“I’m thankful for that. Do you know any of the details on the other staff from my clinic? Will they all recover?”
“I think we’ve released everyone from the hospital except for you. You were all fortunate. As a medical professional, I’m sad for what happened. There are much better ways to solve conflicts in this world. We see the results when mistakes are made. I’d rather be put out of business and have this kind of violence come to an end.”
“Amen,” stated Timothy.
“I need to continue my rounds and see other patients. You’ll see our occupational therapy nurse in the morning, and I’ll schedule the physical therapist to stop in as well. For tonight, you need to get as much rest as possible.” Dr. Gordon looked at Timothy. “I’m holding you partially responsible for making sure that happens. Did you have any more questions?”
While Timothy sighed, I said, “I don’t think that I do.”
“There’s a small crowd outside your room. Should I tell them it’s safe to return when I leave?”
I chuckled softly. “Of course, it is. I’ll keep things G-rated for the rest of my time in here.”
A few seconds later, I saw the smiling faces of Mary, Rhonda, and Daniel. Rhonda clucked her tongue at me. “Dr. Gordon said he caught the two of you.”
Timothy whispered, “Wow, word spreads fast.”
9
Timothy
The news from the doctor wasn’t all positive, but it was better than many other possibilities. In my mind, I pictured Inteus walking with a carved oak cane and a fitted metal grip in his right hand. He wore a perfectly tailored suit. It all added up to the image of a distinguished gentleman with an old injury sustained while pursuing a path of selfless service to others.
I leaned over to kiss Inteus on the cheek. “Everyone is back. I’ll leave you to their care and see you in the morning.”
He gripped my elbow when I started to pull back. “No, please stay, Timothy. I don’t want you to leave yet. We’ve got more to talk about when they leave.”
I glanced around the room at the rest of the gathering. No one appeared to be rushing me out the door. “Okay, I can stay for a little longer.”
“After all, we’re partners, of a sort.”
Daniel spoke up. “Haven’t you proposed marriage yet? The computer said that you’re a perfect match. A wedding would cheer everybody up. Maybe it’s what we all need.”
I held up a hand like a stop sign, and Inteus said, “Let’s not rush into anything. That’s a big step.”
I exhaled. We were on the same page. I’d thought about spending time with Inteus and possibly dating while pregnant, but I didn’t jump ahead to considering marriage. As I stated over and over to my blog fans, I was independent, and a formal union with a partner wasn’t necessary for a full, rewarding life.
On the other hand, I loved weddings. They could be the epitome of beauty and luxury. Inteus and I would be stunning in black tuxedos with tails. All of our friends and family would gather around to celebrate and confirm our relationship.
While puncturing my daydream bubble, I stepped back from the side of the bed, but I didn’t leave. Mary moved in close. Her presence was tremendously comforting. As I watched her kiss Inteus on the forehead, I thought about my grandmother on my father’s side. She’d passed four years earlier, and I still missed her. Mary’s voice and actions reminded me of Grandma Hitchens.
Rhonda said, “We’re starting to get inquiries from clients through the website. Most of them are merely happy that none of the staff were seriously injured, but some have questions about our ongoing support and the safety of our data. A few wonder when we’ll start the pregnancy procedures again.”
Inteus asked, “Have you assured them there is nothing to worry about? We’ll honor our commitments to our clients.”
“I’m in the process of doing that. If we’re not giving up on the clinic, could I have your permission for one thing?”
I sighed. I thought it was far too early to drag Inteus back into business concerns. Fewer than seven hours had elapsed since the explosion, but he didn’t look upset. Perhaps work matters would help take his mind off his leg.
“What do you need?”
“I’d like for us to open a small office as a temporary headquarters. There is a vacant storefront next to the Strange Brew Coffee Shop in downtown Harbor.”
