Practice Makes Perfect (Single Father)

by Macdonald, Janice

  “Do me a favor,” he said, already constructing a scenario, “get me Debbi’s address from the file.”

  “She lives more than an hour from here.”

  “I know. Just get it for me, okay?”

  While he waited for her to come back with the address, he switched on the radio and turned the dial to the all-news station. Top story: the kidnapping of a two-year-old girl from Port Hamilton Hospital. An Amber Alert issued. Police were also seeking the whereabouts of the child’s physician, Sarah Benedict. “And this just in. The Rite Aid pharmacy on Lincoln Street in Port Hamilton was broken into sometime during the night.”

  “THIS WASN’T my idea, I assure you.” Curt momentarily took his eyes off the road to glance at Sarah in the passenger’s seat. “My goal was merely to rescue Alli from the clutches of Big Medicine and Doctor God. This—” he gestured at the gun that Debbi, in the backseat, was holding to Sarah’s head “—was a safety measure. You’ve managed to worm your way into her confidence and now she seems to think you can perform miracles.”

  “I didn’t say that, Curt,” Debbi protested. “Why can’t you admit that maybe someone knows more about medicine than you do? Just admit that you don’t know everything. I wanted Dr. Benedict here in case Alli got really sick again.”

  “But she is really sick.” Sarah tried to twist around in the seat to see Debbi’s face. She couldn’t see Alli, bundled up on the seat beside Debbi, but she could hear her uneven breathing. “Right now, she should be in the hospital. There’s nothing I can do, especially not under these conditions, to help her.”

  “But you’re her doctor,” Debbi said. “There must be something else you can try.”

  “Had you listened to me…” Curt began. “But why waste my breath.” He glanced at Sarah again. “A veritable cornucopia of pills and potions in that bag by your seat, should you wish to avail yourself. Common and not so common.”

  “I told Curt to get everything he could find,” Debbi said. “Maybe you should take a look in the bag.”

  “I don’t know how many ways I can say this,” Sarah said. “Alli needs more than what we’ve been doing. We have to take her back to the hospital.”

  “I think not,” Curt said. “A plan will ultimately present itself, but a hospital is not part of it.”

  “They’ll take Alli away from us,” Debbi said. “The social worker already said that could happen. And that doctor was horrible. He didn’t care about Alli, he frightened her. I’d rather…” She shook her head, unable to finish. “I’m so scared.”

  Sarah watched the dark trees fly past the window. The hospital would have discovered Alli missing hours ago, and by now the police would be searching for them. But the van’s heater wasn’t working, and she was seriously concerned about how long Alli could make it without medical intervention.

  “Look, she’s not going to get better without treatment.” She waved her hand at the bag of drugs. “And none of this is going to help. Every hour we delay puts her in more jeopardy. Here’s my suggestion—” she looked directly at Debbi “—let me call Dr. Cameron. I’ll tell him everything you’ve told me… You can talk to him yourself, if you want. But let’s at least give him a call and get his thoughts.” She looked at Curt. “You have to do something, you guys. Or else Alli’s going to die.”

  “If she dies, so do you,” Curt said.

  “That’s ridiculous,” Sarah said, then felt the gun against her head. Keep your mouth shut. But then she felt the light pressure of Debbi’s finger on her shoulder. She turned involuntarily and in the next instant the gun was in her hand and Debbi had propelled herself into the front seat, startling Curt, who fell against the driver’s door, which burst open. With the gun in one hand, her other against Curt’s shoulder, Sarah pushed him out of the truck and moved behind the wheel.

  “Okay, here’s the plan,” Sarah said, as she and Debbi sped off into the night.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  “IF I CAN OFFER you a piece of advice, Dr. Cameron,” the detective said. “Leave the police work to us in future. You could have saved yourself a tank of gas driving out there. That’s our job.”

  “I know.” Matthew nodded wearily. There had, of course, been no sign of Debbi or the child at the trailer park. And no word from Sarah. They were sitting around a table in one of the hospital conference rooms that had become the temporary nerve center. Every ten minutes or so, a public-relations type would come in with the latest press release. Compassionate Medical Systems bigwigs in droves. Endless recitations of the known facts.

