I saw my father smile and gave them both a look of shock.
“You are kidding me!”
“Of course not. How is that even possible?” I saw my mother look at my father then give him an ‘I told you so.’
“Laura, baby, go shower and change.” My father slapped my mother’s butt and I saw her give him a wary glance.
“I don’t take orders, Seth.”
“Pretty please, pain in the ass? You have been in that robe for two days.”
“Fine.” She scurried away, no longer hiding the fact that she was freezing to death and I looked on after her with amusement. My mother hung the moon as far as I was concerned, and my father was my hero. I sighed as I looked at him while he watched my mother retreat with awe on his face.
“She’s amazing, right?”
“I’m so jealous, Dad,” I admitted as he turned to look at me, confused.
“Jealous?”
“Yeah, you two have had each other for almost thirty years, and I only got months.”
“Is this why you stayed away?”
I sat down at the kitchen table and hung my head. “Lightning struck with Grant, Dad. It’s over for me. I can’t even imagine loving anyone else, ever.”
“It’s too soon to say that, but I can tell you now, we aren’t the type to give our hearts away to just anyone, Rose. We choose carefully and then we’re all in. Don’t rush life, let it happen. You can’t rush your way through the grieving and you sure as hell can’t go on working yourself out of it. Take your time, sweetheart. Let it hurt and let us hurt with you.”
Eight Months Later
“Seven hours of perfection, Rose. I’m truly impressed. I have to say, I have never sat back and watched any surgery without interrupting during the fifteen years I’ve headed this program
“Thank you, Dr. McGuire,” I said, snapping my gloves off and trashing my smock.
“I’m truly impressed. Get ready for greatness. I’m bumping you to the top of the list.”
“No, sir, please don’t do that. I wouldn’t feel comfortable.”
“This isn’t about the comfort of your peers. This is about us honing your skills. They’ll deal with it. It’s a competitive field.”
“I’m more than happy to assist, sir.”
“This is not a discussion,” he scolded as we walked down the corridor towards the nurses’ station.
“Yes, sir.”
I listened to the doctor dispense orders to two of the nurses about patient aftercare. He seemed puzzled that I was still standing next to him as he turned to look at me. “I want you to go home. I won’t schedule your next surgery for a couple days. Take some time, reflect and recharge.”
“Sir—”
“This is also not up for discussion, Rose.”
“Yes, sir.”
I drove straight to Grant’s land for the first time since I graduated medical school. I’d come here right after losing myself in my memories, holding them closer than ever. It was a pivotal moment and Grant wasn’t there to celebrate with me. I was lost all over again.
It seemed the new owners hadn’t done anything with it. I was still cursing myself for not moving on it faster when it went into probate. I was too lost in losing him that I couldn’t think of anything else. And by the time I had, it was too late. Now, it just sat there untouched.
I had two days of nothing to do and couldn’t figure out a way of passing the t