“I think that’s a fantastic idea. I love that all of you are so willing to jump in with both feet in a crisis situation. My staff is always thinking about the next steps forward. Rhonda, please make the contacts first thing in the morning. Let me know what you find out.”
Rhonda beamed. She’d received the answer that she wanted to hear.
Daniel spoke up next. He laughed and said, “I just thought that maybe I should camp out where the protesters hang. I could use this here cast to show them what I think about their stunt.”
Inteus asked, “Have they caught anyone yet?”
Mary said, “We haven’t heard any news, hon. We will let you know as soon as we learn anything. The police are questioning everyone, and I’m sure they’ll get to you soon.”
“If you have the opportunity to speak with any of the authorities about it before I do, please tell them to avoid violence in dealing with any suspects. Everyone deserves the chance to make their voices heard.”
Daniel shook his head.
I watched Inteus raise an eyebrow. “Don’t you agree?”
“Surprisingly, I do agree. I shook my head because I’m amazed that you can lie there in bed with a huge brace on your leg and not want horrible things to happen to the guilty parties. This injury might follow you the rest of your life. Most people swear vengeance on thoughtless thugs like our bomber.”
“Well, thanks for reminding me about the severity of my injury.” I saw a slight smirk on Inteus’s face. “You know that I’m opposed to violence in any form. That usually means that I have to be an example for others, too.” Inteus grimaced and raised his arm again. “Come here, Daniel.”
Mary moved out of the way and her grandson, Daniel, stepped forward. Inteus reached both arms upward to wrap him in a hug. He whispered directly into Daniel’s ear, and none of us heard the words, but they produced a big smile. Daniel pulled back and said, “Thank you, Boss. You’re a great man. I mean that.”
Mary stepped up and wrapped her arm around her grandson’s waist. “Let’s go for tonight and let Inteus get some rest. Dr. Gordon said that’s the best thing for him right now. We can come back in the morning and start making more specific plans for putting everything back together. It looks like OBU has a future.”
I’d never met anyone with a better relationship with their coworkers. Inteus said, “I love you all,” and he hugged everyone before they left. As Blaze wrapped his boss in muscular arms, Inteus delivered orders. “Please water all of the plants and tell Buji I will be back soon. We might think animals don’t consider things like we do, but I think he will worry if you don’t give him a heads-up.”
“Will do, Boss.”
Blaze clapped me on the shoulder as he left. After they all filed out of the room, I asked, “Buji?”
Inteus grinned. “My golden retriever. He’s a brilliant dog, but he’s a little emotional sometimes.”
“And the name Buji? Does that mean something in particular?”
“It’s a Zen term meaning ‘freedom from troubles.’ It represents my contention that many domesticated dogs are only a few short steps away from reaching enlightenment.”
My family had a dog named “Benji” when I was a little kid. That animal wasn’t smart. I couldn’t see him reaching something as exalted as enlightenment. I said, “I guess that’s not for every dog.”
Inteus laughed out loud. Fortunately, he didn’t cough.
“I need to head out, too. This has been one hell of a day.” I rubbed my belly. “Who would have guessed I’d have a little bit of you here inside me.”
“Probably not in a million years. I thought y
ou were gone forever after your family disappeared at the end of eighth grade.”
“I’ve been meaning to clear that up. My dad had a job transfer, and I thought if I said goodbye to any of my friends, that would mean forever. If I didn’t say anything, superstition told me that we’d have to meet again for closure. And here I am. I’m back in your life. Wow.”
Inteus nodded and then sighed. “It’s going to be a long recovery. I’m not looking forward to that.”
“Hey, do you need any help?” I thought about the fact that I could do my video blog work from anywhere, and Inteus mentioned that he had a huge house. My mind started to race, and I didn’t think through all of the possible ramifications of making a quick decision.
“I’ve got Blaze. He does a great job of taking care of me. He’s a fantastic chef, and he keeps at me about both exercise and my daily meditation.”
