“Hey, I’m Sally and I’m going to be your nurse. Dr. Basantes will be back shortly for your consult. You know, the decision is up to you. I don’t usually give my opinion, but there’s no better orthopedic surgeon in the city. If she’s available, don’t turn her down.”
“I’m sure it’s her who’d rather not deal with me,” Desi said with a raspy voice. Sally covered her with a warm blanket before hanging some smaller bags to add to her IV. “Thank you.”
“Do you know her?” Sally sounded curious, but all Desi did was stare at Harry’s back.
“I did, a long time ago.”
“She’s got a loud bark, but she cares about her patients. I don’t see that changing today, no matter what your history is.” Sally combed Desi’s hair back and smiled. “Close your eyes and try to relax. Is there someone I can call for you?”
“My sister, please.” She couldn’t stop the tears, but it wasn’t from the pain. Harry’s expression was all she needed to see to realize she’d never be forgiven for what she’d done.
“I’ll take care of it if you give me the number,” Sally said as she placed the X-rays where Harry could see them. “Doc, your pictures are back.”
Harry nodded at Sally, then accepted a hug from a guy before turning back to whatever was on the desk in front of her. “Jesus, what’s she going to think of me?” Desi whispered, never feeling as much shame as she did in this moment. She closed her eyes and remembered the first time they’d met.
It was the first day of third grade, and the bus stop was crowded with children. Desi did her best to ignore them.
“They probably got lice,” a tall redheaded girl said with a sneer.
“Yeah, and where’d you get those shoes? The garbage?” the brunette with her said.
“Don’t listen to them, Rach.” Desi put her arm around her little sister Rachel and moved farther away from the older girls who’d tortured Desi all last year. With Rachel starting kindergarten, they had two targets now.
“That’s where they got those clothes too.” The redhead shoved Desi down this time, and Rachel started crying when she fell on her. She looked to the street when she heard a car door slam and a tall girl ran toward them.
“Leave them alone.” The bullies listened when her new defender clenched her fists. “Are you okay?” the girl asked, offering her hand.
“I’m okay.” Desi helped Rachel up and rubbed where her elbow had scraped the sidewalk. “Rach, you okay?”
The woman in the car had stood back but came closer when she seemed to notice the tear in Desi’s shirt. “Are you two waiting for the bus?”
“Yes, ma’am.” She put her arm around Rachel again and she could tell by the way her shoulders were shaking that she was still crying.
“I’m Harry and this is my mom, Rosa.” Harry had a big smile and was so much taller than the other kids around them. “I know you aren’t supposed to go with strangers, but you should ride with us.”
“Your name is Harry?” She held Rachel tighter against her but didn’t move away from the new girl. “But you’re a girl.”
“My name’s Harriet, but Harry fits better. Would you come with us?” Harry held out her hand.
“I don’t know. My dad might get mad.”
“Do you live around here?” It didn’t sound like Harry was one to give up easily. “What’s your name?”
“We live way that way, and I’m Desi. This is my little sister, Rachel.” She watched Rachel slowly extend her hand when Harry offered hers again.
“Want to walk over and ask your dad?”
“He’s sleeping.” The last thing she needed was to wake him. “Are you sure, ma’am?”
“Let’s get you all over there, so you’re not late on your first day,” Rosa said, “and we’ll introduce ourselves to your dad later.” Rosa opened the back door of the nice car and made sure everyone buckled up. “Once we see where your house is, Harry and I can pick you up from now on.”
“It’ll be great, you’ll see.” Harry held her hand and she’d been right.
That had been the beginning of their friendship, and they’d only gotten closer through the years. Harry and her family had been the best thing that had happened to both her and Rachel, and she’d felt cherished like never before.
Unlike the kids at the bus stop, Harry had never noticed their secondhand clothes or the shoes with holes in the soles. They began to spend every weekend with Harry’s family, and Rosa and Francisco, Harry’s father, indulged them the same as Harry. It was the safest she’d ever been, but those memories had faded under the cruel reality she was living.
