Waylaid

by Ruth J. Hartman

  “Oh, gosh. What happened?”

  “She’s sick and I need the clinic. Can you tell me where it is?”

  The girl pointed toward the door. “Leave this lot, turn right. It’s two blocks down on the left side of the main road.”

  I took a second to thank her and hurried to my truck. Addy was so weak she could barely sit up. There was no way to strap her in so I laid her across my lap and prayed for a safe trip to the clinic. Silently thanking the girl for good directions, I found it quickly and carried Addy inside the one-storey, brick building.

  I held her close to me as I explained her cough and weakness to a woman just inside who wore pink scrubs.

  “Sure. I’ll need some paperwork filled out.”

  I nodded, not sure I would know all the information they needed, but I’d give it a shot. The main thing was to get Addy some help.

  The nurse motioned me inside a small room with a bed, the sheets white and smooth. I carefully arranged Addy on the bed and ran my finger down her cheek. When I stepped away, the nurse was watching me.

  “Are you her boyfriend?”

  “Fiancé.” It felt so good to tell someone that.

  She tilted her head. “It’s obvious by the way you touch her that you love her.”

  I nodded, suddenly unable to form words.

  The nurse touched my shoulder and pointed toward the open doorway. “Why don’t you go to the waiting area and fill out the paperwork.”

  I didn’t want to leave Addy. “But—”

  “It’s all right. I just want to get some fluids in her and assess what’s going on. When I’m done I promise you can come back in.”

  “Thanks.” I gave Addy one last gaze before leaving the room. Her eyes had drifted shut even though she still coughed.

  I took a seat and grabbed the clipboard and pen the nurse had left for me. What I really wanted to do was pace around to work off some steam. I felt like a caged tiger, not able to escape the confines of the room to do what I wanted and needed to do. I longed to touched Addy’s face, brush back her hair. Tell her I loved her.

  With a sigh, I began answering questions. Most were basic. Name. Dorm. Year of Study. Social security number? I had no idea. Allergies? Again, I hadn’t a clue. Knowing the clinic would need the information, I took out Addy’s phone from her purse. When I found her home number I dialed. I did not want to speak to her parents, was still so angry with them for how they were making Addy feel. But I had no choice. Besides, their daughter was ill and they needed to know.

  Addy’s mom answered. “Hello? Addy?”

  I should have realized with caller ID that her mom would know the call was coming from Addy’s phone. “Mrs. Lafollette? It’s Graham.”

  “Oh. Hello.” Coolness radiated from across the state.

  Whatever. I didn’t have time to deal with that. “Addy is sick. She’s at the college clinic. There are some questions I can’t answer for the nurse—”

  “You’re there? At the school?” Her tone sounded like an accusation.

  “Of course I’m here. My fiancée is sick.”

  “Fiancée. Right.” She sighed.

  “Listen. Addy is very sick. I thought you would want to know and—”

  “Why didn’t she call me?”

  I spoke through gritted teeth. “She has been very depressed since you told her… that you didn’t want us to get married.”

  “Oh.”

  “Mrs. Lafollette? Can you come? Your daughter is ill and needs you. So you might want to consider coming to the clinic.” I gave her directions to the building.

  “Of course. Is she… How sick is she, Graham?”

  “I don’t know. She has a terrible cough and is weak. I think maybe—”

  “What?”

  “She said she’d been feeling down and listless ever since…”

  Addy’s mom sighed. “I’m so sorry. It wasn’t me, it was…” She cleared her throat. “Listen, I’ll be there as soon as I can. And Graham?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thank you.”

  “Sure.” I disconnected the call and put Addy’s phone away. After glancing at the paperwork some more, I decided to wait and let Addy’s mom fill it out. I loved Addy more than life itself, but since we’d gotten together so fast, there were so many things I didn’t know about her.

  Maybe that was one of the beautiful things about marriage. We could learn about each other, about life, together.

  The nurse opened the door to Addy’s room and I held my breath. She waved me inside. “She’s resting now. You can come in.”

