by Jean Oram
Despite the bravado, men were actually scared little wimps inside.
She ignored the stabbing in her heart and turned to face the group. A few residents had begun shuffling around in their slippered feet, their geriatric version of dancing. The outnumbered men were already being coaxed from their chairs, creaking, moaning and groaning. To Gran's disapproval, a pleased looking Reggie was already swaying to the rhythm with Lauretta.
Beth turned to the closest woman. "Mable, would you care to da—" Her jaw dropped, her words forgotten as a familiar form filled the common room's doorway.
It worked. He was here. He wanted more than he'd admitted at the intervention. He wanted her back in his life. And she didn't care that her ring was buried in a pile of crumpled tissues beside the pullout bed, her answer was YES!
Oz stood clutching a rose. His scruffy hair had been washed and cut by someone who obviously didn't know what they were doing and an endearing amount of razor burn speckled his neck. His mom knew him better than she did. Thank God.
She smiled, her shoulders relaxing. Happily ever after.
She was barely able to resist the urge to tear across the room and launch herself into his strong arms and never, ever let go.
The rectangular doorway swayed. Beth blinked and looked again.
Disappointment and anger fell across her and she stomped across the room. "Oz," she hissed, "are you drunk?" What was he thinking? She would get put on probation for letting him dance with her patients while intoxicated. She had to get him out of here.
His smile faltered and he looked momentarily lost before stating, "Nope. I..." He lowered his voice to a whisper when it became obvious that everyone had stopped dancing, other than Elsie,—but she never stopped—and was listening eagerly. "I know what I want."
He proudly held his arms out at his sides, a confident grin gracing his face.
"What is it?" she asked. She braced herself in case he stabbed another needle in his Beth voodoo doll and his next sentence didn't include her.
"Dancing. Katie told me I needed exercise."
"What?" She placed her hands on her hips and tried not to cry. "This isn't the gym, Oz. I can't let you dance. You're drunk."
"What? No, here..." He briefly grasped her upper arms and leveled his best, honest look. "You're getting it wrong. I can save you."
Her voice thickened. "You need saving, not me." Other than from a broken heart, of course, because she was fairly certain this wasn't going to end well for her heart. Again. Although, come to think of it, she wasn't sure how much more of it there was for him to smash. "I need a sober you, Oz. You have to stop destroying yourself. You're a good man. People will still love you if you sell the business."
His tired eyes roamed her face. Slowly he said, "This is my first step."
"Your first step to what, Oz?" Hope lifted the pain in her chest and she tried not to act too eager in case she scared him away. She had to play it cool.
He spread his arms out wide and his brow furrowed. "I'm not sure. But you were right. I wasn't doing anything. Nothing real or meaningful. I was wallowing because it's hard. I need to explore more. I need to dance and see where my feet take me."
She wanted to pummel his chest and scream at him, but instead she quietly said, "You can't dance today. Maybe next week."
"My father told me to smarten up and that I was losing out. I am here. To dance."
Beth closed her eyes and said slowly, "We can't get back together unless it is your idea, Oz. If that's what you're saying." She met his eyes which were filled with panic. Shit. Her voice grew thick. "You have to make the decision from your heart. It has to be for the right reasons. It has to be what you want." She blinked back tears, knowing if she played her cards right she could go home with him tonight. Home. But she also knew she had to let him do it on his terms if they ever wanted to truly make it.
He clipped the rose between his teeth and whirled around, storming across the room. Beth stepped after him. Oh, God. What if he left? What if she just blew off her only chance?
Oz whisked Gran out of her chair before Beth could raise a protest and Gran let out a delighted, "Oooo!" She beamed at Oz and patted his shoulder affectionately as he began to dance her around the room.
"What makes me the lucky gal?" she asked.
Beth hurried after the fast dancing couple. "Oz! Stop. You can't. Not today."
"We're fine," he snapped over his shoulder as he swiftly dipped Gran.
"Oh, would you look at that move!" Elsie exclaimed, clapping her hands.
Beth squealed and covered her eyes as Oz snatched his dance partner back upright. "She's elderly! You can't do that! She'll break something."
