Watching her drive away, Aidan put her hand to her face, and inhaled deeply, the perfume that still lingered there. So cute and so sweet smelling too, she thought, as she smiled at the vision of Vicky crinkling her tiny nose. I wonder why someone didn’t grab you up, years ago.
***
The next morning, even though she had not slept at all, Vicky wasn’t tired. No cobwebs filled her head, only thoughts of Aidan, and their grown up date together. Okay, so technically it wasn’t a date, but it sure felt like one. Vicky was giddy, like a school girl with her first crush. She knew she had fallen hard, last night. Love at first sight comes at you fast. Aidan was, essentially, a completely different person than the one Vicky had known as a child. The adult Aidan, even with her lack of memory, had lived more in one year, than most do in a lifetime. Vicky was fascinated and infatuated with her, all over again.
She was eager to get to work that morning, more so than usual. She had promised Aidan that she would arrange for her to start today, instead of on Monday, and she needed to send some emails to ensure that would happen. First, she needed to get some caffeine. As she did every morning, Vicky started her day at the cappuccino bar in the main lobby of the hospital.
“Can I get the usual, please, Beth?” She said to the lady behind the counter.
Ken Hobbs, the new Director of Environmental Services, tapped on Vicky’s shoulder. “Ms. Montgomery, can I interrupt you for a minute?”
“Of course, Ken, and please, call me Vicky. What’s on your mind?’
“I just wanted to thank you again, for taking a chance on me.”
“I appreciate your enthusiasm, Ken. But I just sign off on the new hires, more as a way of knowing who’s being hired. Your immediate boss, Jack Owens, is the one you should be thanking.”
“Oh I have, believe me. But I’ve got a few ideas for improving our process, that I’d like to run by you. At your convenience, of course.”
“You’ve only been here for a few weeks, Ken, and may not be aware that we follow the chain of command here. You need to go through Jack first, and he will decide if your ideas should be implemented, or if need be, brought to me for consideration.” Vicky believed that going over your superior should only happen, as a last resort. Otherwise, what is she paying them for.
“I understand, Vicky. I just thought you might be…, uh, never mind. I’ll talk with Jack.”
“I might be what, Ken?” Vicky restrained herself, willing to give Ken the benefit of the doubt, this time.
“I meant no disrespect, ma’am. I just thought that, you being a woman, it might be‒‒”
“Ken..,” She swallowed the antagonistic remark, before it could escape her lips, as she fought to stay professional. “Talk with Jack.” Not waiting for a reply, she grabbed her coffee and left.
The nerve of that guy. What was he thinking? Shrugging it off, she sat down at her computer, and composed an email to the director of Human Resources, alerting him that the photographer position had been filled. Satisfied that was done, she opened up a browser, and did a search for Sergeant First Class Aidan Cassidy. What she found made her heart flutter. Her hands began to shake, and she had to set her coffee down, before she spilled it. She looked closely at a photo portrait of Aidan, in full dress uniform, standing in front of the American flag. Pinned to her left chest were the Distinguished Service Cross, and Purple Heart medals. Her left arm, rested just below her medals, held there by a sling. There was a faraway look in Aidan’s eyes, but still, she was the most strikingly, beautiful woman Vicky had ever seen.
The photo caption read: SFC Aidan Cassidy was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross today, for bravery above and beyond the call of duty. The photo was dated six months ago. That explained her forlorn facial expression. Vicky knew she was probably uncomfortable accepting awards she didn’t remember earning.
For a moment, she forgot her position as the CEO of a major healthcare system, and ran her finger along Aidan’s jaw line, down her neck and across her medals. I’ve missed you so much, Aidan. Smiling, she right clicked on the picture, saving it to her desktop. Returning to the search, she choked back a gasp at what she saw next. A picture on someone’s Facebook, of the Stryker that Aidan and her unit had been riding in, when it was attacked. It was horribly disfigured, with smoke rising up from the front side.
The caption under the picture read: ‘This is the Stryker I was in when we were hit. If not for SFC Aidan Cassidy, I’d be dead, right now.’
