“No, that was fun while it lasted, but it didn’t turn into anything. I’ll let you know when something clicks. Which brings us to you.”
Jeremy took a deep breath. “I told you briefly about the woman I met on the cruise.”
“Safire.”
“Well, her name turns out to be Angelina. Safire is her sister. She took her sister’s place on the cruise.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know if I want to get into the long version right now.”
“Give me the short one.”
He felt silly actually saying it. It showed how enormously duped he had been. “She has a son and a partner.”
“Oh, no.” Michelle reached her hand across the table and gave his arm a short squeeze. “Maybe it wasn’t meant to be. Don’t let it get you down. You have no idea how hot you are. You’ll know when it’s the right one.”
“So you think I’m hot?”
Michelle laughed and jabbed his shoulder with her fingers.
“You know you are. It’s only a matter of time.”
“You’re beautiful, too. How come we never hooked up?”
“I don’t know. You’ve always been more of a brother to me.”
Jeremy had barely touched his milkshake. He slid it across the table and watched Michelle’s eyes light up.
“Thank you for being my sister,” he said.
“Any time.”
Jeremy was still drained from the week. He followed Michelle home to make sure she got in safely and then he headed home himself. He had one more day of work for the week, and then he could rest over the weekend.
The next morning, the phone in his office buzzed. It was Evelyn.
“Dr. Bell, Dr. Carter’s just left a message. He’s hoping you have the results for the woman he referred on Tuesday who came in with her brother. She’s scheduled for a follow-up appointment with him today. Let me get her name. Lewis. The patient’s name was Phillip Lewis.”
“Brother?”
“Yes, you remember. She had her cousin with her in the waiting room, and he had a seizure before—”
“Cousin?”
“Well, we got to chatting while I prepped him for the MRI.”
“I should have the chart here. Let me call you back.”
Jeremy had done the examination and had written the report, but he hadn’t looked at details on the chart.
He flipped to the insurance papers. They only said “dependent.” He turned to the release forms. Under next of kin for Phillip, it read Angelina Lewis, sister. Copies of the papers showing that she was his legal guardian were right after that.
He recalled that she’d vaguely mentioned family obligations on the cruise. Clearly, one of them was her brother, Phillip. He had simply assumed from the vast majority of his experience that the child was her son. And if Evelyn was right, which she doubtless was, the young man with her was a cousin, probably another family obligation.
Jeremy shook his head as the magnitude of his mistake dawned on him. He wondered briefly why she hadn’t simply corrected him, but then he hadn’t really given her a chance. He’d just dropped accusations while she was busy trying to find out about her brother’s health.
It explained a lot. He’d only seen her twice since the cruise, but he’d noticed how different she was now. She walked harder. She didn’t smile. He’d thought it was just her way of blowing him off, but it wasn’t, or it wasn’t only that. It was her march through the obligations of her life.
It explained some of the differences between her and Safire. She was the oldest, so the obligations fell on her. She set the example, so she couldn’t be as free. She hadn’t had the time to be free; it really was new to her. That’s why she had hesitated.
What had he done?
He knew. He had made it harder, accusing her of being a liar and a cheat.
He wondered if the Angelina he had met on the cruise could survive on land, and he wanted to show her that she could. That she could take care of her family but take care of herself, too, that she could do all that she had to do and still be his “Safire.”
He flipped the chart to her address and wrote it down, along with the number of her landline. She lived across town in North Miami, just as she’d said. He didn’t know what he would do, but he had to do something.
Chapter 13
Angelina had let her last class go ten minutes early and had cancelled her office hours so that she could take Philly to his follow-up appointment with Dr. Carter at Miami Children’s Hospital. Luckily, they’d been able to get a time for late in the afternoon. Alex had picked him up from school early and brought him to campus, and they made it across town just in time.
She had refused to give Dr. Jeremy Bell another thought, but now, walking into the building where he worked, she felt self-conscious; he could be around any corner. She didn’t know how to spare herself any additional humiliation if they ran into each other, so she wanted to avoid that at all costs. But the most important thing was finding out what was wrong with Philly, so there was no avoiding the hospital itself.
She got to the neurology clinic without incident and signed Philly in.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Lewis. Dr. Carter is running about a half an hour behind right now, so it will be a little wait.”
“That’s no problem.”
She should calm down. In reality, there was little chance of her running into Jeremy in such a big hospital.
She hadn’t eaten all day and turned to the boys. “I’m going to get a cup of coffee or something. Would you guys like anything?”
“Not me,” Alex said. “I just had lunch before we left.”
“What about you, little one?”
Philly shook his head and continued to play with the game she’d brought him back from the cruise. He was sitting on Alex’s lap, and Alex was helping him. It seemed as if they’d be all right for a little while, and the cantina was right down the hall. She stood up and headed in the direction from which they had just come.
She got some coffee and a muffin for herself and M&M’s for the boys.
