Best Spring Ever Ch. 11 - Epilogue

"Hilda, you're as beautiful as ever."

Hilda stood and walked to him, then threw her arms around him, sobbing. "Dennis, I'm so sorry I hurt you."

"That was a long time ago. It's okay," he replied, with a soft smile. "You have a beautiful granddaughter."

Hilda looked up at him and smiled. "I love you; you know?"

"I know. I love you too." He looked at Richard. "Hey, Grandpa. You did good."

"You did too. Thank you."

"Not bad for a porn star, huh?" Dennis asked, grinning.

"Not bad at all, son. You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Probably not," Dennis replied.

"Doctor Morton, ER STAT," blared over the intercom.

"No rest for the wicked. I've gotta run."

Hilda let him go and turned to her husband. Richard took her in his arms as she continued crying.

*****

Minutes later, Dennis was trying to save a child with a major gunshot wound to the chest. He grabbed a nurse's hand and put her fingers in the three holes in the child's heart to temporarily stop the bleeding. There was no time to take the boy to the operating room, but with his skilled hands and expertise he was able to stop the extensive bleeding, close the holes, and restore the boy's blood flow. Despite all he was able to do, the injuries were too extensive, and the five-year-old died. After washing up, and dictating his report, he returned to the staff lounge in SICU, and cried. The nurse, Angie, came in a few minutes later.

"Tiffany's mom would like to talk to you when you get a chance."

"I'll go in a few minutes."

"Want some Visine? I have some in my desk," she asked.

"No, I'll be okay."

"Word has already gotten out about what you did in ER. They're calling you Doctor Miracle."

"Hardly, Doctor Miracle would have been able to save that little boy."

"Dennis, when God calls them home, they go, and there isn't a damn thing we can do or say to change that. When God puts a period at the end of a sentence, it isn't up to us to change it to a question mark. Go talk to your old girlfriend."

He chuckled. "How did you know that?"

"The way she talked about you last night. She isn't the one that broke your heart, is she?"

"No, that was her mom."

"The MILF? Grandma?"

"Yep, she was married, and I fell head over heels in love with her," he replied, smiling.

"She's still married. Watch yourself in there."

"I'm good," he replied, with a soft smile.

Dennis walked toward Tiffany's room. On the way, he passed the waiting area where Richard, Hilda, and Lina were sitting. He walked in and plopped down on the couch beside Hilda.

"If you weren't married...," Dennis said, grinning.

"Hey, that's my wife you're talking to," Richard said, with a smile.

Hilda grinned at him. "You could still take me to dinner. I have my husband's permission. Dinner and drinks only, though."

"I've been off since finishing up with Tiffany this morning, and don't have to be back for about forty-eight hours. When were you thinking?"

"How about tomorrow evening?" Hilda replied.

"Where are you staying? I'll pick you up."

"How should I dress?" Dennis got a sly look on his face. Hilda laughed, "Dinner and drinks, Doctor Morton."

"Let's go fancy, but not formal. I know just the place."

"We're at the Hilton downtown. I'll meet you in the bar at six."

Dennis looked at Richard. "What time should I have your daughter home?"

"Smart ass!" Richard replied. "How's two o'clock?"

"I'm not sure I can stay up that late anymore," Dennis replied, then got up and went to Tiffany's room.

Gretchen's questions were all simple until the last one. "Explain to me what this paper is." She held it up to him. It was the guarantor form.

"Oh, that's nothing, merely a formality."

"That's not what the guy from the business office said."

"He's probably confused. Just ignore it."

"Mom was the one that found it. When she saw it, she grinned and said, 'Why am I not surprised?'"

"Gretchen, the insurance company was holding up the surgery. I did that so we could fix Tiffany. She couldn't afford to wait on bureaucratic crap."

"Thank you. Mom's hoping you'll spend some time with her. Dad already gave his okay."

"We're going to dinner, dancing, and drinking tomorrow evening. I didn't tell her about the dancing part yet."

"So, are you going to be in our lives again?"

"Not like we were before, but someone has to check up on Tiffany."

"Rumor around the hospital is that you don't date."

"I stay busy with my work. I'm usually either here or sleeping, and half the time that's here. Not much opportunity for dating."

"It doesn't sound like much of a life."

