Synthetic Heart: Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Olivia straightened her back and sighed. Hunching over her station at work strained her shoulder and neck muscles and made them ache. She glanced at Cathy, the woman who had sat next to her for the past three years. Cathy had a hunch. Olivia was determined not to follow suit so she stretched after she completed each valve. It had become her ritual.
“Done already?” Cathy asked.
Olivia nodded and rubbed the muscle at the base of her thumb. It always ached, too. That was part of the job. She removed the valve from the assembly stand and carefully placed it on the machine that would test the strength of her stitches.
She chuckled behind her facemask. She had gone to college for four years so she could sew for a living. She had never been the crafty type, too impatient for all the steps necessary to complete a project, but her work was different. She only had to do part of the assembly. And she wasn’t really making a craft; it was a medical part that helped millions of people across the globe.
The company she worked for had been making mechanical heart valves since the 1970s. Over the course of a few decades, they had perfected the manufacturing process. She held a carbon ring assembly just bigger in diameter than her thumb. Two semi-circular leaflets attached at precise hinges on the sides. A perfect balance of graphite, pyrolytic carbon, and tungsten; all designed to withstand years inside a human body. Soft human tissues don’t bind well to metal, though. That’s where her job came in. She and Cathy spent eight hours a day sewing tiny polyester cuffs to the outside of the valve. Each stich had to be perfect and even. If they weren’t, they failed the strength test.
Better to fail here than inside a patient. She turned the machine on and nodded when a green light appeared. A green light meant it was perfect: one hundred percent perfect. There’s no room for error when you’re making medical devices. When she had first started, fresh out of college, she had to work hard to get the green light, often redoing the same valve assembly five times before it was just right. She was perfect every time now.
“How was your birthday?” Cathy asked.
Olivia smiled. “It was great.”
“Did Jeff take you somewhere nice?”
Her smile widened and her cheeks burned. “He had something much better planned.”
Cathy shook her head and sighed. “Ah, to be young and in love.”
“You love Frank,” Olivia replied, glancing at the small framed picture hanging on the wall featuring Cathy, Frank, and their three grown children.
Cathy nodded. “I do. I just miss being young. Don’t get old, okay?”
Olivia laughed. “Says the woman who just asked about my birthday.”
“Speaking of that, I’d like to have you over for dinner, you and your young man. It’s too quiet at home these days. I’m forced to speak to Frank. I mean, he’s all right, but I miss girl talk.”
“When did Claire move out?” Olivia asked, hoping to change the subject.
“Spring, remember? The second she graduated, she split. I can’t blame her. I remember being ready to start my life, and I certainly couldn’t do that while I was living at home. I suppose it’s the same for her. She was my baby, though. It’s a little lonely without her.”
Olivia nodded, even though she had no idea how it must be to have children. Being an only child had not prepared her for children or the idea of what they might be like. She wasn’t ready to be a parent, maybe she never would be. It didn’t matter to Jeff, though. He didn’t want kids.
As if Cathy could read her mind she asked, “So when do you think you’ll be able to come for dinner?”
Olivia scrunched up her nose. “I’m not sure. Jeff’s been working late.”
“Got to work to pay the bills, right?”
“Yep.”
* * * *
Olivia didn’t see Jeff until Friday night. Her neck ached as it always did, but she didn’t think of that. She sat there and waited for him, looking up from her folded hands every time the bell over the door chimed. He walked in with his chin held high and his back straight. He’s up to something.
“Hi baby, have you been waiting long?” He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
She shook her head gently, careful not to strain her tired neck.
Jeff sat across from her at their table in the corner of the café. Nervous energy spilled out of him. Something big is going to happen. I can feel it.
She was right.
Jeff ordered for her first and then for himself. She didn’t mind when he did that because he always ordered her favorites. She was getting the club and a salad with the dressing on the side. He ordered pasta and garlic bread. The man taking their order kept looking at Jeff expectantly and then hustled to the kitchen.
Jeff filled the time with chatter about his job and his new client and the expansion at the office, all while sneaking sideways looks at the kitchen. Olivia nodded her head to show she was listening, but she was still trying to figure out why he was acting so weird.
“They’re going to knock a whole wall down. The office will be twice the size when it’s done!” Jeff said, glancing at the kitchen for the tenth time. “You should come see it.”
“I’d like that,” she replied.
And then the server returned with two plates of food. “Enjoy,” he said, making eye contact with Olivia just long enough to shake his head.
Olivia frowned and then looked at Jeff who was grinning at her. What is he up to?
Jeff picked up his fork and poked it into the pile of pasta, but didn’t take a bite. He was watching her as if she was about to do something amazing.
She picked up her sandwich but froze before she took a bite. There, nestled in the bed of greens, encircling a tiny little tomato, sat an engagement ring: shiny gold and fiery opal. Her throat squeezed shut and her heart skipped a beat. Her hands shook as she put the sandwich down and lifted the ring.
Everyone in the café went silent, bearing witness to the most profound moment in Olivia’s life.
Jeff slid out of his chair and onto one knee. He took her left hand in his. “Olivia Thomas.”
“Yes?”
“Will you marry me?”
Tears fell out of her eyes when she nodded. “Yes,” she choked and then she nodded again. “Yes!”
A chorus of cheers went up around them as Jeff scooped her into his arms, kissing and hugging her. Her head swam and tears fell.
“I love you,” she whispered into his ear.
He put her down and eased her back into her chair. She was still shaking when he slid the ring onto her finger. A perfect fit. She ran her thumb across the smooth band and the cool stone that had been set down in the metal so the surface was flush.
“I picked it myself so it wouldn’t get caught on your gloves.”
She smiled and more tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision. “That was very thoughtful.”
“You’re happy?” he asked, his forehead furrowed.
“Very.”
* * * *
On Sunday night Olivia opened the small birthday package from her parents. They always sent the most practical gifts and that year wasn’t any different. She unwrapped a reusable hot pack and a cordless neck massager. She dialed the number to their house a thousand miles away.
“Hi, honey!” her mom answered after the second ring.
“Hi, Mom. Thanks for the birthday package.”
“I wondered when you’d get around to opening it. Did you have a good birthday?”
“I did. I’ve been working a lot though,” she added quickly.
“I’m worried about you,” her mom said softly.
“Because I work so much?”
“You know why.”
Olivia squeezed her eyes shut. Calling her parents was a dangerous endeavor. “Is Dad there? I’d like to thank him, too.”
“You know the only thing he did to contribute to your present was putting it in the mail, right?”
“I know, but I still appreciate him. It’s great. Really.”
The phone creaked and then her dad’s voice came through. “Hi, honey. Did you have a good birthday?” he asked, echoing the question she had just answered. The faint sound of a game came through the phone.
“I did. How’s the weather?”
“Tucson in October is just about perfect, I’d say.” He took a deep breath. “It’s finally dropped below a hundred during the days.”
She laughed. “That sounds awful.”
“We have all the windows open. It’s seventy out now. So perfect.”
“It only got up to sixty today, thankfully,” she said.
“Before too long you’ll get snow and you’ll wish you lived here. I don’t miss the cold. Not one bit.”
“Maybe I’ll come visit,” she said.
“You should. It’s been two years.” He made a celebratory sound under his breath and she knew she had lost him to the game.
“Night, Dad. I love you. Give Mom hugs from me, okay? Thanks for my birthday presents!”
He made a kissing sound into the phone. “Happy birthday, honey. I love you.”
“Thanks.” She disconnected and slumped into the chair at her empty table.
I’d love to hear what you think about the story so far!
