Souls' Rescue Part 16

"Are you involved with her?"

"Yes," Talia surprised herself with the quick answer. "It's a little awkward with me in here, but the moment I'm able to she's promised to take me out. She cares about me and she's been there for me in a way no other woman ever has."

"Talia. You've only known her a couple of weeks. How could you possibly be so close?"

"You have no idea what we've shared together. We were in that debris pile for nearly two hours. It felt more like days. She risked her life to take care of me. Since then, she hasn't let me down. She told me about her experiences on 9-11, and I've shared a lot about my life too. There's just something special about her. Please try to understand."

"She feels sorry for you." Colette stood. After brus.h.i.+ng the wrinkles from her dress, she adjusted the blanket. "Megan will be here tomorrow."

"Why? I told her to leave me alone."

"She's determined to make you give her another chance."

"Megan or you?" Talia watched her mother closely and knew the answer by the clenching of her jaw muscles. "I thought so. Mother, you can tell Megan she's wasting her time. I'm happy with Kelly."

"We'll see." Colette picked up her purse and started out of the room. "I'll bring Megan to see you after I get her settled."

Chapter Nineteen.

KELLY'S s.h.i.+FT STARTED off bad when she found out she had ambulance duty. Again. It would make her fourth straight s.h.i.+ft as a paramedic and she itched to get back on the engine. She didn't mind the medical part of the job, but fire fighting was in her blood. At the age of four, she'd gone on her first ride on a truck and never looked back.

"This sucks." She slammed the cabinet drawer shut after completing a check of its contents. The checklist completed, she decided to get a cup of coffee. She stepped onto the b.u.mper and the alert tones sounded. "f.u.c.k."

The dispatcher announced a woman down at an apartment building a few blocks from the fire station. "Possible non-breather," she reported.

"Double f.u.c.k," Kelly said and jumped down, then closed the back doors of the vehicle. Scott ran from the driver's side as she got in the pa.s.senger seat.

"8:25. I think that's a record. Last s.h.i.+ft our first run came at 8:03."

"Did you do something to p.i.s.s Jimmy off?"

"Why?" Scott turned on the lights and sirens and pulled out on to the street.

"It's our fourth s.h.i.+ft on the box. I'm getting to think he's mad at us."

Scott shrugged. "Just got lucky."

"Lucky? If this is luck, I don't want luck anymore. And I sure don't want a d.a.m.n code."

"Grouchy much? Wait. Did you get your coffee yet?"

"No."

"That explains everything."

"Bite me," Kelly took a deep breath as they pulled up to the building. She got out and headed in without another word to her partner.

"What happened?" Kelly asked as she entered the small apartment.

"I don't know," the elderly man that greeted her hobbled toward a hallway. "She's in the bedroom. I woke up and she wasn't breathing."

Kelly eased past him and started toward the room. Scott finally caught up to her and started asking the man for information. "When did you last see her?"

"When we went to bed last night."

Scott asked him to stay in the hallway as they entered the bedroom.

The elderly woman lay on her back on the left side of the bed. Kelly set her equipment on the floor and checked to see if the woman was breathing. Her skin was cold and her face was nearly purple with small white blotches on her cheeks and neck. Kelly felt for a pulse and found none. With one look, she told Scott that the woman was dead.

The level of rigor mortis suggested she had died hours ago. "Is her husband still out there?"

Scott nodded. "Yeah. I'll go tell him and disregard the engine crew." He gathered up his gear and left.

Kelly stood in the room for a few seconds to look around. Nothing appeared out of order. She was about to leave when she saw the picture. An old photo, maybe from the 1940's, hung beside the door frame, next to the switch plate for the light. A simple wood frame held the photo, but it was elegant. The young man she imagined was the same man who had met them at the door. He was wearing an army uniform and grinning proudly.

The photo was black and white. His eyes held a hint of mischief in them and the crinkle in his nose made her smile back. He had stripes on his sleeves indicating the rank of sergeant. Just below his chin were some words. Though she knew the message was private, Kelly felt compelled to read it anyway.

"To my dearest Ella, I fell in love with you the moment I first saw you at the Spring Social. You are my heart, my soulmate and I wouldn't be worth a nickel without you. I'll love you always darling, Frank."

Kelly stepped back from the photo and wiped at the sudden tears in her eyes. His soulmate. She glanced back at the peaceful face of the woman on the bed. "She must have been pretty when she was young."

"Most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

Kelly was startled to find the man, Frank, standing behind her. "I'm sorry for your loss, sir."

"Thank you." His eyes were on his wife as the man slowly made his way to her side. He dropped to his knees beside the bed, took her hand in his and began to weep.

Kelly quickly stepped out of the room and made a hasty retreat to find Scott.

"Cops will be here in about five minutes."

"Good. I'll get the equipment back on the bus." She was out the door before Scott could respond.

EXHAUSTION KEPT HER awake most of the night and the moment Kelly's tour was over, she left the fire house. Hospital visiting hours would start soon and she wanted to see Talia. Needed to see her.

