Bachelorette for Sale (25 page)

Not that she could blame him. The idea of facing life without the person who’d been by your side for half a century turned her stomach, threatening to spill what little contents it held and brought a fresh flood of tears waiting to be released.

Both Tawny and her mother refused to go home, saying it was pointless, they wouldn’t get any rest worrying about Kitty. Instead they opted to hang out in the waiting room. Cherry promised she’d come out soon and give them an update. Together with her grandfather she made the trek back down the dingy hallway, holding his hand, ready to face what life had thrown into their path this time. Laughter came from her gram’s room. The two of them exchanged a smile of relief—smiles that faded as they entered and the laughter died, to be replaced by a scowl on her grandmother’s lovely face and a frown on the doctor’s.

She did a double take. Dear Lord help her, she’d stepped onto the set of the first season of
Grey’s Anatomy
. Where was her grandmother’s kindly, mature doctor? The one who’d been treating her for years? This person could have gone to school with Cherry. Come to think of it, she did look familiar.

“I’m sorry, do we know each other?” Cherry asked as she took up her position next to her grandmother.

The woman, Dr. Saunders according to her badge, laughed. “We were talking about what a small world this is. I graduated three years ahead of you from Central. Your gram was telling me about the community center you’re working on with Jason Valentine.” Her voice rose as she said his name making the statement a question. Great, one of Jason’s exes was taking care of her gram.
Please, powers-that-be, don’t let her be the jealous kind.

“Wow, really small world.” Cherry took her gram’s fingers, gave them a little squeeze, and glanced at her, hoping for some kind of reassurance the woman wasn’t a whack job.

“Does Jason still hang out with Dave and Brody? In school, they were inseparable, which wasn’t always fun, if you get my meaning.”

Oh, boy, did she ever get her meaning. That was it, she was asking for a different doctor. “Still the three amigos, although Brody works mostly twenty-four seven.”

A sad smile played at the corners of her mouth and for a few misty minutes the doctor looked a million miles away or a good dozen years back in time, perhaps. “Tell them hi, please. It’ll bring a scowl to Brody’s face, but in time it might bring a smile too.” She picked up the chart she had laid on the bed, going into doctor mode. “The good news is the MRI came back normal, no signs of a stroke, and Mrs. Ryan’s brain looks very healthy. We’ve admitted her for the night and they’re going to move her to her room in a minute. During the night we’ll be observing her, and then in the morning we’ll run a few more tests. You both should go home and get some rest as well. We’ll take good care of her. I promise.” The doctor waved, leaving them alone as a family.

Gram squeezed Cherry’s hand, getting her attention. Turning away from the retreating doctor, Cherry focused on her grandmother. She did look tired even if the color was back in her cheeks.

“Stop worrying. She and Brody have a history. I don’t think she’s gotten over him. She’s very nice and capable, as is her boss. Now, did you two eat?” The hawk eyes zeroed in on one, then the other, watching for any signs of a fib.

“A little. It’s hospital food, not only does it look nasty, it tastes nasty. So what do you expect?” Cherry gave a little shrug as she plopped on the edge of the bed.

Without missing a beat, Gram swooped in and stole the opportunity Cherry had delivered without realizing it. “I expect you two to go home, eat some real food and get some rest while I spend a quiet night of listening to a bunch of machines beep and strange people bugging me, just to ease your minds. In return you’re going to do what I ask without argument.” Her tone brooked no dispute.

They kissed her good night and Cherry walked out into the waiting room and directly into Jason’s waiting arms. “What are you doing here?” she whispered.

“I couldn’t stay home. How’s your gram?” He held her tight with one arm and with the other reached out for her grandfather’s hand, holding it longer than normal, letting him know he was there for all of them.

“She’s in good spirits, bossy as ever. They still don’t know what happened, although they know it’s not a stroke. We’ve been kicked out for the night,” she told the group as a whole.

“Sounds like Gram,” said Tawny.

“I’m going to go home with Gramps, make sure he eats and keep him company,” Cherry told Jason, still snuggled up to his side.

“Oh no, you’re not, young lady. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself for a night or two. You kids go on home. I’ll be fine.” Daniel’s gruff lilt caught her off guard. Not really knowing what to say, she simply stared at Tawny for help.

Tawny slipped her arm through Daniel’s. “Cherry, you go home and take care of Tucker and then enjoy a night with Jason. Tonight’s my night with Gramps. After all, it’s been forever since I had him all to myself.” Tawny looked up at Daniel, batted those dark chocolate brown eyes, and smiled. “What do you say, Gramps, you, me, we hit the town and paint it red? Or at least hit George’s and make him wait on us and cook us dinner. Mom, you come too. It’s about time George waited on both of you, not to mention it makes him nervous when you guys are in the restaurant, and I love watching him sweat.”

