by Jeannie Moon
But Jordan wasn’t ready to give her any. Mostly because she didn’t know what she would say. Her life had been turned upside down, first by her cheating ex, then by her father’s prognosis, and now the damn storm. She felt adrift. Lost.
“Okay. Yes. I am… protective of my heart. I don’t want a man in my life.”
Nick had been great, but she didn’t think tying her line to a guy who was dealing with his own baggage was a good idea. If she was honest with herself, Jordan didn’t trust herself enough to get involved with anyone.
Lilly seemed content with her response; at least it appeared so, since she didn’t ask anything else. Jordan had no idea why she kept talking.
“He’s going to visit with my dad later today.”
“Nick? Why? I mean that’s nice, but…”
“He’s going because I can’t—I’m still too sick. And I’m worried. So, he’s going for me.”
Lilly’s eyes rounded again. “Ah.”
Her friend and the ‘ah.’ “What?”
“Nothing. I just… it’s very nice of him to do that for you.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Not typical doctor-patient stuff, though.”
“I guess not.” Jordan sipped her hot tea. The taste of lemon, honey and mint soothed her raw throat. “But, admittedly, it’s been an odd few days.”
Lilly nodded. “That it has, my friend. That it has.”
*
The hospice facility was a few miles east of Compass Cove, set just outside of a town that was born around the same time. So many of the North Shore communities had similar roots. Settled by New Englanders coming across Long Island Sound, the rich soil and protected harbors allowed for towns to spring up from the far east end all the way to Manhattan.
Jordan was recovering quickly, so leaving her on her own wasn’t as much of a problem as it would have been a few days ago. She was still tired and run-down, but her lungs were clearing. Nick was glad Lilly Vasquez, who he’d known for years, stopped in with tea from Nona’s café. Lilly was one of Jordan’s closest friends, and probably the perfect babysitter because she wouldn’t take any of Jordan’s crap. In comparison, he would look like a pushover.
He pulled into a spot in the large lot that was next to a massive snowbank. From the looks of it, they got about the same amount of snow as Compass Cove, but being not quite as isolated, they’d cleaned up faster. The building itself was impressive. It had been constructed on land that was once occupied by a large marina, and Nick had to say, they did a nice job blending into the area. Just one story, and designed to look like a coastal inn, the facility couldn’t have been more welcoming.
He’d done his research on the place. The nursing organization that ran the hospice house had taken great care to make it as homelike as possible. Entering through the front door, it felt more like walking into a large home than a medical facility. Depending on the progress of their disease, residents received as much or as little assistance as they needed. The goal was to abide by the patient’s wishes and keep them as pain free as possible.
He signed in at the desk and must have looked lost enough that the receptionist offered help.
“I’m here to see George Velsor,” he said. “I’m a friend of his daughter.”
“Oh, Jordan! We haven’t seen her in a while.”
“She’s been sick, recovering from pneumonia.”
“Oh, that’s right! The poor thing. She must be so worried about her dad.” The woman, whose name was Nancy, was extremely nice. She warmed the facility up without even trying.
“That’s why I’m here.” Nick liked the feel of the place. He could see why Jordan felt her father was in good hands.
With directions to the room in hand, Nick made his way down the hallways. The building was really beautiful. Some residents were in a large sunroom, talking and playing cards. The room itself had a wall of windows that faced the harbor, and since it was a nice day, the space was bathed in natural light. Other patients were with family. There was a woman in what looked to be a large communal kitchen, fixing a sandwich. Taking in the scene, it was the sense of normalcy that struck him. People here were terminal, they were going to die, but the environment catered to the business of living. It was calm and quiet—peaceful. There was no visible medical equipment and Nick knew that was the whole idea. It was about making the most of the time left.
Finally, he came to George’s room. The door was slightly opened and there was a nice looking older woman with salt and pepper hair standing just inside the space. He tapped lightly on the door and the woman turned and smiled.
“Well, hello there, young man,” she said. “Can I help you? I’m Tally, the social worker.”
The way he moved, Nick felt anything but young, but he smiled and extended his hand. “I’m Nick Rinaldi, I’m a friend of Mr. Velsor’s daughter.”
“Oh, Jordan! We heard she has pneumonia. George is just taking care of business.” She waved toward a door in the corner. “How is Jordan?”
“She’s recovering. Still very tired, but getting better.”
“Are you from Compass Cove? We heard the flooding was horrible and they’re still digging out from the snow.”
“Yes, it’s been a challenge. There are a lot of narrow roads, and we had hundreds of trees come down. It’s hard for repair and road crews to get around.”
“It wasn’t as bad here,” Tally remarked. “Hard to believe since it’s a stone’s throw away.”
“One theory is a tornado touched down. That’s why so many trees were lost in one area.”
“Goodness. That’s terrifying.”
Small talk. It was supposed to make people comfortable, but Nick sometimes found it tiresome. Tally was a nice woman, though. He couldn’t fault her for trying.
When he looked around the room, he saw the TV was tuned to a pre-season baseball game. After the last few days of bad weather, pretty much everyone was wishing they could be in sunny Florida. That’s when a tall man, with a shock of gray hair returned to the room. After looking Nick over, he flashed a huge smile.
