Life After Perfect

by Nancy Naigle

  “He must have been very successful.”

  “I’ll tell you all about him when we get back home. You can pull in the back lot. They usually have a wheelchair by that door.”

  “Perfect.” Katy swung into the parking lot and pulled to a stop right at the base of the ramp. “I’ll be right back.”

  She sprung from her seat and made her way up the ramp. Like Naomi had said, there was a wheelchair right by the door. She rolled it down to the bottom of the ramp where Naomi was already helping Kelly Jo get out of the car.

  They easily moved Kelly Jo to the wheelchair. Even as little as Kelly Jo was, it was a bit of a workout to push that chair up the ramp, though.

  Naomi walked ahead and pressed the handicap button, and the door opened. Inside, tiles shimmered white and sterile against the fluorescent lighting.

  Naomi led the way. At the end of a long hallway they reached a glass door. The receptionist looked up when they came in.

  “Miss Naomi. It’s good to see you.” She glanced down at her book. “Hon, you don’t have an appointment today. Did you get mixed up?”

  Naomi’s eyes narrowed. “No. I didn’t get mixed up.”

  Katy rolled Kelly Jo in just in time to hear that.

  “That happened once,” the receptionist whispered to Katy, then came around the desk in a hurry. “You don’t look good, honey,” she said.

  “She took a fall,” Katy said. “She was dizzy.”

  “I’ll grab the doctor. Just wait right here and I’ll get y’all in a room in one second.”

  A moment later the sound of a man’s hurried footsteps came down the hall. “Kelly Jo?”

  Katy leaned forward. The voice was familiar as he came into range, and so was the face when he cleared the door. Katy sucked in a breath.

  He’d barely glanced in her direction, but it was Derek. She watched as he knelt at Kelly Jo’s side, then jerked his head back up as if it just registered who was standing there.

  “Hello again, Dr. Hansen. Didn’t mean to be back so soon,” Kelly Jo said.

  He swung his head back to Kelly Jo, then looked to Naomi, and then back to Katy. One of these things is not like the other, Katy thought. “Katy?”

  “Doctor?” Katy couldn’t even believe she’d heard right. “You’re a doctor?” He was a firefighter. She just saw him put on his firefighter gear in record time. You didn’t do that without practice.

  Who lies about being a firefighter?

  Or a doctor for that matter?

  Maybe the bigger question these days was who didn’t lie?

  Naomi didn’t even give him a chance to respond. “He’s a very well-known doctor,” Naomi bragged. “He even got written up in a bunch of those journals for his work at Duke. Isn’t that right, Derek?” Naomi pressed her lips in a tight line and then corrected herself, “Dr. Hansen?”

  “It’s true.”

  “We’re lucky he’s back here in Boot Creek,” she said to Katy. Then turning to him, she said, “But that’s not gonna change the fact that I can’t get it through my head to call you doctor. You’ll always be little Derek to me.” Naomi’s laugh tinkled like wind chimes on a spring day.

  Kelly Jo managed a smile.

  “At Duke?” Katy forced a smile, trying to keep her voice steady.

  He nodded like it was no big deal. “That’s a long story.”

  “Like the story about you being a firefighter? Who lies about being a firefighter?” Only she hadn’t meant to utter that last part out loud.

  “That was no story. I am a firefighter,” he said.

  Naomi’s voice sliced through the banter. “Don’t be too impressed with the firefighter stuff, Katy. Every man breathing in this town is a member of the Boot Creek Volunteer Fire Department.”

  “You’re not helping here, Mrs. Laumann,” Derek said with a heavy emphasis on the Mrs. “Kelly Jo, are you feeling dizzy right now?”

  “Kind of,” she said.

  Derek glanced over at the nurse. “Let’s get some fluids in her.”

  Naomi plunged on with her part of the conversation. “Even my dear husband was active duty on the fire department until the day he died, and he was too old to hold a match steady.”

  Kelly Jo piped up, “Uncle Marshall was a good man. Well-respected.”

