Prescriptions and Promises

by Jessica Matthews

  ‘He’s OK. His valproic acid dosage isn’t adequate now that he’s gone through a recent growth spurt, but we’ll see what the neurologist says. By the way, what’s Carrie doing today? Slaving away to make up for her day off yesterday?’

  She laughed. ‘Actually, she’s at home. Her sunburn’s pretty painful and she’s rather miserable right now. Apparently her sunblock didn’t have a high enough SPF or wasn’t as waterproof as the label claimed.’

  ‘So you probably can’t make a movie tonight?’

  Jenny would have loved to have said yes. She not only wanted to see Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in their romantic comedy, but she’d also enjoy spending the evening with Noah. ‘I’d better stay home,’ she said, her voice filled with regret. ‘Carrie’s going to need some TLC.’

  ‘I’ll bring ice cream after dinner to cheer her up,’ he offered.

  ‘Good idea. She’ll like that.’

  ‘And how does her temporary guardian feel about it?’

  Hearing the lilt in his voice, she imagined his smile. ‘Oh, she’s looking forward to it,’ she said, referring to his presence rather than the actual treat.

  ‘Rocky Road or strawberry cheesecake?’

  ‘Vanilla,’ she corrected. ‘We’ll have root beer floats. She’s been begging for them and I haven’t indulged her yet. Since she’s going home right after the July Fourth holiday, I can’t postpone it much longer.’

  ‘Vanilla, it is. By the way, I saw your flyers for next week’s cholesterol screening. You should get a decent turnout.’

  ‘I hope so,’ she said fervently. ‘I want people to come in and see that Ruscoe Pharmacy is more than just a place to go when they’re sick. In fact, I’m crossing my fingers that people will notice my new line of herbal supplements.’

  She thought of the ledgers lying on her desk. While she couldn’t predict long-term results as yet, she did see some promise in her finances.

  ‘They’d better notice those. After moving your pie safe to be part of the display, I needed a chiropractor.’

  She grinned at his aggrieved, but obviously faked tone. ‘Poor thing. If you’re wanting me to pay for a session with Harriet’s relative, you’re out of luck.’

  ‘I had a different therapist in mind.’

  The suggestion in his voice brought a warm glow to her insides. ‘You’re either not busy this afternoon, or you’re not where anyone can hear you.’

  ‘Right, both times.’

  The bell rang over the door and Jenny watched a mother and young child walk in. ‘I can’t say the same. Gotta go. I think the earplug mom is here.’

  ‘See you this evening.’ Noah cradled the receiver, leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. He was eager to see Jenny again, even though they’d parted company not too many hours ago. She was like a fine wine and he savored every taste. And, like a true connoisseur, the anticipation added to the enjoyment.

  Della poked her head through his half-open doorway. ‘Harriet is here to see you.’

  ‘Is she ill?’

  ‘She says she’s not, but she insists on talking to you.’

  He rose. ‘Then send her in.’

  Della motioned for Harriet to enter his office while he quickly unloaded a pile of medical journals off his extra chair. ‘Have a seat,’ he offered.

  Harriet shook her head so vehemently that the flowers on her hat bent in half. ‘I can’t. I’m too wrought up.’

  He perched on the edge of his desk. ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘It’s terrible. I think the man should be tarred and feathered.’

  ‘What’s terrible? Who should be tarred and feathered?’

  ‘Herb Kravitz, that’s who,’ Harriet declared. ‘Do you know what that man has done?’

  A sense of foreboding came over him. ‘No.’

  ‘He’s spreading rumors all over town about our Jenny.’ She waved her arms wildly. ‘He’s saying that she’s incompetent.’

  ‘How ridiculous.’

  ‘Yeah, well, that’s not all. He’s also saying that she was forced to quit her pharmacy job.’ She paused. ‘Because she killed someone.’

  CHAPTER NINE

  NOAH listened, stunned by Harriet’s revelation and yet not wholly surprised. Jenny had been very secretive about her reasons for turning her back on her medical career. The story circulating around town could explain her initial reluctance to personally take over the Ruscoe Pharmacy day-to-day operations.

