Midnight Caller. Diane Burke
don’t dislike him. I feel sorry for the guy. I’ve even put him on my prayer list.”
Erin knew her expression revealed her skepticism.
“I have,” Carol insisted. “But he’s creepy.”
“He’s probably lonely. It wouldn’t kill you to be friendlier to him.”
“Okay. You’re right. I’ll work on it.” Carol leaned on the arm of Erin’s chair. “Speaking of being friendly, you should be friendlier to Detective Marino. Ever since the Easter parade, the nurses have placed Tony at the top of their eligible bachelor list.”
Carol looked Erin straight in the eye. “Anyway, you have to admit he’s got the ‘it’ factor. Maybe it’s those brown eyes. Or that drop-dead-gorgeous smile. Or his soft, sensitive side when he leads a parade for kids or accompanies other kids on buses.”
Erin laughed and threw her hands in mock surrender. “Okay, enough already. I get the point.”
“All I’m saying is if you don’t want him, then you better step out of the way before you get trampled by the ladies in line behind you.” Carol’s eyes softened. “The man is kind to your son…handsome…gets along well with your aunt…handsome…makes you laugh.” She placed her index finger to her lip. “Oh, yeah, did I say he’s handsome?”
“He’s a cop.”
“He’s a man.”
“Yeah, that, too. Strike two.” Erin took a swig from her water bottle.
Carol scooted her chair closer. “He’s a good man. And we both know from experience the good ones don’t come along very often.”
“Isn’t that the truth? I haven’t met one of those ‘good men’ yet. I’m beginning to think they belong in the same category as glass slippers,” Erin said. “Even if I wanted to take a chance—and I don’t—to see if he really is a good guy, I can’t. He’s a cop.”
“Cop is what he does, not who he is.”
“We both know that’s not true. They don’t turn off at five o’clock. They live and breathe their jobs 24/7.”
She reached out and cupped one of Erin’s hands. “You know I wouldn’t suggest something I thought would hurt you. You’re my BFF, remember?”
Erin smiled at the memories of the BFF, or Best Friends Forever Club, they had formed in middle school. She squeezed her friend’s hand in acknowledgment but remained silent.
“I think you’re wrong for not giving this guy a chance,” Carol said. “He’s the real deal. Single. Hardworking. Kind.”
“Yeah, a real Boy Scout,” Erin said.
Carol threw up her hands. “What am I going to do with you? This is the kind of man most women pray for. When the Lord blesses you by plunking him smack dab in your path, you don’t chase him away.”
Erin blinked hard to hold back tears. “I can’t. I want to but…I just can’t.”
After several minutes, Carol said, “Sometimes that baggage you carry around gets pretty heavy, doesn’t it?”
“Baggage? It wasn’t me who broke my marriage vows and cheated with every cute skirt in town. I’m not the one who deserted my son when he was born less than perfect. And it won’t be me who lets another man hurt me again—or my son. I just can’t take the chance.” Erin ducked her head.
Silence stretched between them.
“Well, if you can’t, you can’t. Come on.” Carol jumped up and pulled Erin from her seat. “No ambulance sirens. The board’s cleared. Ride up to the fourth floor with me. Sue Branson’s babysitting Amy and they stopped to see the clown. Maybe we’ll meet Mr. Right in the elevator. Who knows?”
“Wait a minute.” Erin followed Carol onto the elevator. “I thought you said Mr. Cop was my Mr. Right.”
“He is,” Carol said. The elevator doors slid shut. “Just not Mr. Right Now.”
“Since when does the hospital pay for entertainment for the pediatric floor?” she asked as they exited the elevator and elbowed their way through the crowd.
“Since they can get two for the price of one,” Carol said. “That’s Jim Peters. Sanitation engineer by day. Clown on the side. He loves the kids. He used to come and entertain them after work. The parents and kids loved him so much that Dottie, in Personnel, told me they decided to throw him a couple of extra bucks to do it officially once a month.”
A white-faced clown with orange hair, a big nose, a red outlined mouth and a single black tear painted beneath his left eye scooted among the children. He pulled coins from behind their ears. He made tiny action figures mysteriously appear in the pockets of their pajamas.
The clown selected one child, sitting in a wheelchair, and crouched beside him. Pointing to the tear on his cheek, the clown pretended to be sad, bent down closer still, and squirted water at the boy from a flower on his lapel. The boy hit the clown with his balloon. Both child and clown laughed and the clown fell back on the floor. Within moments all the children jumped on the clown, hitting him with their balloons, laughing and rolling over his flattened body.
Erin joined in the laughter. “He is great with the kids.”
“I know. Amy and I found out about him accidentally. You know how hard it is to get a doctor on weekends. A couple of months ago, Amy had an ear infection. Robert Stone promised he’d take a look after his rounds if I brought her here. We discovered the clown while we were waiting.”
“That sounds like something Robert might do.”
Carol raised an eyebrow. “I thought it was over between the two of you.” She tilted her head. “It is, isn’t it?”
“Of course, it’s been over for ages.”
“That’s what I thought you told me. Why did you dump him, anyway?” Carol grinned. “He’s not a cop.”
Erin shook her head from side to side in mock exasperation at her friend’s teasing. “No, he’s not a cop. Truthfully, he’s really a nice guy.”
“I’m beginning to think nice guys don’t stand a chance with you, O’Malley.”
Erin ignored her.
“So? What did the nice guy do to get dumped?”
Erin shrugged. “I was looking for light and casual. He wasn’t. So, I broke it off. When I realized how much I hurt him, I decided to stop dating period. I’m not interested in a relationship with any man. I only dated him to get out and have a little fun with someone I liked and respected. It hadn’t dawned on me that it had the potential to turn into something deeper for the other person. I hated that I hurt him. I won’t do that again to somebody else.”
“Mama.”
Carol scooped three-year-old Amy up into her arms and hugged her tight.
Sue Branson followed closely on Amy’s heels, whispered a few words in Carol’s ear and stepped away.
“Don’t know what I’d do without Sue,” Carol said. “She babysat Amy for the last three Friday nights for me.”
Erin glanced at her friend. “Are you dating again? Why didn’t you tell me? I’d watch Amy for you. Who’s the lucky guy?”
Carol’s face flushed. Before she could reply, a male voice interrupted.
“I thought I saw the three of you over here.”
“Hello, Robert.” Erin smiled at the six-foot-tall man and watched in amusement as Amy reached out her arms to him. He lifted the child, held her in the crook of his arm and didn’t offer a word of protest as she tousled his hair with her hands, laughed and did it again, entertaining herself as