Way to Her Heart

by Melanie Schuster

  She came to work singing every day—something she didn’t even notice until her nurse, Kayla, pointed it out to her. She had come in early with a big bowl of fruit salad and tiny banana muffins for her staff. She was singing under her breath as she put it in the staff room when Kayla came in with a smile on her pretty face.

  “Dr. Sherri, I don’t know for sure what’s come over you, but it’s doing you a world of good,” she teased.

  Sherri tried to pretend like she didn’t know what Kayla meant, but the twinkle in her eyes and her broad smile gave her away.

  “Are you saying that I’m usually an ogre to work with?”

  “No, Dr. Sherri, you’re a great boss. It’s just that the past few days you’ve been extra sparkly or something. It wouldn’t have anything to do with that handsome guy that brings you lunch, would it?”

  Sherri finished washing her hands at the sink and gave Kayla an extra-mischievous smile as she dried them. “It has everything to do with him, Kayla.”

  Both women laughed as Sherri went to her office to return calls and get ready for her patients. Her hand was on the phone when her private line rang.

  “Dr. Stratton, how may I help you?”

  “Where have you been keeping yourself, Sherrilyn? You can’t pick up the phone and give your parents a call once in a while?”

  Sherri tried hard to keep from making a childish face at the phone, but it was difficult. Her mother, Sybil Stratton, was a difficult person with whom to get along and Sherri had stopped trying to please her years ago. Once her parents found out about her pregnancy they had treated her like a pariah, but Sherri still tried to be a dutiful daughter. After Sydney was born and their attitude actually got worse, Sherri gave up. They had their lives, and she had hers. She would call maybe once a month to say hello, but that was the extent of their communication. Why Sybil was calling her today was a mystery, one that she hoped would be solved soon.

  “Hello, Mother. Is there anything wrong?”

  “Of course not. Why would you say something like that?”

  “Because you never call me,” Sherri said. “What can I do for you today?”

  “Well, your father’s birthday is on Thursday and we’re going out to celebrate. We want you to come.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I said I want you to come to your father’s birthday celebration on Thursday night. So, we’ll expect you and your child at the house at eight.”

  “Mother, thanks for the invitation, but Sydney is on Hilton Head with some friends and I’m not going to get her until Saturday.”

  “What friends?”

  Ignoring her mother’s suspicious tone, Sherri said, “What difference does it make to you? She’s not going to be there, and I probably won’t either. I sent him a card already, so tell him I said happy birthday.”

  “Sherrilyn, we ask very little of you so I don’t see why you can’t grant us this little favor and come over on Thursday. You father hasn’t been well and I don’t know how many birthdays he has left. Ordinarily I wouldn’t press, but it’s important to him. Can’t you see your way clear to act like a daughter and cooperate?”

  Sherri wanted to throw the phone across the room, but she refrained. “Fine, Mother, I’ll see you Thursday at eight. Is there anything I can bring?”

  “Good heavens, no. You know what your cooking does to my digestion. See you Thursday. Please dress appropriately.”

  Before she could ask her mother what she meant by that, she had hung up. Sherri’s lips pressed together in a tight line until she realized she was imitating her mother’s standard expression. Whenever Sybil Stratton was annoyed, which was often, her lips would disappear into a line that was so tight, you couldn’t stick a needle between them. She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, shaking off the momentary angst that had arisen from hearing her mother’s cool, flat voice. She glanced at her watch and picked up her patient list for the day, putting the phone call completely out of her mind.

  * * *

  She did mention it to Lucas, who looked mildly curious when she mentioned her parents. They were at his loft, relaxing on the sofa and listening to music. He’d made dinner for her again and it was delicious, like everything he prepared.

  “You don’t talk about them much,” he observed.

  “My family? No, I don’t. There’s nothing to talk about, really. We don’t have much of a relationship since I disgraced the family by keeping my baby,” she said dryly. She looked at Lucas and said, “My people aren’t like yours, Lucas. You have a warm, loving family. They’re not afraid to show their love and affection for each other. They like each other. I sometimes wonder why my folks had children because they didn’t seem to be too thrilled with us.”