  However, if he remembered their conversation correctly, she hadn’t said that she couldn’t take over. She’d only said that she wouldn’t. He might be splitting hairs, but there was a difference between the two.

  ‘He’s stirring the whole town into a frenzy,’ Harriet said, her tone sharp. ‘After he told Jenny that ridiculous story about Earl, I warned him to mind his p’s and q’s because I wouldn’t stand for it and neither would anybody else. Now he’s started in on poor Jenny.’

  ‘When did you hear this?’

  ‘Two people came into my store today, upset over what Herb had said, and rightly so. I tried to tell them the story was unfounded, but I’m not sure I convinced them. After a third person carried the same rumor to me, I knew I had to talk to you.’

  ‘Where did he get his information?’

  Harriet threw her hands up in the air. ‘Who knows? Somehow, he’s hooked up with Twyla Beach and she’s spreading it, too. Of course, she’s adding her personal experience as supporting evidence. Says Jenny gave her different pills than what she’s taken for years. This whole affair is horribly disconcerting.’

  ‘You don’t believe Herb, do you?’ Harriet’s endorsement of causes usually guaranteed victory, so if Harriet stood on Jenny’s side she had a good chance of coming out of this relatively unscathed.

  ‘Not a bit,’ she declared. ‘I’m willing to listen to her side with an open mind. I’m also certain there’s a reasonable, logical explanation for whatever happened, although I can’t believe the hospital fired her a year ago. Where has she been in the meantime?’

  Noah didn’t feel it was his place to tell her, especially since the exact details were still hazy to him.

  ‘In any case,’ Harriet maintained, ‘Herb has probably blown a minor incident out of proportion and I’ll bet my next social security check on it.’

  Noah hoped Harriet was right. Sadly, a grain of truth usually rested at the heart of every rumor. The most difficult challenge lay in sifting through the accompanying chaff.

  ‘The future of the pharmacy is at stake here,’ Harriet continued. ‘If folks refuse to buy from her, she can’t stay in business. I, for one, hate to see her hard work and fresh ideas going down the tubes.’

  So would I, Noah thought. Holding up her end of the promise to Earl hadn’t been easy, and he wanted her to succeed. Not because he wanted a pharmacy in town—which he did—but because he’d begun to sense how important the store had become to her. In fact, his buttons were near to bursting with pride over her accomplishments. Some might say he’d taken a paternal interest in her, but he knew his feelings for her were definitely not of a familial nature. He’d slay dragons for her if he could and now he had a golden opportunity to do so.

  Harriet barely paused to draw breath. ‘You’ll check into this, won’t you? And stop Herb’s story?’

  ‘I’ll try,’ he said, his gut feeling warning him that the task wouldn’t be as easy as Harriet thought. ‘It’s after four. I’ll catch her before she leaves work.’

  The creases of strain in Harriet’s face lessened. ‘I’m glad you’re going to straighten it out. If I can do anything on her behalf…’

  ‘I’ll let you know.’ He escorted her to the door. ‘Now, don’t worry. It’ll all work out.’

  He checked the batteries in his pager and called an early end to his day before he drove to the drug store. Once he’d heard Jenny’s version, he’d think of a way to squelch Herb and Twyla’s mean-spiritedness before they completely ruined Jenny’s reputation. As Harriet had said, a
blow like this could easily spell financial disaster.

  Jenny walked around the room, straightening the merchandise into nice tidy rows. The products on the lower shelves—the perfect height for young children—rarely remained in their proper positions by day’s end.

  She paused by her summer products display, pleased by its success. She’d sold a lot of suntan lotion, including the sunless tanning crème in the last few days. Adding the toys as props had been a stroke of marketing genius. Children had stopped to finger the shovels and buckets, and while anxious mothers had steered them away those same women had often added a tube of sunblock to their purchases.

  By the time she’d replenished and rearranged her goods, the heavy back door slammed.

  ‘Anyone home?’ Noah called.

  ‘Right here,’ Jenny answered, pleased and puzzled to see him. ‘I thought you weren’t coming over until later.’

  ‘I wasn’t. Something came up.’

