Special Delivery

by J. A. Armstrong

  “The D’s?” Tess laughed. Brooke nodded. Okay, Brooke. You win this round—ice cream first. Then I will get out a lasso if I need to. Well, duct tape might have to suffice. Tess looked up at Brooke. Those eyes. You would be so easy to fall for, Dr. Campbell. “Do you want me to get them or do you want to go surprise them?” Tess asked.

  Brooke brightened measurably. She thinks they will be happy to see me. “Up to you,” Brooke tried to downplay her excitement.

  Tess forced herself not to laugh. You are not fooling me for one second, you big goof. “Go get them. I will go get my shoes on,” Tess suggested. Brooke smiled and headed off to her appointed task.

  “Brooke!” Tess heard two voices yell in unison. She shook her head as she climbed the stairs. So much trouble, Tess. You are in so, so, so much trouble.

  ***

  “So?” Tess prodded.

  “What?”

  “Are you trying to tell me that hot fudge cured whatever was bothering you?” Tess asked.

  “No,” Brooke answered honestly. “But it helps.” Tess sniggered. “Thanks,” Brooke said sincerely.

  “For?”

  “Being here helps more,” Brooke admitted. I said that. I actually just said that. Shit. It’s true.

  Tess felt her heart rise dramatically. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  Brooke smiled. “Yeah, I think I do.”

  Brooke spent the next hour telling Tess about Daisy Menendez, how the woman had so many disappointments and struggles. She told Tess how excited and happy the Menendez’s were about this new baby. And then, she recapped the last forty-eight hours. Tess listened attentively and watched a myriad of emotions cross Brooke’s face. There were moments when Brooke’s eyes would being to water, and moments when Tess could see just a tinge of anger burning in the blue orbs that held hers. While she had never experienced what Brooke was going through, Tess was no stranger to loss and well acquainted with the feelings of helplessness and guilt. She reached across and took Brooke’s hand. “You know that this is not because of you,” Tess said simply.

  “Rationally?” Brooke began. “Yeah, I know. I just wish that what I know would somehow change what I feel.”

  “I understand. All you can do is the best you have to give. That’s it, and that sucks sometimes,” Tess said.

  Brooke smiled at her friend. You are really something, Tess. “It really does.”

  “At least you have ice cream,” Tess said lightly.

  “And you,” Brooke said without thinking.

  “And that,” Tess agreed. Tess held Brooke’s gaze for several minutes with neither speaking. Tess finally broke the emotional tension. “How about a movie?” Tess said. Brooke looked at her quizzically. “I’ll even make popcorn. I have quite the collection downstairs. It’s kind of a sickness.”

  “A collection of popcorn?”

  Tess smacked Brooke. “Movies, you goof.”

  “Oh,” Brooke smirked. “Romances?” she asked.

  Tess hopped to her feet. “More like horror,” she said as she made her way toward the kitchen.

  Oh, boy. You are just full of surprises, aren’t you? “What if I get scared?” Brooke called after her.

  “I’ll protect you,” Tess called back playfully.

  You just might be able to do that.

  ***

  “You’re in a better mood lately,” Rachel observed as she took a bite from her slice of pizza.

  “I am,” Brooke agreed.

  “Daisy is doing better,” Rachel offered knowingly. Brooke nodded. “Brooke, there was nothing you could have done to change that. She’s going to pull through. Not many people would have been able to get her through that,” Rachel said.

  “Maybe,” Brooke said. “She’s got a long road back.”

  “But, she will get back, Brooke. That’s the point. She will get to be a mom, finally. You are a big part of the reason why. You are way too hard on yourself sometimes,” Rachel told her friend. Brooke shrugged uncomfortably. “You’ve been MIA a lot lately. What have you been up to?”

  “Same old,” Brooke answered.

  Rachel looked at her friend doubtfully. Brooke had been leaving work earlier than normal frequently the last few weeks. She also seemed more rested. Rachel had invited her over several times in the last three weeks. Brooke had declined each invitation saying she had plans. “Same old? You’ve had plans almost every night and all last weekend.”

  Brooke took a sip from her soda. “I guess.”

  “Who is she? Wait…let me guess…that nurse in the E.R.”

