TCOT Loveless Lothario Chapter 4

Perry and Della remained sitting in the parking lot of the hospital close to an hour, each finding the quiet of the dark, starry, night more appealing than the fluorescent lighting and sterile smell of the hospital waiting room and its occupants. As Perry held Della, he reveled in her warmth and the feel of her body nestled perfectly against his own. 'Yes,' he thought, kissing the top of head, 'we are definitely going away after we get past this hurdle with Gertie and the shooting.' He thought of maybe taking Della out to Southern Lake Tahoe or maybe back East towards the mountains. Ultimately, he would leave the decision to her. He just wanted to be alone with her, to love her, to escape the hurriedness and stress of the past year. Even though it was the Harry Marlow incident and subsequent brushes with death that had brought and kept them so closely together, he wished it had happened under different circumstances. After all, he had loved her, from afar, for years. He was simply afraid to tell her and it haunted him that it took Marlow's threats to finally sweep him over the edge.

"What a double edged sword," he said softly.

"What, Perry?" Della mumbled sleepily.

"Nothing, Sweetheart. I was just thinking out loud." He again kissed the top of her head.

"Anything I can help with?" she asked. Her eyes remained closed, but she reassuringly stroked his chest with her right hand.

Capturing it and bringing it to his lips, he replied, "No…let's just rest until Paul learns the doctor is ready with an update on Gertie."

"And your conversation with Laura after I walked away with Paul?" She felt him tense up.

"Is that why you kept your distance earlier on the ride over?" Perry let out another long, measured breath. "I assumed it was the shock of seeing Laura...not anything she and I may have discussed."

"Well, you were awfully quiet when you returned to the car. I didn't think you wanted any intrusion into your thoughts just yet so I let you be." Della gently stated, continuing to stroke his chest.

Chuckling softly, Perry said, "You may intrude into my thoughts anytime you wish, young lady…. and you'd know exactly what Laura and I talked about if you hadn't left me for the car."

"Can you blame me, Perry? I mean…she's never said anything derogatory directly to me. On the contrary, she's been quite pleasant…polite even, but …." Her voice trailed off.

"But her body language tells another story?" Perry finished her sentence this time.

"Well, yes…I guess…it's just…Laura doesn't need words to convey to someone her dislike or distaste for them. Her expressions alone speak a thousand words."

"Something I witnessed countless times when she and I were still together." Perry nestled his cheek into the hair atop Della's head.

"Well?" Della asked.

"Well, what?" Perry answered.

"Perry… seriously. What did she say to you that caused such a scowl on your face when you returned to the car?"

"No, no, you shouldn't have left me alone with her." Perry said seriously but she felt his cheek flex indicating he was smiling and teasing her, too.

"Perry!," Della started laughing and sat up to look in his eyes. He couldn't contain himself…his chest shaking with laughter.

"Alright…alright," Perry looked back out towards the hospital. "She asked why you and I were here. I told her Mr. Buffalo had been dating Gertie, had misled her about his status as a single man, and that Gertie had driven down here to confront him, and you and I came after her out of concern for her well being."

"That's a lot of information to throw at Laura. Are you sure you want her knowing all of that?" Della asked.

"I tried the abbreviated version but she wasn't buying it since Paul was here, too." Della felt Perry tense up again.

"I see." Della said softly. "And, in addition, she is not returning to her hotel tonight so we will be graced with her presence here at the hospital."

"It defies reason." Perry stated dryly.

Della raised her head and looked up into his eyes. "I think Gertie is in there… and we're out here... when we would normally be in there… so what I'm wondering is why, Perry?" Della tilted her head in the direction of the hospital. "Did Laura give a reason as to why she was coming to the hospital?"

"She said she would call her partners and let them know what happened and why she was going to be delayed...that she hoped Mr. Buffalo would pull through enough to complete their deal and, if not, then she would already be here to push through the deal with his wife."

Della's mouth dropped upon hearing Perry's words. "So...she's not stopping by tonight to see if Gertie is okay, even though she's known her from your office for years? She is here to … to… complete a business transaction with whomever is left alive to complete it? That's horrible."

"Laura has always been about business, Della. She never made a secret of her drive or her hunger for success when we were together." Perry rubbed the back of his hand across Della's cheek.

"I know, but still ...Perry…." Before she could say another word, Perry kissed her.

