Promise of Forever

by Patt Marr

  When the phone rang again, Beth thought it might be her dad. He was the only Brennan doctor who hadn’t checked in. But it was Zack Hemmingway. Beth took the call at the desk, sure that it wouldn’t be a long call. They both had patients to see.

  Zack said the usual things—he was happy to meet her, he hoped they would see each other again. Because she had an audience, she kept her responses brief, but positive. She could see Zack becoming a good friend.

  “Your uncle filled me in on the situation with your nurse,” Zack said, sympathetically. “I expect you’re getting plenty of advice. Not that anyone has asked for my opinion, but I think you should handle things your way, Beth. You didn’t get this far by misdiagnosing problems.”

  She hadn’t expected that. “Thank you, Zack. I really needed to hear that.”

  The conversation ended, and Vanessa asked, “Is Dr. Hemmingway as nice as I’ve heard?”

  “I don’t know what you’ve heard, but he seems nice.”

  Noah’s quick frown said he was listening and it bothered him. What was that about?

  “But then,” she added, “I would think any man was nice who gave me his steak and ate my salad instead.”

  A quick smile crossed Noah’s face. He’d liked that.

  “You don’t mind that Dr. Hemmingway is the bossy type?” Vanessa asked. “Everybody says he’s really bossy.”

  “‘Bossy’ is part of an orthopod’s DNA, Vanessa,” Beth said. “They’re very particular about their patients’ care. That doesn’t mean they’re bossy with friends.”

  “People talk about how good-looking he is, but I don’t think he’s nearly as good-looking as Noah.”

  “Vanessa!” Noah protested.

  “Well, he’s not!” Vanessa said, overriding his protest. “Noah, if the two of you were standing side by side, nobody would even look at Dr. Hemmingway.”

  Noah felt hot color creep up his neck and cover his face. He knew she meant well, but it was embarrassing, having her talk about him that way.

  “Vanessa,” Beth said quietly. “We’re not going to talk about how Noah looks.”

  “But, Dr. Beth, have you ever seen a better-looking man in scrubs than Noah?”

  “That’s it,” he said, heading toward the door.

  “Noah, wait.” Beth stopped him. “I’m sorry. That won’t happen again.”

  Vanessa looked genuinely perplexed.

  “Vanessa, do guys ever talk about your looks?” Beth asked, knowing the answer. Vanessa’s Latin beauty would turn heads.

  “Does the sun shine in L.A.?” The young woman batted her dramatic dark eyes and struck a fashion pose, one hand on a slender hip. “Of course they do.”

  “Did you ever mind?”

  There was a slight pause before Vanessa’s eyes widened. “Oh! I was doing that harassment thing. I’m sorry, Noah. Please, don’t sue me.”

  “Not this time.” Noah smiled and mentally chalked up another point for Beth. She’d handled that well.

  Vanessa went down the hall to turn off the lights.

  “Just for the record,” Beth teased softly, so Vanessa wouldn’t hear, “she was right. You would win Best Guy in Scrubs, but that’s the last time you’ll hear it here.”

  That was nice to know, but still plenty embarrassing. He smiled to be a good sport and turned toward the door as he should have done ten minutes ago.

  The phone rang and Beth said, “Office hours are over. The answering service will pick that up.”

  Even though he’d often walked away from a ringing phone at closing time, this time Noah reached for the phone.

  “Daddy!” Kendi practically screamed into the phone.

  His heart seemed to stop. “What’s the matter, baby?”

  “Harlene won’t wake up! She can’t drink her orange juice or eat her special candy. I don’t know what to do.”

  Noah’s heart pounded so hard, he could hardly breathe. “It’s my daughter,” he told Beth. “Her babysitter is diabetic and unresponsive.”

  “Have your daughter call 911 and stay on the line with them,” Beth said, her words clipped and sure.

  “Kendra, listen to me, baby. You’re in charge now.”

  “Harlene’s my patient!” his baby said, her voice trembling.

  Vaguely, he realized that Beth had disappeared. “Here’s what I want you to do. As soon as we hang up, call 911, just like we practiced. Tell the helper who answers about Harlene. Do you remember her address?”

