by Darla Jones
“Ooh no,” she groaned and closed her eyes. “Is there any paralysis?”
“Yes. Her right side, but her vitals are stable.”
“Oh, dear. Thank you for keeping watch on her for me, Sandy. I’ll give them a call at the nursing home later and we’ll be there first thing in the morning. Call me before then if her condition worsens.”
“Okay. I’ll be waiting to see you. You’ve been away too long.” Sandy ended the call.
Of course, Jeff heard her one-sided conversation. “It sounds like Kennywood is out for tomorrow.”
She nodded. “Aunt Sara is my only living relative. She had another stroke, her third one, and her condition isn’t good. She’s in a nursing home at Philipsburg. I’m sorry about tomorrow, Jeff, but we have to go to her.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I understand, LynAnn, but Jon is really going to be disappointed about Kennywood.”
“My kids will be, too. Aunt Sara is my mother’s sister. She’s a retired schoolteacher. She lived in Philly, but after her first stroke I brought her to Philipsburg to a nursing home. Of course, I also lived there at the time.”
Jeff took his hand from the wheel and covered hers. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you.” She tried to muster a smile, but couldn’t. “Aunt Sara never married although she lived with a boyfriend for about twenty years. My father did go on about Hellfire and brimstone over her having a live-in boyfriend.” Then her tone held a nostalgic note as she recalled her past. “When I was a little girl she used to show me her opal ring she always wore. She’d say, ‘Look at the forest fire in there. Someday this ring will be yours.’”
“Did it really look like a forest fire?”
She thought a moment, “I guess so…maybe. I loved her, so I believed her. The last time we visited I noticed she wasn’t wearing it, but I didn’t mention it. I know how easily possessions get lost in a nursing home.”
“Anything I can do? Do you want me to drive you there tomorrow?”
“I do appreciate your offer, but no, thank you.”
When they arrived at her apartment, Jeff reached for her hand to help her out of the car, but she pulled it away.
“Whoa, what’s this all about?” He scowled and his azure-blue eyes probed deep into hers.
Unable to hold his gaze, LynAnn tore her eyes away. “I can’t do this. I’m not ready. You’ve been so good to me. I can’t string you along and allow you to get the idea we could be more than friends.”
As she slid off the leather seat his hands gently grasp her shoulders, forcing her to make eye contact. “We’re more than friends already. We’ve both felt the attraction between us ever since our first day at my cabin together. You may want to fight your feelings, but you can’t deny them. I promise I won’t rush you. I can be a very patient man, and you are worth the wait.”
Disengaging herself from him, she walked slowly to her door stoop. She wanted to believe him, but now total strangers were warning her to stay away. Besides, past behavior was a good indicator of future behavior, and if she allowed herself to fall in love with him, he would soon tire of her. Like a hound on a fox hunt, perhaps he enjoyed the chase and once he caught her it would be ended. As she reached for the doorknob, his big hand covered hers, and the warm sensation she always felt at his touch engulfed her once more.
“Don’t throw what we have away, LynAnn. We’ll take it slow. Call me tomorrow evening, and tell me about your aunt.”
Unable to look at him, she faced the door. “I’m sorry. I can’t do this, Jeff.” She opened it and went inside without turning back.
Chapter 8
Early the next morning, LynAnn and her children reached the Ridgeside Nursing Home in Philipsburg. After angling her car into a space, she cut the engine and turned to her children in the backseat. “Now remember what I said, Aunt Sara is very sick and her stroke will make her look different, but you don’t have to be afraid of her.”
Wide eyed, they stiffly nodded their blond heads.
The old feelings of shame and dread swept through her before she opened her car door. This town she once loved, now scorned her. The day was already hot, and the heat radiated off the macadam parking lot and stung at her face. It felt like a warning, an omen telling her she wasn’t wanted there.
Once inside the modern red brick building, she checked with the nurse about her aunt’s condition. She knew Brenda, the head nurse.
