Doctors in the Wedding

he envisioned a vague future with Jason as an important part of it—and it made her happy, she realized with a little thrill of excitement and nerves.

As if making sure she wouldn’t waste time fretting about him, Jason added, “I’ll be fine hanging out here watching TV for a while, and Aunt Lindsay told me I was welcome to show up early at her house to hang out with my uncle. Have a great time with your family.”

“You do the same.”

“I will.” He leaned over to kiss her. “Good night, Madison.”

She snuggled into his shoulder, trying not to think about how empty her bed would be this time next week.

Perhaps it was a demonstration of her state of mind that Madison was acutely aware of the vibes between her siblings and their spouses during their holiday together. The shared looks and smiles. The unspoken thoughts that obviously passed between them when something struck them as funny or particularly interesting. It had never particularly bothered her to be single in a room full of couples because she had always been content with her own company, but still she found herself missing Jason that day. Several times she pictured her sharing a laughing glance with him or thought of how much he would enjoy a certain anecdote told by one of her family members. She thought he and Mitch and Seth would get along very well, and she had no doubt that the women would love him, as women always seemed to do.

How could she be so keenly aware of his absence today when he’d never even spent time with her family? When she’d spent so little time with him, herself, actually?

He had implied that there would come a time when they would meet each other’s families. She would like that. From what she had seen of them at BiBi’s reception, his family had looked nice. Maybe sometime during the Christmas holidays she could take a day or two to pop over to Dallas. She wondered if Jason had any plans for New Year’s Eve….

“Hello? Maddie? Where are you today?”

Blinking rapidly in response to her brother’s teasing question, Madison looked up from the game pieces she’d been staring at so blankly. “Umm, sorry. Is it my turn?”

“It is,” Alice said from across the game table. “Are you okay?”

Smiling fondly at her niece, Madison nodded. “I’m fine, thanks, hon. Just have a lot on my mind.”

Madison’s mother and sister-in-law had chosen to sit out the games this time. Her mom sat in a chair looking through the newspaper ads for tomorrow’s Black Friday sales while Jacqui sat nearby with her latest knitting project. Jacqui looked up from her intricate project to ask, “Don’t you have to rank your program choices soon?”

“I’ve got about two weeks.”

“I promised myself I wouldn’t try to influence you, dear, but is there any chance you’ll choose to stay here in Little Rock?”

Madison answered her mother’s question gently. “Wherever I choose to go for my fellowship, you won’t have to worry about us losing touch, Mom. I’ll still call every day, when possible, and I’ll be home for holidays and visits whenever I have the time off.”

“You’ll be leaving us, won’t you?” Her mom seemed resigned to the inevitability.

“Probably for the fellowship,” Madison conceded. “As good as our program is, I’ve spent the past eight years here. I think I should get some training elsewhere so I’ll have a broader experience to build on in my future career.”

“As much as I’ll hate to see you leave, I’m sure you know what’s best for you.”

Madison wished that were true. At the moment, she wasn’t feeling at all certain she knew which path to take for her future, either professionally or personally.

“Do you have a feeling about which program you’ll rank first?” Mitch asked.

“I’m considering Dallas,” she said casually, then added, “Or maybe Oregon.”

“I vote for Dallas,” Alice piped up. “It’s closer. And we could come visit you and see a Cowboys game. Or the Rangers! And we could go to Six Flags and maybe ride horses and stuff.”

Seth tugged at one of his daughter’s brown curls. “No one said you get a vote, kiddo. Madison’s not going to choose a program based on the sports teams you like best.”

“I thought we were playing a game here,” Madison said in an attempt to change the subject.

Alice sighed gustily. “It’s your turn. We can’t play until you do.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” Hastily, Madison picked up the dice.

It wasn’t long until the conversation drifted off Madison, to her relief, and onto the other exciting family development. Alice chattered about how eager she was to meet her new baby brother or sister. She assured everyone she would be thrilled to babysit anytime her services were needed, to the amused skepticism of her elders, who figured the novelty would wear off quickly enough when she had a date or a chance to attend a party with her high school friends.

“You’re feeling okay, Meagan?” Madison asked, noting that her older sister certainly looked to be in glowing health.

Meagan nodded happily. “So far, so good. Not even any morning sickness.”