by Barbara Ebel
“I’m headed out,” Cheryl said. “I just wanted to say have a nice weekend.”
“You, too. Sara and I are planning on going to the lake house but I’m feeling guilty about that. Work is coursing through my veins trying to keep me in Nashville like gravity pulling me to earth.”
“But Dr. Jacob is on call,” she said, pointing to him.
“Since I’m a fanatical runner,” Matthew said, shifting his gaze to Danny, “you know I qualify as a good sport. I’ll give up my weekend call to help out a colleague any day.”
Danny laughed and Cheryl beamed. “I haven’t heard you laugh in a while, Dr. Tilson. It’s about time.”
“That’s because there hasn’t been much in my life recently to be amused about.” He grinned. “But I’m afraid you’re stuck with it, Matthew. My thoughts are straying to other neurosurgical areas than direct patient care.”
Matthew raised his eyebrows. “Is there something I can help you with? I would be honored to even be remotely involved with something you’re working on. Through indirect sources, I heard that last year you were being considered for the ‘Physician of the Year’ award by the Tennessee Medical Society.”
Danny’s face registered surprise. “Why?”
“For your significant contributions over the last two years, all due to your persistence in getting to the root of medical dilemmas.”
Cheryl’s face lit up. “I didn’t know that but it makes sense.”
Danny waved his hand in the air dismissively. “Well then, there’s nothing to write home about because I certainly wasn’t picked.”
“You’re so modest,” Cheryl said. “I wish a lot of other doctors were like you. But there’s only one of you and that’s why I work here.” She turned to leave. “And you’re okay, too, Dr. Jacob.”
“I’m just a regular, normal doc,” Matthew said as he looked out the window. Moving his long brown hair further behind his head, he looked at her with a trace of a smile. “But I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Okay, bye y’all,” she said.
“Have a great weekend,” Danny said.
“Ditto,” Matthew added.
Danny got up from behind his desk and sat down again catty-corner to Matthew. From his shirt pocket, he pulled out his folded piece of paper and handed it to him. “Here is my list of hospital patients for rounds tomorrow. Please pay extra attention to David Bell,” he said, leaning in close with a concerned expression. “My main neurologist consultant is Penny Banks and anything she suggests for his care is a go.”
Matthew leaned over the sheet on the table and scribbled something. “Don’t worry, Danny, we’ll take good care of him. You spend some quality time with Sara and leave all thoughts of your patients here.”
-----
One medium-sized suitcase lay open on the bed as Sara stacked two sets of clothes and toiletries inside. Danny stood at the other side of the mattress.
“I already have a drawer full of clothes at the lake house,” Sara said, “but I’d rather just bring stuff back and forth this time. You can share this suitcase with me.”
As he thumbed through a neurosurgical equipment magazine, Sara stared at him.
“Earth to Danny,” she said.
“Huh?” He looked over. “I’m sorry. You were saying?”
“I’m not using all this space so feel free to put your things in here,” she said pointing to the bottom of the travel bag. “If you’re coming, that is.”
He closed the bulky advertising monthly but held it close. “Why yes, for sure.”
Sara cocked her head at him as Nancy poked her head in.
“Mom, Casey and Mary are coming downstairs to say hello before you both leave.”
“Good. I’m finished here.” Sara eyed Danny and left the room.
“I’m coming,” he said as he put several T-shirts and blue jeans in the empty side. He took several steps towards the door deep in thought but then retraced his short course and packed the magazine under his clothes. Dakota showed up at the door and woofed.
“Okay, okay … did you come on your own or did they send you after me?”
When Danny joined his family, Mary was sitting with Sara on the couch, Nancy was on the floor waiting for Dakota to come back, and Casey was comfortable on a kitchen stool facing them.
“There you are,” Casey said, his sneakers propped on the rungs.
“You headed to the gym?” Danny asked, noticing Casey’s athletic clothes.
“I am. Too bad you can’t make it but maybe next week sometime.”
“I may take a rain check.”
“Mary and I were wondering if there’s anything we can do for you both that we’re not aware of.”
“You two are already going to help out with Julia tomorrow night. And maybe Nancy wants to spend tonight or tomorrow night in one of the bedrooms upstairs. She likes to pal around with you two when we’re not around.”
“No problem on either count. Now I have a favor to ask you. I talked to Mark Cunningham today and he assures me we’re going to court within the next two weeks regarding my Rachel lawsuit. I’m not skilled in courtroom testimony so will you come with me if possible?”
Danny furrowed his brow in thought. “I’ll do my best. I just hope that, when you need me, I’m not buried in a lab somewhere. Otherwise, I’ll have another family member infuriated with me.”
Chapter 16
From the upstairs balcony, Danny and Sara had a good view of the full moon and the rippled effect of light on the lake. They had unpacked the small supply of necessities they had brought and, since it was too chilly to sit outside very long, they sat on a bench inside admiring the scenery from the large upper windows. Dakota was lying at Danny’s feet, his eyes closing whenever their conversation waned.
Danny finished the last sip of wine while Sara occasionally swirled her glass.