  Brooke laughed. “Bethany? Um, no.” Rachel glared at her best friend. “There is no her. Not unless you mean Tess,” Brooke said.

  “Tess?”

  “Yeah?”

  “That’s who all your plans have been with lately?”

  “Well, only some of the time. She’s teaching me to cook. She says it makes no sense that someone who is capable of using a scalpel can’t use a paring knife correctly.”

  Rachel choked on her pizza. Brooke was learning to cook? Tess was teaching her? What is going on here? “I see.”

  “It works out for me. Murphy loves it there. He can run in the yard. It’s actually got me thinking that it’s time I buy a house,” Brooke told her friend. This time Rachel choked on her soda and started coughing. “You okay, Rach?”

  Rachel coughed a few more times until she caught her breath. “You’re buying a house?”

  “When I find one. I haven’t found one yet.”

  “Have you been looking?” Rachel asked curiously.

  “Yeah. Mostly online. That’s what I have been doing most nights.”

  “What does Tess think about that?” Rachel asked cautiously.

  “About what?”

  “You buying a house!”

  “I don’t know,” Brooke shrugged and took another bite of her pizza.

  “You don’t know?”

  “No. I haven’t told her. Why? Do you think I should? Tell her, I mean,” Brooke asked.

  Rachel scratched her brow. Brooke, what the hell? “I just thought since you two were…”

  “Oh, God! You think I am dating Tess!”

  “Well…”

  Brooke shook her head. “No. No. We’re just friends,” Brooke said happily.

  A little too upbeat in that defense. Uh-huh. Is that what you want, Brooke? “That’s good, Brooke. Tess seems like she is a great lady.”

  “She is,” Brooke beamed. “I don’t know how she does it all. Dealing with D squared every day,” Brooke chuckled.

  “D squared?”

  “Dani and Davey,” Brooke explained.

  Rachel was struggling to suppress a suspicious smile. She doesn’t even know it or does she? “So, what are you doing this Saturday?” Rachel asked. Brooke offered her a lopsided grin. “I see. We’re opening the pool. Thought maybe we would invite a few people over and barbecue.”

  “I’d love to, Rach. I sort of promised D. and Dani that I would do something with them,” Brooke said.

  Now, I have heard it all! I can barely get you to babysit Eli! “Why don’t you invite Tess and her kids?” Rachel suggested casually.

  “Really?”

  “Sure. She’s your friend, right? I’d like to get to know her past a casual hello. And, besides I think Shelia and Jamie will be there. They both have kids.”

  “I’ll ask her,” Brooke said. “She’ll want to know what to bring.”

  Are you two married already and no one told me? She’ll want to know what to bring? Do you know her blood type too? “Bring yourselves.”

  “That won’t fly,” Brooke replied. She knew Tess. The last three weeks they had not gone one day without at least a ten-minute phone conversation. Brooke was at Tess’s house at least three nights a week for dinner with Murphy in tow. In some ways, Tess had become Brooke’s best friend. Their relationship differed from Brooke and Rachel’s. Brooke loved Rachel, but she felt a level of comfort and acceptance with Tess that she
still found impossible to fathom. They just seemed to fit.

  Brooke didn’t censor her thoughts or feelings with Tess. Tess was open and honest. She didn’t judge Brooke nor did she try to sway Brooke’s feelings about life as Rachel sometimes did. The pair had traversed nearly every topic two people could delve into. Brooke felt as if she knew Tess’s family. Tess had cried for hours one night recounting the last year of her brother’s life. It had taken an enormous toll on the Sinclair family. Tess confessed that she often wondered what her mother would be like had David lived. Brooke had held Tess while she cried. She had felt helpless. That kind of pain and grief never truly ended. It was something that people learned to live with and navigate. It would always be seared into a person’s consciousness. Brooke would have given anything to take that away from Tess. No doctor could cure that. No surgery could remove it. After a long while, Brooke suggested her favorite remedy—ice cream.

