Nothing Lasts Forever (19 page)

T
he black man with the gun pointed at Honey screamed, “I told you to shut up!”

“I…I’m sorry,” Honey said. She was trembling. “Wh…what do you want?”

He was pressing his hand against his side, trying to stop the flow of blood. “I want my sister.”

Honey looked at him, puzzled. He was obviously insane. “Your sister?”

“Kat.” His voice was becoming faint.

“Oh, my God! You’re Mike!”

“Yeah.”

The gun dropped, and he slipped to the floor. Honey rushed to him. Blood was pouring out from what looked like a gunshot wound.

“Lie still,” Honey said. She hurried into the bathroom and gathered up some peroxide and a large bath towel. She returned to Mike. “This is going to hurt,” she warned.

He lay there, too weak to move.

She poured peroxide into the wound and pressed the
towel against his side. He bit down on his hand to keep from screaming.

“I’m going to call an ambulance and get you to the hospital,” Honey said.

He grabbed her arm. “No! No hospitals. No police.” His voice was getting weaker. “Where’s Kat?”

“I don’t know,” Honey said helplessly. She knew Kat was out somewhere with Mallory, but she had no idea where. “Let me call a friend of mine.”

“Paige?” he asked.

Honey nodded. “Yes.”
So Kat told him about the two of us.

It took the hospital ten minutes to reach Paige.

“You’d better come home,” Honey said.

“I’m on call, Honey. I’m in the middle of—”

“Kat’s brother is here.”

“Oh, well, tell him—”

“He’s been shot.”

“He
what
?”

“He’s been shot!”

“I’ll send the paramedics over and—”

“He says no hospitals and no police. I don’t know what to do.”

“How bad is it?”

“Pretty bad.”

There was a pause. “I’ll find someone to cover for me. I’ll be there in half an hour.”

Honey replaced the receiver and turned to Mike. “Paige is coming.”

Two hours later, on her way back to the apartment, Kat was filled with a glorious sense of well-being. She had
been nervous about making love, afraid that she would hate it after the terrible experience she had had, but instead, Ken Mallory had turned it into something wonderful. He had unlocked emotions in her that she had never known existed.

Smiling to herself at the thought of how they had outwitted the doctors at the last moment and won the bet, Kat opened the door to the apartment and stood there in shock. Paige and Honey were kneeling beside Mike. He was lying on the floor, a pillow under his head, a towel pressed against his side, his clothes soaked with blood.

Paige and Honey looked up as Kat entered.

“Mike! My God!” She rushed over to Mike and knelt beside him. “What happened?”

“Hi, sis.” His voice was barely a whisper.

“He’s been shot,” Paige said. “He’s hemorrhaging.”

“Let’s get him to the hospital,” Kat said.

Mike shook his head. “No,” he whispered. “You’re a doctor. Fix me up.”

Kat looked over at Paige.

“I’ve stopped as much of the bleeding as I can, but the bullet is still inside him. We don’t have the instruments here to—”

“He’s still losing blood,” Kat said. She cradled Mike’s head in her arms. “Listen to me, Mike. If you don’t get help, you’re going to die.”

‘You…can’t…report…this…I don’t want any police.”

Kat asked quietly, “What are you involved in, Mike?”

“Nothing. I was in a…a business deal…and it went sour…and this guy got mad and shot me.”

It was the kind of story Kat had been listening to for years. Lies. All lies. She had known that then, and she
knew it now, but she had tried to keep the truth from herself.

Mike held on to her arm. “Will you help me, sis?”

“Yes. I’m going to help you, Mike.” Kat leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. Then she rose and went to the telephone. She picked up the receiver and dialed the emergency room at the hospital. “This is Dr. Hunter,” she said in an unsteady voice. “I need an ambulance right away…”

At the hospital, Kat asked Paige to perform the operation to remove the bullet.

“He’s lost a lot of blood,” Paige said. She turned to the assisting surgeon. “Give him another unit.”

It was dawn when the operation was finished. The surgery was successful.

When it was over, Paige called Kat aside. “How do you want me to report this?” she asked. “I could list it as an accident, or…”

“No,” Kat said. Her voice was filled with pain. “I should have done this a long time ago. I want you to report it as a gunshot wound.”

Mallory was waiting for Kat outside the operating theater.

“Kat! I heard about your brother and…”

Kat nodded wearily.

“I’m so sorry. Is he going to be all right?”

Kat looked at Mallory and said, “Yes. For the first time in his life, Mike is going to be all right.”

Mallory squeezed Kat’s hand. “I just want you to
know how wonderful last night was. You were a miracle. Oh. That reminds me. The doctors I bet with are in the lounge waiting, but I suppose with all that has happened, you wouldn’t want to go in and…”

“Why not?”

