The Strange Healing

by Malone, Misty

  Sara's eyes were filled with excitement as she said, “That sounds fantastic, but how much rent is he asking? Those condos are really nice. It's probably going to be expensive.”

  "He doesn't want any rent, just someone to pay the utilities while he's gone and watch the place. He's afraid of not getting the utilities paid on time if he's not there, and if no one's there, someone might break in and do some severe damage or something. All you'd have to pay is the utilities. Interested?”

  Sara was smiling ear to ear. “Are you kidding? Of course I'm interested. Should I call him, or what?”

  Laughing at her enthusiasm, he said, “I'll call him and tell him I found someone for him.”

  “Hurry up and call before he finds someone else.” She was so excited she was bouncing on the seat beside him.

  He made a quick phone call, and informed her, “Okay, Honey. I told him we'd meet him at his condo in half an hour. Are you ready to go?”

  “Yes, yes, yes,” she said excitedly.

  Heath chuckled, and looked over at his sister, who was also bouncing on the seat. "Settle down, you two. Don't break the benches.”

  Heather said, “You guys have to stop by then and let us know what he says.”

  The men stood and helped their ladies up. Phil said, “Yes, please do let us know, so my little jackrabbit here can stop bouncing.”

  Heath laughed and said, “We'll do that, Phil.” The men took their checks to the register to pay for lunch while the ladies headed for the door, talking a mile a minute.

  Phil watched the ladies a few moments and said, “I hope this works out all right, if they live that close.”

  Heath admitted, “Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing. We may have our hands full for a while.”

  Phil agreed, “Yeah, I hear you. And those full hands may be sore a lot.” He paused before adding, “But not as sore as their bottoms.”

  “Time will tell, my friend, but I'd say that's a definite possibility.” They were both shaking their heads as they went to gather up the girls.

  Their meeting with John went great. He instantly knew he could trust Sara, and after hearing she was considering moving to the area, he agreed this would be perfect for both of them.

  An hour later they knocked on Phil and Heather's door. Heath was surprised when Heather yelled, “Who is it?”

  “It's us, Heather.”

  She immediately opened the door and pulled them into the condo. “Well, what did you find out? Are you going to stay at his place?”

  Heath pulled his sister in for a hug and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. “First things first, Sis. Nice job answering the door. I'm proud of you for asking who was there.”

  Phil smiled at her, also proud of his wife.

  “Thank you, Heath.” Looking at Sara, she said, “I can't wait any longer. What happened?”

  “I move in Wednesday,” Sara exclaimed, beaming ear to ear.

  Heath added, “John's leaving Tuesday night, so the condo's hers from Wednesday on.”

  “All right! That's perfect,” Heather said. “I only work until noon, so I can help you move all your stuff in.”

  “Great. There's not a lot of moving to do, though,” Sara said. “I put most of my things in storage back home. All I brought with me is three suitcases and two boxes. Most of it's still at – over at –”

  Heath looked over and was alarmed. Sara was white as a ghost. “Over at the motel,” he offered. He picked her up and carried her over to the couch, sitting down, with her on his lap.

  She settled right in, laying her head on his shoulder, but clutching his shirt tightly. He held her against him, softly rubbing her arm, which always seemed to help her relax. Phil and Heather followed them into the living room, concerned.

  After a few moments, Sara said, “I'm sorry. I don't know why it bothers me so much every time I even think about – about the – the motel,” she made herself say.

  “Sweetheart, you had a traumatic experience, and then had a horrible nightmare about that experience. You were at the motel when you had the nightmare, so your mind automatically associates all the bad feelings, the negatives of the whole experience with the motel.”

  Sara sat quietly on his lap, not saying a thing for a while. Finally, she said, “That makes sense. I never knew why it bothered me so much to think about that place. I feel dumb now. I should have figured that out.”

  “Honey, you're not dumb, and I don't want to hear you say anything like that. When you have such a traumatic event, your mind is going to focus on the negative, the scary aspect of that event. Your mind wasn't able to process information like that yet.”

  Sara looked at Phil and Heather and said, “I'm sorry, you guys. I didn't mean to ruin our day.”

  Heather assured her, “Sara, you didn't ruin anything. And we totally understand you getting upset about those memories. I can't even imagine going through what you've gone through. So trust me, you have nothing to be sorry for.”

  Phil added, “I agree with Heather, Sara. She told me what all you've been through and are dealing with, and I want you to know, if there's anything either of us can do to help you, please let us know.”

  “Thank you.”

  Heath said, “Sara, since we know where you'll be staying now, why don't you let Phil and me go get your stuff. We can store it in my extra bedroom until you move in Wednesday.”

  Sara reluctantly said, “If you guys don't mind, I really don't feel up to going back there if I don't have to.”

  “Not a problem, Sara. We'll go get them in a little bit here, while you two make your plans for moving day. There's no reason for you to be paying for that any longer since we know now that you won't be going back.”

  “Thank you, both of you,” she sincerely told them both.

  “You're very welcome,” Phil assured her.

  She lay back on Heath's shoulder, then sat up to look at him. Looking at him curiously, she said, “Heath, I still don't know what you do.”

