by Maria Geraci
Nate juggled his coffee in one hand, his backpack in the other, and opened the door to the back entrance to his office. From the look of the employees’ parking lot, most of the staff was already here. Except he hadn’t noticed Doc Morrison’s car, a twenty-year-old tan Volvo sedan, which was unusual. Doc was always the first person here in the morning. Nate swung by the older man’s office to find it empty.
“He called in sick,” said Lola Davies, coming up from behind him. Lola was Dr. Morrison’s nurse and the real power behind the throne. Nate had been here six months. It had only taken him six minutes to figure out that if you wanted anything done, you went to Lola first.
“Not seriously ill, I hope,” he said.
“Doc has called in sick twice in his life. Once back in nineteen-ninety eight when he came down with strep throat, and today.”
That didn’t sound good.
Lola must have read the concern on his face because she said, “Don’t worry, I’ve already called him. He’s just…a little under the weather.” She eyed him carefully. “How about you? How are you feeling today?”
“Fine, thanks.”
“You sure about that?”
“Positive.” Nate went to his office, shrugged out of his jacket and put on his lab coat. Dr. Nathanial Miller was monogrammed in black thread over the right hand breast pocket. It had been a gift from his mother when he’d graduated med school. Which reminded him, he still hadn’t told his family what went down this past weekend. He hadn’t even told them that he’d planned to propose to Jessica, so maybe telling them that she’d turned him down wasn’t necessary. But he’d have to tell them that they’d broken up. He and Jessica had been dating for over three years. Eventually, they’d begin to wonder what happened to her.
Lola followed him into his office. “So, this is a big day for you.”
“It is?”
“It’s your first day skippering the ship all by yourself. You’ll have to pick up all of Doc’s patients, plus the three lost souls who’ve made appointments to come see you,” she said, taking obvious relish in that last part.
“Why don’t you like me?” he asked.
If she was surprised by his bluntness she didn’t show it, which only made him like her even more. Most people were put off by his directness, but Nate had always found that mincing words only wasted time.
“Who says I don’t like you? I’ve always been drawn to incompetent people.” She slapped down a print out of today’s appointments on his desk. “There’s already four patients waiting in the exam rooms. Ellen can take care of the first two.” Ellen Waters was the office’s nurse practitioner. She had twenty years of experience under her belt and Nate had already benefited from her expertise. Plus, she didn’t seem to harbor the same animosity toward him that Lola did, which made her an ally of sorts.
He took one last sip of his coffee and was about to head down to the exam rooms when his cell phone rang. It was his mother. Connie Miller didn’t call her children at work unless it was important.
“Hey, Mom,” he said. “What’s up?”
“You tell me. Why am I the last one to know that you proposed to Jessica?” She sounded part mad and part hurt.
Shit. “Sorry. I’d hoped to surprise you. Wait a minute, how did you find out?” He thought after the proposal he and Jessica would swing by his mother’s house for a celebration. When the night hadn’t gone the way he’d planned, he was actually glad he hadn’t told her about the proposal in advance. No harm, no foul. But it was going to be hard to convince her of that.
“YouTube.”
Nate shifted the phone to his other ear. His proposal was on YouTube? “What are you talking about?”
“Did you or did you not propose to Jessica at a restaurant recently?”
“Yes.”
There was a long moment’s silence. “Honestly, Nate, I know that sounded like a simple yes or no would suffice, but it really doesn’t.”
“Can we talk about this later? I’ve got a busy day at the office.”
“Are you all right? I mean, you look kind of stunned in the video.” He heard his sister talking in the background. There was an exchange of hands and then his sister, Lanie, got on the line. “Babe, are you okay? What on earth possessed you to propose to that biotch in the first place? Please make my day and tell me she’s on a plane back to Miami.”
“She flew out yesterday.”
“Thank God. Well, sucks that you had to buy a ring and all, but I can’t say that I’m sorry she turned you down. How on earth did that video get on the Internet?”
Nate thought back to Saturday night. He’d been nervous during the proposal, not because he’d been worried about Jessica’s response (an ironic turn of events there) but because everyone in the restaurant had been staring at him. “My best guess is that one of the restaurant patrons taped it with their cell phone.”
