The beginning of the year at the advertising agency was a busy time. New accounts were coming in, presentation deadlines loomed, and there were several meetings to discuss who would be working on what. Kelly and Andrew were asked to work on another campaign, due in part to their success on the home improvement job. Kelly looked forward to working with him again
At home, Kelly and Mike were civil to each other. But their dinner had created a chasm between them that neither of them was able or willing to bridge. Mike felt attacked, and he felt Kelly’s accusations were unfair. Kelly knew that she had not been very Christ like in her remarks to Mike, but something about her had hardened. Despite her aunt’s warnings, she had decided that she deserved to be happy, to have what she wanted. However, she knew her moodiness was affecting the kids as well as Mike, so for their sake she tried to keep the swings and shifts at bay. In her heart, she felt as if she were hardly married anymore, and this allowed her to rationalize spending more and more time talking with Andrew and spending late nights at the agency. Neither of them mentioned their pre-holiday conversation, but Kelly knew that neither of them had forgotten it. Their chats, especially when they were alone in each other’s offices, had become more flirtatious. They occasionally sent each other emails that were subtle and teasing, but with very straightforward undertones. As Kelly grew farther and farther away from God and her husband and more and more indulgent in her friendship with Andrew, something in her heart changed. She shifted from the thought that Andrew’s confessed attraction was flattering but forbidden to the feeling that she wouldn’t mind if…. Then she would stop herself. It would never happen.
Toward the end of January, Kelly had a scare. Her heart had been thudding for some time, but on this night, her heart thudded and skipped for hours. Then it began tightening. The thudding because so hard and intense, she could hardly breathe. Kelly was afraid. She tried taking deep breaths, but it did nothing to calm her. She rolled over, hoping that shifting would help. Finally, she got out of bed and had a glass of water, hoping she could settle down. She turned on the television and sank into the couch. At some point she fell asleep.
“Kelly, Kelly, what are you doing?” Mike’s voice woke her the next morning. “Did you sleep out here?”
Kelly woke up and looked at Mike. He was concerned. “I didn’t sleep very well. My heart was pounding again, and this time it wouldn’t stop.”
“Kelly,” Mike sat down beside her. “You have to get to the bottom of this. You need to call in sick and go to the doctor. It could be something serious.”
Normally Kelly would have dismissed his remarks. But now she was worried too. She nodded and called Bob, telling him she was too sick to come to the office.
“Let me deal with the kids. You look exhausted. Go to bed, and I’ll call the doctor when they open. I’ll stay home and take you.”
“Don’t be silly, Mike. You need to go to work. I can go. If it turns out to be something serious, I’ll call you and you can come.”
Mike didn’t look convinced, but he nodded. Kelly climbed into bed and tried to sleep. Her body was aching with tiredness.
At 9:30 that morning, she was waiting in her family doctor’s office, wondering what he would say. Before too long the nurse called her name, and she went back to an exam room.
“Well, Kelly,” Dr. Randolph said. “What’s going on? The nurse says you are having an irregular heartbeat? Tell me about it.”
“Well, my heart just thuds and it feels like it is racing. Sometimes it feels like it’s coming out of my chest. I didn’t sleep any last night. I can’t sleep when it does this.”
“Lie on your back, and let me have a listen.”
Kelly lay back on the exam table, and Dr. Randolph placed his stethoscope on her chest, moving it slightly as she breathed.
“Well, Kelly, you have a pretty significant murmur.”
Kelly nodded. She remembered some doctor some time telling her she had a murmur.
“With your symptoms, it sounds like mitral valve prolapse. But I want to send you over to the diagnostic center just to be sure. I’ll call them and have them do an echocardiogram.”
Kelly nodded and went back to the waiting room. Before long the nurse came to her with a slip of paper. “They want you to come now. They have an opening. Here’s the address. Hope everything goes okay.”
Kelly drove to the center, and before long she was lying on a table half dressed as the technician moved the instruments up and down and around her chest. Kelly could hear the murmur, which any other time would have been fascinating. The technician put away the instrument and gave Kelly some paper towels to wipe the gel off.
“Your doctor will get these and should have an answer for you in about a week.”
“Did you see anything bad?”
“I really can’t discuss it. You’ll have to wait for your doctor.” She saw alarm in Kelly’s eyes. “That doesn’t mean anything is wrong. We just aren’t allowed to interpret the results. Don’t worry.”
One week later the diagnosis was confirmed. Kelly had mitral valve prolapse. It wasn’t serious, and for that Kelly was relieved. He prescribed her a low dose of antidepressant, a common treatment for the disorder. Kelly was relieved. Now maybe she could get some decent sleep and snap out of this moodiness. Maybe she and Mike could even find a way back to each other.