Lacy's End (26 page)

“By all means,” she said, grimacing, “you aren’t really going to subject a successful, gourmet chef, such as myself, to hospital meatloaf, are you?”

“I could offer you an alternative of chicken noodle soup,” he said.

“I’ll take it.”

She waved goodbye to the kids, promised to be back soon. They were walking through the door when Taja reappeared.

“Sorry I took so long,” she said. When she spied Allen, she broke out into a huge grin. “Hey there,” she said. “Did you hear the news?”

Allen looked down at the floor. He had never been good at delivering bad news. “I heard. I don’t want…” He saw the expectant look on her face and didn’t have the heart to go on. He smiled. “I hope your family has the best holiday ever.”

She beamed at him. “Oh, we will! I’m sure of it.” He ushered Brenda out the door.

They rode in silence to the main floor, continuing their silence until they were seated at a table. Allen had the meatloaf with mashed potatoes. Brenda had chicken soup and half a cheese sandwich.

“You were going to say, ‘don’t get your hopes up,’ weren’t you?”

Allen put down his fork and looked Brenda in the eye. “They will have a much better holiday if they spend it in oblivion.”

“Or they might cherish it more if they know it’s his last.”

Pain softened Allen’s eyes. He looked down at his plate. He picked up his fork again. “That’s a hard decision to make.”

Brenda lifted her spoon and ladled a mouthful of soup onto it. “I’d want to know if it was my last holiday with Lacy.” She put the spoon into her mouth.

“I don’t think I can tell her that her son is dying this soon. She’s not strong enough for that.”

“But he is, and she knows it. It’s the doctors who are keeping her hopes up.”

A flash of anger crossed his face. “Look, Brenda. I don’t mean to shut you out of this, but he’s my patient, and I don’t think he or his mother is ready for the truth.”

She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. “Are you sure it isn't you who's not willing to face the truth?” When he looked away, she touched his face to bring it back to hers. “You got too close to this little boy. I get it. I got close to him, too—and Taja, but they need to know it’s almost over. I know you wanted to cure him, but God has other plans.”

“But all my research—”

“Will help another child,” she finished. “Don’t give up. It’s just not ready for Richie.”

He nodded, pushed away his plate. “I’ll tell her.”

They stood and walked from the cafeteria, headed toward the oncology station. Suddenly, Brenda pulled Allen into a hallway. “He’s here.” She gestured around the corner.

Allen slowly stuck out his head and peered around a corner. He yanked it back swiftly. “It’s Peter.”

“Yes, that’s what I said.”

“He can’t hurt us.”

“He can,” she argued.

She pulled his hand and led him down the hallway, away from the direction of where she saw Peter. She could hear Peter raise his voice to a nurse. “I have every right. I am still the sheriff in this town, and I demand respect. Now page Dr. Lover Boy or I’ll tear apart every room in this hospital looking for him.”

“Perhaps I should see what he wants,” Allen said.

“Bad idea,” Brenda said.

“He’s going to disturb all the patients.”

“I have a better idea.” She grinned at Allen and intentionally made a noise that distracted Peter’s attention. “Run,” she said, drawing Peter away from the nurses’ desk. She could see Sheila pick up the phone and hoped she was calling security.

Peter took off on a run, screaming her name behind her. “Brenda! You disobedient bitch, you’d better stop this minute, or I swear I’ll hunt you down.”

They ran through a pair of swinging doors that read AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY but weren’t surprised to see Peter burst through them.

Allen turned right, pulling Brenda behind him, withdrawing a card from his pocket as they ran. He swiped the card, and they squeezed through a door as it opened. They prayed it would close fast enough but didn’t wait to see if it did.

When they heard it slam against the wall, they knew Peter had also made it through. They ducked behind a large palm tree. “Where is security?” Brenda whispered.

“We don’t exactly employ a large police force here.”

They made their way from the tree to a set of double glass doors that led to a solarium. There were patients scattered about—some talking to visitors, some reading a book, some just sitting. Brenda grabbed his arm, pulling him back through the door. He looked down at her hand on his arm. “Not in here. There are too many people.”

He nodded and led her in the opposite direction. From a short distance down the hallway, they saw Peter enter the solarium and start yelling at patients. Allen was on the verge of turning back when Brenda said, “Wait. He’s coming back this way.”

Peter turned just in time to  see them go around the corner. They heard his feet thunder down the hallway. Up ahead there were two doors. One door led to an emergency exit and was plastered with stickers demanding people not to open unless there was an emergency. Allen headed straight for it. “No,” Brenda said. She pointed to the sign for the emergency exit.