Catching on to her daughter’s plan, Katia agreed to go, but only if Daniel joined them so they could put double the pressure on her son. The threesome left Cherry and Jason in the parking lot and headed off to torture poor George.

Cherry hugged Jason and looked up at him. “Thank you for coming down here tonight. Seeing you when I walked through those doors meant a lot.”

They were standing between Jason’s truck and a minivan away from any lights. Still, she could see the worry lines on his face before he ducked his head and brushed his mouth across her lips. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get here earlier. I wanted to make sure the dogs were set for the night. Is . . . is she going to be okay?”

She leaned her head against his chest, taking a few minutes to pull it together. Now that her grandfather and everyone else had gone, the need to remain strong fled. Fear, frustration, and relief slammed her from every which way.

Nodding, she took a step back, giving them a little space. “The doctor seemed pretty positive. Oh, hey, the doctor said to tell you three guys hi. She went to school with you. Her name was Denise Saunders.”

Jason grimaced. “Do me a favor, don’t mention her to Dave and especially not to Brody. Touchy subject.”

“Funny, she said Brody would scowl, but maybe in time he might smile.”

“I doubt that. It’s been five years and he still doesn’t smile.”

“I’ve noticed that about him. Is it because of her?”

“It’s because of them. They were both to blame. Now, how about I take you home and give you something to smile about?”

“Jason, I really appreciate you taking care of Tuck and being here, but right now I’m not up to finishing our discussion from the other night.”

“I know. It can wait. I’m going to draw you a hot bath, pour you a cold glass of wine, and then put you to bed. Everything else can wait.”

J
ason had been true to his word that night and again in the morning, giving her something to smile about. He didn’t bring up their relationship and did his best to take her mind off her grandmother. Cherry’s body should have been loose, limber, totally in the stress-free zone, letting the troubles of the world bounce off her happiness bubble and head the other direction. When a person has been as thoroughly loved as she, the sun should be shining, the birds singing, heck, she was pretty sure little mice were supposed to be running around making her the dress of the century after that night.

Slowly Cherry rolled her neck to the left, then the right to release the tightness forming the mother of all headaches. She unclenched her hands from around the steering wheel, noting the fat gray clouds overhead as she drove to the hospital.

Her gram had called her to pick her up . . . alone.

Instead of letting her imagination run rampant, as it had been known to do, Cherry concentrated on the road, dodging the construction workers and the Friday shoppers. Luck was on her side today, and she made it to her destination and found a parking spot in record time.

“Jeez, lighten up already and stop being a drama queen. It’s spring. Spring brings rain. Gray clouds are not an ominous sign.” She chided herself for her earlier thoughts.

“Excuse me, dear?” asked a lady sitting by the entrance with a puzzled expression on her face.

“Giving myself a pep talk. Have a nice day.” The woman gave her a concerned look and moved farther down the sidewalk.
As if she’s never talked to herself before. Puh-lease. Point out a person who hasn’t and you’ll have found the crazy person in the room.

Cherry stopped off at the gift shop, picked out a bright bouquet of flowers, and continued on to her gram’s room, remembering to keep her internal thoughts internal. She’d heard the psych ward here was nice, but didn’t really want to check it out firsthand. As she stepped off the elevator onto the third floor, the muscles in her neck relaxed their grip, the headache receding—that is, until she got a few feet from her grandmother’s room.

“Get out.”

“No.”

“I said, get out of my room before I have security throw you out on your arse.”

Kitty Ryan’s voice shook the walls, not in volume, but in anger. Cherry couldn’t imagine who could be in there with her to cause such a reaction. The nurses at the central station sat with their heads bent over paperwork or whatever, as if they couldn’t hear a word or this was an everyday event. Surely having a patient so riled up couldn’t be good for them or any others nearby.

“Excuse me, Ms. Ryan.” The nurse looked up at her and signaled her over to the desk. She handed Cherry a beautiful vase filled with flowers. “Can you take these into your grandmother for us? We don’t want to interrupt.”

Yeah, sure. Wouldn’t want to disturb the peace and quiet on the ward, now would we?
“Uh, sure.” Cherry hurried to the room and pulled up short when she saw her grandfather standing inside the room with her grandmother in his face shaking her finger at him.

Oh no, the finger. Never a good sign.

Cherry took a step backward, freezing in mid-motion as the finger swung in her direction, then toward the visitor chair. Following her gram’s silent command, she slunk over to sit and tried to fade into the background.

Her gram focused on her grandfather, who stood to his full height. His face pulled tight, and he stared down his bride like he was ready to throttle her. What the hell had she walked in on?

