Cimarron, Denver Cereal Volume 4 (51 page)

Smiling, Heather jogged into the
kitchen.

~~~~~~~~

Thursday evening — 7:35 P.M.

“
I can do this. I can do
this. I can do this. I can do this.”

Tanesha repeated this phrase over and over
in her mind as she walked down the corridor toward the surgeon’s
break room. This was the first day he’d worked at Denver Health
when she was on. She’d checked his schedule and knew he was on a
break now. They didn’t share a work day together for another month.
She either asked him now or she waited another month.

She was about to turn a corner when she
heard laughter from the surgeon’s break room. His voice, with its
distinctive British accent, talked over another accented male
voice. The men laughed.

She leaned against the corner. She was about
to chicken out when she remembered she would have to face Heather,
Jill, and Sandy if she didn’t ask. She gathered her courage. She
wouldn’t face her best friends with her failure.

“
What have you go to lose?”
she whispered to herself.

Turning the corner, she took the last few
steps to the surgeon’s break room. She stood in the doorway for a
moment to get her bearings.

“
Tanisha!” Dr. John Drayson
said.

“
Tanesha,” she
said.

“
Oh crap, I’m sorry,” John
said. “Alex will kill me if she knows I messed up again. You won’t
tell her will you?”

John smiled an endearing
hand-in-the-cookie-jar smile. The man sitting next to him said
something in the other language. John laughed.

“
He’s sure Alex always
wanted to kill me,” John said. “May I introduce my esteemed
colleague from… Wales, is it?”

The man nodded.

“
Tanesha, this is Dr. Cas
Morgan.”

The man’s head turned to look at Tanesha. In
that moment, she could have sworn that the world stopped moving.
His brown eyes seemed to gobble her whole. Her face felt like it
was on fire. Her eyes flicked to John. John seemed amused.

“
Cas has taken a faculty
position at CU,” John said. “He will be one of your professors next
fall. You’re still going, right?”

Tanesha nodded. She tried to speak but sound
was lost on her. Cas recovered first.

“
I wanted to arrive early
in Denver,” Cas said. “I thought I’d take in the sights, get
settled.”

Tanesha turned to look at him. His face
looked almost as red as hers felt. John stood and stepped into her
line of sight. He walked to Tanesha.

“
I’m sure you’re not here
to meet my old nursery mates,” John said.

“
IwaswonderingifIcouldshadowyouthissummer,” she
said.

Concerned at her anxiety, John touched her
arm and looked into her face. She wasn’t sure why but his warm
gesture brought her back to herself.

“
I work twelve hour shifts
twice a week,” Tanesha said. “Otherwise, I’m off. It would be a
great experience for me to observe you in surgery. I was thinking
maybe once a week?”

There she’d said it. So why hadn’t her heart
stopped pounding? She didn’t dare look at this Cas again.

“
Sounds like a great idea,”
John said. “I did the very same thing the summer before I started
med school. Although, I was fortunate enough not to have to
work.”

“
He has a wealthy wife,”
Cas said from behind John.

Tanesha’s eyes flitted to him. She
registered a visceral shock. John said something to Cas in that
other language but Cas didn’t respond. John looked back at
Tanesha.

“
Would you like to follow
me here or at Anschutz?” John asked. “I do emergency surgery here
and primal vascular bypass at Anschutz. There’s more real patient
care at Anschutz. CLI patients with some reasonable support. Here,
it’s just patch them up and out the door they go.”

“
I don’t know,” Tanesha
said. “It just occurred to me to ask you.”

“
How about trying both? See
which one you like. Why don’t you speak to Trish, my surgical
nurse?” John asked. “She’ll set you up. You’ve met
Trish?”

Thrilled, Tanesha nodded in such a way as to
make a slight bow. John smiled at her. John’s name was called on
the overhead speaker.

“
That’s my call,” John
said. “Shall we walk back to the ED? Cas?”

Cas stood behind John. Keeping Tanesha on
his right, John walked her to the Emergency Department.

“
Don’t forget to speak to
Trish,” John said.

He and Cas continued to consult on a
patient. As Cas passed her, she felt a well of heat that seemed to
emanate from his body. She stopped to stare at his back. Before he
turned the corner, he turned to look at her. Their eyes caught and
he was gone. Tanesha shook her head to clear the cobwebs. Returning
to her job as an orderly at the ED, Tanesha couldn’t help but
wonder about Cas.

And why Dr. John Drayson didn’t want her to
have anything to do with him.

