Taming the Playboy (12 page)

Authors: M. J. Carnal

Chapter 21

“Ladies and Gents, on the agenda this weekend is Catalina. I am loading the cars. We roll out in fifteen.” Kevin pulled Ryan’s suitcase out the front door to load
into the trunk. This was the second weekend of what had been named the Ryan West World Tour. The decision had been made to spend the weekends as a group, enjoying some of Ryan’s favorite places and discovering new locations that would make lasting memories.

Two weeks ago, Ryan had informed Dr. Lahti that he was finished with chemotherapy and would be living the remainder of his days loving Layla and trying to stay comfortable.
He had weakened considerably but his spirits were high. Naps had become part of his day but they allowed him the energy to spend the evenings on the couch with Layla. They watched movies and laughed and held each other. Despite the illness, he felt blessed.

“Do you remember when you asked me w
hy I only had one star and I said I would get the other when the next major life event happened?”

Layla nodded her head and traced his shirt where the star hid underneath.

“I need to get the other one. I should have gotten it the day I met you. I cannot imagine anything more important than the first day I saw you. Will you take me to get it next week?”

Layla grinned. “Of course I will. And for the record, I saw you first.”

Ryan laughed as she pulled him from the couch. “I don’t think so. Actually, I think Caleb saw you first.”

“Caleb did what?” Caleb walked into the living room to help Layla get Ryan to the car.

They both laughed. “Ryan seems to think you saw me first. I think I saw him first.”

“Um. No. I definitely saw you first. And I called Ryan over to look. But let’s not go there. That was the start of the shit with Sophie and Mark.” Caleb frowned.

“Water under the bridge, man. It was a mistake but everything worked out the way it was supposed to. Besides, you were so hung up on Sophie that you were thinking with your dick.”

“Nice.” Layla held the front door open for Caleb and Ryan.
“I am in love with a caveman.”

Kevin continued to shove luggage into the back of Caleb’s car and his SUV. Mark and Sophie would be missing the trip this weekend but the rest of the gang would be going, along
with Caleb’s sister, who had just moved to LA to do her medical residency.

As Ryan approached Kevin’s SUV, He noticed a car speeding down his road, tires squealing. The car came to an abrupt stop and blocked the driveway. Jena jumped out and ran toward the group.

“Stop loading the car.” She was out of breath as she ran to where Kevin was loading the suitcases. “Stop loading the car.” She panted.

“Jena? Are you ok?” Layla ran toward her, meeting her halfway and taking her hand. “What’s wrong?”

We found a match!”

“What?” Ryan’s tired eyes widened and Jena burst into tears.

“We found a match. Right here in LA. We can do the procedure right away.”

“Oh my God.” Layla dropped to her knees and put her head in her hands. Her sobbing was a welcome sound to Ryan’s ears.

He knelt beside her in the driveway and looked up at Dr. Turner.
His eyes were filled with hope and joy. The expression that stared back at him was filled with the same. “What?”

Jena laughed and put her hand on his shoulder. “We found a match, Ryan.”

“I can’t believe this. I don’t know what to say.” Ryan cried as the rest of his friends circled around him. “I can’t believe the kindness of strangers. I have a second angel giving me my life back.”

“
An angel, yes. But, not a stranger, Ryan.” Jena knelt down to look Ryan in the eye.

“Then who?”

Jena locked eyes with Kevin. He had been quietly unpacking the bags from the trunk. He smiled as their eyes met. Jena pointed, “Him.”

All eyes locked on Kevin and he smiled.

****

Dr. Lahti stepped into the surgery holding area. He smiled at Ryan and Kevin who had insisted on opening the curtains between their rooms.
“Well this is a sight.” He shook both their hands and turned to shake hands with Layla, Caleb and Mark.

“I know I have spoken extensively to both of you but just a quick recap in case anyone isn’t aware of what will happen today.
Kevin, you will be taken back to the Operating room for a nice little nap under anesthesia. We will be inserting a hollow needle into the pelvis and drawing marrow out for the donation. You will be asleep a few hours. If you are feeling well enough to go home tonight, you may. If not, we will let you go in the morning. You are going to be tired, perhaps a little nauseated and most likely have a good bit of pain in your lower back. You can go back to work in about a week if you are feeling up to it.”

Kevin nodded his head and smiled at Ryan.
“You owe me bro. You know how much I hate needles.”

“Dude,” Ryan laughed.
“At least you don’t have this huge tube sticking out of your chest.”

Dr. Lahti continued.
“Ryan, your procedure is simpler but your recovery will be long. You will be awake during the procedure. We will be inserting the marrow through your central line. Your procedure will only take about an hour. The new blood cells should start generating anywhere between two and four weeks. During that time, you will remain inpatient. We will give you antibiotics and visitors will be kept to a minimum. I mean that this time. Each person that comes in is a risk to you so we are going to be very strict about the rules.”

