Page 29 of Healed Heart

“Hey, Jason,” she says into the phone.

I clear my throat.“Louisa, hi.”

“Have you made your reservation to Bern?Gita and I were talking yesterday, and I told her I’d no doubt hear from you by the end of the day.But then you never called.In fact, I was just about to call you.Send me your itinerary right away so Gita’s people in Switzerland can make arrangements to pick you up and get you to lodging.”

“Lodging?”

“Yeah, we found a place for you.One of Gita’s friends has an Airbnb he’s willing to let you have at a really reduced rate.”

Fuck.

How can I tell them I’m not going?

“Louisa, something’s come up.”

“Oh God.What is it?”

“I still want the surgery.I still want to do it in Switzerland.But…I need some time.”

“Jason, we went over this.”Her voice is curt.“Thereisn’ttime.One of the researchers thinks he may have found a nerve that will work.”

“I know.”

“Then I don’t have to tell you that time is of the essence.The cadaver nerve is only viable for so long.”

“I understand all that,” I reply, my voice tighter than I’d like.“But there’s something here, something important that I have to figure out first.Are you able to postpone it for a couple of weeks?”

A pause.Then, “I doubt it.Not without finding another nerve.I’ll have to discuss it with Gita and the rest of the team.I can’t promise anything, Jason.The nerve won’t wait forever.This isn’t just about you.It’s about our research and potential future patients as well.”

“I know.”I rub my forehead with my free hand.“I’m sorry, Louisa.This isn’t how I planned any of this.”

“Life rarely goes according to plan,” she replies, her voice gentler.

“Yeah.”I rub at the back of my head.“I’ve realized that.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” she says.“But please do what you can on your end too.This surgery could change your life.”

What I can on my end…

That means either getting to Switzerland ASAP or going to therapy.

Fuck.

“I understand.I’ll be in touch.”I end the call, my mind a whirling storm of thoughts.

Angie’s words echo in my head.

We’ll find out, Jason.I promise.

It’s a promise she had no business making, but I don’t begrudge her for it.She was trying to help.Istrying to help.

But the whole thing has so many variables.And more people have their fingers in this pie than I ever imagined.

I pace around my home office.Then I remember.I grabbed Lindsay’s senior yearbook when I was at her parents’ place.I quickly open it and locate the section with the graduating students’ headshots.

I look at names, not bothering to check the faces.After all, I don’t know these people from Adam.No Ronny Burgundy.Clearly he was too obsessed with Lindsay to bother turning in a senior photo.But there was a Rebecca in Lindsay’s class.

Rebecca Tate.Now that I see it printed, I recognize the last name.Lindsay brought her up every so often.She’s the only person my wife ever mentioned from her past other than Ronny Burgundy, and she rarely mentioned him.Preferred never to talk about him and the hell he put her through.She had moved on completely—he was a non-entity as far as she was concerned.