“Oh, my God!”
“Vicky, are you all right?”
She quickly wrote down the name of the Facebook page owner, Private First Class Jerry Williams, and closed the browser, as Yvonne entered her office.
Yvonne Rogers, Vicky’s executive assistant, had worked for Vicky for nearly four years, and had come to know her boss’s moods, her anxieties and her heart. When Vicky first interviewed Yvonne, she took her out to lunch, so they could talk in a more relaxed atmosphere. Right off, between bites of her tuna fish sandwich, she told Yvonne that she was a lesbian, and anyone who worked that closely with her, needed to be all right with that. Yvonne found her so refreshingly honest, that she told her she was a mother out of wedlock, and if Vicky could work around that, she would very much want the job. Living in the Bible belt, it was important to get those types of negotiations settle beforehand.
Vicky looked up to find Yvonne and Aidan standing in front of her. Aidan looked as if she was standing at attention. For a brief moment, she thought the ex-servicewoman might even salute her. Vicky tried not to be obvious, as she admired Aidan’s appearance. Looking very dapper, in her form fitting shirt, tight leather jacket, starched black chinos and boots. Those boots! Vicky suddenly felt a chill course through her body, as the memory of another pair of boots engulfed her thoughts.
It was on the occasion of Aidan’s fourteenth birthday, that Vicky learned just how abusive Aidan’s father really was. Vicky had presented her best friend with a pair of new, tan slouched boots. Aidan was as proud to get them, as Vicky was to give them to her. So proud, in fact, that she wore them everywhere, even to bed at night. One day, she came home from school, and stretched out on her bed, with her new boots still on. A mistake, that to this day, she has not repeated.
Vicky remembered finding her curled up in a tight ball, in the treehouse. They had built it themselves, and it showed. Though sturdy, it looked like it was ready to fall over at any minute. Still, it was the girls sanctuary.
Aidan lay in the corner of the tree house, with her eyes closed, tears shimmering on her eyelashes. Vicky immediately went to her, and gathered her up into her arms. But Aidan jerked away in pain. She timidly raised her shirt, and showed Vicky the red welts, forming on her back.
“Oh!” Her throat tightened and tears began welling up in her eyes. “Why, Aidan?”
“I was admiring my new boots…” Aidan’s voice cracked when she saw Vicky’s crestfallen face, “Uh, I wasn’t thinking, and laid down on my bed with my new boots still on, that’s all. I guess he had just made the bed, and thought I would get it dirty. Anyway, he said he didn’t want to ever see those mother fucking boots again.” Aidan’s tears turned to anger, as she spat out, “Who knows what the fucking bastard’s problem is.” Vicky was not afraid of Aidan’s anger. Anger that only Aidan’s father could provoke, and anger that was only directed at him. She understood, and always supported Aidan through it. But this was the first time she had done something that became the reason for that anger.
“I’m so sorry, Aid. If I hadn’t given you those boots‒‒”
“What? No. Look at me, kid,” she tucked a finger under Vicky’s chin and their eyes met, “this is not your fault, okay? You are my best friend, and that’s the only thing that is important to me.”
Perhaps it was the unconditional love Aidan saw in her best friend’s eyes, or the need to be loved by someone, or a combination of both, that cause her to lean in, and gently kiss Vicky on the lips. “I’m..., I’m so sorry, I don’t know
what got into me,” she stammered, moving back as she touched her fingertips to her tingling, lips. “I’ve never kissed a girl before. I’ve never kissed anyone before.”
Compelled by the sensations of the moment, Vicky closed her eyes and puckered her lips, hoping for more, but Aidan thought she had better wait until they both were teenagers, which was only three months away. So instead, as she always did when she wanted to distract Vicky, she began tickling her.
“Vicky?” Yvonne touched Vicky’s arm, “Vicky, are you all right?”
“Oh!” she exclaimed, and put a hand to her lips, hoping to feel Aidan’s lips still on them, “Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t know where my head is, these days,” she blushed and extended a hand to Aidan, “Welcome.”
