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I almost feel reluctant to pull out of her, but I do. Ellis’s arms fall to her sides. Her chest heaves as she catches her breath. Then she crawls under the covers. She lifts one end, inviting me to do the same while I put my pants back on.
I shouldn’t. I usually don’t snuggle after sex. Then again, that’s because I’m usually in a hurry. Right now, I’m not. And besides, it’s cold.
I lie down beside Ellis. The bed creaks. She turns towards me and snuggles against my shoulder.
“Happy Thanksgiving,” she whispers.
“Happy Thanksgiving,” I reply.
Great sex. That’s one more thing to be thankful for today.
After just a few moments, Ellis stops stirring. I look at her face and see her eyes shut. Her features, earlier twisted in pleasure, now seem completely at peace.
Even in sleep, she fascinates me.
Slowly, I pull my arm out from under her and adjust the pillow so that she’s snuggling against that instead. As I get off the bed, it creaks, but Ellis doesn’t stir.
Good. I pick up my shirt and my sweater and put them on. Then I send her a final smile before leaving the room. I’d like to stay, but I still have to go over some papers before I have to be in the hospital in a couple of hours.
Right. I’m a busy man. Too busy for a woman to keep, especially one like Ellis. I don’t belong in her peaceful world.
As soon as I’m out of Ellis’s apartment, my phone rings. I take it out of my coat pocket and see a fellow doctor calling.
Ah. It seems my workday has already begun.
~
“Mr. Fleming, I looked at your scans,” I tell the forty-year-old patient on the bed. “The bleeding in your brain has stopped, and so I agree with Dr. Royce’s earlier opinion that no surgery is required. Dr. Newman, who fixed your nose, will be the one to discharge you when you’re ready. Any questions?”
“Are you saying my husband will be out of here soon?” Mrs. Fleming asks.
“Well, I can’t say for sure. Like I said, Dr. Newman will decide. But what I’m saying is that your husband is going to be fine.”
“Oh, thank God.” She squeezes her husband’s hand. “And thank you, Dr. Knight.”
She tries to give me a hug but I step back. I don’t do hugs. Not anymore.
“You should thank Dr. Royce. I merely seconded his opinion. And Dr. Newman, of course.”
She places her hands over her heart. “Well, everyone here at the hospital certainly has my sincerest gratitude.”
I nod and head out of the room. I go straight to the nurses’ station around the corner and sit behind a computer to go over some patient files.
“Well, look who’s back,” the voice of Amelia Carver interrupts me moments later. “The hospital’s knight in shining armor.”
I let out a breath. About a year ago, a pair of patients, identical twins, called me that after I removed identical aneurysms from both of them. One of the interns spread the word and it stuck.
“I’ve missed you, too, Dr. Carver.”
She snorts and leans over the counter to take a peek at my screen.
“You’re working already?”
“Actually, my shift started hours ago when I got a text message from Dr. Gilmore. One of her patients had a tumor. Dr. Royce deemed it inoperable, but she thought I’d have a different opinion.”
“And?”
“I removed it,” I tell her.
Her jaw drops.
I grin. “Yup. I’m a genius.”
She shakes her head. “You’re a pompous ass, is what you are.”
“A genius pompous ass,” I correct her.
She sighs. “Fine. I bet Dr. Royce is pissed off, though.”
He is. I haven’t seen him since I went into the OR.
“He shouldn’t be. He did a great job on the Neuro cases while I was away.”
“Until last night.”
“Well, he’s still the head of Neuro.”
“And you’re just the Neuro god.”
“We’re not gods, Dr. Carver,” I say. “You know that. Otherwise, we’d save every patient in this hospital.”
I wish I could, but I can’t. I learned that lesson a long time ago and I’ve never forgotten it.
Dr. Carver lets out another sigh. “Fine. You’re just the guy who operates on the inoperable tumors.”
I say nothing to that. Instead, I glance at my watch.
“Shouldn’t the interns be here by now?” I ask. “I have a surgery scheduled in an hour. I was going to have one of them scrub in and observe.”
“Wow. Already trying to get the interns to worship you, are you? Not that I think you have to try.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “I’m trying to teach, Dr. Carver, as I’m sure you are. The more good doctors we have at the hospital, the better.”
“Well, don’t get your hopes up,” she tells me. “Most of them are rather incompetent. I seriously don’t know how they got through medical school.”
“They passed the screening at this hospital. I’m sure they have potential.”
