Open Heart: A Medical Lesbian Romance Novel (City General: Medic 1 Series)

by Ruby Scott

  newlywed. Sean, Tom and Pat are the babies.”

  “And you’re the middle one, right?”

  Cara nodded. “Yeah, I thought they’d stop popping out kids when

  they finally had a girl, but here we are.” She grinned as she pushed open the

  swinging door that led to the dining room.

  The table was long and rectangular with at least twelve seats around

  it. It was an old table, with scratched wood and chairs with yellowing

  cushions. On the far end of the table sat a large, bald man. His skin was the

  same olive color as Cara’s, with a thick, bushy mustache over his lip. They

  all sat chatting away casually, enjoying bottles of beer.

  When they entered the room, Cara cleared her throat. All the attention

  turned to her and the older man smiled. “There’s my little girl!” His voice

  was booming. It was loud and gruff, but somehow welcoming. It was

  another clear difference between Cara’s and Izzy’s life. Izzy’s father went to

  the gym five times a week, never drank, and kept a full head of well-

  conditioned dark hair.

  “Hey dad.” Cara let go of Izzy’s hand again, crossing across the room

  to where her father sat. She threw her arms around him and he hugged her

  back. When they parted, she looked over at Izzy. “This is my girlfriend,

  Izzy.” She pointed to her father, “This is my dad, Russ.” She then began to

  point to the men surrounding Russ. “This is Sean,” She said, pointing to the

  youngest of the boys. “This is Pat,” Pat had long dark hair that was pulled

  into a ponytail. “And this is Tom.” Tom wore glasses.

  Izzy had no idea how she was ever going to remember which brother

  was which. “It’s nice to meet all of you. I’m Izzy,” She said, offering an

  awkward wave.

  “Come have a seat, Izzy. I was just tellin’ the boys here about our last

  client and how much of a pain in the ass he was.”

  “Dad owns a construction company.” Cara said, walking away from

  her father and back over to Izzy. She took a seat next to Pat and then pulled

  out the chair next to her for Izzy, “all the boys work for him.”

  “There was a spot in the company for Cara too, but she chose another

  path.” Russ said. “Gotta admit. We’re pretty proud of her though.”

  Izzy offered a small smile, looking down in her lap while Russ

  continued his story. Evidently the client had them working on a ridiculous

  deadline and didn’t understand that rain was an issue with construction

  work. He finished the story by retelling how he had told the client that they

  could take their deadline and shove it. They’d have the work done at a

  reasonable time and it would be done right. “You should’ve seen the look

  on the sonofabitch’s face. It was the funniest shit I’ve ever seen.”

  Everyone dissolved into laughter at Russ’ story. Everyone laughed,

  although Izzy was a little shocked. Her father never would have used that

  kind of language around a guest. She was fairly sure she had only heard him

  curse once during her childhood. When the laughter subsided, Cara started

  telling a work story.

  Everybody was all ears, including Izzy. She was fairly certain she

  hadn’t heard that story from Cara before. Izzy kept her hands in her lap,

  making herself as small as possible as she listened to Cara’s story.

  There was always something weird about being in a house that was

  not yours. No matter how nice everybody was or how much you liked the

  people you were around, there was still a level of uncomfortableness there

  that you couldn’t shake. That was how Izzy felt, uncomfortable. Everything

  was warm, everyone was welcoming… but she was still uncomfortable.

  Add in the pressure she was silently putting on herself to give a good first

  impression, and Izzy couldn’t relax.

  She had a feeling Cara noticed because halfway through the story, she

  reached out and took Izzy’s hand in her own, putting them both in her lap.

  The small touch was extremely comforting. It helped her relax enough to

  listen to the story and enjoy it.

  Around the time Cara finished her story, Ann entered the room with a

  pan of chicken in her hand. “Dinner’s ready.” She said as she placed the pan

  in the center of the table.

  Cara let go of Izzy’s hand to stand, “Let me help you get everything

  in here, mom.” And then she left with her mum to go back to the kitchen

  and bring in bowls of food.

  She left Izzy there with Sean, Pat, Tom and Russ. The entire room

  took on an awkward aura as nobody opened their mouth. Clearly

  uncomfortable with the silence, Russ cleared his throat before speaking.

  “So, Izzy, how long have you and Cara been together?”

  “Um, a few weeks.” She answered. When she spoke, she didn’t make

  eye contact. Instead, she looked straight across the table in the hopes that

  Cara would return soon.

  FOURTEEN

  After the food was placed on the table, everybody began to help themselves

  to it. Cara gently nudged Izzy with her elbow. “Hey, get some food.” She

  said quietly to Izzy. It didn’t take long for her to realize how uncomfortable

  her girlfriend was. Sighing, she took Izzy’s plate in her own hands. “I’ll fix

  your plate for you.”

  With all the plates served, Russ led the family in saying grace.

  Religion was an aspect Izzy was unsure about. Her family weren’t vaguely

  religious, but being respectful, she bowed her head with Cara’s family.

  When it was done, everyone perked back up and began to eat.