  A few days later, what started as an ordinary conversation about work wound its way to Brooke confessing that she spent most of her teen years longing for her father. She had wished hat he would express pride in her. He had been disappointed at her chosen specialty when she entered medical school. It took Brooke years to recover from his reaction. He could not understand why Brooke did not pursue surgery. Surgery was a challenge and Brooke loved a challenge. She explained to Tess that she spent her childhood watching stress take its toll on her parents. More than once, she had seen her father pound a fist into the wall when he thought she was in bed. Her mother had shared some of her experiences with Brooke when Brooke was debating what specialty to pursue. The bottom line was that Brooke was sensitive and she knew it. There were times that she had to face death. That was unavoidable and each time it happened it left a small scar on her soul. Surgery was no place for Brooke, not as a way of life. She wanted to revere life. She wanted to nurture it and be nurtured by it. That was more important than a challenge. Most of the time, her career afforded her the opportunity to celebrate new possibility. That was one thing she loved about it. Tess had listened without comment. When Brooke had finished her story, Tess had smiled and kissed her on the cheek before taking Brooke’s hand and leading her to the kitchen for the inevitable ice cream sundae.

  Brooke looked back at Rachel. “I’ll talk to Tess tonight.”

  Rachel smiled. This could be very interesting.

  ***

  “Sure. The kids would love it. I mean, a pool?” Tess laughed. “What does she need me to bring?” Tess inquired. Brooke snickered. “What?”

  “Oh, nothing. She said bring yourself.”

  “Brooke, I am not going to Dr. Cantrell’s empty handed,” Tess said flatly.

  “It’s Rachel, and I told her you would say that,” Brooke replied.

  “So?” Tess urged.

  “I don’t know! What do you want to bring? I usually pick up a six pack of something other than that crappie Coors Light Mike drinks and a bag of chips,” Brooke told Tess.

  “You would,” Tess said.

  “What’s wrong with beer and chips? Real beer.”

  “Nothing at all,” Tess assured Brooke. “Let’s suppose you might bring something else this time. What might that be?”

  Brooke’s eyes danced. “Guacamole, chips, and good beer.”

  Tess leaned against the sink and shook her head. She had made guacamole one night a couple of weeks earlier for an impromptu movie night. Brooke had requested it at least a dozen times since. “You are addicted.”

  “I am not addicted to anything.”

  “I think it’s that Hulk thing of yours,” Tess said.

  “What are you talking about, Diana?” Brooke responded in kind.

  “You and green. Mint chocolate chip ice cream, guacamole, that disgusting bright green Gatorade you are so attached to. That stuff looks like it came from Fukushima. I’m surprised you don’t glow in the dark—green.”

  “Oh, ha-ha.”

  “It’s unnatural. This green addiction of yours,” Tess continued. She loved Brooke’s company. She treasured their heartfelt talks, their quiet movie nights, and their creative cooking lessons, but she loved their banter. Tess was positive that Brooke enjoyed it equally. “You know what happened to David Banner with all his genetic experimentation, you’re a doctor, after all.”

  Brooke poked her tongue at her cheek. Tess was pleased with herself. Brooke rose slowly from her chair. “Oh, I’ll give you experimentation,” she wiggled her eyebrows.

  “Now, Brooke,” Tess held up a hand. Brooke slowly moved toward Tess, wiggling her fingers. She had discovered, not so much by accident, how ticklish Tess was. “Brooke,” Tess warned sternly. Brooke’s devilish smirk signaled Tess that the doctor meant business, the business of tickle torture. Tess threw the kitchen towel in her hands on the floor and took off in a sprint.

  Brooke gave her about a second’s head start before taking off in a deliberate stride. “I’ve warned you,” Brooke called through the house. She turned a corner and saw Tess hiding slightly behind a floor length curtain. Brooke moved in the other direction and waited for Tess to turn her attention another way. She came up behind her. “Don’t make me angry,” she said grabbing hold of Tess’s hips and launching into a round of light tickling.

  “Stop! Brooke!” Tess was laughing so hard she could hardly breathe. She struggled to get out of Brooke’s grasp and they both fell to the floor.

  Brooke looked down at Tess. “You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry,” she said.

  Tess looked up and brushed a strand of hair that had fallen out of Brooke’s eyes. Oh my God. I think I am falling in love with you. Tess thought she was about to cry. I am. No, this can’t happen. She looked at Brooke helplessly.

