by Sarah Markel
*****
“When you get to the gate, show your ID to the guard and he will buzz you through. Once you’re in, take the first left, and follow it down to the third stop sign. Take a right at the sign and follow it all the way down, then turn left again. We are the third house on the right.” Kelly said happily into the phone. “Alright, we’ll see you around six.” Hanging up the phone, Kelly felt a rush of excitement. On the drive home from the hospital, Alex had asked if Kelly had seen Tabitha since Christmas. Shaking her head, Kelly had told her that there hadn’t been much time to catch up with her friend. Unexpectedly, Alex had suggested inviting the woman and her family over for dinner. As soon as they arrived home, Kelly had made the call. “They’ll be here around six.” she announced, walking into the kitchen. Nodding as she contemplated her choices for the meal, Alex smiled. “Perfect. It’ll be nice to have a meal with someone who isn’t my family.” she said, grabbing a soda from the fridge. “How does spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread sound? Dej has a spaghetti meal in here, so we can all have the same thing.” she suggested, popping open the can and setting it on the counter. “Sounds great.” Kelly replied, snagging the can off the counter when Alex turned her back. When she turned back around, Alex couldn’t help but snicker. “Hey! Not nice, that’s mine!” she said playfully, reaching for the can that Kelly had put to her lips. Leaning back carefully, Kelly smiled with a mouth full of the drink. Tilting her head back so it wouldn’t spill, she opened her mouth. “Eww. You can keep it.” Alex said, crossing her arms over her chest and wrinkling her nose. “Oh my God. Really? You two act like a couple of kids.” Zane said from the doorway.
“What’s wrong, son?” Alex asked jokingly. “You too grown up to appreciate a little fun?” Zane glared at his mother as he walked past her to get his own soda from the fridge. Kelly choked on the drink when she tried to swallow it and laugh at the same time. Shaking his head, the boy stood next to the sink and eyed his parents as he sipped his beverage. “Do all adults act like that? I mean with their partners.” he added looking at the women skeptically. Nodding solemnly, Alex replied “Only if they are genuinely comfortable with the other person. Some may not do it when other people are around, but yes. Being an adult doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun. To be honest, most adults act like big kids with their significant other. You would be amazed by the things that Mom and I do for fun when you and Dej aren’t home.” Curious, Zane raised his eyebrow in silent question.
Looking to Kelly and giving the woman a wink, Alex turned back to her son. “Oh yeah. We do all sorts of stuff. We throw things at each other, we play games, and we run through the house playing naked tag. Even Nana and Pawpaw do weird things when no one is around.” Biting back a laugh at the look of horror on her son’s face, Alex moved to the other side of Kelly and placed her arm around the woman’s waist. Reveling in her son’s appalled expression, Alex turned Kelly to face her and said, “Our favorite thing to do for fun is this.” Without hesitation, she leaned down and placed her lips on Kelly’s. When the boy gasped in disgust, both women turned the kiss into an overdramatic stage kiss, quickly running their hands over each other’s backs. “Knock it off!” he cried, slapping his hands over his eyes. Laughing, the two women turned to face the boy. Without another word, Zane rushed out of the room, his face flushed with embarrassment.
*****
“Hi guys, come on in!” Kelly said excitedly a couple of hours later. Standing aside to let their guests in, she took their coats. “Kelly, this is my husband, Robby, and our kids. Brian, Shanna, this is Kelly. She’s the one who owns the house we are staying in.” Tabitha introduced. After shaking hands with Robby and the children, Kelly motioned them into the living room. “Alex, will you come out here please?” she called into the kitchen. Wiping her hands on a towel, Alex appeared and hollered upstairs for the kids to come down. Once everyone was in the room, Kelly made the introductions. “It’s great to meet you all. Welcome to our home. I hope you’re hungry, I got carried away making dinner.” Alex said with a chuckle.
Leaving the children to visit with each other, the adults went into the kitchen. “Would either of you like a drink? We have coffee, beer, and wine.” Alex offered. While Kelly busied herself with getting the drinks, Alex set the table. “Is there anything we can help with?” Robby offered. Shaking her head no, Alex invited the couple to make themselves comfortable. While Alex finished getting their meal together, she and Robby chatted about the upcoming Super Bowl, while Kelly and Tabitha talked about the kids. “So who’s your favorite for the big game?” Alex asked the man. “You know, I don’t really care for either team. But to be honest I think the Bears are going to kill them.” he said as he sipped his beer. “Oh come on! The Bills are going to spank them!” Alex protested. Shaking his head with a snort, Robby chuckled. “We’ll see.” he said. Throwing the man a defiant look, Alex set the garlic bread on the table and hollered for the kids to get washed up.
