by Ann McMan
“I suppose I also should tell you that you weigh a tad less than you did when you arrived here. You suffered a splenic perforation from a piece of rotor shrapnel, and they removed your spleen while you were on the table getting the carotid thrombectomy.” She paused and smiled at her mother. “All in all, a typical day for the over-achieving Dr. Heller.”
The corners of Celine’s mouth twitched.
“Try to rest now. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Celine blinked her eyes, before slowly closing them.
Maddie stood over her for another full minute before sinking back down onto the bedside chair. An onslaught of hot tears stung her eyes. Wiping her free hand across her face, she blinked rapidly to clear them away.
As the day wore on, it was clear that Celine had turned a corner. Her fever had abated and she was exhibiting less respiratory distress. She woke up two additional times, and Maddie was at her side on each occasion. By early evening, she was resting comfortably, and the attending vascular surgeon convinced Maddie that she should go on to her hotel and get a good night’s sleep. Reluctantly, she consented.
Once she was back in her room at the Beverly Hills Plaza, Maddie phoned room service and ordered a club sandwich and a large cognac from the bar. After showering and changing into a clean pair of scrubs, she sat down on the bed with damp hair and pulled out her cell phone to call Syd. She was disappointed when the call rolled immediately to Syd’s voice mail.
“Hi, you’ve reached Syd Murphy. Sorry I’m unavailable right now. Leave a message, and I’ll call you back.”
“Howdy, stranger. It’s me. I wanted to let you know that Celine has come around. Her fever is down, and she’s breathing easier. She woke up a couple of times this afternoon, and was alert and responsive. She’s resting now. I’m . . . very relieved, and very tired. I’m back in my hotel room now. Give me a call later, or whenever you can. I miss you.” She hesitated. “I love you.” She pushed the end button abruptly, closed the phone, and sank back against the headboard of the bed.
The hours that had elapsed since she first got the call about the laboratory explosion had been a whirlwind. She felt vaguely like a bug in amber—lifted out of time and frozen in place. She was unable to do anything but stand by, passively, and observe what had happened to Celine. Her position of helplessness was anathema to her. It left her feeling dull and vapid—drained of all normal and reasonable sensibility. She closed her eyes as, once again, her emotions threatened to overtake her.
She sat up startled when her phone rang. She picked it up and glanced at the readout. It was Syd. She flipped it open. “Hi there.”
“Maddie? Oh, god. I’m so glad about Celine.”
Maddie smiled at the sound of her voice. “Me, too. It was really touch-and-go there for a while.”
“I know. I’ve been frantic, worrying about both of you. Is she really going to be all right?”
“Yeah. It looks like it. She’s a tough old broad. But then, we already knew that, didn’t we?”
Syd laughed. “That makes two of you.” She paused. “How are you holding up?”
Maddie sighed. “Want the truth?”
“Of course I do.”
“Not too well. I nearly lost it in her room today when she finally regained consciousness. I wasn’t really prepared for my reaction. It must be some kind of cosmic triple-whammy from stress, sleeplessness, and jet lag.”
There was a brief silence on the other end of the line. “It could also be a perfectly human response to finding out that your mother is going to survive this.” Syd’s voice was gentle. “Why wouldn’t you break down?”
Maddie’s jaw quivered slightly. “I’m—I . . .” She put her hand to her forehead as she sat there holding the phone to her ear. “Yeah. Maybe.” Her voice caught. “God. I almost lost her.”
“I know, honey.”
Maddie took a deep breath. “I wish you were here,” she said, quietly.
“Me, too.”
There was a knock at the door. Maddie shook her head to clear it. “Hang on. I think room service is here with my dinner.”
“Go ahead. I’ll be right here.”
Maddie got up, went quickly to the door, and opened it without preamble. Standing in the hallway with her cell phone still pressed to her ear was a shyly smiling Syd. A small roller bag stood on the carpet next to her.
MADDIE’S JAW DROPPED, and the hand holding her cell phone fell limply to her side. She stood there with a stunned expression on her face.
