Rivals in Practice

by Alison Roberts

  Andrew was holding Angus by the hand as he came back from the playground. He paused by the car.

  ‘You look dreadful, Brian. What’s the matter?’

  Jennifer was following him. She, too, looked at Brian’s grey face with concern.

  ‘I’m fine.’ Brian waved his hand irritably. ‘Let’s get back to work.’

  ‘You don’t look fine,’ Andrew stated.

  ‘Leave it, Drew,’ Jennifer advised quietly. ‘I’ll look after this.’ She closed the passenger door and moved quickly to the driver’s seat of her four-by-four. The sooner she got Brian back to the hospital the better. Susan’s emergency had taken a toll and Brian’s level of stress would only be exacerbated by Andrew’s concern and public scrutiny. She knew that Andrew wouldn’t be happy being shut out of the situation and Jennifer wasn’t surprised when he turned up at the hospital an hour later.

  ‘The children are at Sam’s house,’ he told Jennifer. ‘Jill’s happy to look after them. I want to know what’s going on here. How’s Brian?’

  ‘He’s OK. He’s resting at home. Things are pretty well back to normal, thank goodness. And Susan’s safely in the coronary care unit. They’ve got her booked for an ICD procedure tomorrow.’

  ‘What’s wrong with Brian?’ Andrew shut the door of the office behind him.

  ‘He’s got coronary artery disease. He had an angioplasty two years ago and was fine until recently when he started getting unstable angina. He’s been seen by a cardiologist and is on a waiting list for catheterisation and probable referral for repeat angioplasty or bypass grafting.’

  ‘He’s not in any condition to deal with emergencies.’

  ‘He knows that. Fortunately we don’t get too many of them.’

  ‘You’ve had three in just over three weeks. Liam and Alice and now Susan. The stress of any case like that could have been disastrous. He shouldn’t be here.’

  ‘Do you want to be the one to tell him? It’s not just a job we’re talking about here, Andrew. Providing medical care in a small community becomes your life. Especially when you’ve been doing it for a very long time. It takes a special breed of person and Brian is one of the best. I’ve known him all my life. He persuaded me to stay on here and I haven’t regretted it. He’s an inspiration both on a personal and a professional front and I need him. This practice and hospital is too big for one doctor to manage.’

  ‘So get another partner. A third doctor.’

  ‘We’ll have to.’ Jennifer nodded. ‘But the suggestion has to come from Brian, not me. He knows it’s inevitable. He just needs time to accept it and I’m not going to push him.’

  ‘And in the meantime you get saddled with an increasing workload and the worry that you might not be available to deal with every emergency that comes along.’

  ‘I’ll cope.’

  ‘You don’t have to. Not alone, anyway. I could help.’

  ‘You don’t have a practising certificate. You’re not trained as a GP.’

  ‘Maybe I can do something about that.’

  ‘If you’ve lost your licence in the States you won’t be able to get a certificate here.’

  ‘Maybe I haven’t. I’ve been out of contact for more than six months. Maybe it’s time I found out exactly where I stand so that I can do something about moving forward with my life. I want to practise medicine again, Jennifer. You were right. You don’t give up being a doctor just because you lose your job.’

  ‘You want to move forward here? As a rural GP?’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘You’re a specialist surgeon.’

  ‘I had exactly the same training you did. Sure, I might need some retraining in some areas. Are you accredited to take on a trainee GP here?’

  ‘Kind of. Brian trained me and he was the best teacher I could have had. I attended courses in Christchurch and sat the exams in Wellington, but he’s never talked about taking on another trainee.’

  ‘Maybe that’s the perfect way to give him time to ease out of his position. He can watch over my shoulder and I can do all the work. He could find time to write up the history of the hospital as well.’

  ‘But why? What’s the attraction for you? You’re a surgeon. If you can practise in New Zealand, why not go for a job at a main centre, like Christchurch?’

  ‘Maybe being a surgeon isn’t what I really wanted. Been there, done that. And maybe I don’t want to be that far away. From you.’

  ‘You’d give up surgery? To be with me?’

  ‘I wouldn’t give it up entirely. We could get a theatre up and running for minor procedures and emergencies. You could do some more training in anaesthetics. We’d be partners.’

