by Ali Vali
"Oh, that’s the type of relationship you have." The woman next to her didn’t look gay, but she did talk about the doctor like the woman had hung the moon.
"I’m sorry if I misled you as to what Harry means to me. Believe me Bridget we are not much different than you and your husband. Our love isn’t any less real," said Desi gently. The woman had enough to worry about without any lectures from her.
"I’m not being judgmental Desi, I just assumed when everyone said Harry Basantes, that well you know, I thought she was a man."
"When it comes to shopping and coordinating clothes, I’m not so sure she isn’t, but Harry is most definitely a woman." When Harry walked out to the waiting area, she found Desi and Bailey’s mother laughing about something. She wasn’t sure why Desi was here, but if the older woman found some comfort in her lover’s presence then Harry was glad she had come.
"Mrs. Priest I wanted to talk to you about Bailey," started Harry. Desi moved over a chair so that Harry could sit down and talk to Bridget and fill her in on what they had accomplished in the operating room. Twenty minutes later Harry had answered all the woman’s questions and was still trying to get her to understand the reason she would find leaches on Bailey’s fingers once she was moved to a room.
"Trust me ma’am, they are not voodoo medicine. They are an accepted medical treatment, which while not used often, is quite effective for what Bailey needs. The leaches are only used once then disposed of. They will rid Bailey’s fingers of the old blood cutting down on infection, and will excrete a blood thinner to help with circulation. That will be beneficial to getting fresh blood to flow into the reattached digits. I only have your daughter’s best interests at heart Mrs. Priest." What Harry was suggesting had lost its appeal somewhere after the dark ages, but sometimes Mother Nature knew best.
"That’s what Desi said, so I guess I’ll go with her opinion," said Bridget. The dark arched brow thrown in Desi’s direction finally got the mother to smile and release the air she had pent up in her lungs. Harry’s low calm voice had soothed away the fears of Bailey’s recovery and Bridget was ready to see her daughter. It would take months, but after physical therapy the young woman would be fine.
"It’s nice to have such a good PR department working for me in the waiting room," said Harry with a smile for Desi. She was surprised to see the blonde sitting there when she had walked out, but was glad Desi had been there to keep Mrs. Priest company during her daughter’s surgery. It had been a long day trying to put back the pieces that had been torn off not in the neatest of fashion, but Harry was confident that most, if not all, the fingers would be saved.
They walked off together toward the locker room so that Harry could collect her stuff before making rounds with her students. The staff at the hospital had all gotten to know Desi in the past months when she came to visit Harry, and waved to her as she walked by with the surgeon.
"Not that I’m complaining, but what are you doing here?" Once they were in the locker room Harry pulled Desi into an embrace and kissed her. Desi had gotten Rachel to cut her hair, at Tony’s urging, into a more stylish shorter look and Harry had had trouble keeping her fingers out of it ever since. Not that Desi had looked old before, but the cut had taken years off her face, and to Harry, she looked like the young teenager she had left on the front porch swing years before. Only now the teenager had on a casual but stylish DKNY outfit, and wore makeup that was only found at the counter at Saks.
"I thought that I would treat you to dinner tonight. In case you don’t remember tonight is our anniversary."
"Anniversary?" asked Harry trying to put on a confused face.
"Yes, this is the night that you first screwed up the courage to kiss me. I, of course, had been wanting for you to do it for years before that, but sometimes Dr. Basantes, you aren’t too swift on the uptake. Unless you have a date with some other blonde in the hospital tonight, I want to take you out. Who knows, if you’re good I’ll let you kiss me again on that same swing later on." The fact that Harry had not forgotten that momentous occasion had filled her heart with happiness that morning when she answered the door to the surprise Harry had ordered. The deliveryman from the florist had a bouquet of two-dozen pink roses, each with a chocolate kiss attached.
"I would love to go out with you my love, if you don’t mind making rounds with us first." When they were done, Harry changed into the outfit Desi had brought with her, saving them a trip home. Desi had made reservations at the Bella Luna Restaurant in the French Quarter. It was one of their favorites since the windows of the second story eatery opened to the Mississippi River allowing its customers to hear the river traffic floating by. The good food was accentuated by the romantic surroundings of Venetian glass light fixtures and candle lit tables.
There was an ice bucket by their table with a bottle of champagne awaiting their arrival when they sat down. One waiter came to open it while another brought a small gift wrapped box to the table and placed it on Harry’s plate. Desi smiled when Harry looked truly surprised by the unexpected gift.
"What’s this?" Harry asked as she picked up the small box. The box was wrapped in white paper with a white ribbon not giving the surgeon any hint as to what was inside.
"Open it and find out." Desi picked up her glass and held it out to the middle of the table. "But first let’s have a toast." Desi waited for Harry to pick up her glass and clink it against hers before continuing. "Here’s to true love and the gifts that it brings to our lives."
"Amen," said Harry. She tore through the paper and the ribbon and lifted the top off before just slumping back in her chair. It took her a minute to find the strength to pick up the white stick in the box and look at it. Desi saw the hands that had soothed away so much pain in the past shake as Harry held up the pregnancy test so that she could see the blue line running down the center of the test area. They were going to have a baby in about eight and a half months. A child that the two would love unconditionally even though their conception had been anything but conventional.
