“Robin!”
Jolted back from her brief respite, she found Dr. Richman in her office doorway. She flinched at the rebuke in his tone. “What is it, Steve?”
“What is it?” he echoed, closing the door behind him. “That’s what I came to ask you.” He held up a handful of pink telephone message slips.
Robin stared in confusion. “What...?”
Richman dropped the half dozen or so slips onto Robin’s desk. “Referrals, messages you’ve ignored, they were all diverted to me.”
Robin’s heart sank. She hadn’t realized she’d fallen so far behind. “Steve, I...” She swallowed. “I’m sorry. I had a patient emergency. I’ll take care of these at once.”
His expression stony, he said, “I’m disappointed in you, Robin. I had high expectations when I brought you on as study coordinator, but you seem to be taking this project too lightly. It makes me question your commitment.”
Robin flushed. “Dr. Richman, I’m completely committed to the MATCH project. I fell behind on a few calls, but otherwise I don’t understand the cause for your concern.” She wondered if he’d noticed her hanging around the FedEx box.
He pulled a chair up beside her desk and sat. “You want a case in point, Robin?”
She gulped. Not really.
“That business last Saturday, bringing your so-called cousin into a restricted area, I see no excuse for that.”
“So-called?” Robin’s voice quavered. He’d caught her in the lie.
Dr. Richman waved his hand dismissively. “Maybe she’s your cousin, who knows? But that woman looked damned familiar to me. I’m sure I’ve seen her around Mountainview before.” He wrinkled his forehead, apparently trying to recall, then shook his head. “Whoever she is, she didn’t belong there. We have visiting hours and visiting lounges. Don’t let me find you bringing guests into areas where they don’t belong. Understood?”
Robin nodded, her throat dry. “Yes, Doctor.”
He stood, jabbing his chin toward the stack of messages on her desk. “You’d better get on those now.” He gave her a long look and walked out.
Robin clutched the pink message slips, a trickle of perspiration running down her spine. She could have anticipated Dr. Richman might recognize Gloria. She’d been at Mountainview with Alex many times. Still, that would have been for the pediatric oncology unit in a different wing of the hospital. It struck her as ominous that he found Gloria familiar. The dampness at her back warned her things were slipping even further out of her control.
TWENTY-EIGHT
AMBER
THREE DAYS LATER, JADEN’S back at T-ball, and I’m back at Gloria’s.
Alex seems better. He’s sitting up in bed, reading a book when Gloria brings me into his room. The lights are on. He’s still pale, but his lips are normal, not that creepy blue like last time. He waves and lays the book across his chest. I peek at the cover, The Boys on the Boat. I’ve never heard of it. I wonder if Alex wishes he could go sailing or swimming, or ride a bike, like other kids. I feel sad for him, but at least he seems cheerful, so that’s good.
He looks over my shoulder. “Where’s Nina?”
“No more dog hair,” Gloria tells him. “Sweetheart, you know what it does to you.”
Alex catches my eye and makes a face. I can’t help giggling. I wish I could sneak Nina into his room, but it’s not like she’s one of those little dogs I can put in a tote bag. He grins at me, like we’re sharing a joke.
Gloria looks at him then me. For a second, I’m afraid she’ll get mad, but she smiles. “Have a nice visit, you two.” She exits and leaves the door open.
Alex pats the side of his bed. “Sit.”
I perch on the very edge, feeling a little funny. I’m not sure what to talk about with a sick kid. I eye the book he’s reading. “What’s that about? Boats?”
Alex picks up the book, folds down the corner of the page to mark his place, and passes it to me. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do. I hope he doesn’t expect me to read it right this second. I pretend to study the front and back covers. The front shows some guys sitting in a long boat on the water under a sky filled with golden clouds.
“It’s about the American crew team that won the 1936 Olympics in Berlin,” Alex explains. “It’s a true story. It’s really good.”
“Oh,” I say. “That’s interesting. So—they were, like, the crew on the boat?” I feel like a dope. I’m not even sure what crew means, exactly.
