Nora Ray (Ray Trilogy)

chapter Fourteen

By the end of the first week, Jeffrey carried the load of research at the law office while Jeremy studied his science books.

Samantha had the portable building placed on the back of her lot. She had electricians, dry wall workers, painters, and plumbers contracted to complete this building so Jeremy could set up a lab. Samantha wisely surmised that she would be able to find a use for the building after Jeremy was finished with it, and if not there were four more boys growing up who may need it.

Nora quickly stepped back in the role of nurse’s aide and made her rounds distributing ice water, cleaning and making the patients comfortable. She stepped into Bill Blakely’s room to check on him and visit with him because he reminded her so much of her Dad.

When she walked up to the side of his bed, he looked to be in pain and he was white around his mouth. She reached for his wrist to take his pulse and realized it was beating way too quickly. She turned on the patient light, and then stepped into the hall to find the RN on duty hoping she was in the hall. She alerted the LPN at the desk that Mr. Blakely seemed to be in distress and he was sweating and was white around his mouth.

Nora stepped back to give the RN and the LPN space to work but stood by to see if they had any orders for her. Soon a call came over the intercom for the doctor to come to Room 212 STAT. After an hour of work he was determined stable but an ambulance came to take him to St. Johns hospital in Tulsa.

“What happened?” Nora asked the nurse.

“He had a heart attack but we stabilized him long enough for him to get to the St. Johns Hospital’s heart unit in Tulsa,” Ruby McCullough the RN answered. They have very good doctors there. They will take good care of him.”

“I hope so,” Nora said weakly blinking back tears. She leaned against the wall because her legs felt weak.

“Are you okay?” Ruby asked. “You don’t look too well yourself.”

“I’m okay, or I will be,” Nora replied wiping her face with her hand.

“You’ll need to toughen up a bit if you want to be a nurse.” Ruby admonished. “No, you want to be a doctor. You can’t let something like this get to you. Do you realize that if you panic or go weak, you are no use to a patient who is having an emergency like this?”

“Yes, ma’am. I promise I will do better next time.”

“May I take a short break?” Nora asked weakly.

“Yes, you may go but I expected better from you, Nora Ray,” Ruby went back to the nurse’s station shaking her head. She muttered to herself, “The help you get these days from the younger generation.”

Nora entered the break room and sat down. Jamie had just come to work and entered to place her lunch in the refrigerator. One glance at Nora’s face and she knew immediately that Nora was barely holding back the tears.

“What happened, Nora?”

Nora took a deep breath to clear her throat, “Did you take care of Mr. Blakely last night?”

“Yes, he was admitted last night before I left, something about stomach flu, I think,” Jamie said thoughtfully.

“Jamie, you wouldn’t believe how much he looks like my dad,” Nora looked at Jamie with tears in her eyes. “I went into his room because I wanted to get to know him. He sort of felt like family, you know?”

“Okay, what happened?”

Barely holding back the tears, Nora said, “He had a heart attack, just like my dad.” She laid her head on her arms on the table.

“You poor dear, I’m so sorry,” Jamie put her arm across Nora’s shoulder and sat down beside her. “Do you want to go home? I’ll talk to Ruby and see if she can spare you now that I’m here.”

Nora sat up quickly, wiping her face with napkins left on the table. “No, please. Don’t ask for me to go home. This is my first day. I think I’m already in trouble with Ruby anyway. I need to keep working.” She looked at the break room clock. “I’ve already been in here too long. I need to get back to work.” She gave Jamie a hug and said, “Thanks.”

Nora returned to her hall to complete her shift.

When Jamie saw that Nora was safely away from the nurse’s station, Jamie asked to speak privately with Ruby.

“When I arrived to start my shift, I walked into the break room to put my lunch in the refrigerator and Nora was sitting at the table very upset.” Jamie stated.

“Yes, I think she needs to toughen up if she wants to be a doctor.” Ruby declared.

“What you may not know,” Jamie explained, “is that Nora thought that Mr. Blakely reminded her of her dad who died this winter with a heart attack.”

Ruby closed her eyes and leaned against the wall, much like Nora did in the hall earlier. “I am so sorry I spoke to her the way I did. She never said a word about her dad.”

“That’s why she was in the room and found him in pain. She wanted to get to know him better.” Jamie shook her head, “It’s so sad.”

“Thank you, Jamie, for explaining this to me.” Ruby hung her head, “I need to apologize to her. I can’t say I would have done any better under the circumstances.”

