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So what are my options?
I could grin and bear it and learn nothing at all while I was here. I could stalk Drew’s every step to make sure I knew everything I needed to know about every surgery he performed, or I could just do what the hell I wanted to do.
I sat up and smiled. That’s what I would do. My own surgeries and my own research and my own publications and I would do it all without the help or support of Dr. Drew Wright. I was a capable doctor in my own right, and I didn’t doubt Suzie would happily sign off on the idea, as long as I approached it correctly.
After a quick shower and change, I found Suzie in the kitchen warming up whatever deliciousness Granddaddy had left. “Hey. Where are the girls?”
Suzie looked up from one of Granddaddy’s notes with a welcoming grin. “Hey! They’re asleep in the dining room. How’s it going?”
“Good. What’s for dinner?”
“Chicken fried steak and creamy bacon mac & cheese. God bless that man,” she said on a relieved sigh as she inhaled the smells wafting from the oven.
“Enough for two?”
Suzie laughed. “There’s enough for six, so yeah, I think it’ll be enough for the two of us.”
“Perfect.” I went to the fridge to grab the pitcher of tea Granddaddy kept filled to the brim, biding my time with polite family conversation. “How’s Gavin?”
“Good. He’ll be home for a few days in about two weeks. The crazy man wanted to come home today but I remember how excited I was when I managed to snag tickets for one of his shows. I told him to come home when he wouldn’t have to reschedule.”
“Wow. I was sure you were eager to have him home.”
“I am. I miss him like crazy, but me and the twins will be here forever. Those fans will be bummed out, and when the girls are older, we can go with him sometimes.”
I let out a long sigh and smiled at her. “I’m so happy to have another normal person in the family.”
“Granddaddy isn’t normal?”
“Not by a longshot. He’s great and I love him, but he’s as kooky as Gavin and our parents, he just came by it honestly.” We shared a laugh, but as soon as Suzie’s smile faded, I knew the subject of Drew was coming next.
“How are things with you and Drew?”
“Fine.”
“Fine? Just fine?” Suzie let out a huff of laughter and jumped up to stop the oven timer before it woke the twins. She pulled the food from the oven and brought it to the table, family style. “The tension, both sexual and professional, between the two of you is off the charts.”
“No,” I insisted. “It’s just anger, or maybe resentment that you picked me and he had no say.”
“Wrong. He did have a say, but Drew chose to ignore my many reminders to look at the candidates and make a choice, so that’s on him. And it’s not anger, it’s definitely desire. Trust me.”
I couldn’t trust her, not when it came to this. To him. Of course she thought he was great, they were siblings. “Some people just don’t get along, no matter what they do and no matter the circumstances. Now that I know Drew and I are those people, I can adjust accordingly.”
She let out a disappointed sigh and shook her head. “I guess that’s all I can hope for. I hope the next two years give you everything you need to save thousands of kids.”
“That’s the goal,” I told her and raised a hand to show off crossed fingers, but the truth was, I probably wouldn’t make it two years. But Suzie didn’t need to know that, not yet. She had enough on her plate. And I needed time to make a plan. If I couldn’t leave, I needed to be able to work. “What would you say if I asked for full admitting and surgical privileges at JRMC?”
Part one of my plan was now in motion.
Take that, Drew.
Drew
Something strange was going on in my department, and whatever it was, nobody had bothered to tell me about it. For the past two weeks, Zola had been scarce. She was here at the hospital, but instead of dogging my every step like she’d done the first two months of her fellowship, she was now like a ghost. No, not like a ghost, more like an apparition. There was evidence—everywhere—that she was here, but the woman herself rarely made an appearance.
She left charts and recommendations for treatment in the box outside my office door. She took notes and helped out residents if they needed it. She had even consulted on a few pediatric cardiology cases. And she had done it all without me.
I should feel happy, excited even, that she’d finally gotten the hint. Maybe she was getting up her courage to finally throw in the towel and leave JRMC and Jackson’s Ridge altogether. That would certainly make my life a hell of a lot easier. Is that what you really want? I didn’t know, but my conscience wasn’t the one asking the questions, I was.
