1
While on his break, Edwin went to the hospital cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee and to see what meatless dish he could have for lunch. He recognized the woman walking toward him. It was the woman he’d met the night Perry called him over to treat his girlfriend’s father. “Felicia, how are you?”
“I’m good, thanks.”
“And your father? You’re not here visiting him, are you?”
“No. My father is fine. Thank you for helping him. I’m here visiting a friend, I guess.”
“You don’t sound sure,” the doctor said with a chuckle.
Felicia smiled, “It’s a crazy story.”
“Maybe I can help. I’ll walk with you,” Edwin looked over her shoulder at the man standing behind her. “Is he with you?”
“Yes,” Felicia said starting to walk back towards Denise’s room. “The person I was visiting isn’t who she led me to believe, and I don’t know how I feel about it. She’s been spying on me for years, even if it was for a good reason. I guess I’m just not sure if I’m okay with it.”
“That is a puzzle. I guess you have to decide if you can forgive your friend for the deception. Is her friendship more important than the lie she told?”
Felicia stopped outside Denise’s room. She thought about what he said. The woman lying in that room had been like family to her. Her friendship was worth a hell of a lot more than the lie she’d told. She smiled at Edwin. “Yes.”
“Then forgive her.”
Felicia pushed the door open, “Come on, I’ll introduce you to my best friend.”
**
Denise lay her head back against the pillow, closing her eyes. Felicia hadn’t been gone long. She hoped that her friend would see that Denise had only lied to her because she had to. Felicia was like a sister to her. They’d been friends for ten years, even if Felicia had thought her name was Kiesha Daniels. Denise was still the same person she’d always been. She started to doze off and didn’t hear the door when it opened a few minutes later. A hand touched hers, “Denise.”
Denise opened her eyes hearing Felicia’s voice, but she looked past her to the dark-haired, white man with the chocolate eyes. He was hot and judging from his scrubs; he was a nurse or doctor. “I know this isn’t Perry, so are you just going to steal all the hot white men that come near you. What if I wanted this one?”
Felicia and Edwin laughed, “Denise Samuels, this is Perry’s friend. Dr. Edwin McAlister. He works here at the hospital. I ran into him while I was getting coffee.”
“What’s up doc?” Denise said with a flirty smile. “You single or what?”
Edwin grinned at her. “I think you need to focus on healing instead of asking strangers out.”
“You’re presumptuous. I haven’t asked you out yet. I have qualifiers, and until you prove that you're worthy, I’m just considering you, eye candy.” Denise liked the tint of pink his creamy skin turned with his embarrassment.
“Eye candy,” he said with a smile and snort. Then to Felicia, “I have to get back to work. Maybe the advice I gave you should be rethought,” he said turning to leave the room with a smile.
“Come back later in your street clothes. I want to see if you have any ass to grab hold of,” Denise roared as he exited the room.
Felicia stood next to the bed shaking her head. “You will never change, and that’s why I love you.”
“So, you forgive me?”
“I kind of have to. You’re my best friend and practically my sister. Besides who else could be my maid of honor?”
“Get the fuck out,” Denise shouted!
“He asked me this morning after breakfast.” Felicia went on to tell Denise all about Perry’s proposal and the reunion with her family. “All’s well that ends well,” Felicia said hugging Denise.
Felicia’s phone rang as she pulled away from Denise. She pulled it from her purse. “Hello.”
It only took Denise a minute to figure out who was on the other end of the call. She knew it was Tyrone the minute Felicia said, “It was you, wasn’t it?” Tyrone said something on the other end. “How could you? I thought you were better than that. Did you do it for money? Huh, did you watch them beat my best friend so that you could get a new whip, or blow up your bad boy rep in the hood?” Felicia shouted into the phone.
Denise wanted to know what the low life bug was saying. She could hear him talking but couldn’t make out the words. It didn’t matter. He’d been involved with those creeps, and that was all she needed to know.
