Samson and Sunset (43 page)

  “Now, Patty,” said Shay, smiling,
“don’t let my match-maker wife here set you up with someone you
don’t even know.” He winked at her. “Patty, I’m glad to meet you.”
He extended his hand and the girl took it shyly. “Callie has been
singing your praises all morning, so I’m going to slip out and let
you gals have your girl time. Callie,” he turned to me, “the kids
will be in to see you this evening after school, and I’ll be in
after I get through with work.”

  He put his gentle lips on mine for a
long, sensual kiss; my Shay wasn’t shy. But Patty was, she turned
her head away politely.

  After Shay left I told Patty how happy
I was that she was back on duty. I was so thankful for the time
she’d spent with me yesterday, and the good lotion rub.

  Then I said, “Patty, I have something
for you. Something I want to give you to show you my appreciation.
Here is a meal ticket, and a taxi pass, for the next year. I don’t
want you ever to walk home alone in the dark again.”

  “For me?” Her eyes widened as I held
out the tickets. “Truly? For me?” It was the voice of a child
getting her first Christmas present ever.

  She leaned down and hugged me warmly.
She was so precious I could have held her in my arms forever. I
could tell Patty didn’t want to let go of me either.

  “Mrs. Westover,” she said as she
hugged me, “you smell so good!”

  “Probably my perfume,” I told her,
leaning back onto my pillow. “Shay likes my natural scent the best,
but when I do put on perfume, this is his favorite.”

  “How can I ever thank you enough, Mrs.
Westover?”

  “Patty, you already have. And please,
I want you to call me Kathrine, that’s what everyone calls me.
Well, everyone except for my Shay, he calls me Callie, princess,
darlin’, babe—and he gets in an occasional baby doll,” I
smiled.

  “Kathrine, can I ask you the name of
that perfume? I just love it and maybe I could get a small bottle
sometime.”

  “It’s Paris by Yves Saint Laurent. I’m
glad you like it, sweetie.”

  “Is it very expensive?” she asked
doubtfully.

  “It’s about eighty dollars,” I said,
feeling bad as I thought of how many groceries that could buy her
and her grandma. “But I don’t buy it myself,” I added quickly, “my
Shay always gets it for me as a gift.”

  Patty spent more of her time on duty
with me than any other patient. I think she had three patients
assigned to her that day. She didn’t neglect anyone, just came into
my room a lot when she was free.

  “Now remember,” I said as it neared
suppertime, “you’re going down for supper at 5:00 p.m.!”

  She flashed me the biggest grin.

  When Patty got back from supper, Kelly
and Wes were there. Of course, I’d told them all about Patty,
teasing Wes that I’d found him the cutest girlfriend. After
introductions, I could tell I had rendered Patty and Wes shy around
each other. Wes just sort of stood there with his hands in his
pockets, rocking sideways a little. I could see Patty was flustered
around him.

  “So is my mom giving you a bad time?”
Wes asked.

  “No, she’s the best patient I’ve ever
had!” Patty answered sincerely.

  Kelly had a small conversation with
Patty and they seemed to hit it off quite well. Then Patty left so
I could visit with the kids. Kelly told me that Patty seemed like a
real nice girl.

  “Yeah,” said Wes begrudgingly, “she’s
alright for a girl. I guess she’s pretty cute.”

  “Wes,” Kelly teased, “you are both the
same age, but I don’t know if it could work out, seeing as you act
more like five than fifteen!”

  After a good visit, satisfied that I
looked alright, the kids said they were going to leave and go
shopping for something.

  “Wait a second, Kelly, hand me my
purse,” I asked. “Here’s some money. I want you to go to my
favorite department store, go to the perfume department, and buy a
bottle of my favorite perfume. You know which one. Have it
gift-wrapped and bring it when you come see me tomorrow. Can you do
that, sweetie?”

  “Sure, Mom, we’ll get it,” Kelly
said.

  They both hugged me and were out the
door, with Wes sticking his head back in right away, adding, “Hey
Mom! Tell Patty Cake I said goodbye.”

  I chuckled. That boy. Patty Cake, what
a cute name. Brought back memories of when I was little and played
patty cake with Mommy and Daddy and when Kelly and Wes were little
and Shay and I played patty cake with them.

