Family Be Mine (20 page)

“Morphine! The pain is that bad!”

“It's under control. Just like you need to be. Listen, they're going to have to keep him—”

Sarah heard a beep on her phone. “Hold on, Julie, I've got another call coming in. Maybe it's Hunt?” She switched to the other line.

“Sarah, it's Katarina. What's going on with Hunt? First he called Ben. Then I find out from
Babi
cka
that Rufus called her to say that he'd walked the dog, that Hunt hadn't wanted him to bother you.”

“Hunt's in the hospital. It looks like he's going to be okay,” Sarah said, trying to stay calm despite her racing
heart. “Listen, I've got Julie on the other line, and she's the one who just told me. Hunt never called to let me know. Can you believe it?”

“He probably didn't want to worry you. Anyway,
Babi
cka
told me to tell you that she and Wanda are at some tennis tournament in Cherry Hill, but they'll be back in an hour or so. Wanda offered to come over and take care of the dog as soon as they get in.”

“Okay, that's good to know. Right now I just want to get over to the hospital, even if it means driving myself.”

“I wish I could help out, but we're still up in New England. Can't you wait until
Babi
cka
gets home?”

“No, I want to go as soon as possible. He's all by himself.”

“And you're the one who has to be with him now?”

Sarah didn't have time for explanations. “I'll have to talk to you later,” she said, ending the conversation abruptly.

She switched to the other line. “Sorry, Julie. That was Katarina. She'd heard from her grandmother that something was wrong, but she didn't know what. Apparently, Hunt had called Rufus, too. Whatever. Where is Hunt now?”

“Last I saw him, he was still in the E.R. while they were waiting for a bed to open up upstairs.”

“Wherever he is then, I'll find him.” Sarah stood up.

“I can't thank you enough for calling me.”

“Yeah, I kind of figured you'd want to know.”

“You're right, you're right. Let's leave it at that.” There was nothing like a crisis to clear one's thinking.

“Listen, as soon as I get some of Hunt's stuff together,
I'm going to head over to the hospital,” she went on. “I suppose I could always call a taxi.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “I've got another idea,” Julie said. “But I'm not sure you're going to like it….”

 

S
ARAH PEEKED AROUND
the curtain in the double room. “So, you decided you needed a little attention?” she said.

Hunt turned his head toward the sound of her voice. “Hey, you. I'm sorry I didn't call. I didn't want to bother you, especially after yesterday.”

Sarah put down the grocery bag she was carrying and sat on the edge of the bed. “That was yesterday.” She studied Hunt's swollen face and couldn't help wincing. “That looks like it smarts.”

Hunt touched it gingerly. “Actually, it's a lot better than it was a few hours ago. The antibiotics are truly a miracle.”

“And the pain?”

“Really, okay. The morphine was amazing, but I'm already onto something else. Pretty soon I'm sure I can switch to Advil. Right now they're just giving me fluids, and I get the second course of antibiotics in about an hour.”

She looked across the bed at the bag hanging from the metal stand. A portable computer screen flashed the rate of flow. Satisfied, she took his hand. “Julie called and told me you were pretty bad when she first saw you in the E.R.”

“It was kind of interesting, but no matter what, I will never bad-mouth her again. She waltzed in, and all of a sudden, things started happening.”

“When Julie told me you were in the hospital, I immediately thought…”

“Yeah, me, too,” he admitted. “But it turns out to be nothing so dramatic. More like a scratch—thank you, Toulouse—and then some kind of staph infection. So I'll just have to hold off on any dramatic deathbed scenes.” He put the back of his hand to his forehead, a true diva.

Sarah shook her head. “Don't even joke about things like that! I want to punch you, but it looks like that could finish you off.” She gazed out the window by his bed. It offered a view of the medical arts building across the parking lot, the tops of maple trees and an expanse of gray sky. The sun was already starting to set as the days got shorter. To think he might not have seen another one.