*****
Dinner went smoothly. Zane and Brian seemed to hit it off well, and Dej and Shanna were talking and giggling about a popular singer they both liked. Once the meal was over, Zane took Brian up to play video games, while Dej and Shanna went up to play a board game. With the children occupied, the adults retired to the living room. Once they were all seated comfortably, Kelly asked Tabitha, “So how did you two meet?” Smiling at her husband when the man pinked, Tabitha patted his knee. “Well, after our residency was up, I got an offer from the ER at County General in Newark. I had been there all of six months, and was just getting ready for end of shift, when an ambulance comes in. They wheeled in Robby, with a piece of rebar sticking out of his thigh, and he was screaming every obscenity you could imagine.” she explained. “I had been sitting on a bench, eating my lunch. The rebar rolled off the scaffolding two stories above me.” Robby interjected. Nodding, Tabitha finished her story. “We got him into a room and were trying to assess the extent of the injury. But he was not having any of it. He wouldn’t let anyone look at his leg, and whenever a nurse got too close, he would scream at them to get away. I got tired of listening to him holler, so I screamed at the top of my lungs for him to shut up. I think he was a little surprised that I was so forceful. Anyways, I told him that if he didn’t calm the hell down and let me look at it, I was going to have him restrained and send him up to amputate the whole leg. He got real quiet and finally let us do our jobs. When I sent him with the trauma surgeon, he grabbed my hand and apologized. A few days later, I got a message that he wanted to talk to me, so after my shift one day I went up to his room. He didn’t waste any words, he just said ‘Doc, I want to take you to dinner when I get out of here.’ I told him no several times over the next couple of weeks, but he was persistent and I finally agreed. So how did you two meet?” she added. “I saw her in her underwear in my sister’s back yard.” Alex replied, before Kelly could speak up. Tabitha and Robby burst out laughing when Kelly’s face flushed. Rubbing the woman’s back when she buried her face in her hands, Alex explained about the barbeque at Angie’s.
*****
“Thank you both again. We had a wonderful time.” Tabitha said as she and her family slipped into their coats. “So did we, I think this is the first time we’ve had dinner with people who weren’t related to either of us.” Alex replied with a laugh. It was true, the last several hours with Robby and Tabitha had been wonderful. Alex had enjoyed not having to participate in wedding talk when their conversation had headed down that road. While Tabitha and Kelly talked flowers, cake, songs, and dances, Robby and Alex had talked about football, fishing, and home improvements. Before they knew it, Dej had come downstairs and asked reminded her mother that she needed her night meds. Surprised that time had flown so quickly, Tabitha and Robby had decided to take their leave. “Why don’t you guys come over for the big game? My sister and a few of the neighbors are going to be here, and there will be lots of food and beer.” Alex offered. Looking to his wife for a moment, Robby nodded and thanked the women a
gain. Once their guests had driven away, Alex and Kelly went off to clean up the dinner dishes while the kids went up to get ready for bed.
CHAPTER 24
“Mother! Oh my God, just let her help!” Kelly said, fisting her hands in her hair. Kelly had been patient so far this morning as her mother was being moved into her new room. “Be careful with those! They are worth more than you make in a year.” Karen growled at the young aid. For the last half hour, while the young woman was helping get Karen’s belongings into the room, Karen had done nothing but yell at her. Feeling her patience snap, Kelly stood in front of her mother, blocking her view of the aid. “Allie has been doing this for a long time, Mother. She knows what she is doing and there is no need to yell at her. If you don’t knock it off, I’m going to have Alex come in here and take over.” she threatened when the woman’s eye’s flared. Blowing out a resigned breath, Karen huffed and stormed out of the room. “I’m sorry about her, Allie.” Kelly said to the aid. Waving off the apology, Allie chuckled. “My mother is the same way, Doctor Taylor. I’ve learned to ignore people.” Laughing, Kelly patted the woman’s arm and went out to find her mother.