  Jennifer’s breath caught. ‘I would never have imagined you as a GP. Not in a million years.’

  ‘Maybe coming here has taught me that medicine has more to offer than I’d realised. Like being part of a community—a way to belong somewhere. Something I’ve never had. And, more importantly, I could be part of a family. Our family, Jen. I want to marry you and have children. Our own children. Another generation that will know just how firmly they belong. Family history in the most beautiful place on earth. Parents that love them as much as they love each other.’

  ‘I do love you, Drew.’ Jennifer reached out to touch his face. ‘So much.’

  ‘So, do you think you could cope with some more children? It doesn’t have to be straight away.’ Andrew was smiling as he drew Jennifer close. ‘We could get married first.’ He bent his head to place a tender kiss on Jennifer’s lips. And then another.

  ‘I could cope.’ Jennifer managed to draw breath briefly. ‘I can’t think of anything I’d rather cope with.’

  Andrew paused before the next kiss. ‘So you’ll marry me?’

  ‘Yes.’ Jennifer was smiling through threatened tears. Andrew caught a glistening drop on her lower lashes with his thumb.

  ‘You don’t look very happy about it.’

  ‘Oh, I’m happy,’ Jennifer assured him. ‘I’ve never been happier.’ She blinked hard and smiled again. ‘Can you imagine how excited the twins will be at the prospect of being bridesmaids?’

  ‘Michael could be best man. And Angus could carry the rings.’

  ‘And we could have flower dogs.’ Jennifer was laughing now. ‘What a circus!’

  ‘I can’t wait,’ Andrew told her.

  ‘Neither can I.’

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  IT WAS too good to be true. Too perfect to last.

  For three days, Jennifer walked on air and basked in the bliss of imagining a future that was all she could have ever wished for. The engagement was kept unofficial—a secret that was shared by only two people and discussed in whispers in the aftermath of love-making that was as tender as it was passionate. Everyone knew something was happening and adults exchanged knowing glances and satisfied smiles. The children had already accepted Andrew as part of their lives. If he and Jennifer were going to spend their time staring at each other and smiling a lot then that was fine by them.

  Andrew dug out his address book from one of his boxes and used the e-mail connection on the hospital computing system to contact his solicitor and ex-colleagues in the States. As soon as he knew how things stood he could make plans for his professional future and put them into action. Neither he nor Jennifer wanted to wait and yet the anticipation of progress was surely as delightful as any success could hope to be.

  The only problem with e-mail was that it wasn’t necessarily as private as the recipient might have preferred. The response to Andrew’s communication came in a wave of e-mails that initially confused Brian. He called Andrew into the office the next afternoon as soon as Angus had been left in the kitchen for his visit with Ruby. Jennifer, passing the men in the hallway, took one look at Brian’s face and followed them.

  ‘I wasn’t being nosy,’ Brian said apologetically to Andrew. ‘I couldn’t figure out why we were being contacted by an American law firm. I had the horrible thought we might be being sue
d by some tourist we treated last summer. It wasn’t until I was halfway through that I realised what it was about.’

  Andrew was rapidly scanning the printout he held.

  ‘I had no idea.’ Brian shook his head sadly. ‘But I’m glad it was me that caught the mail. Normally, it’s Judith, our secretary, that prints out things in the mornings. You wouldn’t want something like this to become common knowledge, I’m sure.’ Brian still looked uncomfortable. ‘I can assure you that no one will hear a word about it from me and I’ve deleted it from the computer.’

  Jennifer looked pale. Was this the formal notification of the aftermath a malpractice suit could result in? A written confirmation that his licence had been revoked? A statement to the effect that Andrew Stephenson would never practise medicine again?

  ‘What is it, Drew?’ Her words were agonised. ‘What do they say?’

  Andrew handed her the sheet of paper in silence. Jennifer read so quickly she thought she had misinterpreted the words. She tried again. ‘But this is good news,’ she said in surprise. ‘You’ve been cleared of any charges.’

  ‘And William Chadwick has been sued.’ Andrew whistled softly. ‘His problems with alcohol and drug misuse obviously became impossible to cover up. At least the rest of the team stood together and refused to give him the opportunity to kill someone else.’

