Dreaming of Forever (4 page)

Chapter 7

On Saturday morning at around six-thirty the sun was shining into her room. Ashley hadn't thought about pulling the shade down. Sighing heavily she tried to pull the pillows up over her head so that it was dark once again. Not only had the sun woken her up but she heard a rooster crowing loudly.

Getting dressed in a pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt she went to go fix her hair and get ready for the day.

When she was ready, Ashley went out to the barn looking for Sara. She found her scrubbing down a black horse.

“Good morning.” Ashley said, startling Sara.

“Sorry. Good morning. I wasn't expecting you to be up so early,” she said, turning around to face Ashley.

“The sun woke me. The rooster too,” Ashley admitted.

“Sorry about that. Did you sleep okay?” Sara asked.

“I slept really well actually.”

“It's so quiet out here. That probably helped,” Sara said.

“So how many horses do you have here?” Ashley asked as Sara was finishing up with the black horse.

“I started out with three of them and I’ve bought a new horse every year since. I have seven so far,” Sara said with a smile.

“You must need a lot of help with them every day.” Seven horses had to be a lot to keep up with and take care of.

“I have two college students that come out on the weekends. They’re a big help.”

“That’s good,” Ashley said, walking out of the barn alongside Sara.

“Are you hungry? I was going to make some eggs.”

“I'm starving,” Ashley told her. “You do a good job taking care of them,” motioning towards the horses.

“Thank you. I have to do it all again tonight. Well, I’ll have some help. You wouldn't believe how much a horse can eat in one day,” Sara said walking into the kitchen. She took some eggs and bacon out of the fridge.

“You have a really nice home here Sara,” Ashley said, looking around her and noticing certain details for the first time. “I love log cabins and I think this is the first one I’ve seen that doesn't have deer or moose heads hanging on the walls. Or antlers hanging from the ceiling.

“Well, I don't like hunting,” Sara said looking up from her frying pan.

“Did you build the cabin yourself?” Ashley asked.

Sara brought two heaped plates over to the breakfast bar. “No, not the cabin. I actually found it online and had to come take a look at it. I fell in love with the cabin as soon as I got here.”

“So the barn and the stables weren't here?” Ashley asked her.

“It was just the cabin but it had the potential for the big dreams that I had to turn this place into a riding school,” Sara explained.

“Thanks for breakfast. That was delicious.”

“No problem. So are you ready for another riding lesson today?” Sara asked.

“Sure.”

****

After a long day on the trails, Ashley was tired but content.

“Do you want to eat out for dinner tonight?” Sara asked.

“Yeah, I’d love to.”

“Good, I’ll take you to one of my favorite restaurants,” Sara said, smiling at her.

“I’ll just have a shower. I won’t be long.”

An hour later, they were pulling up in front of an Italian restaurant in Pueblo.

“Why haven't you been asking me questions all day?” Sara asked, picking up a slice of garlic bread.

“You’ve had a rough couple of days. You’ll tell me when the time is right. After all, you’re the one who came to me this time.”

“Okay, how about you start out with a few easy questions. That way I can ease myself into it,” Sara suggested.

“Alright, do you want to start right now or after dinner?” Ashley didn't want to disturb their meal.

“Let’s start right now,” Sara said her with a small smile, trying to reassure her.

“Okay. How about starting with your family?” Ashley asked. “Do they support your new life as a horse riding instructor?”

“They’re happy knowing that I can support myself and that I have something to fall back on since the hospital. The one thing that they really don't like is that I live so far now and they don't get to see me as much as they use to.” Sara knew that was a pretty easy question but she found it easy to talk to Ashley.

“What about your personal life? How did they react to you having a girlfriend?” Ashley asked.

“They were really supportive. They told me that they would love me no matter. They were my rock during the trial. They’re the reason why I have so much confidence in myself. From a young age they always told me that I could be anything that I wanted to be.” Sara smiled, thinking about how lucky she was to have such an extraordinary family.

“Is there anything else you wanted to be when you were growing up or did you always want to be a surgeon?” Ashley found herself genuinely wanting to know who Sara was.

“I wanted to be a vet when I was a kid. I’ve always loved animals and I guess it just evolved into wanting to help people,” Sara explained.

“Okay. This is going to be a more difficult question,” Ashley warned her. “How did you meet Zach Ellis?” She wasn't sure that Sara would answer her.

“You know, people always forget about the good things you’ve accomplished. Before I met Zach Ellis I was doing surgery on players from almost every sport. I had a great reputation. That's why Zach's parents came to me about his shoulder. My work was flawless.” Sara paused for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts again. “Anyway, the Ellis family wanted the best for their son and they knew I had great success getting athletes back out on the field.” Sara had tears in her eyes, she wiped them away before she let them fall.

“Alright I think that’s enough for one day,” Ashley said, cutting their informal interview short. “We can pick up again tomorrow.” Ashley could see that talking about Zach was difficult for Sara.

“So have you always wanted to become a journalist?” Sara asked her, trying to take her mind off of the past.

“Always. I went to school for journalism. I first started out with reporting the local news which wasn’t what I really wanted to do. My heart was set on the sports section. I love sports but if it wasn't for my friend, Jason, I wouldn't have landed the job I have now.”

“So how long have you been working for this newspaper?” Sara asked her.

“Ten years but only four years writing for the sports section.”

“You haven't written about me then. I was in the papers over five years ago,” Sara told her.