“They were the rowing team from the US Underdogs, poor boys during the Depression who beat out the Nazis and won the gold.”
“Pretty cool,” I tell him. “I watched the Olympics on TV.”
“I like stories about people beating the odds against them.”
I guess he would. I look up from the book cover. Alex has a nice face, pale and thin as it is. I yank my eyes back to the book, even though I’m not really reading it.
“What do you like to read?” he asks.
I shrug and think about that library book, the one Jaden and I drew pictures in. I feel bad. Maybe someone like Alex would take out that book and be disappointed it’s all messed up.
“Time for your pill, sweetheart.” Gloria’s at the door with a glass of water.
“Aw, Mom.” Alex screws up his face. “Amber and I are talking. Besides, I feel okay. Can’t I take it later?”
“We don’t want to wait until you start feeling sick again, do we?” Gloria hands him the water. She takes a pill bottle out of her pocket, the kind they give for prescriptions. She opens it and shakes out a pill then passes it to Alex.
I slip off his bed and stand there. Maybe it’s time for me to go.
Alex sticks the pill in his mouth then takes a sip of water.
Gloria nods. “That’s my good boy.”
Something occurs to me then. “Is that the medicine Robin got for him?”
Gloria frowns. “No, Nurse Robin hasn’t kept her promise yet.” She sighs. “Alex takes these pain pills in the meantime.” She sticks the medicine bottle back in her pocket. “Come, dear. We need to let Alex rest now.”
I figured I would have to leave. Too bad.
“You two can visit later this week,” Gloria says like she’s reading my mind. She’s smart that way.
“See ya, Alex,” I tell him.
He holds up his book. “You can borrow it next time. I’ll finish it by then.”
“Thanks.” I’m not much of a reader. It’s too hard to concentrate. But his offer makes me feel good.
Meanwhile, Gloria closes the blinds, dimming the room again. “Come, Amber. I made some lemonade. We can wait for your mom in the kitchen while Alex takes a nap.”
As I follow her out, Alex whispers, “Bye, Amber.”
I like him.
TWENTY-NINE
ROBIN
A GLASS OF WINE failed to take the edge off Robin’s frazzled nerves that evening. She carried her empty glass into the kitchen and refilled it, but she needed more than alcohol. Picking up her cell phone from the countertop, she sat down at the table and called Ben.
“Hi,” she said. “Where are you?”
“Wrapping up a few loose ends at work.”
She’d assumed he would be home or at least on his way, but if he was still working, she couldn’t expect too much of his time. Feeling edgy, she reached for the pen and pad she kept nearby for shopping lists. She began idly sketching, letting her fingers do the thinking while she awaited Ben’s response.
“Everything okay?” Her tone must have conveyed otherwise.
Robin let out a breath. “One of my patients developed a deep vein thrombosis in her leg today.”
Ben grunted. “Is that as bad as it sounds?”
“It isn’t good. It can lead to a stroke. We started her on a blood thinner.”
He paused for a beat. “So, you caught it in time?”
“We should have caught it sooner. I should have.” He didn’t get it. She glanced down at her sketch—a rough yet co
nvincing likeness of Will Kenton. Robin’s brain caught up with what her hand already realized. Will instantly would have grasped the nature of the situation. She tore the page off the pad and crumpled the sketch, feeling the beginning of a headache. The second glass of wine probably wasn’t a great idea.
“Bird, I may not be up to speed on the medical issues, but I do know when you’re beating yourself up. Don’t let it upset you so much. You handled it. Let it go.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Dr. Richman might see things differently on hearing the news. Ben sounded dismissive. He obviously wanted to get off the phone and back to work. Robin suppressed a twinge of annoyance. “I’ve been a wreck all week waiting for the lab results on Alex Reyes.” She knew he didn’t have time for her, but she’d already opened the floodgates. “I’ve been distracted, neglecting my staff and patients. I’ve fallen behind in responding to referrals. Today the PI called me out on it.” Her face burned, either from the wine or the memory. She ran her index finger around the rim of her glass. “That’s never happened to me before.” At least not at Mountainview.