  ‘And they’ve vindicated you. Oh, Drew, I’m so pleased for you!’

  ‘Better late than never, I guess.’ Andrew grinned. He turned to Brian. ‘It’s a long story but I’d better fill you in. Got time for a coffee?’

  The older doctor smiled. ‘Of course.’

  ‘This means there’s no barrier for you getting registration here,’ Jennifer exclaimed. ‘You can do whatever you want.’

  ‘Sure can.’ Andrew still looked stunned. ‘Calls for a bottle of champagne, I reckon. This needs celebrating.’

  Brian looked from Jennifer to Andrew and back again. ‘We’ve got some world-class restaurants tucked away in these parts, Drew. Perfect for celebrations. I’ll bet you haven’t tried any of them yet.’

  Andrew grinned. ‘Do they cater for children? And maybe a dog or two?’

  Brian smiled. ‘I think Pat and I could well be available for a spot of babysitting tonight. Pat’s been complaining she hasn’t seen the children recently. Why don’t you two go and have a nice dinner and an even nicer bottle of champagne?’

  Andrew winked at Jennifer. ‘Sounds like a plan. Thanks, Brian.’

  ‘My pleasure.’ Brian placed a hand on Andrew’s shoulder. ‘But you owe me a coffee. And a story. Let’s go and visit Ruby.’

  The e-mails that arrived the next day were more personal. They may not have had an accent but they all sounded very American. Where on the face of the earth had Drew been hiding himself? The team at the private hospital in Boston had been desperate to contact him for the last two months. Wasn’t the news fantastic? The lawsuit for reparation they had instigated on his behalf would make him a millionaire—at least. He had to come back. They were desperate to have him. He could not only rejoin the team—but lead it.

  Jennifer read the effusive correspondence with increasing trepidation. ‘These offers are amazing, Drew. Do you want to go back?’

  ‘I’ll have to. At least for a while. There are legalities to settle and some personal loose ends to tie up. It might take a few weeks. Come with me, Jen.’ Andrew’s smile was engaging. ‘The States wouldn’t be a bad place for a honeymoon.’

  Andrew came in early to the hospital the next day. He wanted to spend time on the Internet looking at airline schedules and ticket availability. And he couldn’t wait to check the e-mails.

  ‘This is fantastic!’ He waved a sheet of paper at Jennifer when she entered the office with Angus trotting at her heels. ‘The new research programmes they’ve got up and running are rather exciting. Some of them are based on work I started before I left. Just listen to this…’

  But Jennifer didn’t have time to listen. ‘Can you keep Angus in here, please? He’s driving Ruby mad, banging pots in the kitchen, and I have an antenatal patient waiting and a well-child clinic to run in fifteen minutes.’

  Andrew’s enthusiasm waned visibly. ‘Aren’t you interested?’

  ‘Of course I’m interested. I just have other things to think about right now. Melissa Cooper is eight months pregnant and her blood pressure is going up. Research projects on the other side of the globe will just have to wait. Tell me later.’

  Andrew did tell her later. He was still talking about it late that night as they prepared for bed. ‘There’s a conference in a few weeks where a lot of the data is going to be presented. My data. They want me to give a presentation. In Miami. It’ll be a huge conference.’

  ‘Are you going to go, then?’

  ‘We could go. You’d love it. Interesting place, interesting people to meet.’

  ‘Part of the honeymoon?’ Jennifer asked drily. She had been watching Andrew’s enthusiasm growing ever since the first e-mail from his old colleagues. Was he unaware of the looming showdown? Jennifer was trying to ignore it. She was trying to pretend that what was being offered to Andrew a world away wasn’t going to be enough to take him away for good. After all, he was assuming that she would be with him. Did it not occur to Andrew how impossible it would be for her to leave for more than a few days? A honeymoon could be arranged—with difficulty. But it had been a planned honeymoon that had brought Andrew to Akaroa and it hadn’t taken long for him to decide that it could be a permanent arrangement. Now he was planning another honeymoon.

