The Procedure (9 page)

I DIDN’T SEE
Michael for the rest of the afternoon, and he didn’t come home that night. It was different this time, though. Instead of sitting up all night and wondering what or who Michael was out doing, I went to bed without a care. Staying in the house alone wasn’t terrible for once since Duke decided to take up residence on the floor at the foot of my bed.

I watched television before falling into a peaceful sleep.

The following morning, I took Duke outside to handle his business and we sat together in the kitchen and had breakfast. I wasn’t delusional, I understood Duke was a dog, but I had to admit that it was nice not being alone. The way he looked up at me with a smile was enough for me.

It was around nine in the morning when I received a call from Roman’s office. It was the pretty nurse that always ushered me to Roman’s office. I knew this because her voice was familiar, and I’d gotten to know her name, Melanie, since going to the office.

“Mrs. Aldridge, Dr. Blake would like you to meet him at David T. Kennedy Park at ten. I’m supposed to call him back and let him know if you’re available.”

I smiled secretly to myself. Roman had somehow became a friend, and I was excited to spend time with him again. It was like I was able to step away from my life and just be myself. Roman didn’t judge. He didn’t look at me as if I was the most disgusting person alive, and that was exactly what I needed.

“Please let Dr. Blake know I’ll be there.”

“Perfect. He also requested that you dress comfortably.”

“I can do that. Thanks so much.” I smiled into the phone.

“Mrs. Aldridge?” the woman rushed.

“Yes?”

“Dr. Blake would like you to bring Duke.”

I smiled into the phone. “Thank you.”

Hanging up, I made my way upstairs. There was a pep in my step, and I was excited to see what the next step in Project Samantha would be.

I DROVE THROUGH
Coconut Grove with the windows down and Duke’s head sticking out of the window. The smell of the ocean filled my car, and the salty breeze moved through my hair. Stopping at a red light, I smiled at a couple who sat on the sidewalk of a local bistro. Leaning across the iron table, they smiled happily, completely lost in each other’s eyes. I sighed and enjoyed the view until the car behind me honked loudly, letting me know the light had turned green.

The palms that lined the street moved in the direction of my car as I sped past them, and the blur of ritzy hotels and cars moved out of the corner of my eye. When I pulled up to the park, I was met with people walking their dogs and men playing Frisbee in the distance. It was a weekday, yet people still played as if the weekend was upon us. People lived, and for once, I was happy to be a part of that.

Climbing from my car, I adjusted my black yoga pants and pulled my pink tank down to cover my stomach better. It felt strange to leave the house dressed so casually, but it wasn’t like there were women in suits and Jimmy Choos walking around the park. I fit in, and that felt nice.

Tugging Duke, who wanted to smell everyone and everything, we went in search of Roman. We found him waiting for us at the entrance sign. He hadn’t seen me yet, but I watched as he stretched his lean body and rolled his neck on his shoulders as if he were preparing for a hard workout. His gray sweats hung loosely on his hips—the drawstrings the only thing holding them up. His expensive shoes were replaced with sneakers and his T-shirt was sleeveless. Gone was the professional—in his place was a tall, dark, and sexy man who was ready to sweat.

Feeling my stare, he turned toward me and smiled. It was a knowing smile—one that told me he knew I was staring, but I couldn’t look away. Instead, I reached into my pocket, pulling out a hair tie, and pulled my locks into a manageable ponytail.

“I hope you came to work,” he said as he started to jog in place. “Today, we’re going to work our butts off.”

“How does you basically telling me I need to sweat my butt away improve my self-esteem?” I joked.

Leaning over, he stretched again, breaking our eye contact. He looked toward the sky as he did.

“Not that I noticed, but your ass could still bounce a quarter off it.”

And then I laughed. It was silly, but just knowing that Roman had checked out my ass made my day perfection. “Why, Doctor Blake, are you admitting that you looked at my ass? How unprofessional of you,” I joked again.

He looked over at me before rolling his eyes and smiling. “You might want to stretch. I’m not one to take it easy on a lady.”

He was talking about working out, but suddenly, I pictured Roman on top of me—his neck straining as he pounded into my body rhythmically. Just as fast as the vision came, I shook it away. The moment blew away that quickly, and my smile dropped. Turning to the side, I began stretching my arms and legs like I knew what I was doing.

We jogged, our shoes pounding into the black-rock walking trails of the park. Neither of us talked, and the sounds of our breathing filled the moment. It felt good to jog—to push myself and my muscles. My mind went clear, and I was able to think of the last few years. I thought about my marriage. I thought about the loss of my father and how I hadn’t really had a chance to grieve his death.

It wasn’t as if I’d prepared for it, but my father made sure to be honest with me always. He knew he was dying. He’d known from the moment the oncologist diagnosed him. It didn’t make his loss easier, but it made the grief less.

Of course, watching someone suffer and beg for their next breath put things into perspective, too. Death was more peaceful than what he’d endured. I wasn’t so selfish that I’d want him to stay with me and go through that. I’d whispered in his ear that it was okay for him to leave me, and he did so with a peaceful smile on his face.

“You’re enjoying yourself,” Roman said from my side, breaking into my thoughts.

“I am. It feels good to run,” I replied.

“It does. I’m here at least twice a week if you’d like to join me. Exercise is good for the spirit, more so than the body.”

“You come here twice a week? I pictured you with a gym membership.”

“No. I like being outside. Plus, we’re training.”

“We’re? And training for what?” I said with heavy, but curious, breaths.

“There’s a charity race to raise money for St. Vincent’s once a year. I run in it, and you’re going to as well.”

