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  Debbie almost had the bunting off the baby. “It’s okay; she canceled. Good you’re here. We can have a nice lunch together.”

  “Canceled, why? I thought you two were going to catch up.”

  “I’m not sure why. Doesn’t matter.” Debbie brushed her hand gently on the little boy’s soft head and talked baby talk to him. Gini sat down next to her and opened her eyes and her palm wide, then spread her fingers out and did as Debbie was doing.

  Lisa could clearly see the disappointment in Debbie’s face, but she had to admit she was relieved that Debbie’s old lover wasn’t coming. Debbie had told her stories about how Micky had helped her come out. Debbie was grateful, but sad that their relationship had not lasted. Lisa felt Debbie was upset with herself for not going to Micky, instead choosing the job she wanted. She blamed herself for the breakup. Although Lisa had never met the woman, she didn’t like her mainly because she triggered Debbie’s self-doubt and insecurity. She’d never seen that defeated look from Debbie except when she talked about Micky.

  “Lah… uff, bay… be, tim… me. Bay… be, boy, lees… see. Lah… uff, bay… be.”

  Lisa fed Timmy, and then the three women started setting the table and getting ready to eat.

  “Looks delish,” Lisa said.

  The house phone rang, and Howard told Debbie a Michelle Lawrence was there.

  Debbie took a quick breath at the announcement. She had completely relaxed, but suddenly the butterflies were fluttering furiously in her stomach again. “Please, Howard, send her up.”

  If it wasn’t enough of a surprise that Micky showed up after canceling, when Debbie opened the door, there Micky stood with her arm around another woman, Reba. Debbie had met her on the cruise, one of Micky’s group, but she’d had no idea Micky and Reba were together.

  A deep feeling of admiration came over Debbie each time she saw Micky’s tall, majestic stature; and to the other side, her feelings about her own inferiority screamed out. She wanted to throw her arms around Micky, but with Reba close to her side, she didn’t dare.

  Reba had always been impeccably dressed on the cruise, and she was no different now, standing there looking beautiful next to Micky. How could Debbie compete?

  “Hi, bunny.” Micky reached over and hugged Debbie with one arm. “You remember Reba?”

  “Yes, of course, please come in.”

  “We were looking at an apartment in the neighborhood and our next showing canceled, so here we are!” Micky raised her free hand up in the air—surprise.

  There was that Debbie body language Lisa remembered when Micky’s name was mentioned.

  When they walked in, Micky saw Timmy sleeping in his stroller. Lisa was standing next to him with her arm around Gini. Gini made her way to Debbie and hugged her. “Dee… bee, lah… uff.”

  “You must be Gini,” Micky said, putting her hand under Gini’s chin. “I’ve heard so many wonderful stories about you.”

  “Oh… yes!” Gini hugged closer to Debbie.

  Then Micky looked at Lisa and back at Debbie. “Deb, you didn’t tell me you had a family.”

  “Oh, sugar, look how cute.” Reba pulled out of Micky’s arm and squatted next to the stroller. “Boy or girl?”

  “Boy,” Gini and Lisa said at the same time.

  “And you are?” Micky asked.

  “Lisa, Debbie’s best friend.”

  Lisa’s tone was a little indignant. Timmy was obviously dressed as a boy in a blue coverall with a baseball cap patch on the front. The vibe in the room was very strange, like an unwanted invasion—Debbie was stiff and guarded.

  “Micky, we need one of these,” Reba said quietly, not wanting to disturb the baby sleeping.

  “He’s mine,” Lisa said. “My husband’s and my son.”

  “Oh, okay.” Micky looked at Debbie. “Bunny, how did you ever afford to get such a fabulous place?” Micky rubbed her hand along the walk-in bar on her way to look out the window. “And what a great view.”

  “This is Gini’s condo,” Debbie said, taking hold of Gini’s hand. “I moved in here with her when she was released from the hospital.”

  “Rob… ber, be… uff, hus… band.”

  “Yes, and now she lives here with her husband, Dr. Robert Young, and me.”

  Micky turned to face Debbie. “Wow, all I can say is great digs.”

