Dearly Loved (12 page)

Meredith gripped the back of the pew in front of her.
What’s wrong with me? I’ve got to get a handle on myself!

“Meredith! There you are!”

She took a deep breath, keeping her expression bland as they approached. “Hi, Rosa. David.”

Rosa raised her brow at Meredith. “David was a little unsteady, so he’s letting me help him out.”

Glancing at David, she gave him a tight smile. “Did you enjoy the service?”

“Very much. And it helps knowing two lovely ladies such as you will be my fellow parishioners.”

The blessing she’d received from the service seemed to fade away. All she wanted now was to escape. “Well! My bed is calling to me. I’ll see you later.”

Before either could respond, Meredith turned and threaded her way through the crowd. She didn’t relax until she made it to the safety of her home. From there she hurriedly undressed and crawled into bed. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to shut out images of David and Rosa as a couple.

She failed.

***

The following Tuesday, Meredith received a call asking her for an interview for the Peds position she’d applied for. With anticipation, she showered and dressed, wondering how her life might change should she get the job.

The interview lasted nearly an hour. Meredith made her way home feeling very confident. She was told she’d hear back in a month or so with the decision.

Clay called and asked her out to dinner. After a moment of mental wrangling, she agreed.
Why shouldn’t I go out with someone nice and calming? Spending time with someone else is the fastest route to getting over David.

Wait a minute. I am over David. Have been for like a decade. Sheesh!

After dinner she invited Clay in and made tea while Bitsy provided some comic relief with his unending stream of dog tricks. She and Clay settled onto the couch a short time later. He stretched his arm along the back of the sofa and wrapped a strand of Meredith’s hair around his finger.

“I’ve really enjoyed our time together, Meredith,” he said in a low voice.

She cleared her throat. “Me too.”

When he leaned closer, Meredith knew he was going to kiss her. She bit her lip, suddenly nervous. Bitsy hopped onto her lap, startling her. “Bitsy!” she cried, embarrassed at the depth of her relief. “Go play or something. Enough tricks!” Then she noticed a ragged piece of material hanging from his mouth. “What in the world?”

Looking disappointed at the interruption, Clay tugged at the fabric in the dog’s mouth. “What is it?”

She furrowed her brows. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Dumping the dog from her lap, Meredith stood and walked to the doorway of her bedroom. She sagged against the doorjamb. “Oh, no.”

Clay walked up behind her and looked over her shoulder. He made a noise that sounded remarkably like a snicker.

Meredith turned and looked up at him. “This isn’t funny!”

His solemn expression was at odds with the amusement in his eyes. “I never said it was funny. It’s more like
disastrous
.”

They both turned at the same time and looked at the destruction Bitsy had wrought in her absence. Her goose-down comforter, just back from the cleaners, was a shredded mess, spreading to the farthest reaches of her bedroom. White feathers covered the floor and wafted in the air as Bitsy ran around in spastic circles.

“Are you sure you don’t want the dog back?”

Clay grinned. “Doubly sure.” He tugged on her hand. “C’mon. I’ll help you clean it up.

Despite her protests, Clay went to work, scooping up as much of the fabric and fluff as possible. Meredith fired up her vacuum cleaner and together they eradicated every last feather from sight. An hour later, Meredith gave Clay a tired smile.

“Thank you for your help. You didn’t have to do that, you know.”

“Of course I did.”

Meredith found herself wondering if he’d try to kiss her again.
I hope so. At least I think I do. Why shouldn’t I?

The tweetering of his cell phone made her jump. Frowning, Clay answered. After a few moments of conversation, he snapped it shut and returned it to his jacket pocket.

“That was my dad. Tiffany apparently had a nightmare and is crying inconsolably. I have to go.”

“Of course.”

Meredith followed him to the door and opened it. Clay walked out onto the porch. He turned. “This isn’t the way I planned for the evening to end.”

She smiled. “That’s okay. Thank you for everything.”

He squeezed her hand. “Good night, Meredith. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Meredith nibbled her bottom lip as she watched him go. She glanced back at her naughty pooch, who lay on his back in the middle of the living room floor, waving his paws in the air trying to look cute. “Don't make me call Cesar Milan on you!”

***

The demands of his business prevented Clay from planning time with Meredith until the following week. Meredith accepted this philosophically. While she wanted to spend more time with him, she also didn’t want to rush anything either.

Her week went quickly and for that she was grateful. On the last day of her shift, Rosa walked into the break room, her arms crossed, the usual sparkle absent from her eyes.

“How’s it going, Mer?”

Meredith paused with a carafe of coffee in her hand. After a moment, she resumed pouring coffee into her mug. “Fine. Want any?”

Rosa shook her head. “You wouldn’t happen to be upset with me for any reason, would you?”

Meredith’s eyebrows shot up. “Why on earth would you think that?”

Rosa gave a light shrug. “I dunno. When I saw you at church last time, you seemed to be in a big hurry to leave.”

“I was tired.”

“Just tired, huh? You’re sure it didn’t have anything to do with who I was with?”

“Of course not,” Meredith replied, amazed at the steadiness of her voice.

“That’s good. She leaned against the cushions and let out a noisy sigh. “Boy, David is one hottie, let me tell ya. Too bad he doesn’t seem to notice anybody else but you.”

Her gaze flew to Rosa’s. “That’s nuts!”

“Pooh. It’s true. All he did was ask me about you. When he saw you, he made a beeline in your direction.”

“It’s probably because we knew each other a long time ago. He’s new in town and I’m a familiar face.”

“Uh-huh,” Rosa said, obviously unconvinced. “When are you going to put that boy out of his misery and go out with him?”

