“Is this a new car?”
“Nah, I’ve just been saving her for a special occasion.”
He put the car in gear and peeled off onto the freeway passing cars in either lane, keeping pace with the ambulance driver. He was focused totally on the road and I was thankful for his concentration. He would worry significantly less about Amato’s declining health as long as he had his eyes on the road and his hands on the wheel. I chastised myself for glancing over at him periodically as he shifted gears. Seeing him effortlessly shift and steer made him unbelievably sexy. I made a mental note that when Amato recovered from his surgery we would definitely be spending some more alone time in his car.
12
We arrived at the hospital after the ambulance to a flurry of activity. I spotted Selena and she just ran to me with open arms. Giving me a full hug she said, “Rach! I’m so glad to see you! You look like hell.”
“Thanks. I’ve missed you too. Let’s go ahead and get some scans, so we can see what we’re dealing with.”
“Gotcha. You want me to go ahead and prep 4 also?”
“That’s my girl. Oh… and I think maybe some Stones.”
“You sure? I thought it would be an AC/DC kinda day.”
“Nah. I think a little Jagger will do nicely.”
“Haha, okay you’re the boss, but I’ll cue up some other stuff too, just in case.”
“Thanks, Selena. I think that it’s going to be a long one. Go ahead and do the scans, I’m going to go shower and get ready. Ya know, get refocused.”
Selena looked at Tony huddled over the old man with a concerned look on his face and then smirked. “We’ll have to chat later about him.”
“You know we will haha!”
I walked over to where Tony was standing and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Tony, you a great job getting us here in plenty of time. This is Selena. She’ll be helping me today in surgery.”
“Oh, the bestie! Hey, I feel like I already know ya. So thanks for helping with Gramps. I appreciate both of you, taking good care of him.”
“Yeah, he’s gotta do the rest now. Why don’t you go ahead and make yourself useful and go back to the house and bring him some personal items, ya now pajamas and stuff like that. I have a feeling once we see those scans he will have an extended stay here.”
“Yeah. Good idea. I have some things business to take care of for him anyway.” He looked at Selena for a few seconds before deciding to go ahead and give me a quick peck on the cheek. “Thank, doc.” As he walked away he kissed Amato on the forehead and let him know he would be back for his impending surgery. I called out after him on an impulse, “Hey! Bring us lunch back from that deli, too.”
“Yes…dear.” His emphasis on the word dear, made Selena howl with laughter. “Well… looks like you’ve managed to wrap one of the toughest guys in town around you finger. I don’t know what you’ve got down there, but I’m glad I’ve never had the desire to find out.”
“Hah! You know your wife has you whipped too and don’t even try to deny it. Do you remember the Christmas party a couple of years ago?”
“Haha! Yes… hey she found the giant Santa with the sunglasses we needed didn’t she?”
“Yeah, after going to like eight different stores.”
“That was an artful video we made. Ya know it almost went viral, we could have been YouTube sensations.”
“Selena for the last time, remaking the dancing scene from Risky Business is sooooo tired. Ugh.”
“Oooh now that we have an actual mobster it will be easier.”
“Haha! He’s not the dancing type and he’s not a mobster either.”
“We’ll see how it plays out. They’re ready upstairs for him, so I’m going. Love you.”
“Okay I’ll be waiting, I’m going to prep now.”