  I swallowed hard and stood. Were they going to be able to help Addy get better? When I entered the room, Addy was hooked up to an IV. I tilted my head. “What are you giving her?”

  “Fluids and antibiotics.”

  I sat down next to Addy and took her hand. She peered up at me and gave a weak smile.

  “Addy, do you feel any better?”

  “A little.” Her voice was so weak.

  “They’re going to take good care of you.”

  Her eyes widened. “You’re not… leaving, are you?”

  I rubbed the back of her hand with my thumb. “No, honey. Nothing could keep me away.” I looked up at the nurse, giving her what I’d hoped was a challenging expression. There wasn’t any way I was leaving. If they tried to make me, good luck. I’m sure I outweighed anyone who would walk in.

  But the nurse nodded. “Of course you can stay.”

  I sighed. “Do you know what’s the matter?”

  “Addy has pneumonia.”

  I blinked. Pneumonia was serious! “Is she going to…?” My voice trailed off when I noticed Addy’s gaze locked onto my face. I didn’t want to scare her.

  The nurse leaned over and adjusted Addy’s IV. “She’s going to be fine. It’s good you brought her in, though. I’ll give you two some time alone.” She left the room.

  Addy coughed once, but it didn’t sound quite as bad as it had in her room. “Graham, don’t worry. They said I’ll be fine. They’re giving me medicine and said that I need lots of rest in the next few days. I asked about my classes. They said they’ll give me a medical excuse to miss my classes and I could make up the work later.” She gave my hand a feeble squeeze. “Maybe you can help me with my calculus?”

  I pressed my lips to her forehead. “You know I will. I’ll do whatever you need.”

  Addy took a slow, shallow breath. Was she afraid she’d start coughing again? “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “That you had to leave work and come right up here.”

  “Addy, we’re getting married soon. That’s what married couples do. Take care of each other.”

  She bit her lip. “The doctor who saw me earlier asked if I’d been under stress. He said my immune system was compromised and that’s probably why my body was weak enough to contract the pneumonia.”

  “Did you mention what’s going on with your parents?”

  “I did. But just a little bit. I didn’t want to talk about it a whole lot. Oh, and the nurse told me not to worry, that if your immune system is healthy, chances are you won’t get sick from me having this.”

  “I wasn’t worried.”

  “You weren’t?”

  “Haven’t you noticed I’m Grade A Number One stock?” I puffed out my chest.

  She giggled, causing a wave of coughing.

  I grabbed a wad of Kleenex from the nearby box and gave them to her. “Sorry. Was trying to help by saying something funny.”

  She pressed the tissues to her mouth and then put them aside. “You did. I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “I’m glad you called me.” I darted a glance toward the door. What time would her mom show up? “Listen Addy, I called your mom.”

  “You did? Oh…”

  “I was supposed to fill out your paperwork and there was stuff I didn’t know. Also, she needed to know, no matter what’s going on between you.”

  “Oh. Is
she…?”

  “She’s on her way. Your mom sounded very concerned.”

  “I guess I need to try to have a good relationship with my parents even though they don’t want us to get married right now. I haven’t spoken to either one of them for over a week.”

  It had almost been like Mrs. Lafollette had been trying to tell me something. Like maybe it hadn’t been her idea to oppose our marriage. Could that be true?

  A door opened and closed from out in the waiting area. Rapid steps followed and when I looked up, there stood Addy’s mom and dad. I got up from my seat and stood to the side. I wasn’t going to leave, though. No way.

  Addy’s eyes appeared glazed as she peered across the small room. “Hi, Mom. Dad.”

  Mrs. Lafollette rushed to sit in the chair I had vacated. Her dad followed more slowly, but his expression appeared sad, almost beaten.

  “Oh, Addy.” Her mom placed her hand on Addy’s forehead. “Are you feeling any better? Have they told you what’s wrong?”

  Instead of answering right away, Addy glanced up at me. I smoothed her hair from the top of her head, about the only thing I could reach to be able to touch at the moment with her mom sitting beside her.