~~~~~~~~

Thursday night — 10:35 P.M.

“
If you need anything…”
Steve Roper said to Sandy.

He pulled the covers up to her chin and
checked her IV again.

“
I will call you,” Sandy
said. “You put your number in my phone. I’ll just press the
button.”

“
Don’t hesitate,” he said.
“I’m only five minutes away and…”

“
Thanks Steve,” Sandy said.
“You’ve been really great. I… Yeah, thanks.”

“
Aden’s waiting outside,”
Steve said. “Should I let him in?”

“
I’d like to see him,”
Sandy said.

“
Don’t overdo it,” Steve
said. “You’re still very sick.”

Sandy nodded. Steve adjusted her blankets
one last time and left the room. She heard Aden show him out. She
closed her eyes for a moment.

Feeling movement on the bed, she opened her
eyes to see Buster had joined her on the bed. He gave her an
adoring look and scooted over. She rubbed his ears. There was a
sound at the door. With tears streaming down her face, Noelle stood
at the door. Sandy gestured and Noelle ran to the bed. Noelle got
in on Aden’s side.

“
Hey!” Nash ran to the bed
and scooted in the bed next to Noelle.

Sandy caressed the children’s hair. She
didn’t look up when she heard Charlie come into the room. Instead,
she held up the covers and he slipped in next to her.

“
Oh my God!” Aden
exclaimed. “What are you doing?”

“
But Dad!” Nash started at
the same time Noelle said, “Daddy, I…” Charlie joined in with a
“Listen…”

For a moment, they were all talking at once.
Buster barked. And they stopped talking to look at Sandy.

“
This is a little slice of
heaven.” Sandy said. Holding Charlie’s hand, she touched Noelle and
Nash’s heads.

“
They cannot sleep with
you,” Aden said. “I cannot. It’s too dangerous. You’re too
sick.”

“
Please Aden.” Sandy’s
voice shook with exhaustion.

“
I can sleep on the floor,”
Charlie said.

Charlie jumped out of bed and lay down on
the floor. Not to be outdone, Nash rolled out of bed to the floor
by her feet. Noelle looked at Sandy and then at her father.

“
Noelle!” Nash
said.

“
Oh all right,” Noelle
said.

She leaned over to kiss Sandy’s cheek then
ran out of the room.

“
What are you doing?” Nash
yelled after her.

“
Getting my covers,” Noelle
yelled

Charlie and Nash trotted after her. Aden
adjusted Sandy’s comforter.

“
Please,” Sandy
said.

“
No,” Aden said. “I won’t
risk it.”

Tears seeped from her eyes. She silently
implored him to let the children stay.

“
You promised you wouldn’t
do this. No faking,” he said. His voice was firm but kind. “We need
you to get well. How can we get married next year if you’re not
there?”

She put her hand over his and nodded
slightly. The children returned with their blankets and made
makeshift beds on the floor.

“
Come on Buster,” Noelle
said. The dog jumped from the bed. Noelle lifted her blanket and he
tucked up against her. “Daddy, where will you sleep?”

“
I don’t know,” Aden said.
“Looks like all the good spots are taken.”

He took a comforter from the closet, grabbed
his pillow from the bed, and set them on the empty floor next to
the bed.

“
Can I bring you anything?”
he asked Sandy.

She shook her head. Aden was turning off the
light when Cleo came into the room. Purring, the cat walked around
Charlie’s head and hopped on the bed. She walked along Sandy’s side
until she settled on the pillow next to Sandy’s shoulder.

“
Dad, you should move Cleo
too,” Nash said.

“
They’ll be all right,”
Aden said.