  The gravity on his face sent an apprehensive shiver skipping down her spine. ‘What’s wrong? Is it Carrie? Oh, my God,’ she whispered prayerfully, covering her mouth with both hands. ‘I told her she was supposed to call me if she had a problem.’

  Distraught, she elbowed a first-aid kit into her neat rows of antibiotic ointments and set off a chain reaction that didn’t end until every tube had toppled over.

  He grabbed her by the elbows. ‘It’s not Carrie.’

  She stared up at him, unable to imagine what could possibly have caused his serious expression. ‘Then what?’

  ‘Maybe you should sit down.’

  Too shell-shocked to notice his hands guiding her to a seat, she vaguely heard the familiar creak as she lowered herself onto one of the straight-backed chairs in the waiting area.

  ‘Harriet came to me just a little bit ago,’ he began, settling on the chair next to her. ‘Herb’s telling tales.’

  ‘About my uncle?’

  He hesitated. ‘No. You.’

  Her mental warning system began to sound an alarm. ‘Me?’

  ‘Yeah. His story is that you left your hospital job in Grand Junction under suspicious circumstances. A patient died because of pharmacy error.’

  For a few moments she didn’t move. How had Herb got wind of that horrible time in her life? The period that was best forgotten? Noah’s guilty expression suggested that he’d only recapped the story’s highlights.

  ‘Is it true?’ he demanded.

  Jenny had hoped the ghosts of her past would have remained in the shadows where they belonged. She should have known better. ‘Part of it.’ She stood. ‘I’ve got to go home. It’s nearly five and Carrie will be worried.’

  He grabbed her arm as she took her first step. ‘Dammit, Jenny. Talk to me. Which part is true?’

  ‘Does it matter?’ she asked quietly, seeing frustration and curiosity reflected in his eyes.

  Noah paused. ‘Not to me. But to everyone else in town? Yes, it does. This news has shaken their confidence. They don’t like to think of anyone in the medical profession making an error. They forget we’re human.’

  She nodded. That particular mindset had fueled many malpractice suits. ‘It’s not as melodramatic a picture as Herb has painted.’

  ‘Don’t you think it’s time to tell me what happened?’ His gaze latched onto her with an unshakeable intensity.

  Sensing his expectant mood, she sank back into her chair and braced herself to begin.

  ‘I started working in the pharmacy right after I got my degree. I loved the hustle and bustle of the hospital, and when my uncle asked for me to join him I decided against it.’

  ‘So you stayed in Grand Junction.’

  ‘Yeah. Things were fine for a while—I loved my job—until the hospital ran into budget problems. After exceeding their allocations for both the first and second quarters of their fiscal year, Administration froze our vacant positions. To maintain our shift coverage, we worked longer hours. Basically, we did more with less.’

  ‘Unfortunately, health care is heading in that direction,’ he said.

  ‘Our frequency of errors increased. It was inevitable, considering our workloads had nearly doubled. We had a system of checks and balances, but as time went on there were more and more instances of nurses on the floor catching our mistakes. Things like the wrong dosage, sometimes even the wrong pill.

  ‘The department head ignored our complaints. He’d found greener pastures, so he didn’t really care. Shortly after he left, they promoted one of the senior pharmacists. We were sure things would change because Ted had worked in the trenches and knew the pressures we faced.

  ‘Unfortunately, he turned his back on us. He only wanted to please his boss, not concern himself with the low morale of his staff. We tried to appeal to him, to remind him of what life was really like, but we got counseling memos and bad evaluations for our efforts.’ She paused. ‘Do you know what happens when you continually mention problems that the supervisor wants to overlook?’

  ‘I have a good idea.’

  ‘Anyway, I’d dated Ted on occasion, so my colleagues thought I’d have better luck appealing to his common sense.’

  ‘Did you?’

  ‘Hardly. He listened to what I had to say, then offered me the shift supervisor position I’d hoped to earn some day. In exchange, he expected me to support his decision to trim more of the “fat” from the department.

  ‘I refused and Ted accused me of not being a team player.’ She shuddered, remembering his cold-hearted smile as he’d reminded her of the tie between her job performance review and future pay raises.

  ‘What happened next?’ His voice was low.

