Marrying Mallory (12 page)

“But you made your delicious caramel cheesecake,” Heather
said. “Stick some candles in it.”

Elizabeth chimed in, “Oh, Heather’s right. Mallory makes her
own version of the Cheesecake Factory’s Dulce De Leche Caramel Cheesecake, and
hers is even better.”

Seth wiped his lips with a napkin. “Cheesecake sounds
delicious but candles aren’t necessary. It would take too many.”

Mallory leaned closer to Seth. “You aren’t getting out of
telling us your age. Let me guess.” She touched her chin and stared at him.
“You don’t look a day over thirty-three, but you went to medical school and you’ve
been practicing for some time. I mean Jeremy heard of you a few years ago. I’ll
guess you’re thirty-eight years old today.”

Seth frowned. “You’re kidding. That old.”

“Come on. I can’t be that far off. And I did say you look
younger than that.”

“Okay, I’ll admit it. You’re close. I’m thirty-seven years
old.” Seth gave her a broad smile. “You’re a good guesser.”

A cell phone rang, and Jeremy said, “It’s mine. I better
answer it. Excuse me.”

After Jeremy walked off the patio, Mallory said, “Is
everyone ready for some birthday cheesecake?” 

“Bring it on, Mallory. I can always eat your desserts,”
Derek said.

Elizabeth and Heather followed her into the house. She took
the cheesecake out of the refrigerator and set it on the countertop. She
moaned. “I don’t even want to know how many calories are in this dessert. Or
I’ll be doing crunches all night.”

While Heather got small plates out of the cupboard,
Elizabeth opened the silverware drawer. “You two look so cute. I’m sure Jeremy
and Seth noticed too.”

Heather smiled. “I’ve enjoyed talking to Jeremy. I’m not
sure he has Mallory out of his system though.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Are you kidding? He’s hardly
talked to me. He’s all yours, girl.”

Heather winked at her. “It might be because you’ve been very
engrossed in whatever Seth has to say to you. It’s amazing how you two find so
much to talk about.”

“I can’t believe how you and Seth just met a week ago.”
Elizabeth waved her hand at Heather and Mallory. “I’m excited for both of you.
I can see Heather bringing Jeremy as a guest to my wedding. And I’m sure Seth
will be attending if you ask him, Mallory. Seth’s even better looking in
person.”

Mallory poured water into the coffeemaker.

“I’m sorry Derek’s been a jerk,” Elizabeth said.

Should she agree with Elizabeth or just keep her mouth shut?
She decided to be honest with her friend. Mallory nodded. “Derek did make me
uncomfortable when he said how I had something in common with Eddie because I
lost Toby. But that was sweet what he said later.” She grinned at Elizabeth.
“But you’re in trouble, lady. I could tell you’ve been telling him how I
deserve to get married again.”

Before Elizabeth could say a word, Heather said, “Well, I
think it’s nice you invited Seth so I could have more of Jeremy’s attention. Seth
must be crazy about you since he came here on his birthday.”

She sighed. “I should’ve put candles on the cheesecake
before I cut it.”

Elizabeth gave her a nudge. “Forget about the candles. We
better get back out there before Derek tries to sell them something.”

“Just put one candle on Seth’s piece,” Heather said.

“That’s a great idea.” She stuck a candle in one piece, then
opened a drawer to get a candle lighter. The women carried the dessert and
coffee mugs to the patio. Once in front of Seth, she lit the candle. “I don’t
think Jeremy will care if we don’t wait for him.”

Mallory led the others in the birthday song. After Seth blew
the candle out, Heather went back inside to get the coffee.

Jeremy returned to the table and put his phone down. While
Heather poured coffee for each person, Jeremy’s troubled eyes glanced at them.
“I just received a phone call from a mother. Her daughter died yesterday. I’ve
been praying with her. I asked her if she wanted me to go to their house this
evening, but she wants me to wait until tomorrow.”

“Oh no, how old was she?” Mallory asked.

“Only eighteen.” Jeremy sighed as he sat on the chair. “She
just finished her first year of college. Her last final was Thursday. She had
surgery yesterday in Columbus.”

Heather put a cup of coffee next to Jeremy. “What went
wrong?”

“That’s what is so hard. She was having plastic surgery in
the morning and it was believed to be a routine procedure. There wasn’t any
indication that she wasn’t going to walk out of the surgery, but twenty-four hours
later, she died.”

