before.
               'Well,' I said, 'I've just finished writing about when I was in the hospital with Hunter, on the morning I got out of surgery. I was hooked up to all these machines, and I felt like crap, but we had one of the realest talks of our relationship and everything ended up alright between us. He told me all the stress of the night was worth it, to see me alive and well again. Then he told me he loved me, and would stand by me no matter what. No matter how much I doubted him. It was...perfect.'
'Ah, young love!' Nurse Olivia said dreamily, opening my dormitory door. 'It's so sweet how he's stood by you every step of the way. Me and my Dez used to be like that, but now he just wants to come home and watch tv until I put dinner in front of him.'
               I laughed. I was really good at that now. 'But your Hunter, well, he seems like a right gentleman. How long have you been together now?'
'Ten months today.' I answered proudly. It made my heart feel warm to say, and suddenly every part of me was tingling with excitement to see him. If I had been allowed to keep it, I would have stroked the ruby necklace he gave to me right before I entered this hospital. I would get it back, some day.
'That's lovely.' Nurse Olivia smiled, watching me tuck the corners of my duvet under the mattress. Chores were not optional here. 'I think it's wonderful that Hunter is so supportive of you being here. Three months apart can't have been easy on either of you.'
'It hasn't been.' I sighed. 'But, luckily, we were in love when I came here. He's proven it to me a million times. If he hadn't, well, I'd be a mess by now, probably thinking he's cheating on me or something. But I've known him since we were babies. He's the perfect man, and when he commits to something, he commits. I'm just lucky he's chosen to commit to me.'
               Nurse Olivia gazed at me with a grin.
'You should put that in your book.'
'You know, I think I will.' I said. 'But I have to write in my diary first, or Dr Westone will be having my hide.'
               With that, I pulled out my pen and started writing.