Life Changer Read online

  Life Changer

  Book Two from the series Forever Friends

  Novel by

  Karleen Staible

  Copyright © 2018 Karleen Staible

  www.kssnovels.com

  www.facebook.com/KSSNovels

  [email protected]

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN-13: 978-1720702368

  ISBN-10: 1720702365

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to thank my friends and family who have encouraged me to pursue a writing career. Especially my mother and sister, who faithfully read all my work even in its roughest state. And a big thanks to my two friends Jeanne and Claire. They both pushed me, back in 2010, to start writing and encouraged me to finish my first book.

  Then I found Margaret Diehl. She not only made corrections, but mentored me to open my mind to make the books much stronger and easier to read.

  Of course, I couldn’t have accomplished my mission without the understanding of my husband and his tolerance when I go into “project mode.” He lovingly supports all that I do.

  Chapter 1—New Haven, Massachusetts

  New Haven was a small community due west of The Commons in the center of Boston. The area was hilly, with a few houses settled in the lush green hills, and plenty of trees for shade. The streets were narrow and winding, going to dead ends; you had to go a long way back to get out. Most of the large plots of land had been owned by the same family for decades, handed down from generation to generation.

  As Boston’s population grew, more and more people were looking for new places to live. One of the landowners divided his land into smaller plots, and new houses popped up on the hillside. It was such a great success, more landowners sold their land to the developer, Samuel Streeter. The small community began to rapidly grow. Samuel worked with the local government officials to design a town center with shops, a large grocery store, and a park. The streets were quaint with lots of trees and flower boxes. The two anchor businesses were a hotel with a restaurant/bar and a medical center. The New Haven Boulevard circle drive brought the people into the town center, driving past the hospital, hotel, and into the shopping area.

  New Haven Medical Center was at first a small, fully equipped hospital with emergency and a medical office building attached. The hospital was set up to be owned by the employees, and the board’s big plan was to establish a renowned neurological center for surgery, research, and rehabilitation.

  Deborah (Debbie) Lee Pierce grew up with her mother outside of Boston, in Somerville. She had three older brothers who lived in Cambridge with her dad, a charming and successful IT businessman. Her mother and father had a nasty split when Debbie was seven. The divorce turned her world upside down. She hated seeing her mother always criticized by her dad for not being beautiful enough. He constantly told Debbie that with her looks, no man would ever want her for his wife. She knew she wasn’t as attractive as her dad and brothers—probably never would be. Her dad’s words were harsh and hurtful. But she thought her thick, honey-colored hair and brown eyes were pretty, and her hands were strong with nice-shaped nails. She could find other parts of herself that she approved of but never the whole package.

  After the split, she occasionally saw her brothers when they came to visit their mother, but she never saw her dad—her decision.

  As time went on, she grew bigger with broad, wide shoulders and hefty, strong thighs. The boys at school constantly teased her about her husky build. The football players told her she should be a fullback on the team. She learned to shut out the cruel words. The remarks from her father rang truer; she knew she was ugly.

  The older she got, the less she wanted to be around boys, and due to her shyness, she didn’t communicate well with girls either—she had no friends.

  She and her mother lived a slow-paced life in Somerville, rarely going into Boston. With her strong, athletic build, she did well on her school volleyball and hockey teams, after her advisor at school suggested she try team sports. Debbie enjoyed the competition, the challenges, and the feeling when they were victorious. There were a couple of girls on the team who were known to be gay. Both tried to win Debbie’s affection, but Debbie quickly turned them away—she was not gay. In fact, she decided, she didn’t like either boys or girls. She just wanted to be left alone.

  Life would be easier without a partner to make demands, hurt her, complicate her choices.

  Her grades were good, good enough that the high school counselor suggested she try to get college scholarships. She assumed Debbie wouldn’t be able to attend without financial assistance.

