Healing Hearts

by Syndi Powell

  “I’ve been telling you that for months.” Page rose to her feet and washed her hands in the sink. She tugged a few paper towels from the dispenser and dried her fingers. She crushed the towels into a ball and tossed them in the trash can. “So what are you going to do?”

  April peered into the mirror and stared at her reflection. She ran a hand through her curly hair. Before breast cancer had taken away her hair, it had been thin, straight and whitish blond. Now that it had grown back, it was honey-colored, coarse and curly. Sometimes she looked at herself and wondered where the woman she’d once been had gone, not just physically, but emotionally, as well. She had been bold. Sassy. And unflappable. Now she worried about everything. Self-doubt tied her hands and kept her stationary, rather than taking action and doing something. She gave herself a nod. “It’s time.”

  Page raised her eyebrows at this. “Time for what?”

  April turned and looked her squarely in the eye. “It’s time to start living.”

  She pushed herself away from the sink and left the bathroom. Page dogged her at her heels. “You’re talking about that second-chance list in your journal?”

  “I’ve got my new body, so why not a new perspective?” She checked her cell phone and saw that she had four missed calls, two of them from her supervisor. She punched the number and glanced at Page. “Dinner later? Maybe call Sherri and see if she can leave Agent Hottie for the night and join us.”

  Page patted her shoulder and went briskly along the hallway to return to her own job. April’s supervisor answered on the second ring. “Darryl, I’m fine. Just needed a few minutes.”

  “Well, get your butt back on the floor. We’re swamped.”

  She bit her lip and took a deep breath. “About that. It’s time we talked about the vacation time coming to me.”

  * * *

  ZACH FOLLOWED THE aide who pushed Antonio in the wheelchair from the cardiology department back to the emergency room. The aide left them in a different curtained area from before, and Zach took a seat in a metal folding chair next to the bed where Antonio was now. Checking his phone, Zach saw several texts, many of them from clients and one from his mom’s day nurse. She was asking him if he would be home at a reasonable hour, or should she arrange for an evening nurse to arrive before her shift was over. His fingers flew as he told her he’d call her once they left the hospital.

  The curtain was drawn aside, and Dr. Sprader entered the cozy alcove. She looked different from before, though he couldn’t put his finger on what it was. She wore the same pastel blue scrubs with the bloodstain on the collar. Her messy curls hadn’t changed, and her face remained void of cosmetics. Not that she needed them. Her skin seemed to glow without any enhancement, and her blue eyes snapped with whatever thoughts danced in her head. She barely acknowledged him, before focusing on Antonio. “The results have come in, and I’ve consulted with Dr. Hall, a cardiologist on staff.” She took a seat on the edge of the bed. “You have mitral valve prolapse.”

  Antonio clutched at his chest. Zach reached over and patted the boy’s hand. “Doc, am I dying?”

  She shook her head. “Your heart valve is leaky, which causes a murmur. Things like stress or overexertion will aggravate the situation, giving you palpitations and chest pain.” She passed several business cards to Antonio. “Here are a few cardiologists in the area. Choose one to follow up with. You’re going to want a good one on your team, so I’d recommend Dr. Hall, but feel free to ask around for recommendations.” She shifted her attention to him, and Zach tried not to stare. “Questions?”

  Was she single? He doubted it. Women like her with beauty and smarts tended to be unavailable. He cleared his throat. “So he can keep playing, then?”

  “With monitoring, medication and some lifestyle changes, there’s no reason he can’t live with this until the off-season. But then I’d recommend surgery at that point.”

  Antonio let out a loud “Yes!” He jumped off the bed and pulled her into a hug that nearly crushed her. “Thanks, Doc.”

  Then he and Antonio knocked knuckles in an elaborate handshake that Antonio made him learn the moment after the kid signed the contract to work with him. “We really dodged a bullet on this one, Zach.”

  Antonio turned back to the doctor. “So I can go?” he asked. When she nodded, he walked out with hands raised high in triumph.

  Dr. Sprader handed him some business cards. “He needs to follow up with a cardiologist, and I get the impression you’re going to have to be the one to convince him. This isn’t a dire condition, but he needs regular checkups so that things like collapsing on the field won’t happen again.”

  “Understood.” Zach shrugged back into his suit coat and put the cards in his inside pocket.

  As he walked by her, she reached out and touched his coat sleeve. “About what happened with Harley earlier.”

  He turned to face her. He’d been waiting for this. “There’s no need to thank me.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “I was going to tell you that it wasn’t necessary. That I had things under control before you jumped in.”

  He pointed to her neck where the knife had cut her. “I can see that.”

  “Harley is harmless. He wouldn’t have actually cut my throat.” She glared at him. “I don’t need a hero.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that, Dr. Sprader?”

  “Perfectly.” She continued to stare at him and then exhaled. “You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

  He extended his hand. “Zach Harrison.”

  She put her hand in his and gave it a quick shake. “Make sure Antonio sees one of the cardiologists, Mr. Harrison. Otherwise, his career won’t save him from another episode.”

  Zach’s phone started buzzing. He gave a brisk nod, then left her, his phone already at his ear. She may be interesting, but he had other priorities right now.