“I will keep them out.
We are going to do everything we have to do to bring Ryan home healthy.” Layla kissed his cheek.

The nurses arrived to give Kevin some medicine to help him relax.
He said his goodbyes to his friends as his eyes grew heavy and his speech slurred. Mumbling about loving Ryan and missing his wingman, the doctor wheeled him out to the operating room.

Ryan
looked around the room after receiving some pain medication to relax him for the procedure. “Has anyone seen my beautiful wife?”

“I’m here baby.” Layla stepped forward and rubbed his leg.

He reached up and took her by the back of the neck, bringing her forehead down to rest against his. “I love you so much woman. I don’t know what you did to me but I am totally whipped.” The group laughed as his eyes glassed over from the medication. “Go ahead and laugh. I never thought I would give up being a playboy. These damn Barringer sisters must have some sort of magic shit. Do you guys have a sister for Caleb? He would be screwed. We should really..”

“He’s high as a kite. If there
are any secrets you want to know, Lay, ask him now. He doesn’t have a clue.” Caleb laughed.

Dr.
Turner stepped into the holding area to wish Ryan luck. She smiled as she realized the medication had put him in a drunken stupor.

“Speaking of secrets. There she is. The beautiful Dr. Jena Turner.
She is smoking hot, don’t you think so Caleb? Does anyone know where Kevin went? He’s giving me his bone marrow today.”

“Ryan, why don’t you shut your eyes and see if you can’t get comfortable?” Mark chucked as he gave Jena a hug hello.

“Oh, I’m comfortable. I’m totally comfortable. This stuff is awesome. Can we get some of this for home Dr. Tuner? My feet are so big. Does anyone else see how big my feet are? You know what they say about feet. Caleb, how big are you feet? Do you have big feet?”

“Holy shit.” Caleb belly laughed as Ryan leaned over the side of his bed to stare at his feet.
“He’s gone.”

“I’m right here. Hey, where’s Kevin?”

Layla wiped the tears from her eyes. She was laughing so hard her stomach hurt. “Honey, he is already back in surgery.”

“He’s having surgery?” Ryan shut his eyes.
****

Dr. Lahti stepped into the waiting room. It has been four hours since he had first taken Kevin into surgery. The Moretti group was all present and accounted for, even the youngest member who was two weeks old today. Dr. Lahti smiled. This was a family. Bound by blood or not, this group was closer than most.

Mark looked up and noticed the doctor. “Did everything go ok?”

“Both men are resting comfortably. Kevin is awake and can have visitors now. He has already asked to go home so I am sure he would appreciate some company so he doesn’t go stir crazy. Ryan has just fallen asleep so I am going to ask that, aside from Layla, there be no visitors tonight so he can rest. I appreciate being able to be a part of Ryan’s treatment. He is an amazing person and I am proud to have known him the last twenty years. Take care of him. I have no doubt that this treatment will work.”

Layla kissed Dr.
Michael Lahti on the cheek and made her way up to the oncology floor. The walk was quiet. The smell of alcohol pads hit her and she stopped cold. They had spent too much time in hospitals this year. Butterflies took flight in her stomach as she reached his room. She put on the scrubs the nurses gave her and washed her hands. It would be a long month but bringing home a healthy husband at the end of it was priceless.

Ryan stirred as she walked in. His groggy smile reached his eyes when he saw her in the hospital issued scrubs. “You are the sexiest nurse I have ever seen. Don’t tell my wife though. She would not be happy to hear I was checking out
the night nurse.”

Layla smiled noticing some color back in his cheeks. “Wow. You look really good. How you feeling?”

“Come here.” Ryan pulled her onto the bed next to him. “I don’t know if this will work but I have to believe it will. We deserve a long and happy life, Mrs. West. But, as long as I have you, I will never need anything else. You are my everything and no matter how much time we have, I am going to spend the rest of my life loving you.”

Epilogue
-
3 months later

Dr. Lahti sat behind his desk and rubbed his forehead.
Results from Ryan’s blood work littered his desk. The afternoon sun blazed through the window, casting a shadow on his face. Removing his glasses, he cleared his throat and looked up.

Ryan and Layla sat hand in hand across from him.
Today was the day the blood work results were back. Today he would know if the bone marrow transplant was working. A sheen of sweat broke across Ryan’s forehead. It had been three months since he was released from the hospital. It felt like his visits here were almost daily. The fevers had stalled after about six weeks and he was beginning to feel like the old Ryan again.

“The most important question is how are you feeling?”
Dr. Lahti closed the chart. “Are you having Pain anywhere? Fevers? Night sweats?”

