Love and Miss Communication (20 page)

“All these infirm people. Wedded to traditional medicines. I wonder how many of them have tried naturopathic remedies. You should meet my holistic healer, Evie. He grows a root hydroponically that I swear cured my arthritis.”

“Let’s not get into any of that today, Aunt Susan,” Evie said. “Grandma’s a traditionalist, and today is her surgery, so probably best not to mention your herbalist to her.” They were about twenty feet away from the room where they were supposed to find Bette, and Evie wasn’t sure she’d make it that far without strangling her aunt.

“I agree with you, Evie.” Evie spun around when she heard Edward Gold’s voice.

“Dr. Gold!” Evie turned beet red. He was garbed in teal medical scrubs and his sandy hair was pushed back by a surgical mask. Instead of the Crocs she’d seen him in before, he had on white Converse sneakers. The getup was almost too perfect, like he was playing doctor on a primetime show. It was all too easy to picture him saying, “Nurse, this patient is flatlining. Paddles, stat!”

“Edward,” he reminded her. “You look great.” She watched the doctor’s eyes travel from the roots of her blow-dried hair to the tips of her pedicured toes. It occurred to her on some level she’d been hoping to run into him.

“I’m Susan,” her aunt said, extending her hand to Edward before Evie could explain why she was dressed for a party on the day of her grandmother’s surgery. “Bette’s daughter. You must be one of my mother’s doctors.”

“Edward is Bette’s surgeon,” Evie explained.

“Evie didn’t mention how handsome you are,” Susan said, batting her eyes at him.

“Susan!” Evie yelped, grabbing her aunt by the elbow with a bit of force. To think her aunt was actually flirting with Edward.

“Evie, how could you leave that out?” Edward asked with an endearing smile. Evie wanted to crawl into his dimple and hide.

She did her best to regain composure and attempted sarcasm. “It’s hard to imagine.”

Edward laughed. “I forgive you. So, should we go see Bette?” he said, taking another long look at Evie before he started down the hallway.

“Yes,” Evie said. “By the way, I just want to explain my, um, appearance. Bette insisted that I dress up. She wants to take a family photo, since my aunt is in town. I feel ridiculous.”

“Nah, you look beautiful,” he said. “Makes getting up at this early hour for surgery worth it.”

Huh? Edward seemed to be overtly hitting on her. What was that about? She didn’t want to lose respect for him. Even if he wasn’t hers, she liked the idea of knowing men like Edward existed. Fate wouldn’t necessarily collide her with another one like him, but it was reassuring to at least know these unicorns were out there. Thinking of him stepping out of the bounds of his marriage, even with just casual lip service, was disheartening. She moved to ground the conversation back in practicalities.

“So how come you’re here already? I thought the actual surgery doesn’t start for a few hours,” Evie asked.

“I wanted to be there when Bette gets her sentinel node injection. She needs to get five hefty shots, and I wasn’t sure how you and the rest of your family would feel about being in the room with her then. It’s intense. She could use someone to hold her hand.”

That was the Edward she knew and admired.

“That’s really kind of you,” Evie said, wishing she could say more. But she felt restrained in Susan’s presence.

Bette was sitting up in her hospital bed when they entered.

“Susan,” she gushed, and tears began streaking her powdered face.

“Hi, Mom.”

Mother and daughter embraced while Evie stood to the side.

Next to Bette’s bed was a huge bouquet of pink azaleas. Evie squinted to read the card: “For my favorite gal in CV Towers. Looking forward to your healthy return. Yours, Sam.” It was nice to see they’d reconciled—that the rumors of him playing shuffleboard with the condo hussy were overblown. Why shouldn’t old people date? If her grandmother wanted to subject herself to the misery and heartache of relationships, who was Evie to stop her?

“Back with Sam, I see?” Evie said, gesturing toward the flowers. “You haven’t mentioned him in a while.”

Bette shrugged her feeble shoulders. “At my age, you learn to be forgiving. I’ve alvays believed it’s better to compromise zan to be alone.”

“I know that, Grandma.” Did Bette actually think she was telling her something new?

“I’m sure you don’t agree. And you shouldn’t. Don’t settle, Evie-le. You don’t have to.”

Just when Bette did surprise her, Edward entered.

