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“Family,” I said simply. “My ex and her partner are moving here and so we want to be in the same city to share custody of our son, Liam.”
“Liam,” he said and nodded. “Named after the infamous Liam Morgan from Boston, right? I’ve read about him. He was quite the heroic character. So sad to lose him that way.”
I nodded and for a few moments, we spoke about my father and his volunteer and charity work, and of course, his untimely death in a plane crash in Africa.
“We have a friend in common,” Porter said and leaned back, tilting his head to the side.
“Oh?” I raised my eyebrows in anticipation. “Who’s that?”
“Nigel Benson.” He smiled and leaned forward. “We did some work together in Africa. He recommends you highly — not that you need any recommendations, given your experience here and in Southampton.”
“Well, I’ll have to thank Nigel for putting in a good word.”
It was then I realized that Nigel and Clark Porter shared other attributes. Both were gay. I imagine that both were also into the lifestyle to one degree or another.
What a change from the old administration…
We spoke about my work in Southampton and what NYP had been doing while I was gone and Porter’s vision for the next few years, and in particular, expanding the paediatric neurosurgery department and introducing the latest robotic techniques.
“We’re looking for someone with recent experience doing robotic neurosurgery in peds. Especially someone with some admin background.”
“I’m your man,” I said. “I worked for Michael Owiti in Southampton and ran the department.”
“I am very familiar with Dr. Owiti’s work there and in Africa. I think, if you’re willing, that we can sign on the dotted line and have you start as soon as you can get back here and get settled.”
“That’s music to my ears,” I said and took in a deep breath, glad that it was going to work out.
“Speaking of music, I hear you also play the bass guitar. I’m a keyboardist myself. I had a band while I was in college but had to stop during med school. You play Brit Invasion, right? I’m more of a prog rock fan myself. Yes. Genesis. King Crimson. Moody Blues.”
“Love prog rock, especially from the 70s.”
He smiled. “Maybe we could play together someday if old Moody Blues appeals to you. Nights in White Satin…”
“Now, that’s a classic I would be happy to learn to play.”
He glanced at his watch. “I was going to show you around the surgical suite and get your thoughts, but I have an emergency meeting and have to prepare, so if you’re happy, we can send some paperwork to you. Once you sign, you’re ours.”
“I’ll be happy to take a look at the terms and will get right back to you.”
We stood and shook, and he walked me out of the office. “Thanks for coming in. Can’t wait to have you back and starting. Let me know when you’re back and we can get together. Play some music.”
“Sounds great,” I said, and we shook again. I passed Cheryl on the way out and said goodbye to her. She smiled pleasantly.
“Do you want your old office back?” she asked.
“I haven’t signed the contract yet,” I said with a laugh.
“I hope you will,” she said. “Dr. Porter would be really sad if he loses you to another hospital.”
“I’d be more than happy to have my old office back.”
She opened the drawer and handed me a set of keys. “In that case, here you go. If you decide to sign, they’re yours. Otherwise, you’ll have to return them.”
I smiled at her and examined the keys. It was on a hospital keychain with NYP initials.
My old keys…
“You can’t know how much I am pleased with this,” I said, holding them up.