  His eyebrows rose as he thought about that a moment. He didn't want her to think he was hiding it from her or being misleading or dishonest, especially since she trusted him now. He quickly said, “Sara, your mind would be a wonderful place to explore. What in the world made you think of that right now?”

  “Well, it occurred to me that I don't know what you do. I mean, I know you have your own business, and you don't usually work on the weekends, but I don't know what you do. I think you may have missed your calling, though.”

  He smiled as he asked, “Why do you say that? What do you think my calling is?”

  “Well, as good as you are at listening, and as much as you've helped me, and considering you always seem to know just what to say, you should have been some kind of a shrink.” She was leaning against Heath, looking down at her lap, and didn't see the concerned looks Phil and Heather exchanged. “So, what do you do?”

  Heath would never lie to her, so he just had to hope she understood and would still trust him. He certainly hoped this wouldn't end their budding relationship. He answered, “I'm some kind of shrink.”

  Her head shot up as she looked at him. “What?”

  Looking into her eyes, hoping she realized he wasn't trying to hide anything from her, he answered, “I'm a psychiatrist.”

  Sara looked at him for several moments, then looked down, not saying a word. It was so quiet in that room you could hear a pin drop. All three knew how important her reaction to this news was. Finally Phil, who was beginning to worry about how long it was taking for Sara to react, suggested, “Heather, maybe we should leave for a little while and give them some time alone.”

  He stood and was helping Heather up when Sara said, “No, don't go.” The two of them froze, waiting to hear more from here. Eventually she said, “You two were in on the secret, so I'll be interested to hear your perspective on why you all thought it would be best to hide that news from me.”

  She tried to get up off Heath's lap, but he tightened his arms ar
ound her. “Sweetheart, we didn't try to hide anything from you. But if you want to be upset with someone, it should be me. I asked them not to mention it unless you asked.”

  “If I would have asked –“

  Heath quickly finished, “We would have told you. None of us would have lied to you.”

  “Then why didn't you tell me?”

  Heath tried to explain his thoughts and feelings in a way she would not only understand, but feel. “From the moment I saw you on the beach that day I felt something special for you, Sara. When you started to talk to me and open up, I knew you had some problems, and I was pretty sure I could help you with them. But when you said you'd gone to two professionals that hadn't helped, I didn't want to tell you what I do and have you think I'm just another one of them, and stop talking. You were starting to trust me, which is so important, and I didn't want to jeopardize that trust.”

  Sara's voice cracked as she quietly asked, “So this is a professional relationship? You want to meet the challenge of the nut job that needs help, and then you'll move on to the next tough case?”

  Heath was appalled at what she was suggesting. “Absolutely not. Sara, I have never looked at you in a professional light. Our relationship in my mind has always been a personal thing.”

  She looked up at him, as if studying his eyes for the truth of his words. He met her gaze and held it, hoping to convey the honesty. He tried to explain further. “Sara, the more we got to know each other the closer I felt to you. I could feel you trusting me more, as well, and I knew that was as a person. You didn't know what I do yet, so your trust for me was as a person, a friend, and that meant the world to me. Honey, I was starting to have some very strong feelings for you. The last thing I wanted to do was scare you off before we even had a chance to see if we have something between us.”

  After a silent spell, she asked, “Why would you think you'd scare me off?”

  “Because you said the other two professionals didn't help you. I was, and I could tell I was. And I think the reason I was able to help you is because you saw me as a friend, a friend you trusted, and not as a psychiatrist. But it's probably also because I never thought of you as a patient, only as a friend. A very good friend that I hope becomes even more than that some day.” He paused a while, then offered, “Sara, I'm sorry if you think I kept something from you and you feel hurt. I never, ever intended to do that.”

  She looked up at him again and asked, “You're sure I'm not just another case to you and this is a professional relationship?”

  Before Heath could answer, Heather started laughing. The two of them looked over at her and noticed Phil was also smiling, trying not to laugh.

  Heather saw the hurt expressions on their faces and explained, “I'm sorry, guys. I really didn't mean to laugh or hurt your feelings, but let me tell you how this looks from our perspective.” She pointed to Phil as she said, “We see the big picture here clearly, so let me explain it to you. It is so obvious to us that you two were meant to run into each other and be together. If you'll recall, Heath, I pointed that out to you the first day you two met. And Sara, I told you about it, too. Now, I realize I got in trouble for doing that, and I truly am sorry if I pushed a bit in that direction. But the fact still remains, you two are perfect together.”

  Heath was a bit surprised that Phil wasn't stopping her, or admonishing her about pushing again. Instead, he was looking at her and smiling. That spoke volumes to Heath, and he listened further to Heather.

  “Sara, to even think that Heath could possibly be thinking of you professionally is funny to me. You don't know him as well, so you'll just have to trust me on this, but Heath is very, very good at what he does. But he's also very professional about it. He never allows himself to get too close to any of his patients. Look at you. Even as we speak you're sitting on his lap. He would never come anywhere close to even considering such a thing with a client.”