  Her sophomore year in high school, Debbie dislocated her elbow, a painful and disabling injury. When she was taken to a sports medical center by her coach, Debbie was fascinated with the doctors, therapists, and equipment—that combination of precision, expertise, and compassion—and decided right then she wanted to be an occupational therapist.

  With a scholastic scholarship, Debbie graduated from Boston College with: Nursing Degree (CNS); Master’s Degree, Neuroscience/Neurosurgical Nurse.

  By the time she got to college, she knew she felt no sexual attraction to men, so she started experimenting with same-sex relationships. At first, she felt awkward and didn’t know how to read her feelings. Most of her encounters lasted only a date or two, ending when the other woman saw how uncertain Debbie was about her own sexuality. Then she met Micky—Michelle. Micky was a tall, outgoing blonde with a strong jaw and infectious smile. She was a couple of years older, and when Debbie needed some help with medical terms for her exams, Micky offered to help. One night after studying, the two women sat and talked until after two o’clock. Micky confided that she hadn’t wanted to accept she was a lesbian. She had believed it would mean her life would always be in turmoil; she’d never have kids or feel normal. She even married a good friend, although she wasn’t in love with him—the marriage lasting only ten months. She couldn’t stand to share his bed.

  “That’s when I came out,” she told Debbie. “The hardest thing I’ve ever done, but the most satisfying. I was liberated. I’ve been in a couple of relationships with women, but so far, nothing lasting. Give yourself time to discover who you are. And don’t be afraid of your feelings. This isn’t a perfect world for anyone, including us gays.” She smiled and took Debbie’s hand.

  The experience was a revelation. Debbie was sexually satisfied for the first time and began to understand why people chased sex so avidly. Micky was kind, smart, and easygoing. They had a good time until Micky took a position at a hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina. They visited back and forth for a while, but it was hard to go weeks without seeing each other, and the plane fare was expensive. Debbie didn’t want to let go, but when Micky’s schedule changed, and she worked on the weekends, the phone calls became more infrequent. Gradually, they drifted apart. But the connection between them proved to Debbie she preferred women to men. After Micky, she was okay with who she was.

  When she finished nursing rotations at Massachusetts General in Boston, she was hired by John Meyer, head of the neurology department at New Haven Medical Center. John had moved his wife, Vicky, and son, Noah, to New Haven three years earlier to put a plan together for the department. He had worked in upper New York State for fifteen years. Each of his neurologists would have a team: neurosurgical nurse, psychologist, and physical therapist. Debbie was his first hire for his team.

  A nurse, Lisa Hendrix, started working in the ICU at New Haven about four years after Debbie was employed. Lisa was slim and quick-moving, with a warm smile, light blue-green eyes, and strawberry blonde hair so fine and straight it fell out of any clip she used to restrain it. Sometimes she reminded Debbie of a heron, sometimes of a Siamese cat—she had a grace and ease in her body tha
t was immediately appealing.

  Debbie worked many hours in the ICU, and they clicked immediately. It was well known that Debbie was gay. Debbie and Lisa went out together a lot after Lisa first arrived in New Haven. Although Debbie was attracted to Lisa, it was quite apparent Lisa was heterosexual. She was always talking about men she was dating. Then there was only one man, and after two years he asked her to marry him. Debbie was happy for her friend—though a little wistful—and vowed to help her in any way she could to make her special day the greatest it could be.

  The wedding would be a small affair in a park. Only a picnic table would be needed for the cake and drinks. There was no need for chairs; the guests would stand and afterward mingle on the lawns. Debbie helped Lisa pick out her white summer dress, flowers, and cake. The special day would be simple but beautiful.

  Since Lisa’s apartment lease was up a month before the wedding, Debbie invited her to live in her apartment until she was married.

  “Hey, Leesy, are you about ready? We’re going to be late for work,” Debbie yelled down the apartment hall.

  “Coming,” Lisa shouted back. When she got to the kitchen, she let out a huff.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Curtis! He keeps telling me he’s found an apartment and the next thing I know, he says it was taken by someone else. He’d better get his act together, or we’re going to have to live in the hostel where he lives.”

