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Double Act

Page 13

by Foster Bridget Cassidy


  “I’ll try. Text me when you get done with the doctor.”

  “Sure.” The I love you froze on his tongue. He knew Emerson wasn’t ready to say it back, so he kept it inside. “See you when you get home.”

  Another kiss, then Emerson was out the door. Sean left the dishes in the sink; he’d wash them when he got home from the doctor. While the dogs followed him around, he shaved and dressed in casual clothes, jeans and a T-shirt. He was just about to pull on a wool jacket when the buzzer sounded though the small room.

  Sean hit the button. “Yeah?”

  “It’s me,” said Macie.

  He hit the button to allow her inside.

  She arrived quickly—the building had fixed the elevator yesterday. When she entered, the dogs went crazy, vying for her attention. She pet them both, allowing them to lick her cheeks. She finally stood, her gaze icy.

  “How are you doing?”

  “I’m good this morning. I’ve got leftover croissants if you’d like one.”

  She waved away the offer. “No, thanks. We better hurry. Jake has the car double parked downstairs.”

  “Sure.” He slipped his arms into his jacket and wrapped a scarf around his neck.

  “Cold?”

  “A bit. I’ve hardly gone outside the past six days. We walk the dogs, and that’s it.”

  Macie laughed and gestured him out the door. He quickly patted Pip, then Ninotchka, before following Macie out. He slipped the key into the lock and heard it click. Macie eyed him as he put the key back into his pocket.

  “Is that on loan, or is it yours?”

  “He never really said.”

  She didn’t say anything else as they rode the elevator down and headed for the waiting car.

  “Hey, Sean,” Jake greeted as Sean and Macie settled in the backseat of the SUV. “We’ve missed you.”

  “You have not,” Sean argued good-naturedly. “I know you and Macie have been drinking martinis all day, celebrating that you had a babysitter for the week.”

  Jake grinned, and Sean felt a surge of fondness. He’d missed both of them as well.

  “How’s the hand?” Jake asked as he looked over his shoulder, then pulled out onto the street.

  “The top one itches, the bottom one is sore.”

  “You’ve been using the antibiotic cream?” Macie asked, glancing up from her phone.

  “Yeah, but the blister popped two nights ago, so I’ve been keeping it covered.”

  “I hope the doctor says it’s healed,” Jake said. “Missing this week has set us back quite a bit.”

  “Tell me about it,” Sean mumbled. “Despite the fact that I enjoyed this little break, I do know I have less than three weeks to get everything ready for the tour. My fingers will need to get used to the strings again.” It wouldn’t be too bad, not after so many years of constant playing, but sometimes a break could make the flesh forget.

  “You’ll be fine,” Macie added, which was unlike her. She usually saw everything as a harbinger of doom. What made her change her tune so suddenly?

  He decided to ignore it, for now. Maybe their time apart had given her a religious awakening and she wanted to look on the bright side from now on.

  They arrived at the clinic, a place that focused on the needs of people who liked to stay out of the public eye when receiving medical treatment. Jake dropped them off, then went to park the SUV. When they walked inside, the waiting room was empty and soft music played over the speakers. Macie signed Sean in, then updated his chart for him. He picked up a copy of a sports magazine and flipped through the pages.

  Punctual, a nurse called Sean back almost instantly.

  “Good to see you again, Mr. Stirling,” Cody, the nurse said with an easy smile and a deep voice. “Let’s get your weight.” He gestured through the door.

  Macie followed along like a mother with a toddler. Not that Sean minded. She proved a thousand times over that she was more capable of running his life than he was. Plus, she caught a lot of things he missed. Her brain was wired differently than his.

  At Cody’s insistence, Sean stood on the scale. He usually paid close attention to the food and drinks that went into his mouth, as his physical appearance was important to his stage presence. However, this past week at Emerson’s, he let slip a lot of his good-eating habits. He didn’t pig out, he just sat down to normal dinners, which was a far cry from his protein drinks. So it was not a big surprise that he had gained a few pounds. Well, he had three weeks to work them off.