Syd lowered her phone and tilted her head as she gazed at her. “If you aren’t going to ask me in, then I’ve definitely overplayed this hand.”
Snapping out of her stupor, Maddie stepped forward and grabbed Syd. They stood there without speaking, tightly wrapped in each other’s arms. Syd could feel Maddie shaking.
“Oh my god,” Maddie said into her hair. “I can’t believe you did this. I can’t believe you’re here.”
“How could I not be here? It was killing me to be so far away when I knew what you were going through.” She lifted her head from Maddie’s chest and looked up at her face. The blue hospital scrubs she wore made her eyes look electric. “I had to come.”
Maddie pulled her close again and kissed her, heedless of the fact that they were standing in the middle of the hallway. When they separated, her eyes welled with tears. “Thank you.”
Maddie released Syd and hastily wiped at her eyes as she stepped forward to retrieve her roller bag. She ushered Syd into the room and closed the door behind them.
An uneasy silence enveloped them. Maddie seemed embarrassed by her tears, and Syd was aware of just how tenuous a hold she plainly had on her overtaxed emotions. She dropped her shoulder bag on a chair and looked around the room.
“So, you mentioned room service. Think it’s too late to tag something onto your order for me? I haven’t eaten since Charlotte,” she glanced at her watch, “eight-and-a-half hours ago.”
Maddie brightened up at once. “Absolutely. I called them about fifteen minutes ago. There still should be time to change the order.” She picked up a leather-bound hotel directory and handed it to Syd. “See if there’s anything that sounds appealing.” She gave her a crooked smile. “Frankly, I’m more interested in my bar order than I am in the food.”
“I don’t doubt that a bit.” Syd leafed through the menu offerings. “What did you order?”
“Club sandwich with a side of fruit salad and a ginormous brandy.”
Syd snapped the folder closed. “Perfect.”
Maddie walked to the bedside table and picked up the phone. “Go get comfy, and I’ll change the order.”
Maddie had, indeed, changed the order. When it arrived thirty minutes later, the club sandwiches had morphed into two Cobb salads, and the brandy was accompanied by a bottle of MacMurray Pinot Noir. There were also a couple of tiny chocolate cookies sitting on a glass plate that had been dusted with powdered sugar.
They sat down on the bed with the food spread out between them. Syd had changed into sweatpants and a faded UNC t-shirt, and sat propped against the headboard with her knees drawn up in front of her. She held a half-full wineglass between her hands. “God . . . I needed this.”
Maddie looked at her with affection and reached across the food scattered between them to rest a warm hand on her knee. “I needed this.”
Syd covered Maddie’s hand with her own. “I did, too.”
They leaned toward each other and shared a soft, slow kiss.
Syd sat back, set her wine glass down on the bedside table, and angled her body around to face Maddie. “So tell me more about Celine,” she said, picking up one of the salads. “What will her recovery be like? Do you have any idea how long she’ll have to remain in the hospital?”
Maddie picked up her own salad. “No idea, really. It could be as long as two weeks, but given the amazing way she seemed to rebound this afternoon, I wouldn’t put it past her to be out of there in four or five days.”
> “That’s incredible. It’s hard now to believe how tenuous her condition was just yesterday.”
Maddie nodded thoughtfully. “You can say that again. I’m still pretty much in shock. I don’t think the reality of her turnaround has fully sunk in yet.”
“You’re exhausted. I’m amazed you’re even capable of coherent thought.”
“Well, I don’t know how coherent I’ve been. I think I’ve pretty much spent the last two days communicating in monosyllables.” She took a sip of wine. “Celine’s surgeon probably thinks I went to med school in Grenada.”
Syd snorted.
Maddie looked embarrassed. “Did I actually say that out loud? God.”
“I’ll forgive you. And I’ll even go out on a limb and say it’s likely that Celine’s little girl has deported herself just fine. I’m sure your mother will be proud of how well you’ve handled all of this.”
