In the weeks leading up to Christmas, they spent the three-day weekends in each other’s arms. They’d have the week between Christmas and New Year’s together, but it was after that, when the new semester started, that they dreaded.
“I’ll just come there, like I said,” Kendall reminded him. “I have so much vacation time coming, I’ll arrange my schedule to have Fridays off. Dolly and I will come to you. We said we were going to do it, and we will. Either you’ll get your own apartment or I’ll get a hotel.”
With that plan in mind, they stopped worrying about the future. Finally, Mark was finished with independent study and was back home Thursday night. Christmas was Sunday. Kendall went to work on Friday, and Mark was taking his mother and grandmother to tour the historic houses in town that were decorated for the holidays, a Philadelphia tradition.
At two, Kendall was in her room, operating, when a call came through from the front desk. George, the circulating nurse, took the message. They were getting ready to do the last sponge count, which meant the surgeon was preparing to close the patient’s skin.
“Kendall, can I talk to you for a moment?” he asked.
She looked up from the surgical field and nodded. “What is it?”
“Your vet is on the phone. Dolly was found running in the neighborhood, and someone took her to a veterinarian. They scanned her for a chip and called your vet.”
“Dolly was out?” she asked, shocked. “That means someone was in my house and let her out.” Returning to the patient, she’d close and get to the bottom of it. “Ask them to keep her until I can get her. Let’s count.”
Mind whirling, the logical explanation was that somehow Mark had either forgotten to put her back in the house before he left, or he’d failed to lock the door and Dolly managed to get it open. A little anger swirled in her brain.
“What do you think happened?” Fran asked, concerned.
“I can’t even think about it right now. Let’s get this patient off the table.”
They worked in silence for the next twenty minutes. After the patient was safe in recovery, Kendall went into the dressing room to get some privacy and called Mark.
“You’re still downtown?” she asked.
“We are. Just getting ready to head over to the station and take the train back up. How’s everything?”
She told him about the call.
“When I left the house this morning, she was sleeping on the bed. I know I locked the door. How about if I get a cab instead of waiting for the train, and then I can pick her up.”
“Someone let her out,” Kendall said. “I’d better get the police over to the house.”
“Okay. I’ll get back as fast as I can.”
Realizing the seriousness of it, she only had one option and that was to cancel her last case unless one of her partners could take over. It was an elective procedure. She was too upset to operate on anyone.
Her partner, also an animal lover, understood her concern and would come right over to the operating room. In the meantime, Kendall called the police, and they would have a car come out to meet her.
“Don’t go inside alone,” they warned her.
Nerves rattled, all Kendall could think about was her dog. After she made sure her house was secured, she’d pick up Dolly, who was safe at the vet’s office. The trip home was fraught with worry and fear. And when she pulled into her driveway, anger resurfaced.
Two police cars were on the street, waiting for her. The yard was littered with the Christmas tree and decorations. She got out of the car, surveying the mess.
“Could the dog have dragged it out?” one of the officers asked.
“Yes, I guess she could have. After she unlocked the door and let herself out.”
“Wait here, and we’ll go in to make sure there’s no one inside.”
They came to the door after doing a quick run-through. “You can come in, but brace yourself. It’s really a mess.”
Even the contents of the refrigerator had been thrown all over, the floor covered with garbage. The upholstered furniture was slashed. Dishes smashed. The contents of her wine cooler destroyed. If it could be broken, it was. But the worst, and this drove Kendall to tears, were her books.
“What does it look like upstairs?” she asked.
“About the same. I’m sorry.”
“Oh no,” she said, breaking down when she saw the empty bookshelves, the piles of torn and mutilated books. “Why would someone do this?”
“Do you have anyone who’s angry with you?” he asked.
Right away, Roy Cramer came to mind. “Yes. I can’t believe he’d resort to this, however.” She gave them the information about Roy assaulting her.
Mark rushed through the door and stopped, stunned, when he saw the mess. Kendall ran to him, in tears.
“Jesus,” he said. “What the hell happened?”
“The whole house looks like this. I don’t know what to do.”
“I’ll give you the names of companies who will clean up for you. You’ll have to sort through your belongings, like your books, but the rest of it, they’ll take care of. You’d better take a look upstairs and see if any valuables are missing.”
Her jewelry box was untouched. The safe was intact. It appeared to have been done to aggravate her, a mean, petty act of violence.
The police filled out reports and left the CSI there to dust for prints.
“I have to get Dolly,” she said. “I can’t even face this mess. Christmas is canceled.”
“Yeah, I agree,” he said, walking out with her.
Mark would stay behind at the house while the police worked.
“I hope you don’t think I had anything to do with this,” he said, taking her by the shoulders and looking into her eyes.
“Of course not. It had to be Roy. I hope his prints are all over the place. At least if it was him, hopefully they’ll put him in jail so I don’t have to worry about him bugging us anymore.”
“Do you want me to call the remediation companies?”
“Yes,” she said shortly. “I can’t deal with it. We’ll go to a hotel tonight.”