  After Cody scribbled down his weight, they proceed to the exam room. Sean settled on the bed, and the nurse took his temperature, checked his blood pressure, and tested his oxygen intake.

  “Fever is raised a bit,” Cody observed. “But, blood pressure is normal. And Dr. Warner is seeing you for a burn on your hand?”

  “Yeah, I hit the coil in the oven last Monday. The ER doctor prescribed an antibiotic cream.”

  He nodded and wrote that down. “Do you remember what it’s called?”

  Sean stared at him blankly, but luckily Macie answered. The nurse made a note of that, too.

  “Dr. Warner will be here in a moment.”

  “Thank you,” Sean said.

  With the two of them alone, Macie folded her arms and regarded Sean. “So, how was the week, really?”

  “Macie, it was the best week of my life. Being at home with Emerson was fulfilling and satisfying in a way I never imagined it could be. I asked him to move in with me—”

  Macie squawked at that, but Sean continued over her outburst.

  “But he said no.”

  The angry look on Macie’s face vanished. “He said no? I don’t think anyone has ever told you no.”

  Sean laughed, and she amended her statement.

  “Well, except me. Why did he say no?”

  “He thinks I’ll dump him. He doesn’t want to be reliant on my generosity when it could abruptly end.”

  “Makes sense.”

  “But I want to be with him. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.”

  Macie smirked. “I’m pretty sure you said that about Carl, and Ethan, and Mark, and Edgar, and—”

  “All right, all right. But he’s different.”

  She sighed and shook her head. “I don’t know if you can have a normal relationship, Sean. You always seem to pick men you can’t handle.”

  Sean wrinkled his nose. “Men I can’t handle? That’s an awful pessimistic way to look at it. Is that the way you think of Neil? That you handle him?”

  “It’s completely different with us. We’re both normal.”

  “Maybe I want to try being normal. Maybe…after the tour…we can do a hiatus?”

  Macie wouldn’t have looked more shocked if Sean had announced sudden aspirations of being an astronaut.

  “You’re serious?” she asked breathlessly. “You want to quit? Before we do the next album?”

  “I didn’t say quit. I said hiatus. Maybe a break would do some good.”

  She unfolded her arms and advanced on him, looming even though he sat higher than her. “Sean, your songs are hitting number one on the Billboard charts. A break wouldn’t improve that.”

  “If I’m already at the top, there’s no room for advancement. Which means there’s no point in continuing.”

  “Did Emerson tell you this? He’s pretty focused on climbing the corporate ladder.”

  Sean narrowed his eyes. “It is possible for me to come to conclusions on my own. I don’t need to be spoon-fed every idea in my head.”

  She glared right back. “That’s not what I said, and you evaded answering my question.”

  “No, Emerson didn’t mention this. Only…he doesn’t think we can move in together because my life is so hectic. People need stability. And I can’t offer him that.”

  Her face softened and she reached out her hand to grip his knee. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you are stable. Yes, you’re busy, but it’s not like it’s an unmanageable
lifestyle.”

  “He’s special, Macie. He’s got so much goodness inside him. I don’t want to lose him.”

  She chuckled softly and withdrew. “Leave it to you to blow this way out of proportion. If he’s as special as you think, you aren’t going to lose him. In fact, I think it’s the opposite. He’s supporting you even though it’s countering possible advancements in your relationship. That’s self-sacrificing. In case you didn’t know, that’s a positive quality.”

  “I know it is. But I don’t want him to think I’m taking advantage of him.”

  “Sean, you idiot!” Her laugh echoed loudly off the walls. “He’s afraid he’s taking advantage of you. God, you’ve got everything all twisted around.”

  “Huh?”

  She leaned in close, her lips still curved from her mirth. “Emerson doesn’t want to move in with you because you earn a shit ton more money than him. He doesn’t feel like an equal partner.”

  “What? Why should that matter? Neil stays home with the kiddos and you earn the money. Does he feel the same way?”