It was one of the only times that Desi had seen Harry cry sporting one of the brightest smiles she had ever seen. In the months after that night the good doctor had become a walking cloak of protection when it came to her partner. There was never a time that Desi felt uncomfortable asking for anything that she craved or needed, no matter the time or trouble.
"I’ll bet you’ll be glad when you get rid of that pressure on your bladder won’t you baby?" Desi was having more trouble sitting and getting up by herself as time progressed in the pregnancy.
"Considering that everyone in your family except your mother is a big ox, I’m surprised the baby hasn’t flattened the thing by now. But you’re right, how in the world will I be able to fill my day when I don’t have to go to the bathroom two hundred times an hour?" Harry knew Desi was teasing, since her partner had loved every aspect of being pregnant and carrying their child.
"You could always paint the house," said Harry. They laughed as they walked around the room for a bit to stretch out the muscles in Desi’s back. The one thing that they were both grateful for was that the contractions seemed to have stopped and maybe Ellie would let them go home.
"Hey sis, how are you doing?" asked Rachel when she walked in. The couple was standing by the window kissing as Harry rubbed her hands along Desi’s lower back under the hospital gown. "Isn’t that how you got in that condition to begin with?"
"You are just a laugh a minute runt." Harry didn’t let Desi go, but did close the back of the gown now that the door was open.
"I wanted to talk to the both of you about what happened last night if that’s all right? I don’t want to put anymore pressure on you Desi." Desi’s sister walked to the window to be near them and waited for Harry to respond. As the doctor in the family Rachel would go along with whatever medical opinion Harry gave.
"We might as well do it while we’re in the hospital just in case my wife goes into labor," teased Harry. They hadn’t brought up the subject
of the girls’ long lost mother until now. Whoever June Fontaine was, they would have to deal with her. "What do you remember about your mother?" asked Harry to the both of them.
"I would think Desi would be the one to remember if there is any memories to be had Harry. The woman supposedly died in child birth with me remember?" Harry moved Desi back to the bed to make her comfortable before they got any deeper into the conversation. When Harry went to move to the chair she had been sitting in while Mona was visiting, Desi grabbed her by the belt and shook her head.
"No I want you with me honey." Desi pouted a little and gave Harry her best puppy dog eye when she saw reluctance on the face Desi knew so well. "Please?"
"OK, but if Mona comes back in here you had better take up for me." Harry teased her as she climbed into the bed behind Desi.
"I promise I’ll protect you honey," said Desi. The feel of Harry’s warm chest against her cheek made her feel instantly better.
"I don’t really remember anything about our mother Rachel, and since daddy didn’t have any pictures of her lying around I just have an image in my head as to what I think she might look like. The thing I always found kind of funny was that daddy never really talked about her. I would just think that he would want to so that Rachel and I would have some clue as to what she was like, but that never happened. The pain of her loss was the only thing I could think of why he wouldn’t want to do that."
"Did he ever tell you where she was buried?" Harry laughed a little when Desi’s hand slipped into the front of her shirt and scratched the skin on her abdomen. Before the baby hadn’t allowed Desi to sleep on her side anymore, Harry would always find Desi’s hand stretched out on her midsection when she woke up every morning. The act seemed to center them both.
"No, again I should have questioned myself when the graves weren’t side by side, but I didn’t. It just never occurred to me that she would still be alive. Why would he have to lie about that?" asked Desi to no one in particular.
"I don’t know honey, but I think maybe we should talk to this woman and find out what Clyde’s ulterior motives were. Knowing daddy, she forgot his dinner one night and he sold her into slavery," said Rachel. The look on Desi’s face made her sister smile. Desi looked so happy that it was hard to remember the times when it would be weeks before a smile would crease her face.
Every night before Rachel went to sleep in the house she shared with Byron and Desi, she would pray that Desi would find happiness in something or in someone else. For the longest time Rachel had harbored ill feelings for Harry for leaving them alone after heading off to college. It wasn’t until she had said something in front of Desi one day that her sister had finally told her the truth.
Looking at the two of them now, it was hard to conceive that they had been separated for any time, much less years. Rachel remembered the first time she had come home and found the same dreamy expression on Desi’s face she had lost so many years before.
The bedroom door was open which could only mean that Harry had been called out to the hospital. From the light of the full moon Rachel could make out her sister’s form on the balcony looking out into the gardens. Her crutches were resting beside her and Desi had a peaceful look on her face as she took in the fragrance from the sweet olive trees that were planted under the structure she stood on.
"Mind a little company?" The shop had closed hours earlier, but Rachel had accepted a dinner invitation from one of her clients and had spent the most of the evening talking to the woman that had treated her to a night out.
"Hey you, no come on out here and take a deep breath. This place is like magic," said Desi.
"You always have loved those trees haven’t you Desi?" The hairdresser had a feeling that the house’s owner hadn’t bothered to tell her sister one of the main reasons she had decided getting the house they stood in now.