“I talked to Annabel this afternoon,” she said. “I called her to let her know where we’d be this weekend.”
After Sara repeated herself, Danny pulled his eyes from the natural satellite and looked at her directly. “Was she civil or did she have any wisecracks about me?”
“Perhaps I shouldn’t say. You two need to patch things up.”
“I haven’t instigated anything. But really … I’d like to know any snippy remarks she made.”
“She alluded to your coming here when you should instead be looking into patient care. I took that to mean David.”
He shifted position and gripped his glass tighter. “It’s been a long day. How about we go to bed?”
“How about not just sleeping? Since my miscarriage and D&C, I’ve been lackadaisical, not too perky. Maybe some romance will do us both some good.”
He placed the glass next to him and took her left hand. The absence of their wedding ring often upset him. “Your sadness upset me as much as our miscarriage. I hope you’re feeling better.”
“Time heals most things but, thanks, my mood is starting to lift.”
“Let’s go then,” Danny said and walked ahead to the bedroom. As he turned on the overhead light recessed in deer antlers from the previous owners, he admired the furnishings. It was as if a logger and carpenter were one and the same as the bedroom set appeared to have been hand-carved from a mountain forest.
He peeled off his clothes while Sara went into the bathroom, pulled back the patchwork quilt, and got into bed. Resting his head in the palm of his hands, his thoughts drifted to his daughter. She was in the throes of the grooming process for medical school and, since she’d always been bright, her potential to be admitted was average or better.
Danny realized that, by admitting to himself Annabel was a smart girl, some of the things she’d been saying to him must carry some weight. He couldn’t remember how she’d phrased it, but her observation was that the methods Danny would use to pin point David’s epileptic foci were antiquated. And, as far as he knew, the magazine he’d packed advertised all the usual equipment already familiar t
o him for his specialty.
Sara had gotten into bed and he rolled over, placing his hand on her hip; she had the softest skin. She brought her head in closer and their lips joined … moist and soothing and erotic at the same time. They joined together; although his thrusts were solid, they were seemingly distant.
What would it be like to be in the prime of your life - in college - and yet imprisoned in a stark ICU for weeks or perhaps months with wires passing through your cranium? The isolation from social activities or hanging out with your peers would be depressing if not hugely disabling of your whole college experience and education. Would someone even get back on track after that?
He finished and rolled off of Sara. She looked to the side, watching him as he tried to not close his eyes. He may be troubled by Annabel, she thought, but perhaps he wasn’t getting away from work this weekend after all.
-----
Late Saturday afternoon, Danny fried two hamburgers while Sara tossed together a salad. He got two plates, slid the burgers onto buns, slapped cheese on them and brought them over to the table. Sara got the condiments and two soft drinks, then they sat down.
“Yum,” she said after taking a bite. “This is the best cheeseburger I’ve had in a long time.”
“Yes, that hits the spot.” Danny served himself a salad and smiled. “I’m glad we came. But I think I better make one work-related call.”
“Which means you’ve been thinking about whatever it is,” she said.
He shrugged his shoulders. “Sorry about that. But actually I just want to ask Bruce if he can fill in some of my office hours this week.”
She poured salad dressing and looked at him questioningly.
“I’ll keep my surgery schedule the same,” he said, reassuring her.
“Good. People count on their surgeon, especially if it’s you.”
They finished eating and Danny quickly washed the plates while Sara dried. He then dialed Bruce’s number on his cell.
“It’s a Saturday evening so I’m wondering if this is a work or social call,” Bruce said right off.
“Can I count on you to add more hours in the office to the few you’ll be pulling this week?” Danny asked.
“You taking a holiday?”
“Actually, Sara and I are on the lake this weekend so that should tide me over. I need to get to work in the lab; I don’t really have a plan but I have to start somewhere. Call it research.”
“I trust you. You say the word and I’ll do what I can. My wife’s honey-do list will have to wait.”
“Thanks, Bruce. I have surgeries three mornings this week. How about you take over my afternoon appointments in the office those days?”
“Consider it done.”
-----
Even though Danny anticipated getting home on Sunday morning, it was Sara who darted towards the front door with Dakota, deciding to see Mary and Casey first before going to their own place. Nancy opened the door.
“How was it?” Nancy asked, twirling her hair in front of her ear without letting Sara pass as Dakota slipped through. “You two look like lovebirds … my own mother and father acting like honeymooners.”
“Hmm. Sometimes neurosurgeons have other things on their mind,” Sara lamented. “But I enjoyed myself nevertheless. There’s nothing like the sight of a natural body of water to renew your soul.”
“Okay, that answers that,” Nancy said, stepping aside.
“How were things here?”
The two women walked into the kitchen as Danny stepped in and closed the door.
“Mary is painting and there’s Casey and Julia,” Nancy said, pointing to the big room.
“Uh-oh,” Casey boomed. Dakota trotted into their space on the floor. The monument of toy building bricks they’d been playing with collapsed as the sorrel retriever nudged into both of them and his excitement waved his torso back and forth. Julia squealed and Casey rolled onto his back, grabbing Dakota from underneath and wrestling him.