“Can’t you get them to take it down? Sue them! It’s awful, babe. You’re right after the guy who proposed to his girlfriend in the food court at the mall.”
“Am I supposed to know that that means?”
“Check out Top Five Epic Marriage Proposal Fails,” Lanie said. “Although, I guess now it needs to be renamed Top Six. This guy goes on and on about how he loves the way his girlfriend cuts a cupcake in half and there’s a guitarist serenading them with Sweet Caroline. I’m not trying to rub salt in the wound but, My Heart Will Go On? Nate, what were you thinking?”
“Jessica’s favorite movie is Titanic.”
“Of course is it. She’s still probably bitter she didn’t get star billing as the Iceberg.”
“Lanie, I have to go. Tell mom I’ll drop by the house tonight.”
“Okay, she’ll like that. Listen, if you ever need to talk to anyone, I’m here for you. I love you, you know, you big goof.”
“Same here,” he said, before hanging up. He stared at his phone for a second and contemplated getting on YouTube, but what was the point? There were patients in the waiting room. There was nothing he could do about the video now.
He put on his best game face and walked out into the exam area. A couple of the medical assistants were huddled together, whispering. “Good morning,” Nate said, startling them into looking up. They looked guilty of something, that was for sure.
Bianca, the nurse who’d given him the idea of going to the proposal website, came out of exam room number three. She took in the expressions on the medical assistants’ faces and immediately brightened in pretense. “Dr. Miller! Don’t you look all ready to go conquer the world this morning!” She glared at the two assistants, who immediately scampered off down the hall. Once they were gone, she lowered her voice. “How are you? Really?” she asked, frowning in concern.
“I’m fine,” he said.
Bianca nervously wet her lips. “Okay, well good to hear! Can’t keep a good man down, huh?” She pumped her fist in some kind of moral victory gesture. “Mrs. Sheridan is waiting for you. Looks like a classic case of dermatitis to me. Not that I’m telling you how to diagnose or anything, but if you read her chart, then you’ll know that she comes in for it a couple of times a year. Doc Morrison usually just prescribes some steroids and a cream.”
Read her chart? Now why hadn’t he thought of that? He tamped down a sarcastic reply and instead said, “I appreciate the suggestion. Thanks, Bianca.” Bianca was another ally of his. At least, she appeared to be one. It certainly wasn’t her fault that the proposal had gone sour.
“Any time,” she said, already taking off down the hall. He could hear the buzz from the nearby waiting room. Monday mornings were always busy. Best to get on with his day.
He tucked his laptop under his arm and went to knock on the exam door when a woman’s voice coming from inside stopped him cold. “I have no idea what I’m going to do when Doc Morrison retires. I guess I’ll just have to drive over to Panama City and see someone there.” There was a pause. “What? Oh, I haven’t met him yet, but Lucy Gardner says he’s simply awfu
l! No bedside manner whatsoever! And now there’s that video of him circulating on…what’s it called? YouTube? I just can’t believe Doc Morrison would abandon us to someone who’s so clueless he has no idea his proposal is about to be turned down!”
Nate cleared his throat and firmly rapped on the door. After a few seconds, he entered the exam room. A woman in her late fifties gave him a thorough look over then snapped her cell phone shut.
“Mrs. Sheridan,” he said with his most professional smile, “I’m Dr. Miller. What can I do for you today?”
*~*~*
Lauren pulled her car up the long and familiar pebble lined driveway to her parents’ home, parked her car behind the garage and went running into the house. She could hear voices—both Momma’s and Daddy’s coming from the kitchen. Momma sounded shrill. Daddy was calmer, but just as insistent. They were sitting at the kitchen table, while Felicia, their long time house keeper looked on, wringing her hands and muttering under her breath.
“What’s going on? I came over as fast as I could,” Lauren said, her heart still hammering in her throat. “Momma said it was an emergency.”
“You called Lauren?” Daddy turned to Momma and scowled. “For God’s sake, Maureen, leave the poor girl alone. I’m perfectly fine.” His hand was wrapped in a blood soaked towel, but otherwise, he seemed all right. She forced herself to keep it together. He was breathing. He didn’t seem confused. Things could be a lot worse.