She got into her car, turned the key, but didn't move to put it in gear. The strength just wasn't there to move her hand. Kelly stared out the window until her vision blurred and the tears came.

Frank and Ella were married 62 years. Frank told her this as they were leaving. 62 years of marriage with four children and twelve grandchildren to show for it. Kelly couldn't even imagine knowing any one person for that many years and certainly couldn't imagine being with the same person for that long.

Kelly rested her forehead on the steering wheel between her clenched fists. Did she want to be with one person that long? And if she did, what would happen to her partner when Kelly died?

The fire department didn't recognize domestic partners and it would be a cold day in h.e.l.l when the Religious Right of Ohio let gay marriage be made legal.

Would Talia be okay without her? Who would care for her?

Kelly sat up and wiped her face clean of the tears. How had Talia gotten into this train of thought?

But Kelly knew the answer to that question. Talia was always in her thoughts. And the more time she spent with her, the more Kelly was growing to love the woman. Or maybe it was simply that Kelly was already in love with her.

An old joke about lesbians and moving vans came to mind and Kelly chuckled. It wasn't so much of a joke as it was a real thought in her mind. She really did want to move in with Talia. She wanted to care for Talia, settle down with her. Grow old with her.

She put the car into gear and headed for Drake Hospital.

TALIA LOOKED SO peaceful as she slept that Kelly didn't want to wake her. She sat in the chair next to the bed and leaned her head back. If she closed her eyes for just a few minutes, she'd feel so much better.

"Are you planning to sleep there?"

Kelly opened one eye to look at Talia. "Maybe."

"Wouldn't you be more comfy in bed?"

"Um, yes." Kelly scooted the chair around so she was facing Talia. "But I don't see anyone here offering to let me join them, so I picked this teeny tiny chair."

"You poor thing." Talia patted the bed beside her. "Care to join me?"

"Thought you'd never ask." Kelly put the rail down. Talia moved over as much as she could. Only a few inches of room remained. Kelly lay on her side, balancing to keep from falling off. "Honey, I think we need a bigger bed."

"Sorry." Talia tried to scoot further toward the opposite edge, but it didn't give Kelly any more room.

"No problem. I'll live."

"You can't possibly be comfortable."

Kelly slipped her arm around Talia's body and snuggled closer to her. "It's really quite cozy. Don't you think?"

"What the h.e.l.l is going on here?"

Kelly nearly fell off the bed, but managed to right herself and get to her feet. Colette Stoddard did not look happy. "We were just-"

"I know what you were doing. I suggest you leave."

"Mother, Kelly has every right to be here." Talia pressed a b.u.t.ton and raised the bed so she was sitting up.

"It's okay, Talia. I should probably go home anyway."

"No. You stay right where you are," Talia said, glaring at her mother.

"If you're doing this to upset me, Talia, it's working," Colette said.

"I don't care. You can't just come in here and order someone out of my room."

Kelly felt like she was at a tennis match, going back and forth between the two women until she got a headache. They kept sniping at each other and she just wanted to slink out of the room and let them have their privacy. Obviously, Talia and her mother needed to work on some issues.

"Please," she broke in to Colette's tirade. "I need to get some sleep." To Talia she said, "I'll come by tomorrow. I'm off and we can spend some time together. Okay?"

"No." Talia looked like a petulant child. She was so cute Kelly wanted to laugh. "But I guess you're right."

"Good answer," Kelly avoided the steely gaze of Colette and kissed Talia on the cheek. "Call me later."

"Count on it."

Kelly walked around Colette and hurried out of the room. She stepped into the hallway and cringed when she heard them arguing again.

Chapter Twenty.

TALIA AWOKE EARLY the next morning. She hadn't heard back from Kelly and wondered if she was angry with her. Talia's mother had been such a b.i.t.c.h to Kelly. Maybe Kelly had enough and didn't want to come around her anymore. And who could blame her? What woman wanted at fat chick with a controlling h.o.m.ophobic mother?

The door to her room opened and a woman dressed in light blue s.h.i.+rt and slacks came in, breaking Talia from her thoughts. Her brown hair was in a ponytail, and her smile was almost obnoxious at such an early hour.

"Good morning, and welcome to Drake Hospital." The cheerful voice was too much and Talia grumbled a response. "Oh, we're going to have to work on that att.i.tude. I'm Lucie Granger. Your physical therapist."

"It's my att.i.tude and I'll keep it, thanks."

"Chuck it aside while I'm here."

"Sure." Talia sat up. "So what time is it?"

Lucie lifted the lid from Talia's breakfast tray, which sat untouched beside the bed, and wrinkled her nose at it. "Past time to get up and eat."

"Oh. I thought it was early morning."

"It's quarter past nine."

Talia pushed the b.u.t.ton to incline her bed. "Like I said, early morning."

"How do you like your new room?"

"It looks pretty much like the one at University Hospital."

"Good. That's what we were going for." Lucie laughed. "So, wanna get started?"

"Already?"