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I see the photos from her conference ceremony, and I’m stunned. Her wild curls have become long, beachy locks, and her features are stunning. And there are those hazel eyes that I would recognize anywhere. Her body is definitely not the skinny little tomboy I went swimming with.
It’s the body of a woman, and I can see it even underneath the lab coat. Wearing the form-fitting suit of the conference, I’m blown away. I find myself getting excited, staring.
She’s a pioneer in reproductive medicine, but I only saw the names in academic journals. ‘Lawson, E.’ Not even full names. I never put two and two together.
I think she may have even helped with fistula surgeries in a World Clinic office in Kenya, but I remember I couldn’t be in-country to overlap with her. I might have even talked to her on the phone.
I had no clue this E. Lawson was the Ellie I had climbed trees with.
I click on the news article of the ceremony. Renowned Fertility Doctor Returns to Headline Reproductive Conference.
It was this week. My father met with her, he said. Is she still in town?
She looks poised and graceful, full of life, and brilliant. The kind of woman who I could see…
But even with another doctor, I’m not ready. And two doctors? Would we even see each other? I cannot give up my entire life for my father. And what if she’s not the person she was, or the person she seems like?
I’d rather forget this detour and resume my medical career, never thinking about women until I’ve contributed what I feel compelled to. But maybe she’s a good option.
Marriage is absolutely not an option I remotely want to consider right now. But maybe I could make time in my schedule to get a cup of coffee.
6
ELLIE
“That's enough TV for today,” I say, legs folded beneath me on the couch. My arm stretches towards the clicker on the coffee table when a breaking news report grabs my attention.
The first sentence immediately stills my breathing.
“We interrupt this program to inform you that His Majesty, the King, has been hospitalized for a very minor fainting episode. This is a developing story and citizens will soon receive an update on the state of his health.”
He was the picture of health when I saw him a few days ago. What could have caused him to faint?
My phone interrupts my thought process so I stand up to find it. The ringtone comes from my hand bag on the kitchen counter. I retrieve the device.
“The palace switchboard? I wonder what this is about.”
“Dr. Eleanora Lawson?” asks the direct sounding voice before I even say anything.
“This is she.”
“This is Constantin, one of the King’s aides.”
My heart catapults upward and my mouth becomes arid. Is he alive? And why would they be calling me when there’s a health emergency?
“Pleased to speak with you,” I say, feigning nonchalance. “What’s this about?”
He continues. “He had an incident earlier in the day. You may have heard.”
I sit up straight, my stomach dropping. I hope he’s okay.
“I just watched the news report. Is everything okay? How is his condition?”
“Stable, it seems, fortunately. But he requests your presence.”
“My presence? When?”
“Immediately.”