  “Lisa came into town for lunch. You’re just in time. We were about to sit down to eat.”

  Lisa quickly, with her fairy-like steps, went and set two more places at the table. Debbie took the seafood salad to the dining room, and dished the lobster bisque, starting with Micky, then placed the tureen next to herself when she was done. The five ladies all sat down. The conversation was slow at first, with many awkward silences, but once they started talking about the cruise, the chatter never stopped.

  “Oh, y’all, that was a marvelous time. Micky and I fell in love on the high seas. So wonderful,” Reba said. She had a smooth, sweet Southern accent.

  Lisa saw the look on Debbie’s face when Reba announced the cruise was her love boat with Micky.

  Debbie felt a deep pang of hurt. She had thought she and Micky were reconnecting on that ship when all the time Micky was sleeping with Reba. How did she miss the signs that they were lovers?

  “Now, cookie, you know we didn’t really get together until we got back to Florida. Deb, you should have seen the hotel we stayed in after the trip. Fabulous!”

  Reba was watching Gini carefully pick up breadsticks from her plate. Sometimes her eyes were open, but most of the time they were closed. Debbie fed Gini the bisque and salad.

  “So, Gini,” Micky started. “I hear you were in Mexico when we were on our cruise.”

  “Oh… yes. Fa… lie, lie…” Gini swallowed hard, put her head down for a second, lifted it up and said as plain as ever, “fly like a bird.”

  Debbie leaned over and kissed her next to her eye. “Perfect,” she said.

  Micky and Reba seemed puzzled and looked to Debbie for some help on the statement.

  Gini started signing. She told the whole story of parasailing, flying over the water, the villages, and dolphins. All the women sat patiently quiet, listening to Debbie’s interpretation of the words about the adventure as Gini slowly moved her fingers to sign, occasionally saying the word at the same time. Even if Gini stopped, Debbie went on with the story, knowing it so well. Gini constantly talked about flying.

  “Gini, I love that story every time I hear it,” Lisa said. “And you are going so fast with your signing, I have a hard time keeping up.” She turned to Micky. “We never thought Gini would spend any time out of a bed hooked up to machines. And look at her! She walks and talks.”

  “An… fly.”

  “Yes, and she flies with her husband. I mean, she’s married and having a wonderful life.”

  “Lah… uff, Dee… bee.”

  “You’re right, Gini, it’s partly because of Debbie’s great therapy, but mostly because of your will to live.” Lisa reached over and side-hugged Gini.

  “Oh, my,” Reba sighed, daintily wiping the corners of her eyes with her napkin. “That is so uplifting, Gini. I love strong women like you, not letting anything get in your way. Angel, I’m so happy for you.”

  Micky reached over and patted Reba’s hand.

  At that point, Debbie felt gaggy. Reba was just too sweet, that fake sweet that Debbie disliked—she hated fake anything.

  After eating, and clearing the table, Debbie served small assorted cookies and coffee in the living room.

  “Deb, your coffee,” Micky said, closing her eyes to savor the taste. “I so miss your delicious coffee.”

  The door slammed, and Robert walked into the room. “Oh!” He abruptly stopped. “I think I’m interrupting something.”

  Gini went to him and they hugged.

  “Robert, this is my friend from college, Micky, and her friend Reba.”

  “Nice to meet you.” He ran his hand down Gini’s soft curls, then
leaned down and kissed her forehead.

  “Tole… uff, fly.”

  He gave a small laugh. “The highlight of our honeymoon.”

  “Great story,” Reba said. “I admire Gini so much.”

  “Well, I’ll excuse myself and let you ladies go on with your afternoon.”

  He turned to walk to the bedroom, and Gini never let go of him.

  Debbie smiled when she heard Gini say as they approached the bedroom door, “lah… uff… make, on, hone… moon.”

  Robert leaned down squeezing her tight. “Shh, that’s our secret.”

  None of the other women heard.

  “Wow, bunny, the doctor is a, well, a real man.”

  Debbie burst out laughing. “Yes, he is. Strangely enough, we have been good friends for a long time. We worked on the same neurology team at New Haven Med Center. That’s where Gini was taken when she had her accident. Then he fell in love with her, and I became her guardian. You remember the story.”