After she got into the car and drove off, Mark went back inside, worried about Kendall. At the vet, Dolly was happy to see her. Kendall realized how close she had come to possibly losing her dog. When she was on her way back home, the police called and asked her to have anyone else who was in the house recently to come down for fingerprinting unless they were already in the system. She was already because of her license, and Mark was because he’d volunteered at a kid’s basketball team one summer.
By midnight, they were in their hotel suite with room service when the police called again to ask if Dr. Cramer had been in her house recently. “Not to my knowledge,” she said.
“Well, his prints are all over your house, Dr. Williams.”
“So what will happen next?” she asked, watching Mark listening to the conversation.
“Because of your history with him, with the assault charge even though it was dropped, we’ll pick him up.”
She said goodbye, dreading what she had to do next. It was time to tell Mark about Roy grabbing her in the parking lot, and she knew he wasn’t going to be happy.
“I have to tell you something,” she said. “It is going to sound much worse than it really is, so just bear with me.”
“Now I’m worried.”
“Well, don’t worry, okay? After Thanksgiving, the first week you were gone, I had a run-in with Roy in the hospital parking lot. He grabbed me and was trying to kiss me, but Adam, the nurse anesthetist who works in my room all the time, was walking out to his car, and he heard me cry for help.”
“What the fuck?” Mark said, getting up and pacing.
“Yeah, that’s what I said. Anyway, they did an oral swab, and the DNA was inconclusive, so they let him go. He’s been giving me a wide berth at work—”
“They let him come back to work?” he asked, incredulous.
“It’s t
he old-boy network, I’m afraid. Unless the state licensing is involved, which it might be after this, he can work if his boss deems it safe. His fingerprints were all over the house, so they’ll haul him in again based on the past issue and because there is a restraining order and he broke that. It might be enough for the state to take action and suspend his license.”
Mark walked back and forth in the room, stopping to pet Dolly when he passed her.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he finally asked, his eyes on fire.
“We were just starting out. I didn’t want that distraction for us,” she said. “We had a beautiful month together, and now I’m faced with his garbage. You’re with me when I need you. Isn’t that enough?”
“I could have been with you from the beginning,” he said.
“No, you couldn’t have. You have to finish school, Mark. I want you to finish school. That’s really important to me. It’ll make us equals.”
Fortunately, he took that the right way. “You mean instead of you being mom?”
“Exactly,” she said, laughing. “Thank you for understanding.”
“Trust me, I get it,” he said. “But in the same token, you need to trust me with major crap like this.”
“I didn’t want all our conversations to be about you worrying about that jackass. Can you understand?”
“I can, but you’re wrong. We’re in this together. Do you want me to hide the crises I have? I doubt it.”
“Now what?” she asked.
“I want to get back into the house. I can’t stand this place.”
“You mean now?” she asked, uncertain.
“Yes. The remediation company was going to work through the night. Let’s just get it over with.”
They pulled up to the house, and the company had a huge dumpster blocking the driveway. Two vans were parked on the street.
“This is going to cost you a bundle,” he said. “I hope your insurance covers some of it.”
They walked into the house and were greeted by the leader of the crew. In the living room, Kendall saw a young woman sorting through books, piling stacks that were undamaged, and putting the books that were beyond repair in a bin. “We were going to leave the ruined ones for you to go through in your own time,” she explained.
All the upholstered furniture he’d destroyed had already been tossed in the dumpster. The upstairs was in the same shape, with the mattresses thrown out, and some of her clothing in a bag to go to the cleaner’s because it appeared he’d ejaculated into her closet. The police had taken the garments that were obviously soiled for DNA.
Every time a member of the crew mentioned samples or DNA, Kendall cringed, because she knew what it was doing to Mark.
“I can just imagine that scrawny SOB jacking off in your closet,” he said.
They stood together, arms around each other’s waists, surveying the damage. Kendall didn’t know what to do, whether to laugh like a maniac or fall on the floor and cry.
“I just thought of this,” she said, renewed optimism in place. “Since I have nothing to wear to work on Monday, I’m going to take an emergency week off. I need it to straighten out this mess, and they owe it to me. We’ll be together all week.”
“Well, that just made my day,” he said, kissing her. “Merry Christmas.”
Epilogue
Graduation was too important to allow Mark to blow off, as badly as he wanted to, so Kendall talked him into walking for his diploma. His grandmother had reserved rooms at the local hotel, and it was a nice time, with the excitement of seeing Mark get his diploma thrilling for Sarah and Emily.
For Kendall, the significance was that she wasn’t dating a college student any longer, which was a huge relief.
“Do you feel better?” he’d asked, waving the paper under her nose.
“Yes, thank God. A huge weight lifted,” she said, laughing.
“Now I can find a job and be miserable because I can’t play house with you all summer.”
“You can still play house,” she said. “Just not nine to five, or whatever time you end up working.”
He was going to apply at all the area hospitals for a nurse extern job since he was going to nursing school and already taking online classes. The clinical rotations would start in the fall.
“I’m moving in with you, by the way,” he announced.