“Good morning, Bette. You look beautiful,” he said. “I’m afraid though that you’re going to have to take off your jewelry before we get started.” Evie didn’t like the way Edward was throwing around his compliments, using the same word to describe her and her eighty-one-year-old grandmother. Maybe he hadn’t been flirting with her after all.

Evie stepped outside to let Susan and Bette reunite more. Her mother and Winston were in the hallway, arranging trays of coffee, yogurt, and muffins. Edward tapped Evie on the arm and
motioned for her to follow him outside the room. They gathered into a huddle with Fran and Winston.

“I just want to go over the details again. The surgery itself will take about an hour and a half and then she’ll be in the recovery room until all of her vital signs are strong—could be up to four or five hours. Bette will be awake but pretty out of it. There’s really no reason for you to stay here if you want to get some fresh air. I’ll call right away if there’s any issue. And then the most important thing is to make sure Bette takes it easy for the next few weeks because we don’t want her to get an infection during the recovery. This is especially important for the older patients. She will definitely be in pain for a while. I’ve left a Percocet prescription at the hospital pharmacy. Evie—I know Bette’s insurance covers a home-care attendant for the first few weeks after the surgery, but I know you’ll be helping out as well. Make sure she drinks plenty of water with the pain medication and changes her bandages. I think that’s it for now. We’ll talk more after.”

Evie loved watching his brow furrow while he spoke, the way his face conveyed concern even unintentionally.

“All right, I’m going to get Bette started in a few minutes, so now’s the time to wish her luck.” Looking at Evie, he said, “And I know you’ve got a picture to take.”

“Thank you for everything, Dr. Gold,” Evie said. She felt strange saying “Edward” in front of her family. She went in to see Bette, who looked remarkably peaceful.

“Evie-le, you really look gorgeous,” Bette said when Evie bent down to give her a kiss. “I’m so lucky to have such a devoted granddaughter. Your father vould be so proud of you. If something happens to me during surgery, I just vant you to know how much I love you. I have alvays been so proud. Even vith losing Henry, I still feel lucky because I have you.”

Evie choked up. She reached for Bette’s hand, squeezed it gently, and didn’t release it until the lump in her throat subsided.

“Grandma, stop. You’re going to be fine. Dr. Gold is a great surgeon. He’s going to take good care of you.”

“Yes, I know you’re right.” She sighed. “Okay, send in ze rest of zem to vish me luck.”

Evie gave Bette another kiss and motioned for her mother to come in.

“You know, Evie,” Bette said as Evie shifted to allow her mother to approach. “Everything happens for a reason.”

Evie didn’t know exactly what her grandmother meant, but she nodded anyway.

When she was back in the hallway, Edward said to her, “Evie, I’ll call you as soon as the surgery is over.” He put his hand gently on her back, which was exposed thanks to her dress. His touch sent unexpected chills down her spine.

“Okay,” Evie said. “Thanks again.” She wanted to reach up and hug him but resisted.

A nurse approached them as Evie was preparing to leave.

“Dr. Gold, Mrs. Gold is on the phone for you.”

“I better take that. We’re better on the phone than Twitter,” Edward said, giving Evie a sheepish look, but she didn’t catch his meaning.

“It’s all good, Doc,” the nurse said, jabbing him in the waist with her elbow.

“Thanks, Milly,” Edward said. “I’m glad you’ve got my back.” Addressing Evie, he said, “We’ll speak later then.” She nodded her acquiescence.

He waved at her as he turned toward the nurses’ station, looking wistful as he walked away.

Or maybe it was just Evie, projecting her own disappointment onto him.

# # #

Evie didn’t expect to have any free time the day of Bette’s surgery. While she slipped into the jeans and sweater she had brought along, she realized they never took the family photo Bette requested. Evie hadn’t seen anyone even carrying a camera. She had already arranged a personal day from Brighton, so after changing into her regular clothes, she set out for a stroll on the Upper East Side.

Fran and Winston opted to stay put while Susan set out in search of organic toothpaste and “conflict-free” baby wash, whatever that was. Evie grabbed a latte from a coffee shop on Third Avenue and sipped it slowly while she window-shopped. She stumbled upon a vintage poster shop with a
Great Gatsby
movie poster in the storefront and had a brainstorm. This would be perfect for Tracy’s classroom. Inside the store, she picked out three more posters for movies based on great works of literature—
To Kill a Mockingbird, Great Expectations,
and
The Crucible
—and headed to the register.