A chill went through her when she heard the reason for the
girl’s death. How could this happen to someone so young? Elizabeth’s shocked
face looked at Jeremy, and she knew why his explanation had alarmed her friend.
Dying during plastic surgery had never occurred to either of them. Maybe it
hadn’t been just a change in appearance that had concerned Heather about her
own surgery. As a nurse, Heather knew about the risks involved in any type of
surgery even if you were young and healthy. “What procedure was she having
done?”
Please don’t say nose surgery. That would be too much of a
coincidence.

“Breast surgery. Not just implants but some defect.”

Even though the girl hadn’t had nose surgery, was this a
sign from God? Was He telling her not to have the surgery? Of course, He hadn’t
caused the girl to die just to warn her, but now that it happened, maybe He
wanted her to know so she’d cancel the surgery. “I can’t believe this happened
to the poor girl and her family.”

“I’m guessing she died from a hidden problem,” Seth said.
“Was it because of the anesthetics or something else?”

Jeremy nodded. “She died from malignant hyperthermia.”

“What’s that?” Derek asked.

“It’s a condition often triggered by certain anesthetics
that can increase the individual’s body temperature to dangerous levels,” Seth
said. “It’s usually an inherited disorder and is a metabolic disorder of muscle
that often goes unnoticed in everyday life. It can become deadly if an
individual suffering from this disorder is given a triggering anesthetic. It’s
very rare for this to happen.”

“The parents have requested an autopsy,” Jeremy said.

“It’s hard to comprehend that she went in for breast surgery
and died.” Could she wait until everyone left to pump Seth with questions? Did
it matter if Derek and Jeremy learned what she was planning to do? She had
thought the less who knew the better. If Elizabeth had already told Derek, he
wasn’t giving any indication he was aware of her scheduled surgery.

Seth squeezed her hand. “Breast surgery is a little bit more
invasive because it’s in an area of the body that has a lot of blood vessels.
It’s more challenging.”

“Can I find out ahead if I have this disorder so that this
won’t happen to me during surgery?” She had to ask and couldn’t wait.

Heather said quickly, “Most cases of malignant hyperthermia
occur in children and less often in adults.” 

“And the adults are younger than thirty.” Seth glanced at
Jeremy. “I’m guessing the teenager wasn’t given dantrolene sodium. It’s an
intravenous muscle relaxant and is administered if malignant hyperthermia
occurs. It’s the only effective treatment for this reaction.”

Jeremy finished swallowing a bite of dessert. “The surgeon
didn’t give it but the mother mentioned they gave it at the hospital.” He
shifted his gaze from Seth to Mallory, taking another bite of cake. “Not to
change the subject but this cheesecake is the best I’ve ever tasted.”

“Thanks, Jeremy. I’m glad you like it.” Leaning forward in
her chair, Mallory asked Seth, “Have you ever had a patient die during
surgery?” 

Seth shook his head. “No, I haven’t.”

“Mallory, have you been holding out on us?” Derek raised his
eyebrows. “Are you going to have breast surgery? If you are, you don’t need
it.”

Elizabeth looked like she wanted to wring Derek’s neck. “I
think you do need counseling, so you learn when to keep your mouth shut.”

“It’s okay.” Mallory shrugged. “I might as well tell Jeremy
and Derek what’s going on. I’m having cosmetic plastic surgery and Seth’s doing
the procedure next month.”

Jeremy frowned. “But you don’t need anything done.”

“I agree. If it’s your scar, it’s not that noticeable
anymore. Ouch,” Derek said to Elizabeth as he rubbed his arm. “You didn’t have
to pinch me that hard. I’m just trying to save Mallory some money.”

She touched her left cheek. What…her scar…were they being
polite? They had to realize the surgery was for her big nose. Or was her scar
that bad? Maybe she’d been staring so much at her nose, her brain had skipped
over her scar. She turned to Seth. “Did you wonder why I never mentioned my
scar during my office visit?”

He shook his head. “I noticed you scar but didn’t think it
was important enough to mention it. Anyhow when you smile, it looks like a
dimple instead of a scar.”

She looked at the others. “My scar’s from a freak accident.
I needed thirty stitches when I cut my cheek. I’m having rhinoplasty. I’ve
never liked my nose.”

