Julie stepped into the room. “Can I help?”
“What’s going on?” the mother asked, her voice tight with worry.
“Can you get an IV going?” Vic asked.
“Sure,” Julie said, setting to work.
Liv returned with bad news. The only anesthetist on duty tonight was tied up in an emergency surgery. He wouldn’t be free for at least another twenty minutes, and the on-call anesthetist was a good fifteen minutes out. The kid would be dead by then. Shit. Vic was going to have to do it herself. She ordered Liv to get her a laryngoscope and one of the smaller tube gauges they had, then ordered Julie to pump a mild sedative into the boy’s IV bag and to start an antibiotic drip.
“Ma’am,” Vic said to the mom. “I’m pretty sure your son has epiglottitis. It’s a bacterial infection of his epiglottis at the back of his throat, and it’s getting more and more difficult for him to breathe. We need to intubate him as quickly as possible. Once we do that, the antibiotics will kick in and attack his infection.”
Frightened eyes darted from Vic to the boy. “Whatever you say, Doctor, as long as you make him better. Devin, honey?”
Devin flopped into Julie’s arms, unconscious.
“We’re going in,” Vic announced, dropping the boy’s head back and scooping his tongue out of the way before positioning the laryngoscope and exposing his epiglottis, which was swollen and angry looking. Carefully she aligned the tube and pushed it in. The epiglottis immediately bit down on it, but the tube was safely in. Thank God.
Within seconds Devin’s color began to improve as air was pumped into his lungs.
“Is he going to be okay?” his mom asked, her eyes wide with shock and worry.
“Yes,” Vic said, a little shaky from the adrenaline. “But we’re going to have to transfer him to the pediatric ICU so they can keep a good eye on him.”
“Well done,” Julie said to her after Devin and his mom were escorted upstairs. “You’re a rock star, Vic. I don’t think I could have done that. Not under that kind of pressure. And how did you know it wasn’t just strep throat or something run-of-the-mill?”
Vic shook her head. “You would have done it too if you’d had to. There were too many signs that his breathing was compromised. Plus I’ve seen it once before.”
“Well, trust me, I’m taking notes on this one. Look. Your shift is over in fifteen minutes. Why don’t you head on home? There’s nobody else on the board and I’m sticking around awhile longer.”
Vic was never one to leave early. As a supervisor, she preferred to lead by example. “Thanks, but no need.”
“No. There is a need. You’re only just back to work. Plus there’s a patient waiting at home for you.”
Vic smiled. She always smiled at the mention of Angie. “My patient at home is doing quite well, as a matter of fact.”
“You never know. It’s always best to keep as close an eye as possible on your very special patients.”
Vic felt heat in her cheeks. Since she’d come back to work, Angie’s absence in her heart was like a missing tooth her tongue kept trying to probe. She wanted to be with her as much as possible. “You’re right. And I’d love to get home to Angie. Thanks, Julie. I owe you one.”
Home and Angie in the same phrase. She could get used to that.
“Nonsense. See you tomorrow afternoon.”
* * *
Angie couldn’t be sure what woke her first: the drool on her chin, the puppy suddenly wiggling against her chest, or Vic kissing her cheek. Maybe it was all three. She remembered now; she and Zadie had fallen asleep together on the couch, having given up trying to stay awake for Vic to finish her shift. She rolled onto her back, keeping Zadie on her chest.
“Hey, sleepyhead.” Vic pushed hair from her forehead and planted a kiss there.
“Hi, lover. You’re pretty mushy for somebody who’s just finished a ten-hour shift.”
Vic edged herself onto the couch and petted Zadie, who looked up at her with sleepy eyes followed by a yawn that made her little yellow face disappear. “Aw, sorry for waking you, little girl. Do you have to go outside and be a good girl? Huh? You want to go outside and do your business?”
It amazed Angie how quickly the two of them had resorted to baby talk the minute Zadie had become part of their family. Zadie Wadie and Puppy Wuppy and worse.