“That will be three hundred and fifty dollars,” the elderly clerk said to her. He was dressed in a woolly gray cardigan and was sipping hot tea from a New York Film Academy mug. Despite his appearance, he managed to be completely ungrandfatherly in demeanor.

“For posters?”

“Yes, these are vintage posters. We have the most impressive collection of classic movie posters in New York.”

He let out a hacking cough, the signature of a lifetime of cigarettes. Evie tried to imagine this curmudgeonly poster salesman in his younger years. Maybe he was a screenwriter; someone who chain-smoked in coffee shops while aspiring actresses flirted with him so they could get parts in his movies that were never made.
This sales job was supposed to be temporary. For every star residing in New York City, there were a thousand has-beens or wanna-bes. She softened on him. Perhaps he registered this, because he leaned close to her and lowered his voice.

“I’m not supposed to be saying this, but all of these posters are available on eBay for half the cost. Trust me, I know. That’s where we get our posters most of the time.” He gave her a smile that was a tad sleazy.

“Only online?” she pressed. “No other stores in the area sell these posters for less?”

“Sweetheart, I just told you where you can get the posters for half price. Now you want me to direct you to other stores? You want these posters or not?”

“Yeah, fine, I’ll take them,” she relented and pulled out her credit card.

Quitting the Internet had definitely been cash-flow positive, even if she couldn’t find these posters on eBay. She no longer made frivolous clothing buys that she’d be too lazy to send back; there was never the right size box to return them in, and going to UPS was a total drag. It had been months since the Amazon.com money pit had gotten the best of her late at night. The job at Brighton, while it was no Baker Smith, afforded her some monetary wiggle room. She had Tracy to thank for that one, so it only seemed right she should do something to express her appreciation.

Rolled-up posters in hand, she wandered the streets aimlessly for another hour, trying not to think about Bette, Edward, Jack, Susan, Stasia’s baby, Paul’s baby, Baker Smith, and everything else that was unhinging her. By the time she got the call that the surgery was complete, her psyche was in tatters.

Back at the hospital, she found her family gathered in Edward’s office. There was no empty seat so she stood awkwardly
against the wall. The degrees and anatomical posters covered practically every inch of free space, so she braced herself against an important-looking certificate from Harvard.

“Evie, welcome,” Edward said. “I was just saying that all went as planned. Bette is awake and resting. You can go see her when we’re finished in here, assuming she’s up. We successfully removed the first-draining lymph nodes and sent them off to pathology. The lumpectomy went smoothly as well. I would imagine Bette will experience significant soreness for a few days, but other than that she should be comfortable. Remember she needs to rest. If I know Bette, she’s likely to ignore the instructions from the nurse. But you guys might get through to her. We’ll meet in a week to discuss the results. I know the wait is the hardest part. Stay positive. It really helps.”

Evie’s mother stood up and went to give Edward a hug, making Evie wonder why she had felt awkward doing the same earlier.

“Dr. Gold, I can’t thank you enough. We’re just all so grateful to you,” Fran gushed.

Winston rose too and slapped Edward on the back, echoing Fran’s sentiments.

“Please, don’t thank me,” Edward said modestly.

They all walked out of the office to head toward the recovery room. Fran, Winston, and Susan took the lead, and Evie and Edward fell back and walked together. She wondered if any of her family noticed a special connection between her and the doctor. If so, nobody said anything.

“She’s sleeping,” Winston said, looking back when he reached the recovery room. “Let’s get something to eat downstairs and try again in a little while.”

“You guys go ahead,” Evie said, waving them off. Fran linked her arm in Winston’s and they set off for the elevator.

“Feeling better, Evie?” Edward asked when her family was out
of view. She assumed he was referring to their talk from the day before.

“Much,” she responded truthfully. In his presence, she really was happier, especially when she succeeded in moving Mrs. Gold to the deep recesses of her brain.

“Glad to hear it,” he said. “How about we get something to eat as well? I never did get that egg cream I wanted yesterday.”

This time, with her energy drained from the stress of the surgery and her faculties cloudier than usual, she couldn’t resist.