Jason crossed his arms. It was more than he expected, but it didn’t sway him. “I won’t accept any of it.”
His dad gasped.
Jason shook his head. “I just can’t, Dad.”
Marty shook his head frantically, pointing to his throat.
“Are you choking?” he asked, hearing the panic in his own voice.
Marty’s face turned red in response.
Jason didn't know what to do. He stood up, darting to his dad’s side, trying to remember what the procedure was in a situation like this. His mind was totally blank. He stood there, mouth open, gaping at his father with no idea how to help him.
Suddenly there was a flash of long hair in front of Jason’s sight. The next thing he saw was a pair of arms wrapped around his father's chest, the hands folded into a fist that thrusted under his sternum.
“Alright big guy," a woman's voice called out. She continued speaking between thrusts. “We – are – not – going – to – let– you – choke!"
A soggy clump of french fries cascaded from Marty’s mouth and onto the floor. He gasped for air and the woman patted him on the back.
“See?” she said with a smile. “I told you I wouldn't let you choke.”
Jason stood there, his mouth still hanging open. His mind was too slow to catch up with what was going on. He still felt panicked, even though he could see that his dad was breathing – no, laughing now.
“Dad, are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He dabbed at his forehead with his napkin. “Just tried to shove too many fries in at once, I guess.”
He laughed and the woman laughed with him. She even let out a little snort.
“I'm glad you're okay,” she said. “Try to take it easy, alright?”
“You got it,” Marty replied, taking a seat.
She smiled and turned to leave. Jason wanted to say something but still couldn't think straight. He was stunned with what happened.
She was so strong! And he was surprised that she was able to get her arms around his dad’s big belly. She looked tall, maybe even as tall as his dad. For some reason, that was all that his brain could focus on.
He watched as she disappeared through the front door; the moment to thank her passed. Jason sat down at the table and focused his eyes back on his dad.
“One fry a time, okay?”
“Forget the fries,” his dad said, mouth full. “This burger is delicious!”
Chapter 2
Alex rushed out to her car. She was already running late before stopping into that diner to grab lunch – then she saw that guy choking! She couldn't just leave them there. Luckily, it was an easy rescue. It only took a few Heimlich thrusts and the man was back to his burger. Alex shuffled into the parking lot, stuffing the donut into her mouth as she started her car.
She got to clinic with just enough time to say hello to the front end staff, wash her hands, and check her schedule for the day. She was excited to see that her first patient was one of her favorites.
“Mrs. Higgins! It's so lovely to see you,” Alex said as she walked into the room.
Mrs. Higgins flashed a little smile. “And it's so nice to see you Dr. Small.”
“What brings you in today? Nothing wrong I hope?”
“Oh no, you know me. Tough as a bag of nails. A 90 year old bag of nails!”
Alex laughed. “Yes, of course. But I need you to know that you can always tell me if you're having any trouble.”
Mrs. Higgins smiled. “I know, kiddo. That's why I keep coming to see you.”
Alex completed a physical exam and reviewed all of Mrs. Higgins’ most recent blood work. It was all wonderfully normal and Mrs. Higgins had absolutely nothing new to report, except for some pictures of her great grand children. Alex loved baby pictures. She oohed and awed and gushed over their chubby cheeks.
Mrs. Higgins tucked the pictures back into her purse. “Dr. Small, you know that I worry about you.”
“I don’t believe it,” she replied, knowing what was coming.
“You can't be a day over 26, but you won’t be young forever. Don't forget to find a nice man to start a family with.”
Alex almost corrected her to tell her that she was 31, not 26. She stopped when she realized that it would only make the lecture worse. “I'm working on it,” she said with a wink.
Mrs. Higgins stood up and fetched a plastic container from her purse. “I made these this morning fresh just for you and the girls.”
Chocolate chip cookies. Alex loved Mrs. Higgins’ cookies, but it made her feel a bit guilty that this sweet old woman was getting up early to bake.
“Mrs. Higgins, you're too good to us. You know that we all love your baking, but I don't want you to feel like you have to trouble yourself just to come in and see us.”
Mrs. Higgins pulled her in for a hug. “Oh hush, an old lady likes to feel useful once in a while.”
Alex escorted her to the front lobby, carrying the container of cookies with her. The rest of the staff went wild, demanding that she open them at once. Alex obliged; she was happy that Mrs. Higgins could see how dearly her baking was loved.
The rest of Alex's day flew by. Her schedule at the clinic was always packed. She was part of a group of doctors who traveled between rural clinics to ensure that the people living nearby received excellent care. She always knew that after she finished medical school, she wanted to return home and be close to her parents; yet everywhere she interviewed in her hometown of Albany, New York wasn’t quite right.
The clinics were fine, of course; the other doctors seemed nice and the staff was hardworking. Yet none of them had a mission like the rural health clinic. Her interview there felt like a dream come true.
And though her job offer from the rural health clinics was the lowest paid, it didn’t matter. She was so inspired about their dedication to bring quality care to the people of upstate New York that she accepted immediately.
Since most of the clinics were north of Albany, she had to live a bit north of her parents, but she didn't mind. The scenery more than made up for it – it was an absolutely breathtaking part of the country. It was a shame that there was such a shortage of doctors. Alex was happy that she could contribute, even in her small way.
She didn't have a chance to catch her breath that day until 5 PM when her last patient of the day was a no show. She was surprised; Mr. Willow never missed an appointment before.
“Do you want me to give him a call?” asked Jean, one of Alex's favorite nurses.