“Daniel, go home. I told you Cherry is driving me.”

“I’m here, I’ll take you home. Cherry, go to work.”

She rose and the finger swung back in her direction.

“Sit.”

Caught in mid-stance, she looked at her grandparents, not sure whether she should leave or stay. The cramp forming in her thigh decided for her, and she dropped back in the chair. Watching the two of them go at it, she had to wonder what kind of tests and drugs had they given her grandmother. Had they gotten her mixed up with another patient and given her some kind of psychotropic drug that altered her personality or something? Her grandmother never aired private business in front of strangers. Yet here she was, shouting at the top of her lungs, the morning entertainment for Ward B.

“She has the day off. Now leave, I’ll talk to you when I get home, when I’m ready.” Her grandmother stood, fighting mad.

“Kitty, stop being bullheaded. I’m your husband and I’ve a right to know what the doctor said. Let me drive you home and you can tell me so I know what to do.”

Kitty’s hands went to her hips, her shoulders squared off, and Cherry could see the firm set of her jaw. Dear Lord, when was her grandfather going to learn not to call her bullheaded? All that ever did was make her even more stubborn.

“Gram, let’s discuss this at home,” Cherry suggested, trying to defuse the situation. “The doctor said you needed rest. This can’t be good for you.”

“I’m fine,” Kitty responded.

“Well, I’m not. My head is about to explode and then you’ll have to pay extra to have the room cleaned.”

Ignoring her comment, her grandmother turned back to her grandfather. “You want to know what to do, do you? Well, I’ll tell you, since you insist. How about you get your lazy ass up once in a while and fix your own glass of tea or make your own damn sandwich? Would it kill you once in a while to be the first one up and make a pot of coffee and fry me an egg? How about carry your dirty knickers to the laundry room and put them in the washer? You know why I passed out, Daniel? Do you?”

Her grandfather’s eyes popped open, along with his jaw. The man stood stock still looking at his wife like she was a stranger, and Cherry didn’t blame him. Not once over the years had she heard her gram complain about waiting on her gramps. In fact, when Cherry had remarked on it, suggesting she let him get his own whatever, her gram would tell her it was her job to take care of him at home like he took care of them.

“If I knew what was wrong with you, woman, I wouldn’t be standing here asking, now would I?” He scrubbed his hand over his face in frustration and squinted at the double bouquets of flowers Cherry held, but he didn’t say anything.

This was not going to go well.

“I’m here because I’m exhausted. And a bit malnourished and dehydrated because I’m too tired to take care of myself. All I do is take care of you and be your plaything.”

Holy mother of . . . Wow. Just wow. Cherry inched her way to the door, wanting to give them some privacy.

“Stay, missy, you need to hear this.”

Shaking her head she said, “No, Gram, I really don’t think I do.”

The look could have frozen Medusa and all of her snakes. Cherry stayed put.

“Well, I’m tired, Daniel, and I’ll have no more of it. No more little blue pills. No more experimenting. No more sex every night. I like vanilla. Who said we needed to mix it up? I’m too old for exotic flavors, and dear gawd, man, this body can’t take it every day.”

A crowd had gathered outside the door, mostly hospital staff and a few gown-clad patients. Cherry shot them the dirtiest look she could muster before pushing her gramps away from the door and pulling it shut.

“Gram, lower your voice. Everyone on the floor can hear you.”

“I don’t care if all of Providence can hear me. It’s about time you and everyone know the truth. I’m tired of living a lie.”

Living a lie? Cherry looked from her gram to her gramps, praying this wasn’t going where it sounded. She’d always looked to her grandparents as living the dream, the fairy tale come true, their marriage an example of how true love played out in real life. If it was a lie, she honestly didn’t know what to think. Watching the two of them in a standoff, her heart pounded, her breathing became shallow and rapid.

“Daniel, I made a mistake, and I know you said you forgave me for it, but I never forgave myself. For years I’ve been doing penance, thinking if I was the perfect wife, you’d forget and I’d forgive. But it didn’t work. You changed the minute Lou reentered our lives. Every time he said hello, you puffed your chest out like a rooster, and then you started taking those damn blue pills.”

Cherry reached out, touched her gram’s arm. None of this made sense. Who the hell was Lou? “Gram, I don’t understand.”

Her grandmother took her hand and led her to the bed, where both of them sat. “Back when your grandfather and I were still dating, he was in the Navy. Well, you know he stole my heart when we were kids. I never had any doubts in my mind I’d be Mrs. Daniel Ryan someday, until he got shipped off to Japan. He’d been gone for six months and I hadn’t heard from him in four. Doubts started to creep in, fears found their way through, and I did something stupid. I let a young man, Lou Webster, talk me into going on a date. One thing led to another and I had a short fling with him. I knew as soon as I did it that it was wrong, he was wrong for me. I broke it off right away and told your grandfather in my next letter, and I told him if he still loved me and wanted me, I’d be waiting for him the day he pulled into port.”