The next morning Ruby called St. Johns to check on Mr. Blakely. He had been sent to Rochester Methodist Hospital, in Minnesota, by private airplane for his operation.

“The Mayo-Gibbon mechanical pump-oxygenator that they have there,” Ruby explained to Nora later, “is used for an operation inside a heart. The machine enables the surgeons to operate on a ‘dry field’ so to speak. The oxygenator has only been used since 1955, so it is fairly new technology for us. The machine directs blood into itself acting like a heart and lung for the patient.”

“I wonder if that machine could have saved my dad’s life,” Nora asked.

“Could be,” Ruby stated. “There’s not many of those machines out there. Even if a patient is well enough to get to Minnesota for an operation, not many people can afford it. Apparently our Mr. Blakely has insurance or resources so he could have the operation.”

“My dad was very ill for a long time.”

“Thing of it is, that technology is so new, he was probably too weak to have the operation by the time it was in use,” Ruby explained hoping to comfort her somewhat.

Turning to lean back against the nurse’s station, Nora wondered about her dad. Could he have been saved?

Guessing Nora’s thoughts she continued, “Wasn’t he sent to St. Johns Hospital, too?”

Nora nodded.

“I think I remember hearing some talk from the emergency room about him, a Mr. Ray. When he came in he was very weak. Weren’t you away at college at that time?”

Nora nodded.

“I believe the nurse said that they were afraid he might be too weak to make it to Tulsa.” Ruby paused and said softly, “Honey, it could be that he was waiting on you to come say goodbye.”

Putting her hands on her face, Nora wiped the tears from her eyes. “I need to wash my face.”

After work, Nora found Jeremy at his Mom’s flower shop. As soon as he saw her he stopped what he was doing and asked, “What happened?”

She just looked at him.

“Never mind, let’s go for a ride,” he amended.

“Jeremy, I want to go someplace where you can hold me for a while,” she sniffed.

He thought frantically of where to go, when he remembered Nora’s rock. This is why we need to be married and have our own house he told himself. It’s time he decided to buy an engagement ring.

He hoped that the man who now owned the Ray homestead wouldn’t care if they borrowed their rock for a short while. When they reached the rock, Nora stepped into his arms and held tight drawing his strength into her. She breathed in the manly scent of his body. His strong arms around her gave her comfort she had been craving all day. He laid his cheek to the top of her head.

They stood there holding each other until finally Nora lifted her face to him and he kissed her. She kissed him gently at first and then she hungrily kissed him seemingly unable to get enough.

He felt her need and his body quickly responded. He questioned what he should do. Many times they had come together with desire but nothing he wasn’t able to assuage and get a grip on the situation. Having sex was a need but also a decision. Once done it might not be easy to step back next time. He had no condoms in his car, they hadn’t let themselves get this far before. All these thoughts ran through his mind in almost a split second.

He pulled back and took her by the hand to lead her to the edge of the rock. “Let’s sit down and you tell me what has happened for you to be so sad,” he suggested.

After sitting down, he put his arm around her and pulled her close. “Now, I’m listening.”

She leaned her head on his shoulder and told him about her day.

Afterwards, he kissed her. “I’m sorry that we had to go back to school right after the funeral. I would have loved to be there for you. Maybe this is a delayed reaction.”

“Jeremy, I have good days and bad days, I think I will miss him forever.”

“I think you are probably right. You will always miss him.” Jeremy spoke brushing the hair away from her face, “From what I hear, it will not be so acute after a while.”

He looked at her face upturned so trusting to him. He wanted to always be there for her. She was so blond with fair skin and big blue eyes that were red and her skin was blotched with red spots all along her neck and cheeks. He couldn’t love her more, he felt. To him she was beautiful, no matter what.

He put his hand under her chin and kissed her tenderly, “Nora, this may not be the most appropriate time and place, but I am ready to ask you anyway.”

He kissed her hand, “My beautiful Nora, will you marry me?”

She took in a deep breath, held it a minute, and let it out. “Jeremy, my handsome knight, I would be honored to marry you.”

Jeremy let out a whoop and laughed. “Nora, you have never let me down.”

They stood up and he properly embraced her hoping she could feel all the love that he had for her seep from his body to hers. He smothered kisses all over her face and then deeply kissed her.

