Matters of the Heart

by Heather M Green

  I took the scoop from him and shooed him away. “Go mingle. You’re adoring fans are waiting.”

  “Thanks, Mrs. Mi...I mean...thanks.” I grinned as he stumbled over his words. He was adorable when he was flustered.

  My eyes followed him across the room to a group of doctors and nurses. What would it be like to stand next to him in a room, my hand in his, or his hand resting lightly on my back?

  A plate in front of my face startled me from my thoughts. “You looking to sample other dessert, Ms. Sophie?” Zeke teased. I glanced up at him and blushed furiously when I realized he was watching me watch Dr. Anderson. My gaze flew to Andy. He was watching also, but unlike Zeke, he didn’t look amused.

  “You’re holding up the line, man.” Andy told Zeke.

  Zeke glanced over his shoulder and then stepped forward. I plopped a scoop of chocolate ice cream on his plate. “I’ll save you a seat,” he said with a wink.

  “No need,” Andy told him tightly. Zeke chuckled under his breath and moved past us to find a seat. “I don’t like that guy,” Andy muttered when Zeke was out of earshot.

  “Ignore him,” I said and plopped another scoop of ice cream onto a waiting plate.

  Kaley eventually returned from the kitchen and told me she could take her job back. “My husband, Mark, is going to take the terrors home before they can redecorate the whole apartment,” she said with a sigh. I laughed lightly and gladly handed over the ice cream scoop.

  I took a plate of cake and watched as she dropped some ice cream onto it. Andy handed me another cake-filled plate. “Hang on to that for me will you, babe? I’ll be over in a minute.”

  Babe? Ugh. I took the plate and surveyed the room, looking for an empty seat. I caught Zeke’s eye and he pointed to the empty seat next to him where Ms. Gina’s piece of cake sat getting dry. I walked in his direction and caught the triumphant smirk he threw Andy’s way.

  “You’ve finally been granted work release, I see,” he commented, moving Ms. Gina’s cake to the floor so I could sit.

  “Thanks,” I told him as I sat beside him. I gestured to the cake now waiting patiently at my feet. “You might as well eat that and get another piece for her on your way out.”

  Zeke paused for a moment in his dessert consumption as if the thought hadn’t occurred to him and bent to retrieve the cake. “Might as well.” He shrugged and tucked his now empty plate under Ms. Gina’s. I watched him dig in and took a bite of my own.

  “So what’s up with you and the doc?” Zeke asked around another bite.

  “What are you talking about?” Genuine surprise laced my voice. “I’m dating his cousin, Andy. The guy you love to give a hard time.” I nodded in the direction of the dining room where Andy still slaved away passing out cake. How many people were at this party anyway?

  “Does the doctor know that?”

  “That I’m dating his cousin or that you tick Andy off?”

  Zeke laughed. “Jealous, is he? You should not have let me in on that little secret. This is too much fun.”

  “Oh, leave him alone.”

  “Let him be a man about it. He looks like he can take care of himself.”

  This time I laughed. “Because you are looking?”

  Zeke snorted in disgust and returned to his original question.

  “Of course he knows Andy and I are dating.” At least he did now. I cringed remembering the embarrassing face-off right before Andy called for singing and the cake.

  “Maybe you’d better make sure. He’s spent more time studying you tonight than he spent studying the heart all through med school,” Zeke laughed, a piece of chocolate cake shooting out of his mouth and onto the floor in front of us.

  “Gross, Zeke,” I giggled. “You’d better clean that up.”

  “Can’t. I have to get another piece of cake for Ms. Gina. I’ve been gone too long as it is. With the drive back, she’ll think I skipped out. She wouldn’t be too happy with me if she didn’t get her piece of cake. And between you and me, this party is a snooze fest.” He stood to go, but I grabbed his arm.

  “Don’t leave me here, Zeke,” I pleaded. “I don’t know anyone. With Andy doing the cake…”my voice trailed off as I turned pleading eyes on him.

