How Do You Mend A Broken Heart

by Ali Vali

  "You know I could just call a maid service and be done with it."

  "Yeah right, like anyone in their right mind would put up with all your shit."

  Harry rolled out of bed and walked over to Desi's side and pulled back the comforter. Desi's leg was starting to look better, or so Harry told her. To her eyes it didn't look that pretty. There was the large incision running up the side and the angry looking bruise that covered her knee in black.

  "Hold on to my neck and try not to move around too much, let me do all the work," Harry instructed. Getting into the bathroom was a cinch, how to get her ready to use the toilet was not.

  "It's okay, Dr. Basantes, I'm sure it isn't anything you haven't seen before," Desi told her trying to make them both feel better. Setting Desi down on her good leg, Harry had the injured woman keep her arms around her neck so she could pull the nightgown up so Desi could sit. Lowering her down slowly, Harry gave Desi some privacy by stepping back into the bedroom, after extracting a promise not to move until she got back.

  Desi answered nature's call while looking around the big bathroom. There was a double sink set up with a glassed in shower in one corner. The one thing that got her attention though was the large claw-foot tub with the brass fixtures across from where she was sitting. The thought of sharing that with Harry flew into her brain causing a blush to crawl up her neck. After all she'd been through, having thoughts of that nature about her friend was the last thing she needed.

  "All done?" Harry's voice floated through the closed door.

  "All done," answered Desi. The ride back to the bed was as enjoyable as the first.

  Settled, Desi watched Harry collect some clothes before heading back into the bathroom for a shower. "Once I'm done I'll have Mona come in and give you a sponge bath. I don't want you on your feet for at least another week, so get use to the idea of a little pampering." Desi smiled as an answer, not remembering the last time someone wanted to pamper her. "And as distasteful as it was in the hospital, if I'm not home there's no getting up to go to the bathroom, you'll have to use the bedpan."

  "Aw, Harry." The whine made Harry remember all the afternoons trying to teach her complicated math.

  "Aw Harry nothing, I mean it. You need time to heal, so lie back, relax, and we'll take care of everything."

  "Harry, when you're done, Serena's here to see you, and she has Albert with her," said Mona from the French doors leading out to the balcony. She was opening them to let some fresh air into the room since it wasn't too cold out that morning. "What in the world was that girl thinking when she named that sweet child Albert? Might as well tape a note to his forehead the first day of school that says, 'Hi I'm Albert, please feel free to beat the crap out of me and steal my lunch money.' With all the names in the world why pick that one?" asked Mona shaking her head the whole time.

  "Because it is her father's name, and he became a Federal Judge, so it can't be all bad. Besides you know we all call him Butch behind Serena's back. Somehow I don't believe she'd think Federal Judge Butch would have the same ring to it."

  "Thank goodness for you and the two fruitcakes being in that boy's life. Without you, he wouldn't have any friends," commented Mona, grumbling again as the sleepwear Harry had been wearing came flying into the room.

  "Mona, you do realize that I'm a fruitcake too, don't you?" Both women heard Harry over the sound of running water.

  "Yeah I know that, bonehead, and I call you that too when you aren't around," Mona yelled back, offering Desi a wink before she left the room.

  Coming out of the bathroom in perfectly pressed chinos and a button down shirt; Harry looked like all the other yuppies Desi had seen going into the better restaurants and stores in town. The only difference between them and the woman standing in the bedroom was that all of those others had been wearing shoes.

  "I'll be right back. Want some coffee? Mona's a pain in the ass but makes the best coffee I've ever had the pleasure of tasting," said Harry smiling down at her.

  "I heard that," yelled Mona from the stairwell.

  "As I was saying, Mona is a pain in the ass but makes good coffee. Would you like some?"

  "Yes I'd love a cup. Could I bother you for some toast too, I can't drink coffee on an empty stomach," requested Desi smiling back. "Only if it's not too much trouble." At the last minute the smile faded as she remembered her place was not to ask for too much. Byron had engrained that into her head one slap at a time.