  It didn’t take long for the conversation to turn to Izzy. It seemed like

  everybody was interested in Cara’s new girlfriend. “So,” Ann began. “What

  do you do, Izzy? How did you meet our Cara?”

  Izzy took a small bite of food, drinking some water afterwards before

  answering. “I’m a surgical resident. Cara and I met at the hospital.” She felt

  Cara’s eyes on her at the latter answer. It was a lie she had started, so she

  didn’t look bad in front of her friends and it seemed she was still clinging to

  it. Plus, telling her girlfriend’s family that they met at a club and hooked up

  didn’t quite feel like the proper option.

  “Ah. A surgeon.” Russ mused, stuffing his mouth with some mashed

  potatoes. Izzy had a feeling he hadn’t swallowed all of them before saying,

  “What’s your specialty? Surgeons have specialties, right?”

  Keeping her eyes focused on her plate in front of her, Izzy shrugged.

  “At the moment it’s cardio but… I don’t know. I’m considering my

  options.”

  “Really? What options are they?”

  Izzy was beyond thankful when Cara jumped in. “Oh, she’s just

  working through some stuff right now. She was originally in for

  cardiothoracic, but she isn’t sure it’s for her. She’ll make a decision in the

  next few months, right Izzy?”

  Izzy nodded. “Yeah, right?”

  “Not to show my ignorance,” Russ said, stuffing more of the dinner

  into his mouth. “But what’s a cardiothor – whatever that word you used

  was?”

  “Cardiothoracic.” Izzy said. “It's a specialty in the heart, lungs and

&
nbsp; the other organs in the chest.”

  “There’s other organs in the chest besides the heart and the lungs?”

  Pat piped in.

  An awkward silence fell over them after that before Ann asked the

  next question, “Izzy, what do your parents do? Have they met Cara yet?”

  Izzy drank some more water. “My mother’s a psychiatrist and my

  father’s a cardiothoracic surgeon. They live in New York, so they haven’t

  met Cara yet.”

  “Any plans for you two to go visit?”

  Izzy didn’t know what to say, so Cara jumped in. “Izzy’s parents

  don’t know about ‘us’ yet. They don’t know about Izzy’s sexuality, but I

  think Izzy is gonna tell them soon, right?”

  Izzy felt completely put on the spot. She hadn’t even really

  considered telling her parents yet. She knew that she had to. She knew the

  longer she put it off, the worst it was going to look. Every day she didn’t

  tell them just built up her anxiety and gave her more of a reason not to tell

  them. She knew keeping this a secret would get to Cara and cause them

  problems if it wasn’t already. She swallowed, keeping her eyes focused

  down on her lap instead of the surrounding people. “Yeah, I’m going to tell

  them soon.”

  “Are your parents homophobic, sweetheart?” Ann asked in a

  motherly tone, one that made Izzy feel like it was mocking more than

  caring. “We weren’t the best at accepting Cara when she first came out…

  but we came around. She’s our daughter and we love her, even if we don’t

  agree with all of her life choices. I’m sure your parents will be the same.”

  “They’re not.” Izzy shook her head, still not making eye contact.

  “They just… I don’t know if they’re expecting it.”

  She didn’t want to let them down or hurt them, even if it wasn’t on

  purpose.

  “They might.” Ann told her. “You’ll never know until you do.”

  Cara reached down, lacing her fingers with Izzy’s and pulling her

  attention somewhere other than her lap. “I promise that no matter what, it’ll

  be okay.”

  “I know.” Izzy said.

  Luckily for Izzy, that seemed to shut down the questioning of her.

  Ann and Russ turned their attention to asking questions to the boys about

  their lives, about work and girlfriends. Dinner came to an end and Ann

  offered to fix Izzy a plate to take home, which she accepted. She helped

  Cara and Cara’s mum clear everything away, but she was quiet for the rest

  of the evening as she thought about everything.

  She probably looked like the shy, awkward girl. That wasn’t how Izzy

  was. She was confident and fun. People loved her… but she couldn’t be that

  person, not right now with so many things swirling through her head.

  When the night with Cara’s family came to an end, Russ and Ann

  hugged Izzy goodbye and told her how good it was to meet her. Izzy

  returned their sentiment before Cara took her hand and led her down the

  driveway.

  “I think that went okay.” Cara said when they were both in the car

  with the doors shut. “What do you think?”

  “It was fine.” Izzy said. “Your parents were nice.” And they left it at

  that.

  Cara was at work the next day, stationed in a gas station parking lot while

  they waited for calls. Her phone buzzed, telling her she had a message. She

  was expecting it to be from Izzy, who hadn’t said much that morning.

  Instead, it was from her mom. ‘Call me when you can? Love you.’

  It was never a good thing when her mom wanted her to call. Worried

  filled Cara, so she told Terri she would be right back before she hopped out

  of the truck. She dialed her mom’s number before leaning against the side

  of the red and white truck. The phone rang twice before Ann’s voice

  answered on the other end, “Hey sweetie.”

  “Mom, what’s wrong? Is everything okay?”