It was Jordan’s smile, and her father also possessed the same deep blue eyes. “Hello there,” he said, stepping into the room and picking up a coffee mug. “Are you the ambassador dispatched by my offspring?”
Okay. This guy had a major personality. “Nick Rinaldi. I’m a friend of Jordan’s. Nice to meet you, sir.”
The elder man chuckled and shook Nick’s outstretched hand. “Call me George. Please sit down. Would you like something?”
“No, thank you, sir—uh, George.”
“So, how is my girl?”
The man was friendly and outgoing, but Nick could see what they were up against. His pallor was a little gray, and there was the slightest tinge of yellow in his eyes. He was thin, and Nick guessed he wasn’t always that way. If Jordan hadn’t seen him in over a week, she was going to notice.
“Getting there, but it’s going to take a bit. She was very sick.”
“I told her to see a doctor.” He shook his head. “Always worrying about everyone else. She’s recovering okay? Not giving you too much trouble?”
“Yes. Every day she’s improved. My grandparents are making sure she’s well fed.” That was the truth, but getting the woman to rest was a full-time job. “She needs to take it easy. Which is tough, because she’s stubborn.”
George burst out laughing. “Stubborn. Yes, she is. She gets that from her mother.”
“The worst seems to be over. I’ll bring her by in a couple of days.”
“Good. So, Lina and Angelo must like having you under the roof again. If I remember, Lina wasn’t happy unless there were ten people around her dining room table on Sundays.”
“That pretty much says it all.” Nick had to laugh. It was so true. “I’ve been home for about six months, give or take time for some surgeries. Just discharged from the Navy Medical Corps.”
“I guess you’ll be taking her a full report on my condition?” George’
s voice trembled. He wanted to protect Jordan from the truth.
“I won’t have much to tell her, since I don’t have access to your medical records.”
“Ah.” George sipped his coffee. “I’ll tell you. I’m getting worse.”
“What’s happening?” Nick leaned forward, elbows on his knees. He couldn’t treat him, but he could listen. And the more he knew, the better he’d be able to help Jordan cope.
“Restlessness—I can’t seem to get away from myself. I have a fever on occasion. The jaundice. Nausea. I’m losing weight, but my belly is distended. Confusion. I’m guessing it’s spreading because there’s more pain.”
“You’re here so you can be comfortable. That’s the point. There are medications—”
“I know.” George cut him off.
The man may have known, but there was a level of denial in his behavior. “What do you want me to tell Jordan?”
“If I had my way, you wouldn’t tell her anything.” George glanced out the window behind him. Then he snapped his fingers. “I know. Tell her I found a girlfriend.”
Nick had to laugh. “You don’t really want me to tell her that, do you?”
He shifted in his seat. “I mean, she’s going to figure things out soon enough. But I want her to take care of herself. Bring her when you can.”
Now he understood why Jordan had been so upset. She knew her dad’s condition was deteriorating, and that if she wasn’t there, she would never get the whole story. Her father would deliberately keep her in the dark. So, while she was trying to protect him, he was still trying to protect her.
“You going to tell her?” George asked.
“Not unless you want me to.” Nick took his confidence seriously, and if a dying man asked him to keep something to himself, he was going to do it.
“I don’t. I don’t want her running over here before she’s ready. Understand?”
“I do. I’ll take care of her.”
“Between me, and itching to go back to work, she must be driving you crazy.” George shook his head and smiled.
“Her fever just broke yesterday, and she has no stamina. School is a week or two off, at this point. She’s a bit of a pest, but she’s not impossible. Yet.”
“Yet is key. Give her time.” Jordan’s dad glanced out the big window that faced the water. “Can you come with her? She hasn’t seen me in over a week. She’ll notice the difference, and it’s going to be a tough visit.”
Nick nodded. “I was planning on it. She still doesn’t have a car, and I don’t want her overdoing it.”
“I appreciate this, Nick. I’m so worried about her. She told me about the car…”
Nick could relate to what he was feeling. Over the past few days, he’d been pretty worried about her too. The woman had gotten under his skin in a big way.
Nick wasn’t easily impressed by women anymore. His uniform was like a magnet, so he could date a different woman every night if he wanted. And when he was younger, he did.
Not now. If he was going to get involved, it would have to be something steady and real, with a woman who gave him a run for his money.
If he was honest about it, a woman like Jordan.
George had turned to the TV, his attention fixed on the screen.
“Who’s playing?” Nick asked.
“Oh, um, the Yankees and the Braves.”
“How’s it going?”
“Yankees are winning. That new outfielder can belt ’em out of the park.”
“Yeah? I haven’t been following too much.”
“So, your grandparents had three sons, is that right?”
“Yes. My father is Marco.”
“Ah. He moved west, what was it? Almost twenty years ago. Your grandmother wasn’t all too happy about that.”
