In Sickness and in Death

by Jaye P. Marshall

  A couple of hours later, Brian pulled into the parking area of the apartment building. He jumped out of the car and took the stairs two at a time. “Adrienne,” he called as he burst into the apartment.

  The silence that greeted him was mystifying. With a puzzled frown he went to the phone. The message light was flashing. Anxiously, he punched the play button. After a couple of telemarketer calls and a hang-up, Adrienne’s voice came over the speaker.

  “Brian, we’ve had a case come up that’s going to keep me for a while. I just wanted to let you know so you wouldn’t worry.”

  He picked up the phone and punched in the number for the hospital. “Is Adrienne still there?” he asked when he’d been connected to the appropriate floor.

  “Yes, she is,” the voice answered. “But, she’s with a patient. Can I give her a message?”

  “Tell her that Brian called. I’ll come by and pick her up. I’ll be there in about a halfhour.”

  Brian pulled into the hospital parking lot and found a spot near the front entrance. Getting out of the Corvette, he stood a moment looking down at it, a smile of pleasure on his face. He could hardly wait to see Adrienne’s reaction. She was bound to be surprised, but would she also be as pleased as he hoped?

  He strode up the front steps and across the lobby to the elevators. Taking a car to the fifth floor, he got out and went directly to the nurses’ station. There was Adrienne, standing, with her back toward him, talking with one of the other nurses. Just the look of her, beautiful in her neat uniform of light green made him proud that he could call her his girl. He walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder.

  “Hi.”

  She turned with a smile. “Hi, yourself. I was surprised to hear that you were picking me up.”

  He shrugged. “Well, I knew you would have already missed your carpool and I didn’t want to worry about you having a ride.”

  “It would’ve been okay. Dr. Patrowski said he’d drop me off on his way home.”

  “I’m here now, so he won’t have to worry about it. You ready to go?”

  “Just let me get my bag.” She went behind the counter and retrieved her purse. “Night, all,” she said, with a wave at the other nurses.

  Brian was silent as they took the elevator to the lobby. He was afraid that, if he spoke, he would somehow give away his surprise. They exited the building and descended the steps.

  Adrienne paused on the walkway and surveyed the parking lot with a puzzled frown on her face.

  Brian took her elbow and steered her toward the passenger’s side of the Corvette. When he stopped beside it and reached for the door handle, she whirled to face him. Her eyes were wide. “Yours?” Her voice cracked into a croak. He smiled and nodded.

  “Is this some kind of a joke?”

  He shook his head.

  “You bought this?”

  When he again nodded, she let out a squeal and threw her arms around his neck. “Oh, Brian, it’s beautiful!”

  He smiled and opened the door. “I thought you’d like it.”

  “Like it?” She slid into the seat and ran her hand over the upholstery. “I love it!”

  “We shouldn’t have to worry about getting stranded anywhere – at least, not for a long while.”

  Chapter 3

  Over the next few weeks as Brian adjusted to the demands of his new job, he would often spend his evenings unwinding behind the wheel of the Corvette. He loved exploring the countryside, zipping around the many curves that the back roads offered and feeling the warm spring air blowing through his hair. When Adrienne was working the day shift, she would accompany him. Although Brian didn’t understand it, she much preferred cruising the city streets. One evening as they returned to the apartment, Adrienne looked up at the building and sighed.

  “What’s wrong?” Brian asked as he pulled into his parking space.

  “Oh,” she said wistfully, “I was just thinking what a shame it is for this beautiful car—

  ” she reached out and patted the dash, “—to be associated with this old run-down apartment building.”

  “It’s not run-down. It may be a bit old, but it’s not run-down.”

  “Well, it sure looks it beside this beautiful car. Besides,” she continued, “I wish we could find a better place. I don’t like this neighborhood, especially when I work the evening shift.”

  “But we’ve never had any trouble.”

  “Yeah, but you’re not the one who has to be out late at night. Why, just the other evening, there was this gang of hoodlums lounging around the entrance. I was scared to death to even walk by them. I didn’t know what they might do.”

  “They didn’t try anything, did they?”

  “No, but what if they had?”

  “Did they even say anything to you?”

  “That’s beside the point. I was scared! Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

  “Of course it does, honey.” He sighed. “Well, maybe we could look at some other places.”

  She turned to him with a bright smile. “Thank you. I’ll do some checking tomorrow.”

  The next evening, Brian was late arriving home from the office.

  “Where in the world have you been?” Adrienne demanded as soon as he walked through the door.

  He shrugged. “I got tied up in a meeting. Why?”

  “I had it all set up for us to go and see three apartments this evening. When you didn’t show up, I had to call all of them and cancel.”

  “Sorry,” he said, crossing the room and putting his arms around her. “If you had checked with me first, I’d have told you I would probably be late and we needed to schedule it for some other evening. We had some prospective suppliers in today going over what we’re going to need and they have to fly out in the morning.”

  “Well, will you be able to make it tomorrow?” There was a note of sarcasm in her voice.