She turned her head and reached for his hand. She interlocked her fingers in his. “You should have called me at work. I could have dropped whatever I was doing. When you weren't home, I didn't know what to think.”

“So you missed me?” he asked.

She nodded. “It's true.”

He pulled her hand to his chest, and she lay down next to him. She sniffed. “You know, I wasn't planning on getting attached to you. You represented everything that I didn't want right now. Male companionship. Help. A loss of independence. And…well…I guess that pretty much covers it. I was convinced I was in my ‘solo' phase of life.”

“And now?”

“Now when I realize I could have lost you, that doesn't sound so appealing.”

He smiled. “I take this to mean I can still count on your homemade cookies for a while?”

She smacked him gently on the shoulder.

“Hey! I'm the injured party here!”

“Not your shoulder.” She rubbed it anyway.

“Well, Fred will be delighted to hear that you're staying on. He has abandonment issues, you know.”

“I have no doubt he'd track me down and sit on me until I came back.”

All of a sudden the baby kicked.

Hunt looked down. Lying next to her, he felt it, too. “The baby?”

She chuckled. “Wants to be part of the act.”

Hunt held his hand above her belly. “It's okay?” He placed his fingers lightly on her shirt.

“You can press harder,” she said. “There, did you feel that? That was some kick.”

“Incredible,” he marveled, shaking his head.

Sarah smiled. She loved feeling the baby move, and she had thought that it was the best sensation she had ever experienced. Until Hunt got to experience it along with her. She could feel the tears welling instantaneously.

“Hey, what's wrong?” Hunt said, worried. “I don't want you getting upset. Not with the problems you've already got.”

Sarah sniffed away the tears. “Don't be ridiculous. It's just the hormones. Besides, can't a girl have tears of happiness?”

“Well, as long as it's happiness. We can't take any more excitement in our little temporary family for now.”

“I guess we are a kind of family in a weird way.”

“I guess we're both a little weird, although I'm not sure how Fred would take it.”

She sniffed again, the contentment reaching its way down to her toes. “Enough. You can't be all that bad if you can make jokes.” She stretched to get the bag she'd put on the end of the bed. “Look, I packed you some toiletries, another T-shirt and boxers, and a pair of jeans. Oh, and socks. There's a bathrobe, too, but I couldn't find any slippers. I also found a recent issue of the
New Yorker
. I'll bring some books tomorrow morning if you think it will be a few days.”

“Thanks. I'm not sure how long they're going to keep me.”

“So do I need to make some kind of arrangement to get your car out of the hospital garage?”

Hunt lifted his hand from her stomach and rubbed her forearm. “Actually, I didn't drive here. I got a lift.”

“Rufus? Katarina said you had called him?”

“I did call him, but he had his appointment with you, and I didn't want to make him late.” He paused. “Don't be mad.”

“Why would I be mad, other than the fact that you were being noble and refused to bother me?”

“That's not what I meant. I'm trying to explain that it seemed like everyone I knew wasn't available. I was desperate. So I called the last person on my list.”

Sarah raised her eyebrows and waited.

Hunt opened his mouth. “Zach.”

She thought a moment, then stretched and kissed him gently on the forehead. “I'm glad he was there for you.” She squeezed his hand and snuggled more closely. “Now I've got a confession to make.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Is it dirty?”

She rolled her eyes. “I'll blame that on the drugs. No, it's not dirty. I needed a ride here tonight, too, and I was running out of options. So, I went to the bottom of the list.”

“You called—”

“Your mother,” she said.

“I can't believe it. She isn't here, though, is she?” Hunt balanced himself up on his elbow.

“She's waiting outside the room, in the hallway.” Sarah pointed toward the door. She could feel his body stiffen. “Hunt, she was really worried. I can vouch for it—her hands were shaking on the wheel of the car.”

Hunt gave her a skeptical look. “She was probably concerned that people might assume that she was sick—she couldn't handle that.”

“Hunt, now that you know you're in no danger, why not be generous? Frankly, if I can call my mother for advice, you can see yours now.”

He harrumphed. “All right. On one condition.”

