Matters of the Heart

by Heather M Green

  I grumbled as the elevator door closed behind her and turned to see Andy coming through the door from the stairwell.

  “What was that all about?” Andy asked jerking his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the elevator.

  “Just Kaley being Kaley.” We went into the apartment and closed the door. “Hey, thanks for the party, man.”

  “No worries. That’s just the kind of guy I am.”

  I chuckled. “I never doubted it.”

  Sophie

  “So, when’s dinner, Nurse Zeke?” I walked toward him with purposeful strides the next evening.

  “Ms. Sophie,” he drawled, “Lookin’ good.” He held out his arms to me. “Sure. I’ll go with you to dinner. It’s about time you asked.” I stopped in front of him and swatted his arms away, then folded my own arms across my chest. A hug was the last thing he was getting. Although his actions the previous night directly resulted in my getting a date with a certain doctor, I couldn’t let him off the hook that easy.

  “Uh, uh, Mr.” I took a step back. “If you think-”

  “Hey, Sophie,” James smiled, joining us at the nurses station.

  I stopped mid-sentence and turned, the sight of him forcing the words I was going to use to fillet Zeke completely from my mind. “So it’s Sophie now, is it?” I tried unsuccessfully to keep the grin off my face.

  “If that’s okay with you?” His tentative answer was also part question.

  “I suppose so. We are going out to dinner, after all.” I looked pointedly at Zeke.

  “Hey, I thought you just asked me to dinner,” Zeke interrupted, sounding offended. “What’s the deal?”

  “You are going to dinner with Sophie,” James told him. “But since you threw her under the bus at the party last night, and I won the game you introduced, you are buying. For both of us. It won’t be as cozy as you hoped, but that’s life.” He shrugged. “You two work out the details and let me know. See you tomorrow, Ms. Gina,” he called into the office on his way out the doors.

  “So when are you free?” I asked Zeke, smiling brightly as I made my way over to Dylan’s incubator. His glowering look made me laugh. He looked just like a little boy who was used to getting his way and now, for the first time, wasn’t getting it.

  “If I go catch the Doc, we could go tonight. I know this great little place right here in the hospital just a few floors down.” I rolled my eyes at the victorious smile he shot me as he whirled around and jogged toward the doors. They opened before him and he was soon enveloped by the hallway as the door shut behind him.

  “Last of the big time spenders,” I muttered, opening Dylan’s incubator and gently lifting the infant out. “Hey, little guy,” I crooned and settled into the rocker. “You ready to eat? Aunt Sophie is here to fix you right up. You have to eat so you can get big and strong.” He rooted around until he found and latched onto the bottle nipple, then he was all famished business.

  “What song shall we sing tonight?” I whispered and planted a soft kiss on his head. I breathed deeply and sighed with happiness. His delicious baby smell was intoxicating. I looked at his little hands and feet, so perfect. Babies were a miracle that I would always be in awe of.

  I pushed off the floor with my toes to set the chair in motion, and began humming a children’s song from church. By the third song, I figured Zeke hadn’t found James and I would be going home to another casserole. I had just started into a rousing rendition of On Top of Spaghetti when a noise caused me to turn my head. There, standing just off the nurses station with their arms folded across their chests, were James and Zeke, listening and looking quite entertained. “Oh, I didn’t know you were back.” Blast the heat rising in my cheeks. I would have quit a long time ago had I known I had an audience. In my embarrassment, I blurted the first thing that came to my mind. “Speaking of spaghetti, did you know there was a chef in New York who used his wife’s breast milk to make cheese and served it in his restaurant?” James’ eyes grew huge and Zeke choked on a laugh. I closed my eyes in humiliation. The situation had gone from bad to worse. “Dylan’s almost finished eating.” I said quickly. “Do you mind waiting another minute or two and then we can go?”

  “Uh, no. Take your time. We’ll just be at the desk when you are finished.” James told me, a small smile playing around the corners of his mouth.

  “I’ll actually be thawing milk to make cheese for our dinner,” Zeke laughed and headed down the hall behind James.