  “You don’t have to cling to me, Ms. Sophie. What would your boyfriend and the doc say?” I frowned up at him. “Besides, I’d go anywhere with you very willingly. You don’t have to drag me.”

  I stuck my index finger in my mouth and faked vomiting at his cocky grin.

  “Here, let me help you get to know the crowd.” He stood quickly and faced the room. Before I knew what he was doing, his shrill whistle sounded through the apartment and the once boisterous crowd fell immediately silent. “Everyone,” Zeke called out. I made a futile swipe at his arm to draw him back down to his seat. “Thanks for coming to the good doctor’s party tonight.”

  “Zeke,” I hissed.

  He waved me off and continued. “I have a close friend of the doctor’s with me. Sophie stand up here." He put his arm around my shoulders and proudly presented me to the room of strangers. "Sophie would like to lead you all in a game. Listen up while she explains the rules, and you all have a good night.”

  I’d kill him.

  His arm dropped from my shoulders and I watched, seething, as he sauntered to the dining room to grab Ms. Gina’s piece of cake. My murderous glare was lost on him. I, however, didn't miss the smug grin he shot me as he passed by on his way back through the room, cake in hand, to the front door.

  “That ought to liven things up a bit,” he said over his shoulder, pleased with his interference. I wanted to run after him and drag him back by the hair on his head.

  I closed my eyes and groaned with the closing of the door. I felt my face heating to the color of a tomato and Dr. Anderson’s once delicious birthday cake threatened to make a reappearance. I opened my eyes and slowly turned back to the room. Every eye was on me. Expressions varied from mild interest to humor to pity. Okay, here it goes. I took a deep breath and opened my mouth. True to form, that’s all it took.

  “I’m new to your great state, so I’m gathering all the information I can about this place. We are going to play an Oregon State trivia game. Dig deep and brush the cobwebs off the files. There will be prizes for anyone who can tell me five useless trivia facts about your great state in thirty seconds or less.” I paused and scanned the room for any volunteers. No one would meet my eyes. They all looked around at those standing next to them, poking and nudging in silence to get someone, anyone, to begin the game and put me out of my misery.

  Thankfully, Andy chose this moment to finish with the cake and I turned pleading eyes on him. Surely he would bail me out. Or not. He gave me an almost imperceptible shake of his head and gestured to the cake on the table. Oh, please. At least his expression showed minute remorse.

  You know that painfully awkward silence that fills the stadium when your boyfriend of one week catches you off guard with a marriage proposal on the JumboTron in front of thousands and you cringe at the suffocating boo’s from the crowd as you pull your ball cap lower to cover your eyes and slouch in your stadium seat? Or how about that time at your cousin’s wedding when the pastor asks if anyone objects and someone objects? And you wish the pastor would go on with the wedding anyway because the dumbfounded shock has everyone shifting nervously in their seats. Or maybe it’s the hushed whispers behind hands when you fall off the stage on your way to the podium for your big ‘Employee of the Year’ acceptance speech. That awkward tension happens at birthday parties, too.

  Just when I thought I’d have to break into an embarrassing and rather bone jarring tap dance, I heard Dr. Anderson’s voice floating toward me as he walked to the center of the room. “If I win,” he stood next to me and smiled mischievously, “you have to go to dinner with me.” I glanced quickly at Andy. “On Zeke.”

  My eyes shot back to Dr. Anderson. On Zeke sounded perfect. I smiled and looked at my watch. “Ready… go!”

>   “Ummmm…Oregon is home to the world’s tallest barber shop pole,” he threw out, holding up one finger. “People are banned in Portland from whistling underwater. The Nike “swoosh” logo was designed by an Oregon State University student. There are nine lighthouses along its coast. It’s the only state to have an official state nut—the hazelnut. That’s five. Is my time up yet?” James quickly asked, sucking in a huge lungful of air.

  “No! You’ve still got fifteen seconds. Give me more,” I cried, bouncing up and down a little on the balls of my feet while staring at my watch. The crowd had moved in around us, some checking their watches, others yelling encouragement.