She eyed him dubiously. “Am I going to like this?”

“You tell me.” He raised both hands to either side of her face and kissed her—affirming lust, relief and life.

H
UNT WATCHED THE SLOW DRIP
of the antibiotics with growing impatience. A full course took one hour, one more hour of his life that he was forced to stay in the hospital. After three nights he'd had enough. He'd finished the newest John Grisham, the latest issue of
The Economist,
and a book on birthing with pictures that Hunt would sooner forget. His mother had even come to visit—twice more. It was awkward, but Hunt had to admit she was trying. Now, he was ready to leave.

His doctors had decided that because he had been fever-free for forty-eight hours and the swelling had substantially subsided,
and
the CT scan showing his lymph nodes were clear, he could head home. He'd have to take oral antibiotics, and he had instructions to take it easy and schedule a follow-up appointment in a week.

Sure! Whatever! Hunt had already packed his few belongings hours ago. He was more than ready to have the PICC line removed from his arm. And if they didn't take it out soon, he was going to scream.

Sarah had counseled patience. This morning when she'd stopped by on her way to work, she had said to call when he was ready, no matter what time. Katarina would drive her now that they had come back from their jaunt up north.

Hunt stared at the drip. This was not happening soon enough.

“Knock, knock. Can I come in, or is this a bad moment?” Ben stood by the corner of the curtain dividing the room in two.

Hunt waved him in. “It's a bad moment only because I'm still here. Come and amuse me in my misery. Just move my stuff off the chair.” He pointed to the armchair by the window.

Ben lowered the bursting shopping bag to the floor and settled into the chair. It hadn't exactly been built for someone his size, and he shifted back and forth. He managed to get semicomfortable and crossed his legs at his ankles. “So, I hear they're letting you out today.”

“And none too soon. I'm feeling one hundred percent better.”

Ben tilted his head to get a better look. “Still a bit puffy there.” He held up his hand to his own cheek to show what he meant.

“You should have seen me a few days ago. Really strange. Talk about
Night of the Living Dead
. Anyway, that's all in the past.”

“Glad to hear it.”

There was an awkward silence while Ben drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair.

“How was the trip?” Hunt asked finally.

Ben held up his hand. “The trip was good. It was the first time we'd all gone away together as a family. One of those bonding experiences. Only now Katarina feels so close to Matt, she's already talking about ‘empty nest syndrome' when he goes away to college.”

“But that's…that's still more than a year away, right?”

“Right. But you know women.”

“Actually, not really.”

“Neither do I, really,” Ben agreed.

They both sniffed.

“So, Sarah will be there still when you go home?” Ben asked a little too casually.

“Yeah. She already tells me she's been baking up a storm in anticipation of my arrival. And Wanda stepped in to help with Fred. She's more or less adopted him when nobody's home, taking him for walks, feeding him far too many treats. Sarah told me that her own dog died recently, so I think Fred is good therapy.”

Hunt shook his head. “That Fred. Sarah tells me he misses me so much that he won't leave my bed, so to keep him company, she's sleeping there, too.”

Ben nodded, his mouth open. “You don't say? Anything else you want to tell me about Fred or…ah…Sarah?”

Hunt cleared his throat. “Not really, but listen, Ben. I want to talk to you about the business.” Ben waited.

Hunt wiped his mouth. “You know how you've been after me to get back to work? Well, now that I had time to think, especially the last few days, I've come to some conclusions.”

Ben cocked his head. “I'm all ears.”

“Let me just come out and say it then. I'm ready to go back to work, but I don't want to go back to work with you.”

Ben uncrossed his legs and sat forward. “I'm a problem?”

“No, it's not you. You're a great friend, and I couldn't ask for a better business partner. No, it's more that I've
decided to retire from the world of high finance. I've had a lot of fun working with you, solving problems, getting results, but it's not what I want to do right now, not what I have a passion for. One thing I've learned, life can be short—very short. And there's no point in doing what you don't love.”