"Yeah. Don’t you remember there was a grove of these in that little park Harry and I used to take you to?" Desi relived more pleasant times from their past.
"How could I forget, Harry was the best swing pusher in the world. Want to know a little secret Tony told me? Only you have to promise not to tell," said Rachel.
"What? Come on I promise, now tell me."
"He told me that when he walked Harry through this house, she stood right here for about an hour not moving. Tony was worried sick that something had finally snapped in her head when the tears started streaming down her face, but he didn’t want to interrupt whatever memories she was reliving. When she finally turned around she gave him a check to accompany her bid without another word. Weeks later Tony said he finally worked up the nerve to ask her about that day when he was helping her unpack. Harry told him that if you ever came back she knew this would be your favorite place in the house. It would be her way of letting you know that she was thinking of you as part of her life even when you weren’t here."
It was like a sense of déjà vu from Tony’s story when she looked at Desi standing there. Her sister wasn’t talking and there were tears running down her face. The space Desi stood in was a gift from a tortured soul that hadn’t forgotten the touch of her love. The greatest gift that Harry had given her was the strength and patience of her hope. The hope that Harry had clung to that Desi would share in her life again in a house that was purchased just for her.
Rachel felt the strong arms pull her against an equally strong body that still felt the same after all those years and she joined her sister in a good cry. The younger sister that had never mattered to Byron, was as loved by Harry as she was by Desi. Rachel should have walked away when Harry let her go and walked toward Desi, but she stayed if only to see what loved looked like. When Harry’s hand cupped the side of Desi’s face, her sister never opened her eyes but her lips parted in expectation. The kiss wasn’t one of passion or seduction, but one that conveyed all the feelings both had missed for so long. It told of the loneliness each heart had suffered while they had been apart, and it promised a lifetime of future happiness. Whenever Rachel caught the faint scent of the small white blossoms of the sweet olive trees, she thought back to that night. To her it would always be the night that her sister finally accepted the fact that Harry would hold her like that forever.
"Clyde had a reason for everything he did Rach, you should know that by now. This one would have been a whopper of an explanation if the old man were still with us I’m sure. Only one way to find out though," said Harry. The thought of digging Clyde up and beating the shit out of him anyway crossed her mind as she held Desi. The thought of wanting the best for your children and protecting them was becoming a reality in her life, but Harry wondered if Clyde realized how much pain he had brought his girls with the decisions he had made. He had long ago negated all the respect Harry had had for the man when his bigotry had stolen years from her and Desi.
"Would you be there when we did this Harry?" asked Rachel.
"You just try and stop me runt. You and your sister are my family and I take that responsibility seriously. Let’s give June Fontaine a call and see what her side of the story is and what she wants," said Harry.
When Ellie walked back in she found both Harry and Rachel up on the bed with Desi. The one that needed rest was the only one not sleeping, but Desi looked quite content to be sharing Harry’s embrace with her sister.
"How are you feeling?" Ellie asked Desi. The doctor spoke softly so as not to wake Harry and Rachel.
"Pretty good actually. Thanks for telling them I could eat something, if not I would have been afraid for the staff. No more contractions since last night, but what happens to the dilation that I already have?"
"The trick is to stop the body from wanting to spit that sucker out, and stopping the contractions is the first step. Now what we have to do is confine you to bed for the duration and see how much time that gives us. If you promise to be good I’ll send you home," said Ellie.
"She promises to be good," said Harry from under Desi. Sleep had vanished as soon as Desi had started talking,
and Harry knew that Desi would be more comfortable at home in their room. With Mona and her mother there would be no way that Desi would be allowed to do anything that would start the process over again.
"Ah, my voice of reason," teased Desi. The thought of spending more than two weeks in this room was depressing her, so she would do anything that would allow her to go home.
Later that day Harry propped her up on the headboard with extra pillows so that Desi could see the television better. Mona had brought up lunch for both of them and now they were going to watch a movie. Rachel had called the number June had left and they had made arrangements for her to visit the Basantes home again that night.
As the opening credits rolled on the screen, Desi leaned further into Harry and enjoyed the hand that was rubbing her stomach. "Honey do you think that this woman is really my mother?"
"I didn’t really get a long look at her before I had to rush you up here last night love, but from what I did see she looked like you two could be related. What I don’t understand is how a mother could just walk away from her two children? I mean could you imagine us leaving the baby at the hospital and just walking away?" The body resting against her own shivered at the thought. This was something that they had both wanted and had planned for, the thought of giving up on that dream seemed unimaginable.
"Must have been something important enough to her to spook her away. Daddy was a little heavy fisted when we were growing up, and the thought of me being with you was something that he wasn’t going to tolerate. The beating I got wasn’t enough to keep me away, but the choice of never seeing Rachel again was too much for me to take. I had always been the buffer between them and I didn’t want her to have to face him alone. In a way he was a good training ground for Byron, only even daddy wasn’t that cruel. The one bright spot the both of us could always count on back then was you Harry. I don’t even want to imagine how pathetic my life would have been without you to pull me through," confessed Desi.