  “Yep, two numbers different from ours.”

  “The 911 helpers will make sure the paramedics find you if you don’t hang up. Keep talking and when you hear the siren and know the paramedics are there, unlock the front door. Okay?”

  “I can do it.”

  “I’ll be right there, Kendi.” He disconnected and ran toward the stairs.

  Beth was there at the end of the hall, holding the door of the elevator. “This way, Noah,” she said.

  She was right. The elevator would be faster.

  “Where’s your car parked?” she asked crisply.

  “I’m in the back lot.”

  “I’m closer. I’ll be at the clinic entrance drive, ready to follow you.”

  He could hardly believe she would do this, but on the ground floor, she was out of the elevator, running as fast toward her car as he ran toward his.

  He flashed his lights when he saw her in a yellow VW convertible at the clinic entrance. He pulled out, keeping her car in his rearview mirror all the way.

  As long as he could remember, he’d been a loner who didn’t let people into his life. Why then, did he feel such comfort, knowing Beth was behind him?

  Beth prayed constantly as she zigzagged in and out of freeway traffic, never losing sight of Noah’s car while she thought about what might lie ahead. If Kendra couldn’t rouse her babysitter, the woman could be in insulin shock or diabetic coma. That wasn’t good, but with prompt treatment she could recover from either.

  As a doctor, Beth knew the paramedics were better equipped to handle Harlene’s care than she was, but tagging along felt like the right thing to do. Every single parent needed help sometimes.

  They entered an older neighborhood of modest homes. Harlene’s must be the one with the ambulance parked at curbside. Noah wheeled into an adjacent driveway, and Beth parked in front of a house with pink shutters.

  “Dad-dee!” a beautiful little girl screamed as she flew toward Noah.

  He scooped her up in his arms.

  “Harlene is going to be all better. The par’medics sticked a needle in her arm so they could give her med’cine, and they said I was a good nurse.”

  Watching the way Noah held his child, his strong arms about her, her head cupped lovingly to his shoulder, Beth felt tears sting her eyes. Had her father ever held her that way?

  “I’m proud of you, Kendi,” Noah said, giving his little girl a kiss on her forehead. “Good job.”

  She kissed him back on the forehead as if it were a comforting ritual, shared many times. Noticing Beth, Kendi smiled with the happy confidence of a well-loved child. “Hi. Are you a nurse, like Daddy and me?”

  Before Beth could answer, Noah said, “Kendi, this is Dr. Beth. She’s the one you’ve been drawing pictures for.”

  “I love your pictures!” Beth said, smiling at the adorable little girl even as she stored the image of the two of them in her heart. Every child should have the security of this kind of love.

  Noah lowered his daughter to the ground. “Kendi, why don’t you stay here and talk to Dr. Beth while I see what I can do to help Harlene.”

  “Okay,” she said, not at all afraid of making a new friend.

  Beth knelt so they would be on the same level. “Your daddy calls you Kendi. Do you like that better than Kendra?”

  “I like Kendra. Kendi is just Daddy’s name for me.”

  “You are a very smart girl, the way you called 911 and got help for Harlene.”

  “Yep. Everybody came fast.”

/>   “Were you scared when Harlene wouldn’t wake up?”

  The child nodded, her eyes big. “But I prayed for her. Me and Harlene go to church together and know how to pray.”

  “That’s great.” How different her life would have been if someone in her family had known the power of prayer. “You prayed and look what happened! The paramedics came fast, and your dad did, too.”

  “And you!” Kendra slipped her hand into Beth’s, as trusting as if they’d known each other forever.

  Noah joined them. “They have Harlene ready for transport. They’ll be taking her to Cedar Hills,” he said, sounding calm, probably for Kendra’s sake, but his eyes flicked anxiously at the medics loading their patient in the ambulance.

  “Noah, would you like to follow them and stay with Harlene?” Beth asked, knowing that was what she would want to do if the patient were dear to her.

  “Yes, but Kendi—”

  “Kendra can hang out with me. Would that be okay?”

  “Please! Say yes, Daddy!” Kendra begged.

  He hesitated as if he hated to accept such a favor.

  “Please!” Beth begged, imitating his daughter so well that he smiled.