“No fevers for about six weeks I suppose.
Night sweats are almost gone. I still have some pain in my low back and my hips but for the most part, I am back at the gym part time and feeling pretty good.” Ryan squeezed Layla’s hand and smiled at her. “Whether this worked or not, this extra time has been a blessing.”

“And Kevin? How is he
? I haven’t seen him in a few weeks so I want to make sure that everything is going alright with him. No infection?”

Layla
laughed. “Kevin is crazy as ever. He was back at the gym full time a week after the transplant and is dating a few dozen women. Seems like he is the old Kevin.”

Dr.
Lahti laughed. Picking up the results, he smiled. “Your blood cell counts are on the rise. I know it is early but it looks like the transplant is working.”

Layla squealed and jumped into Ryan’s lap.
Tears fell from her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his neck. The breath she had been holding, for what felt like months, came out with a laugh. Running her hand down his cheek, she kissed him lightly on the forehead. “I love you so much.”

He held her to his chest and looked at Dr. Lahti.
“When will we know for sure? How long until the word remission might be used?”

“We will keep a close eye on your progress.
We will do a bone scan in about a month. We will repeat the blood work every six weeks. I am hoping to consider this in remission in a few more months. I am really proud of your strength, Ryan. And there isn’t a person more deserving of good news. I am thrilled.”

“I
’m not sure I have ever been happier. You are my everything. Now we have a chance to take a deep breath for awhile. And we can just spend a few months living, baby. ”

Ryan cleared his throat. “Speaking of babies. Any chance that might ever happen for us after all the chemo and radiation I have had
?”

Layla’s jaw dropped. “The most important thing in the world to me is you. And if you are OK, I don’t need anything else.”

Dr. Lahti smiled at them. They were a
strong couple that others only dreamed of becoming. He prayed they would always be this in love. “I think there is a very strong chance that if you want children, you could have them.”

“We will start trying tonight. The trying is half the fun anyway.” Ryan laughed at Layla as she fake punched him in the arm.

Meanwhile, out in the hall,
Mark patiently awaited the news. Standing outside the oncology office, he took deep breaths and tried to keep a cool head. It had been two months since he had seen Ryan. They had spoken on the phone almost daily but being quarantined in the house to avoid infection, Ryan had played by the rules. Today was different. Today, Ryan would get his test results that told him if the bone marrow transplant had worked. He shuffled his feet as he leaned against the wall.

He hadn’t let Layla or Ryan know that he would be here but he wanted to be the first to congratulate them. He knew in his heart this would work.
They had been through too much for it not to.

The hallway door opened and Caleb stepped through. “What are you doing here Moretti?”

Hugging Caleb, Mark smiled over his shoulder. “I wanted to be here when they got their results.
I’m sorry. But is that Mackenna Knight from high school?”

Caleb smiled. He had run into Mackenna about a month ago while he was out to lunch with clients. Growing up as her neighbor, he had always had a crush on her. But they had lost touch when he went off to college. “Yes it is.”

Mackenna approached and screamed when she saw Mark. She threw her arms around him. “Moretti. It is so good to see you. I kept asking Caleb to call so we could get together. I heard you were married and have a son. I am so happy for you.”

“
You haven’t changed a bit Mackenna. It is so nice to see you. Are you living in Los Angeles? Are you two dating?” Mark hugged her back but directed the question at Caleb.

“We aren’t labeling it. But we have been seeing each other for about a month.”

The conversation was cut short when Jena walked down the hall with a very nervous Sophie. They hugged hello and all stood quietly awaiting the news. Jena made eye contact with Caleb and blushed. She had heard through the rumor mill
that he was seeing someone but coming face to face with her was a different story. She was pretty and petite, exactly the type of woman she pictured as Caleb’s type. Her heart still sped up at the site of him and she didn’t think that would change any time soon.

Caleb smiled back, his eyes lighting up at the sight of her. Mark looked between the two and shook his head. The one lesson he had learned beyond a doubt was to follow your heart. Somehow, it always knew best. And denyin
g it what it desired most was pure torture. Caleb had spoken of Jena on several occasions. And although Mark knew Mackenna had been a schoolboy crush, his feelings for Jena were apparent.

The door opened and Layla and Ryan walked out. Ryan’s jaw dropped when he saw his friends lined up in the hall. He took in their anxious faces. He was a lucky man. Not only was he getting healthy, but he had the most amazing support system in the world. His friends were his life and now he could live it again, with them by his side.

“Well?” Mark interrupted his thoughts.

Ryan smiled.
Prolonging the news a little more only frustrated with them and he laughed when Caleb growled. “Looks like you will be stuck with me for a lot more years you lucky sons of bitches.”