The Stone Beyond

by Anna Strachan

But time was fast running out, and things were about to change and fast.

  “What the hell is this,” a man’s voice demanded from down the hall, “who the fuck is responsible for this?”

  Jennifer stepped up to the man, in street clothes, not a patient, and flapping a piece of paper in one hand. “Can I help you?”

  “Yeah, you can make good on my goddamned insurance!”

  “Okay,” Jennifer said, hands out and flat to calm the man, “I understand you’re upset, but —”

  “You understand?” The man was driven by rage; eyes wide, three-day stubble on his face. “How could you possibly understand? Is your wife dying of cancer in this shit-box?”

  “Sir, please!”

  “Are you being turned down for care because you paid for the insurance the State of Cali-fucking-fornia offered! Obamacare my ass!”

  “Sir,” Jennifer said, “you’re upsetting the other patients! We can talk about this!”

  “I’m done talking, and the other patients better damn well be upset! They’ll be next, each and every one of ‘em!”

  But another voice was quick to enter the conversation. Doctor Parker Stone himself approached from down the hall. “What’s going on here?”

  Here was the Parker Jennifer thought she’d come to know; brave, willing to throw himself into any fight. He was nothing like the coward she envisioned in her dream. Why did I imagine him that way? But there was no more time to think about it.

  “You,” the man said, “Doctor Feelgood, whadda you want?”

  Parker said, “I want to calm you down and get to the bottom of this, Mr. … Stewart, isn’t it?”

  “That’s right, Jack Stewart! Then tell these sons of bitches to take care of my wife, not turn us out onto the street!”

  Parker nodded. “I can get you in at Good Samaritan, not far from here.”

  “They’re overcrowded,” Jack said, “and that’s as it is! That’s why we wound up here in the first place!”

  “Okay, I understand your concerns, Mr. Stewart,” Parker said, Jennifer looking on with increasing nervousness. “I’ll go to the administration, get your wife settled in. The new policy, it’ll take a little time to implement. No current patients are to be turned out.”

  “We just came back from a week at home, she’s still got two more rounds to go!”

  Parker nodded. “There’s been a mistake and we’ll straighten it out.” He glanced at Jennifer, who knew right away she had to take a position; it was her job, and it was her duty.

  “I’m an administrator myself,” Jennifer said, “and I’ll stand with Dr. Stone, we’ll do everything we can.”

  “And what’s that worth?”

  “It’s a lot better than getting thrown out of here by security,” Parker said as Davy and several orderlies approached behind Parker, tough snarls on their faces. Jack Stewart looked around, seeming to know he was outnumbered and had little choice. He said to Parker, “You’ll take care of my wife?”

  Parker nodded. “I’m a doctor, Mr. Stewart … Jack, and … I want to be a friend, an advocate, a champion. Let me do what I can, let me do what I took an oath to do.” Parker broke a tender little smile. “Let me help your wife.”

  Jennifer stood there, transfixed, and Jack Stewart seemed to feel the same way. Jack nodded, muttering, “All right, all right …” Davy and the other orderlies were looking from Parker and Jennifer to the angry Jack and then back again. But the tension in the hallway gradually thinned, and the orderlies backed down. Parker gestured to them and they walked away, back down the hallway.

  Jennifer said to Jack, “We’ll go talk to admin now, make sure everything is straightened out.” Jennifer wasn’t sure she could make good on her promise to straighten things out, but she would certainly try. And she was glad to have Dr. Parker Stone by her side when she did.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “It was a clerical error,” Shin Xu said, glancing at the letter and then dropping it coldly on her desk. “I will mail out a correction.”

  “Clerical error!” Parker leaned forward from his seat next to Jennifer on the other side of the chief administrator’s desk, where Jennifer had sat alone numerous times, already too many. “Correction? You can’t treat people like that!”

  “He’s right,” Jennifer said, unable to suppress her sense of self-righteousness and empowerment, thanks to Dr. Parker Stone.

  But Shin Xu seemed to read more into their appearance together, though Jennifer couldn’t be sure. Shin Xu hit Jennifer with a look that told her she considered their visit an offensive, one which would be met with an equal and opposite reaction.

