The Doctor's Redemption

“Anna isn’t a fan of doctors.”

“I’ll be on my best behavior.” He gave her a reassuring smile.

Laura Jo nodded and knocked quietly on the door before she opened it. “Anna, someone is here to check on little Marcy.”

Laura Jo entered and he followed close behind. A lone light shone, barely giving off enough light for him to see the room. There was a twin bed shoved into the corner and another at a right angle to that one where two children slept feet to feet. There was also a baby bed but it was empty because the child was in her mother’s arms. The woman was reed thin, wide-eyed and had wavy hair. She couldn’t have been more than twenty-five.

“Hi, Anna, I’m Mark, and I’ve come to see if I can help little Marcy. Why don’t you sit on the bed and hold her while I have a look? I promise not to hurt her.”

Anna hesitated then looked a Laura Jo.

“I’ll sit beside you.” Laura Jo led her over to the bed.

Mark went down on one knee and placed his bag beside him. He pulled out his stethoscope. The heat he felt as he put his hand close to the child’s chest indicated she was still running a fever.

“I’m only going to listen to her heart and lungs now. Check her pulse.” He gave the mother a reassuring smile and went to work. Done, he asked, “How long has she had this fever?”

“Since yesterday,” the mother said in a meek voice.

He looked a Laura Jo.

“I had no idea.” She sounded defensive and he hadn’t intended to make her feel that.

To Anna he said, “I’m going to need to check Marcy’s abdomen.”

“Let’s lay Marcy on the bed. That way she’ll be more comfortable,” Laura Jo suggested.

Mark moved his hand over the child’s stomach area. It was distended and hard. Something serious was, without a doubt, going on. He glanced at Laura Jo. Their gazes met. The worry in her eyes was obvious.

“Anna, thank you for letting me see Marcy.” He looked at Laura Jo again and tilted his head toward the door. As he stood he picked up his bag and walked across the room. Laura joined him. He let her precede him into the hall and closed the door behind him.

Laura Jo looked at him.

“Marcy has to go to the hospital.”

“I was afraid of that. What do you think the problem is?”

“The symptoms make me think it might be an obstructive bowel problem. This isn’t something that can wait. Marcy must been seen at the hospital.”

“I’ll talk to her.” Laura Jo went back into the room.

Mark pulled out his phone and called the ER. He gave the information about Marcy and they assured him they would be ready when he arrived. Finished, he leaned against the wall to wait.

Soon Laura Jo came out, with Anna holding Marcy in her arms.

“Anna has agreed to go to the hospital as long as you and I stay with her,” Laura Jo said. “I need a few minutes to let someone know to see about her other children. Will you drive?”

His stomach tightened. He didn’t want to but what was he supposed to say, “No, I might injure you for life”?

“If it’s necessary,” Mark answered.

Laura Jo looked at him with a question in her eyes before he turned to walk down the hallway to the front.

“The car seat is by the front door,” Anna said in a subdued voice.

“I’ll get it.”

He was still working to latch the child seat into his car when Laura Jo arrived.

“I’ll get that.”

With efficiency that he envied she had the seat secured and Marcy in it in no time. Laura Jo didn’t comment on his ineptness but he was sure she’d made a note of it. She would probably call him on it later.

Anna took the backseat next to Marcy, and Laura Jo joined him in front. Before pulling out of the parking space, he looked back to see that the baby was secure and that Anna was wearing her seat belt. “Are you buckled in, Laura Jo?”

“Yes. You sure are safety conscious.”

Yes, he was, and he had a good reason to be. Mark nodded and wasted no time driving to the hospital. He pulled under the emergency awning and stopped.

As they entered the building Laura Jo said to Anna, “We’ll be right here with you until you feel comfortable. They’ll take good care of Marcy here.”

Anna nodded, her eyes not meeting Laura Jo’s.

They were met by a woman dressed in scrubs.

“Lynn, this child needs to be seen,” Laura said.

“Is this the girl Dr. Clayborn called in about?”

“Yes,” he said. “I’m Dr. Clayborn.” Because he wasn’t on the staff at the hospital he couldn’t give orders. They would have to wait until the ER physician showed up.

“Exam room five is open. Dr. Lawrence will be right in.”

Two hours later Marcy was in surgery. Mark’s diagnosis had been correct. Thankfully, Laura Jo had called him or the child might have died. They were now sitting in the surgery waiting room with Anna. With Laura Jo’s support, Anna had accepted that Marcy needed the surgery. Mark was impressed with the tender understanding Laura Jo had given the terrified mother. He liked this sensitive side of her personally. What would it take for her to turn some of that on him?

Mark approached the two women and handed each one a cup of coffee from the machine. He slipped into the chair beside Laura Jo. Waiting in hospitals wasn’t his usual activity. He’d always been on the working end of an emergency.

While Anna was in the restroom Laura Jo said, “I think you can go. She seems to be handling this better than I thought she would.”

“No, I said I’d stay and I will.”

“You make a good friend.”

Mark’s chest tightened. No, he didn’t. He’d already proved that. Mike certainly wouldn’t say that about him. Mark hadn’t even gone to the hospital to see Mike before he’d left town. Laura Jo shouldn’t start depending on him.

“You might be surprised.”

Laura Jo gave him a speculative look but he was saved from any questions by Anna returning. Soon after that the surgeon came out to speak to them.

The sun was shining when he and Laura Jo stepped outside the hospital. Marcy was doing well in PICU and Anna had insisted that she was fine and no longer needed them there. They left her in the waiting room, dozing. Laura Jo had promised to check on her other children and that she would see to it they were cared for properly.

As he and Laura Jo walked to his car, which he had moved to a parking place earlier, Mark asked, “Where do you get all the energy for all you do?”

“I just do what has to be done.”

“You sure have a lot on your plate.”

“Maybe so, but some things I can’t say no to.”

What was it like to

feel that type of bond with people? He understood the practical side of doing what needed to be done medically to save a life but it was a completely different concept to support another person emotionally without reservation. Mark understood that well. He hadn’t been able to stand beside his best friend when he’d needed him most. He had even ignored his conscience when it had screamed for him to do better. It hadn’t gotten quieter when he’d moved back to town but he still couldn’t muster the guts to go visit Mike.

“I wish I had your backbone.”

“How’s that?”

“You face life head-on.”

“You don’t?”

“What little I have falls short of the amount you have.”

“Thank you. That’s a nice compliment.”

They had reached his car. “How about I buy us some breakfast then take you home? I’m guessing Marsha has Allie.”

“Yes. I really need to check on her and Anna’s kids. I need sleep. I’m sure you do also. I have to work this afternoon. Don’t you have to be at work this morning?”

“I don’t go in until two and you need to eat. I’m hungry so why don’t you let me get us some breakfast without disagreeing for once?”

She walked to the passenger door. “I’m already too far in debt to you.”

“I don’t mind that.”

She sighed. “I pick the place.”

“Ladies choice, then.”

A smile spread across her lips. “I like the sound of that.”

Had no one ever let her make a choice of where they went? He liked seeing Laura Jo smile. She didn’t do it often enough. She was far too serious.

“Where’re we going?”

“I’ll show you.”

She got in the car and put her seat belt on. When he was ready to pull out he looked over at her.

Laura Jo said, “Yes, I have buckled up.”

He had to sound crazy to her, or over-the-top controlling, but he just couldn’t face hurting someone with his driving ever again. Somehow it seemed easier when he had her in the car with him; she accepted him for who he was. As he drove she gave him directions into an older and seedier part of downtown Mobile. He had last been to the area when he’d been a teen and trying to live on the wild side some.