"Gretchen, this morning, I walked through a set of doors and told a family that their little girl was going to be fine. You only need to see those faces once in a great while to know you made a difference in people's lives. It's worth every second of it. You'll see expressions on Tiffany's face, as she grows up, that will tell you the same wonderful thing. All the sleepless nights, second guessing yourself, crying, changing diapers, all of it, will be worth it many times over. Time for me to go home and sleep in a real bed. I'll see you in the morning. You could use a good night sleep too."

"Lina's staying tonight. Dennis, thank you." Gretchen kissed him on the lips.

"You're welcome." Dennis left the hospital and went home.

*****

About five am, Dennis and the nurse walked into Tiffany's room at the hospital. Lina was asleep in the bed next to hers. After reviewing the chart on the computer and the monitors, he examined Tiffany, then turned to the nurse.

"Angie, how long has she been off the vent?"

"Since midnight," she replied.

"No desaturations?"

"Not a single event."

"She's a real fighter. Let's extubate her."

The nurse handed him a pair of gloves, and after putting them on, he released the cuff on the tube, then quickly removed it. Tiffany cried for just a moment then fell back to sleep. Her cries woke Lina, who sat up quickly.

"She's fine, Lina. Relax," he assured her. Lina stepped up next to him. "We can move her out of SICU later today." He turned back to the nurse. "Start the feedings this morning, and let the family do them. Limit the intake to sixty mils the first two feedings. After that she can have one-twenty every three hours. I would prefer she be in someone's arms as much as possible."

"Yes, Doctor Morton," the nurse replied.

"She's doing okay?" Lina asked.

"Better than okay. Little Miss Tiffany has been breathing on her own since midnight. Her vital signs are perfect. Labs are perfect, and her heart is sending all the blood right where it's supposed to be going. She's doing everything she can to make us look like we know what we're doing," he replied, with a genuine smile. "Any idea when Gretchen and Tom will be here?"

"Should be any time now. She said they were coming early so they would be here when you stopped in."

Dennis held out his arms to Lina. "It's been a long time, girl."

"Too long. I've missed you," Lina said.

They embraced for a long time. "I've missed you too. How have you been?"

"Except for missing an old friend, I've been good."

Gretchen and Tom walked into the room. The nurse smiled at her. "Have a seat in the chair, mom. I need you to hold something."

Gretchen sat in the chair as the nurse lifted Tiffany from the bed and put her in her mother's arms. Gretchen's expression was pure elation as she looked at her daughter's face. Tom knelt beside them and kissed Tiffany on the forehead. Tiffany opened her eyes at that moment and looked at her mother.

"Welcome back, Tiffy," Gretchen said, smiling, but with tears streaming down her cheeks.

The nurse handed her a bottle of formula. "There's two ounces in it. She can have it all."

"She never takes more than an ounce at a time. She turns blue," Gretchen told her.

"That was before Dr. Morton did his magic," the nurse replied.

The moment the nipple touched Tiffany's lips she began suckling enthusiastically. Everyone watched as she drank the entire contents. Gretchen was ecstatic. She looked at Dennis.

"Will she keep it down?"

Dennis rolled his eyes. "I'm a doctor, not a fortune teller, Gretchen."

"How long can I hold her?"

"Our job now is to monitor and give medications. You take over from here providing all the love and comfort you can give her. If possible, she needs to be in someone's arms twenty-four-seven," Angie replied. "It'll be easier when we move her to a private room later this morning."

Gretchen and Tom looked at Dennis. "Thank you," they both said.

"You're welcome." Dennis turned to Lina. "Go with me to breakfast?"

"Dennis, I look like crap. I just woke up."

"Don't you dare turn him down. The rumor mill will go crazy seeing the hot, Doctor Morton having breakfast with a beautiful woman that just got out of bed," the nurse insisted.

Lina grinned. "Give me a few minutes to pee and brush my teeth and you've got a date. I love causing rumors." Lina went to the bathroom with her purse and returned a few minutes later, ready to go. "Can I bring you anything?" she asked her sister and brother-in-law.

"Coffee, cream and sugar for me. Tom drinks his black."

"Angie, would you like something?" Dennis asked the nurse.

"Coffee, straight up, and maybe a dinner invitation sometime," she replied, smiling at him.

"Count on it," Dennis said. He and Lina left for the cafeteria.

"I have no idea what you and your family have done to him in the last twenty-four hours but keep it up," the nurse told Gretchen.

"What do you mean?"

"I've been dropping hints to him for a year and getting nowhere. You guys show up and I finally get a response. I'm amazed."

"I suspect that finally talking to my mom, after fifteen years, is letting him heal."

"Whatever it is, I like it. Push the call button if you need anything," she said, before leaving the room.

Dennis and Lina enjoyed breakfast and Lina filled him in on the last decade. When they returned to the SICU, they had the coffees, and Dennis had an additional Danish roll for the nurse.

*****

Dennis walked into the bar, at the Hilton, a few minutes before six. Hilda was sitting at a table near the front. He walked up to the table smiling.

"I've never seen such beauty in this town before. Is this seat taken?"

Hilda smiled, "I'm waiting on my date."

"He's a lucky man."

"Actually, I'm a lucky woman. I hope he's not disappointed."

"I can assure you; he won't be."

"You're welcome to join me if you'd like."

"I'd like that a lot." The server came to the table and took their drink orders. "We need to leave in about thirty minutes. Our reservations are for seven fifteen."

"Where are we going?"

"Dolen's on the north side. I think you'll like it."

"I did some checking up on you today?"

"This can't be good," Dennis grinned.

"Why aren't you married?"

"There was only one woman that I'd want to marry."

"Someone I know?"

"Intimately."

"Dennis, are you happy?"

"I have an exhausting, wonderful job, that I absolutely love."

"That's not what I asked."

"I'm content. That's the best I can give you. I experienced the love of a wonderful woman. It didn't turn out the way I had hoped, but I did experience it. I'm happy...no, I'm elated that I experienced that love. I wouldn't change a minute of it."

"I experienced something like that myself. If I had it to do over, I'd make some changes."

"Hilda, you made a choice fifteen years ago. The only choice available to you. It was the right choice. Don't second guess yourself about it. We both knew what your choice had to be."

A man in a tuxedo walked to the table. "Doctor Morton, there's heavy traffic. We should be leaving."

"Thank you, Charles." Dennis stood and took Hilda's hand. "Shall we go?"

She stood and took his arm as they followed the man out to the waiting limo. Hilda looked at Dennis and grinned. "Wow!"

"I usually drive a pickup. I thought we might enjoy this."

He held her hand as she entered then followed her inside. Charles closed the door and a moment later they pulled away. Dennis pulled a champagne bottle out of the ice bucket and poured two glasses, then handed one to Hilda. She held up her glass to him.

"To our first date," she said.

"To our first date, and little Tiffany, who made it possible."

"And Tiffany."

They both took a sip, looking into each other's eyes. Few words were spoken during the ride. Hilda loved the restaurant and dinner then afterward they moved to the lounge and danced. It was about eleven when Dennis suggested they leave. After getting in the limo Hilda spoke.

"Where to now?"

"I've spent the last fifteen years learning how to let you go. I think I'd better take you back to Richard while I still can."

Hilda removed an envelope from her purse and handed it to him. "Richard asked me to give you this when we started back."

Dennis looked at the sealed envelope with his name on the front. "Have you read it?"

"No, but he said I should read it after you did."

Dennis opened the envelope and removed the letter. It was written on Hilton stationary.

"Dennis,

Fifteen years ago, I took the liberty of putting both feet in my mouth when I accused Hilda of cuckolding me. It almost destroyed our marriage. That was what triggered Hilda's decision to end things with you and the girls. When that happened all the women except Hilda cut me off. I deserved that. It was about two weeks later when your mother came over and pointed out, very clearly, that I had cuckolded Hilda. It took Hilda and I a long time to work through that. I really hurt her.

I knew that Hilda loved us both. After you left, Hilda went out of her way to prove to me how much she loved me, but part of her was gone. Giving you up, I believe, was the hardest thing she's ever done. She went into a deep depression that lasted for months. We were all worried about her. Your mother was the one who finally convinced her to get professional help, and with a combination of counseling and medication the depression finally cleared. She still wasn't complete though. Sometimes when she was having a hard day she would go for a drive. I followed her a couple of times because I was worried about her hurting herself. Both times I followed her she drove to Lake of the Woods park and went up into the tower. I secreted my way up the steps the second time and stopped before reaching the top. Standing there on the stairs, I listened to my wife talk to you. She was crying and begging you to forgive her. She reminisced about times you two had shared and longed to do that again. When she got home, I asked her where she had been. She told me about the tower, and how it was a special place between the two of you, and that she went there when she wanted or needed to talk to you. She still goes about once a month, and sometimes I go with her and wait at the foot of the tower. I've never been to the top. That space belongs to the two of you.

I don't think you know, but Hilda was in the audience with your mother when you graduated from Med school. She was so proud of you. When she came home afterward, she cried for days. Seeing you walk Debi down the aisle brought her to tears too. We both tried to find you at the reception but apparently you had gone. I can only assume it was to avoid us.

Hilda and Julia have become close. I'm convinced it was Hilda's way of retaining something of you.

You're on your way to bring Hilda back to me, but before you do that, I'd like to make a request. Make love to Hilda before you bring her home. She needs you in her life. The only way I can ever hope to get my loving wife whole again is to help replace the piece that I forced her to sacrifice. Hilda will never be truly happy until she's whole. You can give her that. Your mother and sister both told me that you need Hilda as much as she needs you. Let her love you and you love her. Not sex, make love to her.

Richard"

Dennis handed the letter to Hilda. She cried as she read it. "Hilda, Richard doesn't understand."

"I've tried to explain it to him, but he honestly believes it was about the sex."

"Sex was what introduced us, but I think I fell in love with you, the day we met, in the grocery store."

"I fell, that first day, at the cabin. I knew, in some capacity, I needed you in my life."

"Somehow, we need to make Richard understand," Dennis replied.

"I've tried. I really have."

"Maybe if we talk to him together."

"I'm more than willing to do that, but regardless of how that turns out, I need you in my life. The last fifteen years have been so hard. I don't need you in my bed. I need you in my life. Richard was right about the part where I've been incomplete. It's been like part of my soul was taken away. I just need you somewhere in my life."

"That's all I want too, Hilda. Think he's still up?"

"Who knows? We can always wake him up," she replied, smiling.

After arriving at the Hilton, they went to the hotel room. Richard was still up, and seemed surprised when they walked in.

"Didn't you give him the letter?" he asked.

"She did. Richard, let's sit down and have a talk." They sat in the living area. Hilda sat next to Richard. "The request you made in your letter was a very loving gesture. I'm afraid, it was a bit misplaced," Dennis said.

"Dennis, I meant what I said."

"I know you did. Richard, what Hilda and I have isn't about making love. It's about being in love. The sex was a minor part of that. What Hilda and I shared was much more than something physical. There's a bond that we share, a very special bond. I love your wife. You've known that for a long time. She loves me too, but you're her husband, and you are her world. Hilda and I won't be getting into bed together. Your bed is where she wants to be, not mine. It always has been."

Richard looked at Hilda. "It always has been that way," she told her husband. "Dennis never tried to take me away, and he never will. Even if he tried, he wouldn't succeed. He knows that."

"I'm not going to hide from you and Hilda anymore. I need her in my life. I'd like both of you in my life. What I'm asking of you is that you allow us to have an emotional bond, not a physical one. Can you do that?"

"I thought it was about sex," Richard said.

"Richard, it wasn't. The sex was wonderful, but there were seven of us involved in that. Not just Dennis and I," Hilda replied.

"I was afraid that after tonight, you wouldn't come back," Richard told her.

"Honey, we've been together for over thirty-five years. If we live another thirty-five, we'll still be together. By your side is where I want to be."

"I didn't understand. I'm sorry."

"I need to run. I have a date with a beautiful three-month-old early tomorrow morning." Dennis stood and turned to Richard. "Are we good?"

Richard smiled, "We're good."

They hugged each other, then Dennis turned to Hilda and held out his arms. She walked to him and he pulled her close. When she looked up at him, he gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"You'll stay in touch now?" she asked.

"I will."

As they released each other, Hilda put her arms around Richard. Dennis smiled, and walked out the door.

*****

Dennis walked into Tiffany's room right at six the next morning. Tom and Gretchen were both already there. Tom was sitting in the chair feeding Tiffany. After greeting them, he reviewed her chart on the computer.

"How's she doing?" Tom asked.

"She's impressing the hell out of me. When she finishes the bottle, I'll take a look at her. Labs perfect. Chest x-ray perfect. Appetite off the charts."

"When can we take her home?" Gretchen asked.

"I don't know. I'm getting kind of attached to her."

"You can visit her at home any time you want," Gretchen replied.