“And have you decided what you want to do next?”

“Don't laugh. I was thinking of going to medical school. I know I'm already thirty-five, and I won't be able to practice until I'm in my forties, but I figure if I have to have a midlife crisis, it's about as good as any. I talked it over with Sarah already, and she thinks it's a natural fit, considering what I'd been through. Tell me. Am I being crazy?”

“I've heard stranger. Actually, this trip with the family got me thinking, too.”

Hunt leaned forward, hanging onto the IV stand. “Oh, yeah? Please, don't tell me you want to run a B and B?”

“No way. Those places are scary. No, just hear me out—there's a whole thought process going on.” He held up his hand. Hunt nodded.

“Anyway, I kept thinking more and more about how great it was to be together as a family, and then Lena had us all over for dinner last night. There she was, going on and on about how she'd read this magazine at PT and that got her thinking about how she'd never gone to Montana, and how maybe she could learn fly-fishing.”

“Sure, why not. She's perfectly healthy enough to travel,” Hunt agreed.

Ben held up his hand. “Just wait—hear me out. Any
how, I told her I'd be happy to teach her, even fly out with her, make it a family event with Matt and Katarina in fact. After all, Matt hasn't been back to Colorado since he came east. We could combine the two trips into one.”

“Am I allowed to say that sounds great?”

“Yeah, that's what I thought. A kind of a father-son experience with the grandmother and stepmom thing thrown in for good measure. Then when we got home, I got to thinking that it would be a great experience for other people, as well. I could act as a guide for other families, a multiple generation thing. I could even start by teaching a course on fly-fishing at the Adult School for parents and children, grandparents and grandkids—kind of a warm-up for the trip. Then for people who couldn't afford the travel, I could even start some kind of foundation, promoting intergenerational travel as a way to foster stable upbringings. Heck, I have more than enough money to get the thing off the ground, then maybe get some donations to help out.”

“Somehow I feel you're touching me up for a donation, am I right?” Hunt laughed. “I'd be happy to. But I have to say, you must be having a midlife crisis when you start mentioning the Adult School.”

“Kind of scary, isn't it?” Ben nodded. “But, you know, I think it probably is a good time to wind the investment firm down. I've got enough going on helping out with Katarina's business on the side, plus when the baby comes…”

Hunt nearly yanked the IV out of his arm. “When the baby comes? Katarina's pregnant?”

Ben beamed. “Yup. The whole trip, she was feeling a little under the weather, and then we put two and
two together and made a midnight run to an all-night CVS. We weren't really trying—but then we weren't not trying either, mind you. Anyway, she took the test and bingo!”

Hunt whistled. “Congrats, old buddy. So no hard feelings about dissolving our partnership?”

Ben shook his head. “A little bit of sadness maybe. We had a good run. But it seems that we're both ready to open a new chapter in our lives.”

 

F
RED BOUNDED ON THE BED
and landed directly on Hunt. Hunt swore and rolled over. “I missed you, too. How was class?” Hunt asked, rubbing the dog's ears.

“Class was grueling. We learned loose-leash walking and ‘sit,'” Sarah said. She stood by the open door to his bedroom. “But as much as I love Wanda, I'm not going with her again. She's just too competitive. We almost came to blows with Toulouse.”

She waddled into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. Unconsciously, she was drawn to cuddling the dog, too. “So, enough of this lollygagging in bed, Hunt Phox. I let you sleep like a baby for two days after coming home from the hospital, but now it's Sunday. I think it's time for a change of scenery—especially if you're going to be ready for obedience class next week.”

“Can I hold off on the loose-leash walking? ‘Sit' I think I'm up for.” He abandoned Fred's ears for Sarah's arm and pulled her down to offer a kiss.

She pulled back and laughed. “All right. But just this once. I don't want it getting out that I'm getting soft in my old age.”

“But I like you any which way—soft, hard.” He
tugged her harder and she fell next to him. “Here on the bed's good, too.”

“I take it you're not talking about sleeping.”

