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“You’re not listening,” she accused. “Fine, tell me what you have planned for your anniversary.”
I nearly stumbled over my feet at her words. Megan had mentioned something about our anniversary the other morning, but I was dead on my feet and hadn’t really paid attention.
“I’m still working on it. Any ideas?”
Persy gasped and leaned in close. “You forgot?”
“I didn’t forget,” I growled at her. “It just snuck up on me before I was ready.”
She laughed. “You and Megs are so adorable together, it doesn’t really matter what you do. Maybe a throwback prom or something cheesy like that?”
I stopped and stared at her. “Who are you and what have you done with Persephone?”
She shrugged. “I just watched Sixteen Candles for, like, the thousandth time. One more and I get a free toaster, or something.”
I let out a loud bark of laughter and started moving again. “I’ll keep that idea in mind.”
I wanted to do something special because Megan and I had been working too long and too hard to have any time for each other lately.
“You can even take the credit for it,” she offered with a laugh and stopped outside an exam room, gesturing for me to enter first.
Thankfully, Bethany was as tough as Persy proclaimed, and she endured more prodding and X-rays in the hopes that she wouldn’t have a serious injury. She didn’t. Other than twenty-four hours of being checked and questioned, the little girl would take to the rugby field again, if her mother allowed it.
“Thanks, Casey.”
“No problem,” I told her and left the exam room just as my name was being paged to get to the ER over the intercom.
“Good luck with the anniversary thing,” she called out with a laugh.
I tossed a wave over my shoulder and made my way to the emergency department to handle another consult. And that was exactly how the shift went, from one exam room to the next, checking on post-op patients, looking at scans to schedule future surgeries, and consulting on incoming head injuries.
And paperwork. Mounds and mounds of paperwork, so much of it that my eyes started to swim and I needed another cup of coffee just to get through it all. Too much caffeine—that was the real danger for doctors and surgeons, especially since hospital coffee was little more than high-octane fuel.
Eventually, the paperwork was complete, and I smiled with the knowledge that the next time I set foot inside JRMC would be my last night shift for a good long while. I couldn’t wait to tell Megan the good news, but when I pulled into the driveway of the colonial style home Megan had agreed to even though she’d wanted the red Victorian a few blocks over, her car wasn’t there.
She had already left.
I glanced at the clock and shook my head. “Of course.” It was well after five because of all the office work, which meant another twenty-four hours would go by before I could see my wife again. Hold her in my arms.
Unless I do something about it.
As I trudged into the house and up to our bedroom, I put a quick reminder in my phone to plan something great for our anniversary. After a quick shower, I did a half-assed job of drying off before I fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.
Later. I would get to everything else later.
Megan
“Thanks for dropping in at Sweet Treats. Come back soon for your next sugar fix!” I flashed a wide smile at a group of tourists who’d just finished up a hiking tour and stopped at the bakery for carbs. I kept a friendly smile fixed on my face and waved them off.
Rinse and repeat for a group of tourists who were in town to shoot the cliffs and the birds.
And another group who’d spent the past week pretending to be cowboys at a dude ranch on the edge of Jackson’s Ridge.
The influx of tourists was good for business, but it meant the bakery was always busy. Always.
These days I appreciated being so busy because it gave me less time to think about things. Not that things were bad, they weren’t. Things with me and Casey were never bad; right now, they were just a little awkward. A tad distant. Goodness, but I miss him.
A lot.
The tourists were gone, and the line filled up with the people of Jackson’s Ridge eager to get a late afternoon sugar craving satisfied, or just to catch up on any new gossip over the past twenty-four hours. I smiled and chatted with everyone, exchanging small talk and answering questions about the day’s specials.
“Rhubarb and lemon?” Oliver Thompson shook his head, a wide, disbelieving smile on his face. “I never heard of such a thing but I’m willing to try anything twice. I’ll take two squares and one of them chocolate croissants to wash it down with, if you don’t mind.” He winked and leaned forward. “Let’s just keep this between me and you, yeah?”
