Chapter 40
"Ethan! Ethan, what are you doing here?"
Ethan raised weary blue eyes to her face. Then shifted them to Hank's face.
A frazzled young woman, bouncing a screaming infant on her knee, watched them with interest in her brown eyes. Leaning forward and hanging on every word.
Ethan let Gwen pull him from the plastic waiting room chair and into a relatively quiet corner.
Hank lifted a hand to Gwen's elbow. "I'm going to see if Eve's available…"
"She's not," Ethan spoke in a dull voice. "Whitney's with her."
"You're here with Whitney?" Gwen said, failing to hide her surprise.
Ethan hung his head, shrugging her hand from his arm awkwardly. "She collapsed at the office. She refused to go to the hospital so I brought her here. To her mother. This is all my fault."
"I'm not following here," Hank said bluntly. "How the hell is this your fault?"
Ethan didn't answer him. Only studied his feet miserably for a few silent seconds. "You need to see Eve?"
Gwen shook her head slightly. Was that concern she heard in his voice? "No, Ethan. Not for the reason you're thinking." Whatever he was thinking. A long time ago, she'd thought she knew. But he proved her wrong. "I…Hank and I…we just needed to talk to her about something. But she's tied up right now. It'll have to wait."
Ethan's face was awash with confusion.
Now THAT was an expression she couldn't forget if she tried, she thought. A small smile tugging at her lips. "Ethan?"
"Yeah?" he muttered, raking his hand roughly through his hair.
Gwen's blue eyes softened with sympathy, and her voice was filled with the warmth of an old friend. "Things happen the way they do for a reason. Take care of
yourself, okay?"
Did they really, Ethan wondered, slumping down in the nearest chair and watching them leave.
Where did REASON fit in his messed up life?
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
"Whitney," Eve's voice was tinged with exasperation as she talked to her daughter. Or more specifically, to her daughter's back. "You have to talk to me, or I can't help you. Honey…," she recoiled when Whitney shrugged her hand off her shoulder, finishing the row of buttons up her blouse before she turned around to face her.
"What makes you so sure you can help, Mom? What makes you so sure? You can't help me. No one can."
Eve's dark eyes shone with emotion at the pain so clear in her daughter's voice. "You're wrong, Whitney. Once the tests come back, I can help you. But I'm sure it's nothing. Only stress. You and Theresa are having problems. That's it. You've gone through rough patches before…"
"Rough patches?" Whitney scoffed. "You asked what Ethan had to do with my problems with Theresa, Mom…I slept with him! I slept with my best friend's husband. This isn't a rough patch," she snapped. Grabbing her purse off the exam table and slipping it over her shoulder.
"Oh Whitney…"
"No. Nothing you say can make me feel any better about myself right now. I DESERVE Theresa's anger, Mom. I deserve every bit of it…"
"What about Ethan? His hi…"
Whitney's hand stilled on the door handle, and her voice came out in a low whisper. "I kissed him back, Mom. I didn't have to. I shouldn't have. But I did. So I'm as much to blame as he is. Maybe more…"
"Whitney…don't leave. You shouldn't be alone right now."
"Ethan's with me. We'll be alone together."
Eve's hand dropped to her side, and she averted her eyes from Alice's curious gaze as she picked up Whitney's charts. "Need anything, Alice?"
Alice shook her head vigorously, furiously punching in numbers on the phone in front of her.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
"Kay! I'm so glad you're here!"
Kay pulled back from her sister's embrace to look into her eyes.
Jessica's blue eyes weren't filled with tears. Or sadness. Jessica's blue eyes were filled with joy. "Tessa's awake, Kay."
"Awake? What? When did this happen? HOW did this happen?"
"That's the weird thing," Jessica explained as she led Kay and Chad toward Tessa's hospital room. "The doctors don't know how…she just…woke up."
Kay gasped in surprise to see Tessa sitting upright in her bed, all the tubes and most of the machines gone.
Charity held her daughter's small hand as a doctor moved a stethoscope over her chest and back.
Miguel's dark eyes met hers through the glass partition, and she could FEEL the waves of relief coursing through his body.
"…she just woke up. Mom was in the room with her when it happened…"
"Wait a minute," Chad interjected. "You say your moms was in the room?"
Jessica's brows knit in confusion. "Yeah. Why?"
"What?" Kay broke her gaze with Miguel, focusing all her attention on her sister standing before her. "Jess, did you say Mom was with Tessa when it happened?"