  “You have siblings? I thought you were an only child.”

  “No, I have a brother. He moved away after he finished college, and I don’t see him often. He lives in D.C. He didn’t want to go into the family business, so he was cut off, too,” she said, making a noise like a knife going through metal as she dragged her finger across her throat.

  Lucas looked shocked, and Sherri put her fingers on his mouth. “Don’t say anything, honey. Don’t think about my folks. I don’t. I’ll go and pay my respects, and that’ll be the end of it.”

  She gave him a cheeky smile and continued, “Maybe I’ll wear something really tacky and gross like some coochie-cutter shorts and a halter top with platform shoes. Then I’ll say, ‘Oh, you mean this isn’t appropriate?’ I’d love to see the look on their faces if I did that!”

  “Do you want me to come with you? Because I will, no problem,” Lucas offered.

  “Absolutely not,” Sherri said firmly. “If you meet them, you’ll see what a twisted family tree I fell from and you might get scared off.”

  “Who, me? Never in this world, babe. You may not realize it yet, but I’m in it for the long haul, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere except to bed with you.”

  “Oh, let’s do,” she murmured. “Let’s go right now.”

  Without a word he scooped Sherri up and headed for the bedroom with her giggling all the way.

  * * *

  Sherri had agreed to make an appearance at her father’s party on Thursday, and she went through with it, even though Alexis told her she was crazy. Alexis had a very low opinion of the elder Strattons because of the way they had always treated Sherri. Alexis’s mother and Emily’s mother had made up for all the maternal loving Sherri didn’t get at home, but it was still a sore spot with Alexis. She took being a ride-or-die girlfriend seriously, and she bore grudges like a champ. After all Sherri had been through she didn’t see why her friend didn’t just cut them off, period, and she said so while she was styling Sherri’s hair before the event.

  “Just promise me this—if they say anything mean or do anything crazy, get up and get out. Don’t say anything—just leave. You don’t have to behave like a lady when people are trying to be cruel,” she said hotly.

  Sherri gave a short laugh. “I promise I will. I’ll storm out of there like the devil is on my heels. Wow, I love the hair. You outdid yourself, Lexie. How’s my outfit? Is it appropriate?” she asked with a slight twist to her lips.

  She was wearing a stylishly cut wrap dress in a deep yellow color that did nice things for her skin color. It had three-quarter-length sleeves and fell to just below her knees. It was one of the dresses she often wore to church, and with her usual minimal amount of makeup and jewelry, she looked stunning.

  “You look too good for them,” Alexis muttered. “Come over when the ordeal is finished and tell me all about it.”

  “Okay, if it’s not too late.”

  * * *

  The house in which she’d grown up looked the same as it always had—austere and forbidding. It was so subdued and quiet that it was like living in one of the family funeral homes. In fact, when she was small, she thought they did live in a funeral home because it was decorated in the same style. Heavy satin draperies with fancy shee
r curtains hung at all the windows, and stiff, uncomfortable brocaded furniture stood at severe right angles. Dismal-looking landscapes hung on the walls, and everything seemed to be gray, despite bits of color here and there.

  Sherri parked on the street because it didn’t occur to her to park in the big circular driveway. That was for her parents and their guests only. She approached the big gray house with the black trim with slow, measured steps, then decided she was being ridiculous and picked up her pace. She rang the doorbell, which seemed silly because it was her parents’ home, but the Strattons weren’t the kind of people you walked in on. So she rang and waited like a stranger until the door opened.

  Sybil Stratton greeted her daughter with a little more animation than usual, which should have set off alarms in Sherri’s head.

  “Come in, Sherrilyn. Your father will be pleased to see you. That’s an odd color you’re wearing, isn’t it?”

  “Nice to see you, too, Mother. You look well.”