"Who are you calling elderly?" Gran waved her off, laughing. "Quit your fussing. We're fine. Nobody's danced me around like this in quite some time! And I must say I like it."
Beth paused. She was raised to listen and respect her gran and she trusted her, but this kind of spirited activity was most definitely not in any recreation plan her doctor would sign off on. Something bad was going to happen. And it would be her fault. She'd lose her job and her outreach. She'd have nothing. She grabbed Oz's shoulder. "Oz, really. Not today."
"Listen to your beautiful grandmother and quit fussing." He beamed at Gran and picked up the pace to dance them across the room, leaving Beth behind.
"Gran? You have to stop. He's drunk." Beth ran her hands through her hair and visually checked up on her other patients. Everyone was smiling, watching Oz spin his partner around with confidence and grace.
"It's lovely watching him move," Lauretta said, her hands clasped over her chest. She remembered when her patients watched her and Oz dance like that, and how lucky she felt to be his chosen one. "Such ability."
Oz mumbled "Shit!" and a crack ruptured through K.D. Lang's deep crooning.
Beth whirled to check on the couple. Gran lay awkwardly on her back: evidence of a deep dip gone terribly wrong.
Beth rushed to her side. "Gran! Oh my God, Gran! Are you okay?" She snapped her head up to look at Oz. "Get the hell out of here you... you... GET OUT!" She blinked back tears and took Gran's hand.
Oz backed up a step, his eyes glued to Gran. Face pale, he turned and fled.
"Gran, can you move? Oh, God. Call a doctor. Someone, call a doctor."
Please, don't let it be Nash on shift. Please, please, anyone but Nash.
Chapter 8
Beth swore God hated her.
Why else would Nash be the doctor on shift? Why else would he be there to witness another of her horrible moments with Oz and to watch her career dissolve? Why else?
God hated her. It was the only viable answer.
Yeah, yeah, everyone said life wouldn't throw more at you than you could handle, but she knew that was a great big, massive load of smelly crap.
Minutes after the accident Nash had rushed into the room looking as crisp and proficient as ever. With athletic ease he'd dropped to his knees beside Gran and grasped her hand.
"Ozzie dropped her!" Elsie sang as she pirouetted by.
"Dammit, Reggie," Gran griped from her position on the floor. "If you hadn't been dancing with Lauretta, this wouldn't have happened."
"If you chose to spend a little more time with me, maybe I would have reserved the first dance for you," he snapped back. "I'm a hot commodity, you know."
"It's not my fault!" Lauretta said, her voice rising. "It was Oz! Beth shouldn't have let him dance. He's drunk!"
Beth felt Nash's eyes on her as she hovered over Gran, praying her tears wouldn't become large enough to fall. And most of all, praying that Nash wouldn't judge her for what had happened on her watch.
"Leave Oz out of this!" Gran said.
"He's a troubled lad," added Reggie.
Finishing his gentle probing, Nash said, "I think your hip could be broken Mrs. Wilkinson. We're going to gently move you onto a stretcher, then a gurney, and take you over to x-ray."
"Great Scott! A broken hip!" bellowed Gran
's boyfriend. "Now look what you've done. Who's going to give me snuggles if you're off in a sling?"
"You did fine without me while I was stuck in here and you were still on the outside, you big baby!"
"Enough!" snapped Beth. "Everyone just shush for once."
Silence enveloped the group clustered around Gran. "Do you want to go with her?" Beth asked Reggie as Nash and a few nurses wheeled Gran out of the room.
He shrugged and shuffled after them muttering, "May as well. Life's too short for the doghouse."
"Can we talk now?" Lauretta asked as soon as they left. "Because I don't think I should take the fall for Oz. No pun intended. It's not my fault there aren't enough available men. Blame biology. I didn't do a thing wrong. It's still perfectly legal to dance with a taken man." She tugged her dress into place and lifted her chin. "Last I checked."
"Lauretta, nobody is blaming you," Beth said wearily. "Everyone, back to your rooms. The dance is over."