  Brooke searched Tess’s eyes. You are beautiful, Tess. Brooke, stop. She is. She’s gorgeous. She’s…

  “Brooke?”

  “Huh?”

  Tess swallowed hard to regain her composure. When did this happen? When did I go from thinking my friend was hot to love? Shit. “If I promise to make the guacamole, will you let me up?”

  Brooke sucked in a ragged breath. “Oh,” she managed, still straddling her friend. I don’t really want to let you up. Let her go, Brooke. She’s your friend. That is for the best and you know it. “You’ll make my guac?”

  Tess arched her eyebrow. “Your guac?” Oh, God. I wish you would just kiss me. Bad idea, Tess. Don’t screw up the best thing you’ve had in a long time. She’s your friend.

  “Yes, my guac. Well? Will you?” Brooke responded with another threat of tickling.

  “I give. I’ll even pick you up some of that nuclear Gatorade you love,” Tess said. Just please, please, let me up before I do something I will regret.

  Brooke pretended to consider the request thoughtfully. “Okay,” she finally said as she hopped to her feet. “Extra garlic and no onions.”

  Tess accepted Brooke’s hand and let Brooke pull her up. “Fine by me since you are doing all the chopping.”

  “What?”

  “Got to practice those knife skills sometime,” Tess deadpanned.

  She always wins. No matter what, she always ends up on top. Brooke shook her head. Well, almost always.

  Chapter Seven

  “Brooke!” Davey yelled. Brooke turned her attention to the far end of the pool. “Watch!” he called back.

  “I’m watching!” Brooke called over. Davey stepped back a few paces to get a running start and flew into the pool in his best cannonball position. Brooke laughed as he surfaced triumphantly. “Nice form, D.!” Davey gave her the thumbs up before swimming to the edge, pulling himself up, and getting ready for a repeat performance.

  “They’re having fun,” a perky blonde commented.

  “Yeah. Murphy was their favorite thing until they met Rachel’s pool,” Brooke admitted with a chuckle.

  “How are you, Brooke?” Sheila asked.

  “I’m good. How have you been, Sheila? Looks like Jack is having fun with D. and Dani,” Brooke
commented.

  “He is, I think. It’s nice for him to have someone his own age to play with,” Sheila said.

  “It’s good for them too. I mean, they have each other. Sometimes that’s a really good thing and sometimes,” Brooke trailed off with a shake of her head. Dani and Davey blew hot and cold. Some days Brooke considered the possibility that they were actually Siamese Twins they were so in sync. Other times, they seemed total opposites. D. would torment Dani by any and all means possible until Dani reached her breaking point. When it managed to get that far, it was ugly. Sometimes, it became physically ugly. The week before, one of their wrestling matches had resulted in a broken end table. Brooke had thought for a moment by the popping veins in Tess’s neck that she might be required to perform surgery. The table she could fix. If Tess got hold of the twins, Brooke was not so sure she would be able to repair the damage. She snickered at the memory.

  “Tess seems great,” Sheila said.

  “Tess? She’s the greatest,” Brooke said sincerely. The greatest mom. The greatest cook. The greatest at Angry Birds. The greatest friend. The greatest…

  “Never thought I would see the day, I have to say,” Sheila said as she looked across the patio to where Tess and Rachel were engaged in a conversation.

  “What day?”

  “Oh, come on, Brooke. I never pegged you for settling down.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Sheila looked at Tess and then back to Brooke. Is she seriously telling me they are not together?

  ***

  “The kids seem to be having a good time,” Rachel said to Tess.

  “Davey is a fish. I swear, there are times I wonder if he is part dolphin.”

  Rachel laughed. She had been talking with Tess for nearly half an hour and the conversation had yet to dwindle. I can understand what she sees in you, that’s for sure. “Mike is determined to get Eli into swimming. He likes his bath better, I think,” Rachel pointed to her husband and son.

  “It’s the temperature. Dani is like that too. Heated pool and she will not leave. Cold water? She dips in each toe for twenty minutes. By the time she’s up to her knees it’s time to go and she is pitching a fit,” Tess laughed.