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Chapter Six
In the morning, Brenda found a text on her phone.
I miss you, too. I subbed for a colleague yesterday. Was in surgery all night.
Reassured, she heaved a sigh of relief. He wasn’t upset. She would give him time to rest and call him later.
According to Mia’s new schedule, her daughter would need a ride to U.C. every day after school and need to be picked up each evening at seven. Any personal activities for Brenda would be squashed between four and six, assuming she didn’t have to return to the office for more appointments. Getting together with Matt was becoming problematic, considering his own long hours.
Stifling her bad mood, Brenda rubbed herself with her aromatic after-bath lotion and got ready for work, donning a pair of black pants and a white silk shirt, pulling her hair back with a barrette, and adding a touch of makeup.
By the time she ran downstairs with her oversized bag strapped to her shoulder and her black blazer on her arm, Mia had already left for school on the early bus. Her short drive to work allowed Brenda a quick stop at the drive-through to grab coffee and a bagel, or anything else she might like to eat between patients.
At the medical building where she worked, the receptionist greeted her with a smile. Maggie, one of the administrative assistants, handed her a day schedule. “I gave you free time between two-thirty and three-thirty as you requested, and then you have a patient at four, but we can accept patients until six, right?”
“Right. I don’t have to leave until six. Thank you.”
Sure enough, she saw two patients when she returned to her office after dropping Mia at U.C.
By seven, Brenda was exhausted. Sitting next to her, Mia couldn’t stop babbling about her meeting. She’d cooked with her new friends, run along the track, and received a massage from a member practicing the Tai technique.
“Mom, it’s not soft stroke. She dug into my muscles to unknot them, and she was explaining how she relaxed each muscle. I’m very interested in learning more about this technique.”
It seemed as if Brenda’s efforts were worthwhile, and Mia was happy. They followed the same schedule for the whole week. On Saturday, Mia was invited to attend the Youth Club’s party. Brenda drove her there at five pm and picked her up at ten. She returned delighted with her evening.
“We’ll be having this party every Saturday. Our Health group cooked the dinner—the appetizer and the entrée, and we made the dessert. There were about eighty kids there. We started with a report presented by the Debate group about the main issues and how they’ve solved them. They inducted me officially into the Health group. Then we had dinner. A group of ten people cleaned the place afterwards. The Theater group presented a hilarious sketch. Oh Mom, it was so funny. It was almost eight when the band started playing. We danced until ten. It was an amazing evening.”
Joy sparkled in her eyes and reassured Brenda that her daughter had finally found a place where she could unwind and grow.
On Sunday, Brenda texted Matt and received an auto-response, saying he was in surgery. If he worked every weekend, when would she be able to see him?
He texted back on Monday and told her he couldn’t wait to sleep. She sighed. This week proceeded at the same pace as the last one with Matt calling her on Tuesday night and Friday night, and their chatting focusing on Mia’s activities with her Youth Club.
Twice she invited him for a quick lunch and had to cancel due to unexpected consultations.
“Brenda, I haven’t seen you for three weeks,” Matt complained on his last phone call.
At this rate, he might soon forget her. Their relationship was practically non-existent, reduced to a few texts and phone calls, and as her mood darkened, her daughter’s brightened.
“You know, Mom, I don’t care anymore about Alex and Ben, those two boys from school who never invited me to their parties.”
“Ignore them and don’t tell them about your Youth Club.”
Nothing could benefit Mia more than staying away from those boys. Brenda had heard from another mom that they dealt drugs.
Almost four weeks after the pool dinner, Brenda returned from her drive to U.C. a few minutes before four o’clock, and was hiding in her office with a mug of coffee.
Maggie knocked on her door and entered. “Your five o’clock canceled. But you have a new patient at four. He’s in Room 1. I set his profile on your site, and here’s his folder.”
“Thank you, Maggie. I’ll be there.”
Damn it! A new patient meant a long first session.
Brenda swallowed the rest of her coffee, grabbed the file and her tablet, and headed into the consultation room. She knocked on the door and opened it.
Where was the patient? She scanned the room from the doorway and didn’t see him. She walked in, wondering if he’d changed his mind and left.
“Hi, Dr Hammer.”