As the kiss ended, Della opened her eyes and smiled at him. She could see the worry etched across his face. Changing the subject away from Laura, Della said, "It will be interesting to know who the police think is responsible for the shooting of Buffalo. You think Paul's contact inside the department will come through for him?"

"Hope so," Perry mumbled, closing his eyes and leaning back against the seat. "Why don't we wait here a little while longer. If we don't get a signal in the next half hour, we'll head inside."

"Okay." Della smiled lovingly, placed her head back against his chest, and refocused her attention to staring out the windshield at the parking lot and hospital before them.

It was just after 10 P.M. when Paul Drake's flirting with a statuesque, blonde nurse paid off and he was thankful, too. The sterile smell of hospitals had never appealed much to him. The sounds of a hospital never appealed much to him either. He was always reminded of what his grandfather once said after a heart attack landed him there for a month-long stay. "If you wanna die, just come to this place, Pauly. I felt better before they got a hold of me...keeping me up every hour on the hour having to check this or check that. I mean, damn, don't they know sick folks need rest?" Paul laughed aloud at the memory. It wasn't until he got older, himself, that he had fully understood old Pappy's words.

A sweet, yet spicy, almost cloves and cinnamon, aroma snapped him back to reality as his ideal Florence Nightingale sauntered out of a patient's room and passed him. She smiled and nodded towards his jacket pocket. He took out a little notebook, flipped to a blank page, and handed it to her. She wrote her name and number then handed it back to him...her index fingers slowly catching the top of his hand in a soft, subtle caress. Paul winked at her and turned to head towards the exit... playtime would have to wait. Gertie's injuries were not life threatening. She was being prepped for a private room and would likely be discharged tomorrow. He knew he had to see Perry first.

Paul made his way out the doors of the Emergency Room and across the parking lot. Upon seeing his exit and approach, Perry and Della left the comfortable solitude of the sedan and stepped out to stretch their arms and legs.

"Well?" Perry inquired.

Paul reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. "She has a painful bump on her head as well as numerous cuts and abrasions, but there is no evidence of a concussion or any long term damage."

"When can we take her home, Paul? Did they say?" Della reached over and took the notebook from his hands before he could stop her. She was more than ready to head home to Los Angeles. She flipped to the last page, narrowed her eyes, and silently mouthed, "Veronica?"

Blowing out a long line of smoke, Paul looked at Della with a devilish smile and took the notebook from her. "The doctors want to keep Gertie tonight for observation, Beautiful. Tomorrow...late afternoon...at the latest."

Della let out a slow breath. Deep in thought somewhere else, Perry placed a reassuring arm around her… the light moment between she and Paul lost upon him. "Well, if Gertie's here for the night, let's check in at the front information desk and find out if there's an all night hotel nearby. I think we'll all feel better after some sleep that doesn't involve sitting upright in a car. Besides, I know you want to see she's settled in with your own eyes, Della. You still got that emergency suitcase in the trunk?"

"You know it," Della replied with a smile.

"That's my girl. Let's get inside." Perry gently turned Della in the direction towards the Emergency Room. "You coming, Paul?"

"Listen, you two, there's something else that's kinda kooky that you should know." Paul took another long drag on his cigarette and slowly exhaled. "The floor nurse told me Gertie had a knife wound to her hip...not a cut from the fall or the shattered glass in the room or wounds from a fight with Buffalo. It was an actual knife wound. She required ten stitches and the cops were extremely interested in the location of the knife since no knife was found at the scene."

"A knife wound?" Della exclaimed as she pulled away from Perry's hold and walked back towards Paul.

"Anything else?" Perry asked with concern.

"I don't know, Perry. I just got a bad feeling about this all the way around...missing gun, now missing knife… Laura circling the whole scene like a vulture."

"Well ...let's get inside and make sure everything is settled with Gertie. Want a room wherever we get one?" Perry asked with concern.

"No, I got it covered. My nurse connection is hooking me up with a cot in the Interns on call room." Paul winked and smiled at Della but the worry in his eyes was not lost on either of them.

"Paul...we'll figure it out," Della said, stepping towards him and squeezing his arm assuredly. "Come in with us. You can distract me...tell me more about this ...Veronica."

"Just give me a minute, Beautiful," Paul replied with a soft laugh.

Della gave him a nod and smiled. Taking Perry's outstretched hand, the couple turned to walk towards the Emergency Room unaware of the icy, blue eyes watching them from a waiting room window on the third floor.