ever try a stunt like that again, I’ll kill you!”
She spit at him. He spit back. Then they both laughed.
Mack said, “No good. Can’t pump and laugh at the same time.” He stared at her, then squeezed her arms with his massive claws. He thought he was being scary. But nothing, nothing physical, could be as scary as the mind out of control. She bit back the pain and kept eye contact.
“Good,” Mack whispered. “That was real good, Tandy.”
She felt him slowly easing the pressure off her arms, then he ran his hands over her breasts. Tandy closed her eyes. It felt good. In another world, she might have delved further. But that wasn’t where she was at now. Mack knew it, too. And really that wasn’t where he was at, either. It was just the touching. Gorgeous bodies like hers and his … they were meant to be touched by those who could truly appreciate them.
“You ready to sweat, girlie?” he said.
“Always.”
The shaking of his shoulder brought Decker into a groggy state of consciousness. He leaped up, then felt unsteady on his legs. He could feel an arm giving him support. He rubbed his eyes and focused on a round, fair face. A body garbed in slacks, sports shirt, and a white coat—Dr. Hendricks. No more scrubs. Decker took that as a very good sign.
“Are you all right?” Hendricks asked.
“I fell asleep. I can’t believe I did that.”
“Happens to the best of us.” The doctor felt the stubble on his chin. “Rina’s progressing well. I just finished putting in the order to move her to the ICU. I don’t expect she’ll stay there long. I just want to make sure we have everything under control. You can see her now. She’s still heavily sedated, so don’t count on a lot of witty repartee.”
Decker smiled.
“She was oriented when I spoke to her. Her vitals are good. All indications are she’ll be just fine.”
“Thank God!”
Hendricks placed a hand on Decker’s shoulder. “I’ll be around for the next hour or so. I’ll need to talk to you, but I know how anxious you are to see Rina. Peter, I don’t want you shocked by her appearance.”
“Doctor, I’ve seen everything in any kind of condition imaginable.”
“It’s different when it’s your wife.”
Cerebrally, he was prepared. Emotionally, he wasn’t. Her complexion was chalky gray, lips so pale they blended with the rest of her skin tone. Her hair had been pulled off her face. What strands did show were limp with perspiration. Her left arm was attached to a board on the bedrail, the underside bruised and milky white. An I.V. was held in place by big white bandages at her wrist. The rest of her body was covered by a bedsheet. Her sleep seemed deep—not a hint of movement under her delicate lids. He’d seen stiffs with better color. That thought gave him a chill.
He was afraid to touch her, afraid she might turn to dust like an antique document. Carefully, he edged his hand toward her cheek, letting it rest above her mouth for just a moment, felt her sweet breath upon his palm. He inched his fingers to her lips, then quickly removed his hand. Biting his lower lip, he pulled a chair by her bedside and broke into the shakes. He knew he should call Rina’s parents, but he needed time to convince himself that she was really okay.
He hugged his body and watched his wife sleep. Forcing himself calm, he took her hand in his, encircled his fingers around hers. She didn’t stir. He didn’t remember how long he sat like that. The next thing he knew, the doctor was waking him again. His eyes went to the wall clock. It was after twelve. Slowly, he extricated his hand from Rina’s. She hadn’t changed position.
Decker stood and the doctor put his arm around him. He whispered, “Let’s go in my office.”
“It’s okay to leave her?”
“Yes, she’s fine.”
They stepped outside the ICU into a brightly lit hallway, eerie because it was so empty. Then Decker stopped.
“My daughter!”
“Your baby’s doing great, Peter. Pediatrician’ll be in tomorrow if you want to talk to him.”
“No, my other daughter,” Decker said. “She’s nineteen. She was with the baby. I told her to check in with me before she left. If she walked by herself to the parking lot, I’ll wring her neck. You keep thinking there’ll come a time when you’ll stop worrying about your kids …”
“Nah, it never comes,” Hendricks said.
“Do you mind if I find out where she is?”
“Go ahead. My office is room six-seventy-eight B. I’ll wait for you there.”
Decker asked Hendricks how to get to Nursery J. As he listened to the doc’s words, he was acutely aware of the fact that his ears were hearing, but his brain wasn’t processing. Although Hendricks had pointed him in the right direction, Decker didn’t know where he was going. He was senile from worry and lack of sleep, walking in a stuporous state down long plush corridors that seemed to meld into other hallways that led nowhere.
After a couple of false starts, he somehow reached the correct nursery. He peeked in the window—two rows of layettes containing bundles topped by little fuzzy heads. As his eyes danced over the tiny faces, Decker suddenly realized that his own infant daughter’s bassinet was gone. That jolted his heart and cleared his brain.
He knocked on the entry to the nursery but didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, he turned the knob just as a scrub-suited woman opened the door from the other side. She was middle-aged and petite, her face small and pinched. She was wearing a hair cap. Her name tag said DARLENE JAMISON, RN.
“I’m Peter Decker. I was just wondering where my baby was. My baby daughter … and my other one, too. Both my daughters. Did you happen to see—”
“You’re Cindy’s father. Can tell ’cause of the hair. Relax. She’s fine … in the back with the baby. They’re both sleeping.” Darlene broke into a grin and shook her head. “Come in. If you want to see your dynamic duo, you’re gonna have to put on some protective clothing. And you’ll have to take your shoes off, too.”
Decker stepped inside the waiting area of the nursery, the anteroom so brightly lit it hurt his eyes. Instantly, his ears were assaulted by high-pitched squalls and protests. His eyes drifted over to the layettes. Baby Girl Jackson seemed to be making most of the noise. Her mouth was wide open, and she was howling up a storm. She sat between Baby Girl Rodriguez, who was beet red from her wailing, and Baby Boy Yamata, who seemed above it all. His big eyes were open and staring at the ceiling as if to say, Lord, what is wrong with all these people?
Decker couldn’t help but smile. A big yellow line set out the perimeters of where he was allowed to place his feet. Beyond the line was a glassed hallway on either side, doors leading to the nurseries. As far as Decker could see, Darlene was the only person tending sheep.
“My