“Sweetheart, it’s been hell on you, I know, but this will all be over soon.”
“Will it?” He didn’t seem to understand the pressure. “And what if the lab finds a treatment match for the boy’s tumor?”
Ben remained silent for a moment. “I don’t know. Why don’t we cross that bridge when we come to it? You’ll probably get the results in—what, another week or so?”
“Uh-huh.” Robin wondered how she would bear another week. She downed more of the wine. She surely didn’t want to be alone tonight. “Ben? Maybe could you come over when you finish up there? I can fix us an omelet or something.”
He hesitated. “I’m sorry, Bird. I need to take a rain check. I’ll be running pretty late here. All that drama over the weekend left me backed up.”
She’d endured that drama, too, worse than he had, but preferred not to come across as high maintenance by pointing it out. “How are things with the kids?”
“Better.” He sounded relieved to be off the hook. “They’re glad to have the dog back, and things have quieted down. At least, Vanessa has. Only...” Ben lowered his voice, as if he didn’t want to be overheard. “She’s letting Amber visit with Gloria and Alex when she takes Jaden to T-ball. I’m not happy about it,” he added quickly. “But Vanessa insists it’s helping everybody’s stress level.”
Robin stiffened. “Amber’s hanging out with Gloria Reyes?”
“Uh—yeah.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” It sounded like Amber had ventured into enemy territory.
“No. Believe me, I tried talking Vanessa out of it, but she’s adamant. Since Gloria rescued the dog, Nessie feels she owes her.”
Robin snorted derisively.
“She wants Amber to help keep Alex company. That way she’s out of Vanessa’s hair for a couple of hours.”
Gloria managed to pull everyone into the quicksand. An idea occurred to Robin. “As long as she’s there, maybe Amber can be our pipeline. She can give us a sense of what Gloria’s up to.”
He bristled. “I’m not about to turn my daughter into a spy.”
“Is that what you think I’m doing?”
“No. Hey.” Ben downshifted into peacemaker. “I’m sorry, but she’s only a kid.”
Of course. Once again, Robin felt embarrassed. She must have sounded like a flagrant opportunist. Gloria brought out the worst in her. “You’re right. I’m sorry too. We shouldn’t turn Amber into a spy.” Yet the arrangement left her uneasy. “Still... do you think it’s safe for her to be there, Ben?”
“I hope so, Bird. But I know my ex. If I make a stink about it, she’ll only dig in her heels.” He sounded tired. “Listen, I’ve gotta run, or I’ll be here all night. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
They ended the call. Robin downed the last of her wine and rinsed the glass to avoid the temptation to refill it. She wandered to the living room to get the thriller she’d been reading. Maybe she would get through more than one page for a change.
As she retrieved the book from the coffee table, Robin’s gaze fell on her figurine collection arrayed on the bookcase. Drawn to the little blue bird in the center of the display, she picked it up. She wondered why Amber had taken it—and her lipstick. Perhaps the girl wanted something from her. Robin stroked the bird’s tiny head. Maybe Amber needed something, someone, and Gloria was trying to be that someone.
Robin shuddered. Conviction swept over her. She carried the little bird out of the room and slipped it into her purse. Amber needed to have it. She would give it to the girl next time she saw her. Whenever that might be.
THIRTY
AMBER
TODAY I CAN TELL GLORIA’S troubled. She says I can only see Alex for a few minutes to say hello, on account of him doing poorly. She lets me into his room. It’s dark again, a bad sign. I’m worried I’ll disturb him, but when I come up to the bed, his eyes are open.
“Hi,” I tell him.
“Hi.” He doesn’t sit up.
I ask if he has a headache.
“Dizzy,” he says. “Sorry.”
He shouldn’t apologize for being sick. He’s awfully pale. I should leave and let him be.
He points at the dresser opposite his bed. “I finished the book. I left it there for you if you want to borrow it.”