Just as she came out of the cantina, there he was, coming from the neurology department. He had on his lab coat and looked like the handsome doctor he was—the one that the nurses probably gawked over, the one who was out of her league. And so be it. He had used her like a harlot and then called her a liar, and that was enough. If only she could calm the flutter in her stomach.
She was too far into the hall to retreat into the cantina. She couldn’t turn around without making herself even more visible. She looked around quickly for a place to hide, found a nearby door marked Utility Closet, and ducked in, hoping that he hadn’t seen her.
Inside, there were racks of sheets and gowns and towels—things like that. She stood in the corner with her hand pressed to her chest feeling like an idiot and wondering what would happen if she were caught in there. Would it be better to be caught by him or by a member of the hospital staff? She couldn’t exactly explain that she was hiding from a radiologist.
She waited a little while, trying to calm her breathing, and then she exhaled. By now the coast might be clear. When she turned around, however, she found a pair of brown eyes staring at her. It startled her so much, she nearly dropped her coffee. He was standing inside the door just looking at her.
“Here.” He took the cup from her hand before she dropped it.
“I didn’t know you were there.”
“I— I came in behind you. I was looking for you to talk to you. You have every right to hide from me. I was...an idiot the last time you were here. I’m sorry.”
Her hand was still across her chest, pressed above her heart. She clutched her purse close to her ribs and stepped to the side, hoping he would let her pass. He didn’t.
“Angelina, I’m sorry for those things I said. Why didn’t you tell me that Phillip wasn’t your son and that the other young man was your cousin? You could have clarified everything.”
“For all practical purposes, Philly is my son. And you already had your mind made up. Besides, it doesn’t matter what you think. It only matters that Philly gets well. Now, I have to go.”
In the close confines of the small room, Jeremy took a step toward her. She was almost against the wall.
“I shouldn’t have said anything at all, but when I did, why didn’t you just correct me? I made a fool of myself and said things that I never should have said. I shouldn’t have said anything while you were worried about Phillip. I’m sorry.”
“Again, it doesn’t matter what you think.”
He stared at her so intently that she brought her hand up to her neck. She felt naked and recalled how many times he has seen her without clothes on. She swallowed hard and took a breath.
“I don’t want to put you on edge, Angelina. I want to put you at ease. I want to help. I want to know you again.”
“You’re no knight in shining armor. Those exist in fairy tales and on fantasy islands. You were horrible to me on Tuesday. Now, leave me alone.”
“I can’t leave you alone. I think about you all the time. I was so angry because I thought that you’d lied to me—about everything, not just your name. I was stupid and presumptuous, but I want to apologize. I want to be there for you.”
She had stepped back as far as she could go, so she gritted her teeth and stood her ground.
“I don’t need you to be there for me. All I need is for you to do your job and tell me what’s wrong with my brother.”
“Don’t you have any feelings for me, Angelina?”
“No.”
“I don’t believe you.” Jeremy put the coffee cup on one of the shelves and took the final step toward her. “I don’t believe you at all.”
He put his arm around her and tipped his head down, bringing his lips against hers. Her body stilled, and she tensed up, aware of how inappropriate this was.
He removed her hand from across her throat and pulled her chest against his.
“Don’t you remember me, Angelina?”
He brought his lips to hers again, harder this time, more insistent. Against her will, she felt her mouth parting beneath his and then felt his tongue move inside. She put her hands against his shoulders to push him away, but her hands didn’t do what she said. They pressed against his shoulders and stayed there.
His arms tightened around her, and his palm came to rest against the small of her back, bringing her against his body. Her own body seemed to remember this and of its own volition pressed back against his. His lips opened hers wider, and his tongue reached farther into her mouth, sending a tingle up her spine and down to her center. Under his touch, her body started to throb.
When one of his hands found her breast, she had to choke off the whimper that tried to escape her throat, and she realized what she was doing. She tried to pull away, but his arms still claimed her body and his lips still claimed her.
He broke the kiss and put his head next to hers, breathing heavily. “Don’t you remember me, Angelina? Don’t you feel anything?”
His lips against her earlobe and his deep voice in her ear sent a quiver through her body, and her hips tilted involuntarily. When his arms came farther around her, encircling her, she gave up fighting and clung to his neck.
With the security of his arms surrounding her, all the fear that she’d been feeling over Philly came to the surface, and all the shame she’d felt over how her time with Jeremy had ended flooded back to her. Without forewarning, tears burst from her eyes, and her shoulders started to shake.
“It’s okay, Ang. It’ll be okay. Philly will be fine, and so will we.”
She mustered her strength and pushed him back.
“No, we won’t,” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “First your friends get their jollies from painting me as a trollop, and then you treat me like a liar and a whore. It will never be the way it was. Just—” she sucked in a sob “—leave me alone.”
She gritted her teeth and pushed passed him.
“Angelina.”