  Brian frowned as he thought about his schedule for the next day and then he sighed. “I suppose. Go ahead and set it up, I’ll make sure I leave on time.”

  “Good. I certainly hope this new job isn’t going to tie up all your evenings.”

  “It shouldn’t, but it will happen once in a while. That just goes with the job.” He walked toward the bedroom. “I’m going to shower and change. You want to call in and order a pizza?”

  A while later Brian padded into the dinette, barefoot and bare-chested, to find the pizza sitting on the table. He went to the refrigerator, took out a beer and held it up toward Adrienne. “Want one?”

  “Sure,” she replied. “Nothing goes quite so well with pizza as a cold beer.”

  He smiled. “A woman after my own heart.”

  They were just sitting down when the phone rang. Brian reached for it and discovered his mother on the other end of the line.

  “Brian, darling,” she said. “How have you been?”

  “Oh, pretty well. Been kinda busy with the new job and all.”

  “You got a new job! A promotion?”

  Brian felt a blush rising to his cheeks. “Yeah,” he said modestly. “A couple-level jump.”

  “Why, Brian, that’s wonderful. Congratulations!”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “Your father would have been so proud.”

  “You think so?”

  “I know so. You know, he always wanted better for you than what he had been able to do. So, are you celebrating?”

  “No, we did that the night I got the word. Adrienne and I were just sitting down to a pizza.”

  “Well, dear, I’ll let you go before it gets cold.”

  “Okay, Mom.”

  “Again, congratulations. Call me sometime, okay?”

  “Okay, Mom. I will. Take care of yourself.”

  Brian hung up the phone and sat down at the table. Adrienne looked over at him.

  “Your mom I take it,” she said. Brian nodded. “What did she have to say about your new job?”

  “Oh, just congratulations, and she told m
e how proud my dad would have been.”

  Adrienne nodded firmly. “And rightfully so.”

  “Mom’s the one I’m proud of. When dad died and she was left with three kids to support, she worked in an office and studied real estate on the side. She got her license and really made a go of it. Of course, she always did like houses.” He chuckled. “She used to drag us kids around to every open house she could find.”

  Vivian Forrester slowly hung up the phone, a happy smile gracing her face. She was very proud of her only son. He was smart and had grown into a hard-working man with practical ideas. There was no telling how far he could go. He might even be a company president, or a CEO, one day. He so much reminded her of her husband, Frank, who was suddenly taken from her at a much too young age. Even though that had been years ago, she still missed Frank, even though she had been forced by his passing to become much more independent. She sighed deeply. She loved all of her children equally, but Brian just seemed closer to her.

  “Of course,” she smiled wryly. “The girls getting married and moving so far away might have something to do with that.” But Brian had so far stayed in town and for that she was thankful. “Not too sure of that Adrienne though.”

  Sometimes she had a really strange feeling with Adrienne, but Brian seemed to be crazy about the girl and she only wanted him to be happy, so she’d just have to accept his choice.

  She picked up the phone to call her canasta partner. Might as well get caught up on all the news, she thought as she punched in the number.

  The following evening Brian sat in his office, with the man who would eventually become his sales manager, and kept glancing at his watch. He’d promised Adrienne that he would be home on time. He’d have to cut this short. Jake could go on for hours.

  “Look, Jake,” he said as the minute hand on his watch slid toward five o’clock. “We’ll have to continue this tomorrow. I’ve got an appointment in a few minutes.”

  The young man rose to his feet. “Okay, Brian. I guess there’s not much more we can do until we get a bit farther along.”

  “Probably not.” Brian shoved some papers into his briefcase, snapped it shut and headed for the door. “See you tomorrow,” he said as he closed the door behind him. In the parking lot, he slid behind the wheel of the Corvette and lowered the top. The scent of flowers floated on the warm breeze. It was such a beautiful day, he would much rather go for a drive in the country than look at apartments. He sighed. But Adrienne seemed determine to find another place and he had promised.

  Adrienne had apparently been watching for him since she came out of the building as soon as he had pulled into his parking space.

  “I thought we could stop at a restaurant along the way,” she said as she slid into the passenger’s seat.

  “I’d just as soon get this over with,” Brian said. “Maybe we can just drop by a fast food place.”

  She looked at him with an unreadable expression. “Whatever.”

  After a quick bite to eat, they went to the first address Adrienne had written down. The apartment complex was an older building in a Spanish style with white-stuccoed walls, a red tile roof, brick-paved courtyards and surrounded by large palm trees. Adrienne’s eyes shone as they approached the office door.

  The apartment they were shown had a light and airy feeling about it.

  “It seems so spacious!” Adrienne enthused.

  “That’s only because there’s not any furniture in it,” Brian countered. “It’s actually about the same size as the one we have now.”

  Adrienne glared at him and turned to the manager. “We have a couple of other places to look at this evening,” she said. “I’ll give you a call.”

  They had no more than returned to the car when she faced him with fury blazing in her eyes. “Why do you have to be so negative about everything?”