  “I won’t stay long.”

  “Stay as long as you like. I’ll take Kendra to dinner.”

  “Daddy!” Kendra exclaimed with awed delight, catching sight of Beth’s car. “Dr. Beth has a yellow car!”

  “She sure does, and look at her shoes.”

  “Yellow sneakers! Dr. Beth, you’re duh bomb!” the child said, jumping up and down.

  “Kendra, you have a yellow dress. You’re duh bomb!” The jumping thing Beth could have managed, but not in front of Noah and the emergency medics.

  “I guess I don’t have to worry about the two of you bonding,” Noah said dryly as he slid into his car. “Kendi, be a good girl for Dr. Beth. Show her where we have the house key and wash up before you go to dinner. I really appreciate this, Beth.”

  Their eyes met, and she said, “I’ll be praying, Noah.”

  A muscle twitched in his jaw, and he looked away. “Harlene would like that.” And then he was gone.

  Chapter Eight

  Kendra gave Beth the tour of her modest home like a gracious little hostess. Noah was a very tidy guy. Nothing was out of place, no laundry waited to be done, no dishes sat in the sink. The floors and surfaces seemed spotless, and all of Kendra’s clothes were neatly folded and stored.

  Beth knew what it took to keep things looking this way, and she had to wonder how a single parent did it all. “Your house is very nice, Kendra,” she said, curiosity pushing her to nose into their personal life just a bit. “It’s so clean! Who does all this work?”

  “Me and Daddy play a game called Cleaning House. We play lots of games, but that’s my fav’rite. I love to clean. Sometimes I beat him and win.”

  A man who made life fun for his child and taught her a great work ethic—that was every woman’s dream.

  “Mommy’s fav’rite color was pink,” Kendi reported needlessly.

  It looked as if little had changed from the way Kendra’s mother left it. Except for the black leather recliner facing the TV, Beth wouldn’t have known a man lived here. “Your mommy really liked pink,” she said.

  “Yep. This was her pink Bible.” From a table by the sofa, Kendra handed it to Beth. “My Bible’s at Harlene’s. We read it together. It’s the kind for children, but someday I’m going to have a yellow one.”

  “What color is Daddy’s Bible?” Beth asked, admittedly a little nosy.

  “He doesn’t have one. Daddy says he hears all the stories from me, so he doesn’t have to read them himself.”

  As a person who’d only read the Bible the last two years herself, Beth could hardly think badly of Noah for that, but he was missing one of the great blessings in life.

  Kendra took her mother’s Bible and put it back exactly where it had been. “Me and Daddy keep everything like it was when Mommy lived here.”

  That sounded so sad. Did Noah keep it this way for Kendra’s sake? Or was their home a shrine because he wasn’t ready to move on?

  Beth followed Kendra to her bedroom and noticed the very feminine way Noah’s wife had decorated. None of it would have been Beth’s choice, but she’d never been a woman who loved shopping for makeup, jewelry, purses and shoes—not that she sometimes didn’t wish she were more like that.

  “This is my bed,” Kendra said proudly, sitting on the edge of the small white bed, carefully made up, complete with fluffy pillows and little stuffed animals.

  “It’s beautiful, Kendra. You must like flowers.” They were everywhere—on her bedding, the walls, even the ceiling.

  “I love flowers! My mommy did, too. This is her.” She handed a framed picture to Beth.

  “She’s beautiful.”

  “Yep. Like me.”

  Beth smiled. She’d never been that confident of her looks, but then, at her house, praise came for making straight A’s or the tennis team.

  “You have your mommy’s eyes,” she said softly, noticing the unusual lavender-blue.

  Kendra nodded. “But I got yellow hair.”

  In the picture, Kendra’s mother’s long dark hair curled around a heart-shaped face. Lush, dark eyelashes accented gorgeous eyes. Noah had married a very beautiful woman.

  “I’m going to show you something very special,” Kendra said, opening a tiny box. “This is my diamond ring.” It was a toy ring with an outrageously big “diamond.”

  “Wow!” Beth said, reacting with the appreciation such a prize deserved. “Is this a special ring?”

