by Laura Iding
The waiter came over and the two men conversed in rapid-fire Spanish. She caught maybe one familiar word out of a dozen.
“What would you like to drink, Katerina?” Miguel asked. “Beer? Wine? Soft drink?”
“You ordered a soft drink, didn’t you?” she asked.
He flashed a bright smile and nodded. “You remember some Spanish, no?” he asked with clear approval.
“Yes, muy poco, very little,” she agreed. “I’ll have the same, please.”
Miguel ordered several tapas, the Spanish form of appetizers, along with their soft drinks. When the food arrived, she had no idea what she was eating, but whatever it was it tasted delicious.
“Do you want to review Juliet’s chart now?” he asked. “I can wait and answer your questions.”
“I’ll read it later, just tell me what you know.” She wanted to hear from him first. Besides, there was no way she’d be able to concentrate on her sister’s chart with him sitting directly across from her.
He took his time, sipping his drink, before answering. “Juliet has begun moving around more, which is a good sign. She will likely start to intermittently follow commands soon. We have done a CT scan of her brain earlier this morning and the area of bleeding appears to be resolving slowly.”
She nodded, eating another of the delicious tapas on the plate between them. There were olives too, and she wondered if they were from Miguel’s family farm. “I’m glad. I guess all we can do right now is wait and see.”
“True,” he agreed. He helped himself to more food as well. “Katerina, how is your mother doing? Wasn’t she scheduled to have surgery right before I left the States?”
She nodded, her appetite fading. “Yes. The result of her surgery showed stage-four pancreatic cancer. She died a couple months later.” Despite the fear of being a single mother, at the time of her mother’s passing, her pregnancy had been one of the few bright spots in her life. Things had been difficult until Juliet had gone off to college. Thankfully, her friend Diana had been there for her, even offering to be her labor coach.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured, reaching across the table to capture her hand in his. “We both lost our parents about the same time, didn’t we?”
“Yes. We did.” His fingers were warm and strong around hers, but she gently tugged her hand away and reached for her glass. She tried to think of a way to ask him if he was married or seeing someone, without sounding too interested.
“I have thought of you often these past few years,” Miguel murmured, not seeming to notice how she was struggling with her secret. He took her left hand and brushed his thumb across her bare ring finger. “You haven’t married?”
She slowly shook her head. There was only one man who’d asked her out after Tommy had been born. He was another nurse in the operating room, one of the few male nurses who worked there. She’d been tempted to date him because he was a single parent, too, and would have been a great father figure for Tommy, but in the end she hadn’t been able to bring herself to accept his offer.
She hadn’t felt anything for Wayne other than friendship. And as much as she wanted a father for Tommy, she couldn’t pretend to feel something she didn’t.
Too bad she couldn’t say the same about her feelings toward Miguel. Seeing him again made her realize that she still felt that same spark of attraction, the same awareness that had been there when they’d worked together in the U.S. Feelings that apparently hadn’t faded over time.
“What about you, Miguel?” she asked, taking the opening he’d offered, as she gently pulled her hand away. “Have you found a woman to marry?”
“No, you know my dream is to join Doctors Without Borders. But I can’t leave until I’m certain my brother has the Vasquez olive farm back on its feet. Luis has a few—ah—problems. Things were not going well here at home during the time I was in the U.S.” A shadow of guilt flashed in his eyes, and she found herself wishing she could offer him comfort.
“Not your fault, Miguel,” she reminded him, secretly glad to discover he hadn’t fallen in love and married a beautiful Spanish woman. “How old is Luis?”
“Twenty-six now,” he said. “But too young back then to take on the responsibility of running the farm. I think the stress of trying to hold everything together was too much for my father.” He stared at his glass for a long moment. “Maybe if I had been here, things would have been different.”
She shrugged, not nearly as reassured as she should be at knowing his dream of joining Doctors Without Borders hadn’t changed. She should be thrilled with the news. Maybe this would be best for all of them. He’d go do his mission work, leaving her alone to raise Tommy. Miguel could come back in a few years, when Tommy was older, to get to know his son.
All she had to do was to tell him the truth.
Diana wanted her to wait, but she knew she had to tell him or the secret would continue to eat at her. She’d never been any good at lying and didn’t want to start now. She swallowed hard and braced herself. “Miguel, there’s something important I need to tell you,” she began.
“Miguel!” A shout from across the street interrupted them. She frowned and turned in time to see a handsome young man, unsteady on his feet, waving wildly at Miguel.
“Luis.” He muttered his brother’s name like a curse half under his breath. “Excuse me for a moment,” he said as he rose to his feet.
She didn’t protest, but watched as Miguel crossed over towards his brother, his expression stern. The two of them were quickly engrossed in a heated conversation that didn’t seem it would end any time soon.
Kat sat back, sipping her soft drink and thinking how wrong it was for her to be grateful for the reprieve.
* * *
“Luis, you shouldn’t be drinking!” Miguel shouted in Spanish, barely holding his temper in check.
“Relax, it’s Friday night. I’ve been slaving out at the farm all week—don’t I get time to have fun too? Hey, who’s the pretty Americana?” he asked with slurred speech, as he looked around Miguel towards where Katerina waited.
