Marie Ferrarella - An Engagement For Two

“Funny, that was always what I thought about you, too,” Mikki said before terminating the call.

The next second, her cell phone beeped again. “Dr. McKenna,” she answered.

“I know who you are, dear.” She closed her eyes. It was her mother again. “Have you had time to come to your senses about attending the party yet?”

“My senses are fine, Mother. And the answer is still no. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a patient to see,” she added quickly. “So goodbye again, Mother. Have fun at your party.”

With that, she ended a call from her mother for a second time and hurried off to her office in order to officially begin her day.

Chapter Three

“I know you mean well, Jeffrey, but I don’t want to go to see any doctor,” Sophia Sabatino protested early the next morning.

The petite woman with salt-and-pepper hair was clearly in distress as she did her best to get her son to change his mind about “dragging” her off to some unknown doctor’s office.

Like his two siblings, Jeff loved his mother dearly, and he usually gave in to the diminutive martinet, but not this time. He had made up his mind. This was too important. His mother needed to see a doctor, and he was taking her to see one before it was too late.

“Sorry, Mom,” he told her. “I’m overriding you on this one.”

She looked at him in exasperation. “You’re taking advantage of the fact that I’m too weak to put up a good fight,” Sophia complained.

“Mom,” he said patiently, “try to understand. It’s because you’re feeling so weak that I’m taking you to the doctor.” Handing his mother her purse, he tried to get her ready to go with him.

Sophia defiantly dropped her purse to the floor. “I’m not going to see some quack and taking off all my clothes,” she declared. Lifting her small chin, she crossed her arms before her chest.

“This isn’t a quack—” Jeff began. This time, as he picked up the purse, he decided it was useless to return it to his mother. She’d only drop it again, so he slung the straps over his own shoulder.

“They’re all quacks,” Sophia informed him. “Your father, God rest his soul, thought all doctors walked on water, and look where it got him,” she pointed out. “Dead,” she declared when Jeff didn’t answer her.

With determination, Jeff took hold of his five-foot-one mother’s elbow and guided her out the front door. His goal was to get her to his car, which was parked in the driveway, as close to the front door as possible.

“They’re not all like that, Mother,” he said patiently. Bringing her to the passenger side, he held the door open for her. When she remained standing where she was, he very gently “helped” usher her into the seat. She remained sitting there like a statue, so he wound up having to strap her in before closing the passenger door.

Rounding the front of his car, he got in on the driver’s side as quickly as possible. Weak as she appeared to be, he wouldn’t put it past his mother to bolt from the car.

As he buckled up, then started the engine, his mother picked up the conversation as if there had been no long pause.

“Of course they’re all like that,” she insisted. “It’s all right, Jeffrey. Don’t trouble yourself about me. I’ve had a long, full life. I’m ready to go meet your father.”

“Well, you’re just going to have to postpone that meeting, Mom,” he told her firmly. “Tina, Robert and I aren’t ready for you to lie down and die just yet.”

“That is not your decision to make, Jeffrey,” Sophia sniffed.

“It’s not yours, either,” he countered. “Lying down and dying isn’t your style, Mom. You’ve still got years of nagging left to do.”

Sophia opened her mouth to protest his disrespectful attitude, but instead of words, she uttered a surprised gasp as a hot wave of pain washed right over her.

Torn between thinking his mother was resorting to even more theatrics and believing that she really was in acute pain, Jeff drove faster.

“Hang on, Mom,” he told her in the most calming voice he could summon. “It’s going to be all right. My old boss’s best friend’s daughter recommended this doctor,” he said, hoping that would give his mother some confidence.

Sophia’s breathing was labored, but she still managed to ask sarcastically, “Couldn’t find one on Doctors Are Us?”

It was more of a gasp than a question, and Jeff had to listen intently to make out what she was saying. He didn’t want her dismissing the doctor he was bringing her to before she even met her. “Mom, I’m serious. This is serious—”

“I know.” Pressing her hand against her abdomen, Sophia closed her eyes. “Which is why I just want to be left alone to die in peace, not have some wet-behind-the-ears would-be doctor try to earn back his entire medical school tuition by treating me and pretending he knows what he’d doing.”

“Mom—” Jeff’s voice grew sterner despite his concern about her condition “—you’re beginning to make no sense.” His mother grabbed his arm. Her long, thin fingers felt surprisingly strong as she clutched at him. “Mom?” Concerned, he spared her a glance as he made a right at the corner. The hospital and the adjacent medical building were just up ahead.

Jeff didn’t have to look closely to see the perspiration not just on his mother’s brow, but on the rest of her face, as well. She had to be reacting to the pain she was experiencing, because it wasn’t that warm a morning.

He’d waited way too long to strong-arm his mother. He just hoped it wasn’t too late.

“Hang in there, Mom, we’re almost there.” He did his best to sound encouraging.

Clutching the armrest on her right and her son’s arm on her left, Sophia waited for the pain either to pass or totally consume her. Her breathing was growing more labored.

“Do you think your father’ll recognize me? It’s been a long time and I’m not the young woman I was when we lost him,” she said hoarsely in between panting.

“He won’t have to recognize you, because you’re not dying, Mom.”

Parking in the closest spot available, which because of the hour was right up in front of the medical building, Jeff got out and quickly hurried over to the passenger side. Opening the door, he slowly eased his mother out and to her feet.

She looked rather unstable.

“Do you want me to carry you?” he offered.

“No.” Sophia pushed his hands away. “I’m going to walk into this charlatan’s office on my own two feet,” she announced with far more bravado than she was actually feeling.

He knew it was an act, but for once he encouraged it. “That’s my girl.”

She looked at him accusingly. “If you really cared about me, you would have let me stay home and—” Her eyes widened as a sudden new onslaught of pain seized her, causing her to clutch at her abdomen. “Oh, Jeff, it hurts. It really, really hurts,” she cried, all but sagging to her knees.

Jeff was torn between putting his mother back in the car and driving over to the hospital’s emergency entrance and taking her upstairs to see the doctor who was waiting for her. The doctor who Theresa Manetti had assured him would be able to calm his mother down and find out what was wrong with her.

Jeff quickly weighed the options. He knew his mother. She’d balk at the emergency room, but he had managed to half talk her into seeing this doctor.

He went with door number two.

“What...what...are you doing?” Sophia gasped as he closed his arms around her. “I’m too heavy...for...you,” she protested.

Jeff had lifted his mother up into his arms and proceeded to carry her into the medical building. “I’ve carried bags of rice heavier than you,” he informed her, heading over to the elevator bank.