  “Yep. Daddy says I can have my mommy’s diamond ring when I grow up, but I have this one for now. I keep it in the box ’cause I don’t want to lose it.”

  A lump grew in Beth’s throat as the reality of this little family’s loss sunk in. She’d often seen bad things happen to good people, and she knew the scripture, “all things work together for good to those who love the Lord,” but it took faith to believe the loss of a loved one could be part of God’s plan for this precious child and her dad.

  The drive-in diner had a fifties theme with roller-skating food servers and Elvis tunes playing through the speakers. With the top down on the VW, Beth and Kendra moved to the music and munched their way through dinner.

  “This is my fav’rite place,” Kendra said, happy as a child can be. “I’m gonna work here when I get big.”

  “You’ll be good at it. I expect you’ll be good at a lot of things.”

  Kendra nodded. “Yep.”

  For such a little girl, she had held up her end of the conversation better than many adults. The way she talked about her parents, though, almost broke Beth’s heart. Noah must have reminded Kendra of the good times repeatedly, or she wouldn’t have these stories to tell. For sure, she wouldn’t have remembered her baby years, and she wouldn’t have such absolute assurance of her mother’s love.

  Stowing their used napkins and paper containers into a sack, Beth watched Kendra dip her last French fry into ketchup and pop it in her mouth. She hadn’t eaten all of her hot dog, but the chocolate shake was history.

  Beth’s cell phone rang, and she answered it.

  “Beth, this is Noah.”

  Her heart rate picked up just the way it used to when she’d get a call from the cute boy in class. “How are things going for Harlene?” she asked, grateful that her mind remembered what was important even if her body didn’t.

  “Good, but they’re admitting her.”

  “That’s best. Are you planning to stay with her?”

  He hesitated before saying, “I don’t like the idea of leaving Harlene when she has no one else, but…” His voice trailed off as if he hated asking for a bigger favor.

  That wasn’t the way she thought of it. “I would love to have Kendra sleep over at my place.”

  “Sleep over?” the child said, picking up on Beth’s half of the conversation. Her face radiated joy.

&nbs
p; “Only if your daddy says you can.”

  “Please, Daddy,” Kendra pleaded loudly enough for him to hear as well as the diners beside them.

  “But you have rounds,” he said.

  She’d thought of that. “You could watch Kendra while I do rounds, then I’ll take her for the night?”

  “I can’t believe you’re doing this. I mean, I’ve only worked with you for two days, and you’re helping me out.”

  “I’m helping you out? Well, it’s nice that you think that, but I’m having a wonderful time with my new friend! Besides—” She turned her head away from Kendra and lowered her voice. “Noah, you helped me out on the worst day of my life, and you didn’t know me at all.”

  It was just like old times for Noah, eating an unappetizing dinner in the hospital cafeteria with one eye on the clock, ever mindful that he needed to get back to the floor. Staying with Harlene in the ER, being part of the frenetic pace, getting her settled into her room—all of it came as naturally as breathing. He’d missed the hospital environment more than he’d realized.

  Kendra sat across from him, playing with her straw more than drinking her juice, but, as Beth had warned him, Kendi couldn’t possibly be hungry. In the last minute or so, his talkative daughter had gone strangely silent. There was a wistful look on her little face that made him wonder what was going on. “Whatcha thinkin’ about, puddin’?”

  She looked away and said softly, “I like Dr. Beth.”

  “I’m sure she likes you, too.” He’d seen the loving way Beth looked at his daughter when she’d left to do rounds.

  “I liked riding in her car.”

  “It’s a very cool car.”

  “I liked talking to her.”

  “She’s fun to talk to.”

  “It was like being with Mommy.”

  The air rushed out of Noah’s lungs, and he bent his head so Kendi wouldn’t see how her sweet words pained him.

  It wasn’t the first time his daughter’s sadness triggered a surge of grief, and he was terribly afraid it wouldn’t be the last. It was a helpless feeling, not being able to make it better for Kendi, but what could he do?

  He’d already changed jobs. He’d kept their routine as nearly the same as possible. He’d made Kendi the center of his life. Short of bringing Merrilee back, what was left? If he knew, he’d do anything, make any sacrifice. That’s what a good dad did.