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"But stress is possible," he said. "And that might affect the baby's growth."
"Ethan, I'll be fine," I assured him with a smile.
"If you say so," he gave up and continued eating his meal. "Oh yeah, I spoke with my board of directors and explained the situation. Looks like everything's going to be a go. If you're coming along, it's going to be a busy day."
"You already discussed the terms of the partnership?" I asked in disbelief.
"Well, yes, but we haven't agreed on anything without your approval," he explained. "All I did was lay the groundwork. You just need to let them know what you want from the partnership and that's it. "
"Thank you," I said. "You're really going all out for me."
"Trust me, I'm still holding back," he said. He turned slowly to look at his pillow and then back at me.
I didn't get it, but it was probably something important.
"Do I call my father?" I asked.
"Well, yes," he replied. "Although I feel like he's just going to agree with whatever you come up with."
"True," I admitted.
"Let's get started then, shall we?" he suggested as he finished his meal.
*****
The following days were filled with plans and ample meetings for getting the hospitals to partner. The first day was a meeting with the board of directors. Ben and Ian were both members of the board so that made things a little more comfortable. Ethan didn't say anything at the meeting; before it, he had explained that I would be on my own to convince them to buy into my dream.
"So, why are you trying to get us to partner?" the chairman of the board asked. He was Andrew Wiliam, a man in his early sixties. I recognized him as a successful doctor in Maryland. It was amazing to see the kind of people that influenced Ethan.
This is no time to be impressed so I proceeded…
"I've always had this dream of rebranding my mother's hospital," I started. "And now, I see people in my community going downtown to get access to the medical services that should be readily available in the community. But, unfortunately, I'm unable to provide them with access to proper medical care because I don't have most of the equipment for more serious cases. That's not all; in terms of staff and patient relationships, we're doing pretty well, but I've worked with Ethan's hospital and noticed a very different atmosphere. There is a different way of doing things. I want to be able to provide them with the kind of care they would get downtown."
"So, basically, you just want more customers," he asked.
"I won't deny it and say no. But the primary reason is because I believe that no one should go to another state if what they're looking for can be provided next door," I replied with a smile.
"I'm sold," he said as he leaned back into his chair. "Anyone else?"
Ben, Ian, and Ethan exchanged glances and shrugged. The other two people–I honestly can't remember their names–seemed to have no problem with my proposition.
"Alright, I'll just leave you with a piece of advice," he said. "It's good to see that a young lady like you has grand dreams, but it's very important to take breaks and try your best to ensure you find something else to keep you occupied."
I passed a knowing glance at Ethan, wondering if he had snitched. His face simply said, I told you so.
"I'll do that, sir," I said to Andrew as I sat up and got ready to discuss other things that could crop up.
Ethan had already drawn up a partnership agreement. I was touched by how he was taking everything that concerned me into careful consideration. All I had to do was read through it and send a copy to Dad. The partnership was a bit weird; it felt like it was just going to benefit me alone. For instance, Ethan's hospital was going to donate pieces of equipment to aid our work and send some of their workers to work alongside my staff and teach them what to do.
Ben and Ian were helping out by subsidizing the medical bills, so the patients had to pay less than they usually would. Downtown hospitals were expensive, so this was a way to help them save costs while restoring the way things used to be when Mom was alive.
No….even better than when she was alive. It was a deal too good to be true.
"Ethan, this agreement feels like everything will be totally dependent on you," I said as I reread the document.
We were in his office immediately after the meeting, so we could review what we had discussed.
"You're probably imagining it," he said and shrugged.
