I turned back to my dad and sister. “What’s she talking about?”
Daisy filled her plate with tacos and stayed silent, letting Dad have the floor.
Dad grabbed his food before he grabbed the folder sitting beside him and tossed it at him. “We’re gonna get to work on this case.”
I lowered my gaze to the folder and opened it, seeing Mr. Torres’s information.
“Three doctors are better than one, right?” Daisy asked after she finished chewing her bite.
“And we both know you haven’t even glanced at his paperwork,” Dad said, not in accusation, but simply matter-of-factly.
I looked down at the first page, his most recent lab work. “I appreciate the offer, but I can handle this on my own.”
“I know you can,” Dad said confidently. “But sometimes we need help getting back into the water. So, let’s start.” He grabbed a pen and rolled it toward me along with an extra notebook.
Instead of resisting, I took a breath and got to work.
Daisy looked over her notes and all the red ink she’d added to the tests. “With his cholesterol being as high as it is, it really makes no sense to have this abnormally low blood pressure. There’s definitely something more to this, that his heart is being compromised by a bigger issue. I think the heart surgery is necessary, absolutely, but I think he’s either got a lot more going on, or his cardiovascular and pulmonary problems are contributing to disrupting the normal functioning of his body.” She lifted her gaze and looked at me, expecting me to elaborate.
“I’m in agreement.” When I turned to look at Dad, he was looking at Daisy.
She dropped her gaze and reached for the bottle of wine to refill her glass, so she was oblivious to the way Dad stared at her.
Like he’d never been more proud.
I knew my parents didn’t have a favorite, but Dad definitely treated Daisy differently from Derek and me. It wasn’t necessarily favoritism, but he was more impressed with the things she did, even if her successes were similar to what Derek and I had accomplished in our careers. There was just a different kind of affection there, probably because she was his only daughter.
Dad spoke before turning his gaze back to me. “That’s very insightful, sweetheart.”
Daisy shrugged and took a drink of her wine, never taking compliments too seriously because she knew perfection was the expectation set for each of us in medicine. Dad raised us to be the best every single time because mistakes led to malpractice, which led to untimely deaths.
Dad’s treatment of Daisy never bothered Derek and me because we were the exact same with her. She was probably the perfect sibling, inheriting Dad’s brilliance but also Mom’s sass and fire. She was a brilliant diagnostician who saved lives when no one else could figure out the problem, but she expressed herself with the same ease that Mom did. But also, she didn’t take shit from anybody. “I agree with Mr. Torres’s previous assessments, that without this surgery, he won’t live long. After looking at his scans, I know exactly where I would make my incisions and replace his valves, all the while keeping in mind his pulmonary issues, but…” I dropped my gaze and looked at my paperwork. “I’m not sure if I can do it.”
“Son.”
I wouldn’t look at him because I didn’t want to see his disappointment.
“Dex, come on,” Daisy said. “You’re the best. Period.”
“You don’t cut people open,” I countered. “You don’t understand.”
“I don’t,” Daisy said. “But I know you—”
“Drop it.” Dad placed his notes inside the folder and closed it. “All we wanted to do today was take a deep dive into this. We’ll worry about that some other time. Alright?”
I appreciated the change in subject.
Daisy closed up her things too then downed her glass of wine like she intended to leave soon. “Well, I should get going. I’ve got a lot of stuff to do tomorrow.”
“I’ll walk you.” I closed the notebook.
Daisy rolled her eyes. “I don’t need you to get me home. I’m taking a cab.”
Dad got to his feet. “Dex is staying here. Mom wants to talk to him. I’ll take you home, sweetheart.” He moved to where his keys and wallet were and pocketed them.
Daisy didn’t argue with Dad because that was totally pointless. She grabbed her things and shouldered her bag before she came to me and wrapped her arm across my front for a quick hug. “You’ve got this, alright?” She kissed me on the cheek then walked out with Dad.
I watched them walk out in the reflection of the window, seeing Dad open the door for her then follow her out.
I didn’t know what Mom wanted to talk about, but I grabbed the bottle of wine and refilled my glass in preparation. I shouted down the hallway. “Dad says you want to talk?”