  “I’m just telling it like it is,” Naomi laughed. Katy took a step back and shoved her hands in her front pockets. Her fingers touched the small yellow ribbon. That felt like months ago . . . and it hadn’t even been a week. She shoved it back in her pocket and took a breath.

  He was the last person she expected to see here. The whole thing seemed like a weird, mixed-up dream. She wiped her sweating palms on her pants and then folded her arms.

  Seeing him again made her heart race a little, which was unfair and very irritating in a way because it seemed like everyone she believed in was just a big fat liar.

  Katy asked Naomi, “Where’s the ladies’ room?”

  “Right down that hall to the left.”

  “Thank you.” Katy practically jogged down the hall.

  What was going on? Was there some kind of magnet in her outfit that just kept dragging the same guy back into her days in different roles like a whacked-out Groundhog Day? She went into the bathroom and stood there for a moment catching her breath. Her phone made that sound, the buh-doop of a text message coming in.

  RON: Things are not always as they seem. I can explain.

  Well, Lordy, didn’t she know that. Unfortunately, his little scenario was exactly the way she saw it go down. She was so tempted to text him one of those pictures, but instead she copied his text and forwarded it to Shaleigh.

  SHALEIGH: Don’t engage with him.

  SHALEIGH: Promise.

  KATHERINE: Promise.

  But it wasn’t going to be easy. Right now she wanted to lash out at the world, and no one was playing fair. She walked back out to the waiting area, hoping Derek, the fireman-doctor-blackberry-festival-dancer, was gone.

  A voice called her name from behind her. Had he been waiting in the hall for her?

  He nodded toward the back hall. “I’ve . . . I’ve got a couple patients waiting. You’re going to wait for Kelly Jo, right?”

  She didn’t answer.

  “I can explain.”

  Of course, you can. You can all explain.

  But when Kelly Jo was done getting the IV fluids, Katy whisked her and Naomi out to the car and got them back on the road. She didn’t have the energy to have a discussion with Derek, or Ron for that matter. She should’ve just stayed in bed today.

  Katy kept her eyes on the road, but her mind was reeling. Fireman. Doctor. What was next? Indian chief?

  Naomi had been rattling on since they left. “Derek has had a tough time of things. He’s a good man. Came back to Boot Creek to help his father out, although I think it was really just an excuse for them to get Derek back home after Derek’s wife died. They were really worried about him. What parent wouldn’t be?”

  Katy swallowed. She knew about his wife. At least that part had been true. Fine. So he wasn’t a complete liar.

  “She was so young. Cancer. That was his specialty, you know. Derek’s.”

  “He was an oncologist?”

  Kelly Jo shivered. “Yeah. He used to be one of the best cancer doctors in the state.”

  Katy cranked up the heat.

  “Um-hmm. He’d made quite a name for himself too. He worked at Duke. Prominent in his field. Not being able to save his wife really tore him out of the frame.”

  Katy could hardly breathe. He’d said she’d been sick for a long time.

  “His father has been the town doctor here for years, and his daddy before him. Kind of the Hansen family legacy around here, I guess.”

  Katy had a million questions, but they were bouncing a
round her head so fast she couldn’t seem to get one to pop up like the next bingo ball to be called. So she just listened as Naomi rambled.

  “He said your last name was Laumann. You were related to the singer?”

  “Yes.” She fidgeted with her seat belt. “I was married to Dillon’s much better-looking and smarter brother, Marshall. Dillon is the Laumann everyone in the world remembers, though.”

  “Marshall and Dillon Laumann?” Katy couldn’t help but smile. “Creative.”

  “Yes. I know. It is kind of funny. His mother was a little . . .” She held a finger to the side of her head and spun it in a circle as she whistled a coo-coo sound.

  “Oh,” Katy said. “Like really crazy?”

  “Yeah. I’m sure Dillon got his crazies from his mother’s side of the family. Most people never knew that Dillon Laumann was crazy.”