  “Oh honey, it’s nothing. I just wanted to see how you were.”

  “I’m great mom. What did you think of Izzy? She’s great, isn’t she!”

  “Yeh. Yeh.”

  “Mom, what is it? Didn’t you like her?”

  “Oh, it’s not that Cara, it’s just after Ali we thought—well I don’t know

  what we thought but it’s just… your father and I were talking last night

  after you left, and we weren’t sure if Izzy’s right for you.”

  It wasn’t what she was expecting her mom to say, but it still made

  Cara’s heart drop. It made her stomach tighten in that not-so-familiar

  anxious feeling. She swallowed again. “Why do you think that?” She didn’t

  want to get angry. She wanted to hear her mom out.

  “Well,” Ann started. Cara could tell she was stalling on the other end,

  trying to find the right words to say what she wanted to say. “She seems a

  bit… stuck up. She hardly talked to us last night. We just don’t want you to

  rush into another relationship.”

  “She’s not always like that, mom. I think she was just nervous.” Cara

  was quick to excuse her girlfriend’s strange behavior, but that didn’t stop

  the thoughts from entering her mind.

  She thought back to the brunch with her friends, how they made Cara

  feel like garbage and how Izzy never stepped in. She thought about how

  Izzy didn’t talk about work with her as much anymore. Maybe her parents

  knew she was gay, but she didn’t want them to know she was with Cara,

  maybe she was worried that they’d think she wasn’t good enough. She was

  clearly ashamed of how they met, not wanting anyone to know they had

  met in a bar.

  “I know and I’m sorry, perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything. We

  just want you to be happy no matter who you are with.”

  Cara knew her parents just cared about her, and they didn’t want to

  see her hurt yet again. She swallowed. “I know. Thanks mom. I appreciate

  you caring enough to tell me what you really think. I really do.”

  “I know, baby. Please let me know if you need anything. No matter

  what.”

  “Thanks, mom. I’ll think about it, promise. I love you. Take care.”

  “Love you too. Keep in touch and stay safe.” With that, her mom

  hung up and Cara stuffed her phone into the front pocket of her work

  cargos.

  Her mind was racing, problems she didn’t know were a thing now

  racing through her head. She had brought Izzy over to her parent’s house in

  hopes that they would see how wonderful she was; now she was worried

  that everything about Izzy was too good to be true. She took a minute to try

  to regain her composure before walking around and climbing back into the

  truck. When Cara opened the door, Terri peaked over at her.

  “Everything okay?” She asked, concern etched on her face.

  Cara looked straight ahead, trying to keep herself together. She told

  Terri everything. They’d worked together for years at this point. “Yeah…

  it’s just…” She debated on whether to tell Terri what was really going on.

  Finally, she said, “My parents didn’t take too well to Izzy. They thought she

  was a bit stuck up.”

  “Oh.” Was all Terri said.

  FIFTEEN

  Later that night
, Cara and Izzy were going about their nightly routine. Cara

  laid in bed as she watched Izzy in the bathroom, watching as she brushed

  her teeth, went through her ridiculously expensive skincare routine, put her

  dark waves up in a wrap. Everything she did was meant to be perfect, and

  Cara was just now noticing that.

  Izzy turned the light off in the bathroom before turning around and

  walking into the bedroom. She crawled underneath the covers next to Cara,

  tilting her head as she looked over at her girlfriend. “Hey, is everything

  okay? You’ve been quiet today.”

  How could Cara look Izzy in the eyes and tell her what her parents

  had said? If she knew her girlfriend, like she hoped and prayed that she did,

  it would crush her. Cara was convinced that Izzy didn’t think she was better

  than anyone. Cara was completely convinced that Izzy had just come across

  as awkward, not stuck-up. Her parents just didn’t know the difference. But

  her mother’s words had wiggled their way into Cara’s brain, making a home

  there, making her anxiety rise at the thought. She didn’t want to think of her

  girlfriend that way, but now she was.

  So, Cara did something that she wasn’t proud of, something she had

  never done before. She looked Izzy straight in her blue eyes and lied,

  “Nothing. I’m just extra tired. Today was rough.” She paused before asking,

  “Everything okay with you? You’ve also been a bit quiet.”

  Izzy shook her head. “Everything’s fine. I’m just tired too and you’ve

  been extra quiet, so I kind of just followed suit… if that makes sense? I

  didn’t want to be obnoxious and drive you insane with my constant

  blabbering, y’know?”

  Cara felt awful for lying, and even more awful that Izzy believed her.

  She did her best to shake off the conversation she had had earlier with her

  mother, hoping she could find a place in the back of her mind and store it

  there, forgotten, like an unwanted Christmas present.

  “You could never be obnoxious or drive me insane, I hope you know

  that.” Cara said as she leaned over, wrapping an arm around Izzy’s

  shoulders. “But since you’re so tired, let’s get some sleep.” She pressed a

  kiss to her cheek and Izzy seemed to beam.

  There was no way she thought she was too good for their

  relationship. No way at all.