Swan's Way by Becky Lee Weyrich Page B

nothing more serious than an occasional fainting spell, but…
    “It’s nothing new,” she began. “I was born with a slight heart defect. I’ve always figured that’s why my mother left me on the steps of the hospital, right after I was born. She could probably tell from the start something was wrong with me. I doubt if she could afford to take care of a sickly infant. I know for certain that’s why I was never adopted. I had interviews with plenty of prospective parents. When I was little, I used to wonder why I was always turned down. Then, when I was about eleven, I overheard one of the social workers discussing my case with a couple I had just been introduced to. They said they wanted a child desperately, but that I was not the one for two reasons. First, they were not financially able to provide the medical care I might need. Second, they said they could not bear the thought of taking me into their home and growing to love me, then possibly losing me at an early age. After they left, I asked the social worker what they meant I was really torn up. I could tell I had made a good impression and they really wanted me. I was sure I was going to have a home and a family, as of that very day.”
    “What did the social worker tell you?” Dr. Kirkwood asked gently, passing her a box of tissues. “Take your time, Ginna.”
    “She said that I was born with a deformity of the heart. Then she told me that was the reason they tried to keep me quiet most of the time. While the other kids at the home were out playing and running, I spent most of my time reading, coloring, or just staring out the window, wishing I could go out and pitch softball or jump rope.”
    “Have you undergone any corrective surgery?”
    Ginna shook her head. “There’s nothing that can be done through surgery, short of a heart transplant.”
    “Well, then …” Dr. Kirkwood brightened, thinking that would be a solution to her problem.
    “No,” she whispered. “I don’t want that, not even if I had a chance of ever finding a donor, and the odds are against that, since I don’t know who or where my family is. Besides, I’m single, no ties, no kids. I’d feel like I was cheating someone else if I put my name on the list.”
    “But Ginna …”
    Once again she cut him off. “I don’t want to talk about it please. Waiting for a heart would be like going through waiting for parents when I was a kid. My life’s fine. Maybe it won’t be as long as I’d like. Then again, I could live to be a hundred. I just need to start taking better care of myself, eating better and taking my vitamins. Visiting here at Swan’s Quarter helps, makes me realize how lucky I am.” She smiled shyly at the doctor. “And now there’s Neal…”
    “Things are getting serious between you two? I’m glad. Neal needs someone. He’s been through a lot.”
    “I know. But I feel like the needy one. And being around Neal makes me feel like a new person—a real woman.”
    “Ginna, he’s going to ask questions. What will you tell him?”
    “We need to come up with a story, don’t we, Dr. Kirkwood.” This was not a question, but an emphatic plea.
    He smiled reassuringly at her, wishing he could be of more help. “So this is to be a conspiracy between the two of us. What do you have in mind?”
    She shrugged. “I don’t know. You tell me. You’re the doctor. What could make me faint, just out of the blue like that? Something convincing, but nothing serious.”
    “You could be coming down with the flu.”
    “No good! I’ve got a couple of days off and I’m planning to come back tomorrow and the next day. If you tell Neal I have the flu, I’ll have to stay home instead and pretend to be sick.”
    “I see your point” He gave her a sardonic smile. “We certainly wouldn’t want you infecting everyone at Swan’s Quarter with imaginary influenza.”
    “How about a mild case of food poisoning? Would that do it?”
    Kirkwood chuckled. “That won’t go over