by Hope Ramsay
No one jumped to get him signed in and ready. “Yep,” Leonore continued. “Doctor called me and said, ‘Leonore, would you mind getting this thing the heck out of my house because it’s making my daughter cry’ and I said ‘No problem, boss, I’ll be right over.’ It was a Saturday, and I was still dressed in my pj’s.” Ah yes. The cake had been delivered to her parents’ house by accident, after the wedding was called off. Bless her dad, thinking of the shelter. At least someone had gotten some pleasure out of it.
“I’m so excited to be working here, ladies,” Sara said, smiling her cheeriest smile and hoping to leave the topic of her beautiful failed wedding in the dust. “I know my dad will teach me so much, but I’m also hoping to help the office make some adjustments to move us more into state-of-the-art patient care.” At least she prayed she could do that, but she knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
“Well, we’re all about state-of-the-art patient care,” Glinda said. “Your father’s the best doc in town, but let’s face it, this place needs a face-lift.” She straightened the frame on the iconic Norman Rockwell print of the doctor giving the little boy a shot in the butt. It made Sara think instantly of Colton. She wondered if he’d been cute with a buzz cut like the boy in the painting. Actually, he was cute with a buzz cut now, in a whole different way.
Ugh, why had she just thought that?
“What kinds of adjustments, dear?” Leonore asked, the slightest furrow forming between her brows.
“My dad’s going to get penalized by Medicare if he doesn’t turn his charts electronic, so I said I’d get us started on that. Plus we talked about getting new computers for the reception desk and electronic tablets to bring into the exam rooms. And painting the office. Getting a new EKG machine. That kind of stuff.”
“I like everything but the electronic records,” Leonore said. “That sounds a little scary.”
“Don’t be afraid, Leonore,” Glinda said. “It means a better computer. You’ll be able to play Words with Friends even faster.”
“Well, we’ll all be learning together,” Sara said. “I also had some ideas about streamlining the day so we can get out of here earlier.”
Leonore patted her on the back. “You do that, honey. All my grandkids play sports, and I never get out of here on time.”
“I’m sure Sara will have kids one day too,” Glinda said. “I mean, when you meet someone, that is.” She blushed, knowing the topic was a sensitive one. “And when you do, you’ll want to get home too.”
“Glinda, I want to get home before seven now, even though I don’t have a boyfriend or kids.”
“Look, we love your dad,” Leonore said. “He’s a kind man and a wonderful doctor. But the man can talk. He knows everyone and he’ll help anyone with any problem. But sometimes you just need to get to business and get home, you know what I mean?”
Sara knew her dad loved to talk to people. It was what made him beloved in the community and also what made him chronically behind schedule. It would improve everyone’s life to make a few changes.
Just then her dad walked in, gave her a quick squeeze, and went for a piece of coffee cake. “Welcome to your first day,” he said. “Did you see what’s on your office door?”
“What? No, I-I haven’t been back there yet.” A few weeks ago, Sara had helped clean out a little room down the hall that had been used for supplies but was now her office. When she walked back, she saw a wooden engraved plaque attached to her door that read “Sara Langdon, MD.”
“Oh, Dad,” she said, getting teary.
Leonore slipped her iPhone out of its vibrant multicolored case as Sara rejoined them. “OK, you two, smile now. First-day picture!”
Her father wrapped his arm around Sara and pressed his cheek against hers, grinning widely. She couldn’t help but grin too. “That’s my girl,” he said proudly as he let go. “Glad to have you here, sweetheart.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet,” Leonore said, looking at the picture. “I’m going to frame this and hang it next to the picture behind your desk of Sara running around the Christmas tree in her diaper. Won’t that be so cute?”
Sara pretended not to hear that. She was still smiling at what her dad had said. For a moment her heart reached out to grab everything in its path—his approval, the fact that he’d just basically said that he wanted her here with him, as his partner. That maybe it was all right not to be in an academic fellowship far away from family, doing research and presenting papers at Harvard. That she might belong right here at home after all.
Leonore showed her the photo. “We should put this on the practice website, Dad,” Sara said.
