Holding a Hero

by Layne, Lyssa

  “Oh Kit Kat, are you okay?” Tiffany asked as she saw her friend’s face. Tiffany ushered them into her apartment.

  Immediately, Katy recounted through her tears the events that had transcribed. As Katy sat on the couch and set Nicky on the floor, she finally noticed her friend was in a silk kimono robe that stopped mid-thigh. Realizing Tiffany probably wasn’t alone, Katy jumped up.

  “I’m so sorry! We’ll leave.” Katy hurried toward the door they had just entered.

  “Are you kidding me? He’s in the bedroom and here all day. He can wait.”

  Katy smiled, appreciative of her friend. Not wanting to waste her time, she spilled everything that had happened. Tiffany held her hand as she spoke and rubbed her friend’s back.

  “Think of it as a good thing. You’re finally done with firefighters. The door is open for you to go out and try new things, new opportunities.”

  Katy nodded, her friend had a point. “You’re right.”

  Tiffany smiled. “Of course I am! Not to mention more men for you to meet.”

  Katy laughed. “I think I’ll hold off dating again until Nicky’s in college.”

  Tiffany glanced over at the toddler and looked at her best friend.

  “You won’t be able to go a month.”

  They looked at each other and broke out in laughter. At least she still had her best friend.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Katy had felt an aching in her chest the last month. It was the same feeling she had after Nick died. It had finally gone away when Jesse had told her he loved her, but it had returned and taken up residence in her heart again. All she wanted to do these days was lie in bed and cry, but she knew it wouldn’t do any good. She’d already tried that after Nicky was born.

  Katy typed away on the computer in front of her. After she boxed up all of Jesse’s stuff, Katy dove back into the medical research she had started before she’d even met Nick. She was putting in more time at the hospital and studying articles every free moment she had.

  Tiffany waved her hand in front of Katy’s face. “Earth to Katy! What do you want on the pizza?”

  Katy looked up from the laptop. “Whatever you want is fine.”

  Tiffany sighed. “You’re going to eat tonight, right?”

  Katy rolled her eyes, trying to make light of the situation but went ahead and nodded yes to appease her friend. Tiffany placed the pizza order then sat on the couch beside Katy.

  “Kit Kat, you’ve lost even more weight,” Tiffany commented as she picked up Katy’s boney hand.

  Katy shrugged. “I’ve been running longer distances and I’ve been putting more hours in at the lab so I’ve missed a few meals. I’m fine, Tiff.”

  “Katy! It’s been more than a few meals. Look, I know you have a lot going on right now with Jesse leaving and everything, but this is not healthy.”

  Katy’s stomach did a flip flop and she chewed on her bottom lip. Tiffany had no idea what all was going on. After Mother’s Day, Abby called her to discuss the showdown between Jesse and Anthony. Katy had no knowledge of the entire incident, and when she told Abby that Jesse was gone, her sister-in-law immediately dropped the issue. Katy was trying to figure out the best time to drop Alayna’s baby bomb on her. Father’s Day was coming up and they were planning on staying the weekend at Andy’s. Katy knew that’s when Alayna would have to share the news.

  Tiffany nodded at her friend’s nervous habit. “If you’re this miserable, call him.”

  “No, he got too involved with Nicky. I can’t do that to my son.”

  Tiffany rolled her eyes. “Stop blaming it on your kid. You love Jesse, he loves you. He made a mistake, we all do. Get over it and call him!”

  “Tiff, it’s not that easy.”

  “What? To forgive him for getting drunk and being touchy with some blonde?”

  Katy started to bit her lip again but stopped herself. She hadn’t told Tiffany about her kiss with Jeremiah. Ever since the elevator incident, she’d decided to avoid that topic all together with her. Luckily, Jeremiah didn’t say anything and acted as though nothing had happened. Tiffany rolled her eyes again.

  “Fine, whatever, be miserable. If you’re not going to take him back then we’re going out this weekend and you’re getting laid.”