"Okay, am I missing something here?" Jessica threw her hands up in frustration. "What is so odd about Mom being with her? She was visiting while Miguel ran some errands or something. And she was there. No big deal."
"I'm sorry," Kay said soothingly. "Tessa's awake. That's wonderful. I bet Miguel's happy. Charity, too," she added quickly with a smile.
If Jessica noticed, she failed to let on. "Did you come to see Tessa?"
Kay followed Chad's line of sight down the hall, her dark eyes narrowing when she saw Ivy and her dad speaking. "Actually, I wanted to see you…" she told her softly.
"About?"
"You know what? It can wait. You're busy. Where did you say Mom was again?"
Jessica searched her sister's eyes before answering. "I didn't…come to think of it, I haven't seen her since we got back. Kay…you'd tell me if something were…"
"You worry too much, Jess," Kay played Jessica's fears off with a grin, pulling her into a tight hug. "Say hi to Dad for me?"
"I will," Jessica smiled back as Kay backed down the hallway. Chad just a few steps behind. "You keep her out of trouble," she called.
"I'll try."
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Sam's blue eyes were questioning as he took the small velvet box from Ivy's hands.
Ivy smiled at him. "It's a present. For Tessa," she explained.
The lid opened easily to reveal a tiny gold cross on a golden chain.
"Do you think she'll like it?"
Tessa was a child of precious and few words.
Sam was certain, though, she'd like the necklace. "She'll like it. Ivy, you didn't have to…"
"I wanted to, Sam," Ivy interrupted him.
"Don't you want to give this to her yourself?"
Ivy lowered her head, shaking it slightly. "You give it to her." She raised her head, her blue-green gaze noting the familiar faces. Family. She wasn't family. She didn't belong.
"Ivy? Are you sure?" Sam stopped her with a hand on her arm.
Ivy removed his hand from her arm gently. "Tell her I'm glad she's feeling better," she smiled. Taking a few steps forward then stopping. "Lauren…where are you?"
"I think she went that way," Sam nodded to the hall on Ivy's right.
"Thanks."
"Anytime."
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Dammit!
First the stupid-ass machine wouldn't take her crisper than crisp one dollar bill, forcing her to scour her pocket book for loose change.
Some strangers really were nice.
At least the guy that lent her a dime.
Or she thought he was a stranger of the polite variety until he hit her up for her telephone number.
After telling him in no uncertain terms to go to hell, she put the coins through the slot, piece by piece, the rumbling in her stomach reminding her that Chinese food was about as filling as chewing on the end of her favorite number 2 pencil.
The right numbers were punched, the little whirring noise was made, and she eagerly anticipated satisfying her sudden craving for something sticky and gooey and more fattening than her usual DAILY menu.
The damn jumbo-sized pastry dangled loosely from its hook like a carrot in front of her nose!
"Dammit! Dammit! I hate these damn machines, dammit!" she swore, shaking and kicking the machine in frustration.
"I admit vending machines are one of the evils of mankind," an amused voice made her nearly jump out of her skin. "But such violence. Tsk, tsk. Taking out a little frustration of another kind?" he teased. "Didn't you learn any other curse words on the playground? Wait! Did they even have a playground at your boarding school?"
Lauren's hazel eyes blazed with fury as she glared up at him. "Excuse me! What the hell do you think you're doing? Wait your turn."
"Your turn?" Noah's lips twisted into a smirk. "You've already had your turn," he told her, pushing her aside to get to the vending machine.
Wonder of all wonders, the stupid-ass machine ate his faded, wrinkled bill right up, spitting out his change as soon as he'd made his selection.
"Hey!"
"What?" Noah asked innocently. With the devil's sparkle in his blue eyes.
"That's MINE! I paid for it."
"YOU paid for it? You watched me. I put money inside the machine. THIS came out. I say it's mine," he said, unwrapping the sweet cake and taking a huge bite out of it.
"UGH! YOU…YOU…YOU…"
"Yeah," he mumbled around the mouthful of food in his mouth.
"You annoying, disgusting, embarrassment to…oomph," Lauren's hazel eyes grew wide as Noah crammed the cake into her gaping mouth.
"Fine. It's all yours," he called back over his shoulder as he strode away, breaking into laughter when he passed Ivy down the hall.
"Lauren! Lauren, Darling, what happened?"
"Stupid neanderthal! I HATE YOU!"
"Thank you. Thank you very much," he turned around, grinning and bowing at the waist. "The feeling's definitely mutual."
He'd never enjoyed hating someone more.
