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“Hello, Dad,” London said as she walked to his bedside.
He looked past the phone, his brow wrinkling with subtle irritation. “I’ll catch up with you later, Percy,” he said before disconnecting the call and setting the phone in his lap.
“Hello, London,” he said.
She motioned to the phone. “You had time to call your golf buddies, but didn’t have time to call your own daughter to let her know you were in the ER of the hospital where she works?”
“You’re a pediatrician. What could you have done for me?”
The strained tension that consistently hovered between her and her dad surged. London fought against it, biting down on her lower lip to stop herself from lashing out. Instead, she peered at the patient monitor, reading his vitals.
Once she was certain she could speak without initiating World War III, she asked, “How are you feeling?”
“Like someone who could have finished his round of golf,” Kenneth answered.
“You had a stroke.”
“The other doctor said it was just a ministroke. I’m fine.” He grunted. “Percy only called the ambulance because I was three shots ahead of him, and he knows I play the back nine at the club better than he does.”
London rolled her eyes. “A ministroke is still a stroke. TIAs are a warning sign that something more catastrophic may happen if you don’t take your doctor’s orders seriously.”
Thoughts of the pancakes and bacon she’d had at Kerbey Lane the other day immediately popped into her head, but London mentally batted them away. This was about her dad’s health scare, not her own.
“April said that you were placed on a new statin,” London continued. “Have you been taking it?”
“It appears I need to have a talk with my wife. I know you’re a doctor and all, but that doesn’t mean she has to share information about my health with you.”
“She didn’t share it with me, she shared it with my mom. So maybe tell your current wife not to share your health information with your ex-wife.”
The unconventional friendship between her mother and stepmother was baffling, but London had stopped trying to understand it years ago.
“And even though I am nothing more than a lowly pediatric surgeon, I know what happens to adults when they don’t take the medications they’ve been prescribed. High cholesterol and high blood pressure can lead to serious issues.”
Shit. Was she talking to her dad or herself here?
Just then, the door opened and Xander Caldwell walked in.
“Ah, you found him,” he said to London. To her dad he said, “You should have mentioned you were Dr. Kelley’s father. Not that the family of hospital royalty gets preferential treatment or anything, but it would have been good to know,” he said with a wink. He held up his tablet. “I assume it’s okay if Dr. Kelley remains in the room as we go over your CT scan?”
London thought for a moment that Kenneth would answer no, but he nodded.
The CT scan confirmed a transient ischemic attack. She listened as Xander listed the litany of things her father should do to prevent further TIAs, and realized how many of them she wasn’t practicing herself. Limit sodium and alcohol intake. Reduce stress. Exercise regularly.
Could she count what she and Drew had spent the week doing in bed as exercise? The sex was vigorous, but probably not physically exerting enough to prevent a stroke.
“It’s still your call, but I don’t think it’s necessary to go through with the transfer to St. David’s,” Xander was saying.
“Transfer?” London whipped her head around. “Why was that even discussed for a TIA? He’s not being admitted, is he?”
The doctor shook his head. “No, but he requested it.”
She looked to her dad. “Why?”
But she didn’t need an answer. She already knew. His bougie ass thought he was too good for a state-run hospital.
“Let me guess, you tried to pay the EMTs to bring you to another hospital, but County was closer.” London released a derisive snort before she could stop herself. “Don’t worry, both Xander and I went to school with some of the doctors at St. David’s. The only difference between us is that their scrubs aren’t as threadbare.”
“I’m more familiar with the care at St. David’s,” her dad stated.
