Her last chance

by Danielle Lee

  Then the phone rang.

  “Hello.”

  “Warren, my man, this is Bill. Kat just walked into the house all up in arms. What happened?”

  Bill was his joking self, but something in his tone sounded fatherly, like Warren was about to get his butt kicked.

  “I’m sorry, Bill. I don’t know what came over me. I mentioned that idiot Kelsey, and then I started in on her for not visiting you and Gail.”

  “What the hell would you do that for? That’s not even romantic. You need to watch one of those chick flicks with her—that’ll soften her up. Do you want me to ask Gail which one to get?”

  The man gave awful advice on women, that much he knew for sure. “No, Bill. I don’t think this is as simple as a chick flick fix. I was just on my way over to apologize.”

  “Well, if you’re sure. Now, don’t you go feeling bad. You’re perfect for my Kat, she just doesn’t know it yet. That idiot Kelsey had to screw things up. Now, just remember what I told you about mentioning things like that. Don’t be a pinhead.”

  “Now we’re resorting to name-calling?” Warren laughed.

  “Don’t you worry about it.” Bill chuckled. “Now we need to think of plan B.”

  “Plan B? You’re ridiculous, did I ever tell you that?” His smile grew as he listened to Bill.

  “Someone has to be the brains of this operation, and for being a doctor you would think it would be you, but I digress…Flowers. Kat loves ’em. Her favorites were always irises. I’m taking her mother out this evening. She should be here by…”

  “Dad? Are you on the phone? I thought we were going fishing? Come on,” Kat called from the other room. She sounded better. She had probably already forgotten about him.

  “I’ll be there in a minute, sweetheart. I’m just talking to Aunt Tilly. Yes, yes Tilly, I’ll take her out tonight at eight. Dinner, yes…Love you, too. Don’t forget what we talked about.”

  Clever old man. Warren had two hours to get ready for the big apology. Shower, dress, and flowers. He’d better hurry.

  “Uh, okay…Bill, wait. What’s this about you needing a surgery? Did you get another doctor?”

  Click.

  The receiver went dead, and Warren wondered what Bill was up to.

  Eight o’clock came, and Warren stood before the door to Kat’s parents’ house feeling foolish. He hoped her father was right about what to do—the flowers, stopping by like this. He reached out to knock on the door when the door opened and she walked out, almost running into him. She looked beautiful, angelic. The white sundress blew in the cool air. Her long brown hair cascaded in curls that flowed down her back.

  “Oh!” Her hand went to her heart. “You startled me. What are you doing here?”

  He held out the flowers and spoke softly. “I’m sorry about earlier.”

  Her face was cold as stone. “Accepted. Now, I have to get going. Mom and Dad aren’t here right now. They should be back later this evening. You better try them in the morning.” She stepped past him down the stairs and walked toward the lake.

  “Katherine, please. I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was saying. I know you love your parents. I just—”

  “You don’t know anything,” Katherine interrupted. “You don’t know me, Warren, so don’t pretend to. As much as I like you, you can’t just come into my life the way you think you can! You can’t tell me what to do, tell me how to act, or make me feel the way you do. It’s...”

  “You like me?” He desperately clung to the hope that she may have had a feeling…something.

  “You misunderstood.” Somehow when she said that she knew that it was a lie, but she didn’t care. She wanted to hurt him like he’d hurt her.

  “Well, I am sorry.” He shook his head then said, “I’d better leave you to your evening.” He turned away and walked toward his car. He was madder than anything right then; mad at himself for liking her so much, mad because he’d made a fool out of himself.

  She held onto the irises that he gave to her, then looked over to the driveway where he stood. He came to apologize. It must have taken a lot to come over. She felt awful. How could a man that she just met know her like he did? “Warren, stop!”

  He ran his hand down his face and turned to face her.