I watched Selena explain to Amato what they were going to do and I wanted down a hallway to a back area of the hospital and entered our locker room. I opened my locker and my eyes immediately went to my wedding photo. Richard and I looked so young then. I didn’t have dark circles under my eyes and my job hadn’t begun to take a toll on my body yet. I didn’t have the wispy ends of grey starting to trickle through my brunette strands. They were there already and in certain light shimmered like the grim reaper’s scythe. I felt old. I almost laughed out loud, looking at the broad smiles on our faces as we walked out of the church. It was a grand wedding filled with all of our mutual friends and family. It was a very classy affair. I couldn’t believe how he ended up being. He was selfish and I was naive. I guess big smiles really do hide a multitude of sins. I took the photograph down and placed it in my bag. I didn’t want it now, but I knew that one day I’d still want a reminder of the woman I once was. I took off my thin sweater and hung up it, glancing at my phone. Tony hadn’t called or texted so I could only assume he was still handing business for Amato. I pulled up the local headlines and took a deep breath seeing Richard’s face. It appeared that he’d been shot in a hotel room on the outskirts of the city. There were things that Richard kept secret from me, so I wasn’t surprised that he had enemies I didn’t know about. After all he did have a gambling problem and a drinking problem, that didn’t make things any better. It seemed they were still searching for his murderer. I shut my eyes and exhaled. I had to put all of that out of my mind though. I needed to refocus to prepare for Amato’s surgery.
I sat down on the bench in the locker room and took out my work toiletries and water bottle when I heard the door open. I was half expecting to see one of my colleagues getting ready to come in for their pre-surgery shower, but instead my eyes fixated on a woman I’d never seen before. She was tall and curvaceous with long red hair that framed her face. She walked towards me as if she meant business and I was honestly taken aback by her swagger. I wasn’t exactly what you would call a passive person though, so I showed no signs of fear or even shock when she stood over me. “Are you Rachel?”
“Um… yeah. Who wants to know? Are you serving me papers or something?”
“You wish. I’m Amanda, you’ve probably never heard of me. It wouldn’t surprise me though, he’s bad about letting people know things.”
“Are you a friend of Richard’s because if so, I’m sorry… I’ve been a bit out of it since I found out. I haven’t really had a chance to make arrangements or anything. I don’t even know what he would want. Isn’t that sad?”
“I suppose. I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I do have a suggestion for you.”
I looked up at her and smiled politely, cocking an eyebrow. “What’s that? Should I have a spa day? Get my nails done? Tell me what should I do that will help my poor grieving soul?” She smirked at my commentary and pointedly said, “You can stay away from my husband.” My mouth dropped open and I stood up, making certain my body language told the woman she wasn’t completely in charge. “Listen. I really don’t have the time to deal with you and whatever this is right now. I’m about to possibly perform an open-heart surgery and I won’t be distracted. I don’t even know how you got in here, but I’m calling security to escort you out.”
“Hmm. You’ve got some mouth on you. I didn’t figure you’d be the type he’d go for. Ya see, he’s always liked his women to be seen and not heard if you catch my drift. That’s what actually makes me the perfect wife.” I reached for my cell phone but she put a hand on my wrist. “I’ll be leaving soon enough. I just had to see if it were true.”
“I just had to come see for myself if Tony had found another woman. I guess that would be you. Funny, I always thought he’d leave me for a blonde.”
“You’re kidding me, right? He never told me he was married, in fact I don’t see any evidence of it whatsoever. I don’t know what your endgame is, but you’re not going to intimidate me, especially without proof. So I suggest the next time you low-key threaten someone you have something with you to back it up. Now get the fuck out of my hospital before I have you arrested.”
“Oh, you
don’t have to worry about that in the least. I know when I’ve overstayed my welcome. Just so you know… I’ll be around. If you see Tony before I do, just let him know that Amanda dropped by for a few. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled. In fact, I think it’s time we have a little celebration… you’ll have to give me your address so I can send you the invitation when we renew our vows. Remember though, it’s not classy to show up without an RSVP first. I would say feel free to bring a plus one, but I have a feeling you won’t have one to worry about anyway.”
