Chapter Seventy-Five
After Trapper closed the cab door once Leah was safely inside, he leaned down to the window handing the driver cash. "That should more than cover the fare. Stay with her until she's inside the house with the door closed," he said to the cabby with raised eyebrows.
The driver flipped through the cash, folded it and slightly waved it as he said, "Sure thing, doc."
When Leah entered the house, she turned and waved to the cabby. Closing the door, she stopped for a moment and took a quick look around before she turned and threw the bolt. She had been here before, but it was strange coming into the darkened house alone. As she climbed the stairs with her briefcase in one hand and a change of clothes on a hanger in the other, she wondered if he made his bed every day or if she'd find it with the covers thrown to one side and a pillow mashed against the headboard. Then she chuckled at the silly thought.
She'd never been upstairs in his house, but finding the bedroom was easy. It was the biggest room on the second floor…and the bed was made.
After setting her briefcase on the floor by the chair, she hung her clothes in the closet, then undressed, shrugging on Trapper's robe when she went into the bathroom to do her nightly detail, including taking the pill Trapper had made her promise she'd take. She stood looking at the medicine cabinet for a moment before she slowly opened it, feeling a little naughty at the intrusion, but then remembered he'd been in her bathroom going through her drawers, looking for a pair of scissors to trim his beard. She raised her chin and gave a short nod at her justification, then proceeded to look through its contents. There were no surprises as the cabinet contained a sparse collection of the normal stuff, at least for a man. She laughed at the box of condoms and looked to see how full the box was. Then she noticed the shaving cream and wondered why he needed shaving cream. Her mouth opened and her eyebrows rose in an 'ah ha!' moment when she remembered how he had shaved his neck in front of her bathroom mirror.
Standing before the bed before she disturbed it, she never imagined she would be sleeping in it alone, especially the first time. She sighed and pulled the covers back, slipped off the robe and slid her naked body between the sheets. The pillow and blankets carried his scent, and once cozily ensconced, she felt as if he was there with his arms wrapped around her as the drug Trapper had given her took effect.
Arriving at the hospital at seven the next morning, Leah dropped her briefcase off in her office before she went to Trapper's office. He wasn't there, so she went to ICU to see how Jenny Keller was. Jenny wasn't there either.
"Do you know where Jenny Keller is?" she asked the nurse changing the bed linens.
"Are you a family member?"
Leah chuckled. "No. I'm Leah Haverty. I'm assisting the Kellers."
"The little girl coded early this morning. Dr. McIntyre took her to surgery again, and the Kellers are in the waiting room outside the surgical suite."
Leah's smile disappeared slowly. "Oh. Oh no," she said uneasily. She thanked the nurse and hurried to the elevator. Stepping out of the elevator, she turned toward the surgical suite, but jerked to a halt when she saw Gonzo and Trapper coming through the automatic doors. The Kellers met him in the middle of the hallway, and by the way Mrs. Keller buried her face in her husband's shoulder and the way Trapper was shaking his head, she knew the news was bad.
Before she even knew it, tears were streaming down her face, and when Trapper looked down the hall at her, and she saw his sorrowful expression, she couldn't stay, hurrying back to the elevator.
"Dr. Gates, would you show Mr. and Mrs. Keller to the chapel?" Trapper turned back to the Kellers. "Our chaplain will help you with whatever arrangements you'd like to make."
"Dr. McIntyre," said Mr. Keller, his face wet with tears. "This may sound unfeeling, but I do need to meet with Ms. Haverty. I have two other children to think of, and I could really use that job."
Moving a hand to Keller's shoulder, Trapper responded, "Don't worry about that right now. I'll speak to Ms. Haverty and let her know what's happened. She'll want you to stay at the hotel until everything is taken care of, and I'm sure she'll be happy to reschedule your interview. Where are the children now?"
"They're still at the hotel. We didn't wake them when we left, but we left a note."
"Would you like me to send someone for them?"
"No thank you, Doctor," said Mrs. Keller through her sobs. "They're well behaved children, and we've left instructions for them until we get back. Besides that, I don't want to tell them here."