  I glanced up, taking in both of her parents. “The nurse said Addy had pneumonia.”

  Mrs. Lafollette let out a gasp. “Oh!”

  “But that she’s going to be fine after lots of rest. She can make up her class work when she’s feeling better.”

  “Thank you, Graham. For taking care of Addy.”

  “You don’t need to thank me. I love her. I will always take care of her.”

  To my surprise, Addy’s mom reached up and patted my arm. “I know you will.”

  Then why did you make such a big deal about us getting married? Unless… My glance switched to Addy’s dad.

  Mr. Lafollette stepped closer, rubbing Addy’s lower leg through the white blanket. “Sweetheart, your mom said that you’d gotten run down because of…” He swallowed. “If my reaction to your wanting to get married right away caused you to be so upset that you…”

  So it was her dad, not her mom.

  “Dad, they said I’m going to be just fine.”

  He shook his head. “That’s not the point. If I hadn’t reacted so strongly — and by the way, it was all me but your mother went along with me — you might not have gotten depressed enough to have a compromised immune system.” Mr. Lafollette looked at me and then back at Addy. “I’m so sorry. I can see by the way you two are together that there’s a tremendous amount of love between you. I can’t imagine any of your other boyfriends going to the trouble of doing what Graham did to take care of you.”

  “Daddy…” Despite her pallor, Addy’s cheeks formed a blush.

  “What I’m saying is, I liked Graham from when I first met him. But I didn’t realize how serious you had gotten. At first I thought it was a terrible idea for you to marry so young. That it wouldn’t last.” He rubbed her leg again. “But kid, I can see now that I was wrong. It’s obvious you two are serious about making a marriage work. Can you forgive me?”

  Both Addy and her mom were crying by that time. I wasn’t far behind.

  “Dad, of course I forgive you.”

  “Thank you. And we are behind you, both of you one hundred percent. And of course, we’ll gladly pay your school bills, Addy.” He grinned. “So when’s the wedding?”

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Addy

  I snuggled close to Graham, loving the feel of his arms around me. “This is so much more fun than doing my calculus homework.”

  “Well I would hope so. How’s that going by the way?”

  I let out an exaggerated sigh. “Blech.”

  “Blech?” He chuckled. “That doesn’t sound good. Not even a little.”

  “Math is evil. It was invented to torture people like me whose minds aren’t equipped to understand its evilness.”

  “Aww, come on. Is it really that bad?”

  “Graham, you need to understand. I. Hate. Math.”

  “Maybe you just don’t have the right teacher.”

  “My teacher is nice. I’m just not understanding the material.”

  “By right teacher, I meant me.”

  “Ah… Yeah, by the way, I remember someone saying he would help me with it if I needed it.” I poked him in the chest. “So far, no help has appeared.”

  “That will be much easier after we’re married and actually living in the same place.”

  “I can’t wait. The wedding can’t come soon enough.”

  “Are you sorry that it’s not going to be some big extravagant hoopla?”

  “I don’t need all that. I just want to marry you, share my whole life with you. Besides, have you ever noticed anything about me to suggest I’m a hoopla kind of girl?”

  “Nah. I just like saying the word.”

  “You’re crazy.” I poked his chest.

  “You’re marrying me, so what does that make you?”

  “Smart. Lucky.”

  He smiled. “I’m the lucky one.”

  “Didn’t hear anything about smart in there.”

  He raised one eyebrow. “I know to quit when I’m ahead.”

  I laid my hand on his thigh. “When you sign up for your classes, any idea what you’ll take?”

  “I’m thinking lots of… math.”

  “Ick! Seriously?”

  Graham shrugged. “I like it. It’s not hard for me. Actually, I’ve been thinking about being a math teacher.”

  “I just don’t get you, Graham. Maybe I don’t know you at all.” I turned my head, trying not to giggle. I gave a slight shrug. “It might be wise to…”

  He sucked in a breath. “To what?”

  “It’s the math thing. I’m not sure a math lover can marry a math hater. Isn’t that like being in different political parties or something?”

