AllFreeNovel
Share Us
11
Pressing together the Velcro seams of the new SpongeBob stethoscope sleeve she’d just received from her favorite Etsy shop, London made her way to the Under the Sea room. Jason Milner wasn’t on her patient list today, but the ten-year-old was being discharged, and London couldn’t let him leave without saying goodbye.
The gut-wrenching thing was that she would probably see him again in a few months. He had been born with a congenital heart defect that required multiple surgeries.
She tapped her knuckles on the door twice before entering.
“Hello there,” London greeted Jason and his parents. “I heard someone is going home today.”
When he saw her, Jason’s smile grew as bright as the Austin skyline. London was continually amazed by his ability to maintain such a positive outlook after everything he’d been through in his short life.
Just as she made it to the ten-year-old’s bedside, there was another knock on the door and Kia Jackson walked in.
“Dr. Kelley? Can I see you outside?”
“Sure, one minute,” London said. She turned to Jason and gave him a hug. “Sorry I can’t stay longer, buddy. Now, I don’t want to see you here for a while, you hear me?”
He nodded.
“Dr. Kelley.” The underlying hint of distress in Kia’s voice immediately set London on edge.
She gave Jason’s shoulder a squeeze before leaving the room. “What’s going on?” she asked the minute she and the nurse were in the hallway.
“You’re needed in the ER.”
“I’m not on call.”
“It’s your father,” Kia said. “He was brought in an hour ago.”
“Shit.” London took off down the corridor. She bypassed the elevators, opting instead for the stairs. She released a string of curse words as she made her way down the two flights, the fear in her stomach knotting tighter with each step she took.
Her father had been in her hospital for an hour already, and she was just finding out?
She spotted Xander Caldwell the moment she exited the stairwell. Doug Renault had recruited the senior resident the same year he’d brought London to County.
“Xander.” London caught him on the arm. “You have a patient that was brought in an hour ago. Black male. Late fifties. Bald with a goatee. Very fit.”
“Yes. Mr. Kelley.” His eyes widened. “Is he—”
She nodded. “My dad.”
“Wow. I didn’t put two and two together.” He pointed to his face. “You have his eyes.”
“I know,” London said. “How is he? Where is he?”
“First, don’t get too alarmed,” he said. “It was just a TIA.”
“Thank goodness,” London said, her shoulders wilting in relief. No one campaigned for a transient ischemic attack, but if you were going to have a stroke, that’s the kind you wanted.
“He’s in Exam 3,” Xander said.
London thanked him before crossing over to the exam room. She found Kenneth Kelley sitting upright on the exam table, dressed in khakis and a polo shirt. He held his phone out about eight inches from his face and was laughing at whoever was on the other end of the video call.
“I had a stroke and two bogeys, and still whipped your tail today,” he said.
Golf? The man was talking about fucking golf?
Why was she surprised?
