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Normally she would have done this kind of thing by recommendation. Taking the word of a few reliable colleagues and friends. This time she’d made an appointment with the first counsellor she’d found in the Yellow Pages who would see her with a baby. She only hoped the warm friendly voice on the phone lived up to reputation she’d built in her head.
The door swung open. A small round woman with grey hair lifted Zachary straight out of her arms. ‘Come in, come in.’ She bustled Amy into a wooden-floored room that looked out over a wide garden filled with colourful flowers, pointing her in the direction of a comfortable leather armchair.
Everything about the place was friendly and inviting. The sunlit room was spacious enough to be comfortable but not sparse and clinical and looking like so many other office spaces. Amy could hear someone clattering around in the kitchen behind her, the smell of baking inviting her stomach to rumble. This was a home.
The woman settled herself in another chair, adjusting Zach in her arms as she chattered non-stop to him. Her smile lit up her face. ‘It’s been a long time since I got my hands on a baby.’ She stuck her pudgy finger into Zach’s little fist, waiting until his tiny fingers clenched hers.
Amy sank back into the chair. A pitcher of iced water and a couple of glasses sat on the small wooden table next to the chair. The windows to the back garden were open, letting the smell of cut grass and open blooms seep in through the air. She shifted in the chair. It was a little worn in patches, the leather thinning on the arms, but was obviously well used. Always a good sign.
She caught Donna’s eyes on hers and instantly understood. This was a well-rehearsed routine. The easy, welcoming atmosphere. Taking the baby to allow her to relax, to focus on the reason she was here. She might look like a bustling grandmother, but this woman was wise.
A warm feeling swept over her. She’d come to the right place.
Donna gave Zach’s head a little rub with her fingers, tracing them down his heavy eyelids—almost hypnotising him to sleep. Then, once she was satisfied with the outcome, she looked Amy straight in the eye. This woman was a professional through and through. ‘So, Amy, tell me, how do you feel?’
No preamble. No ‘explain why you are here’. Just straight to the point, ‘how do you feel?’
Amy pressed her shoulders back into the armchair. Zach was quiet; he was sleeping. The sun was beating down on the grass outside and she could see birds pecking at the berries on the bushes next to the window. She took a deep breath. She could do this. This was easy. Everything about this felt right. But more importantly, for her, the time was right.
She looked Donna straight in the eye. ‘I feel angry,’ she said.
* * *
The plane circled a few times. The rain was torrential and was obviously affecting their ability to land. Time after time they swept over the darkening green rainforest as they waited for a suitable landing spot. From here, if Lincoln strained his eyes in the distance he could see the snaking Amazon, winding its way through the forest.
Home to hundreds of potential patients.
He’d successfully negotiated a variation in his contract, allowing him some extra unpaid leave from San Francisco to serve with the Amazon aid boat.
It hadn’t been difficult. The hospital needed some good publicity right now, so supporting one of their best doctors on some aid missions had been an easy move for them. It helped that as the President’s doctor he was still the darling of the media and could whip up some support for the people out here.
He’d managed to persuade a few colleagues at other hospitals to help out, assembling a team with a wide range of skills. Some of the best surgeons in the country were taking a few weeks out of their vacation time to come and do a series of operations on some seriously ill children. The planning had been a logistical nightmare, but at the end of the day these children would get what they needed. And the people of the world would get to see their plight as a film crew had decided to tag along for the ride.
Normally Lincoln would have avoided filming at all costs but he knew that interest in him would soon wane so he wanted to make the most of the opportunity to show the world the healthcare needs in the Amazon. It might even attract a few more willing docs to join the service on a regular basis.
The staff at San Francisco had been great, helping him with fundraising activities and praising his humanitarian efforts.
But Lincoln wasn’t really going to help the people of the Amazon. That had always been at the heart of his work, and had been the only reason he’d volunteered in the first place.
But this time was different. This time he was doing it for himself.
* * *
‘Linc, it’s your weekly call!’
Linc looked up from where he was finishing with the latest addition to their baby clinic. Alice, one of Linc and Amy’s old colleagues on the boat, was brandishing the satellite phone and waving it at him furiously. He placed the newborn back in the cot and moved towards their communication room—probably the hottest room on the boat.
As usual the line was crackly. ‘Hey, it’s Linc,’ he said as he flopped down into the nearest seat.
‘Hi, Linc, how are you doing?’ He leaned backwards in his chair. The weekly telephone calls from Amy had started a month after he’d started back on the boat, a few days after he’d received her letter telling him she was doing well.
‘How’s Zach?’ He always asked about Zach first. He couldn’t believe how much he missed the little guy.
‘Zach’s good. He was at the clinic last week. They thought he might be developing a bit of a squint, so they’ve referred him to an ophthalmologist.’
‘Who?’ The words caught his attention instantly and he leaned forward in the chair. It didn’t matter that he was on the other side of the w
orld. He wanted to know what was happening to Zach.
‘Some woman called Fern Price. She specialises in kids and is supposed to be very good.’
He scribbled her name on a bit of loose paper he had in his pocket—he’d check up on her later.
‘How’s Alice’s hair holding up?’
Lincoln laughed. Alice moaned about the state of her hair from the moment she got up until the moment she went back to bed. Lincoln leaned back in his chair and raised his voice. ‘Be thankful you’re on the other side of the planet, Amy.’ He wrinkled his nose. ‘Though looking at how frizzy Alice’s hair is, I’m surprised you can’t see it from there.’
‘What?’ The shriek came from the other room. ‘I’ll get you for that, Lincoln Adams.’
Lincoln smiled. That’s why he was here. This was what he needed. Friendship. Companionship and a lot of distractions.
‘I saw you on TV again last night.’
‘What?’
‘On TV. The reporters love you.’
‘As long as they bring more funding I don’t care. A few more recruits would be nice too.’
‘I wish I was there.’ Her voice sounded wistful.
He felt a tingle run down his spine. ‘I wish you were here too. but we both know an Amazon aid boat isn’t the right place for Zach.’
He heard her take a deep breath. ‘Are you coming back soon?’
He looked around at the battered boat, with its depleted medical supplies and too few staff.
‘No,’ he said firmly. ‘I’ve still got work to do here.’
‘I miss you, Linc. We miss you.’ She hesitated a little. ‘And I’ve got a surprise for you when you come back.’
‘Really? What is it?’
‘I’ve applied for a new job.’
‘Really? Where?’
‘In San Francisco.’
His heart stopped. She hadn’t wanted to stay in San Francisco. She’d wanted to stay in Santa Maria and bring her child up in a community rather than a city. The hugeness of the step wasn’t lost on him. The line crackled, a sure sign it was about to disconnect.
