“May I?”
“Only for a short while.”
“You said I could go in when you came out,” Hazel interrupted from behind the men standing protectively around Kathleen.
Dr. Alexander seemed at a loss for words. “Surely, Ms. Kirchoff, you wouldn’t deny your brother a visit with his wife.”
“She should have been here instead of lolling around in the Bahamas. Who has been here night and day, waiting, caring…” Her voice trailed off into a torrent of sobs that Kathleen knew were affected. To the bitter end, Hazel was going to keep up her act of being the hovering, loving sister. In other circumstances, Kathleen would have gladly scratched out the woman’s eyes for being so duplicitous.
The doctor, convinced that Hazel was inconsolable, led her away. Kathleen pushed open the door of the room. To her, it resembled a torture chamber. Machines she could only guess the functions of were beeping with each of Seth’s vital signs. It was a macabre decoupage of tubes and needles and bottles.
Only Seth’s eyes were familiar as they opened when he heard her approach.
“Kathleen,” he croaked, and raised his hand to catch hers. “You’re back early. You shouldn’t have come back to witness this.” His face softened and his mouth worked emotionally before he said, “I’m glad you did, though.”
Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks no matter how desperately she tried to stop them. “Seth, Seth, why? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What could you have done? You would have worried and fretted and not done your job at the stores, which are so much more important than I.”
“No!” she cried softly. “Nothing is as important.”
“Oh, yes, my love. Many things are.” He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. “You, for instance. And the television commercials. How are things going with them? How is Erik? Is he satisfied with his work down there in the Bahamas?”
She nodded her head impatiently. “Yes, yes, the commercials are going to be beautiful. Just what you wanted. E—Erik is well.” She swallowed convulsively. “Seth, I don’t want to talk about that. I want to talk about your letting Dr. Alexander help you.”
“Kathleen, I don’t want to be a burden to anyone any longer. I’m tired of being crippled. If I had a transplant, I might rob a child, or an otherwise healthy person, of a needed kidney. Why should I be that selfish? Even with a new kidney, I’d still be paralyzed. I don’t want to go through dialysis for years, because in the long run, the results would be the same.” He pressed her hand to his chest and looked deeply into her streaming eyes when he said, “I’m going to be well and whole again very soon, Kathleen. Do you understand what I’m saying? I look forward to it. I want to be well again.”
“Seth…” She sobbed and fell across him, burying her face in his neck and weeping out her grief and shame and guilt while he comforted her.
* * *
The sun rose and set on another day, but Kathleen was unaware of it. She went home only when forced to eat and bathe and change her clothes. She didn’t cry any more during her short visits with Seth. She smiled and looked as pretty as she could, for this was the way he wanted her to be.
Hazel dropped her sweet veneer and acted the harridan she was. Eliot deemed her a “bloody bitch,” and Kathleen concurred. Seth had asked to see his sister only once since Kathleen’s arrival, using the time he was allowed visitors to see his wife. The doctor had cut Hazel’s visit short, saying, “Good God, woman, now is not the time to discuss business.” Kathleen could only guess at what Hazel had been saying to Seth before the doctor interrupted.
George and Eliot were with her constantly. They called the store managers and were assured that the Christmas business was bustling. Kathleen related that to Seth and he smiled, his ravaged face lighting up to some of its former radiance. “Terrific! But I’m not surprised. I’ve always hired good people.”
It was close to midnight when the doctor came out of the room and shut the door softly behind him. Hastily, he stuffed something into his pocket. He stared at the floor before looking up at the young woman who had jumped off the waiting room couch and was approaching him.
“He’d like to see you, Kathleen. He’s taken a sedative so he can sleep.” The doctor met her eyes levelly. “I think this may be it.”
Kathleen sobbed and reached out to grasp George’s supportive hand. “No,” she whispered.
“She’s not going to see him unless I do!” Hazel said shrilly. “I want to see him first and tell him what a whore she is.” She turned on Kathleen viciously. “You don’t fool me. I know why you wanted to go off to the Bahamas. You wanted to go down there with that photographer. You were probably sleeping with him the whole time. Why did it take that queer,” she pointed a finger at Eliot, “who guards you like you were a princess, two days to bring you back? Were you off somewhere with that muscle-bound, yellow-haired ape? My brother’s not going to die without my telling him what a tramp he’s married to.”
“Shut up,” Dr. Alexander commanded, finally losing his composure. “If you open your mouth one more time, Ms. Kirchoff, I’ll have you evicted from this hospital. I don’t give a damn how much money you have. Your brother wants to see his wife and he’s going to. You’re going to sit down and be quiet or I’ll personally throw you out. Do I make myself clear?”
“You sonofabitch! How dare—”
“Yes, I dare,” said Dr. Alexander as he took her upper arm in an iron grip and began dragging her down the hall.
“You’re a whore!” Hazel screamed as the doctor pulled her after him. “He knew it. Even when he married you, he knew you were a whore. He’s weak! Spineless!”
Kathleen covered her ears and turned away.
“Kathleen,” George said softly, and placed his hand on her shoulder to turn her around. “That is a crazy woman talking and everyone knows it. Seth loves you. Now, dry your eyes and get in there to him where you belong.”
“We’ll be right here,” Eliot said.