She was brought back to the moment when Sally gently wiped away a tear and then handed her a tissue. “She’s going to think you need a friend, and Harry’s a good one,” Sally said.
“That I already know.”
* * *
“You can fall off the crazy cliff later, idiot. Let’s hear the verdict and get the hell out of here,” Harry mumbled to herself as she walked back to Desi.
She explained what needed to be done to her residents when she stepped up to the light boxes and studied the X-rays. The pain medication had wiped the horrifying expression of pain from Desi’s face, but Harry felt scrutinized. Desi’s beautiful green eyes continued haunting her.
Harry studied her old friend as she prepared to tell her what needed to be done. Time hadn’t been kind since they’d last seen each other. The lines around her eyes were deep, like she worried constantly. She was pale and thin. But it wasn’t any of her business, right? Just another patient.
Once they’d graduated, Desi had disappeared as effectively as cold July days in New Orleans. All their plans and dreams had gone with her, and Harry had been left hurting and had never understood what she’d done wrong. She’d tried for months to get Desi to talk to her, but Desi had made it clear with her silence that they were done. No explanations were necessary. Once again, she tried to put that memory aside and focus on the moment.
“You’re going to need surgery to repair your leg,” she said as a conclusion to her diagnosis and treatment plan. Desi had closed her eyes when she’d started talking, and she assumed it was so she wouldn’t have to look at her, but her chest was moving too rhythmically. The meds had knocked her out. In sleep Desi’s youthful beauty returned, and it brought her back to all the times she’d sat and stared at this woman she’d loved.
“Great, she’s sleeping. Did you talk to her?” she asked Sally.
“Yes, and before she passed out, she asked that you do her surgery. If you know her, do you have her sister’s information?”
“Her name is Desiree Thompson, and I knew her a very long time ago. Her sister is Rachel, but I wouldn’t have the first clue as to how to get in touch with her. I didn’t think they even lived in the city anymore.”
It was their senior year of high school, and it seemed like it could be the best year ever.
“Harry, hurry up. I don’t want to be late. You could skip your classes for the rest of the year and pass, but I suck at math.” Desi walked backward so they could look at each other while they headed to the other side of the large campus. “You know more than the teacher, and the cat knows more than me, so I’m screwed.”
“You give the cat too much credit. Geometry and poetry are more his thing.”
“Funny.” Desi stuck her tongue out, then hopped away when Harry made a grab for it. “You’re coming over later, right? It’s only our first week, but I don’t want to fall behind.”
“I’ve been helping you with your homework since grammar school—nothing’s changing.” Harry walked slowly so Desi wouldn’t have to jog to keep up. “After we’re done, I’ll take you and the shrimp out to dinner. We have to celebrate our first week.”
“You don’t have to do that.” Desi stopped when Harry took her hand to keep her from running into the wall.
“It’ll hurt my feelings if you say no.”
Desi smiled and gazed at her like she wanted more than dinner. “I’m not saying no.”
“Good, and you can pack a bag for the weekend once your dad says it’s okay that you and Rachel come with me.” She let Desi go, not wanting to make her uncomfortable, but man, she wanted so much more. “Wait for me by the car.”
They rode to Desi’s house, and Harry took a seat on the porch swing. It was Desi’s favorite spot and hers too, considering it gave her a perfect view of Desi’s backside as she stared into the refrigerator. They could be doing much more interesting things than math, and the more Desi stared at her like she wanted her undivided attention, the more she needed to touch her.
“Do you want something to drink? We have water or water.” Desi didn’t move from that spot, but she bent over as if studying the bottom shelf. The shorts she’d changed into had Harry’s full attention.
I swear she does that on purpose. “Water’s good.” She took Desi’s book out and looked at the notes she’d taken in class. “Hey, Mr. Thompson,” she said when she heard the telltale whistling.
Clyde Thompson didn’t own a car, so he walked from the corner bus stop, and you could always hear him coming. “Hey, Harry. Must be learning a lot from that pile of books you got there.”