Shutting off the light, the little family
settled in for the night. Sandy watched the ceiling for a few
minutes as she counted her blessings. These four people had put
their needs, wants, and desires aside to do what was best for her.
She’d never felt more loved. Closing her eyes, she fell sound
asleep.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED and
TWENTY-ONE

Something’s terribly
wrong

Friday early morning — 3:05 A.M.

“
Sam!” Delphie sat up in
bed. She reached over to shake him awake. “Sam.”

“
Wh…what?” He rolled over
to look at the clock. “It’s only three. I don’t have to be up
for…”

“
Sam,” Delphie said.
“Something’s terribly wrong.”

~~~~~~~~

Friday early morning — 3:05 A.M.

In the midst of a deep sleep, Aden heard a
baby cry. He started to wake up. Nearly awake, he remembered there
were no babies in his life now. He was slipping back to sleep when
he felt some pressure along his body. He reached out to touch
Sandy’s cat, Cleo.

Cleo bat at his hand with her razor sharp
claws.

He jerked his hand away and rolled onto his
back. He was drifting back to deep sleep when he felt Cleo’s soft
fur against his arm. He heard Cleo cry. Somewhere in the recesses
of his mind, he realized he’d only heard Cleo cry was when she was
talking to Sandy. He opened his eyes just in time to see Cleo’s paw
come at his face.

He jerked his face away. Her nails grazed
his chin. Cleo cried again.

He blinked.

Cleo cried and raised her paw at him
again.

He jerked and sat up.

Sandy moaned.

Jumping to his feet, he flew to the bed. He
touched her face. She was burning up. Her body was covered in
sweat.

“
Sandy!” Aden tried to wake
her.

“
What is it?” Noelle
asked.

Ever the light sleeper, Noelle stood wide
awake at the side of the bed.

“
Go get MJ,” Aden said. “Go
Noelle. Now.”

Noelle jumped at the intensity in his voice.
Afraid, she shook her head.

“
Go,” he said again.
“Now!”

She turned in place and ran out of the
bedroom. Buster ran after her.

“
Charlie,” Aden
said.

“
What?” Charlie asked from
the floor.

“
I need ice,” Aden said.
“As much as we have.”

When Charlie didn’t move, Aden nudged him
with his feet.

“
What?” Charlie
asked.

“
Ice,” Aden said. “Sandy’s
sick.”

Charlie jumped up and ran out of the
room.

“
Nash,” Aden shook his
son’s shoulder.

“
Dad?” Nash
asked.

“
Sandy’s sick,” Aden said.
“Can you get some water? No, a wet towel?”

Nash rolled into the bathroom.

“
Sandy, Sandy,” Aden shook
her shoulder.

Hearing movement, he saw Delphie run into
the room.

“
What is it?” Aden
asked.

“
The baby,” Delphie said.
“She’s in labor.”

“
Oh my God, I’m going to
lose them both.”

“
Not yet,” MJ said on his
way into the room.

He was wearing pajamas with a pajama clad
Honey hanging on his neck. She had his medical kit slung around her
neck. He set Honey and the kit on the bed. He picked up Sandy and
carried her into the bathroom.

“
Fill the tub, Nash. Turn
on only the cold water,” MJ said to Nash.

Nash ran to the tub and turned the water on.
MJ set Sandy in the tub.

“
Ice,” MJ
yelled.

Charlie appeared at his side with a plastic
grocery bag full of ice.

“
We need more ice,” MJ
said. “Charlie, run and get Jill. We need their ice and we need
Jill. Sam, go wake up Valerie and Mike.”

“
Should I get them here?”
Sam asked.

“
Get them here,” MJ said.
“And…”

“
Get their ice,” Sam ran
out of the room.

“
Nash,” MJ said. “Call her
friends. We need everyone praying this morning.”

Nash scrambled to grab Sandy’s iPhone.

“
Honey!” MJ
called.

“
It’s ready,” she said.
“Noelle has it.”

Noelle ran in with a syringe. MJ injected it
into Sandy’s IV line.

“
Antibiotics,” MJ
said.