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On a sudden impulse, he straightened in his chair and reached for his computer. One thing he had learned during those too-few days with Madison was that it sometimes paid off to take risks.
Madison was taking a short caffeine break in a hospital coffee shop late Wednesday morning while she skimmed through her email on her phone. She took a too-hasty swallow of her coffee, almost burning her mouth when she saw Jason’s email address on one of the unread messages. The subject heading read, Forget something?
Was he just getting around to chiding her for leaving without saying goodbye? She’d figured he wouldn’t like that, but she’d hoped he would understand that she hadn’t wanted their weekend to end with an awkward, public handshake. She opened the email.
Hi, sweet Esmeralda. You forgot your lip gloss. Since it’s not my color, I’d be happy to send it to you if you like. I hope all is well with you.
It was signed simply, Jones.
Her throat suddenly tight, she set her coffee cup on the table and read the message again. She’d forgotten all about the gloss. She hadn’t forgotten about Jason, not for one moment since she’d walked away from him.
His use of their silly nicknames told her he wasn’t angry with her for the hasty departure. She was glad. She wanted him to remember her with a smile, not a frown. She certainly smiled whenever she thought of him, though she was all too aware that many of the smiles were a little misty.
No need to go to that trouble, Dr. Jones, she typed back quickly, but thanks for offering. Busy here, but I’m well. You?
She studied the breezy note for a moment before hitting Send. Did it strike the right tone? Friendly, not expecting a reply, but still open to one?
Her pager beeped and she sent the note before she could change her mind. It was only polite to reply, she reminded herself.
She found another message from him when she checked the next night before going to bed. Just as casually as before, he shared with her a humorous anecdote about his day that made her laugh. She was still smiling when she closed her eyes, deciding to wait until the next day to respond to give herself time to think of something equally amusing to say.
She sent him a funny story about her interview experience in Oregon. He responded with a laugh-out-loud recounting of something his young nephews had done. Within a few days, the daily emails had evolved from short and breezy to longer and chattier. They shared more tidbits from their days—some funny, some rather naughty, others more serious.
Madison told him about the fellowship programs she had visited and which ones appealed to her most and why. She mentioned casually that the program in Dallas still impressed her, and he responded with a light jest about how he couldn’t imagine why she’d be interested in anywhere else. He said nothing more to influence her decision, and she had no idea how he really felt about her possibly moving closer to him.
Those daily messages were becoming a bit too addictive. While she still expected them to taper off, perhaps when they ran out of things to write, they showed no signs of slowing down a full month after she’d left Dallas. Several times each day she thought of things she wanted to share with Jason, and judging by the increasingly long notes from him, he was having no trouble thinking of things to say, either.
“Are you expecting a call, Madison?” her mother, LaDonna Baker, asked after a Sunday lunch with the family.
Somewhat guiltily returning her phone to her pocket, Madison shook her head apologetically. “Sorry, Mom. Just doing a quick email check. Let me help you clear the table.”
There was no lack of help with that task. Though Thanksgiving was less than two weeks away, the whole family had gathered for this lunch, as they did whenever they had an opportunity to all be together. She knew her siblings were both wearing their pagers, just as hers was in her purse, but none of them expected to be called to the hospital that day, to their mother’s delight.
Fifteen-year-old Alice Llewellyn, Meagan’s stepdaughter, chattered nonstop, as always, while the table was emptied and the dishes stowed away. There was always a lot of energy in the room when Alice was around. They all adored the teen and accepted her as a true member of the family, just as they did her attorney father, Seth. They were equally happy with Mitch’s choice of bride, Jacqui, whom they had met when she accepted a position as Seth’s housekeeper and nanny, back when he was still a single father and Meagan’s neighbor. Someone else helped out in that household now that Jacqui was married to Mitch and had a house of her own to manage, but Jacqui still remained very close to Alice.
Each new member had integrated seamlessly into the family. Despite her occasional exasperation with her bossy older siblings, and her vague longings to spread her wings and try something new in her own life, Madison loved everyone here dearly.
She had noticed that Alice seemed a bit more hyper than usual that evening, and that Meagan and Seth kept giving each other smiles and meaningful looks. So it was no surprise when Alice finally burst out, “Can’t we tell them yet? I can’t wait!”
They had all just resettled at the table to linger over coffee or soda and a plate of homemade cookies. Jacqui, Mitch, Madison and her mom all looked from Alice’s excitement-flushed face to Meagan and Seth, who were smiling ruefully. Somehow Madison knew what she was about to hear even before Meagan spoke.
“We’re going to have a baby.”
General pandemonium erupted around the table. Their mom, of course, was tearfully thrilled that she would soon have a grandbaby to spoil in addition to Alice. Everyone, including Madison, had to leap up and round the table for hugs and kisses and happy congratulations.
“I’m so happy for you both,” Madison said to them.
Meagan looked a bit dazed, and Madison understood why. Her older sister had lost an ovary in an emergency operation three years earlier at the age of thirty-two. She met Seth while she was still recuperating from that surgery, and her life had changed so drastically since. Before, her career had consumed her, to the point that she had ignored her own health. Now there was balance. She was still a dedicated, hardworking surgeon, but she took time now for her husband and cherished stepdaughter and their goofy dog, for outings and vacations and the other things that added a little spice to life.
And now there would be a baby. Her sister’s life would definitely get crazier and more demanding, but with the support of her husband, his daughter and her extended family, Madison had no doubt that Meagan could handle it all.
She saw a look pass between Jacqui and Mitch and she wondered how long it would be before they, too, made a similar announcement. She knew they wanted kids and planned to start their family soon. The family was changing, growing. Baby sister wouldn’t be the center of everyone’s concern anymore, not that she had been really for the past couple of years. Which was as it should be—even if she had been a bit spoiled by the attention, she thought with a self-mocking smile.
“So, have you made any further progress on deciding where to do your fellowship?” Mitch asked her a short while later, while everyone else was still talking babies.
“Still thinking about it,” she admitted. “Every program I visited had pros and cons, of course, but they were all excellent in their own ways. I think I did well enough in my interviews and with my CV that I’ll get my first-choice match—if I could decide which one that should be.”
“Are you being drawn toward one in particular?”