  As he got up to get coffee, his cell phone rang. He glanced dispiritedly at the screen, expecting either Elizabeth, who had called several times, or Lucy. His heart lurched when he saw the number.

  “Sarah.”

  Around the table, everyone seemed to freeze.

  “Okay, Matthew, listen,” Sarah said when he answered. “I’m with Debbi, Curt and the baby. Alli’s not doing well. We need to get treatment for her as soon as possible. She needs to be in the hospital, but…” She paused. “This is really important, okay? Debbi is going to bring her in. She wants you to look at the baby. You. Not Dr. Cone or anyone else. Okay?”

  “Okay.” Matthew leaned against the wall. “Where are you?”

  “It doesn’t matter. But Matthew? You have to promise that nothing will happen to Debbi. That she won’t be arrested or anything. Because…I’m the guarantee.”

  “Okay,” he repeated. “Tell me—”

  “I suggested that Debbi brings Alli in through the basement. There are probably reporters hanging around the lobby and E.R. She’ll be there in about an hour.” Sarah paused. “Matthew, please promise me. Don’t let anything happen to Debbi.”

  AN ETERNITY LATER, Matthew stood before a bank of reporters. “I am Dr. Matthew Cameron, Alli Kennedy’s physician.” He breathed deeply to still the nerves created by the microphones thrust at his face. “She is responding well to treatment and is in stable condition. Yes,” he answered to a shouted question, “her mother is with her.”

  He glanced at the police chief to his left. “Charges? I think that one’s for you.”

  SARAH SHOWED UP at his apartment later that night. “It was a joint effort really. Once Debbi gave me the gun, getting Curt out of the van was a piece of cake. But then we had to decide how to make sure Alli got treated by you and not Conehead. So we concocted the story. I wasn’t sure you’d fall for it.”

  She scooted around on the couch, so that she lay stretched out, feet hanging over the arm, her head in his lap. “The only good thing that came out of this, I guess, is that Curt is in jail for kidnapping. Hopefully they don’t press any charges against Debbi.”

  Matthew stroked her hair. She seemed on the verge of tears and, knowing Sarah, he guessed she was beating herself up for her role in this. “That isn’t the only good thing,” he said. “Without your intervention, without you to turn to, Debbi would have gone on trying to treat Alli herself. Or gone to the free clinic and possibly seen someone not sufficiently trained to recognize Alli’s problems. So things aren’t all bad.”

  “Maybe not.” She sounded unconvinced.

  He yawned and leaned down to kiss her forehead. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for bed.”

  “Me, too.”

  But long after Sarah had left, he was still wide-awake. He’d reached a crossroad, he realized. To continue down the path he’d been on before Sarah came back. Or head into unfamiliar, fog-obscured territory. He considered what would happen if he continued along the known road. He decided to risk the unknown.

  THE FOLLOWING MORNING, he received a visit from Carolyn Calhoun. She was not happy.

  “You exerted considerable pressure to get this child into the hospital, Dr. Cameron. In doing so, however, you chose not to disclose the full facts of the situatio
n. Namely that the state had taken custody of her. You assured Dr. Cone he would enjoy your full support and cooperation, but you did not keep your word. As a result of this unfortunate turn of events, Compassionate Medical Systems has been subjected to a great deal of unfavorable publicity. I’ve been in conference with our legal counsel and, on his recommendation, I must regretfully ask for your resignation.”

  “No regrets,” Matthew said. “I was about to offer it to you anyway.”

  Back in his office, he called Lucy and then Elizabeth and told them he’d see them both that evening at the house.

  “What’s wrong, Matt?” Elizabeth had asked.

  “Dad, just tell me why,” Lucy had insisted.

  “Just be there,” was all he would say to each one. “Six, sharp.” And then he called Sarah.

  “I was walking out the door,” she said. “I have some errands to do. