Two Heartbeats on One Page

Chapter 28

The café was quiet and small and not too far from where Brett went to school. The clinking of glassware and the hiss of the espresso machine and the soft hum of conversation were quiet enough to register only as unobtrusive white noise, but Darcey still couldn't concentrate on his book.

He was going to meet that teenager's mom in a few minutes. Jane, did she say her name was?

Darcey had been in therapy for three weeks now, and even though he was hesitant, eventually Lee and Jordan were able to convince him to meet her. Lee said it would offer closure. Jordan said it would give a human face to the people he'd helped. Both were convinced it would be good for him in some way, so even though he was scared, he'd called her back. Darcey thought she might not even remember him – it had been almost a month and a half – but she did. Nearly losing a loved one wasn't something someone forgot. Why had he been expecting anything else?

Every time the bell on the front door jingled, Darcey looked up. He didn't know what she looked like, only that she'd be wearing a red scarf. He'd told her he'd be wearing a green t-shirt.

The door opened again and he glanced up. It was a woman with a red scarf and a baby stroller. Probably coincidence.

His hands tensed around the book and he slowly looked up at her when she said, "Darcey Walker?"

She had another kid, too? She had a baby?

"Ms. Petersen?" he asked. His voice was small, like a child meeting an intimidating adult by himself for the first time. A bright smile crossed her face. She was tall and willowy with long blonde hair pulled back into a braid. She reminded Darcey of what his mother looked like when she was younger, and that made it both a little easier and a little harder.

"Call me Jane," she said. She pulled out the chair across from him and parked the stroller beside the table. The baby was silent and asleep.

They both sat in an uncomfortable, awkward silence for a moment, then finally Darcey broke it by asking, "How's your son doing?"

"Good," she smiled. "He's still taking it easy, but his mono's cleared up and his heart is doing better and he's back to baseball and school again. He was born with a weak heart and the doctor said the ball hit him in the chest right when it was at its most vulnerable." Her voice was soft and a little shaky. There were tears in her eyes. "If you hadn't been there, he would have died before the paramedics arrived. You saved my son's life, Mr. Walker, and there's nothing I can do or say that will ever thank you enough."

Darcey closed his book, but his hands were still tight around the spine. "I just..." he started. He trailed off. "He needed help and I was able to do it. So I did. I would hope that anyone who could would do the same if they were needed."

Something in Jane's face changed slightly.

"Where did you get your training, if I can ask?"

"Army Strong, ma'am," he said. It was still hard to talk about the trauma, but thanks to Lee, the rest of it was getting easier. "EMT-B certified and paramedic trained."

A smile crossed her face. "Are you stationed here?"

"No, ma'am. I was stationed in Louisiana. I was also in Korea for a year at one point." He didn't mention his active duty and she didn't ask, and for that, he was grateful.

"My husband is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army," she said. "He's stationed here, down south." She paused, peeked into the stroller, and rearranged a blanket. She looked back at Darcey again. "When did you retire?"

The question threw him so much, he actually stuttered when he asked, "I - I'm sorry, ma'am?"

"You said you were stationed. Are you no longer serving or did I misunderstand?"