  “Okay. Wow. The pressure’s really on. Ummmm….Oregon and New Jersey are the only two states without self-serve gas stations. It’s legal to smoke marijuana on your own property even though you can’t buy or sell it here.”

  “5…4…3…2…1,” I called, raising my arms up and down to get everyone’s help. We all chanted together as James tried to get one last fact out there. “There are more ghost towns than in any…”

  “Time’s up!” I yelled, exhaling loudly. “Holy cow! You know your Oregon trivia,” I said, honest amazement laced my voice. “I’m impressed. And those were totally useless, too,” I informed him. “Well, except two of them.”

  “Two?” James questioned. “Which two?”

  “The one about pumping my own gas, of course. Now I won’t look like a tourist from Texas. And good to know about the marijuana,” I said with a somewhat straight face.

  James just looked at me for a moment with a half- smile on his face. Man, I wish I could read his mind right now, I thought.

  “You’re something else, Ms. Sophie Mitchell,” he told me as the smile grew on his face until it reached the corners of his eyes and crinkled there, holding me mesmerized. I could almost feel those laugh lines under my fingers. They itched to explore not only the lines, but all the contours of his perfect face. He had totally bailed me out tonight. I owed him and I couldn’t wait for the chance to pay him back.

  Chapter 10

  Sophie

  “You said your cousin was a girl,” I accused as Andy walked me out to my car after the party. What had previously promised to be full fledged humiliation had turned out surprisingly well, but I was still unsettled about Andy and Dr. Anderson being related. Admittedly, the game had loosened everyone up and Dr. Anderson’s colleagues had felt almost like old friends by the time the night ended. But I’d never tell Zeke that. Maybe my nervous tendencies could be a positive thing after all. Doubtful.

  “No…And I knew you weren’t really listening to me that day,” Andy shot back.

  “Well, can you blame me?” I asked. “You were a little smarmy.” I congratulated myself for holding back a shudder at the memory.

  Andy reached for my hand to pull me to him. I squeezed his hand, but didn’t move into his arms. I saw his disappointment before he masked it completely. I know, I sighed inwardly. But I can’t help that I’m half in love with Dr. James Anderson, who is actually your male cousin.

  “So he’s the reason,” Andy sighed. Maybe he could read minds.

  “The reason for what?” I asked, trying to sound all innocent as if I didn’t know what he meant. But I hadn’t told anyone about my little crush on the doctor. Could Andy sense the tension I felt between James and me whenever we were together?

  “The reason you're keeping me at arm’s length. I think we could really have something if you’d give us a chance.”

  “I haven’t encouraged you from the first day,” I gently reminded him. “And I did give us a chance…" Kind of. What had we been doing all these weeks if it hadn’t been giving each other a chance?” I paused to let him interject if he wanted. When he didn’t, I continued. “This has nothing to do with your cousin.” At least not in the way he thought. “I think you wanted to parade me around like your latest arm candy or trophy or something. I put you off and put you off. It's like you now have something no one else could get.”

  “Ego trip much?” he asked.

  I snorted at the irony of that statement. “You know I don’t feel that way about myself.” Hoping to soften the blow that would come next, I put my hand on his shoulder. “Can I be painfully honest with you? You come on too strong at the outset. I like this Andy-the one who isn’t trying so hard to make himself appear that he’s God’s gift to women. You don’t have to do that. It turns people off. You are an amazing man. You don’t want people to see it, but I notice how much you care about them. Take the party you threw for James, for instance...You have his back. I like that about you. So just be…you.”

  “So let me get this straight. You don’t feel anything for me?” I cringed at his bluntness and the touch of hurt I heard in his voice. “How in the world can that be possible? You said so yourself- I’m suave.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “You had me going until you said that. And for the record, I didn’t say you were suave. That would have been a compliment. I gagged and said you tried to be Mr. Smooth.” I laughed again and punched his arm. But then I paused and really looked at him. “You know we aren’t a good fit."

  "The only reason I took you to all those zen/peace, nature, and harmony places is because I knew you liked that kind of thing."