  * * *

  APRIL PULLED UP in front of the house that belonged to her friends Sherri and Dez Jackson. While she would have liked an evening out, Sherri had been under the weather. April retracted the phrase. What Sherri felt...it was as if her body had been scorched to get the cancer out. April remembered the sensation and gave a shiver that had nothing to do with the snowflakes drifting down from the sky. Her days battling cancer were long over, thank goodness. Now she had to put her life back together, hopefully better than it was before. She needed balance between work and personal life. Correction. She needed to get a personal life.

  She grabbed her purse and journal from the front seat and exited the car. Page pulled in behind her, so she waited for her to park. They walked up to the front door, unsure of how they’d find Sherri. April knocked and soon Agent Hottie answered the door. “She’s in the family room,” Dez told them after the perfunctory hugs and kisses. “And I don’t need to tell you two to take it easy on her. Don’t wear her out.”

  “We know how she’s feeling better than you do.” Page shoved a pizza box into his hands. “For you and Marcus to share. Us girls have our own.”

  They walked through the living room and kitchen and down one step where they found Sherri on the sofa with her legs up on the coffee table, wrapped in a fleece blanket. She looked up at them and gave a watery smile. “Thanks for bringing the girls’ night to me.”

  She had dark shadows under her eyes and looked as if she could fall asleep at any moment. April put a hand on her shoulder. “If you’re not up for company...”

  “Don’t you dare leave me.” She pointed to two recliners adjacent to the sofa. “Now, sit and tell me something good.”

  “April got a knife pulled on her in the ER today,” Page said, opening their box of pizza.

  Sherri gasped. “And that was good?”

  “Because of it, she met a hot guy who saved her by kicking the knife out of the junkie’s hand.” Page offered a slice of pizza to Sherri, who waved
it away. She then handed the slice to April.

  Sherri gave a soft smile. “And who was this hot guy?”

  “An annoying jerk who wanted me to tell him his client was fine without running any tests.” April took a bite of her pizza and chewed, thinking about Zach Harrison. “If he hadn’t been so irritating, I might have found him attractive.” Page and Sherri exchanged glances. April pointed between them. “What does that look mean?”

  Page cocked her head to the side. “It means he’s your soul mate, obviously.”

  What? That was the most ludicrous idea she’d ever heard. She was about to tell them so when they burst out laughing.

  Still chuckling, Sherri said, “She’s joking. It means we’re happy that you finally have started to notice men.”

  “I notice them.” April paused when she saw Page roll her eyes. “I just choose not to do anything about it.”

  “And when is that going to change? I thought getting back in the dating scene was on your list.” Page gestured at the journal that April had placed next to her chair. “Isn’t that what you were talking about earlier? That it’s time to begin living your life again? To start dating and falling in love.”

  “Yes, it’s time.” She opened the journal and found the page where she had written a second-chance list of things to do when she was healthy again. She’d pored over the list as she’d sat in the chair during chemotherapy. Written and rewritten it until she’d found the top twenty things she most wanted to do. Number four was to start dating. “So how do I do it?”

  Page gestured at Sherri, who shook her head. “Don’t look at me. Dez and I didn’t really date before we got married. I mean, we’d been friends for years, but we didn’t date.”

  “And I haven’t exactly been single for that long.” Page rubbed her left ring finger. The wedding band was removed a few weeks ago when the divorce became final. “There are plenty of online sites to help you find dates.”

  April made a face. “I’m not sure about that. Don’t you two know anyone you can set me up with?”

  Sherri snapped her fingers. “What about my cousin Mateo? He’s single, and I guess he’s good-looking.”

  She remembered meeting him last summer at a party celebrating Sherri’s last chemo appointment. “He’s not my type.”

  Page held up one hand like a stop sign. “Hot and available is not your type?”

  Sherri turned to Page. “You think Mateo is hot?”

  “So does every other woman in Detroit. Come on. The man is seriously good-looking.” Page fanned herself. “And you want to pass that up, April?”

  April gave a shrug. “All right. If he agrees, I guess I could go out with him.”

  Dez joined them and handed Sherri a cup of steaming tea that brought the scent of ginger with it. “You ladies all right out here?”

  Sherri kissed his hand before taking the mug. “Dez, do you know any available guys for April?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe. What’s your type, April?”

  “It’s been so long, single is her type.” Page snapped her fingers. “There’s that one doctor who asked you out a while ago, but you took no notice of him.”

  “Because I’d just been diagnosed with cancer. I wasn’t worrying about dating at the time.” She remembered how he’d stammered out an invitation to a concert. She could only think that she might be dying, and going to see a symphony was the least important thing she could do at the time. Figuring out how to survive had been her focus.

  “Well, things have changed. What was his name again?”

  “Dr. Sperry, and he got married this past summer.” He’d even invited her to the wedding along with half of her staff. She’d declined but sent a gift.

  “Oh.”

  “Besides, I don’t want to date another doctor. My schedule is hectic as it is.”

  Sherri put down her phone, then smiled. “I gave Mateo your number, so don’t be surprised if you hear from him.”

