Things Remembered (37 page)

“Wow, that's great. What about the baby?”

“They're saying a month, but hoping it will be sooner.”

Karla glanced at her watch. A hundred doctors could tell her Anna was going to be all right and she would still have the tiny seed of doubt that had been planted when her parents died. She accepted miracles, but she didn't believe in them.

“I'm going to go back in,” she told Susan.

“You haven't eaten your sandwich.”

“I'll take it with me and eat it later.”

“If you don't take care of yourself, you're going to wind up in the hospital, too.”

Karla smiled. “Spoken like a true mother.”

“That doesn't mean I'm not right.”

“I'll eat something. I promise. Just as soon as I'm sure it will stay down.”

Susan swept the crumbs from her lap into the sandwich wrapper, crumpled it up, and put it back in the bag. “I'll be back this afternoon.”

“You don't have to do that. I know you must have a ton of things to do to get ready for Christmas. I appreciate the thought, but I'll be fine.”

“Speaking of Christmas . . . I almost forgot.” She reached inside the oversized bag she carried with her everywhere. “Cindy wanted me to give this to you.”

“Another drawing?” She was falling for that little girl in a big way.

“What else?” Susan smiled when she handed the folded paper to Karla.

Karla studied the picture, looking for clues. There were the obvious stick figures, but nothing else connected. “You're going to have to help me out here.”

“This is her new kitten. . . .”

“She has a new kitten?”

“The mother was run over by a car.”

It was all that needed to be said. “And what's this?” Karla pointed to what looked like a red snowman.

“Santa Claus. And those are his reindeer.”

Once everything was pointed out to Karla, it all came together. Cindy was in her holiday picture-making mode, determined to single-handedly decorate the worlds of the people she liked.

“And this goes with it.” Susan handed her another piece of paper. On it was written, I LOVE YOU ANNA. LOVE CINDY.

“She'll be so pleased. Tell Cindy I'll give it to her first thing when she wakes up.” Karla rewrapped her sandwich and slipped it into her purse. She stood to walk Susan to the door, looked up and saw Mark headed toward them.

Before he even said hello, he took Karla in his arms and gave her a hug and then a kiss—not the sympathetic, generic kind, but on the lips and lingering. She could see by the look Susan gave them that the hug didn't surprise her, maybe not even the kiss. What had undoubtedly put the self-satisfied grin on her face was Karla's ready acceptance and return of the affection.

Mark let Karla go but kept his arm around her shoulders. “How is Anna doing?” he asked them both.

“The same,” Karla said. She reached up to wipe rainwater from his forehead. “What are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming back until tonight.”

“I switched a couple of appointments.” He gave Susan a quick kiss and pointed to the bag in her hand. “Thanks for bringing her lunch. I was afraid I was going to have to hand-feed her to get her to eat.”

“You may still have to. All she's had is coffee.”

Karla looked from Susan to Mark. She was being taken care of—gently by Susan, proprietarily by Mark. The strange part was that she didn't mind. She almost thought she liked it. No one had taken care of her in a long time. No one had even tried. She felt like the wallflower who'd finally been asked to dance.

Mark said to Karla, “My mother and stepfather will be here on Friday to take care of Cindy over the weekend so I can spot you shifts with Anna.”

“They didn't have to come up,” Susan said. “Cindy could have stayed with us.”

“I know, but they liked the idea of having some time alone with her before Christmas, and my mom's been looking for an excuse to meet Karla.”

“You told your mother about me?” The simple fact held a world of meaning. “When?”

He grinned. “After our first date—well, actually our only real date. She told me any woman who would let me sing to her had to be tone-deaf or enamored and was someone she wanted to meet. She knows you won't have time this trip and asked me to be sure to give you and Anna her best wishes.”

“Are you staying now?” Susan asked.

Mark looked at his watch. “For another forty-five minutes. It's been a madhouse today. I've had two dogs that ate an entire three-pound box of chocolates, a cat that swallowed curling ribbon, and a bird that flew into a sliding glass door. This on top of a schedule full of regular appointments, and the day is only half over.”

“As much as I appreciate both of you being here with me, I think I can manage the afternoon alone. Especially now that I know Anna is going to be all right.”

Mark and Susan exchanged glances. Susan was the first to answer. “I'll make you a deal. I'll leave you alone if you promise you'll let me take over this evening. You need to get out of here, even if it's only for an hour or two.”

“Sounds good to me,” Mark said. “I'll be here to pick you up as soon as I can get away from the clinic.”

Again, they were taking care of her and she still didn't mind. “What about Cindy?”

“She and Bobby are going to a friend's house.”

“I really would like to take a shower,” Karla said. “I guess it wouldn't hurt if I left for a little while—as long as I'm here when Anna wakes up and she's still improving when I leave.”

Susan nodded. She hooked her purse over her shoulder. “Do you want me to bring you anything when I come back?”

She thought a minute. Whatever practical things she needed she could pick up for herself when she went to Anna's later. “Another picture from Cindy. Tell her I'm going to put this one up where Anna can see it when she wakes up.”

“Will do.” Susan gave her a quick hug, said good-bye to Mark, and left.

“I'm sorry I can't stay very long,” Mark said when they were alone.

“You'd be here if I really needed you.”

