Souls' Rescue Part 18

"No, I better not." Her stomach grumbled in protest and both women shared a laugh. "I have to watch my weight."

"What are you watching it do?"

"Ha ha. I'm too fat. Just ask my mother."

Kelly tapped her on the belly. "Your mother is wrong. The extra pounds make you more cuddly. Not fat."

"You're crazy." Talia looked away, hoping to hide her blush.

"No." Kelly cupped Talia's face with one hand. "Look at me."

Talia did and the expression on Kelly's face stole her breath away.

"I'm very serious. There's nothing wrong with you. Not your weight, not your amputated leg-nothing. You're perfect as you are."

"Kel, I-"

"Shh." Kelly touched her fingers to Talia's lips. "No arguing with an Irish woman. You're guaranteed to lose."

Talia couldn't help staring into the most amazing green eyes, never wavering until Kelly removed her fingers. Talia let out a shaky breath, "What did I do to deserve you?"

"You got lucky." Kelly winked at her. "I am, after all, a great catch."

"If you're such a good catch, then why don't I have a box of chocolate to go with this wonderful meal?"

"What makes you so sure you don't?"

"Um, I haven't seen it?"

"And you won't until you've had your meal."

Talia said, "You sound like my mother. No dessert until your food's all gone."

"Yes, but the dessert is well worth the wait."

If you were the dessert... Talia stopped the thought before it could go anywhere, though the tingling in her abdomen let her know that it already had. "I do believe I'm done eating."

"Then dessert it is."

Chapter Twenty-One.

DAYS Pa.s.sED, THEN weeks and Talia gradually grew stronger. In a few days, she would be fitted for her first prosthesis and able to go home. All of the exercises she started out unable to do, gradually got easier and she was ready to leave. Her clothes fit looser now and she wondered if she could continue losing weight.

Lucie said she still had several weeks of therapy to go, but all of it would be out-patient now. Talia had just popped one of the sweets Kelly gave her on her last visit into her mouth when her physical therapist, Lucie, came into the room. "Oh, man. You've got rotten timing."

"I hear that a lot." Lucie grabbed a piece of chocolate and parked the wheelchair beside Talia's bed. "Let's head out. Second to last session while you're still an in-house patient."

"Good. I can't wait to get home."

"Now that's the spirit." Lucie wheeled her out of the room.

"I do have a question, though."

"Go for it."

"Will I need a wheelchair at home, or crutches?"

"Both." Lucie grinned at the exasperated look Talia gave her. "A wheelchair until you get more used to the crutches, which I'm going to suggest that you use as much as possible to start out."

"And then what?"

"Later we'll see about moving up to a cane when you're stronger and have your permanent prosthesis."

Talia stopped her from going into the therapy room. "Honestly, Lucie, are you sure I'll be able to walk on my own again?"

Lucie touched her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze. "That's our goal. And I intend to keep you focused on it. Got it?"

"Sure." Talia quieted as Lucie wheeled her into the therapy room so they could begin.

HER CELL PHONE rang, and in an attempt to answer it, Kelly nearly dropped the groceries she was carrying. Using her knee, she balanced the bag precariously against the door and flipped the phone open. Talia's name and number appeared on the screen.

"Hey, baby. How was physical therapy?" Kelly got hold of her bags, unlocked the door, and stepped inside, cradling the phone against her ear.

"So-so. Any chance I'll see you later?"

"Promise to do my best on that one. I need to get the groceries put away, then I've got an ACLS cla.s.s to teach and I won't get done with that until around 9 tonight."

"You're busier on your day off than you are at work."

"Sometimes." Kelly chuckled, feeling relief wash over her. "How 'bout if I come by the hospital tomorrow evening?"

No hesitation in Talia's voice. "Sounds perfect."

"Great." Kelly ended the call and slid the phone into her pocket.

Marina strolled in the kitchen and greeted her daughter with a kiss on the cheek, then helped Kelly put some of the groceries away. "I took a phone message for you. Jimmy called to remind you that there's mandatory training tomorrow."

"d.a.m.n."

"You have things to do?"

"Yeah. Ginger has a vet appointment in the morning, I have to do the second half of the ACLS cla.s.s in the afternoon and now I've got training. I was going to visit Talia and now I have to cancel."

"I'd offer to take Ginger to the vet for you, but I'm supposed to get my yearly blood test at 9am. I could reschedule it."

"No way. This is the third rescheduled date, Ma. You get your test done. I'll have to call Talia."

"It's just one night. I'm sure she'll understand."

"Hope so." Kelly finished putting groceries away and called Talia.

"That was fast," Talia said.

Her voice was cheerful, and it made Kelly feel like a jerk. "Hey, I just got reminded of mandatory training at the fire station tonight. I'm sorry, but I can't come over after all." Kelly didn't hear anything and at first thought she'd lost the connection. "Talia? You there?"

