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Chapter 5
Beth debated waiting until the next day to call Chad but decided she wouldn’t be able to sleep thinking about it, so reached for her phone to call him after washing her dinner dishes and placing them in the dishwasher to air dry.
After sleeping the day away, she was too awake to attempt sleep right now anyway. If she called Chad tonight and got the details for the trip, then she could start packing and be ready to go way ahead of time. She hadn’t had the chance to go on many trips over the years. There had been a couple when Sarah was in high school that she chaperoned, but they were quick overnight trips. She assumed this one would be multiple days. She also needed to find out what days she would need to request off. Oh, that might pose a problem. Her colleagues knew she could be counted on to trade shifts with them if they had special plans come up. If she took that week off, it could mess up the plans of everyone else on her team. Maybe she should think this through a little bit more before calling Chad.
On second thought, Chad was her go-to person when she needed to think things through, so maybe she should just callhim and talk over the potential challenges with him instead of stewing over them. Sarah said she should do this for herself, and she really wanted to.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she opened her favorites, and Chad’s face appeared in the fourth spot. Now that Eric and Natalie had joined the family, she needed to adjust her favorites list.
“Beth, good evening. This is pretty late for you to call, so I am assuming you enjoyed several hours of sleep after that long day yesterday.” Chad’s clear, deep voice always had a way of soothing her no matter the turmoil turning her insides to mush.
“Chad, sorry I am calling so late. Are you ready for bed? I can call you back tomorrow.”
Chad hated it when Beth felt unsure around him. This was the most amazing woman on the planet, and she never had any reason to ever doubt herself, least of all with him. He was her number-one fan. And he could say that because Sarah was the only other person who came close, but she had no real idea what her mother did at work all day, so she had to be her second biggest fan. Beth Thatcher was the best nurse he had ever had the pleasure of working withanda fantastic mother on top of that.
“Beth, you know you can call me any day, anytime, anywhere, and I will answer your call every single time. If it isn’t an emergency, I may have to call you back, but I am always honest about that and always,alwaysanswer your call. My phone rings a lot, but your call is the only one that makes me smile.“ He hoped she believed him because he told her this several times a year. For some reason, she was always hesitant to call him. He would get to the bottom of that and fix it. Maybe that should be his New Year’s resolution this year.
“What’s up beautiful? Everything alright with Sarah and the family?”
It warmed Beth’s heart when he asked about Sarah and Tom and now Saraphina. She didn’t know why this affected her so greatly when he did this regularly. She knew that every time she saw him, the first thing he would ask was how she was doing, and then about her children. The fact that he cared enough to ask filled her with warmth every time.
“I just got off the phone with Sarah a few minutes ago, actually, and they are all doing well.”
The pause that followed was unusual for their conversations. They spoke often and had a nice flow and rhythm to their communications, but tonight, Chad could feel a strain. He would give her ten more seconds to gather her thoughts or her courage before he started asking questions.
To his relief, Beth took a deep breath and began before he reached eight. “I mentioned the cruise to Sarah and the fact that I would miss Thanksgiving celebrations with Saraphina if I went, but she was excited for me and said I should.” Another long pause. This time, he got to ten without another comment on her part.
“And what do you want to do, Beth?”
“Oh, what I want to do has never been the problem. Of course, I want to go on a Caribbean cruise. With you. It would be a dream come true!”
“Then whatisthe problem. I could see if Sarah was upset or concerned. But if she understands how badly you want this and is supporting you… what is holding you back?“ Genuine confusion registered in his voice. He thought getting past Sarah and Saraphina was going to be his greatest obstacle. He had contemplated contacting Sarah himself to explain how badly her mother needed the rest and relaxation but hadn’t wanted to overstep or make Beth feel any pressure. This needed to be her decision, but… what could possibly be causing her reluctance if not her children.
“Well, I was all ready to call you and tell you I was ready to go and find out what I needed to pack when I remembered that my team is depending on me to switch schedules with them so they can celebrate with their families. With just a few days before the holiday, if I take time off that week, it will mess up the entire floor’s schedule. I don’t want the hospital to be put in a dangerous situation because I take time off. How long will this trip be anyway? I am not sure how many days I need to request off for the trip, and I need to schedule time to see Sarah and the baby, even if not on the actual holiday.” Beth stopped and took a deep breath, obviously feeling strained by this decision.
“Sweetheart, you have taken the rarest sick day or family leave day in the ten years I have known you. I think you have the most accrued sick and personal time of the entire staff. You are entitled to take time for yourself. I understand your loyalty to your team, and that is why everyone loves you. That is one of the reasonsIlove you, but at some point, you have to say enough and take care of yourself. I am very worried that without Sarah here to keep an eye on you and give you a reason to take time away, you will wear yourself ragged and soon find yourself trying to pour from an empty cup, which never works out well. Will you trust me to take care of the work situation? I am your boss, after all.”
“Oh. Oh, my goodness. I hadn’t considered that in so long! Is that going to be a problem? You know, you and I going on vacation together, and you are my boss?”
“No, I am not your immediate supervisor, and even if I was, at this point, I wouldn’t care. We are getting too old to keep putting what we need and want on hold for others. Our time is now! So, is that a yes? I can take care of putting in the days you need for this trip and the one following for Sarah’s visit.”
“Um. Yes. I would appreciate that. So how many days is this trip again?”
“I am not sure I should tell you. Do you promise not to change your mind?” She could hear the mischief in his voice.
“Yes, I promise.” Chad could almost see her eye roll.
“Eleven days.”
“ELEVEN DAYS! Chadwick Spencer Fox, I CANNOT take off ELEVEN DAYS!” Beth was horrified at the thought of missing that much work for any reason, but a vacation was beyond anything she could even imagine.What was he thinking?
“Bethany, darling, you promised. I know you are a woman of her word and that you will keep it this time, too. Sarah would approve, trust me.”
“Sarah might, but my colleagues definitely will not. This is going to put a strain on everyone. And at the holidays, no less. Chad, I can’t!”
“Bethany, you promised. I run the hospital, and I am telling you the hospital and the ICU will survive without you. I am not saying you will not be missed because you will. You are a valuable member of the team, but it will survive without you, and it needs to. You won’t be able to do this job forever, and when you’re gone, they will have to move on. This will give them a taste of what that will feel like. Trust me, this will be good for everyone but most especially you.”
“But if it is eleven days, and you said I had until the 20thto decide, when does it leave?”