“Good Lord, Kelly. Are these people going to leave me alone at some point?” Karen asked with disgust when Kelly caught up to her in the lobby. Glaring at her mother, Kelly just shook her head. “Mother,” she said, placing her hands on her hips, “stop it. They are here to help. It’s their job to ask if you need anything, or if they can get you something. I will not have you alienating the staff. If even one person quits or even complains because of how you treat them, I will have Alex throw you out on your ass and you can figure things out on your own.” Taken aback, Karen’s hand fluttered to her throat. “Kelly Shane, how dare you speak to me like that?” she demanded, her tone full of indignation. Shaking her head with a frustrated chuckle, Kelly threw her hands in the air and turned away. “I will be in my office, Mother. If you need anything, anything important that is, feel free to come by.” She said before stalking off.
When she reached her office, Kelly shut the door and dropped down into her chair. Why on Earth did I let Alex talk me into this? Rubbing her temples to ease the ache in her head, Kelly smiled when her cell phone signaled. Reading her father’s name on the display, she answered with a smile. “Hi, Daddy!” she said, leaning back in her chair. “Hi, Sweetheart.” Kevin said. “Kendall and I were wondering if you guys would like to come down here for Easter.” Sighing wistfully, Kelly shrugged her shoulders. “I would love to, Daddy, but I need to talk to Alex before I decide.” she explained. Her headache suddenly gone, Kelly happily visited with her father until Jack knocked on her door. “Doctor Taylor, Ms. Walker would like to speak with you, please.” The man said, poking his head in. Nodding to the man, Kelly said goodbye to her father and followed him out.
*****
“Karen, just because you are Kelly’s mother does not mean you can give my staff orders.” Alex said with her arms crossed over her chest. When Kelly knocked on the door and poked her head in, Alex waved her inside. Seeing her mother in the visitor’s chair, Kelly rolled her eyes. “What happened?” she asked flatly. Saying nothing, Karen folded her hands into her lap and glared defiantly at the pair. “Well, I was talking with Tina at her desk, and I overheard your mother demanding that Allie go out and bring her back a latte and croissant. When Allie told her that she couldn’t, Karen decided to threaten to have her fired for mistreating her.” Alex explained. Feeling her headache come roaring back to life, Kelly closed her eyes and sat on the edge of Alex’s desk. “Four hours, Mother. You have been here for four hours. I told you to be nice.” she said through clenched teeth. “Aren’t these people here to help?” Karen asked, her tone sharp. Slapping her hand on the desk, Kelly jumped to her feet. “Dammit, Mother! They are not here to be your gophers, they are here to make sure that you are safe. If you want something that isn’t available in the cafeteria, you will have to either have it delivered, or ask me to get it for you.” Turning to Alex, with tears of frustration in her eyes, Kelly added “I’m sorry, honey. This was a bad idea. She’s just going to keep being a dick to the staff, no matter what we say. I’ll go apologize to Allie, then call Doctor Peck and ask him to have her readmitted to the hospital.” Trying not to let her mother see her irritation, Kelly tuned on her heel and left the office.
“Kelly, wait!” Alex called, chasing after her. “She doesn’t have to leave, we just need to talk with her and get her to ease off. Don’t let her stress you out.” Losing the battle against her tears, Kelly’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t know what to do with her, Alex. My father was right, she’s going back to her old self now that she is doing better.” Rubbing her hands up and down Kelly’s arms, Alex smiled. “Hey,” she said, tipping Kelly’s face upward, “I have an idea. How about we have my mom come in and set her straight? Your mother may be bullheaded and self-centered, but my mom was raised to be respectful and has raised four boys to be the same way. If anyone can get through to Karen, it’ll be Mama.” Smiling at the image of Andrea going toe to toe with Karen, Kelly nodded. “It’s worth a shot. The worst thing that could happen is that we have to bail your mom out of jail after she throttles my mom.” Glancing up at the large grandfather-style wall clock, Alex sighed. “I’ll call Mama and ask her to come in. Do you want to get some lunch after I talk to her?” she asked. Kelly nodded, “That would be great. I’ve got to go upstairs and do a crisis check on Mrs. Declan, but I’m free after that.” Smiling, Alex gave Kelly’s shoulders a gentle squeeze and headed back to her office.
*****
Alex wandered around the Comfort Care floor, visiting with the staff and the families that were mulling about. She had left her mother and Karen alone in her office half an hour ago, and was waiting for Kelly to finish with the Declan family. As much as she had wanted to stay and watch her mother take care of Karen, Andrea had been adamant that she give them privacy. At first, she had felt a sliver of resentment at being thrown out of her own office, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that it wouldn’t have been very nice of her. She was sure Karen would hate her for all of this. When Kelly made her way out of the quiet room and headed for the nurses station, Alex jogged over to join her.