  Sybil Stratton was a medium woman in every way. She was medium height, medium-sized, medium brown with hair of medium length. There was nothing that stood out about her in any way, but in fairness to her, that was her plan. She wore plain clothes in drab colors because she thought bright colors were vulgar. Standing next to Sherri she looked like a mourning dove beside an oriole. She made no attempt to hug her daughter or shake hands, and Sherri didn’t either. She knew the drill by now.

  Her mother preceded her into the living room and told her to have a seat, saying that her father would be out in a moment. Sherri looked around in vain for flowers, gifts, decorations or anything to suggest that this was a party, but she found none. She sat on a hard wingback chair and asked her mother how her father was feeling.

  “You mentioned that he’d been ill, and I’m concerned about him.”

  Her mother looked puzzled. “Your father is fine, Sherrilyn. Where did you get the idea that he was ill?”

  Before she could state the obvious and say, “from you,” her father entered the room. Simon Stratton was tall, lean and quiet by nature. He could have been considered a handsome man if he dressed with a little more style, but Sybil kept him in dull colors to match hers. He was fair-skinned and freckled, with wire-rimmed glasses, and his thin moustache looked faded with all the gray hairs that populated it.

  Sherri rose to greet him and wasn’t disappointed when he didn’t hug her or show her any kind of affection.

  “Happy birthday, Father. You’re looking well.”

  He nodded at her absently. “Hello, Sherrilyn. You haven’t changed. I thought you were bringing your daughter.”

  Your daughter. That’s the way they always referred to Sydney. Not my grandchild, my grandbaby or anything affectionate; it was always your daughter.

  Sherri explained again that Sydney was visiting with friends on Hilton Head, wondering as she did it why her mother hadn’t explained it to him.

  His expression was dour as he said, “That’s too bad because there’s someone here who wants to meet her.”

  Sherri was still standing when a tall figure emerged from the dining room. She turned her head to get a good look, and when she did, she was hardly able to speak. Finally she got out a single word: “Trevor?”

  Chapter 12

  Alexis and Jared were entertaining Lucas when the doorbell rang insistently. Jared answered the door to find Sherri on the doorstep, pale as paper.

  “What in the world happened?” Alexis asked worriedly. “What did they do to you?”

  She hurried across the living room to her friend, but Lucas got there first and put his arm around Sherri. It was obvious that she was upset; she didn’t look like herself at all. Lucas could feel her trembling slightly and her breathing was rapid. He led her over to the sofa and sat her down, keeping his arm around her protectively.

  “What is it, sweetheart? Can you tell us about it?” His voice was deep with concern.

  Jared handed her a glass of ice water, which she took gratefully and drank in big swallows. “Listen, I’m okay, really. I’m just so damned mad I could spit.”

  She handed the glass back to Jared with a nice thank-you before leaning back into the comfort of Lucas’s arms.

  “Jared, you might want to restrain your wife,” Sherri warned with a shadow of her usual smile. “I went over to my parents’ house for this so-called party and it turned out to be an ambush. Trevor Barnes was there waiting for me.”

  Jared really did have to put his hands on his lovely wife because she let out a shriek like a steam kettle and jumped up like she was about to take out a gang of zombies single-handed.

  “Are you kidding me? Seriously? Where in the hell did they dig him up from, and why was he there?” Alexis sputtered like an angry cat.

  Sherri snuggled closer to Lucas just because he felt so good and so warm. “Girl, I can’t even give you any details. Everybody’s mouth was moving but it all sounded like ‘blah, blah, blah’ to me. Father said something about me not bringing my daughter with me and I told him she was on Hilton Head with friends. So he said, ‘That’s too bad, because there’s someone here who wants to meet her,’ and then Trevor walks out of the dining room.”

  She shuddered while Alexis continued to fume, letting out a steady stream of vitriol under her breath. Jared managed to sit down with her in his lap and he asked mildly, “I kind of have an idea, but who is Trevor Barnes?”

