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Summer Rain And Roses |
Chapter 4 |
There it was again.
Coming to a halt, John cocked his head to the side. "Did you hear that?" He slowly swivelled to his right, almost certain that he'd heard a faint scuttling sound.
"Hear what?"
The man standing a few feet away was the picture of wide-eyed innocence, though his nervous cough ruined the effect. His sudden coughing fit couldn't be an attempt to cover up that suspicious sound, now, could it?
John caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He managed to catch a glimpse of something small and black as it scurried underneath the refrigerator.
"I thought you said there were no roaches."
Apparently giving up the pretense, the superintendent shrugged, trying to downplay the situation. "Hey, every place has 'em, right? I spray the building every now and then. No big deal."
Pursing his lips slightly, John only nodded. He mentally scratched the place off his list, disappointed yet again. This was the sixth apartment he'd looked at in three days and so far, none of them had been to his liking. There might have been a time when he would have grudgingly shared his living quarters with the unpleasant insect to save a few dollars, but he wasn't quite that desperate yet.
Thanking the man for his time, John headed out the door. He had one more place that he'd wanted to view today but a quick look at his watch told him that he'd run out of time. That is, if he intended to be prompt for his lunch with Gamma today.
The day was clear and sunny but not overly hot. Climbing into his Jeep, he rolled the windows down on both his side and the passenger side, wanting to feel the wind on his face. He paused a moment to fiddle around with the radio, turned up the volume and then eased into traffic.
With a bit of a drive ahead of him, his mind started to wander. Now that he had the goal of finding an apartment, he was happier than he had been on the first day of his leave. Waking up that morning and not having a clue as to how he'd spend his time, he'd felt restless and discontented. He'd almost picked up the phone to call into the ER and say that he'd changed his mind. Most of the morning had been wasted watching some mindless TV and then he'd briefly chatted with Kerry. She'd called him from work to check on how he was doing and cheerfully told him that she was sure this time away from the ER was just what he needed. He hadn't had the energy to argue with her and after all, this had been his decision. Part of him longed to be back in the thick of things, adrenaline pumping through his bloodstream while running a trauma. Another side of him was relieved that he didn't have to deal with the daily grind; the vomiting, the rectal exams, the uncooperative patients, the violence, the heartache.
After talking with Kerry, he'd felt a sudden urge to be outside in the open air. And so he'd gone for a walk, no particular destination in mind. He'd simply kept moving, one foot in front of the other; a smooth, rhythmic motion. When he'd finally stopped to catch his breath, he'd found himself in front of an apartment building, a large rental sign adorning the unkempt lawn. Without even hesitating, he'd gone inside to investigate the place.
That particular building hadn't been suitable, but finding it had once again initiated his search for his own living space. As Tammy had not so subtly pointed out, he'd more than overstayed his welcome with Kevin. While his time there had been enjoyable and had bonded them even more closely together as cousins, it was time to move on.
His grandmother had called out of the blue this morning, simply wanting to chat. She'd started doing that, ever since the stabbing; a phone call every two weeks or so. Although it made him feel a twinge of guilt, he couldn't help feeling slightly suspicious for the duration of each call, wondering when she was going to get to the heart of the matter. What did she really want? Phone calls from Gamma in the past had usually been reserved solely for official family business, not idle chatter. But she appeared to be trying to reach out to him and he appreciated the effort.
When she'd suggested that they should get together for lunch sometime, he'd blurted out that he was available today. He'd almost bit his tongue afterwards but she'd immediately invited him up to the house.
John drove down familiar streets until he finally turned onto the long, winding driveway lined with old oak trees. Sunlight filtered through the leafy branches, casting random patterns of light and shade as he passed underneath the foliage. He had fond memories of warm summer days spent here as a child. Any family gatherings had always been held at his grandpartents' estate. While the adults had gone about their business, the children had played together. This area among the trees and the large expanse of grass on either side of the driveway had been well utilized for games of tag. After wearing themselves out, they'd often lied down on the lawn, the blades of grass tickling bare skin. Sometimes they would talk and other times they'd simply watch the clouds drift by. At least until one of them jostled another, shouting, "You're it!" and then they'd be off and running again. He used to have such a grand time, especially with Bobby, Chase and Kevin. His sister, Emily, would join them on occasion but it was more of a novelty for her to play with the other girls. She'd had two brothers to contend with on a daily basis at home.
