Page 25 of The Criminal’s Cure

“So you are alive…” Peyton slides into the empty chair next to me at the nurse’s station. She’s got her dark hair pulled back in a claw clip, and she tips her glasses as if she’s staring down her nose at me.

Peyton is one of the overnight charge nurses in the Emergency Department.

My job consumes so much of my time that I haven’t made a lot of friends here, but Peyton is the exception.

We quickly bonded over our shared love of cheesy Vegas hypnotist shows and the trauma of having older brothers.

We swapped stories, recipes, and relationship advice, and we never missed a Friday night happy hour. Well, until recently.

Between our conflicting schedules and my hectic life outside of work, I haven’t seen much of Peyton. In fact, I haven’t seen her at all since I met Roman.

“Hey!” I grin, pulling her into a hug.

“Don’t hey me.” She smirks, pushing away. “You disappear for weeks and then show up a couple of days ago with a brand new boyfriend who has the entire hospital talking? Talk fast because my shift is over in fifteen minutes and not even your dating life can keep me here after the night I’ve had.”

I laugh, turning my tablet off. My charting can wait, because a little venting session with Peyton is just what I need. “I don’t know if I’d call him my boyfriend.”

“Then let’s call him Julius Caesar because, based on the pictures, the man is built like an Italian Warrior.”

“Pictures?” I wince. Where in the world did she see a picture of Roman?

“Grace from Radiology snapped one. Don’t worry, I told her how incredibly inappropriate that was and made her delete it right away. After I stole a look, of course. So spill. Who is he?”

“Well, his name is Roman, so you’re not all that far off with the Italian warrior thing…”

“Roman…” The pitch of her voice gets higher as she says his name. “Love it. Where did you meet him?”

“In the park.” Not entirely a lie.

“How long have you been seeing him?” she presses, resting her chin on the counter, and leaning forward.

Jesus, why did it have to be so hard to answer these questions? I’m going to have to get a better story because it’s not like I can spout the truth to anyone who asks.

“A few weeks.” Technically, that’s not a lie either. We’ve been “together” in the sense that I’ve been working for him and living there for almost two months now.

“God, Maddie, that’s so exciting. What’s he like?”

Now there is a question I can actually answer.

“He’s really cool,” I gush. “Passionate about what he does. Driven. A great father. And we have a lot of fun together. He makes me laugh. And actually listens when I talk about work. He’s interested in it.”

“And you forgot to mention the very obvious fact that he’s drop dead gorgeous.”

“And there’s that.” I smile. Roman is the type of handsome that you never get used to. No matter how many times I see him, it always takes my breath away.

“Well, that’s great. I’m really happy for you.” She squeezes my hand.

“Thanks Peyton. Maybe we can all go out in the next few weeks and you can meet him.”

I’m so immersed in Roman’s world that it would be nice to have him in mine sometimes. I hope he’ll be up for the idea.

“Done. You tell me when, and Mark and I will be there.”

Peyton’s shift ends, and she leaves me alone to work on my charting. I can’t get my conversation with Roman from last night out of my head. The idea that Talia could have been saved must eat him alive, and I can’t imagine how hard it is not knowing what happened.

He mentioned the records were sealed, but that isn’t always the case and I might be able to access at least a portion of it. Maybe I can give him a bit of closure.

Records is down the hallway, and I take advantage of the lull in patients to go check. I provide the tech with some basic information, and she gets started.

“Let me just check...” She types furiously on her keyboard, staring at the screen. “Hmm. Are you sure this is the name? There’s nothing coming up.”

I nod. “That’s strange. I’m sure it’s Talia Molanari. It would’ve been about six months ago.”

“Nothing.” She shakes her head. “I can’t see anything at all in the system, which is odd if she was ever a patient here. Even if the record was redacted, it should still at least show up that we treated her.”

“How about Roman Molanari?” I frown. I really thought this would turn up something, but maybe it really is nothing.

The tech reenters the information, but shakes her head again. “Sorry Maddie, nothing is coming up under either of those names.”

“Okay. Thanks for checking.”

Roman is busy this afternoon, so after my shift, I head home to hang out with Ty.

I was never much of a babysitter growing up, but I really enjoy the alone time Ty and I get to spend together.

He can be different with Roman around, and I recognized that desire to please his father right from the start.

He looks up to his dad so much and doesn’t want to disappoint him, so Ty puts on a brave face more than any kid should ever have to.

I don’t think it’s pressure from Roman, but more that he wants to be just like him, so he’s adopted the same independent, tough-as-nails front.

It's sweet, but when it’s just the two of us, I see glimpses of that innocent, unsure little kid who just wants someone to tell him everything is going to be okay.

He’s come out of his shell little by little with me, and I think he really trusts me, which isn’t something I take lightly.

He’s already been through so much, and the last thing I want to do is add to that.

