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Murphy waited by the door for me. She never said a word, just shoved me with her shoulder.
“I hope you have that good coffee you promised.” I threw my arm across her shoulders. “Tell me what’s got you so upset that you would come all the way to the hospital.”
“Three, I don’t know what I’m doing with my life. Sure, I have plenty of money, but I can’t seem to find a guy that’s not after my money or that isn’t intimidated by it.” Murphy stopped walking and stepped in front of me. “It happens every time. Tell me, is it me or them?”
“Brat, I have no idea who is at fault, maybe it’s both.” I held my hand up to stop her from arguing. “You don’t do a good job picking the men you are dating. I think that’s part of the problem.”
“Then you tell me where to find a man.” Murphy crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. “I’m fed up.”
“Oh Brat, you’re young still. Why don’t you just have fun and focus on what you want out of life instead of dating.” I pointed down the hall to the empty room. “Let’s go sit in there.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true, but I don’t really want to do what I have a degree in.” Murphy plopped down in the big recliner. “I need to find something that I love doing, like you and Parker.”
“What do you like?” I stretched out on the bed. “There must be something you really enjoy. What if you make a list of things you like?”
No response came from the area of the recliner. I leaned up on my elbow to see a sound asleep Murphy, then laid back and closed my eyes.
“Dr. Hawthorne,” the nurse tapped me on the shoulder, “Dr. Hawthorne, we need you in the nursery.”
I sat up, checked my cell, and headed to the nursery. The Collins boy, Michael, was struggling to breathe and his vitals were dropping.
“Please get Dr. Hadden in pulmonology on the phone,” I ordered, and went to work on the baby.
Two hours later baby Michael was breathing steady and on his own. It was two in the morning now and Mrs. Collins was thankfully asleep blissfully, unaware of the baby’s struggles. I went back to the empty room. I placed a blanket on Murphy and laid back down. I couldn’t fall asleep, so I called to the children’s wing to check in with Betty and my patients. I’d been thinking about Sophie and Chloe all evening.
“Dr. Hawthorne, Betty isn’t on overnight tonight, but she will be in around seven,” Nurse Cynthia answered. “She did leave me instructions for you when you called in to check up.”
“Of course she did. Fill me in on each patient please,” I said. For ten minutes, we went over patients’ charts and I gave morning instructions. “I won’t be there for morning rounds, but I am in the hospital if I’m needed.” I explained. “One of my PA’s will be in by mid-morning.”
“Okay, Dr. Hawthorne,” Cynthia said. “Oh wait, one more note from Betty.”
“Let me guess. Get some rest?” I asked.
“Yes sir, in big bold red letters. So get some rest so I don’t get in trouble for making sure you did.” Cynthia said her goodbyes.
“Three, is the baby doing better?” Murphy asked into the darkness. “You were gone a long time.”
“Yes, baby Michael is holding his own again,” I mumbled, falling asleep.
“You mean Baby Three.”
Chapter 54
Chloe
Sophie had been improving over the past few days, and Trey had stopped by each day to check on her. Each time he visited, he asked me about going out, and each time I put him off, saying I didn’t want to be away from Sophie. Really, I was terrified to let myself get any closer to him. I’d been paying attention to the discussions about his mail-order bride and giving my opinion when asked but, in the end, I knew he was to be getting a mail-order bride very soon. I’d heard Victoria tell Mia that she had already paid the money, so it was a done deal.
“I was thinking about taking Sophie to the zoo in Central Park today,” I announced at breakfast to Mia and Parker.
Mia looked up from her oatmeal and smiled. “You want some company?”
“Always. Especially if you mean you.” I stood behind Mia and wrapped my arms around her shoulders. “I’m going to miss you so much.”
“Would you like to sit on my lap, Chloe?” Mia pulled me to her side and grabbed me around the waist. “Don’t get sad yet. You have more time here.”
“I know, it’s just being with you reminds me how much I’ll miss you,” I said, playing with her hair.
“Well, that settles that,” Mia said.