  Graham placed his finger beneath my chin and turned me so I peered at him straight in the eyes. His eyebrows were lowered but his mouth formed a smirk. “I truly think that our love is strong enough to jump the treacherous math hurdle, Addy. You must believe in our love.” He lowered his hands to my sides and tickled me.

  “Stop!” I gasped, caught between laughing and trying to wiggle free from his fingers.

  “Stop?”

  “Please!” Another snort escaped me.

  “All right. If you insist.” Graham reached around me and turned up the heat in the truck. His facial expression sobered as he kissed the top of my head. “I’m so relieved you’re feeling better now.”

  “Well it has been a few weeks.”

  “I know, but… You really scared me, Addy. I was so worried. I don’t know what I would have done if something happened…”

  I turned so I was facing him. “But thanks to you, my giant in shining armor, I got to the clinic right away for help.” I cupped his face in my hands, studying his features by the light of the dashboard. I raised one corner of my mouth. “Giants are so handsome.”

  He chuckled. “Guess I’m glad I’m not an ogre then.”

  I shook my head. “Definitely not an ogre.” Leaning forward, I pressed my lips to his. His breath was warm, his mouth moist. Desire shot through me. I’d been so sick and weak that until now I hadn’t felt like doing much more than accepting a few quick kisses from Graham.

  But now, the absence of closeness with him had caught up with me. “Graham,” I ran my fingers up the back of his neck and into his hair. “I think we need to make up for lost time.”

  “Mmm. You read my mind.” He pulled me tight against his chest. His heart thudded next to my breasts. Warmth ran up my back as he ran his fingers under my shirt. “I’ve missed you. Missed this.”

  “It’s been forever.”

  He pulled me on his lap and I wrapped my legs around his waist. Not easy to do in such a confined space, but desire overcame discomfort. My body felt like it had been in a cocoon for the last few weeks and now I was ready to emerge and fly, fre
e to discover new worlds with my lover.

  I no longer felt cold. Now, heat from down deep spread across me, igniting fires every place Graham touched me. I unbuttoned his shirt partway, longing to press my hands against him. Running my fingers in circles around his bare skin, I smiled when Graham gave a shuddered breath.

  “Addy…” He kissed my lips. So soft. So sweet. But only for a moment. Then, he increased the pressure, opening my lips with his tongue, tasting me, caressing the inside of my mouth.

  Graham slowly unfastened a few buttons on my blouse. I waited for cool air to touch my bare skin as he slipped it over my shoulder but none came. How could desire for someone cause you to change temperature so quickly?

  My body was ready for Graham. All of him. He ran his hands over my chest through my shirt. A jolt of lightning crashed through me all the way to my toes. “Oh…”

  He lifted me from his lap, keeping hold of me as we shifted to lying side by side. A thump startled me.

  With a laugh, he pointed to our feet. “Sorry. Just my foot hitting the door again.” As cramped as I was in the truck, I could only imagine how bad it was for him.

  Graham flipped me on my back, kissing my neck, running his lips down my collarbone. I arched my back when he lowered his head and placed slow, warm kisses in a trail above my bra. “I cannot wait to marry you, Addy.”

  “Me either.” I kissed his chest, the small patch of dark chest hair tickling my cheek.

  He slid his hands around the back of my jeans, pressing me to him. “Addy, I want you… so bad.” His lips crashed against mine in a hunger I hadn’t felt before. I wrapped my arms around his neck, longing for our clothes to be off, so there would be nothing between us. I felt drugged. Graham was intoxicating. His kisses and touches set me on fire. “I want you too. So much.”

  I put my hands on his lower back up under his shirt, kneading the skin just below his waistband. His skin was hot, clammy. With a gasp, I glanced down. His hand was massaging the inside of my thigh. Why were these stupid clothes in the way?

  I didn’t think I could take it anymore. Why wait? We were engaged, getting married in a few weeks.

  I kissed his lips, long and slow and then pulled away, gazing into his eyes. “I know you’re… that you’re trying to protect me, wait for us getting married. I love you for that but…”