Meredith choked on her coffee. “Since you’re so impressed with him, why don’t you go out with him?”

Rosa grinned. “Why are you so defensive? What are you hiding?”

“Don’t make me throw something at that smug expression of yours, Rosa.”

“I gave him your phone number. And your address. And told him the parks you usually frequent with your dog.”

“What!”

Another shrug. “He asked and I told him. He’s obviously crazy about you.”

Meredith compressed her lips into a hard line. “If anything, the only reason he might be pursuing me is because I’m probably the first female that didn’t swoon into his arms. His type always goes after the unattainable. It’s like a game.”

“You sound kinda bitter. You two have some kind of past thing going on?”

“Have you been watching those soap operas again?” Meredith asked with saccharine sweetness.

Rosa leaned back. “Don’t have to. Just watchin’ you two keeps me entertained enough.”

“Very funny.”

Rosa stood and stretched. “You have to promise to tell me when he kisses you. I swear the man has the most gorgeous mouth I’ve ever seen. Looks like velvet and I’ll bet it tastes like honey.” She kissed the tips of her fingers like a gourmet. “Mmmmm. Let me know what it’s like.”

Meredith laughed out loud at this absurdity. “I think you’re the one who needs to go out on a date, Rosa.”

She giggled. “You’re probably right.”

***

Later that night at work, Meredith didn’t think what Rosa said was funny anymore. The thought of David’s lips against hers plagued her until she felt as surly as Erin could be. Her memories of kisses with David came to the fore with a sweet vengeance. Velvet and honey were very apt descriptions.
Drat Rosa for putting such thoughts into my head!

Even though she could admit some pleasure at the idea David might be pursuing her, she tried to keep the notion cerebral.
Either it’s like I said to Rosa and he wants what’s unattainable or my earlier theory is true—he is lonely and knows he can count on me until someone else takes his fancy. Ugh.

Right before her break, she went to the nurses’ station and saw Clay chatting with Erin. She flushed, embarrassed that she’d been thinking about David again. “Clay! What a surprise!”

He turned and his eyes lit up when he saw her. “Hello, Meredith.”

Quirking a smile, she glanced at her watch. “Are you aware that it’s nearly one o’clock in the morning?”

Clay ran a hand through his hair. “Yes. I had a lot of work to catch up on at the office. When I realized what time it was, I thought I’d come by and say hi.”

Meredith noticed Erin watching their conversation with unveiled interest.
Well, my mother taught me to be polite
. “Um, Erin, I’d like you to meet Clay Roberts.” “Clay, Erin Morgan.”

Clay smiled in her direction. “Actually, we’ve been chatting for the past several minutes.”

Meredith saw Erin’s cheeks grow pink. It dawned on her that without her perpetual grimace, Erin was quite pretty. Shaking a sudden feeling of dismay, she turned to Clay.

“I was just about to take my lunch. Would you like to join me?”

“That’s what I was hoping for.”

They made their way together down to the cafeteria, located in the basement of the hospital.

“Is Tiffany staying with your parents tonight?”

Clay nodded. “I knew I had to work late, so my mother came over to the house.”

“Has she had any more nightmares?”

“Thankfully, no. She’s been doing a lot better.”

“That’s good.”

The cafeteria was sparsely populated when they arrived. Meredith led the way to the line for the food. “With my employee discount, I’m buying.”

Clay laughed. “I’ll take you up on that.”

After they’d filled their trays and settled at a table, Clay tapped his fingers on the tabletop.

“Is she like a head nurse or something?”

“Excuse me?”

“Erin.”

Meredith nodded. “She’s the Med-Surg Charge Nurse.”

Clay took a bite of his sandwich. After swallowing, he cocked his head. “She seems like a really kind woman.”

Meredith gave him a thoughtful look and wondered if they were talking about the same person. She made a noncommittal noise and started in on her salad.

Thankfully, Clay said no more about Erin. For a moment, Meredith wondered if the nurse posed some kind of competition, but after nearly an hour of Clay’s gentle solicitousness, she once again felt confident of his affections.

Meredith looked at her watch. “I hate to say this, but I need to get back to work.”

Clay tried to stifle a yawn and was unsuccessful. “I don’t know how you do it, Meredith. What do you have, like five hours to go?”

“Six.”

He groaned as they got up from the table. They walked to the front entrance of the hospital. Clay squeezed her hand.

“I can’t say that I could make a regular habit of meeting you like this, but it’s been fun.”

Meredith laughed softly. “Hey, at least one of us has to be awake enough to function. With my hours, it probably won’t be me. But I’m glad you came by. That was very sweet.”

The public setting of the hospital lobby precluded any kind of intimate good-bye. Clay smiled warmly, promised to call soon and went through the automatic doors. She watched him for a moment, thinking about his surprise visit.

Meredith made her way back to the Med-Surg unit. To her amazement, for the remainder of her shift, Erin actually treated her with a modicum of civility.

***

David returned the cane to the hospital supply rental store the day he began his job at KVL Channel Nine News. From there, he spent several days of orientation and attending staff meetings, learning routines particular to the station and meeting his fellow employees while working on getting his office area set up.

The station was one of the smaller affiliates of a national broadcasting company, housed in a brick building on the edge of town. About one hundred and forty people worked a myriad of jobs to produce six and a half hours of news every day.

It was a chaotic world David had become accustomed to, where station interns ran to distribute scripts printed off of the computer and copy editors perused scripts and shouted questions across the room, while an intercom blared details from incoming satellite news feeds. Producers booked satellite live shots with the assignment desk while writers, inundated with a constant flow of updated news from the wire services, struggled to keep up with it all.