by Karen Malley
“When I was finished, and ready to defend my dissertation, I asked my professor to schedule it for when Charlie was away at a conference. The minute I finished my defense, Robert and I hopped in the car and drove out here. I received my job offer from M. K. a month earlier and never told Charlie. In fact, I made plans to meet Charlie for lunch the following week, so he wouldn’t suspect anything. I told my professor where I was going but asked him to keep it quiet. I spread a story around the lab I was taking a post-doc in Connecticut.”
She leaned back against the chair, drained. “When Robert was killed in the car crash, I thought they finally found me. I realize now that was an accident, but still. I’ll never be free from it. I’m moving to Boston. I need to finish the work on this project. If I can develop drugs that won’t be abused, maybe I can make up for the one I put out on the streets. It’s been wonderful here with you and Mark and Anne. I’m happy I finally understand God’s love, but I’ll never be able to be with you. Not after what I’ve done.”
She took one last look at Adam, sleeping peacefully. She drank in his features one last time. Unable to resist, she cupped his face in her hands and pressed a kiss on his forehead.
“I’ll never forget you, Adam. But it’s too painful to keep seeing you, to keep wishing to be with you when I can never be. I love you,” she whispered, then turned and hurried out of his room.
35
Adam’s eyes flew open. He tried to sit up but found an IV sticking out of his arm. Trying to make sense of what was happening, he pressed his fingers into his forehead. Remembering, he threw back the covers and stared at what was left of his leg.
A nurse entered the room.
“What happened?” Adam asked.
“Your leg was badly crushed. It was without blood supply for too long. The only way to save your life was to take your leg. I’m sorry.”
Whoa. That would take some getting used to. Adam stared at her. “How am I supposed to manage with only one leg?”
“Mr. Harrison, we have counselors you can speak with to help you process all this. I’ll arrange for someone to come and talk with you.” She started to check his vitals.
Movement at his door caught Adam’s eye. “Never mind that. My counselor is already here. Hey, Mark. Have you come to see what’s left of me?”
“Hey, Adam. How are you feeling?”
“Well, I’m a little groggy and I think I left my leg back at the job site.” Adam shook his head. “I’m not really sure what happened.” He turned to the nurse standing next to him. “Can you help me sit up?”
The nurse showed Adam the button to raise his head, and soon he was in a sitting position. “I’ll have the doctor come and see you soon,” she said, and left the room.
Mark approached the bed and shook his hand. “I’m glad to see you’re awake.”
“Yeah, only just now. What day is it?”
“It’s only Saturday,” Mark said. “Yesterday a building fell on you. You and another man, Christopher, were trapped.”
Adam tried again to shake the foggy feeling from his brain. “I don’t even know anyone named Christopher.” Images began filtering into his brain. “Wait—Mac! Mac was with me in the collapse. He was all right, though.” Adam adjusted the bed more, and another memory stirred. “Mark, you won’t believe it! Mac accepted Christ after the accident. Mac, of all people. He’s the one who was such a bully. All it took was my left leg to get that guy saved. What a night.” With all the thoughts swirling in his head, he couldn’t help feeling something else important had happened. He was missing something.
“Did you talk to Kathryn last night?”
Adam blinked at Mark. “Kathryn?”
“Yes, she was supposed to come by and visit you. She was afraid to come into the hospital after what happened to Robert, but last we talked to her it sounded as if she decided to see you. Maybe you were asleep.”
Memories stirred. “I dreamed about Kathryn last night. She told me she loved me, but thought I was back together with Gina. Then she said some crazy stuff about moving to Boston. I guess the anesthesia was doing a number on my brain.”
Mark raised his eyebrows. “Adam, she is moving to Boston.”
Adam sat up fully, his mind more alert. “If that’s true, that means the rest of it is true. She loves me!” He tried to get out of the bed.
“Whoa, buddy. You’re not going anywhere. You’re here until the doctors release you. I’m sure you’ll be getting some physical therapy and some counselling to help you figure out how to get around on one leg. What will you do, run after her?”