  Sara looked at where she was as if she hadn't realized she was sitting on his lap, and Heath did something similar. He looked at her and smiled. He kissed her forehead and tightened his arms around her and said, “I'd never do that to a client, either.”

  Phil spoke up and said, “I don't always agree with Heather and her ideas, but in this case I most certainly do. It was totally apparent from the moment you two met that there was some kind of connection, some electricity between you.” When Sara looked at him curiously, he said, “Sara, that first day at the beach you clung to Heath, wouldn't let go of him. Now, I realize you'd just been through something traumatic, but you clung to him like he was your lifeline, like you somehow instinctively knew you were safe with him.”

  While she considered his words, Phil turned to Heath and continued, “And you wouldn't let loose of her, either. Heather and I could practically see the sparks flying between you two.” Laughing a bit and looking at Sara, he added, “And trust me, those were not professional sparks we were seeing.”

  Heather took over again as she added, “And the fact that he let me check you over for injuries that day was another telltale sign that he was interested in you personally, not professionally.”

  All three of them looked at her curiously, so she explained, “As a psychiatrist, Heath is a medical doctor. He was more qualified than me to check you for injuries, and normally he would have been the one to do it. But he deferred to me. I admit he watched me closely to be sure I was doing it correctly, but he still deferred to me. It's difficult to check someone you care about personally for injuries. You're hoping you don't find anything, so it becomes difficult to be unbiased and look carefully and do a thorough job. So when he allowed me to check you, I knew right then and there what his feelings were for you.”

  Heath looked at Heather and smiled. “Good job, Sis. I'm proud of you. You caught something even I missed. I did defer to you, didn't I?”

  “Yes, you did, big brother, and I knew why.”

  He smiled and said, “You really are observant. That's part of what makes you a very good nurse, Heather.”

  She returned his smile and said, “Coming from a very good psychiatrist, that's a big compliment. Thank you.”

  Heath turned to look at Sara, who was deep in thought. He asked, “So if you still feel I was trying to keep something from you, can you forgive me? I never meant to do that.”

  She studied his face a bit, then said, “No, you didn't. You were trying to help me. I see that now.”

  Heath let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, and gave her a big hug. “That's my girl!”

  Sara smiled and said, “And you two were aiding and abetting, as you would say, Phil, in his scheme to help me.”

  They all laughed, but Phil and Heather admitted, “Guilty as charged.”

  Heath asked, “Are we okay now, Sweetheart?”

  Sara answered, “Absolutely. And once again I feel I need to say thank you to all of you. You've all helped me a lot.” Turning to look at Heath, she said, “I don't even want to think about where I'd be right now without you, Heath.”

  He said, “That's funny, I was just thinking the same thing.”

  “You? What do you mean?”

  “Honey, if we're going to go forward with this relationship, and I sincerely hope we do, it's time I tell you something about myself. I have never been one to date just for the sake of dating. I like to go out with friends and have fun, but to go on a date with a woman, one on one, just us as a date, to me it has to be with someone I can potentially see as a lifelong mate, someone I'd want to share my life with. I'm a pretty good judge of people, so I've met lots of good people, many of which I consider friends now, but very few women I've wanted to date. The ones I have dated I've only dated once. They were all very nice people, but I just didn't feel a connection with them. There was nothing pulling me toward getting to know them better with the idea of spending my life with them. Until I met you.”

  Phil and Heather were smiling and nodding their heads, and Sara was looking at him with a very serious ex
pression in her eyes, and smiling. He went on, “The more I get to know you the more I want to spend time with you and get to know you even more. I feel like a new man, with a new direction in life. I can't imagine life without you, Sara.”

  Sara reached up and put her arms around Heath, who pulled her in for a hug and kiss. They both were oblivious to anyone or anything else in the world for several minutes, while they shared a most passionate kiss. He just held her in his arms afterwards for a while before he realized they were alone. He chuckled as he said, “We may have gotten a bit carried away. Phil and Heather are gone.”

  Sara blushed, which made her even more becoming in Heath's eyes right then, and he had to kiss her again. When he finally pulled away, he asked, “Do you think we should call them back in?”

  “Probably,” she answered, as she reached up for one more kiss.

  Chapter 9

  The four friends spent the afternoon together, talking, laughing, and swimming. As they were lounging by the pool late in the afternoon Heather asked, “Do you guys want to have a cookout for dinner? The guys can grill the meat and Sara and I will fix the rest.”

  Heath quickly said, “Not tonight, Heather. Sara and I still have a lot of talking to do to help her work through her feelings. If she wants to move into John's condo Wednesday we need to work on that.”

  Sara gave him a guarded look. “What do you mean if I want to move Wednesday? I didn't know there was any 'if' about it.”

  Heath reached over and took her hand in his. “Sweetheart, right now I don't think you're ready yet. I'd worry about you being alone at night. I think you'll be fine once you've confronted your fears, though. The more I get to know you the more I'm realizing how strong a person you are, which is good. A lot's happened to you, though, that would cause fears for anyone. A strong person can confront those fears and come through it fine, but it will take some time to do that. So if you want to be ready by Wednesday I think we need to get started.”