“Daddy, what happened to your hand?”
“Cut it trying to close the window,” he said, not meeting her gaze.
“But…you’re okay, right?”
“Well of course I’m okay, Sweet Tea. Don’t I look fine?” He looked pale, but Lauren didn’t want to tell him that.
Momma shook her head, her lips pursed. Now that she knew no one was missing a limb, Lauren took in the scene in front of her. The kitchen was immaculate, as usual, but there was a trail of blood leading from the window overlooking the back yard pool area all the way to the kitchen sink. One of the window panes was busted open and beneath the sill lay large shards of broken glass.
“Can I see your hand?” she gently asked her father.
He made a grumpy sound and thrust his hand out to her. Lauren slowly unwrapped the towel to reveal a gash at the bottom of his right palm. Without the towel to staunch the flow, blood began oozing out again.
“Daddy, we need to get this stitched up.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell him!” Momma said, her blue eyes shiny with tears. “But he’s so damn stubborn he won’t listen to a word I say.”
Lauren turned and met the housekeeper’s gaze. “Felicia, will you please take care of this mess? I’m going to drive Daddy to see the doctor.”
“Gladly,” Felicia said, looking relieved. She went to the mudroom that connected the garage to the kitchen. Lauren followed her. She found the housekeeper pulling a mop out of the closet.
“What happened?” Lauren asked quietly.
Lauren didn’t remember a time when Felicia Armstrong hadn’t worked for her parents. She was a no-nonsense kind of person who always said what was on her mind. Which was often. And loud. “Your Momma was sitting in the kitchen making phone calls for one of her fundraisers. I was putting in a load of laundry and all of sudden your Daddy comes out of nowhere, saying he’s tired of being held prisoner and he wants out right this instant! I tried to reason with him, Lauren, but he just got more agitated. And then before we knew it, he busted the window with his hand.”
Lauren briefly shut her eyes. It was definitely not a scene she wanted to envision. Daddy had his moments of mild confusion, but never anything like this. “Thanks, Felicia.” She reached out and gave her a tight hug.
“I hate it,” Felicia said with a fervor she rarely used. “I just hate seeing him like this, cooped up at home with your Momma and me taking turns watching him like he’s a baby. He’s right, you know, he is a prisoner! It’s not fair.” She wiped her eyes, then took the mop and went to clean the mess.
Lauren took a moment to collect herself then made her way back to the kitchen. “Okay, Daddy,” she said, using an upbeat voice, “Let’s go for a ride.”
“Hold on,” Momma said, “I need to go put on my lipstick. A lady never leaves the house without lipstick. No matter what’s going on.” She disappeared into the master bedroom and returned with a cashmere sweater and her face freshly painted. “There. I’m ready.”
Daddy just looked at Lauren and shook his head the same way he always did whenever they had to wait on Momma before going out. Looking at him now, he seemed completely like his old normal self. If Lauren hadn’t seen him in one of his “spells,” as Momma put it, she’d think they’d made the whole thing up.
“Hey, Mr. Handy, how are you today?” Janie, Doc Morrison’s receptionist cheerfully asked, then she noticed the towel wrapped around his hand and frowned. “Oh no, did you have an accident?”
“Cut my hand trying to open a window,” said Daddy with such a straight face that Lauren was actually beginning to believe it herself. Could Momma and Felicia have misread the situation? Lauren thought about it a moment. Momma, yes. But Felicia? No. Lauren tried to keep her face neutral, but inside it was all she could do to keep from crying.
“Yikes!” Janie handed Daddy a clipboard with some paperwork to fill out. Momma intercepted the clipboard, and her parents took a seat in the crowded waiting room. Janie motioned to Lauren for a private word. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of your Daddy, but Doc Morrison is out sick today. He can see Dr. Miller, if that’s okay.”
“Dr. Miller? Oh, no, I’m afraid that’s not possible. My father only sees Dr. Morrison.”