  Katy laughed nervously, the ache in her chest kept her from ever wanting to even see another man. “We’ll see about that.”

  She hugged her best friend. Why did she think she needed Jesse when she had Tiffany and the Garrity family? That was all she needed. At least that’s what she tried to convince herself.

  ***

  Katy stood at the bar of La Bam, a nightclub with women far younger than her. She sipped her martini and watched Tiffany on the dance floor with techno lights flashing all around them. The speakers bounced from the bass as the hottest songs played through them although Katy didn’t recognize a single artist. She laughed as her friend moved from one guy to another, teasing them all.

  Other than a trip to the restroom, Katy hadn’t left the bar the entire evening. The last time she’d been here was with Nick on New Year’s Eve, just seven days after they’d been married. She smiled as she remembered being in the coat room with him that evening. It had been the night Nicky was conceived.

  Glancing at the other bystanders at the bar, she saw a man watching her a few seats down. Their eyes met and he smiled at her. Katy felt her stomach flutter as she saw him moving toward her. She smoothed out her red cocktail dress that criss-crossed in the back and stopped shorter than she would have liked. Tiffany had insisted she wear it although it was a little too ‘lady of the night’ for her taste.

  Katy took in the man as he walked her way. He was probably in his late thirties, five-ten, maybe eleven inches, husky build and dressed in khaki pants and a navy blazer. He looked completely out of place with the younger crowd in the club.

  When he finally reached her, he leaned against the bar. Katy waited to hear some cheesy pick-up line and was already rehearsing her get-away excuse. Instead, he held out his hand. She glanced down at his large hand, her mind wandering to places it shouldn’t, and instinctively reached out to shake it.

  He leaned close to her. “Rich Baudin,” he announced in a southern drawl.

  “Katy Garrity.”

  He smiled. “Nice to meet you, Katy Garrity.”

  About that time, someone squeezed in behind Katy pushing her abruptly into Rich. He grabbed her waist to steady her and when she was, he let go. Katy looked up at him, intrigued, wanting to know more about this gentleman as he ordered himself another drink and had her martini refreshed.

  He looked her up and down. “You don’t look like a woman who's interested in pick-up lines.”

  She laughed. “Tell me what woman is.”

  He smiled back. “Touché.”

  Their cocktails arrived and they each took a sip.

  “So, Miss Katy Garrity, tell me about yourself.”

  Katy took a long drink to stall. What should she say? That she was a widowed, single mom? Well, that would send him running, but surprisingly, Katy wasn’t sure she wanted him to.

  “I’m a surgeon at St. Luke’s.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Well, I apologize for calling you miss, Dr. Garrity...Are you on the Getters’ case Monday?”

  Katy looked at him confused. “How did you…”

  He laughed. “I’m one of the visiting surgeons from Hopkins.”

  Katy shook her head in disbelief. “You didn’t introduce yourself as doctor!”

  “You didn’t either!”

  She smirked. “Touché.”

  He smiled and looked around. Tiffany moved on the dance floor, giving Katy a thumbs up making Katy blush.

  “This doesn’t seem like your scene. What do you say we go grab some coffee?”

  She nodded. “Great idea.”

  He paid their tab and took her hand leading her out of the club. She glanced back at Tiffany who was waving her arms in victory. Katy shook
her head, laughing. Her best friend was crazy.

  ***

  Katy’s cheeks hurt from laughing. The sun would be rising anytime and she and Rich were still at the diner on 53rd. She hadn’t laughed this hard in a long time. After a couple hours of getting to know each other, minus Katy’s scary details that she neglected to mention, she’d learned that he was a forty-year-old divorcee, no kids, from Chapin, South Carolina. He’d recently moved to Baltimore after his divorce to get a fresh start. Johns Hopkins, his new employer, was also Katy’s alma mater. After he updated her on the hospital, they’d started sharing ER stories which resulted in the laughter.

  She shook her head. “His wife did it?”

  He nodded. “Yep, she said it would teach him not to bring home a goat.”