Before I had the opportunity to respond she turned on her heels and I watched her swing her hips out the door, just as easily exiting the room as she entered. I sat for a few moments with my head in my hands. I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. Tony was amazing; he made me feel loved and appreciated. I couldn’t believe he was married. I suppose it was possible, but not the best news I’d heard. Fuck. Richard was dead. Tony was married, and I had to save an old man’s life. I pulled out my phone once more and sent Tony a quick text. “After surgery we’re going to have a serious discussion. I don’t want to get into it now because I have to review these scans for Amato. Your ass had better be waiting on the other side of the operating room when I’m finished.” I put my phone in my locker and slammed it shut. Walking to the shower I wiped tears from the corners of my eyelids. This wasn’t going to be easy, but I wasn’t going to let Tony get away without answering to this no matter how gorgeous his eyes were when he was laughing or how good his ass looked in those jeans he’d picked out this morning.
13
After getting fully dressed in my scrubs and I tied up my hair and put on my gloves and mask. It was hot. It was always hot in the washroom before any major surgery. While I was reliving the events of the past few days, I heard a soft knock on the door. It was Selena. “Hey Rach, we’re ready for you. It’s not my business, but I suggest you look at these scans before you go in. This one looks well… different than what I’ve seen in the past.”
“Fuck. Well everything about this entire situation has been different or complicated, so I don’t’ see how this would be any different.”
“Damn. You’re in a mood all of a sudden. Wanna talk about it?”
“I had a visitor while you were running the tests. This bitch just walked up in our locker room claiming to be Tony’s wife. I don’t even know how she knew we were together, it’s not like we’re making out in the mall wish my hands in his back pockets.”
“I know you hate that. You’ve mentioned that several times before. I think we’ll make this our new drinking game, you have to take a shot every time you see PDA that goes overboard.”
“Selena! I’m serious, what am I supposed to do about this? He’s married. He’s perfect, Richard’s dead and he’s married.”
“I’ve never seen you this way. Even when you and Richard were in your honeymoon phase I’ve never seen a guy drive you to the point of losing your cool. Selena are you in love?”
“I can honestly say I don’t know. I don’t even know now if I know what love is. I thought it was all rose petals and looking at the moon while holding hands on the beach. Instead I’ve just found myself in need of his body on mine and that boyish grin when he’s in a playful mood makes me feel as if we’re the only two people on the planet. You know he gave me his cheesecake the other night. He had the housekeepers bring me toiletries because he didn’t know if his shampoo would work with my hair. He bandaged my ribs and even kicked his drunk cousin’s ass for me.”
“Wow. Sounds chivalrous. Not remarkable, mind you, but at least he’s trying. I know some women on this side of the fence who are somehow attached and don’t really do half that. I’m going to have to tell my wife to step up her game some. Ordering pizza and rubbing my feet after one of my work runs just isn’t going to cut it anymore. I’m going to demand cheesecake and fights.”
“Hah! You get the point though, right?”
“Yeah… I do. Selena this is serious business. I’ve never seen you like this and frankly I’m happy that you’ve found what I think is true love, but at the same time I’m worried. You’ve never been less rational. You’ve missed work, disappeared from social media and I know you haven’t even made one phone call to start handling Richard’s arrangements or checked on your financial issues.”
“Sigh. You’re right…I haven’t been a very responsible woman here lately. I should do that after Amato’s surgery.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“What do you mean?”
Selena held back a full grin before she wrapped her arms around me. “Well…it’s not every single day your bestie falls in love unless she’s a ho, so I’ve handled all that for you. You are now the sole beneficiary to Richard’s life insurance money—which should pay out in about a week, the bank has restored all of your funds to you following the identity theft report I filed, and Richard’s arrangements will be at his childhood church on the East End in two days.”
I squealed in excitement and hugged her back, almost jumping up and down. “You didn’t do this! When did you do this? Wait…how did you do this?”
“Pfft… I made a copy of your social security card years ago. I just pretended to be fabulously wealthy and they believed me.”
“Oh my God… you made a copy of my private information?”
“Hey ya never know when you’ll need shit like that. I’m a Virgo… I was born to handle boring life details.”