“I'm glad you know that.” He sat down and brought her with him. “I went by the house and picked up the messages. There was a breezy one from Grace saying she'd gotten home and was on her way to the airport and that she'd call again in a week or so.”

Karla had been worried Heather would call and get upset when she couldn't reach Anna, so she'd given Mark Anna's key so he could check the answering machine for her. “Did she leave a number?”

“As a matter of fact, she did. I have it right here.” He reached into his pocket and handed her a piece of paper from the tablet Anna kept by the phone.

“Nothing from Heather?”

He shook his head. “She may be waiting for Anna to call her.”

“Or Bill could have headed her off somehow.” Normally it was hard for her to sit as close as she and Mark were sitting for very long. Jim had accused her of being territorial and unaffectionate. She'd tried to make him understand that she was simply one of those people who needed a cushion of empty space around them to feel comfortable and that it had nothing to do with how she felt about him personally. But somehow, with Mark, it didn't bother her that the length of her thigh continued to rest against his or that he still held onto her hand. Had they not been in a public place, she probably would have moved even closer. Being in his arms brought her a comfort she felt with no one else.

“Did you ask the doctor how long she thought Anna would be here?”

“A week to ten days.”

“I know that it's still a little early to be thinking about this, but I wanted you to know that Susan and Allen and I will take care of Anna if and when you feel you have to get back to take care of things at the coffee shop.”

“I've decided I'm going to call Jim and ask him if he'll pinch-hit for me again.” She hadn't realized she'd made up her mind to do so until the words were out. “If I can't reach him, or if he's tied up and can't take over for me, I may have to take you up on your offer.”

“I hate to think of all the business you're losing. If you can't arrange something, it's going to be hard to win those customers back.”

Finally,
someone who understood. “I've worked so hard to get the shop where it is. It's like being hit in the stomach with a baseball bat to think all that work could be for nothing.” She didn't like the way that made her sound. It was important that Mark understand what she was trying to say. “I know what you're thinking. How can I be worried about the possibility I might lose business when Anna is—”

“Stop right there, Karla. One of the things I love about you is the passion you have for your work.”

He'd taken her off guard with the simple, potentially life-altering statement, and she was too surprised to say anything.

“Bad timing, I know. With everything else you've got going on in your life right now, I wanted to wait—at least until I could plead my case with champagne and caviar. But there it is. I love you, Karla.”

“You're out of your mind. You can't possibly love me. You hardly know me.”

“Tell me how long you think it should take and I'll wait that long before I tell you again.”

She stared at him looking for something that would tell her Mark was only trying to make her feel better, that in a fit of misguided kindness he'd decided this outrageous fabrication was the answer. What she saw was a love so pure and direct that it held no room for anything but his feelings for her.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she heard her father's voice telling her about the love that would come to her one day, how it would arrive so gently she wouldn't recognize it at first. Mark was everything she admired in a man. He carried the traits so integrally and effortlessly they were as much a part of him as his dark hair and blue eyes.

His kindness wasn't something he saved to bestow on those he felt worthy at special moments, it was in the things he did every day, the animals he rescued, the lunch that included Anna, the friendships he nurtured, the child he loved. He was sensitive and intuitive and had figured out before she had how desperately she needed someone to simply listen to her the night he canceled their dinner reservations and gave her a quiet evening in his home. He could have used her, easily, and with her permission that night. She was willing, even eager, to make love to him. But he had a sense of honor, a quality so old-fashioned and rare it was nearly unrecognizable anymore.

Mark was the quiet hero her father had told her about, the man she would be slow to recognize, the man who would bring her the love poets would be unable to find words to describe.

“Karla? Are you all right?” He put his hand on the back of her neck and brought her forward until their foreheads were touching. Softly, he added, “Too soon?”

She brought up her chin to kiss him, not caring that they were in the lobby of a hospital sitting in front of a window for all the world to see. “The beginning of forever.”

Chapter

28

Y
ou told me she was going to be all right,” Grace said accusingly, the words coming between hiccuped sobs.

Karla was dumbfounded at Grace's impassioned reaction to the news about Anna. After what had happened at Thanksgiving, she'd expected concern, not trauma. “She
is
going to be all right,” Karla repeated.

“I'm coming home.”

“That's crazy. There isn't anything you can do here. Besides, won't you lose your job if you leave? That's the last thing Anna would want.”

“Let me talk to her. I want to hear for myself that she's okay.”

“You can't talk to her yet.”

“Why not?”

Karla considered coming up with something to pacify Grace, but chose the truth instead. She needed her credibility. “She's still on the respirator.”

“She's on a respirator? My, God, she can't even breathe for herself and you're trying to tell me she's going to—”

“Calm down and listen to me. The respirator isn't because she
can't
breathe for herself, it's to make sure she gets plenty of oxygen while they reduce the fluid in her lungs.”

“She has fluid in her lungs?”

Karla leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. She wasn't handling this very well. She should have waited to call Grace when she'd had some sleep and her mind was sharper. She heard someone coming and looked up expectantly, thinking it might be Mark, even though she knew he wouldn't be there for hours yet. Her pleasure at having him with her had become a need, and her disappointment was acute when she saw that it was only another group of visitors headed for the maternity wing. “How long are you going to be in Florida?”