  She laughed again and glanced at the clock. Rich touched her hand and smiled. “You going to turn into a pumpkin?”

  She smiled and bit her lip. “No, but…” Should she say she needed to get home before her son woke up? “I need to do some more research before surgery Monday.”

  He nodded. “I wouldn’t mind joining you. I’d like to brush up on the technique myself.”

  She swallowed, knowing she couldn’t invite him to her house. “Why don’t we meet at the hospital today around noon?”

  He nodded. “Perfect.”

  She paid for their pie and coffee while he left a tip. The cool, light June breeze greeted them as they walked outside. Rich hailed them each a cab. As he opened her cab door, she turned to him. “It was nice to meet you, Dr. Baudin.”

  He grinned and kissed her hand. “Likewise, Dr. Malone,” he said with a wink.

  Katy’s jaw dropped. How did he know her maiden name? What else did he know about her? Whatever it was, it wasn’t enough to scare him off...yet.

  ***

  Exactly twelve hours later, Katy rubbed her eyes. Her vision was getting blurry from reading the computer screen for the last few hours.

  Rich closed her laptop. “Let’s take a break,” he said in that twangy voice of his.

  She nodded and followed him to the cafeteria where he ordered them both coffee. Sitting across from her at the table, he sipped his drink and nodded. “I’ve never seen a doctor prepare for a surgery as much as you do.”

  She shrugged. “It’s the only way to be the best.” This was partially true, but part of it was also to keep her mind off the pieces of her heart Jesse had left behind.

  With raised ‘brows, he commented, “Touché.”

  A smile spread across Katy’s face. He reached across the table and touched her cheek. Her face burned where his hand grazed her skin.

  “You’ve got a gorgeous smile.”

  Katy blushed and tried to let her lips relax from their upbeat position.

  This made him laugh. “So now you’re going to hide it from me?”

  Her face still red, she asked, “How did you know my maiden name?”

  He moved his hand away from her cheek. “I Googled you when you went outside to make a phone call.”

  She laughed. “Google, huh? Good, I thought maybe you’d heard rumors.” She made the comment as a joke, but knew there was truth to it, too.

  “Only rumors I’ve heard are that you’re one helluva doctor which so far you’ve proven to be fact,” he complimented her.

  This only made her face burn brighter. He laughed a deep, heartening laugh which made her stomach flutter. “Do you always blush so easily?”

  She shrugged. “Only when a good looking man is flirting with me.”

  Rich looked over his shoulder. “Where is he?”

  She laughed and playfully hit his hand. He put his hand on top of hers and looked her in the eyes. “I’d like to take you out to dinner tomorrow night after the surgery.”

  Katy tried to think quickly who she could ask to watch Nicky.

  Rich frowned. “Trying to think of an excuse why you can’t go?”

  Katy sighed. “No, not at all. I’d love to...it’s just...I have a son.”

  He nodded. “Nicky, right?”

  Katy started to ask him how he knew, but he was already answering.

  “I Googled you last night and asked around about you today.” He paused and squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry about your husband.”

  Katy bit her lip trying to keep the tears at bay.

  Rich smiled again. “It’s just dinner. Think about it.” He brought her hand to his lips, and placed a soft kiss on the back of it before he left the cafeteria.

  ***

  “Garrity. Baudin. Nice work in the operating room today. Meeting in the conference room in thirty minutes,” Dr. Mitkin, Katy’s boss and also the head cardiothoracic surgeon at St. Luke’s ordered as the pair scrubbed out after surgery.

  Rich raised his eyebrows and turned to Katy. “Ya’ll always have that formal of a debriefing immediately after a surgery?”

  Katy shook her head, wondering what Dr. Mitkin could want to discuss. Walking down the hallway, Katy replayed the entire surgery in her mind again trying to figure out what he could possibly want to talk about. When they walked through the doors to the meeting room, she was surprised to see the entire team of cardiothoracic doctors sitting around the long, oak table, all with the same look of bewilderment she wore.