  Curtis Langley was a bartender in an upscale bar in Boston. He’d been a drifter most of his adult life. He fell in love in high school and wanted to marry the woman of his dreams. But her parents made it difficult for them to get married, so he left town, never finding stability.

  There were only two weeks left until the wedding. “Lisa, you guys can move in here if you have to for a month or two.”

  “Hahaha,” Lisa laughed on their way to the car. “I think it would drive you crazy having a man in your house.”

  Debbie thought she was right, but she’d do it anyway.

  Debbie planned a bachelorette party at the New Haven Hotel restaurant for the night before the wedding. Six other nurses were there, all bearing gifts for the new bride-to-be. They were laughing and talking when the waiter walked to the table and announced there was a call for a Ms. Hendrix at the hostess stand. Lisa got up and gave Debbie a puzzled look. “Probably my mom making sure I don’t get drunk tonight.”

  All the ladies laughed, and she went to take her call. After a few minutes, Debbie looked up and saw Lisa crying into her hand at the stand. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Lisa, what is it?”

  “He called off the wedding. He said he can’t marry me because…” She wept. “Because the woman of his dreams just walked back into his life. He had always loved her and always will. Ahh, ahh, ahh.”

  Debbie pulled her into her arms. “Come on, let’s get out of here. I’ll tell everyone at the table what’s going on and meet you at the car.” She hugged her tight, fiercely angry at Curtis, yet also relieved.

  After she explained the problem, all the friends said they would help call the guests and tell them the wedding was off. Debbie went to be with Lisa.

  She cried and cried, cussing him out for stringing her along for such a long time. “I should have stayed in my apartment. Damn it, we could have lived there, but no, he didn’t want to live in a crappy little town. He wanted to have a plush apartment in Boston. Why?” Lisa raised her hands up, her face drenched with tears. “Why me? I loved him. Why aren’t I good enough?”

  Debbie didn’t know what to say, so she let Lisa get it all out of her system.

  “What will I do with the gifts?”

  “I’ll help you return them. Please, Lisa, try to calm down. No man is worth so much grief. You’ll be fine. Probably—not probably—for sure, better off without him.”

  “Why did he wait until the night before? I’m sure he never intended to marry me. That’s why he never found an apartment. He probably wasn’t even looking for one.” She fell to the couch crying.

  Debbie sat beside her and rubbed her back. “He probably thought he did want to marry you, Leesy. You’re a beautiful, sexy woman. I don’t know who this other woman is, but I doubt she’s the sweetheart you are. At least he ended it before the wedding. I know you are hurt, but stopping the relationship now is better than having to go through a nasty divorce.”

  Lisa had taken the week off for a honeymoon trip to Bar Harbor for a couple of days. Now she spent those days at Debbie’s apartment, mostly crying and trying to figure out what to do next. She constantly told Debbie she was going to quit her job and go elsewhere, too embarrassed to face everyone at the hospital. Debbie reassured her everyone would support her and she had nothing to be embarrassed about. He was the jerk; she was just a victim.

  The Monday morning before she was going to return to work, Debbie woke up about four o’clock and heard Lisa sobbing loudly in the other bedroom. She went to comfort her.

  “Leesy, you have to stop crying and get over this.”

  Lisa hugged Debbie closely. Her heart was surely broken, never to be mended. She tried to forget Curtis. In fact, now she really didn’t like him, but she was still hurt. That feeling of not being good enough went so deep. It was like her whole self was hollowed out. If he had taken out a gun and shot her, she didn’t think it could be any more painful.

  Lisa turned onto her back, breathing hard from the crying. “I don’t know where to go.”

  “Go? You can live here as long as you want. It’s worked out pretty well; I’ve enjoyed having someone to go to work with and… well, fix dinner, go out to eat. It’s all good. Stay here for a while.”

  Lisa reached back over and hugged Debbie. Then she pulled her head back and kissed her on the lips. “Thank you for helping me. I don’t know what I would have done, not only this last week, but before with all of your help.” She put her hand behind Debbie’s head and kissed her again, this time putting passion into it.

