A Child's Heart (Trent & Cassie's Story) A River City Novel (18 page)

“Lots of places have that. I only get to use the ones
at the library, and they won’t let me stay on their computers very
long.”

“I’ll talk to Daddy about it.”

“What are you going to talk to me about?”

“My old computer. It’s probably five years old and
it’s heavy compared to my new one. Internet access seems to be a
slight problem.”

“An expensive problem. Dinner is almost ready.”

***

It was after dinner and when Shawn was in bed that
the three adults had the opportunity to seriously chat.

“Internet access isn’t that expensive,” Cassie
said.

“We can’t afford it,” Trent countered.

“But there are places where he can obtain access to
the Internet. Most public buildings have Internet access, and so do
the coffee shops and fast food restaurants. Certainly there are
plenty of places he can go. And he could always come to my
apartment. I’ll give you a key.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Trent’s mom said, a little
too emphatically.

“Mrs. Callahan, why do I detect that you don’t
approve of my presence?”

“My son is not a toy. He’s got plenty on his plate
right now, and you’re interfering.”

“Excuse me? How am I interfering? By offering your
grandson a computer?”

“Trent wouldn’t be having this surgery, if it weren’t
for you.”

“Mom, that’s not true. The doctor said this was the
final blow on an old problem. If it hadn’t happened then, it would
have happened while I was carrying a piece of stone. It’s been
bothering me a lot lately. I just kept figuring it would go
away.”

“You’re as bad as your father. Something in a skirt
smiles at you and you’re walking down the garden path. Getting
involved with Colleen was your first mistake.”

Cassie sat back and listened to the squabbling
between the mother and her son, until she couldn’t stand it any
longer.

“Both of you, stop! He’s a grown man, and I am an
adult woman. He was a kid when he was with Colleen, and he’s taken
his responsibility to his son with love and tremendous fortitude.
Most men are thirty years old before they reach his level of
maturity. As his mother, I’ll give you credit for raising such a
fine man.” She smiled at his mom. “Give him the freedom he
deserves.”

“Oh, he’ll have plenty of freedom in another few
days. He can move in with you, if that’s what you want.”

“Ohmigod! It's you! You think that Shawn is going to
die, don’t you? And you’ve told him that! You're the one who has
taken away his hope of a future.”

“There’s no point in hiding the truth. You waltz in
here thinking you have all the answers. The odds of that baby
making it through surgery are slim.”

“I think it’s time for me to go home.”

“Wait, Cas, You’re not going alone. I need to get a
few things first.” Trent pushed his chair from the table with such
force, he almost tipped it over as he stood. “I was looking forward
to your staying with me tomorrow night, but I can see that’s not
going to happen, so if you don’t mind, I’ll stay with you and so
will my son.”

Cassie stood in the tiny foyer that functioned like a
hub for the house. Trent packed a bag and tossed it in his car and
then went into his son’s room and packed another. In a few minutes,
he had everything in his car.

“The dinosaur?” Cassie nodded in the direction of the
living room.

Trent picked it up and put it in Cassie’s car. When
he returned, he gathered his sleeping son and took the boy to his
car seat.

Cassie turned the key in the
ignition.
What have I done? This was
supposed to have been a pleasant evening, and instead, it has ended
this way. If I’d just kept my mouth closed, none of this would have
happened.

***

Trent laid Shawn on Cassie’s sofa. While she tucked
his new doggie pillow under his head and put his favorite stuffed
animals next to him, the child barely stirred.

“I’m so sorry, Trent. I didn’t mean to create such a
problem.”

He shook his head. “In a way, I knew this was going
to happen. It’s not your fault.”

“Would you like something to eat or drink? I don’t
have much in the apartment, but in another two hours you won’t be
allowed to have anything.”

“I’d kill for a beer, only that’s off limits. Got
some coffee?”

“Decaf?” She opened a kitchen cabinet.

He nodded. “It’s not your fault. I didn’t realize how
negative my mother was.”

“It’s Shawn that worries me. He needs the will to
live, and I’m scared that’s been taken from him.”

“When you talked about that the other night, I was
certain that you were seeing shadows where there weren’t any. Now,
I know you were right.”