  Dr. Mitkin waited for the last few doctors to trickle in and find a seat before he started speaking. “First, I’d like to thank Dr. Baudin for assisting Dr. Wheeler and Dr. Garrity with the bypass today.” Rich tipped his head toward Dr. Mitkin and then he continued. “I’d also like to make an announcement regarding a new program at the hospital. With the current trends and research in our field, it is our goal to stay ahead of the game and provide the best patient care possible. St. Luke’s is excited to announce the new doctor exchange program we’ll be partnering with Johns Hopkins on. Once a month, each hospital will send one of their own doctors to observe, research, and assist if needed on selected surgeries. We feel with our collaborative effort, our institutions can become the leading hospitals in the country.”

  Katy’s boss paused as her and her co-workers gave a polite round of applause before he explained more about the program. “Dr. Baudin has volunteered to be the first doctor from Hopkins to work with this experiment. If any of my staff is interested in participating, please let me know.”

  Katy took a deep breath and bit her lip. She briefly hesitated then slowly raised her hand. “Dr. Mitkin, I’d like to volunteer.”

  He looked at her surprised, but spoke quickly before she could back out. “Great! We’ll get your trip to Baltimore scheduled right away.”

  Rich turned his chair to Katy and winked. “Looks like we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  With her morning run behind her, Katy headed to Jeremiah’s. Other than hospital related business, the two hadn’t talked since her birthday. This was the weekend of truth and she had decided to start with him.

  She knocked softly on his apartment door, not wanting to wake Charley up if she was napping. She fiddled with the hem of her dress while she waited for him to answer. Jeremiah smiled as he opened the door with Charley cradled in his arms.

  He laughed when he saw her. “I love it when you fidget.”

  She smiled and kissed his cheek as he invited her in. She followed him into the living room and before either of them spoke again, she handed him a small gift bag. Holding the precious little girl in her arms, Katy felt a small tinge of baby fever hit her as Jeremiah opened the present. He threw the tissue paper on the floor and pulled out a silver frame that held a black and white photo of him and Charley. He looked up at her, a smile on his lips.

  “Happy Father’s Day,” she said softly.

  He looked at the frame again and nodded. “Thank you. I don’t have any pictures of the two of us.”

  She was well aware of that and knew it bothered him. She had made a point to bring her DSLR over one night and capture some shots of the two of them after she’d been born. She looked
down at the sleeping baby and rubbed her soft, tiny cheeks, then turned to Jeremiah. “I wanted to make sure we were okay.”

  He nodded. “Of course. I shouldn’t have done and said what I did. I do love you, Katy and I always will. I have to realize you’ve moved on and I need to do the same.”

  She nodded. “I’ll always be there for you.”

  He smiled. “I know, Knockout.”

  He walked over and kissed her cheek as he sat beside her, admiring his daughter. “How are things with Jesse?”

  “I asked him to move out,” Katy answered without looking at him.

  Jeremiah didn’t immediately respond to the news. When she leaned her head on his shoulder, he put his arm around her and patted her back like any good friend would do.

  ***

  Katy and Jeremiah visited for a while before she headed back to her house to get Nora and Nicky and head to Andy’s for the weekend. She checked her phone when she got in her car and saw she had a notification from Rich. She smiled and returned his call as she drove.

  “The sexy Dr. Garrity.” Rich’s sweet accent filled her ear.

  She smiled. “Hey there, Dr. Baudin. I saw you called. Was it for a consult?”

  He laughed. “Not at all!”

  Katy had accepted Rich’s dinner date the week prior and he was right. It was just dinner. They ate good food, drank great wine, and got to know each other better. At the end of the evening, he’d kissed her hand, said goodnight, and they went their separate ways.

  She smiled and asked, “How’s work today?”

  “Slow, Father’s Day isn’t a big injury holiday. Well, until the gifts of power tools start to get out of hand.”

  She laughed, because she knew exactly what he was talking about, having worked the holiday in the past.