by Anna Schmidt
Derek paused next to her seat. She was on the aisle, her back to him. She was talking to her friend, but her friend’s eyes were on Derek. The bus made a wide turn, and Derek lost his balance and fell heavily against Sally. When he regained his footing, Justin saw that he was grinning and knew that he had lost his balance on purpose.
“Are you all right?” His voice dripped with false concern. “Good thing you’ve got all that extra padding or I might have really hurt you.” He was still grinning as he continued on his way and flung himself into the seat next to Justin. “Hey J-man, got that math homework done?”
Justin saw Sally glance back at them. She was rubbing her shoulder, and she was looking directly at Justin. He felt bad about what Derek had said about her weight, but he also had no doubt that she had heard Derek’s question about the math homework. It was all there in the way that she arched her eyebrows, questioning Justin’s next move.
With deliberate slowness he pulled his math notebook out of his backpack and handed it over to Derek. He had stayed up late making notes he thought Derek could follow to help him find the answers. He called them study sheets and told himself that he was helping Derek understand the problem so that when he had to figure it out on his own on a test he would be able to do it.
So let her tell on him if she dared. He’d take that risk. If the cost of having Derek and the others as his friends—his only friends—was helping them out so they kept up in math, it was worth it. Besides, he was pretty sure Sally wouldn’t tell. After all no matter how popular a kid was, nobody trusted a tattler.
When Ben had looked up while dancing with Darcy and seen Rachel peering over the auditorium’s balcony, he had actually stumbled a little and narrowly missed stepping on Darcy’s exposed toes.
Darcy had laughed. “Easy there. I’m going to need those toes later.”
Ben had turned her so that his back was to the balcony. He realized that he was not only surprised to see Rachel standing there, her white prayer covering unmistakable even in the soft candlelight, but he also realized that the novelty of her in this setting had unnerved him. For the rest of that evening—although he did not see Rachel again—he could not seem to get her out of his mind. And in his dreams later that night it wasn’t Darcy he was dancing with—he was holding Rachel in his arms.
In the days that followed, on those rare occasions when their paths crossed at the hospital, he tripped over his greeting as he had stumbled on the dance floor that evening. Rachel remained her usual serene self during these brief encounters, her smile warm and open, and, as Paul Cox was given to exclaiming, “a breath of pure fresh air in these sometimes difficult surroundings.”
In the monthly meeting of department heads that Ben had just left, Paul had made it crystal clear that in his opinion they could not have chosen a better candidate for the spiritual counselor position. “The woman is a wonder,” he declared in that voice that was better suited to the pulpit than the conference room. And Ben had seen Darcy wince as Paul went on to enumerate all the ways that in six short weeks Rachel Kaufmann had established herself as a “pure blessing to this place.”
“Ben, wait up.”
He turned at the sound of Darcy’s heels on the tiled floor. Ever since the run followed by the charity ball he had worked hard at keeping his interactions with Darcy outside the hospital as casual as possible. And to his relief she seemed fine with that, to the point that he’d decided he must have misread their kiss in the parking lot.
“Going my way?” He grinned as he waited for her to catch up to him.
But Darcy was in full business mode—the thin line of her mouth told him as much.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Can we grab a cup of coffee? I need to talk to you about something—something I was reluctant to mention in the meeting.”
“Sounds serious.” They had reached the entrance to the small coffee bar in the lobby. It was fairly deserted at this time of day, and Ben indicated that Darcy should choose a table while he got their coffee. When he set the cup in front of her and pushed the dish containing packets of sweetener toward her, she was staring out the window.
“Thanks. I needed this.” She laughed and added, “Intravenously would be even more helpful.”
“Looks like what you need is a break. What’s going on?”
She leaned closer, glancing around as if afraid of being overheard. “Houston, we have a problem,” she murmured, “and her name is Rachel Kaufmann.”
Ben could not have been more surprised if Darcy had suddenly spilled her hot coffee all over him. “Rachel? But Paul said …”
Darcy snorted and gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “Paul thinks the woman practically walks on water. That’s part of the problem. He believes that her going through certification and getting her license is a mere formality. He can’t seem to stop praising her.”
“And your problem is …?” Ben was surprised to realize that he was feeling a little defensive when the fact was that he knew next to nothing about how she was doing her job.
“I didn’t want to mention it before—I mean she is living with your sister and Malcolm.”
“But?”
Darcy took a deep breath and dived in. “A few weeks ago I was doing my weekly tour of the various departments. Imagine my shock to see Zeke Shepherd playing his guitar for the children on the children’s ward—in the activity room.”
“Okay, now you’ve lost me. What’s that got to do with Rachel?”
“She invited him—without Paul’s approval apparently. Oh, he approved the idea of musical entertainment for the children, but Zeke? No way would he ever have—”
“Why not?”
Her eyes bugged at this question. Her mouth worked, but no words came out. Finally she managed, “You are joking.”
“Not so much.” Ben took a sip of his coffee. “What’s your problem with Zeke? I’ve heard him play and sing—he’s talented and especially good with children.”