“I was doing local news then,” Ashley said, giving her a sad smile.

“I'm glad that you’re the one who came to my door looking for me. I knew just by looking at you that you had a kind heart.” Sara reached across the table for Ashley's hand and gave it a small squeeze.

Chapter 8

When Ashley woke up the next morning, she looked at the small alarm clock on the night stand beside the bed and couldn't believe that it was eleven in the morning. Wondering why Sara didn't wake her up she climbed out of bed and threw on a pair of jeans and white t shirt.

In the living room, Sara was looking over some paper work, taking a sip of her coffee.

“There's some fresh coffee if you want some,” Sara told her, taking a second to look at her and then went back to the paperwork she was looking at.

“Sorry I slept in so late. I can't believe it's eleven. I haven't slept in like that since I don't know when,” Ashley apologized to her.

“Don't worry about it. I'm barely even dressed.” Sara was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a black tank top.

“Do you mind if I grab some fruit?” Ashley asked her, looking over at the oranges, apples and pears in a bowl on the counter. She found a mug in the cupboard and began pouring a cup of coffee for herself.

“Help yourself.”

Ashley went into the living room and sat down next to Sara who looked like she was really concentrating on the paperwork in front of her. Sara put the stack of papers aside.

“We don't have to start right away,” Ashley said, sensing that Sara might not be ready yet. “You can finish what you're doing. I'm not in a hurry.”

“I can't put this off any longer. I want to get this done so that you can put it in the paper for this week.”

“Alright, just give me a second.” Ashley got up from the couch and went to the guest bedroom. Rummaging through the overnight bag she pulled out her tape recorder.

Returning to the living room she turned the tape recorder on and put it down on the coffee table.

“At what point did you know that there might be a complication with the surgery on Zach Ellis's shoulder?” Ashley asked.

“His very first surgery ten years ago was a complete success for him. Nothing went wrong and we were all happy with the outcome. It was later when Zach Ellis came to me again when he was in the NFL. He was taking more hits to his bad shoulder. He was suffering from chronic pain, so he wanted a second surgery to take away the pain. It looked like it was a complete success until he came back to me a few weeks later with some swelling to his shoulder. I told him it looked like arthritis but of course he didn't want to hear that. What player wants to hear something like that? Especially in the prime of his career? He was furious,” Sara recalled.

“What happened next?”

“Well he ended up blaming me and the next thing I knew I was getting a call from his lawyer. I offered to get him a second opinion if he chose to. I knew what it was but maybe if he had heard it from another doctor he wouldn't be so angry. He decided that he didn't want a second opinion at all. He didn't even want to talk about it. He just went and hired a lawyer. All of a sudden they found an expert who was saying that the swelling and the extreme pain was from the last surgery that I had done on him. Of course the finger was pointed at me. I was the surgeon. The way it felt to me was that the jury was already on his side to begin with. I didn't stand a chance. I knew it in my heart that I couldn't have done anything else to help him.” Sara sighed heavily. She looked like she was going to cry. Ashley pushed on, trying to stay professional even though she felt awful.

“Do you feel that your side of the case was presented accurately?” Ashley asked.

“Yes, the arthritis that he has is called septic arthritis and I don't believe that it was caused by a shoulder injury during football. Zach's father is from upstate New York. They go hunting twice a year. I believe the arthritis and pain was caused by Lyme disease. Lyme disease and deer ticks are a huge problem there,” Sara told her.

“But the jury sided with Zach Ellis?”

“Right. Since the jury sided with him and he won the trial, I lost my license and of course my job at the hospital.”

“Why didn't you appeal the case if you thought you were innocent?” Ashley had to keep her professionalism in check. She wanted to reach over and give Sara a hug letting her know that everything was going to be okay

“It was a rough time in my life. I was thirty-six at the time of the trial. My seven year relationship with a woman that I was madly in love with and who I thought I’d spend the rest of my life with was coming to an end. The trial lasted about six months. The stress and my depression drove us apart. Then there was the media calling or waiting outside my apartment. I just couldn't put in an appeal. I couldn’t do it all over again knowing I would be on my own. I just walked away.” Sara wiped at her eyes. Her face was wet with tears.

“Are you okay?” Ashley finally asked.             

“I'm okay. It's just hard because I haven't thought about it in so long.”

“I'm sorry,” Ashley said, clearing her throat.

“I just wish that I could've talked to Zach and maybe he would see it from my point of view. Or I wish he would've reconsidered and asked for a second opinion. That might have changed everything. We would've been able to avoid a trial. He was a really good kid but when he made it to the NFL he changed. Zach was hungry for fame and money. It all went to his head.”.

Ashley turned the tape recorder off. “I have everything I need for next Sunday's paper.”

“When do you have to leave for the airport?” Sara asked, really not wanting her to go. She didn’t want to be alone today.

“Six o'clock this evening,” Ashley said.

“We have time for another lesson if you want,” Sara offered.

“That sounds great. I’d love to.”

“Alright, well let me get dressed first and then we’ll go out to the stables,” Sara said.

“Take your time,” Ashley told her.

Once they were in the barn, Sara helped her up on the horse again. Ashley felt a spark between them when Sara touched her. She wished that she could've come out to Sara the night before. She knew that she should've said something during dinner. It would've been easy enough to slip into conversation.

Ashley’s heart was racing when Sara touched her but she was too scared to put it out there. She really couldn't take the chance that Sara might think that she was being unprofessional. That was the last thing she wanted her to think.