“Okay, but you have to give me some time. I’ve got a bodyguard right now. Where ever I go, he goes. I’ll call you when I can.” Felicia ended the call.
“Are you nuts? You can’t see him,” Denise said with desperation.
Felicia faced her friend. “He’s my babies daddy. I need to hear him out. I owe him that much.” Felicia realized that Denise would be remiss if she didn’t tell someone that Tyrone was involved. Felicia went to her, taking her hand. “Promise me you won’t say anything to anyone just yet.”
Denise lay there with her lips pressed together. How could she make that promise and keep it? Tyrone was responsible for what had happened to her. He was the reason she was laying in the hospital now. Tyrone was also the reason that she and Felicia were still alive. She knew that just as surely as she knew that he was in that room last night. “I promise. I won’t say anything, yet. Just swear that you will be careful. I know that ultimately he saved me, but I wouldn’t have been there if it weren’t for him.”
“I swear,” Felicia said with a sigh.
“Now let’s talk about Dr. Sexy,” Denise said with a smile.
Felicia rolled her eyes at Denise. “I don’t know anything about him. Why don’t we talk about combing that mess on your head?”
She touched her hair and cringed. It was no wonder why the doctor had laughed at her. “Why didn’t you tell me that I looked a hot mess.” She eased off the bed and crept to the bathroom with Felicia following her. “Damn,” she said to her reflection!
Her long curly hair was knotted and matted. She could see bits of blood on her scalp at the edges. Her left eye was slightly swollen and colored black and blue. There was a cut under her right eye held together with surgical tape. Her mouth looked like she’d been stung by bee’s and not in a good way. She touched her face in several places. She was still tender, but she’d heal. “I need to wash my hair and shower.”
Felicia walked over to the shower stall and started the water. “I’ll help you shower, and do your hair.” Denise intended to do it on her own, but Felicia didn’t give her a chance to say anything. Felicia helped her out of her hospital gown and into the shower, making Denise sit in the shower chair.
The shower and shampoo were the easy parts. Getting the tangles out of Denise's hair was the challenge. Felicia tried to be gentle considering that Denise had head injuries, but by the time she’d finished, Denise needed pain medication for her throbbing head. “Sorry, but I couldn’t in good conscious let you walk around like that,” Felicia said as she handed Denise a glass of water to wash down the pain meds the nurse brought her.
“Thank you. I can’t believe you let me flirt with that man while I looked like who did it, what for, why, and please don’t do it again.” Denise popped the two pills into her mouth and followed it with the water before handing the cup back to Felicia.
“It doesn’t make a difference anyway,” Felicia said sitting down on the side of the bed. “You would only use him for sex and then toss him aside like you’ve done to every guy who has ever tried to get involved with you.”
That stung. Felicia was telling the truth. Denise had never allowed a guy to get too close to her and she had her reasons for it. So far, the rules that she’d created to keep her heart safe had worked successfully. “Yeah well, I’m not like you,” Denise said bumping her leg against Felicia’s butt.
Felicia slid off the bed, sitting in the chair. She crossed her legs. “What’s that supposed to mean?�
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“It’s not an insult. You are a relationship girl. I’m not.” Denise hoped she hadn’t offended Felicia. “We’re just different.”
“Only because you live by those stupid rules you made up.”
“My rules aren’t stupid,” Denise said folding her arms over her chest and sticking her bottom lip out.
Felicia didn’t mean to offend Denise, “Stupid is a strong word. I just think that you need to talk to someone about your issues. It’s not healthy to keep people at arms-length. One day you’re going to find that one guy who makes you break all those rules. Then what are you gonna do?”
“Shoot him,” Denise said with a slow smile at her friend. Her rules were not childish. Denise had about twelve simple rules that kept her life just like she wanted it. She’d lived by these rules, and she was happy. Felicia was part of the reason she had those rules. She couldn’t tell her that. Denise didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but after seeing her continually making a fool of herself with Tyrone, Denise knew that she was right.