“We have an even bigger problem. I have a one-bedroom
apartment. Shawn can’t sleep on the sofa forever.”

“Well, when the surgeries are over, we’ll have to
find a place for the three of us.”

Trent watched the grin spread across her face.

“Are you sure you want coffee? I do have a pendant
that needs attention.”

“Make the coffee and while it’s brewing, I’ll take
care of the pendant.”

***

Trent looked at Cassie lying on the bed and smiled as
she passed him the pendant. His nerves of steel dissolved and his
calloused hands shook as he attempted to thread the tiny chain
through rings that pierced her. He fumbled and dropped the pendant,
causing it to slip from the tiny chain. He tried again. Her pink
folds glistened with moisture.

Never before had he looked that intensely at this
part of a woman’s anatomy. Colleen’s light brown curls obscured
what she had, and although she never minded servicing him, she
wanted no part of cunnilingus. She never let him touch her there.
Now, he was staring directly at the forbidden fruit of woman.
Hairless milky white skin flowed into pink. His rough hands pressed
to Cassie's perfection.

He shoved his nail over the lobster claw catch,
opening it enough to hook the tiny gold loop at the other end of
the chain. His hand shook. The pendant slipped from the chain
resting at her well. Desire overtook him and he touched his tongue
to her.

She squealed and admonished him.

She was salty and sweet. Ignoring her protests, he
lapped at her again, this time taking her pendant into his mouth
and tucking it next to his cheek.

Using his thumbs, he gently eased her feminine lips
further apart. Her body still quivered. He ran his hand over her
mons and lightly stroked her. He slipped the jeweled pendant from
his mouth.

He picked up the loose end of the tiny chain and
studied the impossible closure. Carefully, he slipped the pendant
on the chain, then fastened the loop to complete the circle. He sat
up and smiled at her.

“You weren’t supposed to do that. The doctor said no
oral sex until I was completely healed.”

“Couldn’t help it.”

“How’s it look?”

He gazed down at her and fingered the pendant. “You
are beautiful, and this is very…” He gazed back up at her and
smiled.

“I want to see.” She scooted off the bed and gazed at
her image in the mirror.

He came up behind her, catching her waist into his
hand and then sliding it up to her small breasts. She leaned back
against him, wiggling her naked butt across the front of his jeans.
“I think I need to return the favor.”

~~19~~

Trent put several things in his son’s backpack and
handed it to Cassie. “Don’t let him take his mask off while he’s
inside the hospital. And there is a big bottle of hand sanitizer in
the side pocket.”

“Do you really think that I’m incapable of handling
Shawn for a few hours without you?”

Trent sighed. “No. It’s just we’re this close…I don’t
want anything…”

Shawn looked up at his father. “I know, Daddy. It’s
okay. I’ll be fine.”

He grinned at his son. "And I'm going to be fine,
too. People have surgery all the time. They're going to make my
shoulder as good as new." He tickled his son's belly. "In a couple
of weeks, we'll be shooting hoops together."

"No, Daddy. I have to learn to play soccer
first."

***

Trent hugged and kissed his son, and then kissed
Cassie.

“We’ll be waiting for you. Shawn’s going to be
fine.”

Trent smiled and lifted his hand in a wave as he
followed a young woman in scrubs through a set of double doors.
Cassie fought the emotions that threatened to send tears to her
eyes. She squeezed Shawn’s hand and smiled at him.

“Now, we wait. They told him the surgery won’t take
very long, it’s the prep and then the recovery that takes
forever.”

“Daddy told me.” Then tears began to roll down his
cheeks and onto his mask.

“Sweetie, what’s the matter?”

“Will you keep me?”

“What do you mean?”

“I want to stay with you.”

“Of course, you are going to stay with me. We’ve got
to take good care of Daddy tonight. He’s going to hurt.”

“Does it always hurt?”

She pulled Shawn into her lap and ran her fingers
through his pale blond hair.

“I think most of the time when you have surgery, you
will feel some discomfort afterwards, but not really pain. Daddy
has probably had more pain this past week then what he will feel
when it’s over. He just has to be very careful for a little while
until he heals.” A warm wet feeling spread across her lap. “Shawn,
did you have an accident?”