  ***

Patty and I spent the night visiting again.
This time she wanted to know about my family. I told her we were
sort of complicated, that we lived on a farmstead near the river in
Westover. She was tickled to learn that I lived in a town named the
same as my last name. I didn’t tell her the Westovers practically
owned the town, or that it was named for great, great, great
Grandpa Westover.

  I looked at that sweet child sitting
there and said, “Patty, would you like to come out and have dinner
with us sometime when I get out of here? We’d sure love having you.
I could come into town and pick you up if it would be okay with
your grandmother.”

  She said she would love that, and we
exchanged numbers.

  ***

The next day Shay was there at 8:30 a.m. as
usual.

  “Well, my love, where did you sleep
last night?” I asked.

  “In the guest room, darlin’.”

  “Oh, I’ll bet you’re just kidding
me.”

  “Oh yeah, my princess? Just ask the
kids and your mom, smarty pants!”

  He was hugging and kissing me and we
were getting so turned on that we realized with a quick glance at
each other that we had to stop this endeavor right now. Shay pulled
a chair up and just held my hand.

  “Well, did you give your little friend
her gifts?” he asked.

  “Shay, she was so grateful. She met
the kids, I even invited her to come out for dinner one day,” I
told him.

  “It was the cutest thing,” Shay
chuckled, “when the kids got home, Kelly was talking about you, and
Wes was taking about Patty Cake! Is that her nickname?”

  “No, that’s what your son has named
her.”

  We both grinned and Shay said, “I got
the impression he was a mite smitten.”

  It was about ten after ten when my
doctor ducked his head in.

  “Oh, I’m glad you’re here, Shay,” he
said. “We got the results.”

  “That was fast!” I gasped. “ Oh, Shay,
hold me, I’m so scared. I’m sick, just sick!” I cried through
massive tears.

  For any woman who has ever had to sit
and wait, then hear those words, “the results are in”—it’s a moment
only those women can truly understand. Shay reached over and
cradled me in his strong arms. My doctor moved to the foot of my
bed and opened the folder. You could have heard a pin drop.

  There was no movement in that room
until my doctor smiled.

  “Kathrine, you don’t have breast
cancer. You have fibrocystic breast disease; the lump was benign.
You’re going to be with us a long time, Kathrine,” he said in an
extremely happy voice.

  I broke down, sobbing tears of relief.
Shay held me and I could tell he was crying right along with me.
Sometimes we forget that this news isn’t just our news, it’s also
our family’s news.

  “Well, I’m out of here, you kids can
get back to your necking,” Doc Sam said cheerily. “Kathrine, I’m
keeping you until tomorrow morning. Shay can take you home around
ten.” He paused. “I’m so happy for you, kids,” he added and was out
the door.

  I swear I saw tears of joy in Doc
Sam’s eyes. After all, he’d been through a lot with us.

  Shay and I sat there clinging to each
other. It was news that had lifted a weight off our hearts. I
grabbed for the phone and called Mom right away. I told her I’d
tell the kids when they got to the hospital after school. When I
delivered the news, both of my children looked like they’d been
given a gift. They ran over to me, one on each side of my bed, and
hugged me.

  After a major hugging session, Kelly
reached into her bag and handed me a beautifully wrapped box.
“Here’s the perfume you wanted, Mom.”

  “Oh, thank you, sweetheart.” I took
the pretty box and placed it on my bedside table.

  After the children left, Patty popped
her head in and I said, “Come in! Come in!”

  I told her my big news and this child
jumped up out of her chair and came over and threw her arms around
me.

  “My dear, sweet Patty, I have
something for you,” I said in a soft voice, handing her the
package.

  “What? Kathrine, I can’t believe you
got me another gift after all those wonderful passes you gave me,”
she said in excitement.

  I watched her open it and saw her eyes
grow big as golf balls.

  “Oh, Kathrine, it’s the expensive
perfume. I can’t believe you got me this! It’s too expensive to
wear!” By now Patty was crying. “I don’t know what I’m going to do
when you go home tomorrow,” she said through tears. “I’ll be coming
here at one and this room will be empty.”