“She’s a friend from the U.S.,” he answered sharply. “But that’s not the point. I thought we had an agreement? You promised to stay away from the taverns until Saturday night. It’s barely five o’clock on Friday, and you’re already drunk.” Which meant his brother must have started drinking at least a couple of hours ago.
“I sent the last olive shipment out at noon. I think you should introduce me to your lady friend,” Luis said with a sloppy smile, his gaze locked on Katerina. “She’s pretty. I’d love to show her a good time.”
The last thing he wanted to do was to introduce Katerina to his brother, especially when he was intoxicated. Luis had been doing fairly well recently, so finding him like this was more than a little annoying.
What was Luis thinking? If he lost the olive farm, what would he do for work? Or was this just another way to ruin Miguel’s chance to follow his dream? He was tired of trying to save the olive farm for his brother while taking care of his patients. He was working nonstop from early morning to sundown every week. It was past time for Luis to grow up and take some responsibility.
“Go home, Luis,” he advised. “Before you make a complete fool of yourself.”
“Not until I meet your lady friend,” Luis said stubbornly. “She reminds me a little of our mother, except that she has blonde hair instead of red. Are you going to change your mind about going to Africa? She may not wait for you.”
Miguel ground his teeth together in frustration. “No, I’m not going to change my mind,” he snapped. He didn’t want to think about Katerina waiting for him. No matter how much he was still attracted to her, having a relationship with an American woman would be nothing but a disaster. His mother had hated every minute of living out on the farm, away from the city. And far away from her homeland. He was certain Katerina wouldn’t be willing to leave her home either. “Katerina’s sister is in the hospital, recovering from a serious head injury. She�
��s not interested in having a good time. Leave her alone, understand?”
“Okay, fine, then.” Luis shook off his hand and began walking toward the bar, his gait unsteady. “I’ll just sit by myself.”
“Oh, no, you won’t.” Miguel captured his brother’s arm and caught sight of his old friend, Rafael, who happened to be a police officer. “Rafael,” he called, flagging down his friend.
“Trouble, amigo?” Rafael asked, getting out of his police car.
“Would you mind taking my brother home?” He grabbed Luis’s arm, steering him toward the police car, but his brother tried to resist. Luis almost fell, but Miguel managed to haul him upright. “I would take him myself, but I’m on call at the hospital.”
“All right,” Rafael said with a heavy sigh. “You’ll owe me, my friend. Luckily for you, I’m finished with my shift.”
“Thanks, Rafael. I will return the favor,” he promised.
“I’ll hold you to that,” Rafael muttered with a wry grimace.
Miguel watched them drive away, before he raked a hand through his hair and turned back towards Katerina. As if the fates were against him, his pager went off, bringing a premature end to their time together.
“My apologies for the interruption,” he murmured as he returned to the table. “I’m afraid I must cut our meal short. There is a young boy with symptoms of appendicitis. I need to return to the hospital to assess whether or not he needs surgery.”
“I understand,” Katerina said, as he paid the tab. She gathered up the papers he’d given to her. “Thanks again for translating Juliet’s chart for me. I’m sure I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Of course.” When she stood, she was so close he could have easily leaned down to kiss her. He curled his fingers into fists and forced himself to take a step backwards in order to resist the sweet temptation. “I will make rounds between nine and ten in the morning, if you want an update on your sister’s condition.”
“Sounds good. Goodbye, Miguel.” She waved and then headed for the metro station, located just a few blocks down the street.
* * *
Back at the hospital it was clear the thirteen-year-old had a classic case of appendicitis and Miguel quickly took the child to the operating room. Unfortunately, his appendix had burst, forcing Miguel to spend extra time washing out the abdominal cavity in order to minimize the chance that infection would set in. Afterwards, he made sure the boy had the correct antibiotics ordered and the first dose administered before he headed home to his three-bedroom apartment located within walking distance of the hospital.
It wasn’t until he was eating cold leftover pizza for dinner that Miguel had a chance to think about Katerina, and wonder just what she’d thought was so important to tell him.
CHAPTER THREE
“LOOK, it’s a shopping mall!” Diana exclaimed. Then she frowned. “I almost wish my luggage hadn’t shown up this morning, or I’d have a good excuse to go buy new clothes.”
Kat nodded ruefully. She was surprised to find Seville was a city of contrasts, from the modern shopping mall to the mosques and bronze statues straight out of the sixteenth century. “A little disappointing in a way, isn’t it?” she murmured.
“Hey, not for me,” Diana pointed out. “I mean, the history here is nice and everything, but I’m all in favor of modernization. Especially when it comes to shopping.”
They’d walked to a small café for breakfast, and found the shopping mall on the way back to the hotel. “Maybe you can explore the mall with Tommy this morning while I’m at the hospital, visiting Juliet.”
“Sounds good. Although don’t forget we plan on taking the boat tour later this afternoon,” Diana reminded her.
“I won’t forget,” Kat murmured. Sightseeing wasn’t top of her list, but it was the least she could do for Diana as her friend spent a good portion of every day watching her son. Besides, sitting for hours at the hospital wasn’t going to help Juliet recover any quicker.