"Yeah. I'm here." Talia's voice was flat now, and Kelly knew she'd hurt her feelings.

"Look, I promise to make it up to you. I have to work tomorrow, but I'm off on Thursday. I'll bring coffee and bagels first thing in the morning."

"Sure. Sounds great."

"You'll be okay?"

"Yeah. Look, I gotta go. Talk to you later." Talia hung up before Kelly could say anything else.

"d.a.m.n."

"You're cursing a lot," Marina said. "You should go to confession, young lady."

"Ma, I haven't been to confession in years."

Mariana shook her finger at Kelly. "My point exactly. So, she's upset?"

"I couldn't tell if she was more hurt or p.i.s.sed off there at the end of our call." Kelly glanced at the wall clock. "It's almost time to go. I'm going to shower and change."

"Don't take this too seriously. Talia will come around," Marina said. "It's early for you two and she's going through a lot. Give her time."

"I will, but something's not right with her lately. I just don't get it."

"Maybe you should go see Father Tom. You can go to Ma.s.s with me on Sat.u.r.day."

"Thanks, Mom." Kelly knew her mother was trying to be helpful, but she hadn't turned to G.o.d for so long that Kelly wasn't sure He was even there anymore. "I'll think about it. I gotta get ready."

TRAINING TOOK LONGER than expected, and by the time Kelly was in her car, it was well past 10 p.m. She flipped open her cell phone and dialed Talia's number.

"h.e.l.lo?" Talia's voice was quiet, but didn't sound sleepy.

"Hi, baby." She held the phone close to her ear as if that would put her closer to Talia. "I just got done with training. Sorry I'm calling so late."

"It's okay. I understand." Talia hesitated, like she had more to say, but stayed quiet.

"Is there something wrong? You feeling all right?"

"It's nothing."

Talia didn't sound very rea.s.suring, but Kelly didn't think she should push it. "I'll be over Thursday after my shift ends. I'll bring breakfast. Sound good?"

Talia didn't respond and Kelly wasn't sure how to take the silence on the other end of the phone. "Do you have other plans?"

"Not unless you count physical therapy as other plans."

"Perfect. I'll be there first thing and we'll enjoy coffee and bagels."

"Sure. See you then," Talia hung up before Kelly said goodbye.

SLEEP DID NOT come for Kelly during her shift the next day. She'd had ambulance duty and had only been back to the station twice in twenty-four hours. She and her partner had eaten between calls and gotten to bed once, only to get a call an hour later.

She entered the station house kitchen and was just pouring coffee when alarms went off. The end of her shift was still a half-hour away. Kelly lowered her head, took a deep breath, put the coffeepot down, and ran to the ambulance.

It was close to ten a.m. before Kelly arrived home and pulled into her driveway. She shut off the car's engine and gave herself a moment to gather some energy before going into the house.

Her mother was already at work and had left a note detailing where she could find her breakfast. Food was far from Kelly's mind at that moment. She wanted sleep and that's all she aimed to get. Kelly trudged into her room, tossed her boots somewhere near her closet and fell into bed, not bothering to change her clothes.

Something was ringing in her ears. Kelly briefly wondered if it was her imagination, but imagined things didn't keep on beeping. She scrubbed at her face and tossed the blanket aside. Not quite awake, Kelly slung her legs around until her feet hit the floor and she was sitting up.

Her room was dark and the time on her alarm clock read six-fifteen. She really hoped that was p.m. and not a.m. After a trip to the bathroom, she wandered into the kitchen where her mother was busily fixing dinner. The microwave turned off, and she realized the beeping that had awakened her had been the microwave.

"Hi there, sleepyhead." Marina said. "Hungry?"

Kelly's stomach growled, and she touched her belly. "Apparently. Thanks for the blanket."

"I used to do the same thing for your father when he had a long shift. You should have eaten when you got home."

"I was too tired." Kelly ignored the admonishing look from her mother. "How was your day?"

"It's the same boring department store day in and day out. The only things newsworthy are the fights that happen during a sale." Marina put a plate in front of Kelly piled with mashed potatoes, green beans, and a helping of roast beef, covered with brown gravy. "But that was sweet of you to ask. Now eat."

"Yes, Mother." Kelly dug in, letting her body absorb the food she'd been denying it. All the while, there was something niggling at the back of her mind. It seemed important, but she couldn't recall what it was.

"How's Talia?"

"Huh?"

"How's Talia doing today? You did go see her, didn't you?"

Kelly felt a knot forming in her gut. "No."

"I figured that was why you weren't here when I left for work."

Kelly put her fork down and lowered her head. "Oh, s.h.i.t. No, I was late because we had a run before the shift ended. I came straight home and went to bed. I completely forgot about Talia."