Saving Grace

“Don’t
leave her side, Harold,” Sands said as he was wheeled from Grace’s room.

“I won’t,”
Harold replied. “Are you sure that you
don’t want to be put out?”

“Fuck
no! If she wakes up, I don’t want to be
out cold. If I’m only half done, I want
to be here with…”

“I don’t
know that she’d appreciate that, Sheldon,” Harold chuckled.

“Look,
just…”

“Come on,
Agent,” Dr. Morris, the surgeon flown in to give Sands a new set of eyes, said.

“But I…”

Dr. Morris
shook his head. “She’s in good
hands. We’re going.”style="mso-spacerun: yes"> As Sands was wheeled down several long
hallways, Dr. Morris began to explain a few things about the procedure.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “Your new eyes are quite a scientific
advancement.”

“Will I be
able to see out of them?” Sands asked sarcastically.

“Not that
advance, I’m afraid. However, they are
far from glass eyes. These are made of
a material that will feel natural in the sockets and, if enough muscle tissue
was left, will move naturally as well.
They react to light and…”

“Gee,”
Sands said, sounding like an overenthusiastic little kid, “they do everything
real eyes do, except what matters.”

“You want
to keep the holes in your head?”

“No.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Sorry, I just miss, you know, seeing.”

“I’d be
irritable too.”

“Hey, I’m
not fucking irritable,” Sands snapped.
“Um…well…” He sighed.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “Let’s just get on with it.”

“You’re
positive that you don’t want to be put under?
I mean, it might feel a bit…”

“I was
awake when they fucking tore them out.”

“You…what?”

“Yeah,
believe me, this’ll be nothing.”

“All
right.”

Sands was
put on the operating table and given a local anesthetic.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> He felt a bit woozy, but was still aware of
his surroundings. He heard other
American voices in the room.

“Doctor,
what do you want on?” a female voice asked.

“Um…U2
today, Sandy, thank you.”

Sands voice
was slightly slurred when he asked, “You’re gonna listen to fucking music while
you’re operating on me?”

“It relaxes
me. But if you’d prefer a tense
surgeon…”

“Listen
away, friend,” Sands said, forcing a smile.
He heard music start and realized that the anesthetic must have been a
bit more powerful then he was expecting.
Sounds floated in and out of his ears.
Thoughts came and went. Memories
became vivid, then dull… Then something
grasped him, keeping him slightly more aware for a few moments.

Grace,
she takes the blame

She
covers the shame

Removes
the stain

It could
be her name

A song that
just happened to contain the name of the woman who he’d fallen uncontrollably
in love with filled the room. The
middle of the song was lost among chatter between Dr. Morris and two other
people. Sands wanted to ask them to be
quiet, but his mouth wouldn’t move the way he wanted it to.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> By the end, they were silent and he was able
to hear the last lines that Bono sang:

Grace,
she carries a world on her hips

No
champagne flute for her lips

No
twirls or skips between her fingertips

She
carries a pearl in perfect condition

What
once was hurt, what once was friction

What
left a mark no longer stains

Because
Grace makes beauty out of ugly things

Grace
finds beauty in everything

Grace
finds goodness in everything

“Gracie…”style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Sands voice was a hoarse whisper, but Dr.
Morris heard it.

“Almost
done here, Sheldon. We’ll get you back
to her soon.”

Author’s
Note: Very short chapter, I
know…sorry! But that’s all I felt I
needed here :-). The song is called
“Grace” and it can be found on U2’s album “All That You Can't Leave Behind.”