She got right down to business, and explained to Aidan about the processes needed to get her a badge and a key to her new office. Then, instead of having Yvonne take her down to Human Resources, as would be the normal thing to do, she personally gave Aidan a guided tour of the hospital.
As Aidan walked beside her, Vicky pointed out the highlights. “All our patients are on this end of the building, where we have the brand new, state‒of‒the‒art, hybrid cath lab, the da Vinci robot, the computer assisted orthopedic surgery wing, and the babies in L&D. On the opposite end, is our HR and educational departments. Also on that end, we rent out a couple of floors to hospice and a cancer center. And on the fifth floor on that end, is the old convent where our Sisters lived, when they ran the hospital. It’s just an empty floor now, of course, so there’s not much to see really. But still, I like to remember it as part of our heritage.”
Seeing the hospital through Vicky’s eyes, gave Aidan a perspective of the type of person she was. Proud, idealistic, excited and thoughtful, came to mind, as they walked the halls. But it was the pride in the hospital’s heritage, and the Sisters who started it, that impressed Aidan the most. Businesses today were more concerned with having the latest, greatest, high tech equipment, but Vicky tempered that with pride in the hospital’s history. She was rare, indeed.
“Good morning, Ms. Montgomery,” Betty Duke, a part-time RN from the ortho floor, interrupted their tour, “I wanted to thank you, personally. My husband will finally have his surgery next week.”
Vicky gave Betty a pat on the arm, “I didn’t do anything, Betty, but I’m glad it all worked out.”
But Betty didn’t believe her, “I know it was you, Ms. Montgomery, and I will always be grateful. God bless you, ma’am.” And with that, the nurse hugged her tight and walked away.
Aidan watched their exchange with confusion, “May I ask, what does she think you did?”
“Oh, she thinks I arranged for the cost of her husband’s surgery to be done pro bono. He was laid off, a few months back, due to a bad heart. Betty has had to reduce her hours, just to take care of him, so they’re lagging behind on their insurance. Bless their hearts, it’s got to be hard for them.”
“So, did you do it?”
Vicky grinned at her, “Let’s go this way.”
“You did, didn’t you?”
“I can neither confirm nor deny that, Ms. Cassidy.” But the dancing twinkle in Vicky’s eyes betrayed her.
For Aidan, the tour ended to soon. Not that she wanted to be back in a hospital. After spending all those months at the VA, recuperating from her coma, and multiple surgeries to repair her shattered shoulder, a hospital was the last place she wanted to be. But this was different, somehow. Perhaps it was because her tour guide, Vicky, was so completely endearing, that she was actually enjoying herself.
The tour ended with them outside, around the back of the hospital, in front of the Marketing Department. Vicky made a special point of showing Aidan that her office window looked directly across the walkway, toward Marketing’s front door. The front door they were walking through now. Aidan was introduced to Breda Kelly, Director of Marketing. Vicky explained that even though Breda was her immediate boss, for the first month or so, Aidan would be shadowing her, to take pictures for the book.
Vicky’s cellphone rang and she had to take the call, so she reluctantly left Aidan with Breda. Smiling at her childhood friend one more time, she returned to her office.
Aidan, for reasons she couldn’t explain, felt like a new recruit entering the rain locker, for the first time. The showers were always full of giggling girls who would suddenly stop giggling, and look at her.
Breda was polite, but all business. Not unlike Vicky, except Breda was much more detached. She insisted on interviewing Aidan, since she was not given that opportunity beforehand. It was a short interview, because there wasn’t much she could tell her about her recent jobs or experience. As far as Aidan knew, or to the point, remembered, she didn’t have any experience, a fact that Breda did not appreciate.