"Oh, but Louie is singing my song!" Elsie whined.
"Let him dance you to your room, Elsie. I promise I won't turn him off until you shut your door."
Beth slowly rounded everyone into their rooms off the common room, although many vanished eagerly, no doubt to get on the horn to spread the latest gossip about Beth and how her life was a pile of steaming doggie doo. She gave the stereo cord a good yank, abruptly cutting off Louie Armstrong in mid-croon. The room filled with silence and she dropped into a nearby chair. Sighing, she rubbed her eyes.
What next?
A noise caused her to look to the doorway and a chill raced through her. Nash was watching her with a grim expression.
"What? What's wrong?"
He shook his head. "She'll be fine. It's a fracture, like I thought." He walked slowly into the room. "I'll see that she gets a room close to continuing care so her boyfriend can still get his snuggles. Although with her hip, he'd better not hope for much." He gave her a wry smile and rested a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"
Beth studied the floor. "Not really. But I will be. Eventually." Maybe.
"If you need someone to talk to, I'm here."
"Yeah." She looked up at him, his blue eyes sympathetic. "Thanks." The problem was, whenever she spent time with Nash, Oz went wild and something bad happened. Which then caused her to need Nash's support even more. It was a cycle she wasn't sure she could break.
"Here." He handed her a clipboard holding an incident report, his voice taking on a crisp, professional tone. "You're going to need this. I have to get back to your grandmother to tell her the news, but I can sign off on this for you."
"Thanks." Seriously. An incident report. She was so screwed.
A second after Nash left, hospital security entered, his eyes scanning the room. "I haven't located Oz. Has he come back?"
"No, why?"
"Dr. Leham requested Oz be removed from the site. Forcibly if need be. He is officially banned unless seeking emergency care. Persona non grata."
"He's not here," Beth stated darkly and turned to her clipboard.
By the time Nash returned Beth's hands had ceased shaking, but her mood had yet to lift. She understood Nash had protocols he had to follow, but she still felt as though he'd pulled away his friendship and smacked her hard across the face with her own professional incompetency. It was like he didn't believe she was capable of preventing another situation like this from happening and had banned Oz as a preemptive measure.
And Oz? She didn't even want to consider how she might be feeling about him right now.
She handed Nash the report, not meeting his eye. She ignored the few patients trying to sneak their way back into the common room. It wasn't as if she could keep the little gossipers locked in their rooms forever.
Nash signed the form with a flourish and gave her a smile. "Lucky thing it was your grandmother."
Her hands clenched. "Pardon me?"
"Allowing an unauthorized person—"
"I was trying to stop him, Nash," Beth said in a hard voice.
Nash's cheeks flushed slightly, and he continued, "—take part in an activity in the continuing care area could land you in serious trouble. At least it was your relative, meaning the family—uh... you and your sister—aren't likely to sue you or the hospital. With any kind of luck there'll be nothing more than a few hard feelings and temporary probation."
Beth swallowed hard. "Yeah. With any kind of luck."
***
Beth glanced up from rearranging the common room's tables and chairs into their normal rows, the dance session cancelled. Her quick meeting with the hospital's bigwigs had left her on probation due to "patient endangerment and allowing a non-authorized person to partake in continuing care activities." Yeah, a great way to finish off her afternoon. All she wanted to do was go home and cry into her pillow until she fell into an exhausted sleep, putting space between her and this day. Instead she had two more hours of work and a steamed sister striding across the room. She instinctively backed up, placing a chair between her and her advancing sister.
"What the hell were you thinking letting Oz in here?" Cynthia said.
Beth cast a quick look around the room. Onlookers perking up at the hint of possible gossip? Check. Hearing aids being cranked? Check. Biggest gossipers shushing others? Also check.
"Let's go to my office," she said, sidestepping toward the door.
Cynthia remained in place, hands on hips. "I can't believe you let him hurt Gran. What the hell is happening? You need to distance yourself from that man. He is not the Oz you fell in love with."
