Chapter 28 #2
“Hey, Ted.” She filled him in on the rough night one of his patients had had before she noticed he wasn’t alone. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you had a guest with you. I’m Kelly.” She extended her hand.
“This is Caroline,” Ted said, catching Kelly’s eye as she realized this was the Caroline.
Caroline shook her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Kelly.”
“Likewise.”
Before the moment could turn awkward, Ted quickly got down to business with Kelly, who gave him status reports on several other patients. She used only first names to protect the patients’ privacy.
“Let’s go see who’s hanging out in the lounge,” he said to Caroline.
They found several kids in the large, sunny room where a big-screen TV was tuned to Nickelodeon.
Two pre-teen girls, both of them hooked to I.V.
poles, came over to hug him. Neither had hair and both faces were marked by the sunken look reserved for only the sickest of children.
“Hello, ladies. This is my friend Caroline. Caroline this is Becky and Sarah. We call them the dynamic duo because you’ll rarely see one without the other.”
The girls shook hands with Caroline.
Only Ted noticed how hard she was trying to rein in her emotions as she got her first concentrated dose of cancer-stricken children.
Ted talked to the girls about how they were feeling while Caroline wandered over to look at the paintings they had been working on at a nearby table. “These are excellent,” she said.
“Caroline’s writing a book,” Ted said proudly to the girls, who peppered her with questions.
A boy in a wheelchair rolled over to them.
“How’s it going, Simon?” Ted asked.
“Pretty good, Dr. Duff. Who’s the foxy babe?”
Ted chuckled. “Hands off, my man. She’s taken.” He checked his watch. “I need to see a couple of patients up here and then get to the clinic,” he said to Caroline. “Want me to walk you back down?”
Caroline glanced around the room. “Would it be okay if I stayed here and visited with these guys? I can find my way downstairs after a while.”
“I’m sure they’d love the company. I’ll ask Kelly to get you a volunteer badge so no one hassles you.” He led her away from the prying eyes of the curious children. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
She nodded. “I really want to.”
Everything they felt for each other passed between them as he kissed her cheek. “I should be done in the clinic by two. If you want to meet me downstairs we can grab a late lunch. Or if you get hungry before then, go on down to the cafeteria. Anyone up here can tell you where it is.”
“I’ll be fine.”
By the time Gina finally called at ten, Parker had worn a path in his living room carpet. When he saw her name on the caller ID he had to remind himself to take a deep breath before he answered the phone. This is it, he thought. Two years have come down to this moment. Don’t blow it.
“Hello,” he said, doing his best to sound light and casual.
“Parker?”
“Hi, Gina. How are you?”
“I’m looking at the beautiful roses you sent. That was so thoughtful of you. Thank you.”
“I’m glad you like them.”
“I can’t believe you remembered.”
“Well, it was an important day for you.” He wanted to shoot himself for sounding so dorky after rehearsing this in his head for a year.
“Yes, it was.”
An awkward pause seemed to stretch on for hours before he said, “So how are you?”
“I’m doing well. We all are. The boys keep me busy.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” You’re just a regular conversationalist, aren’t you, King? Come on! This is Gina! Take it up a notch! “Listen, Gina—”
“Can I ask you—”
“I’m sorry,” he said, kicking the sofa in frustration. He should have hired a high school boy to take care of this for him. No doubt the kid would’ve done a better job. “What were you going to say?”
“I was just going to ask you, I mean, do you send flowers to all your clients on the anniversary of their divorces?”
Parker chuckled softly. “No. You’re the first.”
“Oh.” After a long pause, she added, “Oh.”
“Do you think maybe we could have dinner tonight?”
Another long pause ensued during which he died a thousand deaths waiting for her to say something.
“Are you, um, interested in me, Parker?”
He smiled. “That’s one way of putting it.”
Flustered, she said, “I don’t understand. If that’s the case, why haven’t you called me before now?”
“Have dinner with me, and I’ll explain.”
She was quiet for so long he wondered if she was still there. “Oh, God, you waited,” she said in a small, incredulous voice.
He realized she was crying. “Gina, don’t. Please, don’t.”
“I can’t help it,” she sniffed. “That’s about the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me.”
“It wasn’t supposed to make you cry.”
“I’m sorry, but this is just a bit overwhelming.”
“I know, and I wish it wasn’t. I really, really want to see you. My assistant will baby sit.” He was prepared to offer his assistant a thousand dollars to change her plans for the evening if that’s what it took.
Gina laughed through her tears. “That’s not necessary. I can take them to my mother’s.”
“So is that a yes, then?” His heart galloped in his chest as he waited for her reply.
“Yes, Parker. That’s a yes.”
He wanted to whoop, but instead he calmly said, “I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“Do you know where I live?” she asked and then laughed. “Duh, of course you do. You sent the flowers.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Is there anyone else?”
“No.”
He sat down on the sofa when all the oxygen seemed to leave his body in one long sigh of relief. “Good. That’s good. I’ll see you at seven.”
“Okay.”
When the soft click on the line told him she was gone, he dropped his head into his hands and fought the urge to weep at the painful surge of emotion that charged through him.
She’d said yes. All the days and weeks and months of hoping had paid off.
She’d said yes. “Now take a deep breath and play it cool,” he said out loud.
“You’re going to freak her out if you let her see how bad you’ve got it for her. Don’t be an idiot.”
He got up and took his coffee cup into the kitchen. Leaning over the sink, he shook his head with wonder. “She said yes,” he whispered. “I’m going to see her tonight. Tonight!”
Ted left Caroline in the lounge and went to find Kelly at the desk.
“So that’s her, huh?” Kelly asked. “I guess things have changed since I talked to you last.
“Everything’s changed.”
“I’m happy for you, Ted.” She reached across the desk to squeeze his hand. “Really.”
“Thank you. Would I be a total ass if I asked you to scrounge up a volunteer badge for her?” he asked with a sheepish grin. “She wants to hang with the kids for a bit.”
“Oh, sure, so she’s nice, too,” Kelly teased. “How’s that fair?”
“Thank you, Kelly,” he said in a sing-song voice.
“You owe me one, Ted Duffy.”
Their friendly banter was a relief. They were going to be okay after their dating debacle. He was in danger of losing enough friends without adding her to the list, too. “I owe you more than one, but I’m sure you won’t let me forget it.”
“Never.”
At two thirty Ted returned to his office to find Caroline at work on her computer. He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Were you waiting long?”
“I just came down half an hour ago.”
“You were up there all this time?”
She nodded and when she looked up at him her eyes were glassy with emotion. “It was . . . life changing. There’s no other way to put it. I thought I loved you before, but seeing you here and meeting your kids . . . Thank you for sharing it with me.”
“Thank you for spending all that time with them.”
“It was entirely my pleasure. I was thinking I might like to volunteer up there once in a while. Could I?”
“That could be arranged.” He leaned back against the desk and reached for her hands to pull her up and into his arms. He held her for a long time before he said, “I thought I loved you before, but having you here, having you get it, just makes me love you more.”
She kissed his jaw and then his lips.
He hooked an arm around her neck to kiss her properly.
A knock on the door startled them, but Ted didn’t let her go. “Come in,” he said.
Caroline inhaled sharply, causing Ted to turn toward the door. “Mom? What are you doing here?”