“I’m guessing both Heather and Elizabeth knew about your
surgery,” Derek said.

“I told them but asked them to keep it quiet.”

“Can I watch the surgery?” Derek asked.

She grinned at Derek. “Sure, if you pay me a thousand
dollars. Maybe I can get a few others to watch, so I can pay for the surgery
without getting a loan.”

Seth chuckled. “Sorry to disappoint you, Derek, but I no
longer operate in a teaching hospital. I have my own medical facility with no
viewing windows to observe.”

How can I get them off the topic of my surgery?
She
noticed there were empty cups so talking about coffee refills should work.
Mallory stood. “Would anyone like more coffee?”

Chapter Twelve

Jeremy said, “I’d like another cup but I can get it.”

“I’ll just bring the pot out here. When it gets too chilly
for everyone, we can go inside and play a board game.” Mallory grinned at Seth.
“And Seth gets to pick the game since it’s his birthday.” 

“Ladies against guys,” Derek said.

“That sounds so unfair for you guys.” Elizabeth tapped
Derek’s shoulder. “You know we’ll beat you.”

“I’ll get the coffee while you decide if you want to play
Taboo, Outburst, or Catch Phrase.”

Jeremy stood, picking up the plates closest to him. “I’ll
follow you. I have a favor to ask of you.”

What favor could Jeremy want from her? He’d told Elizabeth
and Derek about counseling couples. Maybe he planned on asking her to tell them
what to avoid in a marriage, so they didn’t end up divorced.

As she took the plates from him, Jeremy said, “I learned
today that we’re short of volunteers for vacation Bible school. I’m not sure
when your surgery is, but I’m hoping you’ll be available to teach a class. It’s
a five day program and of course, Josh can attend.”

“My surgery’s scheduled for June third. When’s your Bible
school?”

“The last week of June.”

She rinsed off the plates Jeremy had brought in for her.
“I’d like to help you out, but I might be flying to Las Vegas that week with
Josh to visit Toby.”

“Will you know soon? We’re having a hard time because so
many of the mothers have their jobs during the day. I think next year we should
switch to an evening Bible school.”

She gave a quick nod. “Ours is in the evening for that very
reason. You might check with Heather to see if she knows anyone who’s free
during the day.” Geez, was she being too obvious at trying to throw Heather and
Jeremy together? She picked up the coffeepot. “Could you serve the coffee while
I get the games?”

“Sure.”

Mallory sighed after Jeremy left. Did he ask her to help
with Bible school, so he could spend time with her? After seeing how he had
enjoyed talking to Heather, she thought he was definitely interested in her
friend. But now, she didn’t know what to think. If only his church held the
vacation school at night, Heather could’ve taught a class or helped with crafts
even. She was a crafty person anyhow and made all kinds of cool gifts for
birthdays and other holidays.

She walked to the study to get the board games out of the
closet.
Hey, that’s it
. She could suggest Heather help with the crafts
at Bible school by assembling what the kids needed for each day’s art. Or
Heather could collect the supplies and deliver them to the church.

With the games in her arms, she returned to the kitchen.  

Jeremy put the pot back on the burner pad, and said, “I
poured you a cup too.”

“Thanks, Jeremy. I just thought how Heather makes great
crafts and is an artsy person. I bet she could help by getting the supplies and
making the samples for the art projects. I’m sure she could deliver the stuff
to you.”

He raised his eyebrows. “I’m sorry if I’ve made you
uncomfortable by mentioning you teaching a class. I need to say something here—”

“You didn’t make me feel uncomfortable. I would teach if I
thought I’d be here.”

“I think I should tell you how for a long time I thought of
you as the one who got away. I was disappointed when you married Toby.
Obviously, I was attracted to you and I knew you’d make the perfect minister’s
wife, but—”

“But not now since I’m divorced.”

He shook his head. “No, you’re a wonderful Christian. It
wasn’t your fault. Toby was the one who cheated. He treated you badly when he
did that.
He
is the one that didn’t honor the marriage vows. I wish you
wouldn’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Being divorced makes me feel like I failed.”

“God knows sometimes a divorce is the only answer.” Jeremy
ran his fingers through his brown hair. “What I was trying to say is I’m not
asking you to teach so we can spend time together, but because I know you’d do
a good job, and we really need teachers. You don’t have to worry about me
hitting on you again.”