“This is very good,” Kline said, and then brought them back to his instructions, “So then, Samantha, after you finish with your volunteering duties, you will attend a support group that I hold daily, for victims of violence. This is in conjunction with our sessions three times a week. I want you to be on this strict regimen for ninety days, and then Leonard and I will determine your progress and decide whether to continue with this method, or try something else.”
“Or find that she’s capable of living on her own.” Alice interjected.
“You are exactly right, Alice. Now, as for you and Leonard, I also charge you with maintaining a strict regimen. You must be firm with her, take her to task when necessary, and‒‒”
Alice sneered, “Oh, do you think I should buy a whip to crack across her back as well, doctor?”
Samantha let out a loud guffaw, as Dr. Kline repressed a blush.
“I understand what you’re saying, Dr. Kline,” Leonard offered, “and I will see to it that she toes the line as a soldier should.”
Alice and Samantha looked at Leonard as if for the first time. His face was neutral, his smile was gone, and they quickly recognized that he had assumed his military stance.
***
Kate sauntered up next to Ruth, placing her thigh between her hips, and asked, “So, are you busy tonight?”
“Well, I have a long list of things I need to accomplish, and I was going to start on them tonight.” Ruth replied with a hidden roguish grin behind her eyes.
“Oh? Anything exciting?” Kate asked as she feathered her fingers across Ruth’s collar bones.
“Oh you know, coloring my hair, soaking my teeth, that sort of thing.” Ruth winked at her.
“Oh kitten, that is so sad. If you’re interested, and can tear yourself away from such a stressful evening, I have a new lesson plan I’d like to go over with you.”
“Lesson plan?”
“Yes, just a few new techniques’ I want to teach you. It will take most of the night though.”
“I see. And what room will the class be held in?”
“That will be up to you, teacher has no preference.”
“Very accommodating of you, teacher.”
“Well, on second thought, I do require a large bed, a tube of whip cream and a liquor cabinet.”
“And would you like to teach me in this state, or maybe perhaps we fly to New York and get a suite at the Ritz Carlton. We could attend the opera while we’re there, and maybe get in a round of golf?”
Kate took a step back, looking at Ruth with apprehension.
“What? What did I say?” Ruth thought it sounded like an excellent way to celebrate their renewed friendship.
“This is exactly what I was talking about. Ruth, I don’t want you to spend your hard earned money on me like that. When you do that I think you’re trying to sway me towards a commitment.”
“It’s okay, Kate. I can afford it, I promise. And I’m not trying to sway you at all. I’m trying to heighten the experience.”
“By flying all the way to New York and staying at the Ritz?” Kate shook her head, “I’d have to save a years’ worth of salary to be able to afford that.”
“You don’t know, do you?” Ruth forgot that she tried to keep her wealth a secret so people wouldn’t put on airs. Now that she had gotten to know Kate so well, she trusted that it wouldn’t make a difference to her. Well, not the kind of difference she was worried about, anyway.
“Know what? That you’re crazy? Yes that I already knew.”
Ruth chuckled and put her hands on Kate’s shoulder. “Kate, I’m filthy rich. I had an internet store years ago that I sold for millions, and invested most of it so the money keeps rolling in.”
“I don’t understand. Why are you working as a concierge at the hospital, if you’re so rich?”
“Well, for one thing, it’s because I had just come out, and wanted to meet people, and my niece convinced me that working there would be a good way to do that. And quite honestly, I was bore sitting in my house all alone.”
Kate uncharacteristically was at a loss for words. She stared up into Ruth’s soft eyes, and saw that she was telling the truth.
“So?” Ruth asked expectedly.
Kate’s eyes grew wide with excitement, “Can we have champagne and cracked crab before we go to the opera?”
“If that’s what you want, we’ll have it before and after the opera.”
“Oh kitten, I love it when you spoil me!”
Ruth let out an exasperated breath and said, “Finally!”