“Mrs. Declan is in a lot of pain. I want you to give her point five mil of Roxanol every hour while she is in pain.” Kelly instructed Sherry Hughes. The older woman nodded, making a note on her small note pad. Looking up at Kelly, she asked “How long do you think she has left?” Shrugging her shoulders, Kelly signed the new order and placed it in the resident’s chart. “Honestly, I’m not optimistic that she will last the night. But she might surprise us like Mr. Mitchell, and hang on for another week. I’ve got the Chaplain on his way to administer Last Rights, and her daughter is calling the other family members to come say their goodbyes. Just in case.” Closing the chart and thanking the Nurse, Kelly turned to Alex. Saying nothing, the two women headed toward the elevator. When the doors were closed, Alex wrapped her arms around Kelly’s waist and kissed her softly. “I’m sorry you are having such a bad day, babe.” Alex said, resting her forehead against Kelly’s. Letting out a sigh, Kelly whispered “Can we just go back to bed and start this day over?” Chuckling, Alex straightened and shook her head. “I’d love to go back to bed.” she whispered seductively as the elevator doors opened on the main floor. Flushing, Kelly groaned as Alex sauntered out ahead of her.
*****
“I am so glad your mom was able to talk some sense into Karen.” Kelly said later that night as she lay with her head on Alex’s chest. Draping her arm over Kelly while the woman traced her fingers absently over the tattoo across her chest, Alex nodded. “Me too. I actually felt kind of guilty for unleashing, as Karen put it, the Beast.” Dancing her fingers along the curve of Kelly’s bare hip, Alex smiled as she remembered the look of betrayal on Karen’s face. After she and Kelly had finished on the Comfort Care floor, they had waited at Tina’s desk while her mother talked with Karen. Nearly
thirty minutes passed before Andrea opened the office door and beckoned them inside. Filled with surprise, they had listened as Karen apologized for her behavior and stated, in writing, that she would respect the staff and their duties without interfering. She also added that she would abide by her position as a resident and focus on getting stronger so she could go home.
“Thank you for everything you did today, honey.” Kelly said, lifting her head and placing feather soft kisses over each of the pink and blue paw prints that tracked their way across Alex’s collar bone. After they had made love for the first time, Kelly had asked about the meaning of the design. “When Zane was born, we called him our little cub. So after I stopped nursing, I had the little blue paw prints put there, making their way to my heart. They were accidentally spaced too far apart, so after I had Dej, I had the pink ones put in. It worked out great, and now I always have both of my cubs close to my heart.” Alex had explained. Smiling down at Kelly, Alex replied “No need for thanks. If my mom hadn’t been able to help, I would have taken you up on your offer to call Doctor Peck.” Nodding, Kelly sighed. God, please don’t let my mother do anything else to make things difficult. I don’t know how much more of her I can handle. Kelly prayed silently as she felt herself drifting off.
*****
The rest of the week passed with relative calm. Karen had been on her best behavior, and the staff had not complained about her since that first day. When the pair had left work on Friday evening, they had both been certain that they would get at least one phone call about her. As Sunday morning dawned, both Alex and Kelly were ecstatic that they had been wrong. “I hope Karen stays calm today, Babe. I’m not answering my phone after one o’clock.” Alex stated as she placed a big bowl of seven-layer dip on the coffee table. Looking at the clock, Alex saw that she had just enough time to take a shower and change before their guests started to arrive. Taking Kelly by the hand, she led the woman upstairs. After stopping in to the kids’ rooms to check on them, Alex pulled Kelly into the bathroom and shut the door. Placing her hands on the woman’s hips, Alex leaned down and pressed their lips together. “I love you.” she said softly. Returning the sentiment, Kelly smiled. Wiggling her eyebrows, Alex pulled away and turned on the shower. Stripping off her clothes quickly, Alex beckoned to Kelly with her finger and stepped inside the stall. Shedding her clothing and stepping in behind Alex, Kelly slid her hands around the woman’s waist. Moaning softly at the feel of warm skin against her back, Alex placed her hand over Kelly’s and guided it down between her legs. “Uh-uh, honey. You’ll have to wait until tonight. I don’t want to risk anyone showing up while we are in here.” Kelly said, withdrawing her hand and turning to grab the shampoo bottle. Groaning loudly, Alex pouted and muttered under her breath. After washing herself quickly, Kelly stepped out of the shower and dried herself before getting dressed. Just as she stepped out of the bathroom, Kelly heard the doorbell.
