Just One Night Together (Flatiron Five Fitness #3) - Deborah Cooke Page 0,45
Haley said. “Thanks. She’s a patient who responds really well to massage. I guess she’s hurting.”
“Wait a minute. Is she the one with the hot son?”
“Well, she has a son. He let me try massage on his mom and she responded well, so I said I could do it again if she needed me. Sounds like she does.” Haley shrugged, trying to sound casual about it. “Do you need me early?”
“Nope. All quiet.” Megan crossed her fingers and smiled.
“Okay. I’ll be back for eight.”
The phone rang again and Megan nodded at Haley before she answered it.
Haley fought her disappointment all the way down to the oncology ward. The message made her realize how much she’d been hoping to see Damon—if only to tell him off for not confiding in his friends and partners. But Oncology wouldn’t have called if he was there. Maybe he wasn’t even coming in tonight. She wasn’t sure whether she should be pleased that she could help his mom, or annoyed that she was just useful.
Then she got to the oncology ward and Khadija greeted her with a smile. “Hey! You did get the message.”
“Absolutely. How’s Mrs. Perez?”
“Not good. Poor thing. Even the opiates aren’t helping tonight.”
Haley felt a wave of compassion. “Getting close?”
Khadija winced. “I think so. They’ve stopped treatment because it’s not helping.”
Haley’s heart squeezed in compassion for Damon again. She walked down the corridor to Natasha’s room with Khadija. “Doesn’t her son usually come in on Friday nights?”
“He called and said he had to work late. He’s the one who asked for you.” Khadija winced. “He sounded pretty upset about work, actually.”
“Really? I expect he worries about his mom, but he doesn’t seem like the type to show his emotions.”
Khadija laughed. “No, his heart’s not on his sleeve. I meant that he was really terse. Jake’s like that when he’s upset,” she said, referring to her husband. “He bites off his words and gets even quieter than usual. Most people miss it when he gets upset, but I’ve learned to look for the signs.”
“Survival instinct,” Haley teased and Khadija smiled.
“You’ve got it.” She tapped gently on the door. “Hello, Mrs. Perez. Are you feeling any better?” There was a weak moan of reply. “She’s had some pain meds,” Khadija murmured. “But that’s her allotment for today and it’s not cutting it. I’ve got a call in to her doc requesting some more morphine.”
Haley nodded. It wouldn’t matter now if Natasha had too much. She bit her lip when she saw that Natasha had curled up on her side. She looked even smaller and more fragile than she had the other night. It was easy to believe that she’d been a ballerina, because she was so tiny. She seemed to be all bones beneath the sheet.
Haley dropped a hand upon Natasha’s knee. “Hello,” she said with a smile and saw Natasha glance at her. “Damon asked if I could visit you. Would you like a massage?”
“Isn’t he coming?” she whispered.
Later, Khadija mouthed then shrugged.
“It’s snowing,” Haley said to Natasha. “The roads are bad. It sounds like he’s been delayed, but I can try to help you now.”
“Haley.”
“That’s me,” Haley said, taking the massage lotion out of the drawer. She smiled. “Is it good or bad that you remember me?”
“Good,” Natasha said with an answering smile.
“I know I’m not as good at this as your son, but should we give it a try?”
Natasha’s eyes closed as she nodded.
“You could tell me about Russia,” Haley said, easing the older woman to her stomach. She unfastened the neck of her gown, and rubbed lotion between her hands. The lights were already dim in the room and Khadija had shut the door. The heart monitor beeped but otherwise, the room was peaceful. “What was it like?”
“Cold,” Natasha said. “Grey.” She sighed at Haley’s first touch. “But when we danced on stage, it was like another world, a beautiful world of color and possibility.” She breathed for a few moments as Haley worked on her shoulders, then sighed again. “It wasn’t an illusion. Dancing did bring possibility.”
“Because you met your husband when you danced.”
“Yes. My Marco.” Natasha smiled without opening her eyes. “And we had a son.”
“Does he look like his father?” Haley asked, because she couldn’t resist.
“They could be brothers. So much alike, but so many years apart.” She licked her lips. “I miss him so much, my Marco, but that isn’t enough to make me ever wish I hadn’t met him. He was everything to me.”