Page 25 of A Powerful Attraction
“He didn’t.”
They ate in silence for a bit.
“Can I ask you something?” Shawna asked.
“Sure.”
“If it’s none of my business, feel free to tell me. But you’ve spent a lot of time with Alex, at least based on our conversations.”
Sherry set down her fork. “I know where you’re going with this. You think we’re spending too much time together, that maybe I’m too into him.” Her parents had expressed the same concerns. Not only that she and Alex spent a lot of time together, but they worked together and saw each other every day. They worried that she was moving too fast.
“I’m not judging. I just don’t want you to get hurt again. How much do you really know about him?”
“Everything I need to know,” Sherry said, getting defensive, the way she did when her parents questioned the relationship. They thought this was a rebound thing from Stan, but it wasn’t. She took a deep breath and decided to share her feelings with her friend—feelings she hadn’t shared with anyone else and hardly wanted to acknowledge herself. “He’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a man. He’s kind, honest, sexy, smart, and we have fun together. I think…I think I’ve fallen in love with him.”
“Love?” Shawna didn’t sound skeptical. She seemed to want to confirm she’d heard Sherry correctly.
“I know it sounds crazy, but that’s how I feel. Like I’ve already fallen in love with him. We spend several nights a week together, and that doesn’t include the fact that we talk at work and text each other multiple times per day. I do wonder if so much contact is overkill, because I don’t want to smother him, but he clearly enjoys our conversations as well. At least, he hasn’t run off yet.”
One corner of Shawna’s mouth lifted into a half-smile. “Well, falling in love can happen at any time. You know my story. It happened to me.”
She had fallen for her husband, Ryan, after spending only a couple of days with him.
“So you understand. That’s how I feel,” Sherry said. “And it’s not one-sided. I think Alex feels the same way. Maybe he’s notin lovewith me.” She laughed self-consciously. “But there’s something between us. Something strong that makes me miss him when we’re apart, for even a few minutes. I want to be with him all the time.”
A smile slowly spread across Shawna’s lips. “You know what, I’m happy for you. If anyone deserves to be happy with the right man, it’s you.” She lifted her glass. “I wish you a long and happy relationship. Cheers.”
“Cheers.” Sherry bumped her can of soda against her friend’s glass.
* * *
She shouldn’t do this.She should mind her own business and go home. But that wasn’t what she did. Call it curiosity or some sort of sixth sense, but there was something odd about Alex’s abrupt departure from the hospital.
After delivering the rest of the flowers, Sherry decided to find out which room Heather was in, which was fairly easy to do. Having volunteered at the hospital numerous time, the staff knew her, and there was no other patient at the hospital named Heather with Castleman’s disease.
Sherry exited the elevator and walked down the hallway toward the patient’s assigned room. At the door, she peeked through the rectangular window and saw a blonde woman asleep inside. A series of machines in the room monitored her vitals and displayed the results for medical staff.
Sherry’s heart went out to her. Even in sleep, the strain the disease had taken on her body was obvious. She looked thin and frail, face drawn and pale, long hair limp and unwashed.
Sherry stepped away from the door and bumped into one of the nurses. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said.
The nurse, a middle-aged black woman with a thin build, smiled. Sherry recognized her from previous visits. Her name was Helen.
“No problem. Do you know her?”
“No, I don’t. She’s a friend of a friend, and I just wanted to peek in and see how she’s doing.”
“It’s been rough, that’s for sure.” Helen pursed her lips and shook her head.
“I don’t know much about Castleman’s disease. Do you think she’ll be here much longer?”
The nurse winced. “Of course, you know I can’t discuss a patient’s medical status.”
“Of course not! I meant in general. What’s the norm?”
Helen let out an audible breath and glanced in at Heather. “Hard to say. It varies by patient. We don’t know a whole lot about the disease, and unfortunately, by the time the doctors figured out what was wrong with her and she arrived here to see a specialist, it had advanced aggressively. The disorder attacks the lymph nodes and other organs and for lack of a better phrase, shuts them down. I will say, what’s working in her favor is that she has a good support system, and that matters in cases like these. Her friend and her husband come by to see her frequently.”
“Oh. I didn’t know she was married. I know her friend, though.”
