by Elena Graf
“I know you can. Go back and take notes for me in that meeting on the new radar. I’d appreciate it.”
The young woman hesitated, but she knew better than to disobey an order. She nodded and headed to her car.
When Brenda turned around, she saw Cherie regarding her with a frown from the doorway. She was wearing a mask, so she couldn’t see the set of her mouth, but she could guess it wasn’t smiling.
Brenda approached gingerly. “Come in,” said Cherie in a flat voice. “I’m sure you want to make sure they do everything right.”
“It’s not that,” Brenda tried to explain. “I wanted to make sure you’re all right.” Cherie’s eyes narrowed, making it obvious she wasn’t buying her explanation.
“You came with your lights flashing. Could you draw any more attention?”
“You saw that? I’m sorry. I just wanted to get down here as fast as possible.”
Cherie opened the storm door and gestured toward the interior of the house. “They’re going to have their hands full transferring the equipment. He’ll probably need to stay on the CPAP until they get there. It’s big. One of the old ones from the VA.”
“That will make a tight squeeze if you’re riding with him down to the hospital.”
Cherie shook her head. “I can’t. Dr. Stolz put me on medical self-quarantine. I’m not allowed to leave the house.”
“I’m sure there can be an exception—”
“No, there can’t,” said Cherie in a surprisingly adamant tone. “This is serious, Brenda.” She motioned for her to follow her into the back of the house. “But keep your distance! I’m glad you had the good sense to wear a mask.”
“I had to. I couldn’t let my officer see I wasn’t following my own orders.”
Cherie turned and gave her a sharp look. Brenda felt like a freshman being stared down by the principal.
Cherie led her down the hall to Jean-Paul’s room. They watched from the doorway as the EMTs tried to make sense of the tubes and wires. They finally decided to put Jean-Paul on portable oxygen while they loaded the CPAP on the rig.
“I’ll make sure the equipment comes back,” said Brenda.
“That’s not the most important thing.” From the flat tone of Cherie’s voice, Brenda realized the seriousness of the situation.
She watched as the EMTs, two older women, deftly lifted Jean-Paul on to the stretcher. Hobbs was lucky to have so many retired nurses on the volunteer ambulance corps. These two ladies obviously knew exactly what they were doing.
Brenda saw they were going to have some challenges getting the stretcher through the door. She stepped into the room to help.
“We’ve got it, Chief,” said one of the EMTs, blocking her with a raised hand. “The bed’s on rollers. Now, if you could just give us some room.”
Feeling put in her place, Brenda went back into the hall.
“We should probably get out of their way,” said Cherie. She motioned to Brenda to follow her. When Brenda hurried to catch up to her, Cherie turned and said, “You need to stand back. I’m not joking.”
Startled, Brenda stopped. “But just yesterday, we were…”
Cherie pointed in the direction of the bedroom. She waved Brenda into the kitchen and spoke in a hushed tone. “Yes, we were tongue kissing and breathing each other’s breath. That puts you at big risk.”
“It does?”
Cherie shook her head. “Don’t you get it?”
“No,” Brenda answered honestly.
“My father hasn’t gone anywhere except for a ride in the car when I go to the supermarket. Then he just sits there while I shop. He hasn’t been exposed to other people for weeks. The only way he could have gotten sick is because I brought it home. I must be a carrier.”
Brenda stared at Cherie. “But you’re not sick.”
“I’ve had a headache that won’t quit for a few days. I don’t have any other symptoms. I may be an asymptomatic carrier.” Cherie’s eyes searched Brenda’s. “I may have infected my father. And he’s in real danger because of the COPD. I may have infected you. You look healthy as a horse, but who knows? If something happens to either one of you, I’ll never forgive myself.”
Brenda moved forward to take Cherie in her arms, but Cherie backed away.
“I’m wearing a mask and gloves!” Brenda protested.
“It could be on my clothes, my hair. You need to stay away.”
“No…please,” Brenda begged. “Oh, baby, please let me hold you. You look so scared.”
Cherie took another step back. “No, you can’t. You just can’t.”
One of the EMTs came to the kitchen door. “We’re ready to go now,” she said. “I’ll give you a call once he’s in the ED and settled.” She glanced at Brenda. “Thanks for coming down, Chief.”
“I wasn’t much help.”
“Moral support is always appreciated,” said the woman on her way out.
“You should leave now,” Cherie said. Brenda heard the words, but she could also hear the reluctance in Cherie’s voice.
“I know you’re scared,” said Brenda, “but it will be all right.”
“You can’t know that.”
“No, I can’t, but I believe in the power of positive thinking. Otherwise, I couldn’t do my job.”
“You need to go,” said Cherie repeated.
“I’ll call you later.” She reached out and patted Cherie’s arm. Cherie stared at Brenda’s hand on her arm and gave her a disapproving look, so Brenda withdrew it. “I’ll see you later.”
“Brenda, I don’t want anything to happen to you. Please don’t come back.”
“I’m coming back,” Brenda insisted, “even if I have to leave your groceries outside the door and wave to you through the window. Okay?” Brenda raised her fingers to where her lips were under the mask to throw a kiss. “I’ll be back.”