***
That evening Leonard and Alice, Aidan and Vicky, and Samantha, all went out to dinner together and then did some shopping. They were going to need a lot to care for a preemie. Alice, Vicky and Samantha spent more time than probably needed, looking at baby clothes, giggling like school girls at all the cute baby toys. Samantha found herself thoroughly enjoying their company, and allowed herself the pleasure of just being one of the girls again.
Leonard and Aidan stood to the side and talked. Aidan took the opportunity to thank Leonard for his kindness and Leonard informed her he had no choice, the girl was crying out for help with every fiber of her being.
Aidan gathered up her courage and voiced her concerns about their safety. She warned him about Samantha’s blackout in Syria where she had stabbed a person.
But Leonard was aware of that already, and then went on to tell of his roommate in the Marines, who suffered from the same thing. His buddy eventually had to be committed to the hospital because he was too far gone, by the time they realized what the problem was. Leonard was not going to let that happen to Samantha.
After dinner and shopping, the group carried their treasures into the living room at the Montgomery’s home, and Alice showed Samantha around the house. While she was doing that, Aidan and Leonard began assembling the crib and Vicky worked on the humidifier. They rolled the crib into the Montgomery’s bedroom, as Alice explained that it would just be for a little while until Samantha became comfortable with her new surroundings.
Aidan watched Vicky closely, wondering what she was thinking, standing by a crib that would soon have a baby occupy it, when her own baby died during the attack on the hospital. Aidan shivered from the memory of Vicky lying on the lobby floor, blood pooling beside her. Aidan felt that she should have been the one lying there on that cold lobby floor, instead of Vicky. When Vicky saw the gunman about to shoot Aidan, she jumped out in front of the bullet. Seeing Vicky fall, Aidan didn’t flinch when she shot the man between the eyes.
“Is everything all right, sweetheart?” Vicky had walked over to where Aidan was standing, and only broke her concentration after she slipped her hand around Aidan’s waist.
“Just a bad memory that I didn’t want to remember again.”
Vicky thought she knew what Aidan was thinking, and she tilted Aidan’s head toward her and patted it, “Go away bad memory. There’s too much happiness here, and you’re not welcome.”
Aidan laughed and then pointed at her head, her eyes large with surprise, “I think that worked, kid, the bad memory is gone.”
“Good, now there’s room in there to make some happy memories.”
Chapter 12
By the end of the week, things returned to normal for the hospital. Most all of the patients with superficial wounds from the tornado, were released the next day. Those with grievous wounds, like the man with the weathervane stuck in his heart, remained hospitalize, but will soon be well enough to be transferred from the ICU to a patient room. Vicky visited with all the patients, but she had a special affinity to that patient, because her hand had been in his heart, keeping him alive. She offered him the weathervane, sort of as a trophy, to show to his grandchildren.
Vicky also made the rounds to each floor, personally thanking the employees for their sacrifices. For the next three days, she instructed the cafeteria to put the employee’s meals on her tab. She felt it was the least she could do, after asking th
em to stay, even when they couldn’t check on their families. That was one of the hardest things Vicky had ever done, and she would always be grateful to them. She was also going to ask the board to find some money in the budget, to give the employees an extra bonus with their raises this year.
On this particular morning, Vicky was in her office playing catch-up on her emails and phone calls, and drinking another cup of coffee. She looked over the computer monitor to steal a glimpse at Aidan.
Aidan sat at a table beside Vicky’s desk, and studied the file that her boss at DHS had given her, regarding the terrorist cell that attacked the hospital. She smiled at the cute way Vicky would peek her head up over the monitor to look at her, and then quickly duck down again when Aidan caught her. Since before the wedding, Vicky had become clingy, and Aidan knew that part of it was the fear that Aidan would disappear, either by choice or by violence, both of which Aidan had experienced. Truth be told, Aidan actually liked Vicky’s clinginess, because she was being just as clingy towards Vicky, after Vicky was shot and nearly died.