  "One toast and breakfast coming up, and since you asked so nicely, I'll bring Butch up and introduce you."

  Leaving Desi to wonder who Serena and Butch were, Harry headed down the stairs. After a few moments Desi heard the delighted squealing of a child. "That must be Butch." Her eyes drifted back to the picture on the mantle, trying to remember what it was like to be that happy.

  Daydreaming, Desi didn't hear her visitors come in and only looked up when she heard a sweet voice ask, "Uncle Harry, who's that lady in your bed?"

  "That is an old friend of your Uncle Harry's, baby boy. Can you go and tell her hello? She has a big owie and I bet it would make her feel better." Harry pointed one of her fingers out from under the tray she was carrying as a way of letting him know it was all right to move closer.

  Walking over with an outfit surprisingly like Harry's, only with shoes, the three-year-old Albert stuck out his hand and introduced himself to Desi. "Hi, my name's Albert Hubert Ladding the third, it's nice to meet you."

  "Hello, Albert, my name's Desiree Simoneaux, and it's nice to meet you too."

  "Miss Desiree, my friends call me Butch, would you like to call me that too? Just don't do it in front of mommy, it makes her upset then she yells at my Uncle Harry."

  "Okay, Butch, but my friends call me Desi so how about you call me that instead of Desiree."

  "Deal," Butch agreed then spit in his hand to seal the pact.

  "Did your Uncle Harry teach you that too?" asked Desi smiling up at the uncle in question.

  "Yep, my Uncle Harry teaches me all kinds a neat stuff." He turned in Harry's direction with a clear case of adoration on his small sweet face.

  "I thought so," said Desi as she put less spit into her palm and shook his hand.

  Harry laughed as she placed the large plantation tray across Desi's lap with her breakfast. Butch was trying diligently to climb up on the bed from the other side, failing until Harry came over and gave him a boost. "Now you promised, sweet boy, no jumping around. Desi has a hurt leg and it wouldn't be good for her to have you do that."

  "I promise, Uncle Harry, I'll sit here and drink my coffee with Desi until you get back. Granny Mona made me some cinnamonny toast to go with it," said Butch as he picked up a glass of milk Mona had stirred a tablespoon of coffee into.

  "Okay enjoy your cinnamonny toast while I go and get your mother to talk with Desi." Turning to Desi and offering her a smile, Harry told her, "I'll be right back so if my buddy here gets rowdy, you have my permission to whack him one."

  "I'm sure we'll be fine, Uncle Harry. Go on so the two of us can enjoy our breakfast," said Desi with a smile.

  ************************************************************************

  "Serena, baby, how is it that you always manage to look like you stepped out of a glamour magazine every time I see you?" asked Harry when she stepped into the sunroom.

  If there had ever been anyone who could have come close to being a permanent fixture in Harry's life, it was Serena. The blond hair and blue eyes had turned her head the minute she had laid eyes on the successful attorney at a political fundraiser four years prior.

  Serena was getting out of a bad marriage when they had met, and only after her ex-husband skipped town leaving them in major debt, did she find out she was pregnant with Albert. Harry had seen her through her crisis, and together with Kenneth and Tony, got Serena's life back on track. Her adopted nephew loved her with abandon, and had from the minute he started talking called her Uncle Harry. He explained in his own way that Aun
t Harry just didn't sound right to him so he persisted with uncle.

  "It's my way of reminding you of what you're missing out on, honey. You could have this," Serena ran her hand down her body, "And Albert comes as part of the package."

  "You never did fight fair did you, baby?" asked Harry bending down to place a kiss on Serena's lips.

  "No, doc, with you it's all or nothing. That does tend to raise the stakes of the game."

  "That is my one downfall, I was never a gambler."

  "Cut the bull and tell me why you had me drop everything on a Wednesday morning, good doctor. I'll have you know I had a date last night and didn't get in until two, so this had better be good," said Serena with a playful scowl on her face. She was trying to ignore the tingle Harry's kiss had left on her lips.

