year. You need to let yourself off the hook, son. It wasn’t your fault.”
Maybe everyone thought that but Mark sure didn’t. He carried the horror of what had happened to Mike with him daily. Now that he was back in Mobile it was more alive than it had ever been. Time hadn’t healed the wound, only covered it over.
Mark had dinner with his father then headed across the bay to Fairhope, a small township where the family summer home was located. When he’d arrived in Alabama he’d needed a place to live. Staying in Fairhope gave him a house of his own, a safe haven. Since he was working at a clinic in Spanish Fort, a city just north of Fairhope, living there was convenient.
Entering the large dark room with hardwood paneling, Mark walked through to the family-style kitchen. There he pulled a drink out of the refrigerator and went out to the deck. Mobile Bay stretched far and wide before him. He could see the tall buildings of the city in the distance. The wind had picked up, rustling the shrubbery around the deck. A seagull swooped down and plucked a fish out of the water near the end of the pier. No, this wasn’t LA anymore.
Mark had agreed to pitch in and work the parades as a first responder when one of his new partners had said that they did that as a public service during Mardi Gras season. He’d agreed to do his part but had expected that it would be in some of the surrounding smaller towns. When he’d been assigned the parade in downtown Mobile he hadn’t felt like he could say no. He needed to be a team player since he’d only joined the medical group a few months earlier. Despite the parade location, Mark had enjoyed the assignment. Especially helping the young girl. Her mother had been attractive. More than once since then he’d wondered where she worked.
He’d spent the rest of the parade scanning the crowd. His chest still contracted at the thought he might see Mike. He’d spent years making a point of not thinking about the automobile accident. Now that he was back it seemed the only thing on his mind.
His cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket. “This is Dr. Clayborn.”
“Hey, Mark, it’s Ralph. We need you again the day after tomorrow if you can help us out. Afternoon parade in Dauphine.”
He didn’t mind working a parade in Dauphine. It was on his side of the bay. As long as it wasn’t in Mobile. There the chance of facing his past became greater. “Yeah, I’m only seeing patients in the morning. Will I be on a bike again?”
“Not this time. I just need you at the med tent. It’ll be set up in the First Baptist Church parking lot.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Marsha?” Laura Jo called as she and Allie opened the door of her best friend’s apartment Wednesday afternoon.
“Hey, we’re back here,” a voice came from the direction of the kitchen area located in the back of the apartment.
She followed Allie down the short hallway to find Marsha and her son, Jeremy, decorating a wagon with purple, green and gold ribbons.
Marsha looked up as they entered. “You know Mardi Gras almost kills me every year. I say I’m not going to do anything next year then here I am, doing even more.”
Allie had already joined in to help Jeremy with the decorations.
“I know what you mean. It makes working in the ER interesting. I’ve enjoyed my day off but I’ll pay for it, no doubt, by being on the night shift. I appreciate you letting Allie spend the night.”
“It’s not a problem. I love her like my own.” She ruffled Allie’s hair.
Laura Jo had met Marsha at the Mothers Without Partners clinic. Phil had lived up to all her father’s predictions and more when he’d left her pregnant and cleaned out their bank account to never be seen again. Even after all these years he hadn’t even checked to see if he had a son or daughter. Marsha’s husband had died in a fishing accident. She and Marsha had hit it off right away. Circumstances had brought them together but friendship had seen to it that they still depended on each other.
They’d shared an apartment for a few months and had traded off their time watching the kids while the other had worked or gone to school. They had their own apartments now but in the same complex and Marsha was more like family than the one Laura Jo had left behind.
They had joined forces to help other mothers who didn’t have anyone to fall back on. They had convinced the city to sell them an old home so these women would have a place to live and receive help while they were getting their lives in order. The deadline to pay for the house was looming. Finding the funding had become more difficult than Laura Jo had anticipated.
Marsha announced, “I heard from the city contact. He said we had to move soon on the house or the city will have to announce it’s for sale. They can’t hold it forever.”
Laura Jo groaned. That wasn’t what she wanted to hear. “How much time do we have?”
“Week or two. At least until things settle down after Mardi Gras. We’ve got to come up with a good way to raise a lot of money. Fast. I know you don’t want to do it but you do have the contacts. Maybe you could put on a party dress and go pick the pockets of all those society friends you used to hang around with.”
Laura Jo shook her head. “That’s not going to happen. We’ll have to find another way.”
What if she had to face her mother and father? Worse, have them see her asking for money. That’s what they had thought she’d be doing if she married Phil. That’s what he’d wanted her to do, but she’d refused. After her fight with her parents she and Phil had gone to Las Vegas that night to get married.
When they’d returned Phil had left to work on an oil rig. Three weeks later he’d come home. A week later all his pay had gone and he’d admitted he’d been fired. He’d made noises about looking for a job but in hindsight she didn’t think he’d ever really tried. Things had got worse between them. The issue that finally snapped them had been Laura Jo telling him she was pregnant. Phil’s snarling parting words were, “I didn’t sign on for no kid. You can’t put that on me. Having you is bad enough.”
Marsha gave her questioning look. “You know I’m kidding but …”
“I’ll come up with something.” She checked her watch. “Now, I have to get to the hospital.” Stepping toward Allie, Laura Jo said to Marsha, “I’ll meet you at the parade tomorrow evening.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Laura Jo leaned down and kissed Allie on the head. “See ya. Be good for Marsha.”
“I will,” Allie replied, then returned to what she was doing.
“Thanks, Marsha.” Laura Jo called as she went up the hall.
Six hours later, Laura Jo was longing for her dinner and a moment to put her feet up. She wasn’t going to get either anytime soon. Working in a trauma one level hospital meant a constant influx of patients, not only the regular cases but Mardi Gras’s as well, which brought out the revelers and daredevils. Weekend nights were the worst and the place resembled a circus with not enough clowns to go around. Everyone had their hands full. The doors were swishing open regularly with people coming in. The constant ringing of the phone filled the area, blending with the piercing scream of ambulance sirens.
As she stepped back into the nursing