“Yeah, she’s probably bursting,” Angie said, slowly sitting up. “I’ll take her.”
“No, let me. You stay put.”
A few minutes later, Vic and Zadie returned, Zadie flopping down on the floor and Vic standing in front of Angie, wide-eyed and shifting from foot to foot.
“You’re making me nervous. What’s wrong?” She flicked her eyes to Zadie. “Is Zadie okay?”
“Everything’s fine, it’s just…”
Angie’s heart started jackhammering in her chest. Even harder when Vic finally sat down beside her and took her hand. Her eyes were swimming and she had the weirdest look on her face. Oh God.
“The thing is…”
“Jesus, Vic, you’re killing me here. You’re good at killing me, come to think of it. I’m going to start calling you Dr. Mengele.”
“Okay, that is so not funny.” Then she laughed, mercifully erasing the tension in the room.
“Whew. You’re laughing. Which means I may not have a heart attack after all.”
“Oh, you.” Vic’s eyes took in Zadie, and she called the puppy over. Gangly and clumsy thanks to her rapid growth, Zadie wobbled over to them and Vic picked her up and placed her between them. “What I’m trying to say is…”
Time seemed to thicken. Words, or at least their meaning, traveled at a painstaking pace, and Angie found herself holding her breath again.
“What I’m trying to say is, even though words don’t seem enough to do the trick, is that I love you so damned much. And this dog too. I can’t believe how quickly she’s wormed her way into my heart.” She stroked Zadie’s head, and in turn Zadie nuzzled the palm of her hand. “You see, when I came home tonight and saw you and the puppy curled up together on the couch, asleep, it made me realize something.”
“What’s that, sweetheart? Cuz you sure have my undivided attention right now.”
Vic took a deep breath. “It made me realize that I don’t want to be without the two of you. Ever. I want us to be a family.”
Angie nodded slowly as understanding—and relief—dawned.
“I want,” Vic continued, “for you to stay here. For good. To live with me. To be my partner. I don’t want anything about what we have to be temporary or transient. Please say yes. Please tell me you want the same thing.”
She touched Angie’s cheek and her touch was exquisite and tender and like nothing Angie had ever felt before, because there were angels behind that touch.
“Oh, Vic.” Her throat felt rough and dry and her eyes began to well. “Of course I want the same thing. Don’t you know that?”
“No, I didn’t.” Vic was shaking her head and crying. Blubbering now. “I was afraid you were going to want your own place. You and Zadie…”
“Well, it’s true Zades is pretty strong competition, with those big brown eyes and blond fur.” Her voice went high and goofy. “Aren’t you, girl? Oh and we can’t forget that soft warm belly, can we?”
Vic laughed through her tears. “Um, is that a yes? Cuz I have a soft warm belly too. And blond hair.”
Angie laughed, then leaned in and kissed Vic. And then kissed her some more until she was sure Vic was getting the message loud and clear. “Does that answer your question?”
“Yes. Mostly.”
“Good. Because the other half of the answer is that I love you to the moon and back. And I hate the idea of ever not living with you. Are you kidding me? I was making myself sick worrying about you sending Zadie and me off to the doghouse. I mean…not literally a doghouse, of course, but making us get our own place. And that was definitely going to kill me.”
“Well then, my love. Consider yo
urself not killed.”
“And not homeless.” Angie turned serious. “You rescued me, Vic. You did. Without you…I can’t imagine what my life would be like.”
“We rescued each other.” Vic pulled her close and they kissed again until Zadie whimpered between them and started licking them both.
Angie laughed. “Clearly she wants in on the act.”
“Clearly. What do you say, little girl? Do you want this to be your forever home? Just the three of us, right here?”
The face licking intensified until Angie and Vic began giggling helplessly.
“She’s so happy, I think she’s going to wag that little tail right off,” Angie said. “Do you suppose that’s an actual thing?”
“I know it is.” Vic stroked Angie’s cheek again. “Because if I had a tail right now, I’d most definitely wag it right off.”