“Sorry about your aunt.” Brenda’s voice held no sympathy and there was no hello or how are you? She and Brenda had attended the same high school and then nursing school together. Stone-faced, the other woman minced no words. “Sara’s right arm and leg are both paralyzed, and she can’t swallow.” Brenda pulled her aunt’s chart from the rack beside her and flipped through it until she found the Living Will Aunt Sara had signed. “She wants no life support measures including feeding tubes.”
“I understand, Brenda. Thank you.” If the nurse heard her reply she pretended she didn’t and turned her back to speak with an aide. She was snubbed by the first person she met. Well, she did expect her rudeness. Because of Brenda’s ridicule and many others like her in the town, she’d been forced to pack her belongings and flee.
When she and her children reached her aunt’s room, her aunt was asleep. They sat patiently waiting for her to waken. Sitting near, LynAnn observed her aunt; she was a pitiful sight. She’d lost more weight since the last time she’d seen her, and her mouth drooped severely to the right.
Only a few of her aunt’s personal items were present in her generic hospital-like room. A teaching plaque she received years ago hung on the wall. An old jewelry box sat on her dresser, and a picture of LynAnn together with her children sat beside it. Her aunt’s opal ring was not on her finger, and Aunt Sara had shown her the costume jewelry in the wooden box. It wasn’t there either.
Short on patience, Cassie squirmed in her seat and the ill woman roused.
LynAnn grasped her good hand. “Hi, Aunt Sara. It’s me, LynAnn, and I’ve brought my children to see you.”
The sick woman tried to form words but the stroke had affected her speech. She managed to whisper, “Hi, dear.” Saliva ran out of the drooped side of her mouth and LynAnn grabbed some tissues from a box nearby and wiped it off.
As a nurse, she knew she’d had a damaging stroke. This was the worst she’d ever seen her aunt. She was pale, and her respirations were heavy.
Timidly, the kids edged their way to her bed. “Hi, Aunt Sara,” Matt whispered.
Cassie only managed a meek, “Hi.”
The sick woman tried to speak, but her words slurred and all ran together. Using her good hand, she merely patted their cheeks.
When it was her turn again, LynAnn spoke softly reminiscing about the past. “I remember the time you visited when I was about eleven years old, and you painted my fingernails bright cherry red. My father was furious and he didn’t stop ranting about the work of the devil until the color was scrubbed off.”
A gurgle rose from her throat, and her aunt tried to smile. She remembered, too.
Aunt Sara dozed off at times and after an hour, LynAnn decided their visit should end. “We’re going to leave now, but we’ll be back to see you soon,” she promised with a heavy heart.
Using her good hand again, Aunt Sara motioned her closer and she leaned forward until her face was a few inches from hers. “I always…loved you, LynAnn,” she whispered hoarsely.
She kissed her cheek. “And I’ve always loved you, too, Aunt Sara.”
She had to wipe tears from her cheeks as they left the nursing home. Her aunt’s fragile body could not take much more, and her days were numbered.
Although she wanted nothing more than to get out of Philipsburg, as fast as possible, she drove directly to her friend’s home. Sandy expected them. She was a true friend who stuck by her no matter what others might say.
On the plump side with short natural curly blonde hair clipped short around her face, Sandy trotted from he
r house to greet them when she heard their car pull up. “Oh, LynAnn, I’m glad you’re here.” The big woman swept her into her arms and gave her a bear hug. Then she gave her children each a hug, and they walked to the house to be greeted by Sandy’s children.
The happy group congregated in the large kitchen. “How’s your aunt?” Sandy inquired as she seated herself in a chair and tucked Cassie on her lap.
“Not good. About the same as you described yesterday.”
Sandy frowned as if she wanted to discuss more pleasant subjects, but then turned her attention to Matt. “How do you like your school?”
Matt ignored her question. Bouncing on his feet, the six-year-old couldn’t wait to tell Sandy about their visit to the zoo. “Jeff took us to the zoo. He’s nice to us and his son, Jon is the same age as me.”
Sandy’s mouth dropped, she let out a shriek, and her heavy body nearly leaped from her chair. “Are you seeing this man? Oh, LynAnn, it’s about time.” Her voice trilled with excitement.