“Do we have a website?” Glinda asked.
“Well, we probably should have one,” her dad said. “But by the time we get it up there, Sara will probably be gone.”
Sara tried not to let her expression fall. Gone? Despite the plaque and his kind words, her dad clearly still expected her to move on to bigger and better things.
“I can see Mr. Humphries,” she offered. Best to get busy. Show her dad she was gung ho about starting and that she believed in efficiency.
Glinda checked her watch. “It’s only eight-oh-five, sweetie,” she said. “We don’t start with the patients until eight thirty.”
But he’d been here for twenty minutes, and Sara could use a distraction. “Well, maybe we could see him early today so he could get back to work.” And keep traffic in the office flowing, which seemed to be a novel idea.
“Oh, all right,” Glinda said. “Sure. I can put him in a room.”
Leonore took her dad aside a moment to confer about something before she returned to her desk. Sara had just moved to pick up the patient’s chart when her dad appeared at her side, clearing his throat and putting a hand on her arm. “Um, I’ll see George,” he said. “Longtime patient, you know?” He lowered his voice. “It will be a lot easier for me to just take this one.”
Sara frowned. “Did he—did he insist on seeing you?”
“Well, you know how it is, sweetheart…people have their certain problems and they feel most comfortable with who’s been listening to them for years. You understand that, don’t you?”
“Right. Of course.” She forced a smile.
“Don’t worry,” her dad said, giving her another squeeze. “You’ll be plenty busy all day. It’s not even eight thirty yet.”
Sara fought against the awful sinking feeling in her abdomen. Her dad had a personal relationship with all his patients. He truly cared about them, and they adored him in return. It looked like neither her dad nor the patients were going to be able to give that up easily.
Resolutely she walked back to her office to stare at her blank white walls and her too-tidy desk. She stuck a pack of gum and a pen into her new knit kangaroo pouch. It was early yet…the first hour. But she had a feeling it was going to be a long day.
* * *
“So what are you doing here so late anyway?” Sara asked her best friend, Kaitlyn, that evening at the Bean, the coffee shop Kaitlyn had inherited from her grandfather. “Don’t you have something to do with that hunky high school football coach you’re dating?”
Kaitlyn was scrubbing coffee carafes in the big industrial sink while Sara sat at the steel kitchen counter sorting sugar and Splenda packets. “You may as well know,” Kaitlyn said, “I broke up with him.”
Sara looked up. “You broke up with Steve? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You’ve had a lot on your mind, what with moving back and starting work…and flirting with Colton.” Kaitlyn attempted a smile.
Sara chose to ignore the Colton remark. On second thought, she would address it immediately. “You mean fighting, not flirting. And have I been that unavailable that you couldn’t even tell me that? If I have been, I’m a shitty friend and I’m sorry.”
Kaitlyn pushed back a strand of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail and kept scrubbing a carafe. Steam drifted up, curling Kaitlyn’s already wavy blonde hair. She turned of
f the water and pulled off her rubber gloves. “Truthfully, Sara, I haven’t felt like talking about it. I’d really rather talk about your life. It’s more exciting. Speaking of which, how’d your first day working with your dad go?”
Sara smiled. “Hardly exciting. And speaking of not wanting to talk about it…” She laughed. “Seriously, it was all right. I’m optimistic. And more importantly, I’m really glad I took this time to come home and be with my nonna. And closer to you. I’ve really regretted being so far away. Come sit down and talk with me.”
“OK, fine. I’m done here anyway.” Her smile was genuine this time as she gestured for Sara to follow her as she took a seat at one of the cute tables in the coffee shop proper. “What can I get you to drink? Or I have leftover muffins if you’re hungry.”
“My dad and Rachel are having Nonna for dinner tonight, so I’m free. Want to order a pizza?” Sara asked. “Like the old days?”
“Anchovies and onions? I don’t think so.”
“Oh, come on. I’ll even splurge for the Cherry Coke.”
“Blech, you’re making me sick. I can do a veggie pizza with a two-liter of Diet. And a salad. If you make the call.”