And though the newlyweds each had their own tasks to complete, they spent more time looking at each other, than at working on their projects. Even talking with the chairwoman of the national board of directors, didn’t keep Vicky from blowing a kiss to her wife.
“Honey, I just spoke with the chairwoman of the corporate board and they’ve called a special board meeting for tonight. She said it was in regards to the new hospital I want to build. I think they’re going to say no. I mean, why else would they call a special meeting for?”
“It’s not like you to be so pessimistic, kid, why the jitters?” Aidan inquired.
“So much has happened in the last few months that I guess I’m just a bit overwhelmed.”
“Here, come sit beside me, I want to share something with you,” Aidan said, as she pushed her papers to the side. Vicky sat down beside her, and Aidan faced her and said, “Take my hands, close your eyes and listen to my words, okay?”
Vicky smiled, and asked, “Should I lock the door?” When Aidan said no, Vicky took her hands and closed her eyes.
Aidan fought back the urge to kiss her on that adorable button nose, and instead closed her own eyes and began, “We’re walking hand in hand, down a pebbled path of a large field, with trees lining the far corners, forming an open square. It’s a beautiful day with the sun shining and the breeze lightly blowing. Large round bales of hay dot the field of freshly cut grass and a flock of black birds pick at the tiny morsels inside. Now we’re looking to the far right corner of the field and see something sparkling in the sunshine. Soon it gets larger and higher and as we watch in awe, the first building of a new medical center goes up.” Aidan opened one eye to see Vicky smiling, then she opened both eyes and continued, “As we walk closer to the building we see the words, St. Frances, across the entry way. We walk inside and standing there is the board of directors, applauding you, Mrs. Montgomery-Cassidy, because you made it happen.”
Vicky opened her eyes and pulled Aidan toward her, “I love you so much, sweetheart,” she gushed, and kissed her long, hard and hungrily.
A knock on the door, interrupted their progression, “Damn.” Aidan swore under her breath.
Vicky stood and straightened her business suit jacket, and then opened the door to find Samantha standing on the other side. She was there to start her volunteer shift but wanted to talk with Vicky first.
“Samantha! How was your first night with my parents? I hope they were nice to you. You know my dad being a retired Marine can have its drawbacks.” Vicky laughed endearingly.
“Tell me about it.” Samantha said, the memory of her first morning with the Montgomery’s flashed through her mind.
~*~
Harold greeted Samantha with an itinerary as soon as she stepped out of her room. “Can you follow these instructions, soldier?”
The itinerary had her beginning her duties bright and early at six A.M. each morning. Before the coffee was even brewed, Leonard, Samantha, and Alice, if she was willing, would walk for thirty minutes around the block, as he had promised Vicky he would do after his heart attack. And then after she showered, Samantha was to help with preparing breakfast and cleaning up afterwards. After that, she was to spend an hour tending to and bonding with the baby, using Alice’s help if she needed to.
Leonard would drive her to the hospital each day, where she was to work as a volunteer for six hours. After she finished with her work she would go to the support group, and then Leonard would pick her up promptly at 4 P.M. and drive her back to the house, where she would spend the rest of the evening helping with dinner, playing with Cassidy and other duties as assigned. Her weekends would be spent much the same way in the mornings, but the day would consist of things like mowing the lawn, washing the car, cleaning the windows, or whatever else Leonard could think of for her to do. It reminded Samantha of her father’s punishment as a teenager when she was grounded for borrowing the car without asking.
~*~
“They’re wonderful people and so kind to do this for me. And you’re so kind to allow it, Victoria.”
“First off, it’s Vicky, and secondly, my parents don’t ask my permission for anything. They have a caring heart, Samantha, and I know they want to help you, just like I do.”
“Okay, Vicky, you can start by calling me Sam.”
“Thank you, Sam, that means a lot to me.”
“Um, I’m supposed to report to someone named Anita in the Volunteer office and I’m not sure where that is?”
“Here, let me show you, Sam,” Vicky looked at Aidan and said, “I’ll be right back, don’t go anywhere, okay?”
