Page 50 of A Really Bad Idea

My mom fiddles with the strap of her bag. “Look at her. Her mind is thinking of all the things that could be going wrong,” she says, playing off the visit as if it were nothing more than a checkup.

I take the file from Thomas and scan it. “Your valve is leaking again. Your heart can’t stand to skip beats. It’s working overtime already. Have you two discussed cardioversion?”

Thomas gives a reassuring nod. “We scheduled one for next week to see if we can shock the heart back into rhythm.”

“Great. We can do it at St. Xavier,” I say, hugging the file to my chest.

“What are we doing at St. Xavier?” Christian appears behind me and places a hand on my shoulder as his chest presses up against my back. “Hello, Mrs. Duvane.”

“Hello, honey.” She leans forward to give him a kiss on the cheek. Both cheeks. Sometimes, she takes her French heritage a little too far. She’s only been to Paris once. “How are you?”

“Doing great. Are you here for an appointment?” Christian asks, seeming just as confused to see my mother standing in the hallway as I am.

“Gail is in AFib. We’re doing a cardioversion next week,” Thomas explains to his son.

Christian takes the stethoscope from around his neck and places it on his ears. He raises his brows to ask my mother permission to listen to her heart. Begrudgingly, she unbuttons the top button of her blouse to let Christian have a listen.

“Have you gotten a look at the valve?” he asks his dad as he focuses on the beats coming through the stethoscope.

“I’ll get a better look when we do the procedure,” he replies, raising his white brows at my mom.

Clearly, they ‘re passing judgment between the two of them about their overly concerned children.

“I want the visuals from the procedure.” Christian’s words are determined. He takes the stethoscope off his ears and snakes it back around his neck.

“How lucky am I to have the Gallagher men looking after this old heart of mine?” she says charmingly. “Oh, how I wish you two were attracted to each other. Meadow, why don’t you meet a nice man like Christian to settle down with?” She turns toward Thomas and speaks to him like I’m not even here, “Athletes make terrible husbands.”

That is my cue to leave. “I have patients to see. I love you, and I’ll make sure I’m there for your procedure.”

“Love you, too,” she says as she gives me a kiss good-bye and then lightly slaps Christian’s cheek. “You are so handsome. Will you think about settling down, too? I know for a fact that your mother would like grandchildren.”

Thomas chimes in, “He’s too busy, trying to best his old man around here.”

“Saving lives one day at a time.” Christian smirks at his old man.

“A God complex.” Thomas nudges my mother in the arm. “Sometimes, I have to pull him down from the pedestal he climbed up on.”

Christian digs in with the challenge. “You sure you can reach that high, old man?”

My mother thinks this is all hysterical. She leans forward with a laugh and claps her hands. “You two are too much.”

I laugh. “Enjoy them. I have to get to work.” I turn the corner and stand outside exam room nine, taking a peek at the patient’s chart before I go in.

“Meadow,” Christian calls just as I’m about to step inside.

I back up and lean against the wall. I haven’t seen him in days, and I’d be lying to say I kind of missed him.

“Hi,” he says.

“Hi,” I say back. “I had a nice time the other night.”

“Me, too.” He rubs his lips together and lets those dimples escape. “Date two.”

“Two.” I nod. I was wondering when he would ask me on date two. “What shall we do?”

He sways his head to the side with a matching grin. “I thought I would show you how I woo on date two.”

I repeat his sentence in my head and then ask, “Is the rhyming part of the woo for date two?”