Paul was already in the kitchen when Susan woke up. Coffee was perking in the pot and the television was going.
"The jury is expected to reach a verdict today in the trial of renowned cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Paul Tyler ..."
Paul saw her and switched off the television set.
"I didn't mean to wake you, Susan."
"I've been so wrapped up in my own problems, I forgot about the trial." She put her arms around his waist and hugged him close.
"I have to be at the courthouse at eight."
"I'll come with you."
"No. Jeffy needs you." He kissed her. "I'll be back as soon as it's over."
He drained his coffee cup, then started toward the door.
"Paul?" He turned. "I love you."
"Enough to let the men from Estes's Nursery plant the flowers?"
"Enough to let them plant the flowers . . . especially the rose bushes."
When he left he was smiling.
o0o
The courtroom was packed. Paul didn't look at the crowd, but he could hear their stirrings and murmurings as the judge assumed the bench.
"I have been advised that the jury has reached a verdict."
The waiting was over.
"Will the defendants please rise?"
Paul stood, hating the fact that he was a defendant when all he'd ever wanted to be was a good doctor.
The foreman of the jury was reading. "We the jury find for the plaintiff in the amount of half a million dollars."
There was a gasp from the audience, and a spattering of applause.
"We find Blake Medical Center 10 percent liable and Dr. Curtis Blake 90 percent liable."
A murmur rose in the courtroom and rippled in waves across the crowd. Television cameras zoomed in on the defendants, and newspaper reporters scribbled furiously.
Paul stared straight ahead. The news media would get no sensational reaction from him.
"We find Dr. Paul Tyler not liable."
Cheers went up. Paul turned and saw Susan making her way toward him, and suddenly he decided that there were things about the heart he hadn't learned in medical school; hearts could hurt from too much love.
"I didn't think you'd come." He took both her hands and smiled into her eyes.
"There are some red roses blooming by my front porch steps. I didn't want to let them go to waste."
"What are we waiting for?" Holding each other around the waist they ducked out the side door. In Paul's car they fell into each other's arms.
"I don't think I can wait until we get home, Paul."
"My office is closer . . . Besides, there's a teddy bear named Henry who needs a ride home."