  Katy had her doubts that that was entirely true. It wasn’t such a long shot for someone very talented to be a little eccentric.

  “I’m not exaggerating. Their mother was flat-out paranoid—convinced every stranger that rolled into town was plotting her demise. And the woman could lie like no other. I don’t really know if she even knew she was lying or she was delusional, but when she wasn’t lying or hiding, she’d either be dancing on the street or pitching a random fit of crying somewhere. Everyone knew she was nuts.” Naomi folded her hands in her lap. “Very few knew Dillon was a nutcase, though. Marshall kept that in check. He took care of his brother. His mom too until she died. Marshall got the smarts and business sense. Dillon got the . . . well, I don’t know what that man got aside from the musical talent. He had a hard life, that one.”

  “Sorry to hear that. Did he spend a lot of time with y’all here? At the inn?”

  “Well, it wasn’t an inn back then. It was just our home, but yes, he stayed with us. He wasn’t responsible enough to live alone, so Marshall would rein him back in and make him stay with us until he settled down and then put him back to work. In a way it was like Dillon was the monkey and Marshall was the organ grinder.”

  “That’s kind of sad.”

  “In a way, yes. But it was that way always, so we didn’t much even notice. He was fun. I’ll give Dillon that. Life was never dull when that boy was in town. Everyone absolutely loved the Laumann boys.”

  “You sure did. I can see it in your eyes.”

  “I’ve had a very blessed life.”

  Katy drove back to the house without needing any directions. She helped Kelly Jo out at the front porch and then parked her car.

  When Katy got back to the porch, a pretty dark-haired woman was helping Naomi get Kelly Jo inside.

  Katy hung back as the two women helped Kelly Jo to the first room down the hall on the right.

  When they came back out front a few minutes later, they were still talking. “I brought her some homemade tomato soup,” the woman said. “I had just put it in the kitchen when you drove up. It’s probably still warm.”

  “I don’t think she’ll be hungry for a while. She’s getting weaker. I’m trying not to interfere, but I worry she’s in too much pain and she still won’t let us call in hospice.”

  “I wish like heck she’d call Todd,” the woman said. “They need each other.”

  Katy stepped alongside Naomi and smiled at the woman, wondering who Todd was.

  “She’s still adamant about that.” Naomi noticed Katy. “Where are my manners? Angie, this is Katy. Katy is staying with us.”

  “Nice to meet you. How long are you staying in Boot Creek?” Angie asked.

  “Not sure yet. It wasn’t really a planned trip.”

  “I work down at the Blue Skies Cafe. Drop in and I’ll buy you a cup of coffee.”

  “Thank you. I just might do that.”

  “I’ve got to get back to work,” Angie said. “Call if there’s anything I can do. And let me know if she eats any of that soup, or I can try making something else.”

  Katy and Naomi waved as Angie walked out to a little smart car with a Blue Skies Cafe delivery sign on top.

  Naomi pushed the front door closed and let out a sigh. “My goodness. What a day.”

  “How long has she been sick?”

  “Longer than is fair. Bless her heart. I’m thankful she trusted me to come here, but the whole situation is really quite sad.”

  “Who’s Todd?”

  “Todd is her husband. A wonderful man. It’s a long story.”

  Katy didn’t want to pry, and Naomi seemed too exhausted to discuss it.

  “So, young lady, I yapped the whole time you were driving. Are you going to tell me how you know our young Dr. Hansen?”

  “I met him briefly at the blackberry festival.” What else was she going to say? There really wasn’t much to tell. And why did it irritate her so much that he was a doctor? Shouldn’t that impress her?

  They walked inside and Naomi paused at the desk near the front door. “I’m a little worried about how unsteady Kelly Jo is. I’ve got a walker in the back shed. I had to use it when I got my new hip last year. Would you mind terribly getting that for me? I think it might be a good idea for Kelly Jo to use that.”

  “Sure. Is there a lock on the shed?”