Adam sat back, abashed. That’s exactly what he’d thought. “When is she moving?”
“She was planning on driving up tomorrow,” Mark answered.
“Can you grab my phone? It was in my pants pocket—I’m not sure what happened to it.” Mark sorted through the plastic bag marked ‘Patient’s belongings’ and pulled out the phone. The screen was cracked in several places. Pressing the power button had no effect.
“Sorry. This fared about as well as your leg did. We’ll need to get you a new one.”
“Never mind, can I borrow yours?”
“Sure thing.” Mark handed Adam his phone. Adam scrolled to Kathryn’s number and dialed. It went straight to voicemail. Scowling, he handed the phone back.
Mark studied him with a curious expression.
“What?” Adam asked. “I wanted to talk to her.”
“And what? Try to convince her not to move? “
Adam gave a sheepish grin. “Why not?”
“Not much for listening to my advice, are you?”
Adam started to protest, but Mark interrupted. “I’m busting on you. I told you not to get involved with an unbeliever. Kathryn doesn’t fall into that category anymore. The day she got back to work after New Year’s, she found out she’d lost her job. When she got home, she called to talk to you. After she talked to Gina, she…”
Adam’s stomach dropped. “What do you mean, after she talked to Gina?”
“Anne said Kathryn called you, Gina picked up the phone and said you were in the shower and not to bother calling back because you’d be busy with her. I’m not sure exactly what she said, but there was some innuendo behind her words, or at least that was the impression Kathryn got.”
Adam clenched his fist and pounded it against the bed railing. “Right after New Year’s?”
Mark nodded.
“It all makes sense now. That was why Kathryn started acting so distant. Gina was trying to get me back, and I guess she wanted to eliminate any competition. I have to talk to Kathryn. I need to explain.”
“Hold on, Adam. I haven’t told you the most important part.” Mark sat down in the chair after the nurse left the room. “After hanging up with Gina, Kathryn was at rock bottom. She lost her job and she lost you, or thought she lost you, all in the same day.”
Adam frowned. He would never hurt Kathryn. He wanted to be the one bringing a smile to her face, making those green eyes sparkle. “What happened?”
Mark proceeded to tell Adam the story of Kathryn’s encounter with God.
“God works in some amazing ways, doesn’t he?” Adam marveled.
“He does,” Mark said. “Anyway, she was able to get a position with the company that bought out M. K., and she’s starting in Boston on Monday. Anne and I are trying to talk her out of it. She interviewed for an adjunct professor position at the community college, but she won’t be able to pay her mortgage with that salary.
“I guess it’s not for me to say, but I believe she’s running away to Boston because she can’t bear to keep seeing you. Pine Springs is a small town, you know. Although from what you just said, maybe she can be with you after all.”
“If she’ll take me, that is.” He gestured to his leg. “I am only half the man I used to be.”
Mark chuckled. “No, I’d say more like three quarters.”
“Seriously, though. What kind of man can I be with only one leg? I
can’t even take care of myself, much less someone else. She won’t want to be with me anymore.” Adam fell back against his pillow.
“Are you serious? A man with your intelligence has never heard of a prosthesis? People get around on one leg all the time, and you can’t even notice a difference. Give Kathryn a little credit. It’s not your leg she cares about.”
Adam met Mark’s eyes. “There’s more to the story than just a misunderstanding about Gina. Kathryn talked to me about some stuff she got involved with in California. If what she told me is true, there’s a whole lot more she needs to deal with before she can feel free to move on with her life. I need to do a little research. Do you know the name of the professor she worked for in grad school?”
Mark wrinkled his brow. “No, why? Did she tell you she’s running from something in California?”
“Yeah, but she thought I was asleep. There’s no way she would’ve told me to my face. I can look up her dissertation and get the information I need from that. Can you bring me my laptop? I need to do some research, and call a couple of people, but I think I can take care of this.” Adam was itching to do anything he could to help Kathryn. Anything that would bring her back to him.