  "Thrown me over already have you? You are such the slut, Serena, but I love you anyway. I have to keep telling you that or you won't let me see my boy Butch." Harry tried to sound dejected as she plopped down on the sofa next to her friend.

  "Stop calling him that, daddy has a perfectly wonderful name. I don't know why I'm the only one who sees it?"

  "Of course, baby, that's why everyone calls your father Hubbie. Now stop complaining and listen."

  Harry spent some time explaining the circumstances her houseguest found herself in, and what she was facing if something wasn't done about the idiot husband who had attacked her. Serena had heard the story countless times before from every shape and type of woman the city had to offer.

  It was encouraging to her that Desi was willing to press charges, since it would make her life that much easier as a prosecutor if the victim wasn't spending all her time defending the perpetrator. Juries had no patience for women who didn't want to help themselves, much less the district attorney's office. People often saw this, not as a crime against society, but as something that happened behind closed doors that didn't effect them directly. The woman in that situation couldn't be seen as having any sympathy for her attacker or she would lose the sympathy of the jury chosen to pass judgment on her attacker.

  "Stay here, Harry, I can handle this," said Serena. She leaned over and kissed Harry one last time before moving to stand up.

  "Why don't I come with you?" she asked hopefully.

  Serena shook her head and placed her hand on Harry's knee. With the intensity of Harry's protectiveness when it came to this woman it was the death knell of any relationship she ever hoped to have with her. "Harry, if this woman is a friend of yours, she might not feel comfortable talking to me with you in the room. You have to trust me on this one."

  "But I don't want her to think I'm just deserting her."

  "Honey, no woman wants to admit to herself she let some asshole beat her and treat her like the dirt on his shoes, much less to someone else she cares about. You wait here and I'll send Albert down to entertain you until I'm done. You can pull out that insipid video game you think I don't know about and play something with him." Serena pressed her hand to Harry's cheek and smiled. "If she wants you there and asks me to come and get you, I will, I promise."

  Watching from the hallway outside Harry's bedroom, Serena knew why Harry had left her son upstairs with this woman. Butch had a way of drawing a smile out of anyone. The foundation she had provided her son, with the help of Harry and her family, was one the boy drew strength from. No matter what came to pass in his life, he would always know he was loved.

  "Have you been a good boy?" asked Serena. She stood leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed over her chest.

  Taking one look at Desi, she realized who this woman was. She was the winner, and Serena tried to bite back the bile rising in her throat because of that fact. As she had mounted the stairs the hope of this being just an acquaintance Harry wanted to help out for altruistic reasons was still alive, but the blonde was the woman Tony had described to her on more than one occasion.

  "Yes, mommy, Desi was telling me a story. I ate all my cinnamonny toast Granny Mona made me, so we had to find something else to do," Butch informed her, turning his attention in his mother's direction.

  "That's my big boy, how would you like to go downstairs and play with your Uncle Harry? She said to tell you that she wants to play your secret game. You want to tell me what that is?" She combed his hair back in place with her fingers when he jumped off the bed and ran to her.

  "No, mommy, I promised Uncle Harry, and if I tell, we won't be able to save the world together. You wouldn't want that would you?"

  "No, Albert, I wouldn't want that, now scat."

  "Remember it's Butch when she isn't here," he whispered to Desi. She gave him a thumbs up before he tore down the hall heading for the stairs.

  "Don't run down the stairs, Albert, you're going to hurt yourself," yelled Serena after him. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure when it happened, but I seemed to have turned into my mother ever since Butch came along. I'm Serena Ladding, it's a pleasure to meet you, even under these trying circumstances," said Serena holding out her hand.

  "I'm Desi Simoneaux, it's nice to meet you too. You have a beautiful son, but I thought it upset you to have him called Butch."

  "Well there are a lot of things about me Harry doesn't know, and I like to keep her guessing," said Serena shrugging her shoulders. "We can't have her getting too smug on us, can we?"

  "How do you know Harry, Mrs. Ladding?"

  "It's Ms. Ladding, but please call me Serena, and we aren't here to talk about me, Desi. We're here to talk about you."

