“Good job, Hannah,” my mother said, coming and giving me a hug. She took my arm and led me back to the table where my father sat.
I collapsed into a seat, suddenly very tired. Someone put a beer in front of me, but I pushed it away. Instead I stole a sip of my dad's root-beer, grateful for the sugar.
“He said he just had indigestion,” my dad said, sipping at his root-beer. He took another deep sip, trying to wrap his head around what just happened. “I'm glad you were able to help, Hannah.”
I smiled at my dad. “Me, too, Dad.”
“Good job, Hannah,” a man said walking past my table. Then another. Someone patted my shoulder and thanked me. Another walked past and said I did good.
“It was a good thing you were here,” my mother said after a moment, loud enough for those standing close to hear. “Imagine if she had just gone home tonight. Or left early. Or worked somewhere else.”
Some of those standing close managed to look bashful.
Now that everything was over, I just wanted to curl up in bed and sleep for the next eighteen hours.
“You should get Dad home,” I told mom. He was pale now and shaky. The excitement of his poker win had worn off and now he looked pale and tired. He'd already overdone things for the day, and witnessing a heart attack had put him over into exhausted.
“Can you get home okay?” Mom asked.
“If you can drop me off at the clinic, I'll be fine,” I told her. I didn't plan on driving just yet. My hands were still shaking. I was just going to sit in my car and freak out for a minute.
We stood up and made our way to the door. The other patrons called out their good nights to my parents, and a few of them even to me.
Outside the night air was humid but relaxing. It was warm, but not hot out. The stars twinkled over head and the cicadas hummed in the trees. I took a deep breath in of the sweet air and sighed.
We piled into the car and took the short drive back to the clinic. We left Dad's truck and Dr. Mathew's motorcycle in the parking lot. I hoped things were going well.
Mom pulled into the parking lot of the clinic just as Dr. Matthews texted me an update. Dr. Taggert was stable. He was in the Cardiac ICU and scheduled for a round of tests in the morning. They suspected he'd be having surgery sometime tomorrow.
I let out a long sigh of relief and let my parents know. My dad's shoulders relaxed with the news and he smiled.
“You did good tonight, Kiddo,” he told me. “I'm proud of you.”
“Me too,” my mom chimed in.
I nearly burst into tears.
Instead I just thanked them, gave them each hugs, reminded my dad to take his medicine and get some rest, and then sat in my car.
As soon as I was alone, I cried and laughed and then fell asleep in the parking lot.
Chapter 29
We had ten patients in the clinic the next day, as well as new future appointments to make up lost appointments. Mr. Abrams was coming in. So was the preacher and his wife. The next day we almost had a full schedule. By the end of the week, we were just a few appointments shy of a regular day.
Things were slowly getting back to normal.
Still, I secretly hoped that Abigail St. James would continue to see the doctor in the next town over, even if I was fired. The further that woman was from me, even in my head, the better. It was petty, but I didn't care.
Friday came with the news that Dr. Taggert was on his way home from the hospital. He was still weak and recovering from surgery, but healing faster than expected. He was banned from working at the clinic until he was one-hundred percent, but I had a feeling that he'd somehow sneak in to see patients by the end of next week.
As for me, I kept busy. With our schedule back to having patients, I found myself worrying less about losing my job. We were keeping the clinic up and running, which meant that Jacob's contract with Dr. Taggert was safe.
At least for now.
I liked being busy. It kept my mind from thinking about anything from work. I luckily hadn't had much morning sickness yet, but I kept a two liter of ginger ale out in my car just in case. I was still too early to use the office ultrasound or Doppler machine, but I walked wistfully past those rooms more than I needed to.
I still hadn't told anyone but Jacob about the pregnancy.