Just Take My Heart - Mary Higgins Clark [81]
“Great. But we're both upset about those newspaper articles. We saw them online. We know you have never wanted to talk about the transplant. And the mother of that lady who got killed really wasn't fair to you.”
She tried to sound reassuring. “Oh sure, I was a little upset, Dad. But I'm okay about it now and I truly do feel sorry for that poor woman.”
“I hope now that this trial is done that you'll relax and maybe even have some fun. And you know you can hop on a plane anytime and come down here. Joan would cook you some decent meals, not that crummy take-out stuff I know you live on.”
“I'll definitely get down there for Thanksgiving, Dad, but you wouldn't want to look at my desk right now. It's a disaster. I've got a lot of catching up to do.”
“I understand. Em . . .”
I know what's coming, she thought.
“Em, I'm always afraid to ask because I know you miss Mark. But it has been three years. Is there anybody you have any interest in?”
“It's okay to ask, Dad. The answer is no, but I'm not saying it can't happen. Since I was assigned to this trial seven months ago, I've barely even had time to take Bess for a walk.”
Emily surprised herself by making an additional comment, but then realized that the sentiment she was expressing was honest. “I know it's been three years, Dad, and I know I have to get on with my own life. I'm beginning to understand that I not only miss Mark, but I very much miss sharing my life. And I want to have that back again.”
“That's good to hear, Emily. I really do understand. After your mother died, I never thought I'd ever look at another woman. But after a while it does get very lonely, and when Joan came along, I was sure it was right.”
“It was right, Dad. Joan is a doll. And it's a comfort for me that she takes such good care of you.”
“That she does, honey. Okay, talk to you in a couple of days.”
After Emily hung up, she played back the seven messages that had been left today on her answering machine. One was from her brother, Jack. The others were friends congratulating her on the out?come of the trial. Several were invitations for dinner very soon and one was actually for tonight. A couple of them, in a very caring way, expressed shock that what they had thought had only been valve sur?gery had ended up in a transplant.
She decided to call Jack and the friend who had invited her for tonight. The rest could wait until tomorrow. She got Jack's voice mail, left a message, then made the second call to Karen Logan, a law school classmate who was married and had two children. “Karen, I really need to veg out tonight,” she said. “But let's make a date for next Saturday if you're free.”
“Emily, tonight would have been just a plate of pasta at our house. But 1 really wanted to ask about next Saturday anyway.” There was hope and trepidation in her voice. “We'd like to go out to a nice restaurant and bring along someone who very much wants to meet you. He's an orthopedic surgeon, thirty-seven, and, if you can believe it, has never been married. He's brilliant but he's so normal and he's such a nice-looking guy.”
Emily knew that Karen was pleasantly surprised by her answer. “Sounds pretty good. I'm up for it.”
It was almost six o'clock. Emily took Bess for a ten-minute walk, fed her, and decided to run out to the video store and rent a couple of movies. The last thing I want to watch tonight is Fugitive Hunt, she decided. I'd feel as though I were still at the office. And I think I'll get some of that “crummy take-out stuff” that Dad was accusing me of living on, she thought, smiling.
She never did get to watch the second movie. By ten o'clock she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer and went to bed. The movie she did watch had been okay, but not great. She'd kept dozing on and off as it played. She woke up on her own at eight thirty Sunday morning, surprised and grateful that Bess had let her sleep.
It was October 12th and an anniversary of sorts. It was on that day seven years ago that she had met Mark at a tailgate party at Giants Stadium.