Up until Bobby had become sick, his childhood had been idyllic and carefree. He wished he could go back to those days and re-live them again. That was the only time in his life that he could recall being truly happy.
After parking the Jeep, he was about to head up the steps to the front door when he abruptly changed direction. If he knew his grandmother, she would already have lunch set out on the patio deck. Going around the back of the house, he let himself in through the gate. Light reflected off the pool in pinpoints of sparkling diamonds and he had to squint for a moment, even through his sunglasses. The water looked inviting. He loved to swim but rarely found the time for it, even with the indoor pool in Kevin's building. Maybe he would linger for a while after lunch and swim a few laps. He certainly had the time on his hands now.
"John, what brings you by?"
A little startled by the sudden voice, John turned away from the pool to find his grandfather standing there in swimming trunks, a blue robe draped over one arm.
"Gamma invited me over for lunch. How are you, sir?"
"I'm very well," Laird Carter replied crisply, tossing his robe over a nearby chair. "And you?"
"Fine, thanks."
Having exchanged the necessary pleasantries, the two men lapsed into an awkward silence. Their relationship had never been an easy one and the gulf between them had only grown wider over the years. John had always been rather intimidated by his grandfather's stern, unsmiling nature, especially as a child. Luckily, it had been easy enough to steer clear of him back then. But as he'd gotten older, Laird had tried to perk his interest in Carter Enterprises. John had known early on that he wanted to be a doctor but he hadn't had the courage to voice his convictions until much later. In fact, his announcment that he had been accepted into medical school had come as a shock to everyone except Gamma, whom he'd secretly confided in. His choice of medicine over the family business had been a slap in the face to Laird and he'd never gotten past it. They remained civil with each other, but John had long ago abandoned hope of receiving any kind of affection from his grandfather.
Millicent Carter's low and somewhat gravelly voice broke the stillness of the air. "I wasn't expecting to see you, Laird. Can you join us for lunch?"
He gave a curt shake of his head. "No, I have a lunch meeting in forty minutes. I just wanted to have a brief swim to clear my head."
John watched him walk towards the diving board, noting that he was in impressive physical shape for a man in his sixties. After stepping onto the board, Laird paused for a moment, as if focusing his energy. He then sprang into mid-air, executing a clean dive that barely disturbed the water's smooth surface.
"It's good to see you, John. Sit down and we'll have some iced tea." Millicent was already reaching for the glass pitcher as she spoke, giving him a warm smile.
They sat down in the shade of the large umbrella and made small talk for a while, their sentences punctuated by the occasional splash from the pool. Millicent noticed that John's gaze kept straying towards the water. "Did you want to take a swim before lunch?" she asked.
The eyes that darted back to her face clearly reflected his eagerness. "You don't mind? I don't want to keep you waiting."
"It's all right. I still have to prepare the salad and there's a phone call I can make in the meantime. You go on. There should be spare swimming trunks in the change room."
Gulping down the remainder of his tea, he got to his feet. "Thanks, Gamma. I'll make it a quick one."
He headed towards the change room, which was really a small building divided into two sections; one for women and one for men. Extra bathing suits and trunks in various sizes were stored there for guests. There was even a built-in washroom to prevent wet feet from traipsing throughout the house.
When John emerged, he found himself alone on the deck, his grandfather nowhere in sight. Happy to have the pool all to himself, he dove in without hesitation, immediately feeling energized by the slick coolness against his skin. As he concentrated on cutting through the water with sure, smooth strokes, the outside world faded away until his mind was trouble-free for the first time in months.
***************
Millicent watched in bemusement as John wolfed down his hamburger. He was working on his second one and showed no signs of slowing down. It seemed the swim had done him some good, at least giving him an appetite. She hadn't seen him in about six weeks and he obviously had lost some weight. He simply wasn't taking care of himself.