Adam worked long into the night, reaching deep into the dusty lawyer parts of his brain. By the time the first light of dawn peeked through his window, he was sure he had a foolproof plan. He waited a couple of hours until the normal world was awake, and made a few calls. By the time the aide came with his lunch tray, he leaned back, satisfied everything would work out. Now all he needed to do was get Kathryn to agree.
He looked up from his soggy grilled cheese and plastic cup of applesauce to the man in his doorway. “Derek! Come in, my friend!”
Derek crossed the room in two strides, and grasped Adam’s hand. “Sorry I didn’t get here sooner, man. Is it true? Your leg’s gone?”
Adam patted the covers where his leg should be. “Afraid so. I guess I’ll need a new line of work now.”
Derek grinned. “I may be able to help you with that.”
“What do you mean?”
Derek took a seat next to the bed. “Well, I’ve made a decision. It wasn’t easy, but I prayed hard on it, and I’m sure God is calling me back to China.”
Adam straightened in the bed. “That’s great, man. I mean, I’ll miss you, but what a fantastic mission opportunity.”
“Right? I’ve got my whole family to work on. Anyway, that will leave an opening for a director at the Kids of Hope Club. You’ve done so well with the kids, and everyone there loves you. With your legal background and your heart for youth, you’re a perfect fit.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. This is awesome.”
“Well, you need to interview with the board, of course, but I’ve already discussed you with the staff.”
“When? The accident only happened on Friday. Before that, I was a perfectly happy construction worker.”
“Oh, sure you were. After we went out to eat wings, I came back, and spoke with my friends on the board. We kind of hashed out the right time to approach you, contingent on if I decided to return to China. I was pretty sure you wouldn’t turn this down.” Derek punched his shoulder. “Just think. The perfect excuse to get away from Mac.”
Adam grinned at him. “Oh, do I have a story for you…”
36
Kathryn spirits sank lower with every mile she drove from Pine Springs. Her thoughts kept returning to Adam. He appeared so peaceful sleeping in the hospital bed, even after the trauma of the surgery. Kathryn was less peaceful the closer Boston got. Bandit whimpered in the crate in the back seat.
When she finally reached the extended-stay, Kathryn slid her keycard through the slot, and stepped into her home for the next thirty days. The smell of stale cigarettes assaulted her senses. Mottled beige curtains hung alongside a single window, the only thing breaking up the cream-colored wall. A brown couch dominated one side of the room. A TV, a kitchenette, and a small dining table completed the area. She leaned her suitcase against the wall and pushed open the bedroom door. A queen bed and dresser filled most of the available space. A small closet and bathroom rounded out her surroundings.
Bandit whined at her feet.
“I know, buddy. It’s only until we find something better.”
She dragged her lone suitcase into the bedroom. Bringing more seemed like giving up.
That night, laying on the lumpy mattress, with Bandit curled at her feet, an overwhelming bout of homesickness overcame her. God, what am I doing in this place? Surely things would get better once she got settled in her new job. What mattered was continuing her work. She’d poured her soul into that project for the last three years and wouldn’t give up now just because her job moved. She studied a water stain on the ceiling and listened to doors slamming in the hallway. Sleep could not come fast enough.
Monday morning, as Kathryn made her way through the maze of corridors, a voice called out behind her.
“Kathryn? Kathryn Baker, is that you?”
She whirled around.
“It’s me, Brian, from McCullough’s group,” a young man said.
Kathryn shook off her astonishment and took the man’s hand. “Brian, of course. How are you?” Kathryn so blocked that time out of her mind she’d forgotten her former colleague from grad school.
“I’m good, thanks,” he said. “I always wondered what happened to you. Now it seems we’re working for the same company.”
“It’s my first day here,” Kathryn said. “I transferred from Pennsylvania.”