  “Come here, Patty, girl.’” I hugged
her. “I have your phone number and you have mine. You can count on
the fact that I’ll be calling and coming to get you to come out to
our house for dinner. You have my promise on that, my little Gray
Angel.”

  Patty stayed close to me throughout
her shift, and was back to hug me before she left to catch her
cab.

  My Shay Man was there at 8:30 a.m. the
next morning to take me home (several hours earlier than my
discharge time, but I had no complaints, I was so happy to see his
beautiful face.) I was excited to get home and back to
lovemaking.

“Just think!” I told him. “No more bras to
bed!”

  The Hand Of Grace

  How many times had I said I was glad
to be home? I think this one topped them all. Hulda and Mom roasted
a turkey with all the fixings for supper. When our whole family sat
around the table that night, Sterling and Maggie were there with
us, and of course I always had Hulda sit at the big table and eat
with my family. I made that rule in remembrance of my Cookie. I
asked if it was okay with everyone that I give the blessing that
night. To my amazement, after I was through, each and every person
at the table said a separate little blessing, thanking God that I
was safe at home.

  I had never felt so loved in my life.
I had the best children in the world. They were strong little
soldiers through all of this. I think in a lot of ways Wes grew up
a lot that week. I knew he was thankful to God that his mother was
okay. It was good to be home. I was a blessed woman.

  When supper was over, Shay picked me
up out of my chair and said, “Mommy, you’re anemic, Daddy’s putting
you to bed.”

  Gee, not even a silly remark from Wes
that night!

  I still had to wear a small bandage
until the stitches came out. Shay went into the bathroom and I
heard him turn on the shower. Then he returned to the bed to gently
undress me, pick me up, and put me in the shower. After undressing
himself, he got in to wash me. Now I really knew I was home! My
home was in Shay’s heart, and that’s where I was. He told me I
could live there forever, so I was home.

  Shay was ever so careful while
showering me. He was gentle, carefully avoiding my bandage; it was
like he thought I might break. He washed my hair, rinsed it, and
kept kissing the flesh around my neck.

  “I know my princess is home…I smell
her beautiful body scent,” he said as he nibbled on my
shoulders.

  He had my back against his chest and
those big strong arms around me. The shower was long, hot and
steamy, just like what followed in the bed.

  ***

Throughout the years of our marriage, I had
several girlfriends ask me how Shay and I could make love for
two-hour sessions. Well, as I told them, it was actually about two
hours from the start of the dance to the end of the dance. We spent
about half an hour in the shower together, then we dried each other
off and lotioned one another up. Fifteen to twenty minutes of
sensuous kissing, followed by an immense thirty minutes of
foreplay, and then slow gentle sex, which led to rigorous,
aggressive, wild, thrusting sex, bringing each other to complete
fulfillment.

All in all, it took around two hours. We
always referred to our sexual liasons as The Dance. It's so like a
dance, the way you move forward to ask a person, they accept; the
positioning of bodies, getting into one another's rhythm, the
heightened awareness of the other person. Then the end of the
dance, the grand finish!

    Everywhere Shay went the next
couple of days, he took me with him. To the field, the barn, the
irrigation pump houses. He wouldn’t let me out of his sight. He
always had that gentle warm hand on me somewhere. If all men could
love their wives like this, there wouldn’t be divorce. Children
would grow up with their birth parents, what a wonderful world it
would be. People say that’s nothing but a dream. So what if it is a
dream? I heard it in a song once that dreams don’t have to hide
inside.

  ***

Wednesday morning, after taking care of my
every need, Shay reached over on the end table, picked up his
credit card and handed it to me.

  “Callie, I want you to go shopping and
get the sexiest dress you can find and all the accessories. I’m
taking you to the Golden Spur Steakhouse Sunday night just to show
you off. Surprise me with your Callie touch, but make it so sexy
that I find myself unable to eat my steak without choking on it,”
he grinned.

  “Shay, darlin,’ I’m going to knock
your socks off,” I said. “You’re going to want me before we get off
the dance floor!”

  “Hell, woman, I’m going to want you
before we even get on the dance floor!” Shay said as he slipped out
of bed. He kissed me and went to shower.