  "I'm not exactly a fascinating topic of discussion, just ask Harry."

  Serena laughed at Desi's blindness when it came to Harry. "I have actually so I guess the answer depends on who you ask, so don't sell yourself so short."

  "Sorry, I didn't mean to come across as ungrateful."

  "I didn't take it that way." Serena took a seat on the bed and smoothed out her skirt. "She didn't betray any of your confidences, but Harry told me a little of what's happened and I think this talk with you is a good idea."

  "Why is that?"

  "If I understand correctly, Harry informed you I work for the District Attorney's office. I'm here to help you get out of a bad situation, and make the process as pleasant as possible for you. I won't lie or try to sugar coat it; it's not going to be easy. Your husband doesn't want to go to jail. Your husband's family doesn't want him to go to jail. Face it, they're not idiots.

  "No one wantsto go to jail, especially in this state. His attorney will put you on trial, and if he's good, or if he were up against anyone else, the jury will want to break your other leg when he's done. But there isn't anyone that good in this city practicing law, Desi. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm the best at what I do, and what I want to do is send Byron Simoneaux to jail for what he did to you. What I need from you is a bit of information." Serena finished, sitting back to gauge Desi's reaction to what she had just said.

  "That was quite the opening argument, counselor. What do you need to know?"

  "First, are you still in love with this man? Because if you are this will be a waste of my time, Harry's time, and yours. Don't take this as my not wanting to help you, or me being rude, but if you are planning to go back and want to renege on the charges then it won't matter how good I am, we won't win. If that happens, then we repeat this process in six months tops, if we are lucky you'll still be here to testify against him."

  "You're a very blunt person, Ms. Ladding, but in this case I'm thinking that's a good thing. I don't love Byron, I never did. Maybe that's why he beats me, who knows? I know you most likely don't like or understand women like me, and you probably think of us as weak and stupid." She looked down to the where the blanket came off her injured leg and sighed.

  "You can't know what it's like to sit and wait for someone to come home and wonder who'll walk through the door. Will it be the guy who tried to romance you, whether you wanted him to or not on your daddy's front porch, or will it be the guy who likes to find new places to put bruises that no one will ever
see? I'll do whatever it takes to get out of this, so don't worry about that," said Desi with conviction. She looked back at Serena and raised her jaw in a defiant pose.

  "I can imagine and understand, Desi. I was married to that guy, and now I'm not. You're far from stupid and I wouldn't think to ever look down on you. I stand up everyday in court and defend women like us against men like the ones we married. I commend you for having the courage to at least try. Just don't squander this opportunity. Use it to get back on your feet. I want to be your friend here, please don't look at me as the enemy," said Serena softening her tone.

  Desi studied the perfectly manicured nails when Serena laid her hand over hers. "I'm glad you think I have all these opportunities to look forward to. From where I'm sitting the picture doesn't look all that great."

  "From where I'm sitting, it looks like you're in a place where you're wanted. Doesn't that count for anything?"

  "Yeah right. Who's going to want me now? I don't have any skills, and my body looks like a roadmap of injuries. I used to have dreams, but even those have faded away. Byron saw to that didn't he?"

  "Desi, you're only thirty-four years old. You've lost a few years to the hell you've been living, but you have so much to look forward to. Let me help you start your journey," offered Serena.

  "You don't understand, you have a family, you have Butch and you have Harry. I made my choices, and now I'm just going to have to live with them." Desi gazed at the picture on the mantle again. It represented to her all the things she could have had if she had stayed with Harry. "The only good thing I have left in my life is my sister."

  "Darlin', I don't know what gave you that impression. Harry doesn't belong to me. I wish she did, but she doesn't. Hell every woman who comes into contact with Harry wants her, if only for the night, if that's all she's offering. There's only one woman in her bed though, and since I'm sitting here talking to her, that would make it you. I don't know how you did it, cause I've tried for four long years, but you have snagged our Dr. Basantes but good. It's up to you to reel her in now." Serena patted her hand and laughed.