I thank him to be polite. I’m happy he remembered to give me the book, but I probably won’t understand it. If only I could concentrate better. Dad said the therapist thinks some medicine would help with that. He’s just trying to get me to go see her, but it’s not going to work. She hasn’t even met me, and already she thinks I’m crazy.
I pick up the book about the boys and their boat.
“It’s a really good story,” Alex says. “We can talk about it next time you come.”
“Yeah.” Only I know I won’t finish it by then. I’ll start and see how much I can get through. Maybe I should talk to Mom about getting on that medicine but not if I have to see that dopey doctor.
Gloria comes to the door and says that’s enough. Alex needs to rest.
“Hope you feel better,” I tell him and follow her from his room.
We go to the kitchen, and Gloria asks if I would like a glass of milk. She has cookies, too, chocolate chip. Of course I say yes. Gloria makes herself a cup of tea and sits down with me at the little round table. I bite into a cookie, watching Gloria’s face, which looks droopy. I guess she’s really sad.
I swallow the bite of cookie. “I’m sorry Alex is so sick. Will Robin bring his new medicine soon?”
Gloria sighs. “We have to hope so, don’t we? We must pray she brings it in time.”
The cookie sticks in my throat. I think she means Alex might die without the new medicine. His book is sitting there on the table. It could be the last one he ever gets to read.
“But doesn’t Robin understand how much he needs the medicine?”
Gloria shakes her head. “I’ve tried to explain it to her.”
“Doesn’t she care about kids?”
Gloria chuckles, like I said something smart. “Robin has a son, doesn’t she?”
I tell her, “Uh-huh, his name is Sean.”
“Do you know him?”
“I met him once.” I move my glass of milk in a circle on the table then stop. That’s fidgeting, Mom would say, and maybe Gloria wouldn’t like it. But I don’t like talking about Robin’s kid. He thought I was a dork.
Gloria asks, “What’s he like?”
I shrug. “Okay, I guess.” I remember him being pretty cool. He could talk with adults without them rolling their eyes or changing the subject. I don’t look at Gloria because I’m picturing Sean’s scrunched-up face after I accidentally spilled cranberry sauce all over the tablecloth. Robin made the same kind of face back with her lips pressed together, like the food tasted bad. I guess they didn’t see me watching.
“Amber?” Gloria says my name like I wasn’t concen
trating. “I asked how Robin treats her son.”
I shrug again. I shouldn’t keep doing that. “Nice, I think.” Way nicer than she treats me and Jaden, for sure. “He’s away at school now.” I would rather not talk about Robin and Sean, but Gloria’s been so nice to me.
“You mean at college? Where does he go to school?”
I have to think a minute before I remember. “In Massachusetts.”
Gloria sips her tea and nods, like I said something else important. “There are a lot of schools up there. Which one does Sean attend?”
I think really hard, then it comes to me. “Oh! It’s called UMass.”
“Good school.” Gloria stares quietly at her cup of tea for a while. Then she says in a real soft voice, “I only hope Alex will go to college one day.”
“Me too.” I look down at his book again then back at Gloria. “I’ll pray for him,” I promise.
She reaches over and squeezes my hand. “What a comfort you are, Amber.”
I make a vow. Whatever it takes to help her and Alex, I’ll do it.
THIRTY-ONE
ROBIN
TEN FEDEX DELIVERIES ARRIVED the next morning, none bearing the results of Alex Reyes’s MATCH submission. Robin knew better than to expect any word so soon, but the delivery basket drew her like a magnet each morning and afternoon. The day of reckoning would come soon enough. Gloria had already texted her earlier, impatient for news. Robin texted back. Not yet.
Resigned to another day of waiting, she checked on Mrs. Kerwood. The patient greeted her, appearing more comfortable. The lines of distress on her face had relaxed.
“How are you feeling?” Robin quickly inspected her IV line. All was in order.
“Better.” Mrs. Kerwood smiled.
“How’s the pain in your leg? One to ten?”
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