A tap on the door made Shannon’s pulse rate jump. She chided herself for her overreaction. There was no way she could recognize a simple knock on the door, she told herself…and yet, somehow, she had.
James stuck his head into the room with a smile. “How’s it going in here?” he asked.
He wore a white coat over a blue dress shirt, blue patterned tie and gray pants. She recognized a stethoscope and reflex hammer sticking out of one of his pockets, while other pockets held pens and notepads and what appeared to be sheets of folded papers. A plastic photo ID clipped to his collar identified him as a medical student.
Though she’d seen his “doctor face” before, this was the first time she’d actually seen him wearing the uniform. And she had to admit, it intimidated her just a little, though she couldn’t have explained exactly why. She was intensely aware of her own work uniform—the khaki slacks and white shirt all the toy-store employees wore beneath the bright green apron required while working the floor. She felt a little disheveled compared to James, but there was nothing unusual about that.
He gave her one of his faint smiles and her uncharacteristic attack of timidity transformed into something entirely different. In that moment, he was the man who had kissed her on her doorstep, who had caused her a few hours of sleeplessness last night as she’d replayed that embrace over and over in her mind. Who’d have thought the reserved, well-mannered and enigmatic doctor would kiss like that?
She felt her cheeks warm a little and she looked quickly away, hoping no one else noticed.
Her mother was notably not intimidated by James’s white coat. She beamed at him. “Well, don’t you look nice today. Are you working here in the children’s hospital?”
“I have been,” he replied lightly. “I’m doing a pediatric infectious disease rotation. I got off work a little early today.”
“Infectious disease?” Stacy looked nervously from James to Kyle.
James shook his head reassuringly. “Don’t worry, we take many precautions against contamination. For example, I used the disinfectant foam on the wall outside this room before entering—as you should all be doing when you come in.”
Assuring him they were diligent in using the foam, Stacy then launched into a word-by-word account of everything any of the medical staff had said to her since she’d last seen James, searching his face while she talked as if to judge his reactions.
He responded patiently to all questions, a
nswering with the caution she’d noticed before, responding candidly but without a great deal of elaboration. No airy assurances, no expounding to show off his knowledge, no stepping beyond the boundaries of his limited expertise. Her family might consider him their own personal medical expert, but James treated them with the respectful civility of a near-stranger whenever he was being asked to respond as a doctor rather than a friend.
As handsome and impressive as he might be as James-the-physician, she missed the warmth in his dark eyes and the elusive half-smile of her friend. She broke into the conversation as quickly as she could, deliberately directing the topic away from medicine. “I had a funny thing happen at work today. You’ll probably all get a laugh out of it.”
She wasn’t entirely sure—he was so darned hard to read—but she thought James was relieved by the diversion. “I’d like to hear it,” he said, turning toward her. “What happened?”
She told them about the adorable elderly couple who’d come to the store to purchase a video-game system that afternoon, asking for Shannon’s help because they had no familiarity with video gaming. They’d implied at first that they were buying the system for a grandchild, but when she’d asked questions to determine the child’s age and gaming experience, the woman had admitted that they were really buying the system for themselves.
“We’ve been watching all those commercials on the television,” she had explained, “and it just looks like all those people are having so much fun. Ernie and I want to play, too. We get tired of staring at each other all afternoon and I just don’t think I can stand another game of gin rummy.”
Shannon had spent the next hour happily playing demo games with the couple, showing them how the different systems operated and some of the games available for each one. They had learned quickly and after bickering amusingly for a while, they’d finally settled on the system that would incorporate healthy exercise into the games of bowling, tennis and golf that had most intrigued them.
“Old people wanted to play video games?” Kyle asked in astonishment. “Did you show them the new Warriors from Beyond the Realm game, Aunt Shannon? That one is so sweet.”
Shannon laughed and shook her head. “I don’t think they’re interested in sword fights and laser-gun battles, Kyle. Though they said they’d be back to look at more sports games once they’ve mastered the ones they bought.”
“Well, frankly, I’d rather play gin rummy,” Shannon’s mother asserted. “I don’t care for video games myself.”
“My friends Ron and Connor and I often played video games during study breaks to clear our minds and relax a little before hitting the books again,” James said.
Was there a touch of wistfulness in his voice? Stacy wondered if she was the only one to notice. Just from the little he had told her, she sensed that James missed those long study sessions with his friends, though he’d told her he didn’t miss all the lectures and tests of the first two years of medical school. She suspected he would miss his friends very much when they went their separate ways after graduation. If he had friends outside of medical school, he hadn’t mentioned any during their conversations. He talked about Ron and Haley and Connor and Anne as if he’d known them all his life.
He glanced at his watch. “I missed lunch today because I got caught up in a consult. Frankly, I’m starving. Can I tempt you ladies with a snack in the hospital cafeteria? My treat, I get a discount.”
Shannon’s mother smiled at him warmly, giving Shannon another one of those this-guy-is-wonderful-hang-on-to-him looks. “Thank you, dear, but Hollis, Stu and Karen are supposed to arrive soon. Stu and Karen are going to sit with Kyle while Hollis and I go out for a bite. Then I’m going to spend the night with Kyle so Stacy can go home to her husband and their other children for a few hours. J.P. has taken a few days off to help out here and at home.”
The family was making sure Kyle wasn’t left alone in the hospital room for more than an hour or so at a time, even though they knew the staff was vigilant in taking care of him. But Kyle’s loved ones knew how much trouble the boy could get into even lying in the bed with a broken leg and a surgical scar, Shannon though wryly. She’d offered to spend one night with the boy, but this was the first time Stacy had been persuaded to leave and their mother had insisted on staying tonight. She suspected Stacy would stay again Tuesday night. They would all be relieved for Stacy’s sake when Kyle went home on Wednesday.
Four kids—one in diapers, one in a cast. Shannon shook her head, thanking the stars for her own relatively carefree independence. She wasn’t sure she could deal with all these crises even as well as Stacy, who was admittedly excitable under the best of circumstances, but always came through admirably when she had to.
“Shannon, you could keep James company while he eats,” Stacy prodded. “I’m sure you’re hungry, too. You’re always hungry,” she added with a somewhat tired laugh.
Shannon had half expected that suggestion from her mom. Now her sister was in on the matchmaking. She leveled a quick frown at Stacy. “Since the two of you have other plans, I’d imagine that James would rather eat somewhere other than the hospital cafeteria. You certainly don’t have to hang around here for our sake, James.”
“And neither do you, Shannon,” Stacy answered promptly. “I know Kyle appreciates your visit, but he’ll have Stu and Karen here with him until Mom and Dad get back from dinner. You’ve had a long day at work. Go relax for a while.”