Maddie sat back against the headboard. “You know, at this point, I’d settle for her most articulate expression of displeasure.” She closed her eyes. “I can’t begin to tell you what it was like to sit there by her bedside, hour after hour, and see her so completely unresponsive. It was frightening . . . surreal.”
Syd slowly shook her head. “I can’t imagine. Thank god that’s behind you now.”
Maddie set her salad aside. “I want you to come with me tomorrow to see her.”
Syd gave her a surprised look. “Will they let me see her? Isn’t she still in ICU?”
“Yes . . . but rank has its privileges.” She smiled. “I think Celine would like it, and I’d venture a guess that she’d be pleased to know you’re here,” she winked at her, “offering me comfort in my hour of need.”
Syd rolled her eyes. “Boy, you rebound pretty quickly for someone who was about to crawl under a rock forty-five minutes ago.”
Maddie’s smile was smug. “Forty-five minutes ago, I was alone and desolate.”
“And now?”
“Now, I’m not alone.” She raised an eyebrow. “And I’m certainly not desolate.”
BY NINE O’CLOCK, they were fighting to stay awake. In tandem, they turned down the covers on opposite sides of the big bed and climbed in. Aware of the challenge that their physical proximity now presented, they lay side-by-side in forced and rigid silence.
After a few tortuous minutes, Maddie turned to Syd and extended her right arm. “Get over here.”
Without argument, Syd scooted over and happily wrapped herself around Maddie.
Maddie sighed with contentment and tightened her arms around her. “Thank you for being here.”
Syd lifted her head from Maddie’s shoulder and softly kissed her collarbone. “You don’t need to thank me. I was miserable at home without you.”
They were quiet for awhile.
“I suppose that’s something else we need to talk about?” Maddie said.
“Probably.” Syd yawned. “Especially the part where I called my father and told him about us.” She felt Maddie’s sudden intake of breath, and quickly rested her warm hand against the side of her face. “But not tonight. We can talk about everything tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” Maddie turned her head and gently kissed Syd’s palm. “Tomorrow.”
When Syd woke up six-and-a-half hours later, they were still wrapped up together in exactly the same position.
MADDIE CALLED THE hospital first thing in the morning to check on Celine and learned that she’d had a good night, and was still resting comfortably. Dr. Kramer had been there early to check on her, and he gave Maddie a positive assessment of her progress. Her condition had already been upgraded from serious to stable, and they had moved her out of ICU and into a private room. Kramer assured Maddie that she could take her time and get a good meal before heading back to the hospital. Maddie agreed to call him with her own report after she had a chance to see Celine and meet with her attending physician.
By eight, they had showered and dressed and were seated over juice and a basket of croissants in Le Petit Café, the hotel’s dining room. Maddie quickly downed her second cup of coffee and flagged a passing server, who seamlessly approached their table and refilled her cup.
Syd sat back and watched her with concern. “How much of that have you been drinking?”
Maddie eyed her over the rim of her cup. “You don’t want to know.”
“Oh, but I do. No secrets—remember?”
Maddie nodded. “I remember.”
“I want you to eat something. You barely touched your salad last night.”
Maddie shrugged. “I don’t have much of an appetite.”
“I know. But you won’t be any help to Celine if you let yourself get run down.”
Maddie let out a long, slow breath. “Okay. You wanna order something for me? I promise to eat whatever it is.”
Syd smiled as she picked up the flat menu card. “I think I can handle that. I know your tastes pretty well by now.”
“I’ll say.”
Syd looked up in surprise to see a slight twinkle in Maddie’s tired eyes. They gazed at each other in silence for a moment.
“I love you for being here,” Maddie said quietly.
Syd felt her cheeks warm. “I can’t get used to hearing that.”
“Does it bother you?”
“Bother me?” She smiled at her shyly. “It makes me go all soft and squishy inside. No, it doesn’t bother me.”
“I’m glad.”
“It goes both ways, you know.”
“What does?”
