Rainbow had already been in the psychiatric clinic for a month and was beginning to grow restless and impatient.
“I haven’t done anything wrong since being here. I’ve done everything that’s expected of me, so what more do they want from me?” Rainbow had cried in frustration the last time Nadja saw her.
Nadja had assured her that it wouldn’t be much longer and to just hang in there and keep up the positive attitude, but she wasn’t sure herself what was going on. She just knew that it would be up to the courts to decide when she was fit enough to leave the hospital and whether or not she would be allowed to stay with her in the long run. She didn’t mind her staying at her mother’s house during the two-week trial period when she was initially discharged from the hospital, whenever that may be, but she worried the courts wouldn’t allow her to live with her after that. She would do what she had to in order to ensure that Rainbow ended up with her if that was what Rainbow still wanted. She just hoped it wouldn’t take too much time and work for both their sakes. She knew Rainbow would be worth any effort or compromises she had to make, but Rainbow had already been through enough drama. She didn’t need some judge, a virtual stranger, dictating her life to her. Within reason, of course.
Another thing that worried her was her mother, though she knew that was a silly thing to worry about. She knew her mother would come around in time after she’d had a chance to warm up to Rainbow and get to know her a little better. The language barrier wouldn’t always be there. Rainbow was learning more and more German each day. What she worried about was her mother possibly refusing to take her in should the courts decide against her taking her until something else could be worked out. Every time they talked she insisted that Rainbow would be better off back in her own country with her own language and her own family.
Rainbow still couldn’t walk on her own, but after another couple of months of physical therapy, which could be continued at home with the help of whoever was around, she would slowly begin to get around unassisted.
That late May day, as she made her way into the hospital, she hoped she could press the doctor for more information as to when Rainbow could expect to be discharged.
Nadja had just stepped out of the elevator and onto the psychiatric ward when she heard a familiar voice shouting. A second or two later as she approached the nurses’ station, she could see that the screaming was coming from Rainbow.
This certainly won’t help her get out of here any sooner, Nadja thought to herself.
She hurried to the screaming girl whose frustration was fueled by the fact that no one understood her.
“Lady Rainbow, calm down!” Nadja yelled above Rainbow’s shrilly shouts. An orderly began to guide Nadja away, but she was determined to help calm Rainbow down. In German, she told the orderly, “I can help calm her down. Remember, she doesn’t usually have anyone she can communicate with here and that’s got to be pretty frustrating. So please give me a chance and let me talk to her.”
Although it was with some hesitation, the orderly relented and then Nadja stepped toward Rainbow.
“They’re never going to let me out of here!” Rainbow cried to Nadja. “I can’t get any information as to what the hell’s going on, and when I do it’s so general and vague.”
“I know, honey.”
“I’ve cooperated with them like an obedient dog and I’m getting pretty sick of playing all nicey-nicey to people who obviously don’t give a damn. Why are they in this profession if this is their attitude?”
“Relax, sweetie. I spoke with Doctor Fleischer.”
“And?”
“And she and my mom and I all agree that sometime next week you can stay with me at mom’s place until the courts decide what’s best two weeks after that. With your approval that is.”
“Well, I’m really glad to know I’ll be getting out of here soon, but don’t make it sound like I have much say in the matter. In saving me you basically took my life away from me. My life doesn’t belong to me anymore! I have no ownership or rights to it and I…”
“That’s not true. Isn’t it up to you and you only if you wanted to give me a hug right now?”
A faint smile from Rainbow. Just a faint one, but enough to bring a much bigger one to Nadja’s face. Especially when Rainbow threw her arms around her. “I’m sorry,” Rainbow sobbed into her shoulder. “I’m so sorry for all I’ve put you through.”
Nadja looked down into Rainbow’s dark emerald eyes. “It’s quite alright, Lady Rainbow. I hate to say it but you put yourself through an awful lot more than you put me through.”
Rainbow nodded and studied Nadja’s smoky blue eyes. “Thank you for caring. And your mother, too.”
“You’re quite welcome.”
“I wish I could make it up to you but I feel like I can never repay you for all you’re doing for me, even if I’m still not sure saving me was the right thing.”
“It was the right thing, and you can pay me back by just being honest, funny, and alive like you usually are.”
Another faint smile. Maybe there was hope after all. Nadja was normally a very optimistic person, but even she had her moments of wondering if anyone would ever be able to reach Rainbow again for she had seemed so far gone both emotionally and physically, especially emotionally. “I’ve got something for you.”
“Yeah?”
She pulled something from her handbag. “Yeah. They said at the front desk downstairs that you could have it.”
Rainbow took the small plastic bottle with a spray pump Nadja handed her and studied it. Although it was written in German, Rainbow knew what it meant. “Brown Sugar perfume!”
Nadja nodded with a smile, pleased at the pleasure on Rainbow’s face.
“You remembered that I was a perfume fanatic.”
“Yes, I remembered.”
Again Rainbow hugged Nadja and again she felt a tug at her heart as she held the girl.
They eventually found themselves casually strolling around the grounds. Although it felt good to be outdoors when the weather was nice, Rainbow wasn’t fooled by the false façade. The well-manicured lawns with their colorful flower beds were actually surrounded by high chain-link fences, reminding Rainbow that she was still in a prison of sorts.
Rainbow tried to focus on the turning point in life she was at and not on Nadja’s beauty and how she was feeling things she hadn’t felt in a while. Like the tingling of warmth between her legs.
“So how do you feel about getting out of this old dungeon, Lady Rainbow?”
Smiling at the usage of the nickname she’d given her which always seemed to turn her on for some reason, she said, “Excited and scared at the same time.”
“That’s understandable.”
“How do you feel about my getting out of this old dungeon, Goddess Nadja of the Mediterranean?”
Nadja flashed a lovely smile and said, “Excited. Just excited.”
“Really?”
“Mhm,” she said with a sure nod. “Yeah, just excited. But I can see where you’d be a little scared as well. That’s because I know what’s waiting for you out there while you don’t.”
Rainbow took on a part somber, part serious expression.
“You ok, babe?”
Rainbow nodded. “I just hope it’s better than the last six months have been.”
“Oh, it most certainly will be,” Nadja said confidently.
Rainbow allowed Nadja to take her hand in hers as they continued to circle the grounds. She liked the feeling it gave her. She just wished she could feel as confident about things as Nadja apparently did.
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