  “No. There’s no one around here who would ever steal anything from me except a couple squirrels and raccoons, and they don’t use the doors anyway.”

  Katy went outside and took the path to what Naomi had called the shed, which was really more like a two-car garage. Inside everything was meticulously arranged. There on the right side was a bright red walker with hand brakes and a seat. The Cadillac of walkers. And it was pulled into a spot like it had its own reserved space between two bicycles and a lawn mower.

  As she carried the lightweight walker back to the house, her phone buzzed.

  She glanced at the display and then answered, “Hi, Shaleigh.”

  “How are you doing?”

  “I’m doing okay.” And that was true, because compared to what she’d been through today with Kelly Jo and her health state, her problems didn’t seem nearly as bad.

  Shaleigh, as usual, was all business. “Still ready to move forward with things?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Okay. Well, he’s already called me. He’s hotter than a match head.”

  Katy ran her hands through her hair. “He left me a message. I haven’t played it. You saw the text, though.”

  “I’ll handle it. All that I need from you right now are a couple of signatures and we can get this separation under way. I’m forwarding them to you now. There will be a link that will take you to a signing website. Just follow the directions. Read everything carefully, but it’s all pretty standard. Basically, we’re just filing the official separation papers so he can’t get you for abandonment if he decides to play dirty down the line.”

  Abandonment? “Okay. I can do that.”

  “Good. Read through them carefully. If you really don’t want to fight for some of the specifics I’ve listed at this stage, just let me know. The main thing is to get the separation filed. You can change your mind. Since y’all don’t have children or anything complicated, it should be pretty quick, but there’s no rush. Sometimes couples get through this stuff.”

  “And sometimes they don’t,” Katy added. She’d forgive Ron eventually. That was her nature, but it wouldn’t be while she was married to him. He’d broken what they had. “Would you get over it if your husband cheated on you?”

  “Oh, hell no.”

  “Yeah. Well, then, you know I’m not changing my mind.”

  “I hear you loud and clear.”

  “I’d love to have a picture of his face when he’s served.”

  “That could be arranged.”

  She wondered if he’d be surprised or relieved that he could finally quit pretending. It seemed like it woul
d be awfully hard to carry that around. “We might be on to a whole new reality show idea here.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Thanks for everything.” Katy propped the walker against her hip and tucked the phone in her pocket as she opened the door. Naomi was sitting with her legs stretched out on the couch.

  “You found it!”

  “I did.”

  Naomi looked pleased. “I have to say I got pretty good with that thing. Should be like riding a bike.” She waved her hand, motioning Katy to bring the red rolling walker closer.

  Naomi swung her leg around and then positioned the walker right in front of her. She lifted herself up and put a knee on the seat of the walker. One push off with the other leg, and like a kid on one of those scooter things, Naomi was off and down the hall.

  “Oh, Naomi. This has disaster written all over it. You’re going to break your fool neck.”

  “Lighten up. It’s fun, and it’s safe.” Naomi gave her an exaggerated wink and rolled up to the front desk and checked her book. “Let’s take this down to Kelly Jo.”

  “I’ll get a pitcher of water for her, and meet you back there.”

  Naomi drove that red walker like she was having a little too much fun. Katy had a feeling that long after Kelly Jo needed it, Naomi would keep that wheeled walker around just for kicks. She had to admit, she was a little tempted to try the thing out herself.

  Chapter Twelve

  Katy carried a tray with a pitcher of water, a cup, saltines, and a small mug of the tomato soup that Angie had brought over. Maybe Kelly Jo would be up to sipping a little of that.

  “Knock, knock,” Katy said as she walked in the room.

  Kelly Jo was sitting up in bed, and Naomi had tucked the covers in around her, like a burrito baby, just like Katy’s own mom used to do.

  “This is a bright and cheery room,” Katy commented. “I love the artwork.” She walked closer to a set of two pictures of beautiful koi fish swimming with their fins fanning behind them. Almost like reverse sketches.