He buried his head into her shoulder.

“I take that as a yes.” She closed her eyes and took
a deep breath. “You have clothes, but I don’t. Shall we go back to
my apartment?”

Shawn nodded.

***

Trent had plenty on his mind, but when he pulled off
his shirt to put on the hospital gown, he felt more than a little
foolish. Shawn and Cassie had decorated his chest and shoulder with
all sorts of little notes and drawings.

A nurse, slightly older than him, came into the small
room and checked his wristband. “Hi. I’m Stella Barns, and you are
Trenton Callahan. Will you please give me your date of birth?”

He gave her the numbers. “That seems silly, it’s on
my wristband.”

“Just our way of double checking, Mr. Callahan. We
wouldn’t want to do surgery on the wrong person. It’s your left
shoulder, correct?” She pulled his gown down and giggled. “Looks as
if someone beat me to it. I was going to mark your shoulder with
one of these special body markers.”

***

It didn’t take long to run their little errand and
get back to the hospital. As they walked down the long hallway,
Shawn looked up at her and asked, “When will Daddy die?”

“I hope not for a very long time.”

“So it doesn’t always happen during the surgery?”

“Daddy is healthy, and his surgery isn’t very
complicated. Lots of people have surgery. In fact, Daddy had
surgery when he was twelve, and that was much more dangerous than
what he’s having now.”

“How do you know that?”

“That scar on his tummy. That was from surgery. Yours
will be dangerous for many reasons, but not nearly as dangerous as
open-heart surgery. That’s why everyone has worked so hard to make
sure you get this new procedure. But if the doctors or your father
thought you’d die from the surgery, they wouldn’t let you have
it.”

“So I won’t die?”

She shook her head. “Where did you get the idea that
you were going to die?”

“I hear the grownups talking. Even Dr. Ramsey told
Daddy that I could die.”

“Remember what I said about the meteor falling on the
house?”

He nodded.

“It is always a possibility, but we don’t worry about
meteors falling, and you don’t need to worry about dying from your
surgery. You need to concentrate on getting better after the
surgery.” She put her laptop on the little table. “Let’s go look up
the astronauts. Remember when I said Yuri Gagarin was the first man
in space? We’ll go check that out on NASA’s website.”

Soon Shawn was absorbed in looking at all the
wonderful photos and reading about the space program. She checked
her watch several times and tried not to appear to be worried, but
Trent had been back there longer than she had expected, without a
single word from anyone on his progress. She offered Shawn a
granola bar and a bottle of water. He took both, which meant he had
to pull his mask down to eat. She knew Trent didn’t want him
removing it in the hospital, and she didn’t want to leave the
waiting room to take Shawn outside. She poured herself a cup of
coffee, and sat hoping there would be some word from someone.
Finally, she couldn’t stand it any longer.

She went to the window of the receptionist. “Hi. I’m
waiting on Trenton Callahan. His surgery was scheduled for eight
thirty this morning, and it’s after twelve. Is something
wrong?”

The woman flipped through several pages. “Your name
please.”

“Dr. Cassandra Jones. I’m his friend and that’s his
son, Shawn.”

“I’m sorry. You’re not listed as next of kin or
authorized to receive medical information.”

Frustration clawed at her neck. She inhaled. “Please.
I know there are rules and why, but I’m very concerned.” She opened
her purse. “Really, I have his wallet and all of his personal
things here. Do you really think he’d trust me with these, or his
child, if he didn’t want me to know what was happening?”

“Have a seat and I’ll see if there is any information
I can give you.”

A few minutes later, an older woman in scrubs came
into the waiting room. “Cassie?”

“Yes, I’m Dr. Cassandra Jones.”

“And you are here for?”

Cassie fished in her purse again and pulled out
Trent’s driver’s license. “Trent Callahan.”

“He’s fine. His doctor has had several surgeries this
morning, and he’s still in the O.R., but Mr. Callahan is in
recovery and doing very well. He’s groggy, but awake. We’ve given
him something for pain, so he’s resting peacefully. He said you
were here with his son. I’m sure the doctor will speak with you
when he’s done.”