“Well, if it can wait till tomorrow, then I’m sure we can work him in first thing in the morning,” Janie said. “Or he could see Ellen? But she’s backed up for at least the next hour. Dr. Miller’s available now.” Then she lowered her voice. “He’s kind of fast, if you know what I mean. Gets the patients in and out in record time.”
Obviously, it couldn’t wait till morning. Lauren had seen Ellen, the nurse practitioner a few times herself, and she’d given Henry his last physical, but she’d never treated Daddy.
“Dr. Miller is perfectly capable of doing a stitch up,” Janie added helpfully.
“Oh, I’m sure he’s fine, it’s just the situation is a little…delicate, and you know Daddy doesn’t do so well with strangers lately.” There had been a time when Dan Handy could handle anything thrown at him, major crises included. Strangers were just someone who wasn’t your friend yet, he’d say. But now, strangers caused him anxiety. Not all the time, of course. But you never knew when something might set him off.
Janie made a sympathetic face. “I know, hon.” She glanced around the busy waiting room and lowered her voice, although anyone who wanted to hear, could have. “It’s Dr. Miller’s first day going solo, and you’re not the first person who’s been less than thrilled to find out Doc Morrison isn’t here.” Lauren tried to think of something to say in Nate’s defense, but Janie kept on going. “Poor guy. He got dumped this weekend. So whatever you do, just don’t mention YouTube to him.”
“YouTube? Why on earth would I mention that?” Lauren asked.
“Sorry, I can’t talk about it. That would be gossiping,” Janie said.
What? That made absolutely no sense at all. Janie said he’d been dumped, which meant Jessica had gone through with her little plan to try to manipulate Nate into moving to Miami. Lauren found herself hoping that her plan wouldn’t work. Not just because it would mean that Whispering Bay would be losing a doctor, but she’d hate to see Nate end up with a witch like Jessica.
Lauren took a seat. Momma filled out the paperwork, and after a short wait they were escorted back to an exam room. Bianca took Daddy’s vital signs and did a general assessment. Lauren and her parents knew everyone in Doc Morrison’s office, and everyone in the office knew them, too. As well as Daddy’s situation, as Momma called it.
Lauren squirmed in her seat. Hopefully, Nate would be up to speed on that. Doc Morrison had a warm way about him that made you love him instantly. Lauren had always thought of him as a great big teddy bear. No matter how sick you were, he always managed to make you laugh. If Doc brought Nate in to take over his practice, then it must mean that he trusted him to take care of his patients in the same manner he’d always done.
The heat in the office was a little stifling, so Lauren slipped off her poncho. Momma picked up a magazine to read, and Daddy sat on the exam table fidgeting with the towel, wrapping it and rewrapping it around his hand. The motion reminded Lauren of something Henry would have done just a few years ago.
After a couple of minutes, there was a knock on the door and Nate Miller walked in. He wore crisp dark dress pants and a light blue shirt with a paisley tie under his lab coat. Very GQ looking for Whispering Bay. Lauren wondered if he’d keep up the look without Jessica around to pick out his outfits.
Nate’s gaze stopped briefly on Lauren before settling on her parents. Wait, no nod today? “Mr. and Mrs. Handy? I’m Nate Miller.” He shook Momma’s hand.
“I’d shake your hand, young man, but as you can see I’ve had a little accident,” Daddy said.
“I see that, sir.” He glanced back at Lauren, cleared his throat, and…did the nod! But today he added, “Lauren,” by way of acknowledgement. Poor Nate. Lauren couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. As a witness to his proposal debacle, she was probably the last person on earth he wanted to see. Besides Jessica, that is.
“How can I help you today?” he asked Daddy.
Momma’s brow furrowed. “I don’t understand, we see Dr. Morrison.”
“Momma,” Lauren said, “Doc Morrison is out sick. Dr. Miller is his new partner.”
Nate sat down on a stool and opened his laptop, placed it on the desk, then made quick work of reading the screen. “You cut your hand trying to open a window?” he asked Daddy.
Daddy nodded. “Damn latch wouldn’t give way.”
Momma let out a huge sigh, like she was bursting to tell the real story. Lauren bit the inside of her cheek and tried not to squirm in her chair.