  “Lisa…”

  “I love you, Deb, I really do.”

  Debbie swiped a few wispy red strands of hair from Lisa’s face. “You are going through a traumatic time.”

  “No, I’m in love with you.” Lisa squeezed back close to her.

  “You’re not in love with me. Lisa, you’re straight.”

  “Not anymore. No one has treated me like you do. I love you.”

  “Okay…” Debbie held the fragile feminine body close to hers, caressing Lisa’s back. “Stop crying and try to get some sleep. We have to go to work in a few hours.”

  Debbie stayed in the room, wide awake as Lisa slept. The kiss had taken her by surprise. She had had feelings for Lisa, sexual at first, but through the years, she had discovered Lisa was very insecure, innocent on so many levels. Debbie had never liked Curtis. He was shallow, a flirt, insincere. She felt from the beginning that he was stringing Lisa along so he could have a bed partner, though she sensed he knew a good woman when he saw one. He just couldn’t commit, or be responsible. Lisa did whatever he asked, trying so hard to please him, yet his affection was capricious and based on his mood. He never responded to her. They’d had many talks about Curtis, but Debbie never could convince Lisa he was no good. Him walking away was the best thing that could happen to Lisa. But now, this kiss—no, no. Lisa was just vulnerable. She didn’t know what she was saying. A feeling of nurturing—that of a big sister—rolled over Debbie. The kiss meant nothing, and she would stand with her friend until Lisa’s broken heart was mended.

  Robert Young lived a quiet life—if a neurosurgeon could ever be said to have a quiet moment—in New Haven, Massachusetts. The Medical Center had almost doubled in the two years between Debbie being hired and Robert’s arrival. After he had completed his residency there, Dr. John Meyer recruited Robert—number one in his class at Harvard—as a lead surgeon, assigning his team to Robert. John had taken the position of Director of the Neurology Department. He would still be involved with patients but not on a regular basis
.

  Dr. Young was a certified neurologist and had a doctorate in psychology. Dr. Meyer was taken by his skills and his kind bedside manner. Robert would work well with Debbie; Maggie, the psychologist; and Aaron (a gentle-giant black man), the physical therapist: Robert’s new team.

  The hospital became known as the top neurology center in the New England area, and both doctors were renowned for their exemplary skills.

  After three years, two more neurology surgical teams were added to the hospital staff. All on Robert’s team worked well together, and they became good friends. John had taken Robert under his wing, and the two men became close.

  The hospital was almost constantly being expanded. The latest addition was the short-term rehab wing, four floors each with five rooms. Across the main street into town, a parking garage was built with a walkway connecting the hospital on the fourth floor of the rehab area. The top two parking floors were reserved for hospital staff. On the other side of the garage, a nice midsize condo building went up, also using a private part of the garage. Robert purchased one of the two-bedroom condos.

  Debbie often teased him about living so close, a five-minute commute walking through the garage. She said he would never have a personal life. But Robert was satisfied with what he was doing. He loved his job and the people he worked with. He didn’t even notice when another doctor, a lovely French-Egyptian woman, showed interest. It appeared to Debbie the female doctor was attracted to him by the way her big, exotic brown eyes looked into his. And her deep voice with the amazing accent was sexy. How could Robert not notice the obvious advances? But he seemed clueless. Debbie wondered if she should say something, but she then decided Sevigny was too sophisticated for Robert, too interested in social life, travel, and culture—all things that Robert appeared not to care about at all.

  Robert had been found wandering along a highway near the Canadian border not too far from Buffalo, NY, when he was six. There was evidence he had been in some kind of accident and had been walking for days before the authorities found him battered and bruised with the imprints of seatbelts across his chest. At first, he didn’t talk at all, and then he would only tell them his name was Robert. No one in the area in the US or Canada had reported him missing. After several months of investigating, he was put into the foster system.