Vicky escorted Samantha down the hall to the Volunteer office and introduced her to Anita Johnson, Director of the Auxiliary and Volunteer Department. Vicky asked Samantha to take a seat while she spoke to Anita alone for a moment. Although she didn’t specify why, Vicky explained to Anita that she did not want Samantha working with patients or visitors for now, so if she could find some place that had clerical work that would be the best option. Anita looked at her computer and found that she had a request for a volunteer in the hospital administrator’s office. Vicky thought that would be perfect. Returning to where Samantha sat waiting, Vicky offered to escort her to Dakota’s office and do the introductions.
But first Anita pulled out a pink jacket from the closet and gave it to Samantha to wear.
Samantha thought she looked like her grandmother in it, but didn’t voice her opinion out loud.
Dakota looked up from the papers on her desk and caught her breath when she saw the beautiful pink lady walking toward her. The jacket Samantha was wearing, with a round patch of the system’s logo over the heart, made her look almost soft around her sharp edges. Dakota suddenly realized she had been holding her breath and quickly diverted her eyes from the voluptuous volunteer walking into her office.
Samantha, taller than Vicky, had short thick sassy blond hair, incandescent blue eyes that pierced right through Dakota, and full sensuous lips.
“Dakota, this is Samantha Vincent and she’s going to be volunteering in administration for a while. Sam, this is Dakota Lewis, the hospital administrator and CEO.”
“Oh, uh, it’s nice to meet you, Ms. Lewis.” Samantha was confused. She thought that Vicky was the CEO.
Dakota shook her hand warmly and said, “Please, just call me Dak.”
“And you can call me Sam,” then Samantha turned to Vicky and asked, “I’m a little bit confused, Vicky, I thought you were the CEO?”
“Oh, that’s understandable, Sam,” Dakota offered, “Victoria oversees all our hospitals and clinics as a whole, and I just oversee this facility.”
“Sam,” it was Vicky’s turn to explain, “This is what we call our flagship hospital, it is the largest one in the system and for that matter, the largest hospital in the state, so don’t let Dakota fool you, she has the most important job here.”
Dakota beamed, and filed the c
ompliment away to be thought of later.
Samantha found herself interested in the dynamics of a health system versus running a hospital, and she decided she wanted to learn more about St. Frances.
“Well I’ll leave you in the capable hands of our hospital administrator, Sam. Have fun today,” Vicky said as she walked out the door.
*
Jerry and Yvonne had only been on the one date, the one where her ten year old son was with them. Due to circumstances beyond Jerry’s control, he had not had a chance to ask her out again. Now he was ready to rectify that lapse. Standing at the coffee machine in the reception area of the system offices, Yvonne handed Jerry a cup of coffee as she poured herself another cup.
“Wasn’t that the most romantic wedding you’ve ever seen?” Yvonne asked him. She had not had a chance to talk to him about the wedding yet, and for Yvonne, and most of the employees, it was still a hot topic, second only to the tornado devastation.
“It really was. They’re a great couple, so much in love.”
“And I’ve been meaning to tell you that your best man speech was perfect, Jerry, good job.”
“Thank you. Could you tell how nervous I was?”
“No, you were very smooth and very funny. I have just one question for you. Were you wearing makeup?”
“What?” Jerry blushed, and then remembered that he had been wearing makeup at Ellen’s insistence.
Ellen didn’t want Aidan and Jerry’s black eyes to ruin the wedding pictures, and she was right, but he still didn’t care for it one bit.
“Yeah, Aidan and I sort of got into a fight the night before the wedding, and Ellen held me down and sloshed makeup all over my face.” Jerry rubbed his cheek as if some of the makeup still lingered there. “I guess it was worth it, so Vicky could have a nice wedding photo album, but I didn’t care for it to much.”
“Well I thought you looked very handsome and very manly. And I’m glad Ellen thought to do that because she was right, that’s not something you want to see when looking at photos of the most important day of your life.”
Remember This Day Page 19