“I’m trying to teach Desi word problems in math, sir, so it’s going to be a long afternoon.” She rocked the swing and tried to keep a smile. Clyde wasn’t exactly a friendly person, and there was always something a little off about him, though he never did anything that was out of line. That she knew of, at least. “Would you mind if I take them for a burger later, then to my house for the weekend?”
“That’ll be good. I’ve got some double shifts this weekend. Make sure they do their homework.”
“No problem, sir.” She watched Desi come out with a glass and walk carefully around her father. They didn’t have a close relationship, and she understood part of it.
Clyde was a proud but distrustful man who hadn’t been happy when Harry’s mother had knocked on the door the day she’d met Desi and Rachel. He seemed like he had no clue how he’d ended up with two daughters, but it wasn’t because he’d wanted them.
She and Desi sat on the swing while Rachel lay at their feet until all their work was done. “Are you hungry?”
“Yes,” Rachel said loudly, then hitched her shoulders, not wanting to wake Clyde.
“Grab your bags so we can head home after.” They packed into her small car and headed to the back of the Quarter. Port of Call was their favorite burger place, and they joked over the baked potatoes and huge burgers.
“Harry, have I ever told you how happy I am that we got bullied the day we met?” Rachel held up the last of her burger and winked. “You were worth the abuse.”
“I’m glad too, and if you’re finished, we’ll go for beignets.”
She paid the bill and headed back to the car her parents had given her the year before. Desi practically sat in her lap with her arm around her shoulders. There was no chance she’d speed when they sat like this.
“In case you were wondering,” Desi whispered in her ear, “I’m happy about meeting you too.”
Jesus. She either had to find a way of telling Desi how she felt, or it was going to be a long year.
Taking care of Desi and Rachel had always been a privilege, and when it stopped so abruptly, it had come close to breaking her. Of all the scenarios she’d come up with as to when and where she’d see Desi again, she’d never imagined this.
The reality of the situation wasn’t lost on Harry as she scrubbed in. One of her nurses was prepping Desi for surgery, and Desi seemed to be stubbornly fighting the drugs meant to relax her. They’d had to wake her to get her to sign the consents, and now she looked scared and lost as she stared up into the bright lights of the operating theater. Another nurse checked Desi’s IV before coming over to Harry and holding up the gown that went over her scrubs.
“What are you in the mood for today?” Tyler, a young man in the observation room above them, asked through the intercom.
“I seem to remember Miss Thompson liked Madonna way back when, so cue it up, my man.” Harry moved over to Desi.
“I’ll have to dig deep, but I think I have one of her tracks.”
The nurse put her gloves on and moved into position so they could start. Harry bent down and spoke softly in Desi’s ear. “I want you to take slow deep breaths and let go. Hopefully, we’ll be out of here in less than three hours, and I promise it’ll be all right, so relax.”
Desi nodded briefly and closed her eyes. Harry waited for her team to finish their jobs and for the residents to place all the X-rays up for reference.
“Doc, when you’re finished, there’s a detective here to see you from the NOPD,” the lead surgical nurse said.
“Tell him if he wants, I’ll call. I don’t know how long this is going to take, and from the look of that fracture, we’ll be here a while.”
“He said he didn’t mind waiting.”
“What’d you do now?” Harry teased the nurse.
“Cut the wisecracks, comedian—it’s about her and her injuries.”
“I never did ask her how she got here, and I didn’t see it in the file. Was it a car accident?” she asked as she made the first incision.
“This was no accident. Her husband did this to her, and the screams must’ve been loud enough that one of the neighbors called the police. Apparently, it was a bit of a showdown, and when the police got in, it looked like he was about to finish her off.” The nurse shivered as if horrified at what had happened. “Any longer with that animal, and there would’ve been no need for us.”
Harry had to take a minute to beat down her anger. In her mind Desi would always be the sweet girl from high school, not someone’s punching bag. “What happened to you, Desi?”