He glanced sideways at her as they were running. “This is an emergency.” He pushed open the door. Immediately a siren blared. Brenda covered her ears against the noise. Allen grabbed her arm and yanked her through the other door and slammed the door shut behind them.

Brenda looked and saw clean linens, extra toilet paper, paper towels, stacks of pillows, and various other cotton supplies. “The housekeeping staff is terrible about remembering to lock supply closets—despite numerous reprimands.” He grinned. “I’ve never been so glad to have someone disobey orders.”

“Shh,” she warned.

They listened as Peter’s footsteps stopped briefly in front of the closet door, and then shouts of “Hey you,” came from down the hallway.

“There’s your security,” Allen whispered.

“That’s an emergency exit,” they heard the voice shout.

Directly from the other side of the door, they heard Peter’s muffled voice. “I’m not stupid. I’m chasing a suspect, and he slammed through this door. You should lock down the hospital before he escapes.”

A different voice said, “Hey, ain’t that Sheriff Waldrip?”

“Yeah,” the other one said. “Hey, Sheriff Waldrip. You helped my wife find our lost son last month, remember?”

Peter thought hard, but he only vaguely remembered some snot-nosed redheaded kid hiding out in the sewer pipe because his mom caught him smoking her cigarettes and was going to tell his badass dad. Peter looked the security officer over. He didn’t look all that badass to him. “Sure, I remember.” His footsteps began to fade back the way they came.

“What are you doing, Wally?” The first voice asked. “There’s a restraining order against the sheriff.”

Wally slapped his partner on the back. “I ain’t arresting the sheriff. Not after all he’s done for my family and me. You go on and get on outta here, Sheriff.”

“No,” Brenda whispered and dropped her head onto Allen’s shoulder. Allen bent his head down and kissed her. She turned her face up to his, responding in kind. As they kissed passionately, they lost track of the conversation that was taking place outside the door. Allen pulled her against him. She maneuvered her body to accommodate him.

Then abruptly, Allen pulled back, his head cocked in a manner of listening. “I think they’ve gone.”

“I don’t care,” she said. Then she suddenly found the situation humorous. A grin broke out on her face. “How many times have you dashed into a supply closet with a lusty nurse?”

“Have you seen any lusty nurses around here?”

She giggled and pushed her body even closer. She had to admit he was right. Just about every nurse was either overweight or elderly. “Okay, if not here, then how about other hospitals?”

“None,” he said. “You’re my first.”

“But I’m not a nurse,” she said.

“I’d let you nurse me anytime.”

She playfully hit him. “You’re so bad.” Then she remembered what they had been on their way to do. “Richie,” she said.

He nodded, opened the door slowly and peered out. The alarm had long since stopped ringing. There was no trace of Peter or the security detail.

He led her out of the closet and back to the elevators, their adventure of the past few minutes behind them, and the unpleasant task of shattering a family’s holiday before them.

Moments later, she watched outside the same glass solarium they had earlier passed. The room was empty except for Allen and Taja. She could see Allen explaining something to Taja, his lips moving gently up and down. She saw Taja nod and start to cry. Allen’s arms went around her shoulders as he offered comfort to the now hopeless mother.

Brenda flashed back to a time when Lacy was six and had come down with a severe case of pneumonia. Even though the doctors had assured her Lacy would recover, the sight of her frail daughter, lying in a hospital bed, had left her so distraught that she sat beside her bed, sobbing with worry. Peter had made some feeble attempt to comfort her, barely touching her shoulder and telling her Lacy would be okay. She could feel his desire to dash from the room, had thrown off his hand, and demanded he get out. He wasted no time in his haste to make it to the door. Lacy was there for three days. Brenda never left her side, but Peter had never come around again, not even to give them a ride home.

She watched as Allen and Taja made their way to the door of the solarium. Taja reached up and put her arms around Allen’s neck, kissing him on the cheek. He hugged her back and then opened the door for her. Her heart raced at the scene. How different Allen was from Peter.

Taja walked by Brenda, smiling feebly as she passed. “Bless you,” she said, briefly laying her hand on Brenda’s arm. Brenda touched her hand but didn’t hold it there.

As Taja walked away, Brenda said, “Take my prayers with you.” Taja didn’t look back.

Allen stood before her and sighed. “You were right. It was what she needed to know. She said her holiday would be even more special knowing it was their last.”

Brenda nodded, and her arm went naturally around Allen’s waist as they watched Taja push her son’s wheelchair out of the hospital for the very last time.

Suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, Brenda turned toward Allen and threw her arms around his neck. He pulled her as close as he could, holding her as if someone might swoop down and take her away. “I’ve been so foolish,” she cried.

He pulled back slightly and looked into her face. “Hey, don’t talk like that. You were a victim.”

“I was stupid. When I look at Taja, I see the warmest, most compassionate mother I have ever met. That woman fought so hard to save the life of her child…well, I feel as if I’ve let down Lacy. Maybe she’s better off without me. I should have fought for her like Taja fought for Richie.”

Allen shook a stern finger at her. “You did what you thought was right. Nobody can blame you for that. You were a victim, too.”

She shook her head and walked toward the glass doors. She could see the faintest outline of Taja pushing little Richie to her car. It was old and, as she and Taja had joked so many times, held together by God’s grace. She watched her park the wheelchair, put on the parking brake, lift Richie from his chair and set him in the back seat. Then she stood and searched the parking lot for a place to leave discarded wheelchairs. A young man on his way to the entrance stopped and talked to her. She smiled at him with gratitude in her eyes as he took the chair from her.

Brenda knew she hadn’t had to go through all that. A nurse or orderly would gladly have waited with Richie in his wheelchair at the door while she pulled the car around to the pickup zone. However, she knew Taja would want to do everything she could for Richie.

As she watched the car exit the parking lot, a new and sudden determination flooded her heart. She could learn a real lesson from Taja.

She looked heavenward and said, “Thank you, Lord, for bringing such a remarkable woman into my life.” From that moment on, she vowed to be as happy as she could be and never let anyone harm her daughter again.

The day before Thanksgiving, Allen finished his rounds and headed for Angela’s apartment. His mother had been ecstatic when he told her he was not only coming home, but he was bringing the girl of his dreams with him.

Brenda was so nervous that she had to pack three times. She kept forgetting things and, laughing, would completely unpack and start all over again. Finally, Lacy had to do it for her. “Geez, Mom,” she scolded, “you act like a teenager meeting your boyfriend’s parents for the first time.” Lacy stopped, looked sideways at her mother, catching the dance of mischief in her eye. She stood up and narrowed her eyes at her mother. “Mom?”

Brenda turned away from Lacy, busying herself with collecting last minute things.

Lacy turned Brenda toward her. “Mom!”

Brenda took a deep breath. Then, with a flash of anger, she pulled back her shoulders and stuck out her chin in a defiant pose. “Well, all right,” she said. “Who’s the mother and who’s the child around here?”

Lacy grinned. “Oh, my God,” she said. “I had no idea.”

Brenda rolled her eyes. “I didn’t exactly announce it.”

“Did you sleep with him?” she asked. Then noting the shocked expression on her mother’s face, rushed to say, “It’s okay if you did,” she said. “I wouldn’t be mad.”

Brenda shook her head. “I don’t need your permission, Lacy. I’m a grown woman and can make up my own mind about when to sleep with a man.” She sighed at the hurt look on her daughter’s face, adding, “No.”

Lacy went back to helping her mother pack. “No, what?”

“No, I haven’t slept with him.”

Lacy didn’t look at Brenda, but she asked, “Are you going to?”

“I don’t know. I need to figure out what to do about your father first,” she said. “Until then I’m a married woman, and it’s a sin.”

Lacy put down the sweater she was folding and looked at her mother. “So is beating your family,” she said, with more sarcasm in her voice than she intended.

Brenda wheezed as she breathed in sharply. She clutched her chest and sat on the bed. Lacy didn’t know if she should console her, or leave her be.

“I’m sorry, Lacy.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” she assured her.

“I didn’t protect you when I knew I should.”

“You’re a victim, too, Mom.”

“Come here,” Brenda said. Lacy came and sat on the bed. Brenda didn’t look at her. “I’m going to ask your father for a divorce when we get back from Iowa. I’ve already called a lawyer.”

“You know he won’t consent.”

“I know, but I have to try. It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from him.” She faltered at the lie. She hadn’t told Lacy about her near-encounter the other day. Why worry her? “Maybe he’s calmed down now.”

Lacy snapped her head to stare into her mother’s face. “You know he’s just lying low for the moment. He’s not done, and we both know it.”

Brenda nodded. “Maybe. Anyway, this isn’t the Stone Age. I don’t need his permission for a divorce.”

“Forget about the divorce, Mom. It’s only going to anger him. Just be with Allen and don’t worry about Dad.”

“I have to be right with God.”

“Have you talked about this with Pastor Reynolds?”

“I tried. I’m afraid your father has already gotten to him. He thought what I’m doing is wrong and told me to return to Peter.”