  Her stomach clenched, and she put her half-eaten slice of pizza back on the paper plate. “You really shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Well, are you serious about doing the things on your list or are you only interested in talking about doing those things?” Page leaned forward and touched her knee. “You’ve been given a second chance at life, April. Are you going to sit and let it pass you by or are you going to reach out and grab the opportunity?”

  She’d already let too many things go, rather than pursue them. Men she might have dated and fallen in love with. Jobs that she might have excelled at. Opportunities that never came around again. Enough was enough—she needed to do this. Standing, she declared, “I’m going for it.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  APRIL STUDIED HERSELF in the full-length mirror and put a hand to her chest. After her reconstruction surgery, the doctor had put an implant in her unaffected right breast in order to make both match in size. She now had more cleavage than she’d had before her cancer diagnosis. The coral dress she’d chosen to wear had a scoop neckline that dipped down more than she would have liked. Afraid her scars would show, she found a floral scarf and looped that around her neck and tucked it into the collar to give her some coverage.

  The doorbell rang, and she took one last glance at herself in the bedroom mirror. She’d changed because of cancer, but then she’d had to. Tonight was for taking back her life. And who knew what the future held.

  She opened the front door and whistled at Mateo, who stood on the porch in an emerald green silk shirt and black pants. He looked like he was ready to dance. He gave a lopsided grin. “You look pretty good yourself.”

  She adjusted the scarf. “Did you want to come in for a moment?”

  He gave a nod before ducking inside. She took a deep breath before shutting the door and turning to face him. No dating for over two and a half years—long before cancer had dominated her thoughts and days—she put her nervousness down to that. It’s not like this was a blind date with a stranger. She knew she could trust Sherri’s cousin. Knew she could relax and have fun.

  He glanced around the room, then his chocolate-brown eyes were back to her. “This is a nice place. Cozy.”

  “It is small, but it’s close to the hospital. Since I spend most of my life there, it made sense to move into this neighborhood. I could even walk there if I had to. But late at night in this neighborhood, it’s not the best idea.” She bit her lip to keep from babbling.

  Mateo nodded and let out a breath. “Sherri told me that she met you at the ER.”

  “She told me that you’re a great lawyer.”

  He cast his eyes down and gave a shrug. “I don’t know about great.” He raised his head to look at her. “Are you as nervous as I am?”

  April laughed and put a hand to her belly. “Does it show?”

  He took a step toward her. “Let’s just agree that tonight is about becoming friends and going out to have a good time.”

  He was already playing the friend card? But she agreed. Not that she didn’t appreciate his trying to defuse the tension. “Do you want to head out?”

  He helped her shrug into her coat, then he opened the door, letting her leave the house first. Just like a gentleman. He waited on the second step of the porch while she locked the door and put the keys into her rose-gold clutch. He even held her elbow as they walked down the sidewalk to his car. He opened the passenger door for her and waited until she had folded her legs inside and secured her seat belt before he shut the door and ran around to the driver’s side. He started the car, and silence fell between them as they drove to the club. After a few minutes, Mateo spoke. “My cousin mentioned you wanted to try salsa dancing. Why salsa?”

  It was one of the things on her list, something she’d added after watching a reality show about dancing. “Because salsa dancers look like they’re enjoying the life they’ve been given. Sherri told me that you
were an expert.”

  He laughed at this. “If by expert she means that I’ve been dancing since I was eight, then yes, I guess I am.”

  “Any tips?”

  “Let the music guide you and follow my lead.”

  It sounded easy enough. When they arrived at the club, Mateo took her elbow as they stepped inside and searched for a table. The beat of the music made April’s feet twitch, wanting to go out on the dance floor before she had learned any of the moves. She reminded herself that learning to salsa dance would take more than a good song playing on the sound system. She took off her jacket and handed it to Mateo, who left to check their coats and order some drinks.

  Shortly after, Mateo approached their table with two drinks in his hands, a beer for him and a margarita for her. He handed her the bright pink drink, then glanced at the empty dance floor before sitting down. “When do they start the dancing?”

  She took a sip and shrugged. “The website said nine.” She glanced at her watch. It was about a quarter past. “Maybe they’re running late?”

  “Or maybe they’re waiting for someone to get things started.” He smiled at her. “Want to give it a try?” She took a gulp of her raspberry margarita and jumped up. Mateo took her hand as they walked to the dance floor.

  “Start on your left foot,” he said and slipped his left hand in hers and his right on her back. He took a step forward as he nudged her backward. She took a step back with her left foot, then a step with her right and brought her left in line. Then he drew her forward a step. Her ankle wobbled on the heel of her shoe, and he gripped her tighter to keep her steady, and they stopped in place. “That’s the basic step. You’ll do fine.”

  April gave a nod and stared at her feet. She remembered taking ballet when she was six, but had only lasted a year before she found that she preferred different pursuits like performing experiments in the science lab or reading about the life cycle of the earthworm. She’d left sports and physical activities to her brother, Tony, until now. Feel the beat, she chanted to herself. Follow Mateo’s lead. Stop thinking and just feel.