"Ethan! Ethan, what are you doing here?"
Ethan raised weary blue eyes to her face. Then shifted them to Hank's face.
A frazzled young woman, bouncing a screaming infant on her knee, watched them with interest in her brown eyes. Leaning forward and hanging on every word.
Ethan let Gwen pull him from the plastic waiting room chair and into a relatively quiet corner.
Hank lifted a hand to Gwen's elbow. "I'm going to see if Eve's available…"
"She's not," Ethan spoke in a dull voice. "Whitney's with her."
"You're here with Whitney?" Gwen said, failing to hide her surprise.
Ethan hung his head, shrugging her hand from his arm awkwardly. "She collapsed at the office. She refused to go to the hospital so I brought her here. To her mother. This is all my fault."
"I'm not following here," Hank said bluntly. "How the hell is this your fault?"
Ethan didn't answer him. Only studied his feet miserably for a few silent seconds. "You need to see Eve?"
Gwen shook her head slightly. Was that concern she heard in his voice? "No, Ethan. Not for the reason you're thinking." Whatever he was thinking. A long time ago, she'd thought she knew. But he proved her wrong. "I…Hank and I…we just needed to talk to her about something. But she's tied up right now. It'll have to wait."
Ethan's face was awash with confusion.
Now THAT was an expression she couldn't forget if she tried, she thought. A small smile tugging at her lips. "Ethan?"
"Yeah?" he muttered, raking his hand roughly through his hair.
Gwen's blue eyes softened with sympathy, and her voice was filled with the warmth of an old friend. "Things happen the way they do for a reason. Take care of
yourself, okay?"
Did they really, Ethan wondered, slumping down in the nearest chair and watching them leave.
Where did REASON fit in his messed up life?
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
"Whitney," Eve's voice was tinged with exasperation as she talked to her daughter. Or more specifically, to her daughter's back. "You have to talk to me, or I can't help you. Honey…," she recoiled when Whitney shrugged her hand off her shoulder, finishing the row of buttons up her blouse before she turned around to face her.
"What makes you so sure you can help, Mom? What makes you so sure? You can't help me. No one can."
Eve's dark eyes shone with emotion at the pain so clear in her daughter's voice. "You're wrong, Whitney. Once the tests come back, I can help you. But I'm sure it's nothing. Only stress. You and Theresa are having problems. That's it. You've gone through rough patches before…"
"Rough patches?" Whitney scoffed. "You asked what Ethan had to do with my problems with Theresa, Mom…I slept with him! I slept with my best friend's husband. This isn't a rough patch," she snapped. Grabbing her purse off the exam table and slipping it over her shoulder.
"Oh Whitney…"
"No. Nothing you say can make me feel any better about myself right now. I DESERVE Theresa's anger, Mom. I deserve every bit of it…"
"What about Ethan? His hi…"
Whitney's hand stilled on the door handle, and her voice came out in a low whisper. "I kissed him back, Mom. I didn't have to. I shouldn't have. But I did. So I'm as much to blame as he is. Maybe more…"
"Whitney…don't leave. You shouldn't be alone right now."
"Ethan's with me. We'll be alone together."
Eve's hand dropped to her side, and she averted her eyes from Alice's curious gaze as she picked up Whitney's charts. "Need anything, Alice?"
Alice shook her head vigorously, furiously punching in numbers on the phone in front of her.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
"Kay! I'm so glad you're here!"
Kay pulled back from her sister's embrace to look into her eyes.
Jessica's blue eyes weren't filled with tears. Or sadness. Jessica's blue eyes were filled with joy. "Tessa's awake, Kay."
"Awake? What? When did this happen? HOW did this happen?"
"That's the weird thing," Jessica explained as she led Kay and Chad toward Tessa's hospital room. "The doctors don't know how…she just…woke up."
Kay gasped in surprise to see Tessa sitting upright in her bed, all the tubes and most of the machines gone.
Charity held her daughter's small hand as a doctor moved a stethoscope over her chest and back.
Miguel's dark eyes met hers through the glass partition, and she could FEEL the waves of relief coursing through his body.
"…she just woke up. Mom was in the room with her when it happened…"
"Wait a minute," Chad interjected. "You say your moms was in the room?"
Jessica's brows knit in confusion. "Yeah. Why?"
"What?" Kay broke her gaze with Miguel, focusing all her attention on her sister standing before her. "Jess, did you say Mom was with Tessa when it happened?"