“Doesn’t he already have a full-time job? Taking care of you will be more complicated while you’re in recovery.” The selfish part of my nature egged me on. Close proximity was important if I wanted to develop a relationship with the father of my child.
I heard reluctance in Inteus’s voice. I knew that I was barging in on his private life. He said, “I think the two of us can manage. You have a full-time job, too.”
“I can do my work anywhere. I’ve got an idea. Why don’t I stick around for a week? I can help out with anything. I run my own business. I can assist that way, too. We’ll get to know each other better.” I paused. “Is this all a little too forward? I guess I’m happy to see you after all these years.”
Inteus reached out for my hand. “You’re still the same wonderful Timothy. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but let me sleep on it, please.”
10
Inteus
The worst injury I suffered while growing up was a broken pinky finger. The only thing it interfered with was learning penmanship in Mrs. Brock’s third-grade class. She expressed her exasperation when I tried to compensate by writing with my left hand. Switching to a new hand, I immediately regressed to the handwriting of a typical kindergartener.
With my lack of experience with disabling injuries, I didn’t have any idea how boring it could be lying on the sofa for hours and hours because I couldn’t put weight on the healing leg. One morning, a couple of weeks after the explosion, I said to Blaze, “I think I’m going to get up and go in circles on the living room floor with my crutches. What does it feel like when boredom drives you insane?”
Blaze chuckled. “I can teach you cooking, Boss. Maybe this is a good opportunity. I can set you up on a stool in the kitchen.”
“They tried to do that in Japan. I nearly burnt the temple down. Patience isn’t one of my strongest virtues, and I discovered that’s often needed when preparing food. I want to make the five-minute dishes.”
Timothy swept into the room. It was only 6:30 a.m., and he looked perfectly groomed for the day. I’d grown used to it.
The night in the hospital when I tried to debate the pros and cons of accepting Timothy’s offer for care, I thought about seeing that face every day. If he stayed in my house, I had a good idea what would happen eventually, and it wasn’t only home care. Before the doctor interrupted in the hospital, we were well on our way to something intimate. Instead of prolonging the battle in my head, I gave in, and I accepted his offer to stay at my house and help out. After the first week, we decided to extend his residence at my place to a month. Timothy’s neighbors and friends in Massachusetts agreed to keep a close eye on his apartment.
Timothy ran many errands, and he helped out taking me to and from physical therapy. He asked once about what would happen next between us, and I didn’t know how to respond. I used my injury to delay the conversation. “Let’s talk about it more when I’m back on my feet.”
Timothy was often up by 5:00 a.m. teaching his hordes of online followers how to moisturize and apply the perfect amount of pomade to their hair. I spent one long morning learning lessons about my appearance, too. Timothy gave me a cheat sheet with all of the steps to follow once I climbed out of bed. Following his guidelines helped fill some of my time and hold the boredom at bay.
“Inteus! You look wide awake. Did I tell you that I got a text message from Mary last night just before bed?” Timothy laughed briefly. “I suppose not since this is the first time I’ve seen you today.”
“Mary? How is she? Was there news from the investigation or something? I didn’t see anything on TV. If they announced anything, I would have seen it. I watch the news at least three times a day now, and it’s the same stories over and over.”
“No, not the investigation. She said that Rhonda told her the contractors will begin reconstruction about a week from now. She suggested a groundbreaking event. I told her I would talk to you.”
“That’s a perfect idea—anything to get me out of the house. Meditation is great, but honestly, it’s the same old ocean day after day. I’m ready to slide into the backseat of the car and go somewhere.”
Timothy asked, “Since we’re talking about going out, what about heading down to Portland for a nice dinner?”
“Sure, we can do that.”
Blaze brought my breakfast on a tray. “Did someone say something about eating out in Portland? I could call one of my friends and get us a kitchen table seating at one of their restaurants. Of course, if this is a private dinner for two, I understand.”