“Do I look like I'm talking about sleeping?”

The sheet covered Hunt to his waist, and even with a pair of boxers on, Sarah caught his drift. “Are you sure you're up for this?” She groaned and covered her face.

“Sorry, I didn't mean that.”

“You can't begin to understand just how happy I am to say that, yes, indeed, I am.” Hunt grinned broadly and turned on his side to face her. He brought his hand to the zipper of her hoodie. “Hey, this is mine, isn't it?” he asked.

“You don't mind, do you? I'm getting a little short of things to wear that still fit me.”

“You can wear or not wear anything of mine you want.” He unzipped the sweatshirt. “You want this, don't you?” He looked up.

She nodded and smiled. “I can't think of anything I want more. Only I have a favor to ask.”

He raised his eyebrows. Fred pricked up his ears.

“I want the curtains to stay closed and the lights turned off. My stretch marks are just disgusting.”

“Like I haven't seen them at the pool?”

“This is different. We're not bouncing up and down in front of a bunch of pregnant women and old folks.”

“I should hope not. But I don't know why you are so worried about the way you look. I'm the one who can count every rib. Not exactly the height of machismo.”

“Excuse me, after all the cookies I've made not every rib is visible. I bet your pants can stay up on your hips now without the benefit of a belt.” Sarah looked down.

In the course of discussing their individual body
faults, he had managed to get off not only her hoodie but her bra, and she was naked from the waist up.

Hunt shooed the dog off the bed and discarded his boxers to the floor. He twisted to slip down her warm-up pants and underpants at the same time. “Now that we've dismissed this whole light or no light objection of yours, could you lift your hip up and help me?”

“Who said I'd given up?” Nevertheless, she raised her hips, and helped him by kicking off her clothes with her feet.

He held up the sheet and let her slip beneath.

Sarah snuggled up against him, face-to-face, her naked body against his. She ran her toes down his lower legs.

“Hey, give me your lips,” he said.

“Why?” She did as he asked.

And he took her head in his hands and kissed her with a fierceness that took her breath away. Then he tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and kissed her sweetly on the tip of her nose. “I got to warn you,” he said.

“You need more time?” she asked, pulling back.

“No, just the opposite. I wanted to say, that while I enjoy all this kissing and cuddling—and which I will gladly resume at another time—I'm not sure I can wait too much longer.”

Sarah could have screamed with joy. “Good, because I can't wait even that long.”

She got to her knees, and with less than balletic grace straddled his hips, positioned herself above his arousal and plunged down, enveloping him in her warmth.

Their coupling was swift and intense, a mating in every sense. And when they climaxed at the same time, it was an agonizing release, and the only way to come
down was with silence. With a tender pat here and a gentle rub there.

And when Fred ventured into the bedroom five minutes later, they were asleep in each other's arms, leaving room for the dog to curl up at the end, nestled against their entwined feet.

 

B
Y THE TIME THEY WOKE
, it was dark. Sarah rotated her head to the side and lifted her neck to look at the bedside clock. “Gee, it's already seven.”

Fred rose and stretched. He delicately inched his way up the bed and plopped down, his nose between Hunt's and Sarah's. He licked them both.

Sarah wiped her nose. “I guess he's trying to tell us he wants his dinner.”

Hunt wiggled his hips closer to hers and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Well, he can wait a few minutes. I want to enjoy you more.” He rubbed his cheek against hers and kissed the side of her head. He breathed in deeply. “I want to remember this moment.”

Sarah closed her eyes and smiled. “Me, too. You know, I don't want this to go to your head, but you're pretty special.”

She felt him smile against her hair.

“And why shouldn't I let it go to my head?” he asked mischievously.

“Because then you'll be even more insufferable than you already are, and then it would simply take too much effort to keep knocking you down to size.”

He slipped his arm out from underneath her and propped himself up on an elbow. “Are you threatening to leave me?”

Sarah looked at him and blinked. She realized he was
being serious. “No,” she said. And
she
realized she was being serious. Because she loved him.