  Andrew looked contrite. ‘I’m sorry, Jen. Sorting out my legal hassles and going to a conference wouldn’t be much of a honeymoon, would it? It’s just that the opportunities are so exciting. I feel like I’ve been let out of jail or something.’ He reached for Jennifer and held her close. ‘It doesn’t change how I feel about you. It can’t affect us.’

  But it could. And did. Andrew’s campaign to persuade Jennifer that the world was their oyster was anything but subtle. Michael started looked sulky and withdrawn again.

  ‘Why does Drew keep talking about America? I thought he liked being here. I thought he liked us.’

  ‘He does.’ Jennifer tried to sound more convinced than she felt herself. ‘Of course he does. Hey, are you still going to sleep up in the treehouse if it’s fine this weekend?’

  ‘No.’ Michael’s tone was belligerent. ‘It’s a stupid treehouse.’

  The twins were squabbling more often in their efforts to attract Andrew’s attention and Angus had thrown his first full-blown tantrum when Zippy chewed up his treasured yellow plastic duck. Worse still came the next day when the baby hedgehog was found dead in the shoebox by the twins at his after-school feeding time.

  ‘It’s Mike’s fault,’ Jessica said accusingly. ‘He forgot to feed Sonic his breakfast.’

  ‘I did not! He just didn’t want to eat it.’

  ‘He must have been sick,’ Jennifer said sadly. ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘You should have given him some medicine.’ Sophie stared at Jennifer as tears gathered.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Jennifer repeated. ‘If I could have done something, I would have.’ She put the lid on the shoebox. ‘We’ll have to bury him.’

  ‘No-o-o-o!’ Sophie and Jessica wailed in unison.

  Michael kicked at something imaginary on the carpet. ‘I don’t care,’ he announced loudly. ‘It was a stupid hedgehog.’

  ‘He was not!’ Sophie aimed a kick at Michael.

  ‘Come on.’ Jennifer stood up, holding the box. ‘I’ll dig the hole. Maybe you girls could find some flowers.’

  Jessica’s tears flowed harder. ‘Can we pick the new daffodils?’

  ‘Sure.’ Jennifer looked at Michael. ‘Do you want to help us, Mike?’

  ‘No.’

  In the end, Jennifer was left to bury Sonic by herself. Distracted by picking enough flowers for a suitable tribute, the girls vanished into the outskirts of the garden. Michael had
shut himself in his bedroom and Angus was in the kitchen with Andrew. Funny how it had been Andrew who had been delegated the responsibility of Sonic’s health check on arrival but it was Jennifer who carried the can for not providing lifesaving medication to stave off his departure.

  Andrew was suitably sympathetic to the twins’ grief at dinnertime but he was clearly preoccupied. Jennifer doubted that he even noticed how withdrawn Michael was. She couldn’t lay any blame for Sonic’s demise at Andrew’s feet but the general atmosphere of uncertainty and tension in the house had a very obvious source. It was all brewing up into some form of a confrontation and by late that evening Jennifer knew the flash point had been reached.

  Andrew had booked tickets to Boston. One-way tickets for a flight leaving in three days’ time. He waited until the children were all in bed before showing Jennifer.

  ‘They were the only seats I could get for the next fortnight. There’s a court hearing for the lawsuit on my behalf next week. I really ought to be there for that.’

  ‘And when are you planning to come back?’

  ‘I’m not sure. Let’s see how things pan out when we get there. You might really like Boston.’

  ‘It wouldn’t matter if I liked it or not. I can’t just drop things here and take off, Andrew. Even for a few days. Who would look after the children?’

  ‘Saskia would come back if you asked her.’

  ‘She’s seventeen! I wouldn’t leave her with sole responsibility for everything. It’s far too much to ask.’

  ‘You’ve got a whole community out there that would help out if you asked.’

  ‘This is my family,’ Jennifer reminded him.

  ‘What about the children’s father, then? He’s coming for a visit soon. Get him to come earlier.’

  ‘I can’t do that. Anyway, I’ve got a job here. A full-time position.’

  ‘You’ve got a partner. Brian can hold the fort just for a few days.’

  ‘No, he can’t. I wouldn’t even ask and you know why.’

  ‘Get a locum, then. You were going to get a third doctor here.’