“Any particular reason?” He was intrigued by her, and her attachment to Coop. It didn't make sense to him, but he didn't mention it. He wasn't particularly fond of Coop. He wasn't even sure why. It was a kind of instinctive dislike. Jealousy maybe. He was such an obvious ladies' man, and all he seemed to do was indulge himself. It went totally against Jimmy's grain.
“I ate a bad one once… wedding, I mean “Alex explained and he laughed at her explanation.
“That's too bad. The right ones can be a great thing. Mine was. Not so much the wedding as the marriage. We got married at City Hall. She was a great girl.”
“I'm sorry about what happened,” Alex said, and meant it. She always felt so sorry for him, but he looked better these days. Not quite so anguished, or so pale. And he had gained a little weight. His evenings with the Friedmans had done him good, and at least he ate. But he particularly enjoyed the kids.
“It's strange. Grief. Some days you think it'll kill you. And other times, it's okay. And you can never tell which when you wake up. A good day can turn to shit. And a day that starts out so badly you want to die can suddenly turn around. It's like pain, or an illness or something, you can never tell which way it's going to go. I think I'm getting used to it. It becomes a way of life after a while.”
“I guess there's no remedy except time.” It seemed trite, but she suspected it was true. It had been nearly five months. When he'd moved in, he looked half dead himself. “A lot of things are like that, although maybe not as tough. It took me a long time to get over the marriage I nearly had. Years, in fact.”
“I think that's different, it's about trust. This is about loss. It's cleaner. There's no one to blame. It just hurts like hell.” He was being amazingly honest about his grief, and Alex suspected it was doing him good to talk. “How much longer do you have in your residency?”
“Another year. It seems like forever sometimes. A lot of days, a lot of nights. I'll probably stay on at UCLA even when I'm through, if they'll have me. They have a terrific neonatal ICU. It's kind of a tough specialty, there aren't a lot of jobs. I was going to be a normal pediatrician originally, but I got hooked on this. High adrenaline, it keeps me focused. I think I'd get bored otherwise.” They were still talking about it when Taryn and Mark wandered back. They had been talking about tax laws, and tax shelters, and Mark was surprised by how much she knew about it. And she'd seemed interested in what he'd said. She was almost as tall as he was, and Alex smiled as they approached. They made a handsome pair, and were close to the same age.
“What are you two talking about?” Mark asked as they sat down.
“Work. What else?” Alex grinned.
“So were we.” And as they chatted, what seemed like a herd of teenagers got back in the pool. Alex was glad Coop hadn't come down. It would have driven him insane. It seemed fitting that the only child he had had stayed away until she was thirty-nine years old. It was about the right age child for him. She had said as much to Taryn the day before and they both laughed. Coop was incredibly vocal about his dislike of kids.
And five minutes later, the children in the pool started a lively game of Marco Polo and Mark and Jimmy got in with them.
“He's a good man,” Taryn said of Mark. “I gather he was pretty devastated when his wife left. It's lucky for him his kids decided to come back.”
“Coop wasn't quite as thrilled,” Alex commented and they both laughed. “They're lovely kids,” Alex vouched for them.
“What's Jimmy like?” Taryn asked with interest.
“Sad. He lost his wife almost five months ago. I think it's been pretty tough.”
“Another one?” It seemed like an epidemic, but Alex shook her head.
“No. Cancer. She was thirty-two years old,” she whispered as Jimmy moved closer to them in the pool. He had just scored a point for his team, and threw Jason the ball, who scored yet another point. It was a very loud game, and they were splashing all over the place. And as she watched them, she saw Coop wave. He wanted them to come back up. He was ready for lunch. “I think the master calls.” Alex pointed him out to Taryn, and she looked up and smiled. Even at this distance, Alex could see he was proud of her. Taryn had been a lovely addition to his life, and she was glad for him.
“Are you happy with him, Alex?” Taryn asked her. She had been wondering what the relationship meant to her. She had heard a lot about her from Coop.
“Yes, I am. It's a shame he hates kids so much. Otherwise, he's everything I want.”
“You don't mind the difference in your age?”
“I thought about it at first, but it doesn't seem to matter. He's like a kid sometimes.”
“But he's not,” she said wisely. It would matter more in time. A lot more one day.
“That's what my father says.”
“He doesn't approve?” She wasn't surprised. Having Cooper as a son-in-law was not every father's dream, unless they were starstruck, which seemed unlikely, knowing who her father was.
“To put it in context, he doesn't approve of anything I do. Or not much. And he's worried about Coop.”
“That makes sense. He's led quite a life. Do you care about this girl who says she's having his baby?”
“Actually, I don't. Mostly because he doesn't care about her. And we don't even know yet if it's his.”
“And if it is?”
Alex shrugged. “He'll send her a check every month. He says he doesn't want to see the child. He's pretty angry at her.”
“I can understand that. It's a shame she's not willing to have an abortion. It would be simpler for everyone.”
“It would. But if your mother had done that, you wouldn't be here. I'm glad she didn't, especially for Coop. This means a lot to him,” Alex said kindly. She thought it was a blessing for both of them.
“It means a lot to me too. I didn't realize it would. Or maybe I did, and that's why I came. I was curious initially. But now I really like him. I don't know what kind of father he'd have been when I was young, but he's a wonderful friend now.” Alex could see too what a positive effect Taryn had on Coop. It was as though he had found a missing piece of himself, a piece he never even knew was lost, but it was.
Taryn and Alex waved to the others, and walked slowly back up to the main house. Coop was waiting for them.
“They sure are loud,” he complained. He was feeling lousy with his cold.
“They'll get out of the pool pretty soon,” Alex reassured him. “They're going in for lunch.”
“What about the three of us going to the Ivy for lunch?” Coop suggested, and both women liked the idea. They went to change and came back twenty minutes later, dressed and ready to go out.
He drove them to North Robertson in the old Rolls, and the three of them chatted and laughed on the way. They sat on the terrace, and enjoyed each other's company. It was an easy, pleasant afternoon, and as Alex looked over at Coop, they exchanged a smile, and she knew that all was well in his world, and hers.
Chapter 19
It was nearly the end of May when Alex was working a two-day shift at the hospital, and the tech at the front desk told her she had a call. She'd had a relaxing weekend with Coop immediately before that, and things were relatively peaceful at work for a change.
“Who is it?” Alex asked, as she reached for the phone. She had just come back from lunch.
“I don't know,” the girl said, “it's in-house.” Alex figured it was probably another doc.
“Dr. Madison,” she said, in her official grown-up voice.
“I'm impressed.” She didn't recognize who it was.
“Who is this?”
“It's Jimmy. I had to come in for some lab work, and I thought I'd call. Too busy to talk?”