The pressure in my chest released.
“But it might not have mattered. Your lawyer might have told you that her expert pathologist indicated it might have been too late even if the tests were done right when she arrived.”
I nodded. “Does that mean the family dropped the case against the hospital?”
“Not so far, which is
why they want me back. They did offer a raise too.”
I grinned. “You can support me. I could be a kept man.”
“I do want to keep you, Dr. Nick Foster. I like your bedside manner.”
“Just my bedside?”
“I like all sides. But,” she said, her smile dropping. “I have to go in today.”
“Well, that’s a bummer, but you should go. I don’t want to get in the way of your work.”
“You’re more important than my job.”
“I know. But you like your job. You can have both, Mia, if you want. Me and the job.”
She gave me that smile that made me feel like I was the greatest man in the world. “You and the job are my dream come true.”
An hour later, she was dressed and heading out the door.
“Have a good day at work honey. Do you want dinner on the table when you get home?” I asked trying to be the proverbial housewife.
“I want you to greet me at the door with nothing on but an apron.”
“I’ll add apron to my grocery list.” I kissed her, wondering if anyone was ever as happy as I was now.
I putzed around my place, showered, and then decided to go see Jim. It was time for us to plan our trip to visit the bongos.
I was in the car on my way to his house, when my cell phone rang.
“Dr. Foster? This is Alice Wallace. I’m a member of the hospital board.”
“Yes, Mrs. Wallace.” I knew her not just from the hospital board, but I’d gone to school with her son. “How can I help you?”
“I was wondering if you could come by the hospital?”
“What for?”
“We’re meeting today and wanted to talk with you.”
Just when I thought my legal issues were done. “If this is about the lawsuit, you’ll need to talk to my lawyer.”
“No. It’s not the lawsuit. We’d like to talk to you in person, can you come by?”
“When?”
“Now would be good. Sometime today?”
I pulled over as I tried to figure out how I felt about this call. Tension gathered in my shoulders at the idea of walking back into the hospital. But I remembered my new therapist saying I needed to get back on the horse. While I wasn’t going back to be a doctor, perhaps the first step was to walk into the place that still showed up in my nightmares.
“I can be there in ten.”