Conflicts of the Heart (32 page)

“Oh, Mrs. Claiborne, come in.” The buzzer sounded, and Dana pushed open the double doors, bracing herself before entering.

The stark white unit had six beds down each side of the room flanked by the busy nurses' station at the end. Compared to other units, ICU had double the number of staff per patient. Nurses and doctors moved about methodically performing their tasks. Dana spotted Patrick in a bed next to the nurses' station. Her breath seemed to have solidified in her throat. She told herself, he’s the union rep injured in a fracas outside the hospital. I’m the personnel director in charge of negotiations. I'm here to check on his condition so I can give my administrator a full report. A clear-cut simple procedure. That's all you're doing. This is not the man you're in love with.

She strolled up to the head nurse and cleared her throat. “I'm here to follow-up on Patrick Mitchell.”

“I was expecting you.” A young, slender nurse, with a navy blue sweater slung over her shoulders and a chart in her hand, led Dana to Patrick's bedside.

He looked so peaceful lying there with his eyes closed, his shoulders, and chest bare. A monitor beeped rhythmically next to his bed. IVs in both arms medicated and fed him just as she’d pictured earlier. Her heart went out to him. Why had this happened? These outbreaks during a strike were archaic to her.
Only someone as desperate as Teal would instigate a physical altercation like this.

“His vitals are stable. Dr. Norman, the neurologist, is due any moment. Would you like to speak with him when he arrives?”

“No. I'll wait for a report.”

“I must meet with the administrator shortly. I wanted to give him a report.

“Mr. Hargrove was here a few moments ago. Said he was headed to his office.”

Dana turned to leave, stopped, and laid her fingers on Patrick's
hand. He felt overly warm, breathing erratically, his face colorless. She glanced up at the nurse, swallowed hard then left.

Downstairs in administration, Gil's office door was open, no secretary guarding his sanctuary that late in the evening. He sat behind his desk in an open-collared shirt, wearing a baggy brown sweater, looking more like a grandfather than an administrator. Teal sat in the chair by his desk. Startled, Dana stepped back to catch her breath and eavesdrop.

“Well, Gil, I guess you should know Dana authorized my coming in here to solicit.” She paused.

Dana's flesh crawled as she refrained from breaking in on their conversation to defend herself.

“I think she was afraid I’d tell you about her affair with Patrick Mitchell.”

“I'm already aware of that, Miss DeLuca.”

What? He knows. How could that be? She'd been so cautious.

“You don't care?”

“It's none of my business…if it doesn't interfere with her work.” Dana could hear his chair creak as he pushed it away from his desk. “Now, if you don't have anything else, I have some urgent business.”

“No, that's about all the most important stuff.”

Unable to hold back any longer, Dana moved to the center of Gil's open door.

He saw her. “Come in.” Teal turned and smiled.

“Teal was just telling me that you gave her permission to come in and get her signature cards.”

“I did, indeed, Gil. I told her that she could come into the cafeteria anytime, just like Patrick and the rest of them do.”

Teal shot up from her seat. “That's a lie. You told me over at the coast Patrick's contract had expired, you were at a stalemate in negotiations and I could come in anytime I wanted and do what I needed to get an election. You even said it might put a fire under Patrick.” Her trembling almost convinced Dana that's what happened.

Gil, apparently sensing the conflict
betweenthetwowomen, raised a palm in the air. “Enough. Teal, if you'll excuse us, Dana and I have much to talk about.”

Dana remained near the door, counting her rapid, thudding heartbeats in her ear.

“Have you been up to see Patrick Mitchell?” Gil asked in a curt tone.

“Yes. I just came from there. Dr. Norman was on his way in to see him.”

Teal grabbed her purse from the floor. “I have everything documented here in this envelope.” She tossed it on Gil's desk. “Look it over in your spare time. It outlines my position on this matter. I have things to do before the election.”

“There won't be an election,” Dana said.

Teal blanched. “Whaddya mean?”

“Just that.
I'm canceling it until Patrick Mitchell has recovered and can be a part of the process.”

“You can't do that.”

“As soon as I finish here, I'm going to my office and prepare a memo to go out to the staff. I'll notify the state conciliatory board first thing in the morning.”

Teal turned to Gil, who had returned to his chair, rolling his thumbs over each other, wearing a cocky smile on his face. “What Dana’s doing is appropriate. You’ll stand a better chance if you wait until the dust settles.”

“I'll call you about that envelope. I plan to file charges. It's a copy. You can keep it.” Teal huffed out.

Silence engulfed Gil's office. Dana feared explaining her affair with Patrick to the man she should have confided in from the beginning. She had let this man down, the one person who cared so much for her happiness and future success.

She settled into the chair Teal had just vacated. “How did you find out?”

“I saw you and Patrick at Shaver Lake. Brenda and I waved but Patrick turned the boat around and took off toward the opposite end of the lake.”

“He saw you?”

“He certainly did. It looked like you were lying down and Michael was fishing next to Patrick.”

“I didn't see you. I must have been dozing. What I don't understand is why Patrick didn't tell me.”

“I guess he hadn't anticipated being seen so far from home. We must have shaken him up a little.

“What I don't understand is why you felt you couldn't confide in me. You must have known something like this can't be kept a secret in a town this size? You know, the board has wind of the rumors already, and now they're suspicious you and Patrick have been in cahoots all along.”