  “Yes, fabulous! Isn’t it weird living with a man?”

  “No, not really. We work in tandem doing housework, shopping, cooking, and taking care of Gini. It’s my job.”

  “Don’t make the mistake I made marrying a friend just to be a normal woman,” Micky said. She gave Debbie a warning look.

  Debbie quickly looked away. “We are not married, not getting married; I am Gini’s nurse, that’s all.” Why was she feeling so defensive? The setup was not a suspicious one.

  Lisa didn’t like the way Micky was drilling Debbie. She stood to go to Debbie’s defense—

  “She’s so sweet, like an angelic child,” Reba said. “Debbie, you must be an amazing therapist.”

  The tension in the room immediately cleared with Reba’s slow Southern drawl. Lisa was proud of Gini and she knew a lot of Gini’s success was because of her good friend—best nurse ever—Debbie. Lisa went to Debbie and hugged her.

  “Trust me, Gini has her weaknesses, but she’s all woman,” Debbie said, running her hand down Lisa’s arm after the hug.

  Lisa’s phone cooed like a baby. “Oh, there’s Lenny,” Lisa said, looking at the text. “He’s downstairs waiting for me.”

  Lisa got all of Timmy’s things together and put on her coat. Reba held the baby while Debbie got him all bundled up.

  “It was nice meeting you.” Lisa wrapped her scarf around her neck and head.

  Debbie lowered the baby into the stroller and strapped him in, then pushed it toward Lisa. Lisa stood taller and kissed Debbie on the cheek. “Thanks for lunch, it was fun.” She smiled a silly smile. Debbie laughed.

  When she walked Lisa to the door, Lisa decided to show Micky that Debbie was loved. She turned and kissed Debbie on the lips and then went to the elevator. Both Micky and Reba were standing back watching Lisa leave.

  The three of them went back to the living room. “You mentioned something about an apartment,” Debbie said, feeling a bit awkward after the kiss.

  “I’m starting school here in a month, Boston College, to get my master’s and nurse practitioner’s degree.”

  “Oh…?”

  “So Reba and I are looking for an apartment. It’s a two-year program. I’ve saved some money over the years, and I decided if I was going to do it, I’d better do it now.”

  “That’s great.”

  Micky looked at her phone. “Got to get going. The agent’s on her way to take us to another showing.”

  Debbie got them their coats and walked them to the elevator.

  “This was fun. We’ll be seeing a lot of each other, I think.” Micky put her palm on the side of Debbie’s face. “I love your hair; you look fantastic.” She leaned forward and planted a big kiss on Debbie’s lips.

  “I’ve missed you, Deb. Love your new life here.” The elevator started to close. “See you soon, bunny.”

  Debbie stood staring at the metal doors. She rubbed her lips. Both Lisa and Micky had kissed them. She closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. What was happening? She blew out some air and returned to the condo.

  Robert was walking out of the bedroom. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, they’ve all left.”

  “Your friends seemed nice. I sense you are perplexed.”

  “Robert.” She sighed. “Micky and I were once lovers.”

  “Oh…”

  “She just happened to be on the cruise. Neither of us knew the other was going to be there. And, well, I thought we had… Never mind. She’s with Reba now.”

  He went over and gave her a quick side hug. He could tell she was disappointed.

  Chapter 3—Surprise

  Robert continued to divide his time between two jobs at the hospital: neurosurgery and head of the hospital board finance committee. Most of the board meetings were at the medical center, and a few were in Boston with financial institutions. Those days Robert usually got home early. Of late, Robert was spending a lot of hours at the hospital. The neurology department had been inundated with patients. A new wing for surgery and patient care would be opened in March to handle the overflow. Almost immediately after Gini and Robert’s honeymoon, both he and John were back to doing surgery on a regular basis to keep up with the demand, resulting in many late nights for Robert. Often, he left way before Gini woke up and returned home long after she had gone to sleep, spending several days at a time without seeing her awake. He was also tiring of the long commutes on bad winter nights and days.

