Tangled Wires, page 15
“Maybe drop off the ‘I think’ part when you say it to me again.” I’m enjoying teasing him, but his arms come around me again and he pulls me into a tight embrace.
“I love you, Charlotte Simpson.” I smile because everything feels perfect. Neither of us have answers for the long-term, but we’re in this together, and we’d figure it out as we go.
EPILOGUE
The deep sapphire of my evening gown looks amazing against the black of the piano. I let my fingers flow over the keys, the string of music pulling at my heartstrings, like it always does. I wonder if this was how my mother felt during her performances. Wrapped in a fancy gown as she conjured music from her own heartstrings. I bet that even though she was in front of a faceless crowd, she would have felt like she was absolutely alone, her spirit filling the air.
Matthew’s hand on my bare back makes me jump and I come back to reality. The music notes fade away, but my heartstrings aren’t safe. Matthew smiles down at me.
“I didn’t want to interrupt but we have places to be.” Matthew in a business suit is a dangerous thing. Matthew in a tuxedo is enough to make me pray for mercy. My mouth goes dry.
“Are you sure we have to go? You’re looking very nice.”
Matthew’s eyes heat at my open perusal but his mouth firms. “I assume you look ravishing; I haven’t let myself really look at you because it’s our own party and we can’t be late.”
“It would be so tacky.” I wiggled my eyebrows, my tone suggestive. “It’s a part of your job to check my dress and tell me how I look.”
Matthew looks down, taking in the blue concoction that my stylist said could stop a grown man’s heart and I had to be grateful that nothing so trivial could stop my husband’s heart from beating. It has been a little over a year since the revelation that my heart beats in the same mechanical way that his does and I have never regretted choosing to continue this life.
“Absolutely beautiful.” Matthew’s voice is reverent. He sits next to me on the piano bench, kissing my bare shoulder. “Just what a part-owner of Haddell Innovation should wear to celebrate the premarket approval of its first device.”
It is a major accomplishment that has taken no small amount of work. The road to develop the Synthetic Respiratory System (SRS) has been bumpy. The challenges of converting a mechanical system into something that could function with a biological system has turned out to be minor compared to the issue of funding.
The majority of funding fluctuated, with stability being elusive until we stopped going to investors looking for a big pay out. Because Exordium had been right, there would be no big pay out for this type of product.
Instead, we started to appeal to the communities in most need of synthetic lungs. Everyone was shocked that crowd funding had worked for a medical device, but it was also a feel-good story. So many people who had originally sat at hospital bedsides feeling helpless in the face of a loved one’s struggle were reborn as effective marketing individuals. Utilizing their networks to spread the word and leverage donations. The world is a small place and the vast majority of people know at least one person who could benefit from the technology.
This is a big day for all of those people who have worked so hard. The loved ones of those marketing powerhouses would now be able to get the SRS transplant, extending and increasing quality of life.
Tonight’s gala has a two-fold purpose, to celebrate this device’s approval and to raise the money required to implement it. It seems counterintuitive to raise money by putting on a costly event but the nonprofit foundation that worked with Haddell Innovation’s PR team had already notified us that the donations from the event have raised enough to help all those on the lung transplant list who have chosen the synthetic option.
Some of the event goers are those turned marketing individuals. They will be there to celebrate a hard-won success and were given spots at the gala as a thank you. The rest of the seats have been purchased by those wanting to support the cause in a financial way.
We have our critics. There have been arguments that if the same amount of support is put toward gene editing research that those with genetic issues won’t need to get synthetic replacements. But the community sees that solution as one that is far from now and has chosen to endorse the SRS. We wouldn’t have been able to make the SRS a reality without that community.
The gala isn’t the way I would have chosen to celebrate but it’s what our supporters wanted. That, and the added benefit of being able to finance those who needed the SRS, makes getting into a pretty dress worth it. The piano had beckoned me while I had been waiting for Matthew to get off the phone with manufacturing. As always, the music had a way of bringing hidden emotions and thoughts to life.
“Something on your mind?” Matthew looks at me with soft eyes and I blink. I’ve been staring into space. We have become very good at reading each other. After leaving Exordium we moved in together and Matthew had proposed in short order. I was resistant at first, trying to tell him that everyone would think it was too fast.
“My love for you is not, has never been, a temporary thing. This is the one area where I don’t give a shit about what people think.” His words had made me nod because he was right. Our relationship will never be like other people’s.
I hadn’t held out for long and we had a small private ceremony the following week. Neither of us had cared about a fancy wedding and the press would have turned it into a circus. Now, after a year of trials and tribulations, the press rarely brought up the incest thing. The dealings at Haddell have been much more interesting, thank goodness.