“I know. You’re practically living with me now,” she said. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
At work on the Monday after graduation, Mary, the nurse manager, cornered Kendall. “Fran tells me your boyfriend is looking for a job. We have several openings for operating room technician trainees,” she said. “Why not take an application home tonight and have him fill it out? Then when he finishes school, he’ll have a job waiting for him.”
“Oh, I don’t know, Mary. You know all the dirt. Is exposing him to all the detritus of Roy Cramer wise?”
“He sounds like a big boy, according to Fran,” she said, smiling. “I’m sure he’ll handle it.”
Roy had returned to jail after destroying Kendall’s house. By going there, he also was breaking the restraining order, and his sentence was doubled, from three years to six in jail. But there was a lingering aroma of hatred among a few of the older doctors and some younger ones, too, who thought that Kendall had led Roy on.
“I guess as long as Mark knows what’s facing him, he’ll be okay,” Kendall said, skeptical.
“We wondered why you didn’t file a lawsuit against the anesthesia department,” Mary confided. “It’s not a work environment anyone, especially a woman, should have to endure.”
“I ignore the gossip since no one has had the courage to confront me. But it’s not too late to file. I should probably talk to the hospital attorney.”
“Think about what I said regarding Mark.” She leafed through a folder and pulled out a sheaf of papers. “Here’s an application. I’d really like to have him.”
“Okay, well, like I said, I’ll think about it.”
Couples who worked together were a novelty. Married anesthetists, an anesthesiologist and a recovery room nurse, married transporters, and if Mark hired on, a surgeon and a nursing student. The longer she thought of it, the more excited she became.
That afternoon, pulling into the driveway, the first thing she saw was Mark on an extension ladder, cutting down a low-hanging tree branch, with Dolly hog-tied at the end of the ladder.
She got out of the car and walked over to the tree. Dolly popped up and stretched, hinting to be petted.
“You’re home,” he said, looking down at her.
“Don’t get on a ladder when you’re home alone, okay?” she asked, squinting up at him.
“Why?”
“Because if you fall and break your neck, no one will be here to call for an ambulance.”
“Watch out so I can throw this branch,” he said. “I’ll get down so you can admonish me on the ground.”
He hopped off the bottom rung and they kissed hello. “I have exciting news,” she said. “Are you ready to come inside?”
“I am. But I have a surprise for you around back. Come with me, my love. Come, Dolly. She’s been stuck to me like glue all day.”
“Having someone to hang out with during the week is wonderful for her,” Kendall said, following him to the back of the house.
It was such a surprise, she stood there with her mouth open for a full minute, what she was seeing not registering.
“Mark! This is amazing! When did you do this?”
He’d taken an unused garden space off the kitchen that Kendall never looked at and turned it into a summer paradise retreat, with a slate floor and a gazebo, a hot tub and a small koi pond. A wicker couch and ottoman surrounded a fire pit.
“I found the space last winter and planned it little by little when I was home,” he said, proud that she approved. “We needed something after the fiasco.” That was how they referred to the house being trashed at Christmas by Roy. It was simply
the fiasco. “It’ll get us out of the house.”
“I love it. You did an amazing job,” she said, hugging him. “Can we sit out here?”
“Of course,” he said. “I even made lemonade. I’ll be right back.”
She sat on the couch and looked around at what he’d done. A large colorful south-of-the-border sun hung on the privacy fence. He’d placed plants in colorful clay pots in clusters. Everywhere she looked, there was something interesting to see. The bubbling of the koi pond helped mask the street noise—the sound of the trolley on Germantown Avenue, the bus stop out front, and the train coming up the hill stopping at the Allen’s Lane station—but not completely.
She was smiling when the screen door opened and Mark came out with a tray he’d arranged beautifully, with glasses of lemonade, cheese and crackers, and a jam jar full of violets in water. Kendall looked up at him. He was just a hunk, wearing a sleeveless T-shirt, which showed his muscles off, jeans that left nothing to the imagination in the crotch area, and his hair too long from having a break while he looked for a job, giving him a rakish look that she found irresistible.
“How did I get so lucky? I really mean that. I have this great guy working on my house, bringing me refreshments, and who looks like a model.”
“I could say the same thing,” he said, handing her a glass of lemonade and bending down to kiss her. “I have this wonderful house to live in that I didn’t contribute a dime to, and a wonderful, gorgeous lady who fulfills my every wish. Now if I could only find a job.”
“Well, actually, I have some news,” she said, pulling the job application out of her bag. “If you don’t mind working with me, the nurse manager in the operating room has offered to train you to be an OR technician.”
“No way! How convenient would that be? What would it entail?”
“You’d work as a nurse extern, but instead of doing nurses’ aide stuff, you’d learn to pass instruments in the OR. How does that sound?”
“It sounds too good to be true,” he said. “I’m sold.”
“I’m scared,” Kendall said.
“Why?” Mark asked, pulling her over on his lap. “Everything is perfect.”
Whispers of Winter: A Limited Edition Collection of Winter Romances Page 102