  She walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. The same feeling, the spark, came over her. “Warren, I…” She brought her hand up to his face, dropping the flowers to the ground. Her lips found his in an instant. He sighed as she took his bottom lip in her mouth, crushing herself up against him. It felt natural to kiss him, almost as if they were made for each other. “I’m sorry.”

  He smiled at her and pulled his arms around her tight. “I’m sorry, too.”

  ***

  The woman was smiling in her sleep, only she didn’t show the emotion. She could see places and time, she could hear things that went on around her, she could feel when someone touched her, but she couldn’t say anything, and she couldn’t let people know that she knew, heard, smelled, or thought.

  It was as if she was floating on the outside of her body, somewhere between Heaven and Earth. She was neither alive nor dead, but she supposed more of a spirit floating around and biding her time before taking her final step toward Heaven.

  She smiled down at the woman and man, noticing that he was taken with her. She was glad that she’d found her for him. She set their paths in motion.

  She wanted him to be happy. She would have leapt for joy if she could have. Now, it was her time; she could feel it. She knew they would be okay together, so she let her body relax and her breath float to the space between both worlds.

  “I’m ready,” she said with clear conviction. The light shone in through the window of the quaint room, and her soul soared up through it. She felt the way she did when she got married, when she made love with her husband; she basked in the light, and in her love for him, then the monitor flatlined, and she passed.

  ***

  Warren and Katherine stood, embracing. He felt for one moment that his life might actually be moving on, finally. After five years of heartache, he finally felt able to breathe. The buzzing from his cell phone in his pocket brought him back. He tore away from their embrace. “Katherine, hold on, I have to take this.”

  Kat smiled up at him and pulled her hair away from her face. He stood there by his car, looking so amazing. His kiss was still sending sparks of life down her body. She liked the way he held her. She felt calm, wanted. Then she noticed his body tense. He started pacing back and forth by his car. His arms went up above his head, not in anger, but he looked pained. Tears started exploding from his eyes. She didn’t know what to do. Should she comfort him? She wasn’t good with men crying. It tore at her heart. “Warren, are you okay?” she asked softly.

  “I...I—” He felt his knees give out as he slumped down to the ground. The cell phone that he held seconds before lay on the ground now by his feet.

  Katherine went to him. “Warren? Are you okay? Warren, Warren,” she said while she nudged him.

  He didn’t move. His face went blank. She picked up the phone and looked at it. Maybe she could call the number back.

  Nothing.

  The phone was dead.

  She pulled up her own phone and dialed 911.

  ***

  The emergency room was filled with the usual sights and sounds: people running amok, ambulance sirens cutting through the air, doctors running down the halls with clipboards. Kat sat at Warren’s side in room 203, waiting for the doctor to come in. His eyes seemed unable to focus on anything.

  The doctor came in. “Warren, are you okay? What happened?” He snapped his fingers a couple of times in front of Warren’s face.

  Warren blinked, but didn’t feel like answering.

  “Miss, could you tell me what happened to him?”

  “No, I don’t know. He was talking on the phone. He got a phone call, I don’t know—” She was hysterical; her words all ran together.

&nbs
p; The doctor’s hand went to hers. “Ma’am, it’s okay. I need you to take a deep breath and think about what happened. Are you okay?”

  “Yes, sorry, I just…phew! He got a phone call, I don’t know who from. I went to check on his phone, but nothing came up. Then he just fell down. I tried talking to him, but nothing. I’m sorry, I really don’t know what happened.”

  The doctor looked at her and then shook his head. It seemed like he figured out something, then he walked out to the nurses’ station. She could hear him ask the nurse something about a woman named Sarah. All she heard were the words wife and hospital. He couldn’t have been married. Her father would never have pushed her toward a married man. She didn’t know Warren that well, but surely she knew him well enough that he wouldn’t cheat on a wife? She turned and looked at Warren, then the doctor came back in.

  “Excuse me, did you say ‘wife’?” She looked up at the two conversing in the doorway.