Now that Felicia had finally ended that relationship, she’d fallen right into another one. Denise had encouraged Felicia to have a sex-only relationship with Perry, but Felicia had fallen for him, and now they were planning to get married. Denise hoped that Felicia and Perry would be happy together, but everything Denise had experienced and seen of love, led her to believe that love wasn’t for her.
2
Denise was ready to go home. The nurse had come by earlier and told her that she was waiting for the doctor to come to sign her release papers. Then she could leave. Clarence was stopping by her place to get her some clothes to wear home. The clothes she’d had on the night she was abducted where ruined. Her pants had been cut off by the doctors in the hospital, and her shirt had been covered in blood.
Knocking sounded from the door. Great, Clarence was there, and she could finally get out of the hospital gown and put on her clothes. “It’s open.” The door opened, but it wasn’t Clarence who entered.
“Good morning,” Edwin said as he crossed the room.
Denise smiled up at him, “Well if it isn’t Dr. Sexy. Let me guess; you came by to show me your stethoscope,” she said suggestively.
Edwin couldn’t help but laugh at the crude joke. “Not exactly and my name is Dr. McAlister. I just wanted to check in on you. I’m on my lunch break.”
Denise pouted, “You’re no fun.”
Edwin sat in the chair beside her bed, propping an ankle on top of his knee. “That’s what they tell me.”
“So, what’s up doc? Tell the truth. Why did you really come to see me?”
Edwin sipped his coffee and then lowered his cup. “Curiosity.” When he found himself standing in the hall a few feet from her door, he wasn’t sure why he was there. He didn’t know her, but she had made him smile with her lascivious attitude. She reminded him of his sister Ashley in a way. That was it. He missed Ashley who didn’t seem to have a filter on her mouth either.
Ashley was currently on tour with her marginally famous rock band. She was supposed to be home by the end of the week, but it wouldn’t be soon enough. Having Ash around took some of the pressure off him. His mother would spend her days trying to get Ash to conform to her standards, which meant that she wouldn’t have as much time to put pressure on him to propose to Tiffany.
“Curiosity,” Denise asked curious about why he was curious? “You know, curiosity killed the cat.” He smiled at her joke. “What are you curious about Dr. Sexy?” She hoped that he was curious about getting naked with her. Why else would he come to see her?
“Felicia has a G-man following her around, and you’ve got one outside your door. What happened to you?” Edwin looked at her and gestured to her face.
“I’ll tell you but what do I get in return?” She was a little disappointed. When he gestured at her face, she realized that he wouldn’t be attracted to her looking like a punching bag. The swelling had gone down some, but her skin was still multicolored.
Edwin hadn’t realized this was going to be a quid pro quo kind of conversation. “You answer my question, and I’ll answer a question for you.”
Denise pursed her lips and squinted one eye at him, “Okay.”
“You first,” Edwin said taking a drink from his coffee cup.
Denise silently debated what to say. She could tell him the truth, or she could have a little fun with him. “I’m super clumsy. I was trying something new, something I have never done before. I was walking, and I tried to chew gum at the same time. I lost my balance and fell down some stairs.” At first, Edwin didn’t say a word. He just stared at her, then he smiled. Taking another sip of his coffee, he watched her over the top of his cup. “Okay, the truth is that I was grabbed by some men who tortured me because they wanted something that I wouldn’t give them.”
Edwin looked her in the eye. She didn’t flinch or waver as she told him the truth. “What did they want?”
“Oh no Dr. Sexy. That’s two questions. You have to answer my question first,” Denise said shaking her head at him.
“Alright, what’s your question.” Edwin sat up in the chair putting both feet on the floor.
Denise smiled wickedly, “Is it true, what they say about white men, that you all like to eat pus…”
“Sorry It took me so long,” Her father said entering the room. Clarence stopped taking in the man sitting in the chair near his daughter.