“It’s good to be home,” Sara said. “It looks like Julia got back from her mother safe and sound.”
“And thanks for minding her,” Danny said.
Casey smiled over at them. “We weathered some sulkiness but that’s over, isn’t it young lady?” He tickled Julia’s side and she dashed away from him laughing. “It was our pleasure. I hope you two had fun.”
-----
Between his two Monday morning surgeries, Danny raced up the stairs to the ICU. After he read every chart note Dr. Banks and Matthew had written over the weekend, he went into David’s room.
“You’re looking refreshed,” Danny said.
David sat up in bed, his shoulders straight. With his short brown hair neatly combed, he looked quite good for being bedridden in an ICU.
“Hi, Doctor Tilson. I feel fine but I am bored out of my mind. What do they call it when patients just get up and storm out of a hospital? And don’t come back?”
Danny looked him up and down wondering if he was considering it. “An AMA. Against medical advice.” He patted the side of the mattress. “Do you mind if I sit?”
David shook his head so Danny sat, his left knee bent up on the bed, his posture relaxed. “Annabel mentioned how difficult it would be, you’re being in here. I can see that. Sometimes it’s virtually impossible when someone is going through tough times to see that things get better down the road. Later is when you realize you had to go through that necessary passage of time and events that got you to a better place.” Danny rubbed his chin. “Going AMA is not a good idea.”
A few seconds elapsed before David spoke. “Like not shooting some hoops again with my buddies after you warned me.”
“Yes, and I’m so sorry it happened.”
David nodded. “That Dr. Banks was by again this weekend. She explained to me again what you might have to do. That I’d have to go to surgery. And Annabel came by yesterday afternoon. I told her she doesn’t have to come by anymore if she doesn’t want to.”
“She’s a big girl. You two will figure out where the relationship is going, especially if you don’t put pressure on each other.”
“Dr. Tilson, I think we’re becoming even better friends.”
“A true friend is a rare thing. The best ones can last a lifetime.” Danny thought of Casey. Not only that, he thought, but it also means protecting a friend in unusual ways even without their knowledge.
David smiled. “So we can be old like you and be sharing work stories and pictures of our kids?”
“There’s a good chance,” Danny said.
-----
After his next intracranial surgery, Danny strolled over to the medical campus still wearing his white coat. He had called ahead to the research center and they had recommended one particular individual. With an engineering degree and a PhD in neuroscience, he didn’t think he could collaborate with a more skilled person, at least on paper, for what he thought about accomplishing.
Danny rode the elevator to the top floor and got out. The hallway was empty and he couldn’t hear a peep from the rooms that he passed. At the last door, Lab 608, he turned in. Most of the tables around the edge of the room were spotless but the middle area had signs of disarray where Danny found a tall man hunched over an EMG machine.
“Dr. Saxton?”
The man still tinkered at his project and Danny now noticed a small screwdriver in his hand.
“That’s me,” the man said. “What can I do you for?”
“I’m Danny Tilson, one of the local neurosurgeons.”
Vance Saxton put down his tool and stood straight. “Name sounds familiar. Yes, I’ve heard about you. Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” Danny said noticing his dark yet searching eyes and felt automatically comfortable when shaking his hand. “The research department gave me your name.”
Danny figured him to be around forty. He was bald, although not from premature hair loss; he was one of those men with remarkable facial features so that he could shave his head and
still have a handsome, rugged appearance. With a weathered look, he either had weekends filled with outdoor activities or had heritage that rendered him a tan complexion.
“I was wondering if I could discuss something with you,” Danny continued.
“Do you mind talking here or shall we go across the hallway? We have a room there with a couch.”
“Here is perfect. As a matter of fact, time is of the essence.”
“You’re heightening my curiosity,” Vance said, pointing him to a stool.
Danny shook his head and leaned against the counter. “My first question comes with two parts. Can I have access to this campus lab to work on a project? And, secondly, would it be possible to incorporate your help? If not, however, I’d still go ahead solo.” He wrung his hands as if itching to dive into whatever he was thinking about.
Vance studied Danny’s intent. “Unequivocally, yes. But I take it you can’t just drop out of your practice to be here eight hours a day; nor can I help you that much or my other projects would suffer.”
Danny smiled. “Wonderful. And you’re correct, although I have Bruce Garner - the former head of my group - who is going to fill in many of my office hours.
“That’s fortunate for you. Whatever it is you want to examine doing must be pretty important. So how long are we talking about?”
Danny gritted his teeth. “Ideally, within a month. At the outskirts, two months.
Vance raised his eyebrows. “Do you want me to install a cot in here for you to sleep?”
“No, that’s okay.”
“Really, I’m not joking. I’ve done that myself before when I’m possessed by an idea.”
“I have a feeling I’ve stumbled onto a good partner.”
“If you have the brainstorm along with a novel concept, then I will be your assistant and not technically your partner.”
“If you wish,” Danny said.
“So, are you going to enlighten me?”
“I must warn you this may sound like a crazy idea.”
“You must not be aware of what Albert Einstein said.”