“Deal.” Sara ordered the pizza from Lou’s, their favorite local pizza restaurant and bar. “Twenty minutes until pickup,” she announced.
Kaitlyn got them each a glass of water and sat down. “I’m tired.”
“You must be. You start at like four a.m., don’t you? And you’re still here. That’s worse than my dad’s hours.”
“The business is going great. What I mean is, I’m tired of pretending I’m in love. Steve’s a great guy, but I don’t love him. That’s why I broke it off. I tried my best, but it just didn’t happen.”
“Oh, Kaitlyn. I’m sorry.” Sara squeezed her hand. She worried about Kaitlyn, who kept dating guys but none of them stuck. When they were younger Sara had blamed that on Kaitlyn’s having a hopeless crush on Rafe. Now she wasn’t so sure.
“There’s no reason to be sorry. Now Steve has the chance to meet and fall in love with someone he really loves. And I do too.”
Well, that sounded positive, but Kaitlyn didn’t look like she felt very positive. “You’ve dated a lot of guys,” Sara said. “At least you’ve got the experience of knowing what you want.”
“Well, mostly what I don’t want.” She played with a Splenda packet in the center of the table. “My mother would say I’m too picky. Is it too picky to want a gentleman, someone who’s polite and considerate, has a good job, is kind to animals, and can cook?”
Oh well, Rafe definitely couldn’t cook…much. So maybe Kaitlyn was safe. Plus she did look sad about Steve. So hopefully Rafe was out of the picture. On second thought, Rafe had brought a really good salad to dinner last weekend.
There was a sudden knock at the big plate glass window. Sara turned to see her brother’s face plastered against it. Kaitlyn laughed, suddenly animated at seeing Rafe.
Rafe popped his head in the door. “Hey, Sara, Kate-sters.” Sara didn’t miss that Rafe’s glance lingered on her best friend. Or that he called her that goofy name. “Anything new in coffee world? Hey, I need another bag of that Red Bull coffee you sold me a couple of weeks ago.”
“You mean the Himalayan high altitude mix?” Kaitlyn asked.
“Yeah, that’s it. The guys at the station love that stuff for when we’re up all night.”
“Rafe, did you really come by to buy coffee now?” Sara asked. “We’re having girl talk. Besides, the Bean is closed and Kaitlyn is off the clock.”
“Want to know the truth?” Rafe asked. “I figured if I offered to pick up your pizza, maybe you’d let me stay and eat a slice.”
“Or ten,” Kaitlyn added. “How did you know we just ordered?”
“Because I just called for one too, and Lou told me. I’ll be back in a few.”
“Here, let me get some money,” Kaitlyn said, already halfway out of her chair.
“Don’t bother,” Rafe said with a killer smile. “You get it next time, Katie Scarlett.” Then he was gone, disappearing back onto Main Street, the bell above the door tinkling in his wake and Kaitlyn’s face as crimson as the nickname Rafe had just called her.
Katie Scarlett? As in O’Hara? What was going on with the cute little endearments? “Since when did you get so chummy with my brother?” Sara asked.
Kaitlyn shrugged. “We’ve always been friends.” She paused a long time. “That’s the problem.”
“No, Kaitlyn! Not Rafe. He’s the worst kind of commitmentphobe. He will break your heart. Guaranteed. Do you hear me? Guaranteed.”
“It’s my heart to break, Sara. I want it all, the whole package—the rapid pulse, the swoony kisses, the feeling that you know when he’s in the room because your whole body reacts to his presence. That’s how I feel around Rafe.”
Sara disguised her horror because Kaitlyn looked so…passionate. “Are you going to tell him?”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do. Because right now we are friends. We hang out sometimes.”
“I heard you’ve been to Nonna’s for dinner.”
“A couple of times. Her lasagna is amazing.” She rubbed her stomach. “One day, your brother is going to wake up and discover he’s in love with me too. I just know it.”
Kaitlyn got up from the table before Sara could roll her eyes. “Where are you going?” Sara asked, holding back her panic.
“I have leftover muffins for Rafe to bring to the guys at the station.”
“No. Do not give my brother your muffins!”
“He can have my muffins if he wants them.”