I pulled up my mask to wipe the tears that had formed there. I suddenly found myself overwhelmed with emotion. The stress of the past couple days finally hit me. I sobbed in Selena’s arms as she held me closer. “Hey now, slugger. It’s gonna be alright. You are going to be just fine. See…things are already working out. Now don’t worry about things with Tony or Richard or whatever the fuck her name is, we’ll get through this together.”
I sniffled and snotted while clearing my throat. “You’re right. You’re right, it’s all going to work out. I just have to focus now. Ya know… I’ve become rather fond of Amato, he’s kind of like a father figure to me now.”
“I know. So I need that beautiful brain of yours to function for a few hours again, okay? Look at these and tell me what you think. What are you options here? Let’s walk through it before we get down to the nitty gritty.” Selena had taken the liberty to bring me physical copies of the CT scans on Amato’s heart as well as the other tests. I sat down with her in the alcove leading to the operating room. We sat cross-legged on the cold concrete and I exhaled. She was right. It was game time. I had to put all the thoughts of Tony out of my head and just focus on the problem at hand. Selena saw the light in my eyes and she smiled. “Ah. There’s my girl. I knew she was in there somewhere. Talk to me Rach. If I were performing this surgery what would I do?”
“If I were you, I’d tell you to take the shortest route possible. Let’s go in through the left atrium, the blockage seems to be lighter there, then once I’m in there I can put a small stint in the pulmonary artery to strengthen it and stabilize the pressure. If that goes smoothly, then we can work on inserting the pacemaker, so his rhythms stay consistent.”
“Sounds like a plan, I’ll get it set up. You sure you still want the Stones?”
“Selena…you are a lifesaver. Thanks for your help. Are you sure you’re not a crazy fucking Gemini?”
“Hah! Despite popular belief…I’m as solid as they come. Are you sure you’re not?”
“Nah, you know I’m all fire baby and to answer your question, yeah. I’m still feeling some Jagger. Beast of Burden.”
“Okay, showtime doc.”
I watched my best friend walk into the room where she went about the task of setting up all the surgical instruments I’d need. She also made certain that the room as sterile and at a reasonable temperature. I preferred it a bit cooler when I operated, just because I found it easier to concentrate when I didn’t feel sweat dripping throughout my scrubs. Some surgeons preferred the reverse though. They liked the added pre
ssure that the heat provided. One colleague actually stated it made him feel as if he were playing football, his high school love. It was funny I’ve never been a big fan of the heat, but with Tony I found myself running hot all the time.
I walked into the OR once everything was set up. Amato had already been prepped and was ready to go. I looked down at him and said, “Okay Amato…I know you’re a tough guy, I need you to bring out that toughness today. Hang in there for me and I’ll be here waiting when you wake up, alright?”
“How could I resist such a pretty face? I’ll see you on the other side of this doc.”
The anesthesiologist gave the instructions for Amato to take several deep breaths. As he did so, he was out in a matter of minutes. I did a quick check of his vitals and while the EMTs did a good job of getting him stabilized, I knew that I had to make the surgery as quick as possible to ensure he didn’t crash before we could establish a good rhythm for him again. I heard the hum of the monitors and the faint beeping of Amato’s heartbeat. “Scalpel.”
The hum of the machines and the fainting beeping slowly gave way to the steady beat of rock music as I focused on the task at hand. I made the first cut with a steady hand and was thankful that it was precise enough to make the following cuts smooth. No one dared speak in the operating room, until I started the conversation with Selena. “Okay, we need to get some suction going here. It’s show time boys and girls.” I was able to follow my original plan and go in through the side of the heart I’d originally wanted to. Under my breath I whispered to Amato, “That’s it tough guy. You hang in there, we’re almost finished with the hard part.” Getting in was always the most difficult part of any surgery. The human body is a strange thing, especially the human heart. Once something tries to penetrate it, it seems to put up its own invisible wall. The body then goes haywire, and immediately tries to attack any intruder. Literally and figuratively the heart is a fragile thing. Selena continued to provide suction and hand me different size blades while the music rolled on in the background. “So what are you going to do Rach?”
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