"More iced tea?" she offered.
He wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, swallowing before he replied, "Sure, thanks."
Wordlessly, she handed him a napkin before refilling his glass and he grinned at her. The mischieveous glint in his eye reminded her of how he'd been as a little boy. He'd been quiet and shy but had still managed to get himself into some scrapes. Nothing too serious, but his boundless curiosity had sometimes gotten his nose into places it didn't belong. Like the time he'd found that beehive and brought it into the house...
Her thoughts returned to the present as John let out a not-so-discreet burp.
"John!"
"Excuse me." He smiled a little sheepishly. "I think I ate too fast."
"Ate? That was more like inhaling."
Chuckling, he leaned back in his chair, having consumed everything on his plate. "Sorry. Guess I was really hungry."
"It's all right. I'm glad you worked up an appetite. I was a little surprised that you were able to come today. Is it your day off?"
Thrown off by the sudden switch in topic, John stumbled over his words. "Uh, yeah, sort of."
"Sort of?"
His mind racing, he debated on how truthful he wanted to be. He didn't want to lie and really saw no reason to. But neither did he want to go into great detail of why he was taking a leave of absence. He decided to speak as casually as possible. "I'm taking some time off from work. Just for a little while."
One of Millicent's eyebrows arched upwards at this news. "Oh? Any particular reason?"
John consciously focused on not squirming in his chair, uncomfortable under his grandmother's scrutiny but trying to mask it with forced nonchalance. "I haven't had a break since my summers off in med school. I just need a little 'R and R'."
"I see."
He braced himself for further questioning but she said nothing further on the subject. Calmly sipping her drink, she began telling him about some of the renovations she had planned for the house.
Mildly surprised that Gamma hadn't pressed him for more details, he was relieved, nonetheless. Funny how he'd opened up to Rose Philips the other day; someone he didn't even know. Perhaps it was the very fact that she was a stranger that had made it so easy to be honest with her.
He'd been thinking about Rose quite a bit over the past few days. Several times, he'd grabbed the phone, his fingers poised and ready to call the office. And each time he'd put the receiver back down again, the number pad untouched. He wasn't sure exactly what was holding him back. For one thing, he'd been out of the dating loop for such a ridiculous amount of time, he felt rusty and awkward. Malucci seemed to have a way with the ladies. Perhaps he would give him a call and ask him...
"Is something wrong?"
"Hmmm?" John glanced up at Millicent with a blank look.
"I thought I heard you groaning." In the midst of explaining her dilemna over whether to paint the smaller guestrooms an eggshell white or sandalwood beige, he'd emitted a cross between a moan and a sigh.
"It's nothing," he muttered. Nothing except being horrified that he was even considering getting advice from Dave. This was bordering on being pathetic as well as desperate. Suddenly feeling restless again, he thanked Gamma for lunch and excused himself, stating that he was going to take a walk around the grounds.
Millicent could sense that something was troubling him, but she didn't pry. It saddened her that they were no longer as close as they had once been, but she had no one to blame but herself for that.
Laird had always been a workaholic but she'd assumed that as he got nearer to the age where most people considered retirement, he'd at least slow down. Instead, it almost seemed he was working harder than ever, keeping a tight reign on his company and unwilling to relinquish control. She, in turn, had become more involved with her charity work and the Carter Foundation. While she'd been aware that John was pulling away from the family, she'd done nothing to stop it. And so their relationship had suffered over the last few years, growing more distant. She hoped that keeping in more frequent contact with him would help to salvage their bond and that it wasn't a case of too little, too late.
***************
Millicent bent down, extending her pruning shears to clip at a particularly hard-to-reach area of her rose bush. She noticed the yellow ones appeared to be doing exceptionally well this season, the blooms large and bright.
"Gamma, there you are!"
She straightened up at the sound of the voice, shading her eyes with one hand as John came striding towards her.
"I thought you had left by now," she remarked.
He stopped to catch his breath, a little winded from having searched the house for her. After wandering around the top floor, he'd been informed by Beth, a new maid he didn't recognize, that Mrs. Carter was tending to her garden.