She took his arm and the two of them walked into the lounge. The doctors watched them as they approached.

Grundy said, “Hi, Kat. We need to have your word on something. Dr. Mallory claims that you and he spent the night together, and it was great.”

“It was better than great,” Kat said. “It was
fantastic
!” She kissed Mallory on the cheek. “I’ll see you later, lover.”

The men sat there, gaping, as Kat walked away.

In their dressing room, Kat said to Paige and Honey, “In all the excitement, I haven’t had a chance to tell you the news.”

“What news?” Paige asked.

“Ken asked me to marry him.”

There were looks of disbelief on their faces.

“You’re joking!” Paige said.

“No. He proposed to me last night. I accepted.”

“But you can’t marry him!” Honey exclaimed. “You know what he’s like. I mean, he tried to get you to go to bed on a bet!”

“He succeeded.” Kat grinned.

Paige looked at her. “I’m confused.”

Kat said, “We were wrong about him. Completely wrong. Ken told me about that bet himself. All this time, it’s been bothering his conscience. Don’t you see what
happened? I went out with him to punish him, and he went out with me to win some money, and we ended up falling in love with each other. Oh, I can’t tell you how happy I am!”

Honey and Paige looked at each other. “When are you getting married?” Honey asked.

“We haven’t discussed it yet, but I’m sure it will be soon. I want you two to be my bridesmaids.”

“You can count on it,” Paige said. “We’ll be there.” But there was a nagging doubt in the back of her mind. She yawned. “It’s been a long night. I’m going home and get some sleep.”

“I’ll stay here with Mike,” Kat said. “When he wakes up, the police want to talk to him.” She took their hands in hers. “Thank you for being such good friends.”

On the way home, Paige thought about what had happened that night. She knew how much Kat loved her brother. It had taken a lot of courage to turn him over to the police.
I should have done this a long time ago.

The telephone was ringing as Paige walked into the apartment. She hurried to pick it up.

It was Jason. “Hi! I just called to tell you how much I miss you. What’s going on in your life?”

Paige was tempted to tell him, to share it with somebody, but it was too personal. It belonged to Kat.

“Nothing,” Paige said. “Everything is fine.”

“Good. Are you free for dinner tonight?”

Paige was aware that it was more than an invitation to dinner.
If I see him any more, I’m going to get involved,
Paige thought. She knew that it was one of the most important decisions of her life.

She took a deep breath. “Jason…” The doorbell rang. “Hold it a minute, will you, Jason?”

Paige put the telephone down and went to the door and opened it.

Alfred Turner was standing there.

P
aige stood there, frozen.

Alfred smiled. “May I come in?”

She was flustered. “Of…of course. I’m…sorry.” She watched Alfred walk into the living room, and she was filled with conflicting emotions. She was happy and excited and angry at the same time.
Why am I going on like this?
Paige thought.
He probably dropped by to say hello.

Alfred turned to her. “I’ve left Karen.”

The words were a shock.

Alfred moved closer to her. “I made a big mistake, Paige. I never should have let you go. Never.”

“Alfred…” Paige suddenly remembered. “Excuse me.”

She hurried to the telephone and picked it up. “Jason?”

“Yes, Paige. About tonight, we could—”

“I…I can’t see you.”

“Oh. If tonight is bad, what about tomorrow night?”

“I…I’m not sure.”

He sensed the tension in her voice. “Is anything wrong?”

“No. Everything is fine. I’ll call you tomorrow and explain.”

“All right.” He sounded puzzled.

Paige replaced the receiver.

“I’ve missed you, Paige,” Alfred said. “Have you missed me?”

No. I just follow strangers on the street and call them Alfred.
“Yes,” Paige admitted.

“Good. We belong together, you know. We always have.”

Have we? Is that why you married Karen? Do you think you can walk in and out of my life any time you please?

Alfred was standing close to her. “Haven’t we?”

Paige looked at him and said, “I don’t know.” It was all too sudden.

Alfred took her hand in his. “Of course you do.”

“What happened with Karen?”

Alfred shrugged. “Karen was a mistake. I kept thinking about you and all the great times we had. We were always good for each other.”

She was watching him, wary, guarded. “Alfred…”

“I’m here to stay, Paige. When I say ‘here,’ I don’t exactly mean that. We’re going to New York.”

“New York?”

“Yes. I’ll tell you all about it. I could use a cup of coffee.”

“Of course. I’ll make a fresh pot. It will just take a few minutes.”