I looked up at Blaze. “No, it wouldn’t seem right to exclude you. We’ve all had enough time cooped up here in the house. Work with Timothy to make the reservations.”
I bit into a strip of bacon and moaned with delight. “Now life is looking up. I’ll have a few things to look forward to other than the next episodes of boring TV shows.”
Timothy said, “You could read. Plenty of books out there. Just a little suggestion.”
I laughed. “And a good one, but I’ve read twenty books in the last week. I haven’t done that since I had hours and hours of time on my hands at the temple.”
* * *
Timothy knew what he wanted while I continued to spin my wheels. In between less-than-subtle attempts to flirt with me, he filmed daily entries in his video blog like clockwork. He set up cameras all over the house, and often he shot video with the ocean in the background. He wrapped up many of the days visiting me at my perch on the sofa in the living room.
Two days before the celebration of groundbreaking on a new 50 percent larger clinic facility, Timothy joined me in the living room wearing a sweater and a jacket. I said, “It must be at least eighty degrees out there. It’s July. Are you trying to sweat off a few pounds?”
“You should have seen the messages today. Some were like that, but the Aussies were happy. It’s winter there. I shared my rules for layering clothes. I tried to look like I was cold out there on the rocks even though it’s summer. That wind and the crashing waves on the rocks added atmosphere.”
“I’d bet the sweat on your brow did, too. How did you explain that?”
“I kept it at bay until I was finished filming. Great makeup skills can hide almost anything. Hey, would you like to help me out of the sweater?”
Timothy was starting to flirt again. “Can’t you do it yourself? How would you handle it if I wasn’t here?”
“Aw, man, play along, Inteus. Life’s supposed to be fun.” He knelt down beside the couch and faced away from me. Timothy tugged the sweater partway up his back to give me a head start and then held his arms over his head.
“You don’t take no for an answer often, do you?”
“Just help me out here, and then I’ll have something special for you.”
I reached out and deliberately rubbed my hands along Timothy’s lower back covered only by a thin shirt before I tugged the sweater up and off his arms. I shouted, “Success! What do I win?”
He suddenly turned around and planted a kiss firmly on my lips. It wasn’t unpleasant, but I tried to pull back. I didn’t think I was ready for it.
He was quicker than me and wrapped a hand around the back of my neck. I gave up the fight, and our tongues tangled before we both came up for air.
I was the first to say something. “So, it’s been almost three weeks since the clinch in the hospital, and you’ve kept your hands and lips off me. That’s admirable restraint. What’s changed today?”
“Maybe I think I’m running out of time. You’ll kick me out at the end of the month, and that’s it. Time’s up.”
I reached out and ran my fingers through Timothy’s hair. “Let’s take it slow, okay? I know we need to talk about this, but let me get through the groundbreaking. I promise that we’ll talk soon after.”
That night I had a dream about Timothy. We were both several years older, and we were a committed couple. I saw us lounging together on the deck of a cruise ship in the Caribbean. My leg was healed, too. We didn’t exchange any words, but the sensation was one of supreme comfort and satisfaction.
The next morning, I decided to try and push our relationship forward a tiny bit. Blaze told me that Timothy was out on the back deck filming another blog episode with the ocean in the background. I hauled myself up off the sofa and used the crutches to make my way to the deck.
Opening the doors while balancing on my crutches took clever thought and the cooperation of arm muscles that were slowly weakening from lack of use. Blaze insisted, “Leg injuries shouldn’t stop anyone from working their chest and arms with weights.” I reasoned with him that I was still sore from the explosion, but my excuses were running dry.
As I stepped onto the deck, Timothy tried to ignore me and continued smiling for his camera and gesturing with his arms. He cast a sideways glance as I swung on the crutches across to his side. Turning around, I decided to lean toward him, and I thrust my face into the side of the camera image.
Like the straight man for a star comedian, I asked, “Is this on?”
His Big Secret: An MM Contemporary Mpreg Romance Page 6