  Parker said, “There’s gotta be a way to correct this new policy. This is just a herald of things to come.”

  “We’ve been down this road,” Shin Xu said, “and there’s nothing I can do about the new protocol.”

  “I disagree,” Parker said. “At the very least you can implement it effectively.”

  “The man’s wife won’t be turned out,” Shin Xu said, “and I’ll thank you again for bringing the matter to my attention. If there’s nothing else?”

  “They’re going to strike,” Jennifer said, “the guards, the janitors, they’ve been wanting to unionize.”

  Taking a moment to think about it, Shin Xu said, “How do you know so much about their plans, I wonder.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean,” Jennifer demanded. “You put me on their case, now you’re, what, saying I’m league with them or something?”

  “Do you know more than you’re telling me?”

  “I do not,” Jennifer said.

  “It’s plain as day,” Parker said. “There’s already talk on the wards.”

  “I can’t help that,” Shin Xu said. “If either of you can, I suggest you do!” Shin Xu looked at Jennifer, then back at Parker, eyes shifting back and forth. “You two seem to have become quite comfortable around one another.”

  Uh-oh, Jennifer thought, I knew it!

  Parker said, “We’re all on the same team, Adminisrator. Do I really have to remind you of that?”

  Shin Xu’s eyes flared. “And I’m running this hospital and every aspect of it, need I remind you of that?”

  “If that were true,” Jennifer said, “you could reverse this new policy. But that was the board of directors’ decision, and you’re simply implementing it. So you don’t really run this hospital at all, you merely do your masters’ bidding.”

  Shin Xu sat there, furious, nearly trembling with her rage. Perhaps it was because Parker was there with her, perhaps it was merely that she’d been pushed too far, but Jennifer was ready for this contest, and was glad to see her adversary seemingly unwilling to attack.

  Reading the obvious tension between the two women, Parker said, “We’ll do what we can.” Jennifer was gratified that he used we; she also wanted herself and Parker to be allied, and she knew she’d need his alliance to help save the hospital. “But this place could easily fall apart if we don’t all stick together, you mark my words. And when it does, don’t come running to us!”

  “If that happens,” Shin Xu said, you’ll both be crushed underneath the rubble.” Jennifer and Parker shared a glance, then they both looked back at Shin Xu, who added, “To prevent it, and until then, I suggest you both get back to your duties.”

  Jennifer and Parker stood up and he saw her out of the office. Once back into the relative calm of the hospital hallway, Parker joined Jennifer in a long sigh. Neither had to tell the other what they felt was coming; they shared a common ground and were of one mind.

  But Jennifer could hardly keep from saying, “She’s something, right?”

  Parker nodded. “I see where you’re coming from, Jennifer. But I do think her heart is in the right place. It’s a tough job, you know that.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t know about her; there’s too much happening behind that mask she wears.”

  Parker shrugged, glancing around and then straight into Jennifer’s eyes. “We all wear a mask,
don’t we?”

  Jennifer had to think about that. What kind of mask is he wearing, Jennifer had to wonder, who is he really?

  But she had no other allies, and Dr. Parker Stone was still revealing more and more of his multifaceted and complex personality.

  So when Parker said simply, “Let’s have dinner, talk about it,” Jennifer was hard pressed to turn the offer down.

  CHAPTER SIX

  The roasted chicken rosemary was tender and delicious, the rice pilaf was fluffy and flavorful, and a glass of crisp chardonnay washed it down beautifully. The dark ambience and candlelit table framed Parker perfectly, the flickering light catching his crystal blue eyes, peering out of that handsome face.

  “The only way will be to convince the board of directors to reverse the new policy,” Parker said. “But that’s not going to be easy.”

  Jennifer suggested, “What if we get all the doctors together, go to them with a united front?”

  Parker seemed to give it a little thought, tilting his head as he took a bite of his steak. “Unfortunately, not all the doctors would be onboard with reversing the policy.” Reading Jennifer’s confused expression, Parker explained, “A lot of doctors are getting shorted by these new claims. They won’t be our allies.”