Alfred followed her into the kitchen, where Paige began to prepare the coffee. She was trying to get her
thoughts in order. She had wanted Alfred back so desperately, and now that he was here…

Alfred was saying, “I’ve learned a lot in the last few years, Paige. I’ve grown up.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. You know I’ve been working with WHO all these years.”

“I know.”

“Those countries haven’t changed any since we were kids. In fact, some of them are worse. There’s more disease down there, more poverty…”

“But you were there, helping,” Paige said.

“Yes, and I suddenly woke up.”

“Woke up?”

“I realized I was throwing my life away. I was down there, living in misery, working twenty-four hours a day, helping those ignorant savages, when I could have been making a bundle of money over here.”

Paige was listening in disbelief.

“I met a doctor who has a practice on Park Avenue in New York. Do you know how much he makes a year? Over five hundred thousand dollars! Did you hear me? Five hundred thousand a year!”

Paige was staring at him.

“I said to myself, ‘Where has that kind of money been all of my life?’ He offered me a position as an associate,” Alfred said proudly, “and I’m going in with him. That’s why you and I are going to New York.”

Paige stood there, numbed by what she was hearing.

“I’ll be able to afford a penthouse apartment for us, and to get you pretty dresses, and all the things I’ve always promised you.” He was grinning. “Well, are you surprised?”

Paige’s mouth was dry. “I…I don’t know what to say, Alfred.”

He laughed. “Of course you don’t. Five hundred thousand dollars a year is enough to make anyone speechless.”

“I wasn’t thinking of the money,” Paige said slowly.

“No?”

She was studying him, as though seeing him for the first time. “Alfred, when you were working for WHO, didn’t you feel you were helping people?”

He shrugged. “Nothing can help those people. And who the hell really cares? Would you believe that Karen wanted me to stay down there in Bangladesh? I told her no way, so she went back.” He took Paige’s hand. “So here I am… You’re a little quiet. I guess you’re overwhelmed by all this, huh?”

Paige thought of her father.
He would have been a big success on Park Avenue, but he wasn’t interested in money. His only interest was in helping people.

“I’ve already divorced Karen, so we can get married right away.” He patted her hand. “What do you think of the idea of living in New York?”

Paige took a deep breath. “Alfred…”

There was an expectant smile on his face. “Yes?”

“Get out.”

The smile slowly faded. “What?”

Paige rose. “I want you to get out of here.”

He was confused. “Where do you want me to go?”

“I won’t tell you,” Paige said. “It would hurt your feelings.”

After Alfred had gone, Paige sat lost in thought. Kat had been right. She had been clinging to a ghost.
Helping those ignorant savages, when I could have been making a
bundle over here… Five hundred thousand a year!

And that’s what I’ve been hanging on to,
Paige thought wonderingly. She should have felt depressed, but instead she was filled with a feeling of elation. She suddenly felt free. She knew now what she wanted.

She walked over to the telephone and dialed Jason’s number.

“Hello.”

“Jason, it’s Paige. Remember telling me about your house in Noe Valley?”

“Yes…”

“I’d love to see it. Are you free tonight?”

Jason said quietly, “Do you want to tell me what’s going on, Paige? I’m very confused.”

“
I’m
the one who’s confused. I thought I was in love with a man I knew a long time ago, but he’s not the same man. I know what I want now.”

“Yes?”

“I want to see your house.”

Noe Valley belonged to another century. It was a colorful oasis in the heart of one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.

Jason’s house was a reflection of him—comfortable, neat, and charming. He escorted Paige through the house. “This is the living room, the kitchen, the guest bathroom, the study…” He looked at her and said, “The bedroom is upstairs. Would you like to see it?”

Paige said quietly, “Very much.”

They went up the stairs into the bedroom. Paige’s heart was pounding wildly. But what was happening seemed inevitable.
I should have known from the beginning,
she thought.

Paige never knew who made the first move, but somehow they were in each other’s arms and Jason’s lips were on hers, and it seemed the most natural thing in the world. They started to undress each other, and there was a fierce urgency in both of them. And then they were in bed, and he was making love to her.

“God,” he whispered. “I love you.”

“I know,” Paige teased. “Ever since I told you to put on the white coat.”

After they made love, Paige said, “I’d like to spend the night here.”

Jason smiled. “You won’t hate me in the morning?”

“I promise.”

Paige spent the night with Jason, talking…making love…talking. In the morning, she cooked breakfast for him.

Jason watched her, and said, “I don’t know how I got so lucky, but thank you.”

“I’m the lucky one,” Paige told him.

“You know something? I never got an answer to my proposal.”

“You’ll have an answer this afternoon.”

That afternoon, a messenger arrived at Jason’s office, with an envelope. Inside was the card that Jason had sent with the model house.

Mine
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Ours
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