She turned to him. “Emotions are running high. To answer your question, I’ll do it tonight. It’s best to take care of it right away. And I’m already here.”
“That sounds like a good plan.”
She scanned them. “I’m assuming you’ll wait until I’m finished and you have a lot to discuss. As I already told Oliver, your mother can’t recuperate alone. She has to have someone stay with her.”
“Can we get an aide?” Adam asked.
Damn him. Adam was always looking for an easy way out.
“Like hell.” This from Matt. “She’ll never accept one and she’s got five boys who she took care for years. It won’t kill us to help her out now.”
“When I’m finished,” Annable said backing away a bit. “I’ll come out to tell you how the surgery went.” She moved a couple of feet away but Oliver followed her and grasped her arm. A shock raced through both of them. “I-I I hope you know I have complete faith in you.”
She touched his hand. More shockwaves. “I do, Mr. Ricardi. And thanks.”
Oliver went back to the table.
“Everybody sit.” Matt again. “I’ll take notes on my phone. “Oliver, what do think? How many days should we plan for?”
“I’d give it two weeks.”
“Shit.” This from Adam. “I can’t give up that much time. My kids got activities and I’ve got jobs going.” Adam was an architect.
That pissed Oliver off again. “We all have commitments. Suck it up.”
“So, there’s five of us,” Matt continued. “We should each take two days and then reevaluate.”
“Wait a sec,” Adam interrupted. “Why don’t you take a week off, Oliver? You can reschedule your sessions. Massage therapy isn’t exactly necessary and certainly not immediate.”
Oliver glared at him. “Thanks, a lot, Adam. I appreciate you supporting my choice of a career.” His tone was killer cold.
“I’m just sayin’.”
“The answer’s no. Not this time. I’ve taken care of Mama a lot more than you guys have and I’ve done it without complaint. But I’m not accepting full responsibility for this. We’ll all do our part.”
Tommy put in, “I agree with Oliver.”
“So do I.” This from Petey.
Matt stood, pulled Adam from the chair and grabbed him by the collar. “And you’ll do yours or you’ll contend with the wrath of your four brothers. Don’t you remember what that was like as a kid?”
* * *
Oliver blanked his mind of all the reasons he shouldn’t be doing this and walked into the office of Dr. Anabelle Baxter. He’d been unable to get her out of his mind, even after she’d done the surgery and his mother was released from the hospital.
“How can I help you?” the receptionist asked in a friendly tone.
“I’d like to see Dr. Baxter. My mother is a patient of hers.”
“Do you have a consultation with her?”
“Not exactly.”
“She’s busy, I’m afraid.”
“I’ll wait.”
“I wouldn’t do that. She’s at lunch now and then has a surgery scheduled.”