  ‘It all came to a head one evening. I was working alone, and had prepared a heparin solution for a new patient. As you know, the dosage and rate of infusion is dependent on the weight of the person.’ He nodded and she inhaled a bracing breath before she continued.

  ‘I made my calculations for a one-hundred-ninety-pound woman and told the nurses on the floor how fast to run the heparin in her IV. Unfortunately, the patient was a ninety-pound female—the squiggle that I’d read as a one was just a stray pen mark—and the rate I’d calculated was much too high. The nurse started the infusion per my instructions and, luckily, she mentioned what she’d done in passing to one of her colleagues. The other nurse realized it wasn’t right and immediately stopped the IV. If she hadn’t, the patient could have died.’

  ‘But she didn’t.’

  ‘No, but the possibility was there. Ted landed on me with both feet. His incident report stated that I was inattentive to detail and he recommended disciplinary action. After that, he found fault with everything I did and I completely lost my confidence. I probably shouldn’t have, but the culmination of everything was more than I could take. So I walked away and started over as a substitute teacher. Later, I was offered a full-time contract of my own.’

  ‘You could have come home. Earl would have understood.’

  ‘I know, but I couldn’t face him. I only wanted to forget it ever happened. I knew Uncle Earl dreamt of me joining him, but staying away was easier than shattering his hopes.’

  ‘Yeah, but you’re here now and that’s what matters. As for Herb, the truth will be our defense.’

  The way he included himself caught her by surprise. Before she could comment, he fired another question.

  ‘How does Twyla fit into this?’

  ‘Mrs Beach is one of my aunt’s cronies. My aunt would dearly love to see me fail and obviously Twyla is willing to help her cause.’

  ‘But why is Twyla saying you gave her the wrong medication?’

  ‘I changed suppliers and the diuretic she takes came from a different company. The pills don’t look the same, which is why she says I gave her the wrong medication. I explained it all to her at the time and thought she understood.’

  ‘Then we’ll just have to set people straight. With Harriet and myself behind you, Herb’s rumor won’t go far. We’ll start by—’

&n
bsp; ‘No.’ She shook her head for emphasis.

  ‘No?’

  ‘This isn’t your problem to fix.’

  ‘Well, now,’ he drawled, ‘I happen to think it is.’

  She glared at him. ‘How do you figure that?’

  ‘It’s simple. If Herb manages to drive your customers away, you can’t stay in business. If you aren’t in business, I’m back to my original problem of not having a local pharmacy for my patients.’

  ‘Oh.’ So much for thinking that his recent attentiveness had been in her—he’d only been interested in her professional skills. Instantly, she berated herself for forgetting two important things. One, he’d clearly have walked through fire to ensure the town had its blasted drug store and, two, he abhorred the notion of appearing before an altar.

  ‘So, in the meantime, act normal.’

  ‘But I did something wrong. You can’t deny it.’

  ‘You made a mistake,’ he corrected. ‘Yes, it could have been tragic, but it wasn’t. Even if it had been, forgive yourself and chalk it up to a learning experience. If you dwell on the past, you’ll miss out on the future.’

  ‘Right now, the future doesn’t look too bright.’ Contrary to whatever means Noah had in mind to stop Herb, she could only see one way to effectively silence the man.

  Another pharmacist must take her place. If she left the picture, Herb’s attempt to destroy her business would fail. In the end, everyone would have what they wanted. Noah would have his local drug store and she would have…her students.

  Although she enjoyed teaching, the thrill of being in teenagers’ company didn’t compare to being in Noah’s. But what did she expect? While she liked her kids, she was astonished to discover she’d fallen in love with Noah. Until she proved to him that she could keep her promises—namely the one to her uncle—her romantic chances with the handsome doctor were slim to none. If leaving sooner than she’d anticipated advanced her cause, she would endure the next nine lonely months of school with the proverbial smile on her face.

  ‘I think the future looks very promising,’ he declared. ‘And don’t you forget it.’

  She answered him with a smile, choosing not to mention her strategy in the war with Herb. Everything hinged on finding a suitable replacement for herself, so until that happened she wouldn’t say a word.