Roman had to go in before I could get off, so he took Ty’s to Joe and Sarah’s. I head there and pick him up as soon as I’m off.

“So, what do you want to do tonight?” I ask him as we make the short drive toward the house.

Ty shrugs. “Video games?”

“Mmm, I was thinking maybe something a little more…active?” Ty has gotten used to a lot of TV and video games during his recovery, but some fresh air will be good for him.

“What about the park?” I watch him in the rearview as his little face tenses up.

“No, maybe something else.” He fidgets with the sleeve of his shirt and stares out the window.

“Are you sure? There’s one just down the street. We don’t have to play on the playground. They have a little pond where we could watch the ducks.”

Ty is quiet for a second, but then nods. “Yeah, sounds fun.”

I smile at the small victory. Roman said that Ty has been avoiding the park since what happened, and I don’t blame him in the slightest. I kind of have been, too, and when Roman said he was having trouble processing through everything, I thought maybe it was something we could work on together.

I pull into the lot of a park down the street from the house. Ty is slow to get out and drags his feet as we walk towards the water, I see his eyes on the park, a mix of fear and longing flashing in his eyes. I can tell he really wants to go play, but he just can’t bring himself to yet.

Instead, we find a bench and I pull out some bread I had left over from my lunch and hand it to Ty. He picks off pieces and throws them to the ducks, who start to swarm, expectant for more.

“Wow!” Ty giggles. “Those guys look really strange.”

“Yeah, they do.” I grin, watching as he lights up. “I like that funny tuft of hair they have on the top of their heads.”

“Me too,” he giggles, continuing to throw food their way.

There isn’t much and, once it’s gone, the ducks meander back to the water and ignore Ty and I for the most part. He glances over at the playground a few times, and my heart breaks. He wants to go give it a try so badly, but I can see the confliction in his eyes.

“Do you want to go swing?” I ask him. “It looks like there are two of them open.”

“I don’t think so.” He shakes his head.

“We could climb if you’d rather do that. That jungle gym looks kind of big, but I think we could probably do it, don’t you?”

He hesitates, and then shakes his head again. “I don’t think so today. I’m ready to go home.”

Ty stands up and heeds for the car before I can convince him otherwise. Honestly, just getting him here feels like a success and maybe after a few more baby steps, he’ll be confident enough to play again.

“So, where are you taking Maddie tonight?” Joe asks, casually leaning back in my office chair. He’s got his feet propped up on the desk, and Dante is in an almost identical pose beside him.

“I’m not sure yet.” I rub my temples. “But before you two dickheads even start, I don’t want any help.”

Truthfully, I haven’t had much time to plan my date with Maddie tonight. She’s not the type of girl who expects something big and flashy, which is one of the things I like about her. We have a good time no matter what we’re doing, and I just figured I’d iron it all out on the run.

“Yeah, you do,” Joe snorts. “It’s been years since you’ve been on a proper date. Are you sure you even know how this kind of thing works anymore?”

That’s rich coming from him. Joe’s been locked down with Sarah since they graduated high school, so if either of us is out of practice, it’d be him.

Although, there’s a little truth to what he says.

Talia and I had an agreement—we could date whoever we wanted, as long as it was never out in the open where Ty could catch on.

We wanted him to grow up in a normal family and understand the importance of respecting women, and to know I was faithful to Talia.

“It’s dinner, you morons. How hard can it be?”

Joe and Dante share a concerned look, and I already know I’m going to regret asking.

“Look, you want to impress this girl, right?” Dante leans forward as if he’s about to say something really profound. To be fair, he probably has the most experience out of all of us. He’s always got a new girl he’s trying to wine and dine.

“Pretty sure that’s the point of taking her on a date, Dante.” I roll my eyes.

“Then let us help you. Do you know what kind of food she likes?” Joe chimes in.

I shrug. “Ty said something about sushi.”

Joe lets out a thunderous laugh, but the joke dies on me. I don’t know what’s so funny about that. “Yeah, you definitely need us. Your son has more game than you do.”

“You should take her to the top of the Stratosphere,” Dante suggests, putting his hands on his hips. “You can see the stars and the moon. Women love that romantic shit.”

“What if she’s afraid of heights?” Joe’s forehead creases with doubt. “How about Mandalay Bay? I hear they have a restaurant where you can pick your lobster out of the tank. If she likes sushi, I bet she’d love that.”

I’ve had about all of this I can take. “Thank you both for your suggestions, but I’ve got it covered. I realize it’s been a while, but I think I still know how to treat a woman. If you want to help, you can watch Ty.”

“Say no more.” Dante chuckles. “I’d love to hang out with the little man.”

“Great. Come over about seven. I’ll see you guys later.

” I stand, grabbing my jacket. They might be idiots, but our conversation got me thinking.

Maddie might not need all the fancy, extravagant stuff, but I know she’ll appreciate the effort.

And I’ve got something in mind that I think she’s going to love.