  Jennifer shook her head and took another sip of wine. She’d been around and around the idea countless times, but nothing had come to her. It even seemed like the more she thought about it, the more confusing and beguiling the whole matter became.

  “Well,” Parker said with a sigh, taking a sip of wine himself, “we’ll have to wait and see what develops.”

  “Easy for you to say,” Jennifer said, “Mr. Go-With-the-Flow. But I need … control in my life, y’know? Without it, I feel, I dunno, helpless.”

  Parker nodded. “Understandable. But I think the key is to understand that, however much control we can take over our lives, and we should do that, absolutely, we can never have total control. There are always going to be things we can’t anticipate, can’t control, can’t even understand sometimes. It’s not an easy thing to accept, those aren’t easy things to live with. But we do have to live, don’t we? Life, isn’t that our business?”

  Jennifer couldn’t help agree, nodding as she swallowed. But it was more than the pure logic of his approach which she found so convincing. She was taken with his soulfulness and depth. And she couldn’t stop looking into those gorgeous blue eyes.

  Jennifer returned her attention to her food, anything to think about other than that heroic, magnificent man sitting across the table. And those heroics seemed never-ending. Not only had he calmed the ward and talked Jack Stewart down off the proverbial ledge, he’d stood up for her against Shin Xu, a moment Jennifer would relive in her memory many times, she was certain.

  She’d already glanced at the ring finger of his left hand; not even a tan line. He was such an impressive man, he seemed almost conspicuously single. Jennifer had known many doctors, and a lot of them had become married to their work, some losing marriages to the endless hours the job required, especially in the early years of both the marriages and the careers. And medical careers had other challenges too.

  Adultery was rampant among doctors in Jennifer’s experience. She’d never slept with a married man, doctor or not, but she’d seen young doctors she knew to be married sleeping with nurses and even candy-stripers during the long shifts, particularly the nightshifts.

  Jennifer could only wonder which one of these sad scenarios applied to Dr. Parker Stone, hoping it wasn’t the last one. But she just couldn’t bring herself to ask. What mattered was that he didn’t seem married or attached, and Jennifer knew the needs and desires of a sexually liberated adult. Reflecting on her recent romp with Tony Valletti, Jennifer could hardly afford to be judgmental.

  Jennifer glanced at her wine, taking another sip before looking back at Parker. “It’s not easy, is it, the medical industry? I mean, I’m just an administrator, but … from your perspective, it must be terrible, the pressure …”

  “Don’t discount your own position,” Parker said. “Hospitals need administrators. It’s not the glamorous part of the industry, but it’s quite necessary; even vital.” He paused for a moment before asking, “Did you always want to do this for a living?”

  Jennifer couldn’t help but cough up an amused huff, shaking her head and trying to imagine herself or any little girl wanting to be a hospital bureaucrat. Reviewing her past, Jennifer had to admit, “I wanted to do everything at one time or another; ballet dancer, secret agent, President of the United States.”

  “Please,” Parker said, alerting Jennifer’s ire before he casually added, “you’re far too decent a person for politics.”

  Jennifer rolled her eyes, unable not to smile. “But I had a talent for organization, and I liked being around my dad, working in his profession, y’know? It just sort of happened.” Reading his knowing expression, realizing she’d just illustrated his very theory of embracing the unknown in life, she said only, “Point taken on the chaos thing,” and left it at that.

  Parker wore a wry little smile when he went on, “And how do you deal with the pressure of your end of things? Can’t be easy.”

  “No, it’s not easy, not at all. I mean, it’s not like I have somebody’s life in my hands the way you do, but it does get to be a bit much at times.”

  “But you do have their lives in your hands, Jennifer, maybe more than you realize.”

  Jennifer let the thought sink in. He had a good point, but it only made her more nervous about the coming conflict at the hospital and what she could or couldn’t do about it.

  “Well, that eases the pressure,” she said with a little half-smile. “Thanks.”

  Parker smiled. “I know how to relieve pressure like ours.”