“Here’s the metro station,” Kat said. “Call me if you need anything, okay? I’ll see you later, Tommy.” Kat swept him into her arms for a hug, which he tolerated for barely a minute before he wiggled out of her grasp.
“We’ll be fine,” Diana assured her, taking Tommy’s hand in a firm grip.
“I know.” She watched them walk away towards the mall, before taking the steps down to the metro station to wait for the next train. Despite the fact that she still needed to break the news about Tommy to Miguel, she found she was looking forward to seeing him again. Last night, before she’d fallen asleep, Miguel’s words had echoed in her mind, giving her a secret thrill.
I’ve thought of you often over these past few years.
She doubted that he’d thought of her as often as she’d thought of him, though. Mostly because of Tommy since he was the mirror image of his father. Yet also because Miguel had taken a small piece of her heart when he’d left.
Not that she ever planned on telling him that.
She needed to let go of the past and move on with her life. Whatever her conflicting feelings for Miguel, she couldn’t afford to fall for him. They wanted different things out of life. She wanted a home, family, stability. Miguel wanted adventure. He wanted Doctors Without Borders. He wanted to travel. The only time they were in sync was when they had worked as colleagues in the O.R..
And, of course, during the night they spent together.
Walking into the hospital was familiar now, and she greeted the clerk behind the desk in Spanish. “Buenos dias.”
“Buenos dias,” the clerk replied with a wide grin. One thing about Spain, most people seemed to be in a good mood. Maybe because they had a more laid-back lifestyle here. She found it amazing that the shops actually closed down for three hours between noon and three for siesta. She couldn’t imagine anyone in the U.S. doing something like that.
Yet if the people were happier, maybe it was worth it?
Kat took the stairs to the third-floor I.C.U., entered her sister’s room and crossed over to the bedside, taking her sister’s small hand in hers. “Hi, Jules, I’m back. How are you feeling, hmm?”
She knew her sister wasn’t going to open her eyes and start talking, which would be impossible with a breathing tube in anyway, but Kat was convinced patients even in her sister’s condition could hear what was going on around them, so she decided she’d keep up her one-sided conversation with her sister.
“Seville is a beautiful city, Jules, I can understand why you wanted to study here. I wish I knew exactly what happened to you. No one here seems to know anything more than the fact that you ran into the road and were struck by a car. Can you hear me, Jules? If you can hear me, squeeze my hand.”
When Juliet’s fingers squeezed hers, Kat’s knees nearly buckled in relief. “That’s great, Juliet. Now wiggle your toes for me. Can you wiggle your toes?”
This time Juliet’s non-casted left leg moved again. It wasn’t wiggling her toes, exactly, but Kat was still thrilled at the small movement. Her sister was truly doing better. Juliet would probably only follow commands intermittently, but each day she’d improve and do better.
Exactly the way Miguel had assured her she would.
“Good job, Jules. I’m so glad you can hear me. You’re still in the hospital in Seville, but as soon as you’re better, you’re going to be sent to an American hospital back home. Can you understand what I’m saying? If you can understand me, squeeze my hand.”
Juliet squeezed her hand again, and relieved tears blurred her vision. Her sister was going to make it. Juliet might have a long road to recovery ahead of her, but she was going to make it.
“Katerina?”
At the sound of Miguel’s voice she whirled around and quickly crossed over to him. “She’s following commands, Miguel!” she exclaimed. “She’s starting to wake up!”
He caught her close in a warm hug. “I’m glad,” he murmured, his mouth dangerously close to her ear.
She wanted to wrap her arms arou
nd his waist and lean on his strength, but she forced herself to step away, putting badly needed distance between them. What was wrong with her? It wasn’t as if she’d come to Seville in order to rejuvenate her feelings for Miguel. Better for her if she kept him firmly in the friendship category. As if their one night together had been an aberration.
One that had produced a son.
There was no reason to feel as if being around Miguel was like coming home. Truthfully, she’d never been farther from home.
“I’m sorry,” she said, wiping her tears on the back of her hand while searching for a tissue. “I didn’t mean to get all emotional on you.”
“Here.” He grabbed the box of tissues from the bedside table and handed them to her. “Don’t apologize, I know how worried you’ve been.”
She blew her nose and pulled herself together, forcing a smile. “I hope this doesn’t mean you’re going to send Juliet home right away, are you?”
“Not yet. I would like your sister to be completely off the ventilator and more awake before she’s transported back to the U.S.”
“Sounds good.” She was relieved to know they wouldn’t have to leave Seville just yet. Especially as she hadn’t told Miguel about Tommy. A wave of guilt hit hard. Should she tell him now? No, this wasn’t exactly the time or the place for a heavy conversation. Besides, Miguel was working, making rounds. No doubt he had many patients to see.
She was about to ask him what time he got off work when he reached over to take her hand in his. “Katerina, will you have dinner with me tonight?”
She hesitated just a moment before nodding her assent. Wasn’t this what she’d wanted all along? A good time and place to tell him about his son? A quiet dinner with just the two of them would be the perfect time to give him the news. “Yes, Miguel. Dinner would be wonderful.”