“I would really appreciate it if you could,” Alex said. “Tell him that if he's not feeling well, I can stop by on my way home and check on him.”
“Okay, I'll let him know.”
Alex wandered into the break room in search of something to eat. All she had eaten that day was half a bagel for breakfast and that donut for lunch. Her morning clinic in the next town over ran late, which led to a domino effect of lateness.
She felt she was late for a good reason, though. Her last patient of the morning came in and broke down crying; she was devastated because her husband passed away the previous month. Alex sat with her, holding her hand and listening to her. She tried to offer as much comfort as she could. Though she wished that she could do more, the least she could do was share her time. Being a bit behind schedule was a small price to pay.
She opened the break room fridge to find nothing but week-old pizza. After giving it a sniff, she knew it wouldn't do. As hungry as she was, it wasn't worth getting food poisoning.
Alex settled on some coffee and poured herself a mug. All of Mrs. Higgins’ cookies were gone, unfortunately, because they would’ve been great with coffee. She wished she’d gobbled down at least one more earlier. Oh well! There would always be next time. Mrs. Higgins insisted on bringing something every time she came.
Alex slipped into a bit of a daydream – maybe by the next time they saw each other, Alex would have a boyfriend. Wouldn't that be something! Poor Mrs. Higgins though
t that Alex was only 26 years old – and worse, she thought 26 was already too old! What would she say if she knew her real age? Or that she hadn’t been on a date in years?
She knew that things wouldn't change on their own – she’d have to make an effort if she wanted a boyfriend. There were a lot of excuses she’d made over the years as to why it wasn’t a good time.
The biggest was that her job took up a lot of time. But she loved her job. It was always her dream to be a doctor, and it seemed like she worked her entire life to get to this point.
She had a boyfriend once. Brian. They met in college and dated for two years. He was a wonderful guy, and she thought for sure that someday they would get married and start a family.
But life doesn't always turn out the way that you expect. When Alex got into her dream medical school in North Carolina, she didn't hesitate. She accepted.
Partially this was because she was always a spontaneous person, and she didn’t like to overthink things that felt right. She also felt strongly that she and Brian would be able to work it out. It wasn’t a question to her – their relationship was strong enough to survive the distance. And Brian agreed with her.
And maybe it was strong enough to survive the distance. But it wasn't strong enough to survive Alex's constant studying, Brian’s stressful job back home, and Brian’s mom going through cancer. After the first year, he told her through tears that he just couldn't do it anymore.
She could have dropped out of medical school, moved back up north, and married him. Alex knew that if she did that, there was a high chance that she may never get back to medical school to finish her training.
It wasn’t a decision that she took lightly, but she just couldn't do it. She couldn’t leave the school that she’d worked so hard to get to.
It broke her heart to say goodbye to him, but she was dedicated to becoming a doctor. In the back of her mind, she always hoped that one day they would end up together again.
That didn't work out as she hoped, either. Alex pulled out her phone and navigated to Brian’s Facebook page. She clicked on his profile picture– it was him, his wife, and their two beautiful children.
She stared at it for a moment, studying their smiles. She didn’t feel bitter or angry. It’s not like she didn’t want Brian to be happy. He was a wonderful guy – he deserved to be happy. He deserved to get what he wanted.
In a selfish way, she just felt a bit sad. It was sad that life made her choose between a great person, who she loved with all of her heart, and her lifelong dream of being a doctor.
Mrs. Higgins was right, what was Alex waiting for? If 26 was pushing it for starting a family, 31 was practically ancient. If she wanted to have a husband and have little rugrats of her own, she needed to do something about it.
Alex stuck her phone back in her pocket. That was that. It was time to revive her love life. She just wasn’t sure exactly how she’d do it.
“Alex?” Jean popped her head into the break room.
“Hey Jean, what’s up?”
“I called Mr. Willow. First he apologized for not calling us, said he overslept with a nap.”
Alex smiled. “Oh, okay, I’m glad he’s not sick.”
Jean frowned. “He said he’s been sleeping a lot lately, and that he’s getting so tired because he can’t catch his breath.”
“Oh dear,” Alex said with a sigh. “I wonder if his heart failure is flaring up. He might be carrying some extra fluid which is making it harder to breath.”
Jean shrugged. “Could be.”
“Or maybe pneumonia again…he had it last year. He’s still smoking so he’s definitely at risk…”
“I tried to offer him some of the free nicotine patches,” Jean replied. “He said he wasn’t ready to quit yet.”
Alex stood up. “Yeah, I know. I appreciate that you’re trying. One day he might be ready. Anyways – if you guys don’t need anything from me, I think I’ll stop over to his place and see what’s going on.”
“Sounds good, we’re all set here.”
“Alright Jean, thanks for all of your help today! See you guys next week!”
“Take care!”
Alex stopped by a computer to write down Mr. Willow’s address before saying goodbye and getting back to her car. Finding a boyfriend would have to wait, at least for the night. She told herself that maybe over the weekend she could join a dating website or something. For now she was going to check on one of her more stubborn patients, and drive him to the emergency room if need be.
Doctor’s Date with a Billionaire available May 2019.
About the Author
Amelia Addler writes always clean, always swoon-worthy romance stories and believes that everyone deserves their own happily ever after.
Her soulmate is a man who once spent five weeks driving her to work at 4AM after her car broke down (and he didn’t complain, not even once). She is lucky enough to be married to that man and they live in Pittsburgh with their little yellow mutt. Visit her website at AmeliaAddler.com or drop her an email at [email protected].
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