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Chapter Ten
The first snow day of the season was always an exciting one. After breakfast, Dalia had played with her dolls while Sienna did some light housekeeping. Tyler had texted late in the morning.
Surgery easier than expected. Hopefully the kid will make it without long-term problems.
In the afternoon, he managed a video chat. Always the dedicated doctor, he’d inquired about her health and listened intently to her report, then spoke to Dalia.
Sienna loved the sound of his laughter as her pumpkin related her adventures.
“I have ten minutes before my next scheduled surgery,” he explained after Dalia returned the phone to her.
In scrubs topped by his white jacket, he looked tired.
“Did you have lunch?”
“I just got back. It was quite an entertaining late lunch.”
Remembering his story about the previous day’s lunch with female doctors, Sienna frowned.
“Ah, just like yesterday?” she blurted.
Too late, she realized he’d probably seen her annoyance on the screen.
He chuckled. “Yes, I had two female companions, Dr. Ella Jordan, the pediatrician who had lunch with me yesterday, and Jussleen Warty, an ER nurse. It was interesting to hear from other sections of the hospital.”
“Are you very busy?”
“Not as busy as other departments. The OR’s filling up due to snow-related issues and car accidents. I’m glad I was on call last night and didn’t have to drive. The roads are icy and traffic conditions are treacherous. You must’ve worried when John was on duty on nights like those.”
She found herself sharing memories of unforgettable episodes from a few years ago.
Always in a better mood after Tyler’s call, she cooked dinner for Dalia and prepared her students’ exams for the following week. Later, while her daughter played with dolls and teddies, Sienna studied the outdoors from behind the window and watched the news on TV, her heart squeezing at the announcement of more snow for the coming days.
By Thursday, she was fed up with it. Steadily, slowly, monotonously, the snowflakes fell, drifted down, and blanketed the driveway, front yard, and street, creating impatience in Sienna’s soul. The eerie scenery depressed her. A blessed bleep of her phone interrupted the dullness of the gray, lonely day. Another text message from Tyler.
Long four-hour surgery. Three-year-old. Thought of Dalia. We worked hard on him. Hope he’ll make it. Pray for this kid. Going to lunch now. Keep well.
Lunch? This late? Who would join him today? There was always someone at the charismatic doctor’s table in the cafeteria—nurses, doctors, receptionists, administrators, you name it. Apparently, when it came to women, he didn’t discriminate.
Coaching herself to keep an open-mind, Sienna snorted, reassuring herself that she hadn’t heard the same name too often. Where did he find an uninterrupted supply of new companions? Did he eat at different times?
She shook her head. It would be a white Christmas. There were now several inches of snow and many roads like hers were covered in black ice. Her stomach rumbled.
“Let’s have dinner. I don’t think Doc is coming tonight.”
Dalia looked up from her coloring. “Why, Mommy?”
“Too much snow. The roads are dangerous.”
“I miss him.”
“Me, too,” Sienna whispered under her breath.
They hadn’t seen him since he’d stayed for dinner on Tuesday. At least she didn’t have to worry about him trapped in a snowstorm on a freezing night. A picture of John popped into her mind. For once, her eyes didn’t fill with tears, but a bittersweet smile stretched her lips.
Later that evening, Tyler called to read to Dalia from the storybook he’d picked up in the hospital’s gift shop. After a few yawns reached him over the line, he watched the three-year-old tuck herself into bed and blow him a goodnight kiss.
“Goodnight, little pumpkin. Sweet dreams. Sienna, how about a break with me?”