"Is anyone using the carriage house right now?" he asked, hoping he would receive the answer he wanted.
"No, it's been at least a year since anyone has used it. Why?"
"Would it be all right if I stayed there? I didn't tell you that I'm looking for a place to live. I don't like any of the apartments I've seen so far and can't quite afford any of the nicer places I do like. It will only be temporary, just a few months. I should be able to save up enough to afford a decent place by then."
Millicent held up her hand to stop him in mid-ramble. "Of course you're welcome to stay there, John, for as long as you'd like. But I'm somewhat surprised that you want to. I seem to recall inviting you to stay with us before but you were never interested. What's changed your mind now?"
John searched for an honest answer to this question, knowing his grandmother deserved one. When Kerry had asked him to move out, Gamma had been the first one to invite him to live at the house. And she had asked him again, while he was recovering from the stabbing. Both times he had turned her down, not wanting to deal with living with his grandfather on a daily basis. But he had never considered the carriage house.
The carriage house was a small building, located on the grounds of the estate. It was a two minute walk away from the main house, along a quiet, tree-lined path. It had originally been used to store carriages, much like an olden-day garage, but it had been converted into a guest house.
He'd forgotten all about the place until he'd stumbled across it during his walk. He'd stood there for a while, contemplating that it perfectly suited his needs right now. Maybe he'd been spoiled living with Kevin, but he'd prefer to stay here rather than enduring an apartment like the last one he'd encountered. He didn't make much on a resident's salary and even living rent-free for the past few months, he hadn't been able to save up as much as he'd hoped. There was always the possibility that he'd be offered an attending position next year but considering his present state of mind, he wasn't even sure if he'd accept it. He didn't know what his future held for him.
Staying here, he'd be able to use all of the facilities at the main house, and yet he'd have his privacy too. Just as he'd done when he was a child, he would try to avoid his grandfather as much as possible. It would make things easier for both of them.
He realized Gamma was still waiting for an answer and he tried to choose his words carefully. "When you've asked me to stay here before, you probably didn't mean the carriage house. I didn't think of it myself until a little while ago. I like the idea of having my own private place, even though it's technically part of the estate. I have a lot of good memories here."
Millicent nodded, her expression thoughtful. Though she didn't outwardly show it, she was pleased by his decision. It was comforting to know her grandson would be nearby.
***************
"Yes, that would be lovely. No, no, you haven't interrupted me at all. Seven o'clock. That sounds fine. I'll see you then. Yes, I look forward to it too. Bye."
Rose hung up the phone. The conversation had been short, and yet it had left her somewhat breathless. Despite the air conditioning, her cheeks felt flushed and she had the sudden urge to giggle. *Good Lord, get a grip on yourself* she thought sternly.
"Rose, you need to take a look at this report...What's going on?"
She turned an unfocused gaze to Kevin's questioning glance as he stood in the doorway of her office. "What did you say?"
Stepping into the room, he said, "You're grinning like the Cheshire cat."
"Am I?" Clearing her throat, she shuffled some papers around on her desk. She looked up to find Kevin still staring at her, a puzzled smile on his face. "I...that was John, on the phone."
"He asked you out!" Kevin crowed.
"Keep your voice down," Rose admonished, her smile fading. While she was still happy, she felt the nervous butterflies already taking flight. At this rate, she'd be a complete wreck by Friday night.
He lowered his voice a notch, perching on the edge of her desk. "So when are you going? Where is he taking you? Am I invited to your wedding?"
Rose felt her flush deepening. "You're funny. It's just dinner and it's only a first date. It probably won't go any further than that."
"No, I've got a feeling about this. You two are made for each other. Now, about this report..."
Rose held back a sigh, knowing she'd have to force herself to concentrate on business. She had considered calling John numerous times but had held back, managing to convince herself that the connection they'd seemed to share had only been in her mind. Now that he had asked her out, it appeared he had felt something too. But despite Kevin's words, she didn't want to get her hopes up. Having them crushed too many times in the past had taught her to be cautious. After all, a broken heart could only be mended so often until it was unable to become whole again.
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