  “Of course not. Because we’re adults who talk about these issues instead of trying to keep them suppressed.” She shook her head and giggled again. “Try talking it through with Emerson first. Ask him if he’d want you to take a break. If he agrees, then let’s do it.”

  It smelled like a trap, but he nodded.

  Then there was a knock at the door and Dr. Warner walked in. She was a tall woman, straight-backed despite her advanced age. Her gray hair hung to her shoulders, and complimented her round face. She inspected the notes on his file, a look of concentration on her face. When she glanced up, she smiled.

  “Hello, Sean.”

  “Hi, Dr. Warner.”

  “So, what seems to be the issue?”

  “I burned my hand last week.”

  “I see. And that’s kind of a big deal in your line of work. What concerns me is the fever—however slight. Let’s take a look.”

  She washed her hands then put on latex gloves. When she stood beside him, he held up his hand. The back wound was still large and puffy. He had been more worried that it would rupture, given it was located in a spot more likely to bump something. The one on his palm hadn’t given him any trouble until the day before yesterday. It had a sterile pad covering it, with a bandage securing it in place.

  Dr. Warner gently cupped his hand and peered at the uncovered sore. The rounded bulge of the boil was slightly discolored, but didn’t look particularly weird to Sean’s eyes. The wrapped one had deflated once it expelled its pus. Emerson had to help Sean wrap it. Sean had a hard time looking at it while it leaked; it made his stomach feel weird and his head dizzy.

  Seeming satisfied with what she saw, Dr. Warner unwound the bandage around Sean’s palm. He’d rewrapped it this morning after he shaved and brushed his teeth. He hadn’t done the dishes because he didn’t want to get the absorbent pad wet.

  “Hmmm,” the doctor said.

  “Something wrong?” Sean asked, not liking the tone of that utterance.

  “It looks red around the edges. That, combined with the fever, suggests an infection.”

  “What? I’ve been putting that cream on every day. How could it get infected?”

  “Something could have gotten inside the flap of skin.”

  “Is it serious?” Macie asked, edging closer to look.

  “No, not since we caught it early. Infections of this nature can easily lead to sepsis, but you said the wound only opened two days ago. That’s not long for the bacteria to do lasting damage. We’ll have to do oral antibiotic, and a recheck in another week.”

  “What about playing my guitar?”

  “You don’t want anything to get inside this open wound. And it’s likely the one on the back of your hand will burst soon, too. I’m going to suggest bandaging the whole hand. This will help in the long run, make sure nothing else gets in there.”

  “So no playing?” That was Macie again. At least she could ask the question, Sean was too busy staring speechless.

  “No playing.”

  “He has a tour in three weeks.”

  “We’ll do a recheck next Monday. The oral antibiotics should help it get cleared up. Right now, I’ll trim the loose skin and clean the area.”

  She assembled some materials from various cabinets and placed them on a metal rolling tray, then returned to Sean’s side ready to proceed.

  Sean’s stomach squirmed and he looked away as she began to use tiny scissors to trim off his dead skin. He felt the tugs of the scissors, but there was no pain.

  “Oh,” said Dr. Warner suddenly. “There’s a piece of debris lodged in here. That’s likely the cause. I’m going to use tweezers to see if I can remove it.”

  Sean’s heart leapt into his chest. “Right now? Can’t you numb me or something first?”

  “I can’t. Just take a deep breath and keep your eyes averted.”

  Of course, as soon as she said that, his gaze shot to his hand. The top, yellowish layer of skin was pulled back, revealing red and raw skin underneath. A small, white circle was stuck in the center of the wound, but the surrounding area was turning a sickly green.

  It was too much for Sean to handle. He noticed black flecks invading the corner of his vision, and then it was too late to even give a warning. He toppled sideways.

  * * * *

  When Sean opened his eyes, he was staring at the ceiling in the doctor’s office. He was on the bed. Had he fallen off it? Or had they caught him before he plummeted to the floor? His head hurt, so he was thinking the former.

  “Sean?”

  That was Macie. He tilted his head slightly and saw concern on her face. Not a usual emotion she showed.