  My heart softened toward him a little. "See. You really are an amazing and caring person. You sacrificed the things you enjoy for something you knew I’d like. But all that you just said proves we having nothing in common. I don't even know the real you. What do you like to do?"

  "Well, I know what I don't like. It's all the wandering aimlessly looking at plants, water, and trees. You've seen one, you've seen them all. It bores me to tears. I need a little more excitement in my life than that. And a gym."

  "Admit that this damages your pride more than anything else.” I sincerely hoped that was all it damaged. I couldn’t read him very well.

  Finally he sighed; which still didn’t give me a good read on how he really felt. “We aren’t the best fit,” he admitted. I felt relief, though a very little.

  “Despite what you think, I love being your friend,” I confided in total honesty, even though I knew that guys cringe when a girl throws the friend card around. But I really wasn’t trying to be that girl. “You are a good friend. My first here in Oregon.” I gave him a one-armed hug. “Thank you for that.”

  James

  “I like her James. I mean, really like her.” Kaley stood in the doorway of the kitchen, a dish towel in her hands. “She is smart, quick on her feet, funny…” She pushed my legs off the couch and sat down next to me.

  “You forgot beautiful.”

  “Yes, that too.” She slapped my arm proudly. “Speaking of which, It was pretty smooth how you got a date out of her.”

  “You noticed that, did ya?” I chuckled at my cleverness.

  Kaley laughed a short laugh. “Not so smart on your part, though, that you have a chaperone named Zeke tagging along.”

  I groaned at that. “Don’t you worry. I’m working on that one small snag.”

  She shook her head having no doubt that I could come up with something. Then she sighed, “Poor Andy.”

  “Poor Andy? Why?” I asked, confusion manifest in the furrowing of my brows.

  “Because he doesn’t stand a chance with her now that you know she isn’t married.” She laughed again. “That was pretty funny tonight.” She thought for a moment and sucked in a surprised breath. “She’s the one you told me about on the phone.” I watched as her eyes lit with understanding as she made the connection.

  “The same one,” I replied with a shake of my head. “You were ready to hang me from the highest tree.”

  “Or turn you over to Mom and Dad so they could take care of you.” She laughed. “You really didn’t know she was single, huh?”

  “No. I thought everyone at the hospital was calling her Mrs. Mitchell when they were saying Ms. I felt so guilty being attracted to a married woman. I almost had a heart atta
ck when I saw she was the one Andy has been bugging me for weeks to meet.” I shook my head, feeling stupid.

  “That’s a great story. Leave it to you… At least I don’t have to tattle on you to Dad and Mom,” she teased.

  “Thanks for all your help tonight. It was really thoughtful of you and Andy to put it all together.”

  “And it turned out better than we planned, thanks to Sophie. Did you know that she was going to open a sports therapy clinic in Texas? Had a place in mind and everything, but dropped it all to come here and help her brother and sister-in-law with the baby and their other son? She doesn’t even know how long she’ll be here, but she put her life on hold for them. I can’t help but be impressed by that.”

  “How do you know all this?”

  “We talked.” She threw me a sly look.

  “What does that mean?” I asked warily. “When did you talk?”

  “Tonight.” She shrugged a shoulder and then patted my leg. “I’d better go. I need to make sure the hubby was able to wrestle the boys into bed.”

  “I feel bad that you stayed to clean up when you could have gone with them when they left.”

  “We drove separately anticipating that I would stay the whole time and the boys would need to be relocated before the night was over to decrease the risk of disaster. Sadly, we didn’t get them out before the whole kitchen remodeling project began.”

  I laughed and walked her to the door. “Well, thanks again. And tell your ever patient husband thank you for me. He puts up with a lot from our family, but especially from you.”

  She huffed in offense. “Watch it. I’ll call Sophie and share some more secrets about you.”

  “You even have her number? Wait… some more?” I was actually getting a little worried. “What exactly did you two talk about?” She patted my cheek and smiled, walking past me to the elevator. “Can I at least have her number?” I called down the hall after her.

  “Good night, James. Happy birthday.” She laughed and waved. “Good night, Andy.”