  “You’re hilarious, Zeke,” I called after him, making him laugh harder. Sheesh.

  With Dylan taken care of and sleeping comfortably, James, Zeke, and I walked down halls and caught an elevator down to the third floor of the OHSU hospital and our final destination: The Marquam Cafe. “This is so nice of you, Zeke,” I teased, taking my place in line. “Hmmmm…What do I want?” I studied the choices displayed behind the sneeze guards.

  “How about some spaghetti and meatballs?” James suggested with a chuckle, referring to my earlier performance in the NICU.

  “Good one, Doc,” Zeke encouraged.

  “You two are really quite funny. Have you ever thought of standup comedy? Or maybe a ventriloquist act? But then which of you would be the dummy?” I put my finger to my lips thoughtfully.

  “Whoa ho,” Zeke laughed at the same time James muttered, “Ouch.”

  “She got us there,” Zeke elbowed James. “But it would definitely be the Doctor who’d be the dummy.”

  “That’s where you are wrong, my friend,” James argued. “Who’s had more schooling?”

  “Yeah, but can you talk without moving your lips?” Zeke wanted to know.

  “No, but doesn’t the dummy just sit there doing nothing? You practice that every day on your shift.”

  “All right, boys,” I intervened before it got ugly. “That kind girl is waiting on us.” I nodded to the pretty girl working behind the counter.

  “You forgot to mention beautiful,” Zeke said seductively and winked at the girl. I smiled when she blushed and lowered her gaze.

  James snorted and moved around us in line to grab a plate piled deliciously high with honey glazed chicken and rice pilaf. I chose an oriental salad and followed him to the register where we told the lady that Zeke would pick up the bill and then to a table near the back. We both shook our heads as we watched Zeke flirt with the girl behind the counter.

  “Poor girl,” I said, picking up my fork full of salad.

  “Oh, come on. You know you’d love to get your hands on someone like Zeke.” James glanced up at me as he cut a piece of chicken and brought it to his mouth. I gave an indelicate snort and shoved another forkful of salad into my mouth.

  “Yeah, right.” I chewed slowly. “Me, Zeke, and hands should never appear in the same sentence. He’s a nice guy, from what I know of him, but he’s not really my type. Too…I don’t know… egotistical, maybe?”

  “And you’re dating my cousin?” James asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow.

  “Yup,” I mumbled. I wasn’t going to tell him that Andy and I didn’t have a lot in common and had basically called it quits the other night. I shrugged and took another bite as Zeke made his way to our table. “Your food is probably cold,” I told him as he pulled out a chair and sat down next to me.

  “It was totally worth it,” he grinned in satisfaction. “I think she likes me.”

  “How could anyone resist you?” I laughed. He wiggled his eyebrows at me and dug into his lukewarm food.

  “Andy mentioned after one of your dates that you are into running,” James said on our way to the elevators. Zeke had gone on ahead of us a few minutes before to get back to work so we were alone.

  “Yeah. Andy is more into weightlifting, I guess. I have gotten in a few good runs around my brother’s neighborhood, but I haven’t strayed too far.”

  “There are some famous running trails around here, if you ever want to go with me,” he said hesitantly, looking at me out of the corner of his eye.

&n
bsp; I pushed the up button on the wall. “That’s right. You run.” I turned my head to look at him as the elevator doors slid opened.

  “Mostly up and down a ball court, but yeah. This is a beautiful place to run.”

  “When do you want to go?” I asked excitedly. “I’d love to get out and explore.”

  “What are you doing tomorrow evening?” he asked, putting his hand out to keep the elevator doors from closing.

  “Running with you?” I grinned up at him.

  “Sure.” He smiled. “Meet me here about this same time?”

  “Okay. See you tomorrow. Be ready. I’ll run circles around you.”

  He laughed. “You wish. See you tomorrow.” He moved his hand from the door and waved in farewell then turned to walk in the direction of the parking lot and his car. I watched him walk away until the doors closed and I couldn't see him anymore. I leaned against the wall and sighed happily. Spending time with the doctor sounded like a fantastic idea.

