Page 82 of The Doctor

I pinned my arms against my stomach. “I’m sorry we didn’t get here sooner.”

Sarah sighed again. “It’s not your fault. Arik and I have been arguing over what to do for days. He had a meeting, and I was here on my own, and just when I decided I couldn’t take another minute of her crying, Giada Provenza showed up.”

Another Provenza?

My belly tightened in a knot. “What did she want?”

She placed her palms on the table, then reached for the empty glass in the middle. I rushed forward.

“Let me get that for you.”

“Just water, please.”

The woman was so exhausted, I felt myself slowing down too. I refilled her glass, then took a seat at her side.

“What did Giada want?”

Sarah shrugged. “She said she wanted to make sure we were comfortable, that we had everything we needed.”

“Really?”

“I know! As if my husband isn’t perfectly capable of ensuring his family is taken care of. And even if Arik couldn’t, it’s not like I don’t have his four brothers and his sister. Or Paulo or Zee or any of the lieutenants. I mean, I’d turn to your parents before I went to Giada Provenza for help.”

I coughed out a laugh, reaching out to squeeze Sarah’s shoulder. She was a true friend; someone I’d entrusted once or twice with my complaints about my family. She’d taken my side without question, and years later, still remembered how I felt.

“The worst thing was, she wouldn’t leave.” Sarah covered my hand on her shoulder. “I was near tears, wanting nothing more than for her to go, and when I told her I just wanted to call our doctor, she made herself comfortable and went on and on about how that was”—she lifted her hands, making air quotes as she said—“in the works.”

“What does that mean?”

“That’s exactly what I asked, even though I would have rather kicked her out so I could call Zee.”

“But you’re too nice for that.”

Sarah sighed. “I love my life, I really do. But I hate the politics. Can you imagine your mother kicking someone out of her house?”

“Never.”

Once again, she buried her face in her hands. She let out a sigh, then dropped her hands to her lap. “Giada kept going on about how Cosimo and Raoul were securing a new doctor for the families to use. Never mind Zee, or the training you’re doing. This one would be loyal to the family and able to help at a moment’s notice.”

That knot in my belly swirled like a pile of snakes fighting over a meal. “Did she say who—” My throat closed up, keeping me from asking more. But Sarah waved her hand, as if whatever Giada said was utter nonsense.

“Some long-lost Provenza family member from Italy. She waved the idea around like that should mean something to me. Like my Jewish heritage was less-than, and we should all bow down to the great Italian Provenzas.”

Sarah lifted her finger to her lips, gnawing on the edge of her fingernail. After a quiet moment, she turned her gaze to me.

“I’m not your mother, Clara.”

“What?” Hurt pierced my chest before dissipating the second she continued in a whisper.

“I kicked her out.” She shook her head, reaching for my hand. “Maybe I’m not cut out to be a lieutenant’s wife. I couldn’t hold my tongue any longer, and I told her she needed to leave.”

“Sarah—”

“I’m a horrible person!”

“You’re not.” I squeezed her hand. “You’re the sleep-deprived mother of a sick child, and she’s the horrible person who’s too selfish and blind to the real needs of the family. You did nothing wrong.”

“I’m not sure the Provenzas will agree—”