“Wow. It’s good to see you again. Do you keep in touch with anyone from the old group?”
Kathryn dropped her gaze. “No, I haven’t talked to anyone since I left.”
Brian’s face lit up with the excitement of sharing juicy gossip. “So you didn’t hear what happened to Charlie?”
At Charlie’s name, Kathryn was sure she went pale. Trying to recover, she asked with what she hoped was normal curiosity, “No, what happened?”
Brian smiled. “You’ll never believe it. A year after you left, he got arrested for making drugs in the lab and selling them on the streets.”
Kathryn’s eyes widened. “Is he in jail now?”
Brian nodded. “Yep. I heard he got twenty years. Can you believe it?”
Kathryn swallowed hard, trying to quell the nausea. “Twenty years, wow. That’s crazy. How did they catch him?”
“He tried to get one of the new grad students to help him out. How thick is that? I can’t believe anyone would be that stupid. She turned him in.”
Kathryn’s curiosity overcame her sense of shame. “What happened to her?” she asked.
“Nothing. Why would anything happen to her? She didn’t do anything wrong. She’s finishing her degree, and she’ll be in the market for a job or a post-doc soon.”
Kathryn could hardly process any of this information. “Was there anyone else involved? He couldn’t have been doing it all by himself, could he?”
“No one else was involved. He testified he designed the drug himself, set up all the chemistry, did the synthesis at night while no one was around. He was too smart to test it on himself, but a couple of his buddies were using it. He swore McCullough had no idea. He turned in the two dealers, but he took the complete fall for the manufacturing charges.”
“That’s quite the news, Brian. Thanks for telling me. I better get going, though. It’s my first day and all. I need to get to new employee orientation. It was nice seeing you again.”
“You, too. We’ll have lunch one of these days and catch up.”
Kathryn nodded. “Right. We’ll do that.”
As Brian walked away, Kathryn’s legs nearly gave out. She could barely keep her hands from shaking. Charlie was in prison. That would explain his sudden disappearance from all the social media sites.
He hadn’t ratted her out.
Did that mean it was over?
Was she finally free from her past?
She should be right there in prison with him. Granted, she didn’t know what she was doing at first, and when she’d figured it out, the two men who visited had threatened to kill her family, but would anyone believe that? Clearly she wasn’t as bright as the other grad student who figured it all out right away. Nothing bad happened to that student.
What a mess Kathryn had gotten herself into. She made her way to the conference room where the orientation was scheduled and tried to block the whole conversation out of her mind.
~*~
New employee orientation behind her, Kathryn was escorted to her new boss’s office by an overly perky lady from human resources.
“Ahh, Kathryn, come in.” Darryl waved her to one of the chairs in front of his massive mahogany desk. “Welcome back. Now that you’ve gotten through all the company nonsense, let’s get to business. There’s a project in the metabolic disease group that could use some more resources. You’ll be reporting to Jack Meyerson. I’m sure you remember him from your interview.”
Kathryn tensed. She remembered him, all right. He was the one who said her work was impressive for a woman. “That sounds interesting, but I was hoping to continue working on the pain receptor project.”
“We’re still evaluating all the material from the Pennsylvania site. You understand that we won’t be able to continue with all of the projects.”
Kathryn took a deep breath. “Of course, I understand that. But the lead compound is incredibly promising. The studies show…”
Darryl cut her off. “I’m aware of the studies. You don’t need to give me your entire presentation again. I’ve decided to put you on Jack’s team, so that is where you will go. His office is three doors down. I’m sure he will be happy to give you the specifics of the project.” Darryl turned back to his computer and began typing.
Kathryn took the hint, gathered her courage, and made the longest fifteen-foot-long walk in her life.
~*~
The days in the hospital dragged, but Adam kept himself busy with physical therapy, teasing the nurses, and daily visitors. He swore the Bible study group put a schedule together. Mark and Derek were his most frequent visitors, but all of the others each paid him a visit.