Lacy chuckled. “I always knew we were wasting our Sunday mornings.”

The doorbell rang, and Lacy stood. “I’ll get it. It’s probably Allen.” She started toward the door, then stopped and turned back toward her mother. She smiled. “I think it’s great about you and Allen. You deserve it.”

“Thanks, sweetie. I was hoping you’d feel that way.”

She returned a moment later with Allen in tow. “Yep, I was right.”

Brenda crossed to the door, stood on her tiptoes and kissed Allen. He pulled back, looked at Lacy, then Brenda, confused. “She knows,” Brenda said.

“I thought you weren’t going to tell her.”

“I’m not a child,” Lacy said, grinning.

“Well in that case…” He pulled Brenda to him and gave her a kiss that let her know how badly he missed her.

Lacy rolled her eyes. “Okay, here are the rules: no passionate kissing in front of me.” They nodded. “No sneaking around. If you’re going to do it, just do it.” They looked at each, and then slowly nodded. “If we all shack up together, I get the cool room that's near the pool, the one with the double closet in it, and I get to paint it however I wish. Oh, and I get to buy the bed of my choice.”

“Shacking up?” Allen said, confused.

Brenda sighed. “Lacy doesn’t think I should ask her father for a divorce. She thinks we should just live in sin.”

“Oh,” Allen said. “I didn’t know two people in love could be sinful.”

“That’s what I said,” Lacy said, carrying a suitcase from the room.

Allen started to follow, but Brenda held him back. “Is that what this is, Allen? Are we in love?”

He leaned down and kissed her. “Baby, I’ve been in love with you for months—almost since the first day we met.”

She let him go and smiled at his departing back. She reveled in the warm feeling that surged through her body.

They loaded the bags into Allen’s car and headed for the airport. They would depart from McCarran International in Las Vegas, which was a long two-hour drive…two hours to sit and ponder over the change in the situation.

Now that the blinders were off, Lacy could see the happiness in her mother’s face. She had attributed that to the success of the catering business, but now that she knew what was going on, she should have seen the clues. She didn’t want anything to ruin the trip for her mother, but she knew they hadn’t seen the last of her dad, despite the restraining order. She also knew that, if her father were coming after them, it would be up to her to stop him.

She had tried to talk it over with Jake, but he had been of no help. He just kept telling her it was her decision, and he would help her through whatever she decided. Honestly, she was getting tired of hearing that line from someone who was supposed to be her best friend. What did it even mean?

She had asked Angela what would happen to her father if he violated the restraining order.

“I’m afraid nothing much,” she had said, sighing. “Unfortunately, Lacy, these kinds of things happen. We fight against them, cry for help as much as we can, but in the end it’s up to us to protect ourselves.”

As they approached the city, Lacy’s excitement grew. She couldn’t believe it—her first time in Las Vegas, the city that all the kids from school talked about and all its vices: gambling, drinking, and sex. It seemed as if the entire student body spent their weekends here. Many of them had family in Vegas and visited often. She’d envied them, but now some of the things she’d heard about, she would now get to see for herself.

As they pulled into the city, Lacy gawked at her surroundings. They had traveled south on Interstate 15, which brought them into North Las Vegas. At first, the only things she saw were houses and gas stations. However, as they grew close to the city, she saw where the real fun was. She leaned over the seat. “Do we have time to drive the strip?” she asked, speaking like a true Vegas expert.

Allen chuckled. “There’s time.”

She sat back, looking out each window, side-to-side, not wanting to miss a thing. She saw the cutest little wedding chapel all covered with lovely roses and white paint. Diamondback Springs also had a wedding chapel, but it was ugly and brown and was part of a mini strip mall. Maybe someday, if she ever got married, she would come here.

“We’ll drive downtown first,” Allen said. To Lacy’s delight, Allen parked the car in a parking garage, and they all got out. “A little side-trip delight,” he added. “There’s something I want you to see.”

They walked a short way. The wind was so cold that Lacy whooped with joy when they came to a covered walkway. She looked up and saw rows of little lights in the ceiling. “What are those for?”

As if her voice had cued the show, the lights started blinking. Soon the ceiling was dancing with lights, and a variety of different scenes changed throughout the show. “What is this place?” she asked.

“It’s called the Fremont Street Experience,” Allen said.

“It’s amazing,” Lacy said, a huge grin spreading across her face.

“It is,” Brenda said.

“Come on, there’s more to see,” Allen said. “We’re going to eat at the Golden Nugget. It’s got all the glitz I wanted you to see.” He grinned and patted his stomach. “And a great buffet.”

