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Jay shrugged. “I’m not going to deny that is part of my reasoning. However, I do think she was doing a good job. She fit in well with us. I like her. Plus, we could use her skills as a nurse for real this time.”
“And you don’t care that she didn’t reveal her past to us before she took the job?” Gareth demanded.
“I do care, but situations aren’t always so black and white,” Jay said. “I know you tend to see things that way, but in this case, it’s doing you a disservice. Grief can make a person do things they might not normally do. It clouds everything. And I’m sure that’s what happened to Aria.”
“She’s ashamed of what happened, Gareth,” Janessa said earnestly. “If you’d just taken time to talk to her, you would have seen how torn up she is over everything.”
When she’d come to talk to Gareth, she hadn’t seemed terribly upset. However, it was possible she’d managed to keep her emotions under control for the few minutes she’d been in his home.
“I’m not saying you have to get back together with her,” Janessa said. “But let us hire her back. You two kept your distance at work before, you can do it again. Just for different reasons this time.”
Gareth knew he had to set aside his emotions in order to consider what Janessa and Jay wanted. He wasn’t sure he could handle seeing Aria on a daily basis, but it seemed he was going to have to.
“I guess I’m outvoted here,” Gareth said with a wave of his hand.
Jay and Janessa exchanged a look, then Jay said, “If you’re definitely opposed to it, we won’t force the issue. I just want you to make the decision without your emotions being involved.”
“How exactly are my emotions supposed tonotbe involved?” Gareth demanded. “We were in a relationship. I cared for her… alot! And then I find out that she lied to us… to me. Didn’t she trust me? How can we be in a relationship if she doesn’t trust me? And if we can’t be in a relationship, how can I be around her when ithurtsme and makes me so angry just to see her?”
Janessa’s expression softened. “Don’t write her off, Gareth. Surely you can see that she’s a good person who made a mistake. She’s hurting too.”
Gareth didn’t respond to that, just said, “Let her work at the clinic again, if that’s what you want.”
“She might still say no and choose to leave Serenity,” Janessa said with a sad frown. “But I hope that knowing that you’re… okay with her working there, she might stay.”
“We’ll see what she says,” Jay told her. “We have to accept whatever answer she gives. I’m not going to guilt her into staying. And neither will you.”
“I won’t.”
Jay got to his feet. “We’ll let you know her decision.”
Gareth stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Once the pair had left, Gareth stood in the living room, staring blankly out the front window. Would he be able to work alongside Aria? Would he be able to get over her if they worked together again? Somehow, he doubted it.
Feeling like he’d been forced into accepting Aria’s presence in the clinic didn’t help lessen his anger. He just wanted a chance to take a breath and not have everything keep smacking him in the face.
There was no way he could deal with any of the situation with Aria because he just couldn’t escape it. Even being in his home by himself didn’t mean he could get away from everything because he couldn’t escape his thoughts.
The next morning, Gareth dragged his tired self into the clinic a little earlier than usual. There were no cars in the parking lot, which was exactly what he’d hoped for.
Before going to his office, he made a pot of coffee, then, when it was ready, poured a good amount of it into his large, insulated mug. He took his first sip of the hot liquid while standing in front of the coffeemaker, relishing the bitter bite of it.
Carrying his mug in one hand and his briefcase in the other, Gareth made his way through the quiet clinic, turning on lights as he went. He had no idea if Aria was going to be in that day, but he went ahead and closed his door, just in case. The last thing he wanted was to get an unexpected glimpse of her.
He tried to do his usual morning routine at work, but it was a struggle. Though he wanted to pray for each of the patients who were on his schedule of appointments for the day, his heart and mind just weren’t in it. Finally, he just prayed for the day as a whole, including his own mindset, which he knew wasn’t so great.
As he continued to sip his coffee, Gareth checked through his email, then read a few articles that had been forwarded to him by a guy that he’d done some of his residency with. It helped to keep him from focusing on everything else, but that reprieve came to a screeching halt when there was a knock on his door.
When he called out for the person to come in, Janessa opened the door and poked her head in. “I just wanted to let you know that Aria said that she needed a day to think things over, so she won’t be in today.”
“Thanks for the head’s up,” Gareth said. “Let me know when my first patient is in.”
Janessa hesitated, then nodded before closing the door again.
Relief helped wash away some of the tension he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in his body. He slumped back in his chair and blew out a long breath, thankful for the reprieve he’d been given.
Now, if only he could get a reprieve from Nora. She was still strutting around the clinic like she owned the place. No doubt she’d feel differently if Aria showed up again. He had a feeling that if she saw Aria in the clinic again, Nora would lose her mind.