By the time Jeremy finished kissing her, Nora’s knees felt so weak that she was glad he was still embracing her because she wasn’t sure she could stand up on her own.

“I hope you aren’t disappointed that I didn’t take you out to a fancy restaurant to propose to you and already have a ring to put on your finger. At least this way we can choose it together.”

“No, Jeremy. I’m not disappointed. The restaurant scene is so conventional. Today has been very tender and loving. It could not have been more special or in a place more special to me.”

“May I take you out to dinner tonight?” Jeremy asked. “If you are as hungry as I am, we could eat a whole bear between the two of us.”

Nora laughed, “I am hungry, but not for bear.”

They headed back to town in much happier moods than when they left.

After being seated, and placing their orders, Jeremy reached across the table and took both of her hands. “I love you, my fair, beautiful Nora.”

She responded with, “I love you, my incorrigible knight.” She laughed.

He feigned shock and hurt.

She giggled again.

He rubbed his thumb over her ring finger where he would place the engagement ring, “On your next day off, we will go to the jewelry store and choose your ring.”

“I hope your Dad is okay with this,” she said biting on her lip.

“Nora, this is our life. We have to live it the best way we see fit to do so.” Jeremy looked around to ensure their privacy, “I love you so much. While ago, out on that cliff, I almost lost it. I am a man whether my father accepts the fact or not.” He looked at her intently, “Do you understand my meaning?”

She nodded, “I understand, you are trying to protect me.”

“We have a lot at stake here. Both of us are working on serious degrees with lots of work ahead. If we fulfill our dreams and become successful in them, we can’t afford to make mistakes here,” he told her.

“Yes, I totally agree,” Nora agreed. “I appreciate that you’ve thought this through.”

Jeremy grinned, “That’s my job, my lady, to protect and defend you.”

She bowed her head to him, “Thank you, my Lord.”

Saturday morning, he drove her to the jewelry store to choose their wedding rings. They chose a sensible sized engagement ring with a diamond set in the middle and with two tiny sapphires on each side of the diamond. Next, they chose matching wedding rings one for each of them. They tried to be conservative because Jeremy wanted to pay for them out of his own money.

Neither one had told anybody about their engagement. Now with the ring on her hand, they wanted to announce the engagement together.

They wanted to show Laura first because she would be happy for them and not cause a fuss.

She almost cried when Nora showed her the engagement ring. She gave them both a hug and said, “We should celebrate!”

Danny came in and wondering what all the hoopla was about. Nora showed Danny the ring and immediately he danced a jig. Now I have a brother. “Yeah!”

Laura turned on the record player to Elvis singing, ‘You Ain’t Nothing But A Hound Dog.’ All four of them danced and laughed, trading partners every minute or two.

Eventually they all calmed down and Nora and Jeremy knew it was time to face his parents. Jeremy told her on the way, “Don’t worry. I have been dealing with my dad my entire life and I’ve made it this far.”

He twisted his head and stretched his shoulder muscles.

Samantha was sitting in the living room reading a book. When she saw them come in she looked up and smiled, “Hi, come in and have a chair.”

They went over and sat on the couch next to each other looking at her with grins on their faces.

“Okay. What’s up with you two?”

Nora held out her left hand.

“Oh! My God! Oh! My God!” she came up from her chair and came over for a close look. She sat down on the coffee table in front of them. She gave them both a hug. “I wondered how long you two would wait.”

The Labradoodles heard the commotion and wanted in on the action. The dogs ran bouncing into the living room yipping, smiling, and wanting to be part of the action.

Samantha knelt down in the floor with a dog on each side of her, an arm around each dog. “Have you told your father yet?”

“No, we haven’t seen him,” Jeremy said, “We thought he would be home.”

“He went golfing with one of his lawyer buddies. I was having a quiet day at home reading.”

“Oh,” Nora said regretfully, “I’m sorry we interrupted your peaceful day.”

“Please,” Samantha held up her hands, “I couldn’t be happier. Finally I’m getting my daughter that I always wanted. It’s not every day that a son gets engaged.”

Jeremy jumped up from the couch feeling energized now that he didn’t have to face his dad right now, he reached for Nora’s hand and said, “Come on, Nora, let’s go do something fun!”

After they got in his car, he kissed her cheek and nuzzled her neck, then kissed her ear.

She slapped at him and said, “Stop that, Jeremy.” She put her hand over her ear and shuddered.

He laughed and said, “How about miniature golf?”