In the car, Brenda ripped off the gloves. She pulled the canister of disinfectant wipes out from the door pocket and wiped down the steering wheel as Cherie had demonstrated during a virus response training session. She took out her phone and wiped that down too. Then she called Liz. It went into voice mail, so Brenda headed to Hobbs Family Practice around the corner and pulled into the parking lot. She called again from her car. This time Liz answered.
“So, did you go after I told you not to?”
“You told me not to?” Brenda tapped open her message app and saw Liz’s message. “Oh, I see it now.”
“You went there, didn’t you?”
“Yeah,” Brenda admitted sheepishly. “I jumped in my car and drove down.”
“A woman of action,” said Liz with a sigh.
“That’s me.”
“Where are you?”
“In your parking lot.”
“Are you wearing a mask?”
“Yes.”
“You can come in. Tell Ginny to send you straight through.”
Brenda tapped off the call. She looked at the door handle before she touched it and realized everything needed to be wiped down, even the outside handle. What a fucking pain in the ass! she thought, but she ripped another wipe out of the canister and cleaned the inside handle. She got out and cleaned the handle on the exterior.
She took the wipe along so she could clean the door knob when she went into Liz’s waiting room. She held it up when she approached the registration desk. Ginny picked up the trash can for her to throw it in.
“Go on,” said Ginny with a wag of her head. “She’s waiting for you.”
As she passed through the hall, she saw all of the staff wearing masks and gloves. They were taking this very seriously. A medical assistant was wiping down the railing for handicapped patients with disinfectant from a spray bottle. Brenda realized that at work, Cherie would have observed all these careful measures. Outside of the office she h
ad probably relaxed her practices and that’s how her father could get the virus.
Liz was on the phone when Brenda came in. Liz gestured for her to take a chair.
“Yes, I’ll make sure she understands,” said Liz, glancing at Brenda. “Talk to you later.” She tapped off the call and put down the phone.
“Cherie?” Brenda guessed.
Liz nodded. She crossed her arms on her chest. “I have a good mind to put you on medical quarantine too.”
“You can’t do that. I’m the chief of police.”
“I can, and I will, if I have to. It’s likely you’ve been exposed. Are you and Cherie having sex?”
Liz’s direct question direct question shocked Brenda. She glanced away and nodded.
“I won’t ground you yet because I don’t have proof that Cherie has the virus, or that you’ve been exposed. I will test you today. We just got more test kits, and you definitely qualify. It will take ten days to get the results. Do you have any symptoms? Cough? Feel feverish?”
“No.”
“Well, that’s good,” said Liz. She took a razor knife out of her desk drawer and slit open the test kit wrapper. “You’re going to have to wear a mask all the time when you’re in public, including at the office. You don’t want to risk spreading this to the officers and staff over there. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
Liz put on gloves. The probe looked like an oversized Q-tip. It was at least six inches long. Brenda didn’t like the looks of it.
“Okay. Take off your mask,” ordered Liz, “and tilt your head way back.”
Brenda was startled when that nasty probe was shoved up her nose.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Cherie woke from her nap and set alarm to snooze. She still had an hour before her call with Lucy. It would be so good to hear her priest’s voice and see her face, but it wasn’t the same as sitting in her office and basking in her radiant smile.
Cherie considered Lucy one of the few truly Christian women she’d ever known. The other was Isabelle Bois, her mother. Like Lucy, Isabelle was a stunning beauty, a little darker than Cherie, but not much. From old photos, anyone could see why Jean-Paul had fallen so hard for her, but her beauty was more than skin deep.
Isabelle wore her Christianity on her sleeve and truly walked the path of Christ. She belonged to every service group in their church and volunteered for the Red Cross. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for a person in need. One time, Isabelle sat up all night with the neighbor’s crying baby because the mother was sick, and the father, a sailor, was out at sea. Cherie, herself, was young at the time and kept calling for her mother. Jean-Paul had sat Cherie on his lap in the old rocking chair in the living room and rocked her to sleep.
Cherie imagined her father in his room at Southern Med. She’d talked to the hospitalist there twice that day. She’d reported that Jean-Paul was stable. They’d kept him on the CPAP, and so far, that was helping him breathe. Maybe he didn’t have the virus and was just going through a bad time with his COPD. It would be at least a week before the test results came back.
The hospitalist looking after Cherie’s father was excellent—smart and a great communicator who always answered questions directly. Liz Stolz liked to disparage hospitalists, but she was trained in an era when doctors made their own rounds. In a time like this, when people were being asked to avoid hospitals and emergency rooms, the hospitalists would certainly earn their keep.
The alarm went off again, and Cherie forced herself to get up. She’d been sleeping too much since she’d been quarantined.She decided to take a shower and wash her hair. She had the option of a voice telephone session or Facetime. Cherie had chosen Facetime so she could see Lucy’s smiling face. That meant Lucy could see hers too.