  “Yeah,” he answered, but his throat hurt and it came out sounding odd.

  “Jesus! You scared the hell out of me!”

  “What happened?”

  “Just like you, you went and made the situation worse.”

  Worse? That cleared away some of the fog in his mind. “Macie? What happened?”

  “You passed out. Dr. Warner told you not to look, but you did. When you saw your hand, you passed out. And instead of saying, ‘I’m going to pass out,’ you gave us no warning. Dr. Warner was in the middle of pulling something off your skin. You fell and the medical tweezers sliced through the wound. You had to have stitches.”

  Sean tried to raise his hand, to gaze at the damage done, but he lacked the strength. He also wanted to ask about his current condition, but he lacked that strength, too.

  A tear suddenly trickled from the corner of his eye. If he had stitches in his palm, he couldn’t play guitar in three weeks. There was no way. He’d fucked it up. He had completely ruined his own future.

  “Will we have to cancel the shows?” he asked, his voice heavy with emotion.

  Macie’s hand was on his shoulder and the look of sympathy deepened in her eyes. “We’ll have to talk with Jake about our options. It was only three stitches. It won’t take you long to heal. But you definitely won’t be able to play during the first week of the tour.”

  He was crying now. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’m so stupid.”

  Her voice had a scolding edge it. “Sean, don’t call yourself stupid. I do it enough for both of us.”

  He smiled up at her through his tears and she grinned back.

  “This was an accident,” she continued. “Sometimes these things just happen. Don’t freak out until we know we can’t fix this.”

  He nodded and sniffled.

  “Can you sit up?”

  She came to his side and helped him lift his shoulders off the bed. The room swam for a few moments, but it quickly righted itself.

  “I’m going to call in Cody. He said he’d use a wheelchair to get you to the car.”

  She opened the door and stuck her head out into the hallway. After shouting her demands—she was probably going to blow from keeping her voice so sweet when speaking to him—she returned to his side. She d
idn’t want him falling off the bed again.

  The nurse, Cody, came into the room with a wheelchair. He helped Sean off the exam table and onto the leather seat. He felt ridiculous being wheeled around. This was taking his penchant for dramatics to its extreme.

  Macie had phoned Jake and he waited at the entrance. Cody assisted Sean to his feet and held onto Sean’s elbow as he climbed into the back seat of the car.

  “Thanks, Cody,” Sean said with a wave.

  “My pleasure, Mr. Stirling. Please take care of yourself.” He shut the door.

  Macie climbed in on the other side, sitting next to Sean instead of in the front with Jake.

  “So, we need to hash this out,” Jake said without preamble. “We’ve got two options. Cancel the first week’s concerts. Or, we bring in a backup player for the guitar. With the first choice, we lose credibility and money. With the second, we get pissed of fans who only want to see you play.”

  Sean sighed. “I’m sorry, Jake, but I can’t think about this right now. What time is it?”

  “Almost noon,” he answered.

  “Let’s go see if Emerson is on his lunch break.”

  For once, no one argued with him.

  Chapter 17

  Emerson checked his cell phone as he pulled off his headset. It had beeped about fifteen minutes ago and he hoped it was from Sean with good news about his hand. It was from Sean, but the message was not one Emerson expected.

  I’m outside. Can you come and see me?

  That couldn’t be good. Emerson sent a quick response saying he was heading down now, then grabbed his jacket and booked it before his friends could hurry after him.

  On the ground level, Emerson exited the elevator and headed outside the building. He wasn’t sure where Sean would be, so he scanned the nearby people for Sean’s overcoat and scarf disguise. Then he heard a car honk, and Macie was leaning out of the passenger side window. She waved, and he went over to her.

  “Get in,” she said.

  Emerson climbed into the back seat and was surprised to see Sean, a bandage covering his whole left hand, and tear-streaks on his face.

  “Sean?” Emerson said, reaching out his hands. Sean came willingly into his arms, his whole body shaking as he cried. “What happened?”

 

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