After the brief interview, she introduced Aidan to the rest of the staff, consisting of a public relations person, an events coordinator, a graphic artist and a webmaster. Then Breda showed her the office she would be using. It reminded Aidan of her apartment, bare and drab. She examined the camera equipment and acquainted herself with how everything worked. Her training in rehab had covered the basics on operating a camera. But, whether it was from her unconscious memory, or just instinctual, Aidan was already skilled at taking pictures. She was shown how to log in to the network, and where to store her files on the share drive. Then she was shown the employee intranet, where she would be uploading the pictures taken for the employee newsletter. It was creative work, but something inside began tugging at her, telling her this wasn’t what she really wanted to do.
***
“Would the board please come to order?” The board chairman tapped his spoon against his water glass, requesting their attention.
The board room consisted of plush chairs, sitting around tables arranged in a u‒shape, adorned with tablecloths and floral arrangements. The wall‒to‒wall windows were covered with wooden venetian blinds that matched the color of the hardwood floor.
“Thank you. Now, before we get started, are there any announcements?”
Vicky sat at the head of the table beside the chairman, while the board members sat where ever their name plate had been strategically placed. Strategic, in that Yvonne, who sat in the back, at a table not joined with the rest, had arranged the name plates, according to who was speaking to whom, that month.
Vicky stood up, “I would like you all to meet a true American hero, and my new photographer.” She smiled proudly, and pointed to Aidan, who stood in the back of the room, holding her camera. “This is Sergeant First Class Aidan Cassidy, who was recently awarded the Distinguish Service Cross, for bravery above and beyond the call of duty, in Iraq.”
Vicky beamed at Aidan, while all those in attendance gave her a standing ovation. For her part, Aidan stood rigidly still, uncomfortable with all the attention.
As everyone sat down again, Vicky explained, “As you have probably heard, I’ve been asked by the national office, to write a book about our health system,” Truth be told, the book was about Vicky’s rise to fame, as it were, but she was just too humble to admit that. “So, toward that end, I’ve asked Aidan here, to take a few pictures, chronicling our leadership, and our day to day activities.”
As the meeting got down to business, Vicky watched Aidan move about the room, snapping pictures. Her taunt body moved smoothly, stealth like, trying to find every angle the meeting room would allow, without being intrusive. Aidan checked her camera often, adjusting for the light and background, for the portrait shots. In spite of herself, Vicky smiled at the camera, but it was really Aidan she was smiling at.
“Whew! That was a long day,” Vicky stated, as they walked back to her office after the meeting had adjourned, “But we did good work in there today, and that’s what matters.”
“You did good work in there,” Aidan offered.
Long after she had finished taking pictures, Aidan sat and listened to the deliberations, as the meeting progressed. At first, she thou
ght she should probably leave. But she was intrigued with the way Vicky charmed the board into seeing things as they could be in the future. She could tell that handling the physicians on the board, was probably the most tedious part for Vicky, but she almost always ended up with them eating out of her hand.
“Did you get some good shots?”
“Oh yes, ma’am, the camera loves you.”
You love me too, Aidan, if you could just remember that. Vicky unconsciously touched Aidan’s arm and laughed, “Well, at least I didn’t break your camera.”
“That’s why I stay behind the camera myself, ma’am.” Aidan said, as she realized the pang of disappointment when Vicky removed her hand.
Laughing and scolding in one breath, Vicky replied, “Smart woman, and don’t call me ma’am.”
“So, what’s next?”
“Let’s see, tomorrow is Thursday, right? I’m addressing the Rotary Club, meeting with my executive team, meeting with the Women’s Advisory Board, and finally, meeting with the Ortho Board. Friday is pretty much more of the same. Oh, and we’ll be flying to St. Louis on Monday for a corporate meeting, and a cocktail party afterwards. You’ll need to accompany me, okay? We’ll be back Tuesday evening.”
“Roger that, ma‒‒, uh, Vicky.”
The rest of the week went by too fast, to suit Vicky. For a change, she would have preferred that it dragged on, so she could be near Aidan longer. Even though having her around, made it difficult for her to concentrate. During her speech to the Rotary Club, she completely lost her train of thought, and realized it was because she was watching Aidan move about the room, taking pictures. That happened again, during the Women’s Advisory Board meeting. Oh Lord, I have got to get a grip on this!
I Remember You Page 4