  “Oh? And what’s that, may I ask?”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The music at Narcissis dance club in downtown Los Angeles was teaming with gorgeous men and women, purple, yellow, orange, and red lights flashing in bolts across the dark dance floor.

  The beat pounded through the floor, rising up through Jennifer’s legs in a driving rhythm which seemed to move her whole body to its methodical whim. Bass notes were thick and synthetic, pulsing and deep, vibrating in her muscles and organs, looping and thumping and bobbing. Digital strings shot out and disappeared just as quickly, a woman’s spoken voice droning a single phrase at strategic points in the track.

  “Love me, love me, put no one above me / love me, love me, put no one above me.”

  The room was filled with men and women in fancy dress, silk shirts and tight pants, short dresses and dipping bust lines. They ground into each other to the rhythm, leaning in and pressing up, filling the room with the musk of their cologne and perfume and liquor and lust. Some kissed on the dance floor, heated passion that paid no heed to anybody around. Others looked like they were having sex right there, standing in a roomful of likeminded strangers.

  Jennifer almost felt as if she was in the middle of some crazed orgy, a public sex party sanctioned by the government and sought after by the most fabulous people in the most fabulous city in the world.

  Jennifer couldn’t help flash on her lonely years in Colorado. She’d had some recreational fun, of course, but there had been so much time dedicated to the job, too much time building up stress and far too little releasing it. And while there had been the men like Tony Valletti, none of them had been men like Dr. Parker Stone.

  He was amazing in front of her, revealing even more to his fascinating and complex persona. Parker moved with amazing style and grace, befitting his athletic build. His long legs were shapely and toned, Jennifer could tell even under his slacks, his lean and narrow waist tapering up to his broad shoulders and long, muscular arms. He moved his tight hips and ass to the rhythm, smooth and easy and confident. He led her in their instinctive exchange, movements natural and keen to the sexual undertones and the rhythm and the dance.

  His eyes were locked on her
s as they danced, his gaze steady as his body moved. And Jennifer felt transfixed by that gaze, drawn into him like a moth to a flame. She couldn’t resist leaning toward him, then leaning back to draw him nearer. The distance between them disappeared, her legs splayed and swaying in rhythm, her crotch finding his long, muscled thigh, grinding as he slipped it between hers. Their hips gyrated to the beat, her breasts collecting perspiration between them, her nipples already hard against her bra. Jennifer wanted out of it, out of all her clothes, and she wanted him out of his own, right there and then. She wanted to mount him, climb him like a tree right in the middle of that dark, crowded dance floor.

  Suddenly it didn’t seem so crowded anymore. Jennifer felt as if they were the only two people in the room, the only two people in the world. She felt like she was floating and fucking at once, like they were spinning in a universe all their own.

  But it only drove Jennifer’s senses higher, heartbeat quickening, pulse pounding as he literally swept her off her feet and into the starlight of her imagination. And he was at the center of her fantasies; Parker Stone. She needed him, she could almost feel him inside her, all around her, and the craving was more than she could deny and more than she could endure.

  He seemed to know it, to feel her growing obsession. Jennifer had no interest in hiding it, she couldn’t have if she tried. But he seemed to be able to read her body, and she wanted to open herself up to him, to share every secret and to learn every one of his own.

  Jennifer knew by the look in his eyes, burning and cool, that they were going to take those first few steps together, and that the journey would be both long and glorious.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The dance still reverberated in her muscles, music droning in her memory, that woman’s voice repeating, “Love me, love me / put no one above me.”

  Jennifer’s apartment was closer, and she could hardly keep her hands off him all the way from the dance club. Stumbling into her apartment, tearing at each other’s clothes on the way to he bedroom, Jennifer let her mind go blank; despite its terrible talent for over-worrying certain things. There was plenty to think about and worry about, but Jennifer just didn’t have the strength or the inclination. It was easier and felt more natural to adopt Parker’s acceptance of the unknown. It had been the unknown which had brought her from Colorado to Los Angeles. It had brought Parker into her life, and her into his. Jennifer was beginning to see the benefits of embracing the chaotic and with a chaotic embrace.