I don’t know how to repay Matthew’s indulgence in allowing me to name our company for Sean. It’s fitting since Sean’s family helped with funding and his sisters make a badass PR team. So many things have come together to make this project a reality and now it is done. There will still be things to refine about it, but the product is developed. This milestone is huge.
My thoughts lead me back to the present moment.
“Is this the time you want to readdress the hard questions? My feelings have not changed about the technology that preserved your life as I’m sure you would agree. After this whole process with the SRS project I’m okay with innovation done responsibly. It’s hard enough to get people to accept a synthetic option when their life is on the line so I’m not concerned that humans will flock to immortality.” Matthew is right. There is a percentage of patients who refused the SRS option even though it ultimately led to their deaths. The official stance of Haddell, and the stance of all who work there, is to respect the choice of the patient.
Those aren’t the questions bothering me anymore. There is only so much either of us can do for the world as a whole and it isn’t useful to worry about it now. Matthew tilts his head in question when I don’t respond.
What do I want to talk about? What comes next? I spoke about this with so many other people but not Matthew. His support is one I count on, but I want to be prepared first. I’ve talked this over with my therapist, who I see routinely, Dr. Hatcher said it’s normal to be self-conscious about your desires in regard to the people you are closest to.
I’ve already preemptively assigned Kawa to dabble in what our next big development will be. Having his bright passion around Haddell stirs my excitement for more projects.
Kawa had left Exordium as soon as his synthetic skin project had finished development. It’s still a for profit product, but I had been able to set up a collaborative effort, before Matthew and I had left the company, to make the product available to veterans at cost for the organization handling it.
Kawa is a promising asset for Haddell, but he needs something to work on now.
“Don’t think I haven’t seen you eyeing reports about kidney disease. I already know Delila has been helping put together proposals.” Matthew bursts open the topic I had been edging toward. He is as efficient as always and I had hesitated too long.
I blush, a little embarrassed to be caught. I thought Delila could keep a secret better than this. “We never agreed to do more than the SRS project… Did you know that 15% of adults in the US are diagnosed with chronic kidney disease?”
Matthew’s body is shaking; he can’t be laughing at the statistic so I’m sure he’s laughing at me. “This is serious, Matthew. People die of end-stage kidney disease every day waiting on the transplant list.”
Matthew hides his face in my hair, but I can still feel his laughing breath across my scalp. “That is very interesting. So, Mrs. Smith, do you have a project planned for this?”
“It will be harder. We don’t have any preliminary designs for this,” I say, but Matthew waits. “But it is such a large issue I think we can really do some good with this.”
I have been planning a very pretty presentation on why it is a good idea to launch another endeavor so soon after SRS, but like many of my logical plans, it fell apart and now I await Matthew’s decision on the matter. If he says no, I’ll just have to convince him otherwise.
Matthew pulls back, smiling. “I think it’s a good idea. I’d be happy to be a part of it if you can use my services.”
I nod eagerly. I will never say no to letting Matthew deal with the people side of the business.
“Well if that is settled, I think we have someplace to be.” With that he stands and extends a hand.
There is a reassurance when I place my hand in his. We have this covered. The future will bring new challenges and the world will change but at the end of the day we are in each other’s corner. Our riotous emotions had started as a tight tangle and had drawn, with each choice made, into a securely woven knot. We’ve become each other’s home.
* * *
The End
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NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Hello Dear Reader!
Thank you for reading Tangled Wires! This is my first book baby; it was conceived years ago and gestated through necessity. At the beginning of 2020, the cursed year, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime to intern with a little-known aerospace organization. *cough* NASA *cough*
I was beyond excited, but it meant moving across the country and living away from my husband for months. To say that it was a big change for me is an understatement. Not only was I physically far away, but I felt digitally distant as well because of the differing time zones.
What is a woman to do but come up with a sexy story about what it means to be a person? I’d open my document whenever I felt the need to talk to someone and slowly formed the story of Matthew and Charlotte.
Now, many months later, I’m safely ensconced at home and this story is ready to see the light of day. Along the way, I picked up support from friends and fellow writers and have learned so much I’m surprised my head is still on my shoulders. A special thank you to my beta readers who took a chance on me and encouraged me through more than one crisis of self-faith: Allison David, Cattaleya V. Giraldo, Kelsy Rice, and Morgan Daniels.
Thank you for your support! Please leave a review if you enjoyed (or if you didn’t) to help other readers in their quest to find books that work for them.
L. Lark
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lillian Lark was born and raised in the saltiest of cities in Utah. Lillian is an avid reader, cat mom to three demons, and loves writing sexy stories that twist you up inside.
LillianLark.com
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Lillian Lark, Tangled Wires