Angie reached around until she found Vic’s ass, which she squeezed lustily. “Just checking for a tail.”
“Hmm, in that case, I have other things that need checking too.”
“Oh, I am so on it, I’m already there.”
Vic stood, gathered Zadie into her arms and held her hand out to Angie. “In that case, let’s go up to bed.”
Angie’s heart was so big and so full, it actually hurt. But it was the sweetest pain she’d ever endured. Because her heart had, finally, found its forever home.
Epilogue
Ten weeks later
Vic circulated through the living room with a bottle of champagne, topping up glasses as she went. Angie was doing the same, but in the kitchen. The party was big enough that it had spread throughout the ground floor of their house. A few people had even spilled out onto the back deck, though the chill of winter continued to infuse the April evening air with its last breath.
She splashed more bubby into Julie’s glass, then Shawna Malik’s. The two hadn’t left each other’s side all night.
“Celebration seems to be in the air tonight,” Vic said, tossing them a wink. “And you two definitely look like you’re celebrating something.”
“We are,” Julie deadpanned. “We’re celebrating you and Angie officially moving in together.”
“And Zadie. Don’t forget her.”
Upon hearing her name, the yellow Lab sprang up from the floor, tail wagging, and enthusiastically nuzzled Julie’s hand, looking for petting. Her limbs were long and gangly and her puppy fur was thickening. She was almost five months old now.
“Aw, how’s my good girl,” Julie said, petting Zadie’s smooth head. Then to Vic, “It’s your spotlight, my friend. Yours and Angie’s. And might I add you both look very happy together. Congratulations.”
“We are, thank you.” Vic looked at Shawna, who would undoubtedly be blushing if her skin were lighter. “All right, spill it, Officer Malik. What’s going on with you two?”
Shawna’s grin said a lot more than her lazy shrug. “Julie’s right, it’s your day today. This party is for you and Angie.”
“That’s true, but I could really use an excuse to open another bottle of champagne. Now come on. Out with it.”
Julie’s hand crept into Shawna’s. “We’re officially a couple.”
Vic feigned a swoon. “How shocking! I would never have guessed.” She clinked glasses with each woman. “Well done, both of you. And a toast to the worst-kept secret around the hospital the last couple of months.”
Angie snuck up behind Vic and threw her hands around her waist. “Hey, you. Okay if I crack that other box of champagne?”
“God, I hope so. Especially now that we have even more to celebrate.”
“We do?” Angie rested her chin on Vic’s shoulder. “Oh no, Zadie’s not going to be a mom, is she?”
“Um, I think she’s a little young for that.”
“Good point. Plus she hasn’t had her sex talk yet.”
“You two.” Julie grinned. “Good thing you found each other, ’cause I can’t think of two people who are more suited to one another.”
“With the possible exception of you two,” Vic said, then to Angie, “They’re officially a couple, in case you haven’t figured it out.”
“Ha, figured it out? Like everybody didn’t know already, sheesh. Good thing you’re not criminals, because you’d be pretty lousy at it.”
Julie shook her head but couldn’t seem to lose her smile. “Can’t people get away with anything around that place?”
“Nope,” Vic and Angie said in unison.
Moments later, Vic decided it was time for the official toast. Everyone was into their second or third glass of champagne and the plates and bowls of munchies were beginning to thin. If the party went on much longer, nobody would care about a toast or speeches.
Liv took her cue, clinked a spoon to her glass, and stood by the fireplace. “Welcome, everyone. And thank you all for coming to celebrate the official moving-in-dom of my best friend Vic Turner and her wonderful partner Angie Cullen.”
“Is that even a thing? Moving-in-dom?” Angie’s old friend Vinnie shouted from the back of the room. “If I’d known you could get a party like this without even getting married, I’d have been all over it!”
“Watch it, Vinnie,” Angie warned, “or I’m telling your wife.”