“He is a street person, as in he lives on the street, takes his meals out of trash bins, sleeps on park benches or under bushes, and who knows how or where he manages to bathe or shower.”
“Whoa!” Ben held up his hands to stop her tirade. “First of all, Zeke has a steady job at the fruit co-op that the Steiners run—and that my brother-in-law funds. Second, I’ll grant you that he prefers sleeping out under the stars and I have no idea where he gets his meals or does his personal grooming, but the fact remains that any time I’ve seen him he is always clean-shaven and dressed in albeit ill-fitting but freshly laundered clothes.”
He paused when he saw tears glistening on the rims of Darcy’s eyes. “Hey, sorry.” He lowered his voice. “Please explain to me why this has you so upset.”
“I don’t know. It’s her. I have this uneasy feeling about her. I know that’s totally unprofessional, but I’m usually right about these things. True there was no real harm, but when she goes out on her own and pulls a stunt like this she is not only putting the children in danger of picking up some germ or infection that man might be carrying but she’s also endangering the entire hospital. What if a reporter had been here or a TV journalist?”
“You’re talking in riddles, Darcy.”
She cupped her hand as if holding a microphone. “We’re here at the newly opened Gulf Coast Hospital where this reporter was stunned to see Sarasota’s own well-known street musician and homeless veteran, Zeke Shepherd, entertaining the children. Given the outbreak of cryptosporidium that spread through the homeless population after last year’s hurricane, this reporter had to question—”
“Okay, I get it. So talk to Rachel and help her to understand why—”
“I did.”
“And?”
“Oh, you know how she is—all sweetness and light. She told me that Paul had given his permission but that it was her responsibility since Paul did not know that she was going to invite Zeke.”
“Okay, so we’re back to square one. What’s the problem?
Seems to me you handled it.” Ben took another swallow of his coffee.
“But don’t you think—I mean, she placed the hospital in danger.”
Ben could see that what Darcy had really wanted was for him to be as incensed by Rachel’s action as she was. But he really couldn’t see the harm. There had to be more behind Darcy’s fury.
“Hey, it’s over,” he said. “She didn’t set the place on fire. There was no reporter or television camera. Zeke didn’t infect the children, and you covered the chance for any liability by writing Rachel up for the infraction, right? It wasn’t her best choice, but her heart was in the right place. I mean, we want an environment that brings the world to children isolated by their illness, don’t we?”
“I suppose. But …”
Ben grinned at her, trying to lighten the moment. “Come on, admit it. You hate being wrong about somebody and from day one you were sure that Rachel was the wrong person for this job. Admit that she’s good, Meekins, and move on.” He reached across the small round table and patted her hand.
She let out a deep shuddering sigh and went so far as to give him a slight nod. “You’re right. I worry so much about the hospital and getting our reputation solidly established. Rachel Kaufmann isn’t the only one on probation here. I mean, this whole hospital has to shine.”
“And that’s exactly why the board hired you,” Ben assured her. He glanced at his watch and stood up. “I have rounds. You okay?”
“Sure. Thanks for listening.”
“What are friends for? Maybe I’ll see you later, after work? Some of the other doctors plan to check out that new Italian place in the Rosemary District.”
Her demeanor turned on a dime. She smiled up at him. “Why, Dr. Booker, are you asking me out?”
“Actually, maybe the best idea would be to ask Rachel to join us. If the two of you got better acquainted outside the hospital …”
Her eyes clouded over and her smile faded. “You know, I completely forgot. I have a previous engagement. Another time maybe.”
Without another word she got up and went to refill her coffee mug before heading back to her office.
Rachel’s mind was reeling with everything she had going on these days. Her course work was not especially difficult, but it took up a lot of her time. The same was true of her work at the hospital, especially when she had to return after hours to handle some emergency. Then there was the reprimand regarding Zeke that she had received from Darcy Meekins—a reprimand that was now a part of her employment record. Mark Boynton had explained to her that the hospital had a three-strikes-and-you’re- out policy when it came to such things.
But uppermost in her thoughts was the feeling that she was not spending enough time with Justin. Not that he had said anything or given any indication that he was upset with her. To her relief he seemed to have connected with a group of boys from his school. One day she’d happened to be coming back to the guest cottage at the same time the school bus pulled up and Justin got off.
He hadn’t seen her right away because his attention had been on a boy leaning out one of the windows of the bus, shouting something to Justin. Justin had been smiling and then laughing as the bus pulled away and the boy continued to hang out the window.
“Who was that?” she’d asked.
“Just somebody in my class,” Justin replied.
“Does this person have a name?”
“Derek.”
“He seems …”
Justin had shot her a look that warned her not to say anything derogatory about his friend so she changed tactics.
“Does he live nearby?”
Justin shrugged.
“Because maybe you’d like to invite him over for supper one day, or we could …”
“I see him at school. I’ve got homework,” he added. “Math test tomorrow.”
On the surface everything with Justin seemed to be going as well as could be expected. His grades were fine. He was making friends given the exchange with the boy on the bus and his occasional comment about a couple of other boys. He did his chores and did not complain when she had to go back to the hospital late at night. But there was something….