“That's absurd.” She bolted up from her seat. “We didn’t discuss the contract outside the hospital. What are you trying to tell me?”

After a brief pause, Gil got up and came around his desk to her. “Right now, I don't know what it means. I think you should go ahead and call off the election, then go home and get some sleep. We'll talk about all this tomorrow.”

She turned and left him standing in the doorway. She missed his usual hug.

In her darkened office, she sat behind her desk, nibbling on the end of a pen, wondering about her future. She had screwed up her life. She had no one to blame but herself. Everything she set out to do was falling down around her. Now her mentor and ally probably didn’t trust her. Would he ever forgive her? Had she blown her chance at the administrator post? Even Patrick, lying unconscious upstairs, had let her down. He didn't even have enough faith in her to tell her that someone had seen them together that day at the lake.

If she didn’t take charge of her life, she’d sink into an abyss and never get out. She flipped on her desk lamp, scribbled a note to all employees announcing the election between PNA and Local 281 was canceled until further notice. Then she wrote a note asking Ann to notify the state conciliation board of the change.

After making fifty copies of her memo, she called the mailroom and asked to have them hand delivered to each unit, pronto. She left the stack on Maria's desk, went back to her office, and dialed Joel's number. Until a judge changed Michael's custody formally, she wouldn't submit him to any further harassment from his father. “Did I awaken you?” she asked following Joel's abrupt answer.

“No. I was expecting your call. I’ve had two calls from the sheriff. I was going to come over, but before I could leave, they said that they'd found him. You are getting careless, my dear. How is Michael doing?”

“I just called to tell you that he is doing fine. It took you long enough to call and ask.”

“What was I supposed to do? It seems it all ended fairly quickly.”

“Joel, you’re too much. Oh, I won't be sending Michael to you this weekend.”

“You're missing the point.”

“No, Joel. I got the point. Goodnight.”

Twenty Two

When Dana awakened the next morning, she called the hospital for a report on Patrick's condition.

“He was discharged this morning.”

“How could he have recovered so quickly?”

“He regained consciousness late last night. His tests showed a mild concussion. We downgraded his condition and moved him to another unit. He just up and discharged himself. We gave him instructions if any symptoms like headaches, upset stomach or feeling faint occurred in the next twenty four hours, he must come back.”

“Thank you, Millie.” Instead of lying around feeling sorry for herself, she sprang up.

Two hours later, in her office, the door swung open. Teal strolled in, her hair just done, a new tight-fitting suit and freshly manicured nails, now more elegant than ever. “What can I do for you?”

“I want to make a deal.”

“Like what?” She aroused Dana’s curiosity.

“Like if I give you some very important information that will change your life, you'll withdraw any charges against me and let the election proceed.”

“I wish I could help you, but I can't.”

“What if the information I have would settle your differences with Joel?”

Startled, she sucked in a deep breath. Containing her curiosity, she rocked in her chair for a moment. “It's too late. The election has been officially scratched until further notice.”

“You don't waste much time, do you?” Teal slammed her hand down on Dana’s desk.

“Maybe that's the part of our personalities that drew us to each other.” She paused, trying not to sound overanxious. “So, what do you know about my ex-husband that might be of interest to me?”

“If you can't help me, then nothing.” She headed for the door. “See you in court.”

“Wait!” Dana said louder than she’d intended. “If you know something about Joel, I think you'd better tell me.”

Teal turned, her back to the door, hanging on to the handle. “Nothing for nothing, sweetie. If you'll help me, I'll help you. Believe me, the information I have will help you.”

Now the pieces were falling into place. Patrick had seen Teal at the Casa de
Fruta. She and Joel really were in cahoots.

“You can reschedule the election in two weeks,” Teal informed her. “I know the rules. I also
know you have the clout with the big boys downstairs to withdraw any charges against me.”

Dana gave in out of curiosity, and strongly suspected Teal knew it. Teal edged her way back into the office and took her seat.

“What if I said I'd reschedule the election but not stop filing charges against you?”

“I'd say we don't have a deal.”

Since the decision to file charges against Teal wasn’t totally hers, she was stymied. If Gil or any of the board members chose to, they could order Dana to file the complaint.

“What if I were to personally go to the board and exonerate you from any involvement in my activities on the units? Say, throw myself at their mercy. Then if you'll reschedule the election and promise me that you'll do everything in your power to stop any action, I'll tell you what I know.”

If Teal knew something that would help Dana, she had to do whatever she could. “All right. I can't speak for my principals. You honestly think you have the clout to influence my superiors?”

“More than enough.
I’ll put on one helluva performance, so no telling what kind of support I might get.”

“All right.
You’ve got a deal.” Dana cringed inside. “You'll get your chance to tell your side. Now tell me what you know.”

“Buzz Maria and tell her to hold your calls. We'll need a few minutes without interruptions.”

Dana did. “Okay, lay it on me.”

Teal leaned against the windowsill. “You never knew how much I hated you through the years, but I couldn't help myself. You always had everything, and you made me feel like your hand-me-down--”

“Teal, what are you saying?”

“Let's not get into any psychology crap right now. If you want to know what makes me tick, we can talk about it some other time. That night in your apartment, when we found the shoebox filled with all those receipts and canceled checks, you told me what you planned to do with them. I decided Joel needed an ally. So I went to him.”

Dana felt shockwaves coursing through her.

“I figured he needed a little ammunition too.”