I wondered when I was going to stop being surprised by Roman Blake, and I decided I should probably just expect him to continuously be wonderful.

Putting my hands on my hips, I tilted my head and gave him an impressed look. “You’re something else, ya know that, Roman Blake?” I said with a smile. “I’d be happy to do this with you.”

And I meant it. He was the most selfless person I’d had the pleasure to meet in a long while. The things he did for the children of St. Vincent’s, as well as the things he was doing for me, said a lot of about who he was.

“Well, thank you, Mrs. Aldridge,” he responded playfully. “I happen to think the same about you.”

“Now what was that you said about not taking it easy on me?” I said, picking up the pace and enjoying the feel of the burn in my calves.

He matched my speed and smiled over at me—a sweaty piece of dark hair sticking to his forehead and making him look wild and young.

And we ran. We raced each other, him taking it easy on me even though he’d said he wouldn’t. When we made it back to my car, I threw myself across the hood, pressed my sweaty face to the cold steel, and breathed hard.

When I stood and turned to face Roman, he was standing behind me, his hands on his hips, and a strange look in his eyes.

“You okay?” I asked.

The look cleared and again, he turned away to stretch his body after our run. “Yeah. I’m okay.”

It was around noon, and my stomach was eating away at itself.

“I think since you dragged me out here to work me like a dog, the least you could do is come to lunch with me. There’s a fantastic Italian place close to your office. I think you’d love it there.”

I stopped when I realized that I sounded as if I were asking him on a date. Actually, this entire day had a strange date vibe to it. Honestly, I didn’t hate it.

“I mean if not, I totally understand.” I tried to fix my mishap.

He stepped closer to me. Reaching up, he plucked a dead leaf from my hair. “That sounds great. I’m starving.”

After dropping Duke at home, we met at Mama Maria’s, still in our sweaty workout clothes. We were both famished, and I couldn’t get the water I ordered down my throat fast enough.

Water dribbled down my mouth and chin, stopping me. I laughed as I swiped at my chin. “Wow. That was attractive, huh?” I joked.

His eyes turned serious before he turned away and looked over the menu. Something was going on in his mind, and I wanted to know what it was.

“I haven’t been here in so long. Oh my God, before we leave, you have to get a chocolate ball,” I said with entirely too much excitement in my voice.

Roman finally laughed. “So we work out, then we come here and eat chocolate?’

I laughed with him. “Yes.”

“Seems like our little run was a bit on the pointless side if you ask me.” He looked up at me from behind his menu. A playful spark was in his whiskey eyes.

I liked playful Roman.

“No. Our run was amazing. I feel like I could take on the world right now.” I smiled. “Which means I could definitely take on a chocolate ball from Mama Maria’s. Plus, they’re not just chocolate balls.”

With a cute smirk, he said, “Oh well, then please, enlighten me about these famous chocolate balls.”

“You see, they are the equivalent of a chocolaty fortune cookie. Inside the ball, there is a fortune.”

We ordered our food and talked about the practice while we ate. He told me how he’d met Stein and how long they’d known each other. It was such a normal, friendly conversation.

“I admit, Samantha, this place is every bit as delicious as you’d said.”

“Right? I can’t believe you’ve worked across the street from this little piece of heaven for years and have never eaten here.”

“I can’t believe I let you drag my arse here after we’ve just worked out,” he said, leaning away from the table and patting his flat stomach.

We each ordered chocolate balls and even though I protested, Roman paid the bill. Cracking open my ball, I bit into a broken piece of chocolate and unrolled my fortune.

Something great is right in front of you.

I smiled to myself as I looked up at Roman. My fortune had never been so right.

“What’s yours say?” he asked.

Balling my fortune up, I stuffed it in my pocket. “It says you’re going to be late if we don’t get up and go.”

AFTER LEAVING ROMAN
, I drove straight home, feeling better than I had in a long time. I stepped into the house and was met with Duke and a smelly surprise from him in the kitchen. I let Duke out back before cleaning up the mess. When I was done, I went upstairs for a shower and was met by Michael on the stairs.

“Where have you been?” he asked.

He seemed calm today—different. It was as if he wanted to spend some time with me or something.

“I went for a run,” I replied.

He followed me up the stairs to the bedroom where I began digging through clothes before my shower.

“Since when do you run unless you’re being chased?” he joked.

It was intended to put me down, but I couldn’t help but laugh. My laughter wiped the smile right from Michael’s face. I could tell it angered him that I seemed so unfazed by his remark.

“Since today. I found it very relaxing actually,” I said as I shut my underwear drawer with my hip.

“It’s about time you took some time with your appearance,” he said.

Again, it was meant to put me down and again, I let it slide off my back. I wasn’t going to let him bring me down. Feeling happy and in a playful mood, I turned and poked my butt out.

“So what do you think, Michael?”

His lip curled up, and confusion moved across his face. “What do I think about what?” he asked.

Forgetting that I was no longer with Roman, I posed with my neck arched and again poked my ass out.

“Think you could bounce a quarter off my ass?”

Michael’s eyes moved to my face, disgust filling his eyes. It was like strike three, and just that quickly, my good mood vanished.

“I think your ass already has enough bounce without adding quarters to the problem. You could use a month or two at the gym. Don’t think your little makeover changes anything.”

He turned on his heel and left the room. The entire day with Roman forgotten, I reached down and ran my fingers over my stomach, feeling the rolls and fat that I thought might be all in my head.

All of Roman’s work getting into my brain and trying to help me was washed down the drain just that quickly. One step forward and five steps back.