Her grandmother looked longingly at her grandfather, a small smile playing at her mouth. “He didn’t write back. My best girlfriend said it was a sign and I should move on, but I waited. Six months later he got off that boat and asked me to marry him. Said it wasn’t a mistake because now I knew for sure who the right man was for me. But I couldn’t forgive myself. I’ve been trying to make up for it for years. This old body can’t take it anymore. Lou left town shortly before we got married. He moved back a couple of months ago, joined your grandfather’s lodge. Every time he sees me he flirts shamelessly, and it sends your grandfather into fits.”

“It does not, just your imagination at work, woman,” Daniel muttered from across the room.

“Really? Then do you want to tell me how it is you decided to spice up our love life right after he showed up? Don’t be lying to me either, Daniel Ryan, I always know when you lie. Your nose turns red.”

“Fine, I don’t like him flirting with you. You’re a married woman now, you made your choice a long time ago and he should respect it.”

“If you paid attention, you’d notice he flirts with all the ladies at the dinners. Harmless fun to make us smile while you men BS and slap each other on the back. The doctor said I need to take better care of myself, get more rest, eat better and . . . well, get more rest at night. From now on, Daniel, you’ll get your own coffee or tea, unless I happen to be standing there or getting myself some. And you’ll start helping with the inside chores. It wouldn’t kill you to run the vacuum once in a while. As for the sex, well, we can discuss it at home, but not seven days a week, man. And if you can’t live by these new rules, I’m out of here. I’ll go live with Cherry and Tucker.”

“Cherry, what do you got there?” Her grandfather nodded toward the bouquets. “Who are the flowers from?”

“Oh, I almost forgot.” She handed the cellophane-wrapped bunch to her gram. “These are from me. And this gorgeous vase, I don’t know. The nurse asked me to bring them in.” She pulled the card out and handed it to her gram.

“You read it, honey. I don’t have my glasses on.”

Cherry sat the vase on the rollaway table and pulled the card out of the envelope. After reading the short and sweet message, she stuck it back inside and prepared for the shitstorm. “Um, they’re from Tawny.”

Her grandfather narrowed his eyes, snapped his fingers, and held out his hand. Cherry shuffled across the room and handed the card over. She turned and mouthed “sorry” to her gram.

The man quietly read the card, saying nothing. He looked up at her grandmother. Shook his head. Crumpling the card, he threw it at her feet and walked out.

“Let me guess. They were from Lou. Damn that man. I know he meant well, but I wish he’d take a hint.”

“Gram, you’re not serious about leaving Gramps, are you?” she asked cautiously.

Her grandmother plopped down next to her on the bed, hands folded in her lap, studying them. “Of course not. If I could ever have left that man, I would have done so a long time ago.”

“What do you mean?”

“When you’re married and things get tough, you just can’t walk out the door. You have to think twice before making that decision. Besides, fifty years is a long time to be with one person, I’m not going to throw it all away. But I figure it’s my turn to shake things up a bit.”

Cherry kicked the card toward the trash. “Don’t shake it up too much. I’m not sure I can take it.”

“You know, at some point you either stop being two individuals and become one or you drift so far apart you never have a hope of uniting fully. I always thought we were one, a fully formed couple that nothing could rip apart.”

Silence took over, growing heavy between them. In the distance, machines beeped and hushed conversations floated by. A nurse popped in for a moment to let Kitty know her discharge paperwork was almost ready.

Kitty covered Cherry’s hand with hers. “When your parents disappeared, I knew for sure we’d made that final step and become one unit. Your grandpa took care of everything to get us legal custody of you. We never discussed it, he simply knew what I wanted and he wanted the same thing. Just like we never had a funeral for your dad, we both felt until there was proof stating otherwise, there was always hope. To make it through such a horrendous ordeal and still come out together, only to have it all fall apart for such a silly thing as an old mistake . . . It’d be a shame. One I’d regret to my last breath. The decision is your grandfather’s now.”

The carefully constructed walls around Cherry’s reality were still standing. With one swing, one push, one word, they’d all come crashing down.

She had no doubt what her grandfather would say, no doubt he loved his wife more than life and would do anything to prove it. She did doubt old habits could easily be broken, and the man had lived a very long life of being treated like a king by his wife. The two of them were about to step onto a bumpy path to the land of compromise, which we all know is not an easy journey, but to start at such a late point in life—oh boy.