Oh God, were they really talking about muffins? “You’re too kind and generous. He will stomp all over your muffins and break your heart, because that’s what Rafe does, without even knowing it.”
“Someone’s going to get through to him, Sara. Maybe it could be me.”
“I just care about you. I want you to be happy.”
“And I appreciate it. Not to change the subject, but…Gabby and I want you to be happy too. So we’ve, um…found you a date.”
“No, Kaitlyn.” This was going from bad to worse. “I’m not ready yet.”
“You said yourself you’re sick of everyone talking about last year. People will forget all about it if you get back on the horse. Besides, the guy is a doctor, and he’s cute. My aunt Millie tried to set him up with me, but he’s not my type.”
“Of course not. Because you think Rafe is your type.”
Kaitlyn shrugged. Then she looked up, a huge grin spreading across her face. Sara turned around to see that Rafe had entered through the back way, carrying a big pizza box. Geez, she had it bad.
“I haven’t been on a first date for thirteen years,” Sara mumbled, mostly to herself because Kaitlyn was so preoccupied.
Kaitlyn tore her gaze from Rafe long enough to flash Sara a smile. “Well, that’s going to change on Friday. And Gabby and I are going to help you.”
Chapter 7
The next Friday night, Sara walked into Lou’s Pizza only to find Hannah working the hostess stand. She hadn’t been to Lou’s in ages, but it felt the same—crowded red booths with people talking and laughing, black-and-white photos all over the walls of Lou’s family making pizzas in Italy in the very old days, and the smell of the best pizza this side of Cleveland. The smack of pool balls resonated from the pool and Ping-Pong tables in the back, where the teenagers usually hung out. Not the most romantic place to meet a blind date, but definitely a popular one.
“Hi, sweetie,” Sara said, giving Hannah a hug. “You look pretty tonight.” Since their grandmothers were friends, she’d known Hannah since she was a baby. And she’d been Hannah’s counselor at the local day camp during her summers in college. Hannah had been one of her favorite campers, notwithstanding the fact that Colton was her brother.
“Hi, Sara,” Hannah said, pulling out a menu from behind a wooden stand. “Your sister and Kaitlyn are already here.”
Sara scanned the restaurant until she caught sight of Gabby and Kaitlyn sitting together in a booth near the windows.
Hannah looked her over, no doubt noticing that she was dressed up and had makeup on. “You look really nice. Do you have a date?”
“Actually yeah, I do.” She held out her hands. “I even got my nails done.” Gabby’s idea. It had taken a whole hour, but it had been kind of fun. Sara fingered a blue stone Hannah wore on a leather cord around her neck. “Cute.”
“I made it in a jewelry-making class at the community center. Want me to make you one? Better yet, you should come to class with me. It’s on Monday nights.”
Sara tried hard to imagine herself taking a Monday night off to make jewelry. Yet this was her new life, and she was determined to make an effort to do normal things, for Nonna’s sake and, tonight, thanks to Gabby, for her own sake. Hence the blind date. And the nails. And the fact that she was wearing Gabby’s top. It was part of the new Sara. Open to new experiences, not working all the time. Moving on from Tagg, which in this town was a feat, as her patients mentioned her breakup multiple times a day. “That sounds like fun,” Sara said.
Hannah seemed to genuinely brighten at that. She had the same striking eyes as Colton, only hers were hazel, not blue. Dark-brown hair like his too, but hers was straight and shiny and pulled back in a ponytail. “Hey, congrats on OSU,” Sara said. “Is your summer going OK?”
“It would be better if my brother didn’t hang out here.” She gestured toward the back. “He’s lurking over there.”
Oh no. Colton was here? Sure enough, there he was in the back, holding a pool cue and leaning his long frame against the wall, talking to a couple of guys she hadn’t seen since high school. As Hannah led her to the table, she made certain not to look in his direction, focusing on not tripping in her high-heeled sandals (also Gabby’s).
“I don’t think this is a good place to meet a date,” Sara said to Gabby and Kaitlyn as she sat down. “Too noisy,” she added, nodding toward the back. And too close to Colton.