“Want to see my remote controlled robot?” Sandy’s oldest son asked and the kids tore off to the playroom.
Once the kids were out of sight, LynAnn leaned forward in her chair and looked her friend straight in the eye. “Now, don’t get all excited.” Her tone calmed her friend down quickly. “Yes, I was seeing him.” She emphasized was. “We had one date, but I can’t do it, Sandy. I guess I’m not ready, and I don’t know if I ever will be.”
“Honey, you have to forget the past. It’s time. You’re alone too much.”
“Alone.” Her body bolted back in objection. “I’m never alone. I have my children.”
Sandy sighed. “Tell me about this man. Is he nice?”
“Yes, but you know what he expects.”
“And what does he expect?” Sandy asked.
She glanced around making sure her kids were out of hearing range. “You know, what all men want, sex.”
The other woman shrugged. “So just tell him ‘no.’ In fact, you should discuss it with him before he gets you in an awkward position.”
“Are you kidding? I can’t talk with him about sex,” LynAnn protested.
Sandy wrapped her arm around her old friend’s shoulders. “Get it said before it becomes a big issue. If he only wants sex he’ll be on his way. If not, you got a winner.”
“Nooo,” LynAnn groaned. “I can’t.”
Sandy smiled. “I’ve known you for a long time, and there’s something different about you. I noticed it as soon as I saw you. I think this man is waking up feelings you’ve tried to keep hidden, and now you’re afraid.”
“I’m not afraid. I’m not ready,” she stubbornly declared and shifted the subject to her aunt. “Will you keep an eye on Aunt Sara and call me if her condition changes?” Sandy lived near the nursing home.
“You know I will.”
They ate homemade vegetable soup and sandwiches for lunch and chatted about old times, at least the good parts of their old times together. It was late afternoon when LynAnn and her children finally prepared to leave.
Before she got into her car, Sandy gave her another huge hug. “Don’t be so quick to end things with this man. He sounds like a keeper to me, and keepers are hard to find.”
LynAnn forced a faint smile on her lips. “I’ll think about it.” A twinge of sadness shot through her chest. She had to end her relationship with Jeff. Sooner or later he would be gone from her life. Sandy was wrong. He was not a keeper at all. There was nothing permanent about a relationship with him.
With her children secured in their car seats, she started her Subaru’s engine and headed back to Pottersville, relieved to leave her old hometown and its memories behind.
****
As soon as she reached Dr. Wilson’s office on Monday morning, LynAnn opened his appointment book and began pulling out charts. Dan Wilson came in the door and on his way to his inner office, he called to her. “Come in here, LynAnn. I want to discuss something with you.”
The husky-built doctor sported a mustache splattered with gray. He was changing from his jacket into his white lab coat when she entered his private office. “Have a seat.” He pointed to a chair directly in front of his large mahogany desk and got right to the point. “You may not know it, but a few years ago I had evening office hours every Wednesday. Lately I find I’m losing a lot of my patients who work and can’t leave work during the daytime to come to the office. I’m going back to my old Wednesday hours, from one in the afternoon until nine in the evening.” He paused to remove his glasses and when she didn’t speak, he continued, “Now, I know when you took this job I promised you daytime hours so you could be home with your children in the evening, but I’m hoping you’ll go along with the Wednesday evening idea.”
“Dan, I love working here. I never thought a doctor’s office would be such a challenge.” She studied his square jaw and broad shoulders.
“I hear a but coming.” He leaned his large arms on the desk top.
“But I’ll have to think about it. Will you find someone else for the evening hours if I decide not to do it?” She felt the doctor had deceived her since there was no mention of evening hours when she took the job nearly a year ago.
Frowning, he raised his thick eyebrows. “I hoped you would. If I have to hire someone else from five until nine, I’m afraid I’ll have to cut your salary because you’ll be working four hours less per week.”
Although he paid her well, LynAnn discovered the Dr. Dan Scrooge watched every penny and she waited for a bah humbug to slip from his lips someday. “I’ll have to see if I can make arrangements with a babysitter. Can you give me time to see what I can work out?”