  “I wasn’t being negative. It’s true. That place is about the same size as where we are now. Once we get the furniture in it, all of that space you were raving about will be filled.”

  “I don’t think you really want to find a new place at all!”

  He shrugged. “The additional rent wouldn’t be worth it, that’s all.”

  Adrienne withdrew to the far edge of the bucket seat and stared through the windshield, her lips compressed into a firm line. Brian looked at her repeatedly, but she didn’t even glance in his direction.

  When they arrived at the next address, he shut off the switch but made no move to get out of the car. “Adrienne?” He reached across and laid his hand on her shoulder. “Look, honey, I’m sorry. It’s just that, if we want to get a nicer place, I’d like to see it contain enough improvements to make it worth the extra money. You know what I mean?”

  When she did not respond, he sighed. “We’re here. We might as well look at this place.” He got out of the car, went around, opened her door and waited until she exited. Silently, they entered the three-story sprawling brick apartment complex. Brian wasn’t impressed with either that apartment or the one they visited afterward, but he kept silent. He couldn’t keep from wondering what it was exactly that Adrienne hoped to achieve by the move. Regardless of the neighborhood, in his opinion, none of the three apartments they’d seen offered sufficient upgrade to warrant the increase in rent. However, he kept silent, neither stating his objections nor questioning her motivation. There was no sense in making Adrienne angry again.

  About a week later, Brian came home to find Adrienne waiting for him. She flung her arms around his neck and hugged him so tightly that it nearly took his breath away.

  “I’ve found the perfect place,” she enthused, her eyes shining.

  “What?” Brian asked slowly.

  “I’ve found the perfect place,” she repeated.

  “Perfect place for what?”

  “For us to live, silly. I stopped over there on my way home from work and it’s absolutely fabulous! Wait until you see it.”

  Brian stared at her with a puzzled frown. Adrienne had said no more about moving and he had thought that it had been just a passing mood, but apparently it had not.

  “You have to see it,” she went on. “Can we go over there this evening?”

  “I . . . I don’t know.” At least she seemed happier than she had been for days. He supposed that it wouldn’t hurt to take a look. “If you really want to, I guess we can go and see it.”

  “Good. Let’s go right now.”

  “But, honey, I’d really like to take a shower and change clothes first. I get tired of this suit and tie business all day, every day. I like to be more comfortable on my own time.”

  “No, no,” she said, straightening his tie. “Just go as you are.”

  Reluctantly, Brian did as she requested and, twenty minutes later, they were entering what Brian recognized as one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in the city. He didn’t even realize that they had apartment buildings in this neighborhood. He drove slowly down the main thoroughfare and searched the side streets for buildings that looked like apartments. He saw none.

  “That’s it,” Adrienne pointed at a high-rise ahead on the right. Brian whistled through his teeth as he surveyed the steel and turquoise glass structure.

  “These are apartments?” he asked incredulously.

  “Actually, they’re condos. But we can lease the one I looked at this afternoon.”

  Where had Adrienne learned about this place? Did it belong to one of the doctors who operated at the hospital?

  In a daze, he followed Adrienne into the spacious lobby with its central atrium. At the security desk, Adrienne spoke to the guard on duty who, keys in hand, led them to an elevator. The glass-walled car presented an overview of the atrium as they rose to the twelfth floor. The three-bedroom, thickly carpeted living quarters sported window walls in the combination living-dining area as well as in the master bedroom. The master bath was enormous with mirrored walls, sparkling golden fixtures and what seemed like miles of gleaming white marble counters.

 
; Brian followed numbly as they were escorted from the living area to a spa on the top floor that contained not only a large swimming pool and Jacuzzi, but also had a workout room with what seemed to be an unlimited array of exercise equipment.

  “Isn’t it wonderful?” Adrienne gushed as they left the building. “Can’t you just picture us living here?”

  “It’s kind of hard to imagine,” he answered. He had said he wanted an upgrade and an upgrade it certainly was – even though the rent would be more than double.

  Chapter 4

  Doctor Harris was pleased when, the next morning, Adrienne approached him with her face happily glowing.

  “Oh, Dr. Harris, thank you so much for telling me about your friend’s condo. Brian and I went to see it last night and,” she paused for effect, “we’re going to take it.” She impulsively grabbed his hands and squeezed them. “I’m just so excited! I can hardly wait to move.”

  “Well, Adrienne, I’m glad you and your man liked the place. My friend, Harry, will be pleased to hear that such a fine couple has leased it. He still doesn’t have any idea how long he’ll be on that European assignment.”

  “Well,” she laughed, “I hope he doesn’t come back too soon. I just love the place!”

  Dr. Harris laughed. “I’m sure it’ll be a year or two anyway.”

  Brian didn’t tell his mother they planned to move until he called to give her his new address. When he told her the street, she nearly dropped the phone.

  “Mercy, Brian,” she exclaimed. “You must have got one really big promotion to be able to afford that neighborhood.”

  “I told you, Mom, that I did get a two-level bump-up. That’s pretty nice considering how infrequently it occurs.”