  The doctor’s voice seemed paler. “Ma’am, I can’t discuss that with you if he hasn’t. You’re obviously not family.” He said it more as a statement than a question.

  And there it was: he must’ve been married. It all made sense now. The house was excessively big for one person, but why would he bring her to his home? This was some kind of a sick joke.

  “If you know his family, you should give them a call. He’s going to need them now. He’ll be fine physically. But I’ll be back in a few minutes to check on him.” The doctor nodded, then left the room.

  She turned to look at Warren. “Warren, it’s me…Katherine.” She nudged him lightly. “I’m going to get your wallet, okay? I need to find some phone numbers. Do you have any?” she asked.

  He nodded his head in agreement as he handed her his wallet.

  She opened it, noticed his insurance card, and then found a small list of phone numbers. “Is this your family?” she asked, noting a few Connecticut area codes.

  “Yes.”

  Then she found his pictures. He had one picture of a woman in his wallet; it must have been his wife. “Warren, should I call…”

  “Sarah, her name is Sarah,” he said between sobs.

  She didn’t know whether to be mad or how to feel. She looked at him to continue, but he didn’t say anything.

  “Should I call her? Does she have a cell?” she asked, trembling. She had messed around with a married man, and now she was sitting in here. She was going to have to call his wife.

  “She’s already here. She’s upstairs. She…” He stammered through his words, his thoughts. His hands went to his head and pulled his hair; tears flowed as she looked at him. “I’m sorry, Katherine.”

  “You should be. You had a wife and you were kissing me! That’s not really important now. Just tell me where she is, and I will go get her. She should be here for you, not me,” she said, frustrated.

  Then her phone rang.

  “Dad. Yes, I’m okay. Yes, Warren is with me. No, we’re at the hospital. I think you better get here right away.”

  The receiver went dead and she flipped her phone closed.

  Her attention went back to Warren. “Tell me where she is, Warren, and I will go up and get her.”

  “She’s dead.”

  Surely she didn’t hear him right. “Dead? Warren, how do you…?” She thought about the phone call, the devastation in his eyes, and she didn’t know what to do. “Warren, were you still married? This wasn’t an ex-wife?”

  “Yes, I was still married,” is all he could muster.

  She now could feel her eyes burning beneath the lights. He had been kissing her while his wife was dying. She didn’t know what to do. She felt angry, but she felt awful, like she should be comforting him. She didn’t know what to say, what to do. She was going to wait until her parents got there. Surely they didn’t know he was married?

  “I’m sorry, Warren. I’m so sorry.” She put her hand over his and he held onto it tightly; he squeezed once then took a deep breath.

  Her father walked in minutes later. Warren stood up from the bed as Bill came around the bed and brought him into his embrace.

  “I’m so sorry, Warren. I know how difficult this must be for you. I’m so, so, sorry. How are you holding up?”

  Warren still clung onto him tightly. Katherine’s mother was brushing tears from her face as she looked at the two men. She went over to Warren, too, and gathered him into a hug, kissing his forehead.

  “Are your parents on the way?” Bill asked.

  “I haven’t called them yet,” Warren choked. “I need to call Grace and Evan. They will be devastated.”

  Bill nodded. “We will give you some privacy.”

  Katherine just shook her head; she was shocked, to say the least. Her parents knew he was married? They’d been pushing her toward him since her arrival yesterday afternoon. She thought they were. Oh, God. Maybe they weren’t! What kind of person was she?

  “Katherine, I…” Warren managed to mutter a few words to her as he saw her start for the door. He couldn’t seem to concentrate.

  “It's okay, Warren. I’m okay. I will pray for Sarah,” she said, holding back the tears. Then she opened the door and walked toward the waiting room.

  Katherine’s mother, Gail, looked at Warren and realized what was going on. “Warren, I better go check on her. Are you going to be okay?”

  “Yes, please, go after her.” He worried for Katherine. He’d never meant to hurt her. He felt just like that asshole Kelsey. She would never forgive him for not telling her the whole truth; she would probably be on the first plane back to New York.

