As he slowly came to, Bobby could hear the beeping of a machine beside him. Everything was incredibly blurry and it was taking awhile for his eyes to adjust. He saw the figure of a woman standing in front of him, she rushed over to his side and he could feel the touch of her warm hand against his forehead. "Bobby it's me...it's mom." She said, her voice full of worry. His eyes adjusted to her face and he could see her eyes, which were red and swollen as if she had been crying for days. Bobby blinked, trying to understand what he was doing here, "Mom.... where am I? What happened? He croaked, his voice rough from an extremely dry throat.
"You were in a terrible car accident Bobby, they weren't sure you would pull through...but I knew you would son, I knew it!" Her eyes swelled again with tears and she smiled lovingly at him. He adjusted himself, trying to sit up but felt very dizzy. "No dear, don't move so much, the doctors and nurses are on their way, it's all going to be ok." No sooner had she spoken when a group of individuals in white lab coats with charts in hand appeared in the doorway. As they filed in, Bobby squinted; sure that was he was seeing couldn't possibly be real. The doctor, a middle aged man with salt and peppered hair appeared to be an ordinary person, but the nurses...they weren't...human.
One of the nurses was a tall, slender and very sophisticated fox with sleek, shiny red fur and the second nurse, a light brown, sexy looking bunny rabbit with oversized ears and long dark eyelashes. Bobby looked over at his mother, searching her face for some kind of a reaction but there was none.
The group approached him and Bobby couldn't contain himself, "Is this a joke or something?" he blurted out, needing some kind of an acknowledgement. Was it the drugs they had given him? Was his brain damaged?
The doctor looked at him sympathetically, "Now Bobby you've been through a lot and it's understandable that you are confused, but please know that we are all on your side." The fox-nurse beside him nodded, "Of course we are," she said her long bushy tail swaying from side to side. "But doctor, I am seeing animals, your nurses are walking and talking animals!"
"Now Bobby, that's not polite," his mother interrupted, "Nurse Amelia and Nurse Mary are just as ordinary as you and I, I imagine you must really be feeling exhausted, but that is not how I raised you son. Why don't you just get some rest now and we can come back later when you feel better."
Bobby shook his head in disbelief but decided it was not the time or place to argue about it. "Ok, I apologize. I guess I'm just out of it."
"No need to apologize, " the doctor replied, "you'll be out of here in no time and back to normal."
Bobby gathered his things and headed towards the patient release station. It had been a strange couple of days, he wasn't sure of what to make of the new reality around him. Perhaps his old life had all been a false memory and the world as he saw it now had always existed. As he zipped up his jacket he felt something bulky inside of the left pocket and reached in to retrieve a cell phone. The cell phone had several missed calls and messages. While he scrolled through, he noted that several of the names were names of people that he recognized from his "previous life", many of them sending texts to "get well soon" or inquiring about the state of his medical health. He dialed into the voicemail, easily remembering his password. Bobby listened to each voicemail, most of them following suit with the text messages until he came to the last one, an unfamiliar yet beautiful voice on the other end.
"Bobby it's me, Angela. We met the other day at the Couture Café. Anyways I decided you're right, I should make an exception for you (giggles) so I do accept your invitation and I will meet you for dinner at that restaurant... that new place Snow that you suggested... tonight. I looked it up; it's not far from me so I'll meet you there. I'm looking forward to it, see you at 7."
Bobby stood for a moment, that beautiful voice still echoing in his head, who was this mysterious Angela? He knew he had to meet her.