"Okay, am I missing something here?" Jessica threw her hands up in frustration. "What is so odd about Mom being with her? She was visiting while Miguel ran some errands or something. And she was there. No big deal."
"I'm sorry," Kay said soothingly. "Tessa's awake. That's wonderful. I bet Miguel's happy. Charity, too," she added quickly with a smile.
If Jessica noticed, she failed to let on. "Did you come to see Tessa?"
Kay followed Chad's line of sight down the hall, her dark eyes narrowing when she saw Ivy and her dad speaking. "Actually, I wanted to see you…" she told her softly.
"About?"
"You know what? It can wait. You're busy. Where did you say Mom was again?"
Jessica searched her sister's eyes before answering. "I didn't…come to think of it, I haven't seen her since we got back. Kay…you'd tell me if something were…"
"You worry too much, Jess," Kay played Jessica's fears off with a grin, pulling her into a tight hug. "Say hi to Dad for me?"
"I will," Jessica smiled back as Kay backed down the hallway. Chad just a few steps behind. "You keep her out of trouble," she called.
"I'll try."
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Sam's blue eyes were questioning as he took the small velvet box from Ivy's hands.
Ivy smiled at him. "It's a present. For Tessa," she explained.
The lid opened easily to reveal a tiny gold cross on a golden chain.
"Do you think she'll like it?"
Tessa was a child of precious and few words.
Sam was certain, though, she'd like the necklace. "She'll like it. Ivy, you didn't have to…"
"I wanted to, Sam," Ivy interrupted him.
"Don't you want to give this to her yourself?"
Ivy lowered her head, shaking it slightly. "You give it to her." She raised her head, her blue-green gaze noting the familiar faces. Family. She wasn't family. She didn't belong.
"Ivy? Are you sure?" Sam stopped her with a hand on her arm.
Ivy removed his hand from her arm gently. "Tell her I'm glad she's feeling better," she smiled. Taking a few steps forward then stopping. "Lauren…where are you?"
"I think she went that way," Sam nodded to the hall on Ivy's right.
"Thanks."
"Anytime."
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Dammit!
First the stupid-ass machine wouldn't take her crisper than crisp one dollar bill, forcing her to scour her pocket book for loose change.
Some strangers really were nice.
At least the guy that lent her a dime.
Or she thought he was a stranger of the polite variety until he hit her up for her telephone number.
After telling him in no uncertain terms to go to hell, she put the coins through the slot, piece by piece, the rumbling in her stomach reminding her that Chinese food was about as filling as chewing on the end of her favorite number 2 pencil.
The right numbers were punched, the little whirring noise was made, and she eagerly anticipated satisfying her sudden craving for something sticky and gooey and more fattening than her usual DAILY menu.
The damn jumbo-sized pastry dangled loosely from its hook like a carrot in front of her nose!
"Dammit! Dammit! I hate these damn machines, dammit!" she swore, shaking and kicking the machine in frustration.
"I admit vending machines are one of the evils of mankind," an amused voice made her nearly jump out of her skin. "But such violence. Tsk, tsk. Taking out a little frustration of another kind?" he teased. "Didn't you learn any other curse words on the playground? Wait! Did they even have a playground at your boarding school?"
Lauren's hazel eyes blazed with fury as she glared up at him. "Excuse me! What the hell do you think you're doing? Wait your turn."
"Your turn?" Noah's lips twisted into a smirk. "You've already had your turn," he told her, pushing her aside to get to the vending machine.
Wonder of all wonders, the stupid-ass machine ate his faded, wrinkled bill right up, spitting out his change as soon as he'd made his selection.
"Hey!"
"What?" Noah asked innocently. With the devil's sparkle in his blue eyes.
"That's MINE! I paid for it."
"YOU paid for it? You watched me. I put money inside the machine. THIS came out. I say it's mine," he said, unwrapping the sweet cake and taking a huge bite out of it.
"UGH! YOU…YOU…YOU…"
"Yeah," he mumbled around the mouthful of food in his mouth.
"You annoying, disgusting, embarrassment to…oomph," Lauren's hazel eyes grew wide as Noah crammed the cake into her gaping mouth.
"Fine. It's all yours," he called back over his shoulder as he strode away, breaking into laughter when he passed Ivy down the hall.
"Lauren! Lauren, Darling, what happened?"
"Stupid neanderthal! I HATE YOU!"
"Thank you. Thank you very much," he turned around, grinning and bowing at the waist. "The feeling's definitely mutual."
He'd never enjoyed hating someone more.