“This does. I wasn’t sure about it until I had to say goodbye to you at the airport. But then it hit me like a ton of bricks, and I realized that it had been there all along.” She slid her hand across the table until their fingertips were touching. “I don’t care if it’s too soon. I love you, too.”
Maddie looked like she was dangerously close to tears, so Syd changed the subject.
“Are you at all curious about where Pete is?”
Maddie smiled. “I assumed that you sent him to the Inn?” Syd nodded, and Maddie shook her head. “That’s fine, but I want you to know that you’re going to be the one who has to walk the extra five pounds he’s going to gain off his blond butt. Michael doesn’t understand the concept of moderation.”
“No worries. I’ll pony up. Now, if memory serves, I promised to tell you about my conversation with my parents.”
“You did,” Maddie said, as she picked up her water glass. “How did that come about?”
Syd looked past her toward their approaching server. He stopped at their table and regarded them both with a smile. “Have you decided what you’d like to order?”
Syd nodded as she handed him their menus. “Yes. Could you bring us each a slice of the breakfast frittata with fresh fruit on the side?”
He nodded. “My pleasure.” He eyed Maddie’s empty cup. “Would you like more coffee, ma’am?”
Maddie looked at Syd. “Uh, no. Thank you. Maybe just some more water?”
“Sure thing. I’ll have your food out in a jiffy.” He turned on his heel and headed back toward the kitchen.
Maddie plucked a croissant out of the basket and dutifully tore off a hunk. “So, you were saying?”
“Yeah. I was wandering around your house all morning yesterday—going crazy—worrying about Celine. Worrying about you.” She paused. “Missing you. I knew I had to do something. So I decided that it was time to talk with my parents.” She smiled. “I got lucky when Dad answered the phone. He made it all so easy for me.”
Maddie looked intrigued. “How so?”
“I didn’t even have to tell him anything. He just guessed.”
“He did?” Maddie looked shocked.
Syd smiled. “It didn’t hurt that the caller I.D. tipped him off that I was at your place at an unseemly hour on a Saturday morning. But he told me that he and my mother had already pretty much pieced it all together.” She shook her head in wonder as she met Maddie’s eyes. “You must know that my father is still o
ne of your biggest fans. He actually said that if I didn’t somehow manage to end up with you, he was determined to have Tom try and stake a claim.”
Maddie laughed, and the silvery sound warmed Syd’s insides more than the hot coffee she was drinking.
“I’m glad you find that so amusing,” Syd said, once Maddie composed herself.
“Well, can you blame me? I never realized I was such a hot commodity.”
Syd gave her an assessing look. “You certainly have the hot part right.”
“Flatterer.” Maddie sounded surprised and pleased by her directness.
“Get used to it.”
They stared at each other in a moment of quiet intimacy.
“So,” Maddie continued. “I guess that means your parents are . . . okay with . . . everything?”
“More or less,” Syd replied.
“Or less?” Maddie sounded concerned.
“Yeah. Dad still wants grandchildren. He hopes you can find a work-around for that.”
Maddie’s jaw dropped, and Syd laughed at her shell-shocked expression.
“What’s the matter, Stretch? Not one of your many skills?”
“Um. Not the last time I checked.” She shook her head. “Is this as surreal for you as it is for me?”
Syd snorted. “Which part?”
“I don’t know. A week ago, we were both still fumbling around, trying to avoid or ignore our feelings. And today, we’re sitting in a restaurant in Los Angeles, talking about having kids.”
“Kinda goes against you’re whole not-so-fast mantra, doesn’t it?”
“You might say that.”
Syd realized suddenly that she probably had gone too far with her teasing. The last thing she wanted to do was add to Maddie’s already over-extended stress level.
“I’m sorry,” she said, leaning slightly toward her. “Tell me what you need for us to do.”
Maddie looked back at her with an even gaze. “I don’t know . . . adopt?”
Syd stared at her in stunned silence. Maddie winked at her as their server approached carrying their breakfast plates.