"Mr. and Mrs. Keller, if you'll come with me, I'll take you down to the chaplain," said Gonzo, motioning down the hall toward the elevator.
Trapper walked with them and sent them down in the elevator, waiting for the elevator to come back up. Boarding, he pushed the button for the executive floor. He quietly turned the knob of her office door and slowly pushed it open, peering in. Leah was sitting in one of the wing chairs, one hand in her lap and the other holding a tissue at her mouth. Stepping in, he noticed the photographs she had placed on the credenza and on her book shelf as well as those hanging on the walls and smiled.
Rolling the desk chair over to her, he sat in front of her and took her hand from her lap. "Are you all right?" he asked softly.
She sniffled and wiped her nose. "This is ridiculous, I know. I honestly don't know how you do it."
"It's never easy," he said, smiling. "I do it because I save more than I lose."
"I'm sorry I ran out on you like that. I should've been able to help if I could."
Shaking his head, he replied, "It wasn't your responsibility, even though you'd like to think it was. We have a chaplain to help them work through the details. You know, if you're going to keep offering assistance, you might want to talk to the chaplain yourself. Let him know what you can do, and then let him take care of the families. That's his job. In fact, you could probably start a fund here at the hospital for that with part of the money you're getting from Manning."
"Maybe you're right," she said, taking his hand in both of hers. "But I do need to tell them they can stay at the hotel until everything is taken care of."
"I already told them."
Shifting her eyes up to his, she cocked her head. "Did you also tell Mr. Keller that I'll do the interview afterward as well?"
"I did," he said with a nod and half smile.
Wiping the wetness from her cheeks, she said bravely, "Last thing…have you had breakfast?"
"No, and I'm starved," he replied, wrinkling his nose.
"Well, let's go then. I'm buying." Trapper rolled the chair back to her desk, but before they left the office, she turned to him, burying her face in his chest as she sobbed.
Gonzo was already in the cafeteria when Leah and Trapper arrived with their trays. He waved them over to his table. Noticing Leah's red eyes, he thought he might try a subject with no reference to the Kellers. "Leah, I wanted to ask you about Frieda Christopher."
"Ask me what?" she said sadly, sitting across from him with Trapper sitting next to her.
"She seems nice enough. If I decide to invite her to the Titanic, what should I know?"
"You're thinking about taking her to the Titanic?" said Trapper, chuckling and shaking his head.
"Well, yeah. Why not? She's friendly enough."
"What do you want to know?" Leah asked without her usual cheerful smile.
"I don't know. Is she clingy? Is she looking for something long term?"
"You do know she's older than you. She's older than me, as a matter of fact," said Leah, pouring honey over a biscuit. "Frieda says she's looking for stability in her life. Personally, I don't know that she's capable of that. That's why I'm requiring her to sign a two-year contract. I don't really see her settling down, though, Gonzo. She's always been the kind that likes…variety. By the way," she said, turning and winking at Trapper before she looked back across the table at Gonzo. "How did you happen to meet her?"
"She made an indecent proposal." Both Trapper and Leah laughed. "No really, she came right up to me and whispered something dirty in my ear." Gonzo puffed up with a wide grin. "Made my day."
Leah's lower jaw dropped as she moved her hand to cover her mouth. She leaned against Trapper. "You've just lost your title of dirty old man to a dirty old young man," she said seemingly in a lighter mood.
Trapper said nothing, but continued a low, deep laugh.
"I'm not dirty. I'm just young," insisted Gonzo. "There's something to be said for being purposely unattached. Besides," he said, leaning forward. "Variety is the spice of life."
Leah propped her chin on her hand after she chuckled and shook her head. "Don't come back to me when she becomes too much for you. I warned you. Now, when can I make an appointment to get this cast off my foot? I'm sick and tired of it."
"I am, too," said Trapper. "I hope you'll think twice before you kick something because you're angry," he said to Leah at the same time he took a red potato off her plate. She gave him a slightly miffed look and reached over, taking a broccoli spear off his.
After lunch Leah went her separate way back up to the executive suite, but before the end of the day, she was spreading her toes and stretching her foot free of the cast.