  “I’ll tell you who he is,” Alexis began but Jared covered her mouth with his, which calmed her down for the moment.

  Sherri’s sense of humor came back and she said, “I forget that you’re new to the family, Jared, because it seems like you’ve been around forever. Trevor Barnes is my baby-daddy,” she said with a slight snarl. “He was my boyfriend when I was in med school. When I started my internship I found out I was pregnant, I told him and he vanished into thin air.”

  Jared gave her a long, serious look. “You mean he didn’t acknowledge his own child? Does he pay child support, come to visit Sydney, anything?”

  “This is the first time I’ve seen his face or heard his voice since the day I showed him the positive test strip. I was too proud to go chasing after him to make him do right. My parents loved Trevor and wanted me to marry him.” She stopped talking when her stomach gave a deep and meaningful growl. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I guess I’m hungry,” she said.

  “We can’t have that. We were just about to eat,” Lucas said. “C’mon, tigress, let’s get some food into you,” he said as he picked Sherri up and carried her toward the kitchen. “Mind if I get the ball rolling?” he asked Alexis and Jared with a smile.

  “By all means,” Jared responded. “We’ll wait here.”

  Finally she was alone with Lucas. She moved closer to him, getting into his lap so she could really enjoy the sheer relief of being with him. He held her for a long moment and then kissed her, which made everything okay again.

  “I’m sorry for all the drama, honey. I’m usually the levelheaded one. Alexis is the drama queen and Emily is the brilliant one,” she said. “But honestly, this is just too much. Can you imagine how I felt walking into my parents’ home and finding that louse standing there with a big shit-eating grin on his face?” She giggled and covered her mouth. “I said shit. Sorry, I usually don’t have to resort to profanity to get a point across.”

  “Don’t you dare apologize for anything, sweetheart. It’s a good thing I wasn’t there or you would’ve heard some real cussing—some first-class, prison yard, motorcycle hoodlum cussin’. What was the point of him being there?”

  Sherri gave Lucas one more sweet kiss before answering. “Oh, you’re going to love this. It seems he’s come to town to make amends. He wanted me to know how terribly sorry he is for the horrible, shoddy way he treated me in the past and he especially wants to meet his daughter and become an integral part of her life. Can you believe it?”

  She frowned, remembering the ridiculous scene at the house when Trevor came into the living room trying
to be all suave. All Sherri could think about was a very old movie called Blacula; it was all overemoting and corny dialogue, and Trevor could have played the lead the way he was going on and on. “Right in front of my parents Trevor started this pompous monologue about his feelings, the error of his ways and the cavernous hole in his heart left by her absence, blah, blah blah.”

  “What did you say when he started all this baring of his soul?”

  “Nothing.”

  “You didn’t say anything at all?”

  “Nope. Not a word. I just walked out. I wasn’t about to stand there and try to start some kind of meaningful dialogue with the louse, and I was so angry with my parents that I was about to go ziggety-boom, so I left.”

  Lucas hugged her again, and she sighed with pleasure as she felt his warm loving arms around her.

  “Will you come home with me tonight? I have a feeling my phone will be ringing off the hook, and I certainly wouldn’t put it past my parents to give him my address. It would be just like him to show up in the middle of the night, and if he does I want you to beat him up.”

  “I’ll be more than happy to beat him until he ropes like okra if he bothers you, but I doubt that he’d be that stupid.”

  Her stomach growled again, this time so long and loud it was like a sound effect in a horror movie. They both burst out laughing.

  “Damn, baby, you got some skillz,” he teased.

  “Apparently I do. Maybe I can start a new career as a Foley artist or something. I’ve always been curious about the movie business. I’m going to wash my hands because something smells really good and I’m obviously weak from hunger.”

  Lucas helped her rise from his lap and stole one more kiss before she went off to the bathroom. “By the way, you look beautiful in that dress, sweetheart. I love that color against your gorgeous skin.”

  Her eyes filled up with tears, which alarmed him greatly. “Did I say something wrong?”