When they walked into the casino, Lacy’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. Her mouth dropped open into a wide O, causing Allen to laugh. “I think everyone has that reaction the first time they see a casino.” To prove his point, he looked at Brenda, who was grinning. He took her hand and squeezed it. “Do you want to try it?” Lacy grabbed her mother’s arm. “Do it, Mom. It looks like so much fun.”

Brenda shook her head. “I don’t know. It does look like fun, but it’s still gambling.”

Allen took out a dollar bill from his pocket. “Do it just to say you tried. We’ll need to wait here because Lacy isn’t old enough to be on the casino floor.”

She stared at the slot machines for a moment. Lacy gave her an encouraging nudge, pushing her toward the machines. She took the cash, looked carefully at the rows of machines—as if she could mentally pick the one that would payout. Finally, she strode over to a machine, deposited her money, pulled the lever, and waited. Despite her earlier hesitation, she squealed with delight when three cherries appeared, paying her twenty-five dollars. She turned around and looked back at Allen and Lacy. Lacy was laughing. Allen grinned and waved his hand toward her, indicating she should keep playing. She pulled the lever again watching with anticipation as the symbols spun by so fast that they made her dizzy. Then three lucky symbols hit again and her eyes grew wide as she realized she’d won a thousand dollars. Lacy shouted behind her. Allen laughed.

Allen walked up to her, kissed her on the mouth. “You did it. Want to play some more?”

She shook her head. “No, let’s go.”

He shrugged and hit a button to cash out. “We’ll need to take this to the cashier.”

They finished at the cashier’s cage, and Brenda was holding one thousand and twenty-five dollars in her hands. She gave it to Allen.

He pushed it back. “It’s yours.”

She shook her head. “Donate it to your program. I’m sure they need the money.”

He nodded, took the money, and said, “They do. Thanks.”

“Where to now?” Lacy asked.

“Are you hungry?” Allen asked.

“Starved,” Lacy said.

“Want to try a buffet? Or would you prefer to have someone wait on you?”

“Buffet,” Lacy screamed. Then clamped her hand over her mouth when she realized how loud she had been. “It’s so noisy in here.”

Brenda placed an arm around Lacy’s shoulder. She whispered in her ear, “It’s wonderful to see you smile.”

Lacy hugged her mom. “You, too.”

Allen led the way to the buffet and stepped up to the cashier.

“I can eat anything I want?” Lacy asked.

“Anything,” Allen said. “Just be careful you don’t eat too much. You mother and I will have to carry you out.”

“How old is your daughter?” the cashier asked Allen.

“Pardon?” Allen asked.

The cashier pointed at Lacy. “I have to know how old your daughter is so I know how much to charge her.”

“Oh, she’s not…”

“She’s sixteen,” Brenda interjected, smiling at Allen.

“Then I have to charge adult price.”

“It’s fine,” Allen said, handing the cashier two twenties.

They weaved their way to the buffet line. Lacy couldn’t believe how much food she saw. Her father would have called it a terrible waste. She supposed it was, but it wasn’t as if they did it every day. She pushed the thought aside, determined to enjoy every minute of this weekend.

“Save room for the dessert bar,” Allen said.

Lacy followed his direction, her eyes coming to rest on a large cardboard cutout of an ice cream cone. “Oh, man. I can’t believe this place.” She looked down at her plate. “You should have pointed it out before I gluttonized on all this.” She laughed. “I’m going to be too full for a Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.”

“Nobody’s ever too full for one of Mom’s Thanksgiving meals.”

A server led them to a table, taking Allen’s receipt. She marked something on it, and then set it under a napkin dispenser. “What can I get you to drink?”

They ordered diet sodas all around and then began their feast. They hardly came up for air between bites, and then suddenly, all three of them realized how they must look to others and stopped eating. They burst out laughing. Brenda pushed her plate away. “No more for me,” she said. “I think I just ate all three daily meals in one setting.”

Lacy looked down at her plate, shrugged and began to shovel in more. Brenda watched in amazement, and then her jaw dropped when Lacy stood and headed for the dessert bar. She returned carrying a tray that held a dish of ice cream, a piece of chocolate cake, a slice of cherry pie, banana pudding, and a piece of coconut cake. She set down the cherry pie in front of her mother, knowing it would be her favorite. “I didn’t know what you liked, so…” she held the bounty in front of him as if presenting him with his choice of a gift, “I brought a bunch of options.” He selected the coconut cake, and she frowned. He laughed and put the cake back on the tray. She rewarded him with a smile. He chose the chocolate cake, held it out, raising his eyebrows, asking permission. She nodded and sat down.