Beth avoided the curious stares from her patients, wishing her sister's aversion to hospitals was strong enough to prevent her from ever coming in. "Maybe we should go see Gran." She ducked into the hall and moved slowly toward Gran's new room, waiting for Cynthia to follow. "And I didn't let him do anything to Gran," she said when Cynthia caught up.
"She has a broken hip," Cynthia said, stopping a few doors down from Gran's room. Beth checked the hall for eavesdroppers and crossed her arms, waiting for her sister to finish what was sure to be a memorable rant. "I can't believe you didn't stop him. Being on probation goes on your file along with a copy of the incident report. Incompetence as well as—"
"I tried! Okay?" Tears filmed her eyes. "I tried. But he wouldn't stop, Cynthia. You don't know how horrible it was to see him like that. To watch him hurt her and to be powerless to stop it."
Cynthia chewed on her lip like she did when she was worried about Beth and came over to give her a quick hug. "It's just really freaky. Broken hips can lead to some pretty serious complications at Gran's age."
Beth pulled herself straight and put on what she felt was a convincing air of strength. "She'll be okay. Nash is taking care of her and he's—"
"Thorough."
"I was going to say diligent and kind and one of the best doctors in Blueberry Springs."
Cynthia faced her sister with crossed arms. "Do you have a crush on him?"
"No." Her cheeks heat. "And I wish everyone would stop assuming we're a couple just because of last month." She waved her hands through the air as if sweeping the rumors away.
Cynthia rolled her eyes, the movement of her head making her curls sway. "Well, you guys were holding hands."
"We weren't holding hands!" Beth shouted. She glared at her laughing sister.
"She doth protest too much!" she sung. She waggled a finger at Beth. "You crafty girl."
"Shut up." Beth shoved off the wall and paced a few steps closer to Gran's room. Everything was such a mess. Could things even get any worse? "I don't know what I'm going to do."
"About your crush?"
Beth shot her sister her best stink eye. "About Oz. We're broken up, but..." It didn't feel like it was true. They'd had so many good years together. Something didn't feel quite right. Was it simply because the breakup wasn't mutual?
Cynthia leaned against the wall beside her. "Oz isn't your one anymore. He's changed, and he gave you back your ring.
He's admitted he can't give you what you need." Beth's throat constricted from emotion. "Meanwhile, you've got this total hottie following you around, playing rescue hero."
Beth choked, "Rescue hero?"
"I've seen the way you look at each other. I think he's a real contender if you open your eyes and give him a chance."
"We're not like that." Her cheeks heated with pleasure. She knew she shouldn't feel proud and pleased for snagging the attention of a man like Nash. But it felt strangely validating and empowering. He was a good man. But a good man who wasn't looking for the same things she was. It seemed like none of them were. She heaved a sigh and slid to the floor, her head propped in her hands.
Her sister joined her on the floor and said softly, "You're so absorbed in Oz and his problems you can't see it, but Nash is totally crushing on you. You have a chance with him, you know."
Beth rolled her eyes and tried to shrug it off, hoping her sister didn't notice the heat in her cheeks. "Nash doesn't like country girls and isn't looking for a relationship." She lightly touched her lips. But there was that kiss. That unexplainable and unrepeated kiss. What did that mean? Beth added quickly. "Besides, Oz thinks he's being a good guy by setting me free. But I can tell he doesn't really want it. He still loves me even though he isn't ready for us to be together again. If I love him, I should wait."
"He broke Gran's hip, Beth." Her sister gave her a look that implied stupidity on Beth's part.
"By accident!" Why couldn't her sister see it? Today's actions totally said he still loved her and that there was still hope. Maybe buried under an avalanche, but it was there.
Cynthia stared at the framed print on the opposite wall, her brow furrowed in thought. "Did he say anything?" Cynthia asked, still focused on the print.
Beth studied her fingers.
"Well?" her sister prompted.
"Sort of."
"What did he say?"
"It's not important."
"Did he ask you back?" Cynthia gave her a hard look. The kind their mother used to give her when she was lying by omission. "Did he give you any indication that he was there other than to get out of the house and do the things he used to do in order to get his parents off his back?"
