“I’m starting school here in a month, Boston College, to get my master’s and nurse practitioner’s degree.”
“Oh…?”
“So Reba and I are looking for an apartment. It’s a two-year program. I’ve saved some money over the years, and I decided if I was going to do it, I’d better do it now.”
“That’s great.”
Micky looked at her phone. “Got to get going. The agent’s on her way to take us to another showing.”
Debbie got them their coats and walked them to the elevator.
“This was fun. We’ll be seeing a lot of each other, I think.” Micky put her palm on the side of Debbie’s face. “I love your hair; you look fantastic.” She leaned forward and planted a big kiss on Debbie’s lips.
“I’ve missed you, Deb. Love your new life here.” The elevator started to close. “See you soon, bunny.”
Debbie stood staring at the metal doors. She rubbed her lips. Both Lisa and Micky had kissed them. She closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. What was happening? She blew out some air and returned to the condo.
Robert was walking out of the bedroom. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, they’ve all left.”
“Your friends seemed nice. I sense you are perplexed.”
“Robert.” She sighed. “Micky and I were once lovers.”
“Oh…”
“She just happened to be on the cruise. Neither of us knew the other was going to be there. And, well, I thought we had… Never mind. She’s with Reba now.”
He went over and gave her a quick side hug. He could tell she was disappointed.
Chapter 3—Surprise
Robert continued to divide his time between two jobs at the hospital: neurosurgery and head of the hospital board finance committee. Most of the board meetings were at the medical center, and a few were in Boston with financial institutions. Those days Robert usually got home early. Of late, Robert was spending a lot of hours at the hospital. The neurology department had been inundated with patients. A new wing for surgery and patient care would be opened in March to handle the overflow. Almost immediately after Gini and Robert’s honeymoon, both he and John were back to doing surgery on a regular basis to keep up with the demand, resulting in many late nights for Robert. Often, he left way before Gini woke up and returned home long after she had gone to sleep, spending several days at a time without seeing her awake. He was also tiring of the long commutes on bad winter nights and days.
Debbie tried to encourage Gini to take longer naps so she could stay up later, but nearly midnight was too late for Gini under any condition. Gini started getting moody, and Debbie knew it was because she missed being with Robert.
One Thursday night in late January, Robert found Debbie asleep in the chair with a book in her lap when he arrived at a little after 1 a.m.
“Oh! Robert.” She sat up quickly.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.”
“No, no, that’s okay. I must have dozed off. What time is it, anyway?” She was surprised when she saw it was after midnight.
“Robert, it’s so late. How long is this going to go on?”
He took a deep breath and ran his hand over his hair. “I don’t know. John has some good neurosurgeon candidates for two teams. But then he’ll have to find the nurse, psychologist, and therapist for each. And now, he’s saying two teams probably won’t cut it. I want to be there to help, but I also want to be with my wife.” He sat down on the couch without taking his coat off.
“What can I do for you?” Debbie asked, more alert.
“Nothing, go to bed. That’s where I’m headed.”
As he got in bed, Gini turned over to face him. “Rob… ber?”
“Yes, sweetheart. Go back to sleep. I’m home safe and sound.”
“Rob… ber, lah… uff.”
“I love you too, Guiney, now go back to sleep.”
When he lay next to her, she reached over and kissed him. “Hmm... Love those kisses.”
Within minutes they were twisting and groaning and heated in passion. “Gini,” he cried. “Ahh... you… you… oh, ah… Gin… I—can… ah…”
Later, he ran his fingers through her curly hair over and over while she slept. He felt a similar emotion as when they’d had their first intimate moments in Mexico. He was so full of love for her. How did he get so lucky? Eventually, he fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, Gini went into the bathroom and then climbed over him to get back in bed. He smiled at her taking care of herself and reached over to put his arms around her.
“No, be… uff, tuss,” she cried out, moving away from him, and pulled her legs up tight to her chest. “No, be… uff, touch!”
“Sweetheart, what is it? I didn’t hurt you earlier, did I? Please, Gini, tell me what’s wrong.”
Gini just pulled tighter into a ball and moved away from his hand each time he put it on her. His phone started ringing on the night table.
“Gini, please, I love you.”
The caller ID showed J Meyer.
“What is it?” Robert asked when he answered.
“Your patient has taken a turn for the worse. I’ll go take care of it, but I wanted you to be informed.”
“No, I’ll be there. Give me a half hour.” Robert hung up.
When he turned back, Gini was sound asleep, still with her knees up, but her head was back and her mouth open, as she always slept. He put his arms around her and kissed her on the cheek. He didn’t want to go, but he knew she’d be out for several more hours. He lay there for a few more minutes enjoying her warmth against his body. The emotion of