Today, made day five of her quarantine. For the first two days, Cherie hadn’t showered. No one could see her, so why bother? Then she realized that wasn’t completely true. Brenda came by the first day, just as she’d said she would. She’d brought flowers, wine and a personal pizza. She’d kept her distance while Cherie brought the things inside. Then they’d stood at the picture window, gazing in one another’s eyes while they talked by phone. It was all silly stuff, nonsensical lover talk. The closest they could get was their hands or lips pressed against the glass. Cherie never wanted it to end.
Brenda had come by every day since and left little gifts outside her door. She reminded Cherie of a large, blond puppy bringing home trophies. At first, she’d imagined Brenda as a yellow lab. Now that she’d seen her with her hair down, she’d decided a golden retriever was more apt.
Cherie put on some makeup. Lucy always looked terrific, and Cherie didn’t want her to think that she was letting herself go while on quarantine. Being a therapist herself, Cherie knew Lucy would make assumptions about her mental state based on her appearance, and she didn’t want to give her any ideas.
Cherie decided to do the session on her laptop instead of her phone. She went back into her room and turned it on. She had five minutes before calling in, so she checked her email. There was one from Liz through the secure portal. Cherie put in her code and opened it.
How are you doing? We all miss you, especially me because it means I’ve got all your patients. Stay well. We need you back soon.—L.
She needed to use the secure portal for that? Habit, I suppose. Out of the corner of her eye, Cherie noticed the clock ticking down to four-thirty. She opened Facetime and rang Lucy’s number. In a moment, her priest’s beautiful face came into view. Cherie adjusted her screen to center her own image.
“Hello, Cherie. It’s so good to see you,” said Lucy in her rich, warm voice. “How are you feeling?”
“I feel fine. The first few days, I had some chills and felt achy, but if I hadn’t been paying attention, I probably wouldn’t have noticed.”
“I’m glad you feel so well. Do you think you have the virus?”
“Who knows? It takes so long for the tests to process I could have infected most of Hobbs by now.”
Lucy laughed. “I doubt that.”
“Oh, I don’t know. They might soon be calling me ‘Typhoid Cherie.’”
“If you did infect anyone, it wasn’t intentional. You know that.”
“I do know, but guilt isn’t rational.”
“No, it’s not.”
Lucy was wearing a clerical collar, but Cherie noticed she wasn’t in her office. There was a large pine bough behind her on the screen. “Where are you? That’s not the rectory or your house.”
“No, I’m in Dr. Stolz’s garage apartment. We’ve been here since our refrigerator failed. It could take two months to get a replacement, and that’s a maybe. Most appliances are built from components made in China. If we can’t get a refrigerator, we might be here for the duration.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I hope it’s a nice place where you’re staying. A garage apartment?” Cherie wrinkled up her nose.
“Oh, it’s very nice. It has a wonderful view of the woods. Kind of like being in a tree house. But how about you? Are you comfortable where you are? Do you have everything you need?”
“Oh, yes. Dr. Stolz drops off groceries. Chief Harrison comes by every night.”
Cherie admired how well Lucy controlled her face in therapy sessions. “That’s very nice of her.” She continued to smile pleasantly, waiting for Cherie to say more.
“We slept together,” Cherie blurted out. It had actually happened two weeks ago, but for some reason, Cherie hadn’t felt ready to share that in therapy.
Lucy looked thoughtful as she formulated her response. Finally, she said, “That’s a big step.” Her tone was completely neutral. She was a great counselor. No judgement, not even a little frown.
“It is. But it felt right. We were ready.”
“That’s a lot of progress in a very short period of time. How did you get to t
hat point?”
“You think it’s too soon?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“No, you didn’t. Sorry. I didn’t mean to put words in your mouth.”
Lucy shook her head which indicated she wasn’t offended. “The timing felt right for you. That’s what really matters. So how did you get past your issues?”
“I followed all of your suggestions to the letter. I went out with her when she wasn’t wearing her uniform. I learned how to shoot. The only thing I haven’t done is undressed her while she’s wearing her uniform.” Cherie grinned. “No offense, but I thought that was a little kinky for the first time.”
Lucy laughed. “Yes, I guess it might be. But it sounds like you might have the opportunity to try it another time.”
“I’m beginning to see why some women might find it sexy.”
“Something to explore,” Lucy suggested. “As long as it feels right to both of you. It’s good to experiment to keep your love life interesting.”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been in a relationship long enough for it to be anything but interesting.”
“Well, you’re just starting out here, so don’t let your past short circuit your future.”
“I’ll try, but it’s hard to escape gravity.”
Lucy gave her a long penetrating look that exuded compassion. “You can. I know you can. And if you need me, I’m here for you. Otherwise, it sounds like the problem you came to me for is solved.”
“The immediate problem, yes. Once I got past seeing Brenda as a cop, I found we are very compatible…emotionally and physically.”
“That’s good.” Lucy’s voice was full of encouragement.
“But I don’t want to let go of our sessions yet. I have other things I want to explore.”
“We can, if that’s what you think you need.”
“Of course, like everyone studying for a counseling credential, I went through therapy. But I felt like I was putting on an act to make the right impression. I’m past that now. I have issues to work through. I’ve never met anyone like you, Lucy. I really feel I can talk to you.”