She headed down the hall, wiping her eyes on the cuff of her sleeve. She didn’t know what had gotten into her, just that whatever had been building up inside got free and got out and made her act ridiculous, clinging to the man who had made her feel like a fool just days before.
When she got to Philly and Alex she sat down and opened her purse, pulling out the M&M’s she’d gotten for them. She didn’t feel like eating anymore. And she knew that Jeremy would follow her. She had to get ready to undo the mixed signals she had just sent and find a way to do it without alerting Philly and Alex to what was going on.
As she expected, he followed. He sauntered up to them in his lab coat with her coffee in his hand.
“You forgot this,” he said, taking a seat next to her.
She took the coffee without saying thank you and hoped that he would go. Instead, he leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees, and began a relaxed conversation with the boys.
“How are you today, Phillip?”
“Fine, thank you,” he said from Alex’s lap, looking up from the game.
“Do you remember me? I’m Dr. Bell. I did your MRI this week.”
Philly nodded. “You told me to hold still.”
“I also remember you from Tuesday,” he said, reaching out his hand to Alex.
Alex shook his hand. “Hi, I’m Alex, his cousin. Do you know what’s wrong with him?”
“Not yet, but we’re working on it. Dr. Carter is one of the best pediatric neurologists in the country, so you’re in good hands.”
He reached across Angelina’s lap and rubbed Philly’s head.
“Have you had any more seizures?”
Philly shook his head no.
“Not since Tuesday,” Alex said.
“That’s good. They’re frightening, aren’t they?”
Philly and Alex had stopped playing the game to talk with Jeremy, and Philly now scooted from Alex’s lap to her own.
“Are you my doctor?”
“I’m your radiologist. I do some of your tests. Dr. Carter is your doctor. He’ll decide what treatment to pursue.”
Philly looked up at her. “Angie, am I going to be okay?”
It just about broke her heart. “Oh, honey, you’re going to be just fine. You’ll see.”
She took the M&M’s and tore the package for him, dumping some into his hands. She was waiting for Jeremy to leave, but he sat back next to her, resting his ankle on his knee.
“Can I get you guys anything—something to eat, maybe?”
“No, we’re fine,” Alex said. He was clearly interested in this older man, someone in a position of authority when it came to his cousin’s illness. “Are you here to give Philly more tests?” he asked.
“No, just for support. Angelina is important to me.”
“You know him, Angelina?”
She didn’t know what to say. She certainly didn’t want to start explaining her cruise to her younger cousin. She smiled weakly and nodded.
“So you’re a doctor, and you do X-rays? I didn’t know that doctors did X-rays.”
“Not all people who do X-rays are doctors. There are also technicians. But some doctors are specially trained to interpret the results of the various X-rays and scans. We’re radiologists. I specialize in brain scans, so I’m a neuroradiologist.”
Alex was clearly intrigued by the presence of a Black man who’d made something of his life, who was at ease in the world.
“How long did it take you to become one?”
“A long time—undergradua
te degree, medical school, specialization. I haven’t been practicing on my own for that long, but it was worth it. What do you do?”
Angelina saw Alex’s face close and his head drop. The question was a sore spot for him, she knew, but she hadn’t known how to prevent it.
“Nothing right now. I haven’t made up my mind yet.”
“It’ll come to you. There’s this bracelet that I’ve seen that says ‘All that wander are not lost.’ Sometimes we have to wander a little bit to find our way.”
“Did—”
“Phillip Lewis,” the receptionist called.
They all stood.
Jeremy rubbed Philly’s head. “Okay, little one.” He shook Alex’s hand again. “It was nice to meet you this time.” Then he looked beyond Philly to Angelina. His eyes bored into her, and she almost looked away. “You let me know how things go. I’ll see you again soon.”
She didn’t know what to do. She adjusted Philly on her hip, nodded briefly and turned to follow the receptionist. This was not what she’d meant when she said for him to leave her alone, but she would have to wait to make that point.
Dr. Carter said what Jeremy had indicated. They didn’t know yet what was wrong with Philly; all of the tests they had done were inconclusive.
“In a lot of cases, the cause of seizures remains unknown,” Dr. Carter said.
“Isn’t there another test you can do? I read about a CT scan.”
“The MRI gives us the same kind of information, but it tells us more. We choose it over the CT scan whenever possible.”
“There was a PET scan and something else.”
“The SPECT is the other one. We use those once we’ve identified areas that we are considering for surgery. We’re not anywhere near there. Because these are the first seizures that he’s had, what I want to do is monitor him for a month without medication. If the seizures continue, we’ll start him on a low dose of anticonvulsants.”
“He’s had three. Shouldn’t we do that now?”
“I want to wait for two reasons. We need to determine the frequency of the seizures to estimate the correct dosage to use, and such medications have side effects, so if they’re not needed we don’t want to use them.
Love on the High Seas Page 12