“I can call Sally’s parents and ask if you could stay with them until I get back, or you could come with me,” she’d offered the first time she’d gotten a late-night call.
“I can stay on my own, Mom. I’m not a little kid anymore.”
No, he wasn’t. In the short time since they’d come to Florida it seemed to Rachel that he had grown taller and his body—always rail thin—had begun to fill out. And his voice was changing as well. It was rougher, and he had developed a tendency toward mumbling. But what worried her most was that his attitude had changed. He was quieter than ever—sometimes bordering on sullen.
She needed to speak to him about that. Sometimes when Sharon or Malcolm Shepherd walked over to the garden when he was out doing the weeding, he was not as polite as Rachel would like him to be. But the fact was that she had little enough time to spend with Justin these days and she was reluctant to use a minute of it to chastise him.
“It’s a phase,” Hester assured her one day when Rachel and Justin had gone over to the co-op so that Justin could help in the packinghouse and Rachel could help Hester label the jars of marmalade they would sell at the farmers’ market.
Rachel wasn’t so sure. As she made her way through the labyrinth of corridors that led from the children’s wing to her office, she had one more worry on her mind. She simply could not afford to lose this job. She forced herself to take a deep, calming breath and silently sent God a plea to show her how best to earn Darcy’s approval.
And then she turned the corner and bumped—quite literally—into Ben Booker.
Chapter 14
Hey there. I was hoping I might run into you,” Ben said with a grin.
Rachel felt her cheeks flush. She lowered her eyelids, protecting herself from the effect that his smile had on her. Ever since seeing him at the charity ball she had been unable to get Ben Booker out of her mind. After Justin had gone to bed, when she would sit alone in the cottage’s small kitchen studying, images of Ben dressed up for the ball would return. She was convinced that her thinking of the man at such times was nothing more than loneliness and fatigue.
“Rachel?”
“I wasn’t paying attention,” she admitted. “I’m so sorry.”
“Not at all, and I meant what I said. It’s been awhile since I checked up on you.” He leaned against the wall, one ankle casually crossed over the other as if he had all the time in the world. “How are things going?”
For one fleeting moment she was tempted to confide in him, to tell him that she often felt overwhelmed by work and her studies for the certification examination and she was worried about Justin. Most of all she was tempted to seek his advice on how best to smooth things over with Darcy.
But then she remembered them dancing. Clearly, they had a relationship that went beyond work. If Rachel could believe Eileen, the two were an item.
“I believe that Pastor Paul is pleased with my work. At least …”
“I’m not asking about work, Rachel. How are you doing?”
She heard the genuine concern in his words, and she looked up at him. His eyes reflected his sincerity. This was no casual inquiry. He really wanted to know. Still, it was important for her to remember that in spite of the times they had been together when he visited his sister, theirs was a working relationship. “I am well. Thank you for asking,” she said, and then with a smile she added, “And you? Have you completed your duties at Memorial yet?”
“I have. From now on I’m full-time here at Gulf Coast, but stop changing the subject. We were talking about you. How’s Justin?”
“He is also well.” She thought about the note her son had handed her that morning as he rushed off to catch the bus. It was from his teacher asking her to call to set up a meeting. Justin did not answer when she asked him to explain.
“I
’m late,” was all he’d shouted as he jogged down the lane.
Ben nodded. “Must be tough on a kid his age losing his dad and then moving to a place where he has no friends.”
“He seems to have made friends at school—and of course, there is Sally.”
“Sally tells me he’s some kind of math whiz?”
Rachel fought the swell of pride that came from hearing Justin praised. “He is very good in that subject.”
Ben pushed himself away from the wall. “Maybe come tax time I’ll get his help. I am terrible at that subject.” He hesitated as if not knowing what to say. “It’s good to have you here, Rachel.”
She did not miss the way his tone had changed from teasing to serious, and she paused, not sure how to answer him. “Danke,” she murmured.
Ben seemed about to say something more, but then he cleared his throat. “Well, I have one more patient to see and you’ve probably got work to do.” But he made no move to go. “Sharon tells me that you’re always working—studying or cleaning or weeding the garden with Justin. Seems to me you could use a break. How about grabbing a quick bite to eat after work?”
Startled, she said the first thing that came to mind. “With you?”
He smiled and glanced around as if looking for someone else. “Why not? We work together. You live next door to my sister. My niece seems to think you are pretty special—all I hear lately is Rachel this and Rachel that. I thought that maybe we should get to know each other outside of this place.”
She had often seen groups of coworkers leaving the hospital together, chatting about plans to share a meal or attend some event. Sometimes they had invited her to join them but she had always begged off, citing the need to go home to Justin.
“Rachel?” Ben was watching her now, waiting for her answer. “It’s not a date or anything,” he assured her.
She felt her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. Was that why he thought she’d hesitated? Because she thought he was asking her for a date? Was he right? “Nein,” she murmured. “I mean, no, I realize that. It’s just that I have Justin and …”