  Chapter 11

  James

  “Next basket- I win,” Andy hooted.

  “Yeah, yeah,” I rolled my eyes and dribbled the ball down the court. I slowed up at half court and casually asked, “How are things between you and Sophie?”

  Andy’s eyes narrowed as he swiped at the ball. “Since when do you care about my relationships?”

  “Man, that hurts,” I faked a pained look and put my free hand to my chest. “I always care about your life and happiness.”

  “Uh, huh,” Andy said knowingly. He swiped at the ball again. “How long has this been going on?” He raised an eyebrow and didn’t look pleased.

  “What?"

  "You and Sophie?"

  "It hasn’t,” I promised. “We’ve only talked a few times at the hospital. But I know you’ve taken her out and I wanted to find out how serious it is.” I stopped dribbling and held the ball loosely at my side.

  “You think you have a shot with her?” Andy asked with a laugh.

  “Not if you are serious about her,” I replied honestly. I’d never dream of moving in if he was serious about pursuing a relationship with her even though it left a hollow feeling in my gut.

  “I wish I could say that I’m totally into her and you even asking about her has me so bent that I’m gonna punch you in the face. But that would just be an excuse to punch you in the face,” Andy said with a laugh. He faked left, grabbed the ball and sank a three pointer.

  “That’s how it’s done,” he bragged, his hands high in the air in victory. I high fived him and went to grab my stuff.

  “I swear it, James. It’s good. We didn’t click. Though I can’t figure out why.” He shrugged. It’s totally possible that I’m too much man for her. She can’t handle it.” I shoved him and he laughed. “Really,” he said, “She’s all yours.”

  “Thanks, I think,” I said slowly, my eyebrows pulled together.

  “There are too many other women fighting over me to go after the one that keeps pushing me away. I learned a long time ago about repeatedly banging my head against the same old wall. I’m over it,” Andy said as he wiped his face with the bottom of his shirt and took a swig out of his water bottle.

  “Don’t think I missed the slam about being too much man for her,” I said as I headed for the door. “Moron,” I threw back at him over my shoulder.

  Andy laughed and choked on his water. “Just trying to tell you that everything’s cool between us.”

  Good, I thought. Because I am going running with her tomorrow.

  Sophie

  I hesitated outside the NICU. My stomach felt like it was going to erupt all over the hospital floor. I kept telling myself that I didn’t need to be nervous. I had spent time with James yesterday and had been fine. Yeah, except Zeke had been there as a comedic buffer. I took a deep breath. I could do this. I peeked through the window on the door and stepped into the room with a sigh of relief when I didn’t see him.

  “Hey, Ms. Gina.” I waved as I passed the nurses station and made my way to Dylan’s incubator.

  I had just begun my first song when James came up behind me. “How’s the star of American Idol doing today?”

  I looked up with a smile that instantly died on my lips. I’d only ever seen James in a shirt and tie or scrubs. While both outfits did good things for him, the t-shirt that hugged his biceps and showed off his chest muscles and basketball shorts did spectacular things for him in a dressed down kind of way. Casual looked good on James. I blinked and cleared my throat. “You and Zeke must sit up all night thinking of as many references to singing as you can.”

  “Trust me, I have a lot more where that came from.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of,” I said wryly.

  He chuckled then asked, “Is the little guy almost finished?”

  “Yeah. A couple more minutes and we’ll be good to go. Where were you thinking?”

  “There are quite a few nice trails not far from here with amazing views. Nothing too strenuous. Or we could head east and end up at the Willamette. Then you’d have the hill to contend with on our way back. Pick your poison.”

  “Let’s go to the river, if that’s okay,” I suggested. “I’m not afraid of a little hill. Unless you don’t think you can make it.” I gave him a sly smile.

  A slow grin spread over his face. Man, he was hot! “Your concern is touching,” he said with a hand over his heart. “But I think I’ll be okay. Drag me up the hill behind you if I fall behind.” I laughed. Spending time with the doctor was going to be very enjoyable.