Next Liv went on to extoll the virtues of Vic and Angie, putting her arms around them both as she called a toast to their love and their good health and their future happiness. “And one final toast. I’d like to call a toast to Brooke Bennett and Karen Turner.” A hush fell across the room as though a gavel had been rapped. “Because without them, Angie and Vic would never have found one another.”
“Here, here,” the gathering erupted in unison.
Angie’s brother Nick stepped up next. He’d had more than a couple of glasses of champagne, Vic could see, as he launched into stories about Angie as a kid that were funny as hell but didn’t exactly cast her in the best light.
“Jesus,” Angie whispered. “This is worse than a drunken wedding toast by the best man.”
Vic felt her face flush as a private vision floated through her mind. She was relieved when Claire—thank God for Claire!—nudged Nick out of the way and offered her heartfelt congratulations.
“Speech! Speech!” came the collective call.
Angie sent a silent plea to Vic; Angie hated public speeches.
“Okay, but you owe me one,” Vic whispered and kissed Angie’s cheek before turning back to the room. “Thank you, Liv, Claire…and, ah, Nick I guess.” The crowd laughed along with her. “And thank you all for sharing this moment in our lives and celebrating it with us. Two or three things before we polish off the rest of the champagne. The first is that my dear sweet Angie just received the news yesterday that she placed third in a statewide short story contest. Congratulations, sweetheart. I’ve always wanted to fall in love with a great writer, and now I have!”
The crowd whooped and hollered out to Angie, who was turning about three shades of red. She hated being singled out, and Vic sent her an apologetic wink. “But I’m not finished yet. Sorry, honey, you’re going to have to withstand the spotlight a little longer.” From her pocket she withdrew a small package wrapped in gold paper. “For you, my love.”
Under her breath, Angie said, “Crap. I didn’t get you anything!”
“You don’t need to,” Vic whispered back. “Now open it. I promise it’s nothing embarrassing. You know, like a vibrator or something.”
Angie tore at the paper. “That is so not funny.”
“You’re right. I’ll save that one for a private moment.”
Angie’s face lit up as she held up the contents of the package—a fresh typewriter ribbon. “Cool! For my antique typewriter. Which I can tell you is very cool to look at but a bitch to type on. Thank you, darling. I promise to use it in good health.”
“Good. See that you do. And now for the last item on my little agenda.” Vic nodded at Liv, who then disappeared.
“What are you doing?” Angie whispered, mor
e than a little desperately.
“You’ll see.”
“You’re scaring me.”
“I like keeping you off balance.”
“So this is what I get to look forward to? The off-balance thing?”
“Yep.”
“Shit.”
Zadie snaked her way toward them through the parting bodies, tail wagging a mile a minute, a small velvet drawstring bag dangling from her mouth. She stopped in front of Angie, and with a motion from Vic’s hand, sat and spat the bag out.
“What the…”
“It’s for you,” Vic said to Angie.
“Where’s my gift, Zadie?” somebody from the audience yelled.
The expression on Angie’s face—surprise, bemusement, embarrassment—was adorable. She was a good sport and opened the velvet bag, which contained a small ring box. As she popped it open, her expression melted into one of barely contained joy and excited surprise, and Vic’s stomach did a pleasurable roll.
“Oh my God, you didn’t!”
“I did. Will you marry me, Angela Cullen?”
“Um, aren’t you supposed to go down on one knee?”
The crowd giggled with nervous anticipation.
“I’ll do anything if it’ll make you say yes.” Vic dropped down to both knees and the crowd whooped. “Yes yes yes,” they chanted.
“God, I’m to kill you,” Angie said, but she was grinning and tears streamed down her cheeks. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you, Victoria Turner!”
Vic leapt up, momentarily forgetting her forty-one-year-old knees, and took Angie in her arms to seal the proposal with a kiss. “You okay with a long engagement? Since my divorce will take a while longer to be finalized.”
“I’ll wait forever, if that’s what it takes, darling.”
Zadie was trying to crawl up their legs, so both women bent to pet her and drop kisses on her head.
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