Heart of the Matter Read Free Page B

out of sight.
    Before Ellen could think of something to say, Kate stumbled to her condo and slammed the door behind her. Ellen stood where she was, aching to comfort her.
    When she had first heard of Kate’s accident, she couldn’t believe it. But the newscaster had been certain it was indeed Channel 5’s anchor who had been involved in a six-car pileup on the Beltway.
    Not knowing what else to do, Ellen had sent Kate flowers in the hospital. She had thought about visiting her, but didn’t want to intrude. After all, they barely knew each other, and Kate probably didn’t even know her name. Since then Ellen had kept a close eye at the peephole, hoping to glimpse her returning home. She hadn’t expected to run into her so soon.
    My God, her face .
    Her mind was filled with images of Kate—Kate, striding purposefully into her condo that night, only to emerge in a stunning outfit with a look of anticipation. Kate eight days later, almost unrecognizable, the hollow eyes, the gaunt cheeks.
    Ellen withdrew a tissue from her purse and dabbed the corner of her eyes. Though her makeup was light, she didn’t want to smear her mascara, an indication to Linda and Janice that she’d been crying. The subject was too raw right now for discussion. She took the elevator down to the first floor and headed for the restaurant a few blocks away. She barely registered the traffic on Connecticut Avenue or the already crowded sidewalk around Dupont Circle filled with Friday-night diners. When she reached Al Tiramisu, she spotted her friends at a table against the wall. The lights were dim, thank goodness, and she forced a smile as she approached. Linda and Janice greeted her with the usual jokes and teasing, like this was just another day.
    But it wasn’t just another day, and she was more disturbed than she cared to admit. Seeing what Kate had been through, her life changed instantly by events outside her control, had stirred Ellen.
    Tragedies like the auto accident weren’t supposed to happen to someone like Kate. She was strong and vibrant, a constant on the television screen, almost a member of each viewer’s family. If a life-changing event like that could affect someone like Kate, what would Ellen do if it happened to her? Her life was rather dull and mundane compared to Kate’s. She loved teaching, but her personal life had become routine, practically nonexistent. She had avoided intimate relationships most of her adult life, not because she didn’t want one, but because no one would be attracted to what she had become physically. If her life suddenly ended, she would never experience the one thing missing from her life—love.
    ❖
    When Kate flipped the light switch inside her door she noticed the silence first. The condo felt cavernous, as if her voice would echo endlessly if she called out. After a week of constantly being poked and prodded, and hearing machines hiss and beep, she found it odd to hear the stillness again. She tossed her keys onto the chest in her entryway and limped to her bedroom, stripping off her clothes as she went. The suit she had worn on her way to Paula’s that night had been cut away from her body and was completely unsalvageable, with the exception of her shoes. Recalling Paula brought back an unpleasant memory. She had never even called.
    Then again, why would she? It wasn’t as though they knew each other that well. Still, that no one outside of work had bothered to find out how she was doing irked her.
    When she had learned she would be released today, she didn’t know what to do about clothes. She had no one to call for the favor—no family, no friends. Her agent was in Miami for a few days, and even if he was home she wasn’t sure she would ask him.
    As a last resort, she asked a candy striper to buy her a set of GWU sweats and socks at the hospital gift shop. She was glad to have worn the strange clothes only a few hours. Like everything else at the hospital, the sweats felt foreign