Edwin stood and faced the man who’d interrupted them. Denise stuck her lip out, “Clarence this is a friend of Perry’s, Dr. McAlister. He works here in the hospital.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” Edwin said extending his hand to the older man.
“Same here,” Clarence said shaking the doctor’s hand. Then he turned to Denise. “The reason it took me so long is that I couldn’t find any underwear for you. The drawer you told me to look in was full of some stringy things with small patches of lace, so I stopped at Walmart and got you a five pack of cotton briefs.”
Denise felt like she was going to die from embarrassment. He’d bought her granny panties. She glanced at Dr. Sexy who was grinning at her from ear to ear. “Really, Clarence?”
“What,” He asked as he handed her the contents from the bags he carried in? “Has the doctor signed your release papers yet?”
“No,” Denise said trying to avoid Edwin’s eyes.
This must be her father, he thought. Edwin couldn’t help but snicker at Denise’s situation. “I should get back to work.”
“We aren’t finished. You owe me an answer.”
Edwin was at the door when he stopped and turned to look at Denise with a slow sensual smile. Admittedly, she didn’t expect him to answer the question in front of her father. Denise was grinning at him. She was challenging him. Denise thought that he would be too embarrassed to answer the question. “I think I know what you were going to ask, and the answer is that the particular group that you mentioned, is partial to visiting the downtown area for dining pleasure.”
Denise expected Dr. Sexy to avoid answering, but Edwin had responded to her question without using any vulgar terminology. “Do you spend much time dining downtown?”
Edwin grinned and winked at her, “Oh no Miss Lewd, that’s two questions.” Denise sat with her mouth hanging open as she watched him pull the door open and walked away. Dr. Sexy had surprised her.
**
More than an hour later Edwin was still smiling at the look on Denise’s face when he left her room. Visiting her had been the high point of his day. He was entering his notes into the computer for his last patient when a white envelope landed on the table next to the keyboard. He looked up to find the ER receptionist walking away from him. “Thanks,” he yelled out to Lupita.
He finished entering his notes and then picked up the envelope. Dr. E. McAlister was scrawled on the front of it. He turned it over to find it sealed. He ripped it open and pulled out the tri-folded sheet of paper. It was a handwritten note.
; Dr. Sexy,
I enjoyed our all too brief visit today. I’m available to you for further exploratory conversations. You’ll find my number below. Call me, if you want the answer to your second question.
Always,
Ms. Lewd
Her phone number was written underneath her signature. Edwin took a minute to reread the note before sliding it back into its envelope and then his pocket. The smile remained on his face for the rest of his shift.
3
“Clarence, I’m going home, and you can’t change my mind,” Denise said looking up from the clothes she was folding and putting into her bag. Clarence was standing in the doorway watching her. He had followed her upstairs after she had cooked something for him and his guest Tyrone to eat for dinner. “I’ve been here long enough. I have to get back to my life.”
“What life? I thought that you were going to quit your job at the restaurant, Felicia doesn’t need you watching over her anymore. You could move back in here, and I’ll talk to someone about getting your job back at the FBI,” he said coming into the room to sit on the foot of the bed.
Denise loved Clarence, but she was not about to move home. She liked her independence. Denise would find another job on her own. She put the tee shirt that she had folded into the duffle bag and moved the bag to the floor so that she could sit next to him. She put her hand on his. “I am going to quit the restaurant, but I told my boss that I’d work Saturday night. He’s training some new wait staff, but Saturday is his busiest night of the week. I can’t leave him hanging like that. After that, I’ll look for a new job.” Solemnly Denise said, “I know that you miss her,” she was speaking of Beverly. “She’s been living here forever, but I like my apartment, and I’m not sure that I want to go back to the FBI.” Clarence smiled as Denise squeezed his hand. “It’s time for me to have my own life and I think it’s time for you to do the same.”
Healing Her Heart Page 2