  James

  I let her set the pace as we ran down SW Campus Drive away from the hospital. We didn’t go as fast as I was used to, but she kept a steady pace and we were to the river before I knew it. I watched her from the corner of my eye while she watched the boats on the water.

  She made a pair of running shorts look good. Her long, lean, tan legs attested to her love of running in the sun. I was drawn to her in a way I hadn’t allowed myself to be drawn to a woman in years. Since that first night in the NICU, listening to her sing, I had been captivated. I’d need to watch myself around her, or I’d fall for her. I couldn’t let myself get distracted by her even if she was beautiful and intriguing. A little bit of Texas sunshine right here in gloomy old Oregon.

  “What?” she asked when she turned and caught me staring at her.

  “You seem fascinated with the river. Why?”

  “I’m not sure. There’s a certain sense of peace that accompanies water for me. It’s hypnotizing, don’t you think? This is nothing, though. You should see me at the beach.”

  I smiled as she sighed happily. “Oh, yeah? I grew up at the beach, basically. My parents live a little less than two hours from here in Tillamook, and we were less than ten miles from the beach.”

  “I’d love that.” I heard the wistfulness in her tone.

  “You ready to head back?” I asked.

  “We’d better. I could stay here all night.”

  Sophie

  “I’ll race you back up,” I said as we stepped through the sliding doors into the hospital lobby.

  “Nine floors?” He huffed in disbelief.

  “Sure. We’ll take the elevator to twelve from there. What are you afraid of?”

  “Not a little thing like you. That’s for sure.” He told me at the stairwell door. “You’re on.” He grabbed my arm to hold me back and pushed past me.

  My outraged voice echoed through the stairwell. “You cheated, Doc.”

  I sprinted to catch up. We both slowed to a jog about the fifth floor, and to a walk by the seventh. By the time we made it to the ninth, I was huffing and puffing, using the railing to drag myself up the remaining flight, and trying not to laugh in order to conserve valuable oxygen.

  James opened the door for me and I fell to the ground dramatically, crawling on my hands and knees the last foot into the hall. James leaned over with his hands on his knees, his attempts at catching his breath hindered by his laughter.

 
“Boy, are you ever out of shape,” I panted from the floor where I lay on my back spread eagle.

  “Be right back,” he called over his shoulder as he dashed off down the hall.

  Where was he going in such a hurry? I guessed I’d better get up. The hospital floor probably wasn’t the greatest place to take a nap. I rolled over to my knees to push myself to my feet, when I felt a shock of freezing water on my back. I let out a startled yelp, jumped to my feet, and spun around to face a grinning James holding a cup now half full of ice water.

  I glared at him through squinted eyes and walked toward him menacingly. “You shouldn’t have done that, Dr. Anderson,” I growled good-naturedly.

  His response was a laugh as he threw the cup back and took a swallow of the cold refreshment. “I’m not afraid of you, Ms. Sophie. Maybe you should cool off.” He extended the cup out to me. “Need a drink?” I suddenly had the insane urge to kiss the smirk off his handsome face.

  “No, thank you,” I sniffed and turned toward the NICU. “Watch your back, Doctor Anderson,” I warned over my shoulder. His laughter followed me all the way to the NICU.

  “How’s the baby?” Adri asked me over the phone later that night.

  “His body is recovering well from the surgery, but he developed an infection. He’s on antibiotics now and doing a little better. Thank heaven James is the best.”

  “Who’s James?”

  “I mean, Dr. Anderson.” I told her and closed my eyes against my slip. I knew she’d latch right onto it and she didn’t disappoint.

  “Are most people on a first name basis with their nephew’s surgeon?” she inquired.

  I flinched slightly and swallowed a groan. “No.”

  “Wait. Is this the hot doctor you told me about? The one with the ego?"

  "Maybe," I mumbled.

  "So…”

  “So what?” I squeaked.

  “Oh, no. You aren’t getting out of this one. You went out with him and you weren’t even going to tell me!? That hurts.” She sniffed dramatically.