  “Katherine, are you okay?” Gail asked her daughter when she caught up to her.

  “I…What the hell were you all thinking? You were pushing me toward a married man!” she yelled in the emergency room waiting area. People walking in and out stopped to watch the show as they came into the room.

  “Katherine, I’m sorry. It’s really a sensitive situation. You see…Warren has been married for eighteen years…”

  “Eighteen years? Oh, that’s just perfect. I’m glad he’s a real stickler for vows!” she shouted.

  “Sarah has been in a coma for the last five,” her mom said slowly.

  Katherine stopped. She closed her eyes and turned toward her mother.“In a coma?”

  “Yes. He’s been alone this whole time. He’s been very attentive to her. He still visits her every day, but nothing, and I mean nothing could bring her out of it. The doctors all have told him that. He just couldn’t do it. He couldn’t pull the plug. Five years ago, she overdosed on some medication. She’d just found out that she couldn’t have children, and decided to take her own life. Warren walked in after work and discovered her on the floor. He called the hospital, and they pumped her stomach but could do nothing else. She was alive, but in a vegetative state. He couldn’t bear to take her off life support. Up until last year, he didn’t see anyone. He just started working again, talking again. Your father has taken to him a bit. Warren comes over often, fishing with your father. They talk, Katherine.”

  Katherine’s tears flowed freely down her face; she bit back the tears enough to speak, “My God, Mom, that…”

  “I know. He wanted to tell you; I could tell by the way he looked at you. He wanted me to come out here to get you. He’s a good man, Katherine. We wouldn’t have done any of this if we didn’t think so. We should have told you about her, but we didn’t think that was our place.”

  “I can’t deal with anything like this, Mom. I…This is just way too heavy for me right now. He seems wonderful, but…Why would she try to kill herself? Why the hell would somebody do that?” As she said that, she felt odd. She felt awful, ashamed.

  “I don’t know. As you can imagine, he’s been through hell. Please go easy on him.” Her mother looked concerned.

  “I…” She shrugged. “Of course I will. What kind of woman do I look like? Jesus, Mother.”

  Gail winced at her language, then turned back toward Warren’s room, watch
ing as Katherine walked out the door.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Three days later, Katherine lounged in the Adirondack chair on the boat dock, reading her mail. She got a few letters from Janice, apologizing for the whole “incident,” as she liked to call it. Yeah, right. Like she would believe anything that bitch said. She read another letter from her lawyer, stating that she had a good case against High Fashion with a possible settlement deal, and he would keep in touch. It looked promising. And since she didn’t have a job anymore, she would most likely take them up on her offer. Another letter was from Kelsey, asking when and if she was coming back. Loser, she thought. Then she saw it: a pay stub. Her article was going to be in the Times any day now. She smiled, hoping her advice would help the troubled man.

  Suddenly, shivers crawled up her neck.

  She bolted straight up with a gasp. She had known Warren longer than she had thought. She had known him for months now; he was Confused in Connecticut!

  Oh, no! She ran up to the house and ran right into her father.

  “Katherine, wow! It’s great! Probably your best yet, and in the Times! I’m impressed,” her father said, with his newspaper unfolded before him.

  “It’s in today’s paper?” Her face looked pained. “Oh, no, Warren! Give me that!” She grabbed it.

  Bill gave her a scolding look. “I wasn’t done with that!”

  “You are now! Oh, God!” There it was: “Advice for the Lost,” by Katherine E. Daniels, with her picture sitting proudly beside the title. She brought her hand up to her hair and shook her head.

  She read.

  Dear Katherine,

  I am sick of the pity, the looks that I get from people who find out. The way I feel when I go out in public, like people are staring, judging me, wondering what I did to make her do what she did. My wife committed suicide. Only worse, she didn’t die. She sits in the hospital hooked up to machines.