“Of course, I will. I don’t want to put a hardship on you and your family, but surely one evening a week is better than the shifts you worked at St. Luke’s.”
“I’ll let you know.” She rose from the chair.
Like every typical Monday morning, the phone started ringing. Patients filed in and were shown to exam rooms. When Dan disappeared into the first exam room, she motioned to Paulette and signaled her to the med room. Paulette hurried in the tiny room after her.
LynAnn closed the door and spoke in a whisper. “Do you know about Dan’s new Wednesday hours?”
“Yes. He told me, but I’m not happy about it,” the slim receptionist admitted with a snap of her gum. “Everyone in this whole medical complex is gone by six at the latest and we’ll be here until way past nine. Look what happened to you already. I don’t like it, and my husband won’t be happy about it either.” She paused to open the door a crack and peep out to make sure Dan was still in the exam room with his patient. Her head tilted in the direction of the exam room. “He’s only doing this for the money. All he cares about is money. I told him I’d give it a try, but I tell you, LynAnn, it won’t take much for me to find another job.”
“I accepted this position because it was all day shift…”
“I want to speak with prissy LynAnn Johnson right now.” A male voice boomed from the reception area.
Both women’s eyes bugged and mouths gaped, and they sped off in the direction of the boisterous voice.
Dr. Samuels, the ER physician from St. Luke’s, stood in front of Paulette’s desk. With his arms crossed over his chest, the angry expression on his face looked as though he’d been chewing on cowhide. “I guess you’re happy now, aren’t you, Mrs. Johnson?” He sneered, his loud voice echoing in the small room where several patients waited.
Stunned, she stared at the man in disbelief. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she slowly replied.
“Don’t play innocent with me,” he screamed and stepped in her direction, his face crimson red.
Dan heard the commotion and rushed to the reception area. “I don’t know what this is about, but I won’t tolerate your behavior on my premises,” his deep voice was low but stern. Then he paused to study the other man’s face. “Aren’t you one of the ER physicians from St. Luke’s?”
; “I am.” Samuels bellowed and swiftly threw out his arm and pointed his long forefinger at LynAnn. “This woman is out to destroy me,” he howled, his narrowed eyes flaming at LynAnn.
Intimidated, she took a fast step backwards.
Dan stood his ground. “You’re doing a good job of destroying your reputation yourself. Paulette, call the police. I want this man out of my office, immediately.”
The handsome Dr. Samuels was silent for a few seconds as if he weighed his options as Paulette began to dial the phone. Then he shot a hateful scowl at LynAnn, turned, and burst out the exit door slamming it so hard the window rattled.
“What’s this about, LynAnn?” Dan frowned while his eyes scanned his stunned patients sitting in the waiting room.
“I have no idea.” She slowly shook her head. “I’m so sorry, Dan.”
“I’m going to find out.” Dan marched swiftly back to his private office and closed the door. Forcing herself to calm down, she pasted a fake smile on her lips and tended to wary patients who had witnessed the explosive exchange in the reception area. A few minutes later Dan called her aside.
“I spoke with the hospital administrator. Someone filed a sexual harassment grievance against Samuels and he’s been suspended pending further investigation. He thinks you filed it.”
“Ooh,” she groaned and slowly shook her head. “No. I didn’t. But he had to know someone would sooner or later. The man’s behavior is disgusting.”
“I know you didn’t file it.” He picked up a stack of lab reports. “The administrator’s calling him right now, and they’re going to have another discussion. He won’t be bothering you again.”
“Thank you, Dan.” She felt relieved. “I’m sorry for the uproar. Dr. Samuels’ behavior toward women is repulsive, but I don’t want him to lose his job over it.” Appalled by the incident, she clamped her lips together, sadly shook her head, and tromped off to an exam room.
Chapter 9
A long week later, Jeff drove his Beemer through heavy mid-town traffic and reached his office in the courthouse annex. “Good morning, Andrea,” he greeted his secretary.