She gave him a grim smile as the pungent aroma of coffee filled the kitchen. “Don’t start inflicting Dean Martin songs on me again at this time in the morning, or I swear I won’t be responsible for my actions. I’ll be sure to tell the police that when they arrive with the body bag.”
He didn’t smile back. Instead his handsome features took on a mulish expression. “I’m being serious here. You’re not looking good, Mary. You’re all bones and nerves. If you won’t have a rational conversation about it, I’ll have to make an appointment for you myself to go see Tony.”
“The hell you will.” Her smile turned to a glare.
He pulled out his cell phone, turned his back and ignored her. After a few moments he started to speak on the phone. He moved down the short hall to the living room.
Mary felt the urge to scream. Instead she blew air between her teeth, like steam escaping from a pressure cooker. She poured herself a cup of coffee and took it to the table. She shifted a stack of magazines and mail off a chair, which was when she discovered the cordless phone.
She clicked it on and listened. No dial tone. The battery had gone dead. She had a cell phone but she only used it for work, and Justin didn’t have the number. She hung the phone to recharge and sat to put her elbows on the table, resting her forehead on the heels of her hands as she hunched over her coffee.
Her mind arrowed back to the dream. She was dreaming with more frequency and they were getting more vivid. This time the bodies of the seven in the circle were translucent. Ribbons of colored light had streamed from them, flowing and moving in the air as if the creatures were some kind of strange anemone. The poison had tasted bittersweet and smelled like cloves.
She had dreamed in color several times but she had never before dreamed a smell or a taste. Was that somehow connected to hearing voices and seeing impossible things?
She flinched as panic tried to grab hold again. Nope, don’t go there right now. She pulled her hands down, stretched them in front of her and stared at her fingers. Slender and dexterous, they were an advantage in the OR, but they looked strange, as if they belonged to someone else.
Justin walked back into the kitchen with a brisk stride. He poured himself some coffee then came over to pat her on the back as he gulped hot liquid. “Tony moved some things around. He can see you this afternoon at three. And,” he added, “I don’t trust you to go on your own so I’m leaving the office early to take you myself.”
“I was such a needy rabbit when I married you,” she said. “But hey, pre-med plus law school equals the American Dream, right? Thank god those days are gone.”
“What are you talking about, doctor girl?” Justin said. “What needy rabbit? You’re the original Marlboro Man. Except for the cigarettes, the ten-gallon hat and the penis.”
She raised an eyebrow at him.
“Well okay, you’re quite a bit not like the Marlboro Man.” He grinned. “But you’ve got this brooding silent hero thing going on, with a hint of something tragic in your past, except I know your past and it’s as ordinary as dirt. It’s very sexy. I’d always wanted to marry a doctor—and if you’d only had that penis . . .”
“Therapy has made you too cocky,” she said.
“Which Tony appreciates,” he told her.
She rolled her eyes. “Get out.”
He sobered. “I’ll be back this afternoon at two to pick you up. Be ready or I’ll do the he-man thing and throw you over my shoulder.”
“Quit being so damn patronizing. I’m not going.” Her mug was empty. She stood and headed for the coffeepot.
“Whatever,” Justin said, eyeing her. “I guess Tony isn’t going to care if you haven’t shaved your legs.”
“For god’s sake!” she exploded, turning on him. He scowled at her, looking as mutinous and adorable as a two-year-old. She tried to rein in her impatience. “Look, I appreciate your concern. It’s sweet of you.”
“Sweet.” He snorted.
Her expression hardened. “But I’m warning you, I’m not putting up with your stubbornness and interference, and I am not going to go see Tony, of all people.”
“But why not?”
“Because he’s your partner and I socialize with him, dimwit! And today is my first day off in forever and I don’t want to spend it in a doctor’s waiting room,” she snapped. “Besides, there’s nothing wrong with me.”
The lie reverberated in her throbbing head. She was cracked down to the middle to her foundation. Whatever her mysterious internal ailment was, it was getting worse. If she didn’t figure out what was wrong she was going to break into pieces, deep inside where nobody could see but where the most vital part of her lived.
He ran a hand through his hair and glanced at his watch, looking hassled. “I don’t have time to argue with you.”
“Good,” she retorted. A belated curiosity struck. “Why did you come over this morning anyway?”