  Debbie tried to encourage Gini to take longer naps so she could stay up later, but nearly midnight was too late for Gini under any condition. Gini started getting moody, and Debbie knew it was because she missed being with Robert.

  One Thursday night in late January, Robert found Debbie asleep in the chair with a book in her lap when he arrived at a little after 1 a.m.

  “Oh! Robert.” She sat up quickly.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “No, no, that’s okay. I must have dozed off. What time is it, anyway?” She was surprised when she saw it was after midnight.

  “Robert, it’s so late. How long is this going to go on?”

  He took a deep breath and ran his hand over his hair. “I don’t know. John has some good neurosurgeon candidates for two teams. But then he’ll have to find the nurse, psychologist, and therapist for each. And now, he’s saying two teams probably won’t cut it. I want to be there to help, but I also want to be with my wife.” He sat down on the couch without taking his coat off.

  “What can I do for you?” Debbie asked, more alert.

  “Nothing, go to bed. That’s where I’m headed.”

  As he got in bed, Gini turned over to face him. “Rob… ber?”

  “Yes, sweetheart. Go back to sleep. I’m home safe and sound.”

  “Rob… ber, lah… uff.”

  “I love you too, Guiney, now go back to sleep.”

  When he lay next to her, she reached over and kissed him. “Hmm... Love those kisses.”

  Within minutes they were twisting and groaning and heated in passion. “Gini,” he cried. “Ahh... you… you… oh, ah… Gin… I—can… ah…”

  Later, he ran his fingers through her curly hair over and over while she slept. He felt a similar emotion as when they’d had their first intimate moments in Mexico. He was so full of love for her. How did he get so lucky? Eventually, he fell into a deep sleep.

  The next morning, Gini went into the bathroom and then climbed over him to get back in bed. He smiled at her taking care of herself and reached over to put his arms around her.

  “No, be… uff, tuss,” she cried out, moving away from him, and pulled her legs up tight to her chest. “No, be… uff, touch!”

  “Sweetheart, what is it? I didn’t hurt you earlier, did I? Please, Gini, tell me what’s wrong.”

  Gini just pulled tighter into a ball and moved away from his hand each time he put it on her. His phone started ringing on the night table.

  “Gini, please, I love you.”

  The caller ID showed
J Meyer.

  “What is it?” Robert asked when he answered.

  “Your patient has taken a turn for the worse. I’ll go take care of it, but I wanted you to be informed.”

  “No, I’ll be there. Give me a half hour.” Robert hung up.

  When he turned back, Gini was sound asleep, still with her knees up, but her head was back and her mouth open, as she always slept. He put his arms around her and kissed her on the cheek. He didn’t want to go, but he knew she’d be out for several more hours. He lay there for a few more minutes enjoying her warmth against his body. The emotion of their lovemaking once again tightened his throat. She was truly the love of his life—his soul mate.

  Once he was dressed and walking to the bedroom door, he got a text from John.

  We’re prepping your patient for surgery, more bleeding.

  Robert texted:

  I’m on the way.

  Debbie was sitting at the breakfast bar with a cup of coffee, reading the news on her tablet. “Robert, what are you doing up?”

  “My patient’s in bad shape—more surgery, I’m afraid.”

  “Can’t someone—”

  “Debbie, something is wrong with Gini. She wouldn’t let me touch her this morning. I’m… I’m afraid I might have hurt her in our lovemaking earlier. Please, will you check her out and let me know?” The whole time he talked he was gathering his bag and coat.

  “I will. Was she crying?”

  “No, I don’t think she was fully awake. I just want to make sure she’s okay.”

  “Robert, I doubt that you hurt her.”

  “I don’t know, sometimes we get a little crazy.” He patted her on the arm and then flew out the door.

  It was almost ten o’clock, and Gini was still sleeping. Debbie kept going in the room and checking on her, but she seemed to be peaceful, and Debbie knew she had been awake some of the night, so she didn’t disturb her.

  Debbie got a text from Robert asking about Gini. She reassured him Gini was fine. Maybe she’d had a bad dream. He said the surgery had been delayed until they could stabilize the patient, but they were about to start, and he’d probably be out of touch for a while.

  A few minutes later, Gini started moving on the bed.