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“I’ve given you my professional diagnosis. My personal opinion is that Cybil was an idiot. I won’t make the same mistake.” She smiled.
“I hope not.”
Relaxed, he returned her smile. His visit had served two purposes, helping him discover his hidden feelings and letting Brenda discover them, too. “Thank you.”
She stood. “See you on Saturday,” she whispered.
“I can’t wait.”
A knock on the door announced the end of his visit. Maggie opened the door. “Your next patient is in the consultation room.”
“I’m on my way. You don’t need any more visits, Dr. Winston. Feel free to call and make an appointment if you have problems.”
“Thank you, Dr. Hammer.”
Too bad he’d had to leave so soon. Brenda had a busy schedule today. While driving home, he reviewed her conclusion and advice.Take time to relax and enjoy life. That was exactly what he planned to do.
The next two Saturday evenings, he shared idyllic time with Brenda. He picked her up at U.C. to spare her the long drive, shared dinner with her ontheirbalcony, explored each other’s body at length, and snuggled in his bed for a nap.
“We can’t meet for the next two Saturdays,” she told him on the phone after she returned home.
“What? Why not?” He set his glass on the counter way too strongly, some of the scotch in it sloshing out.
“These are the last two weeks of the school year. Exam weeks. Susan Chen is closing the Youth Club to allow the kids to prepare for their finals. She’ll reopen in September.”
“Damn it, when will I see you again?”
“In two weeks. Three days after school ends, Mia is going on vacation with her father for a week. He’s flying in from Chicago and will meet her at the airport. They’ll continue together on to Colorado and then to Las Vegas.”
“Two long weeks. I’ll miss you like hell.”
“Me, too.”
There was a moment of silence. “Brenda, will you stay with me while Mia’s away? I mean stay overnight, when I’m not on duty at the clinic?”
“Yes, I will. I love you, Matt. Goodnight.”
Exam weeks dragged on forever, not only for Mia and her classmates, but for Matt, too. Except for brief texts, he barely heard from Brenda. Mia was home every afternoon and evening, studying hard, and Brenda left her office at two to be with her, supporting her and encouraging her efforts.
Substituting for other surgeons at the clinic, Matt worked several long shifts to free himself during their week of freedom.
To lighten the students’ mood and reward their hard work, Matt suggested a pool party in his building. When Susan agreed to issue the invitations to her Youth Club, he reserved the pool and terrace for the evening.
“Matt, you do realize you’ll have some fifty youngsters here,” Royce complained when he heard about another pool party, this one on a big scale.
“Don’t worry, I’ll cater the whole affair, and we’ll order plenty of food.”
Royce huffed. “I’m not talking about food or drinks. Who’s going to supervise these monsters? Especially after two weeks of them sticking their butts in their chairs? They’ll have an incredible amount of energy to expend.”
“We’ll have four adults to supervise.”
Royce arched his eyebrows and snickered. “You won’t have time to even glance at Brenda if all this is for her.”
The party was to gain Mia’s filial affection, but Royce had a point. “Okay, I’ll hire security guards to keep the kids within the terrace limits. Is that better?”
“Much better. You’ll need a minimum of five guards. I’ll tell Susan to invite a few parents to help us keep an eye on the kids.”
“I don’t know where you got your teenagers’ experience, but I appreciate it.”