“Not quite twenty years, but yeah, Nona likes us to stick close.” He remembered the day his parents left town like it was yesterday, partly because he’d opted to stay behind to finish his senior year of high school. It was strange moving in with his grandparents, but he wasn’t about to leave—not when he had a girlfriend and was set to be a starter on the football team that fall. His folks were still happily settled in California, managing operations at one of the big vineyards in the Napa Valley. He’d seen his parents a couple of months ago, and his mother was still trying to get him to settle down out there, but he had no interest. And the truth was he’d always been closer to his grandparents than his parents.
Sure, the area was beautiful, and he could find work if he really wanted, but Compass Cove kept him grounded. People here were good to him, they appreciated what he’d been through, but no one put him on a pedestal. He didn’t need to be admired; he just wanted to find a way to be productive. To be normal. And to move on.
“So,” George began. “How did you get hurt?”
That gave Nick a moment’s pause, but he figured the last thing George wanted to do was talk about himself.
“I was based at the joint services hospital in Kandahar. I went out to a village to help at a local clinic giving kids vaccinations.” He took a breath because the memory still hit hard. But being in the presence of another vet, someone who understood, made it easier to tell the story.
It was a hot day, probably close to a hundred degrees, and dust was blowing around, getting into every crack and crevice. Still, he heard local kids outside the clinic window talking and laughing. There were another half a dozen kids and parents in the small waiting area.
He’d been to this clinic nearly a dozen times, and even though it was a good hour from the base, he liked coming out. The kids had taken to calling him Dr. Nick, and he liked helping out the locals. Sure, he handled the emergency room at the hospital, but he was one of the only people deployed who was also a pediatrician.
He was talking with a new mother about keeping her six-month-old baby properly hydrated in the heat when he heard the popping from outside, followed by screaming.
He’d never forget the sound of the kids screaming.
“There was an ambush. Insurgent. He came in firing. Killed everyone in the waiting room before I could even grab my sidearm. The marine who came with me had taken two bullets, and I took three before I was finally able to get off a couple of shots and take him down.”
“One guy? Wow.”
“With an automatic weapon and a big clip, you only need one guy.”
George let out a low whistle. “Killing kids. What has this world come to?”
“That village is filled with the nicest people. You can’t imagine.”
“No, son. I can’t. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
This was more than he’d told anyone so far—not even his close friends or his family. Somehow, Jordan’s father understood. And he knew exactly how much to push.
Nick appreciated that.
“Vietnam was a shitshow. I hated every minute, but I got through it. You’ll get through this, too.”
They settled into an easy silence. The kind of quiet that happened between old friends. But George was uneasy. He twisted his fingers into knots, the knuckles going white.
“Are you scared? Is there anything you need for anxiety?”
“Nah, they got me covered here,” he responded. “This disease is a bitch.”
Nick shook his head. “It is. Jordan told me about the prognosis.”
George grinned. “Did she? That’s not like her.”
“She was under the influence of some pretty strong decongestants. It all kind of tumbled out.”
“She’s something. I’m sure glad she has you to help her through… well, you know… everything.”
Everything. Nick wasn’t quite sure what he was driving at, but the guy was a talker. He’d find out soon enough.
“I don’t know when I’m going to slip into the next stage, when the next big failure is going to come. It could be gradual, it could happen all at once. Apparently, I could become delirious. I could go like that.” He snapped his fingers. “It’s going to be
hard on her.”
“The staff here will know how to manage it.” Nick could see the fear in George’s eyes. It hit him hard.
“I can’t tell you how relieved I am you came to see me. At least I’ll know she’s not alone. That she has someone.”
“Someone?”
George nodded and patted his knee like they were old buddies. “Nick, I’m not stupid. I can see in your eyes how you feel about her. I mean, why else would you come to see her old man? Do you have a date in mind?”
A date? Awareness came slowly but once it did, he was sucker-punched. Her father thought he and Jordan were together. That maybe they were engaged? Shit.
“Uh. It’s…”
“I shouldn’t have asked. Sorry. I don’t mean to push. You’re a good man. You have a good family. I’ll be able to rest easy knowing my girl isn’t alone.”
Jordan wouldn’t be alone. She had a ton of good friends, and Nona and Pops would watch out for her. But they weren’t a couple, and he didn’t know quite how to tell George the truth.
That made him wonder if it really mattered. Did he have to tell him that Jordan wasn’t his girlfriend? Was there harm in giving a dying man comfort?
“I’ll watch out for her.” That wasn’t a lie. He would watch out for her.
“I know you will. I want her happy with a pack of kids. She’s going to be a wonderful mother.”
Nick had no doubt she would be.
“She always wanted to wear her mother’s wedding gown, did you know that? The last guy thought it wasn’t fancy enough.”
“I didn’t. But she looks beautiful in pretty much anything. She doesn’t need anything to be overdone.” Again, not lying.
“That’s the truth. She looks just like my Jane.” The way he said his wife’s name made Nick take notice. Wistful and happy, it was the way he wanted to feel one day when he talked about his wife.
“What happened to Jordan’s mother?”
“Oh, Janie died when Jordan was just six. Car accident. Wet road.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too. It broke my heart. She was the love of my life. After that, it was me and my girl. We did okay, watched out for each other, but it wasn’t the same.”
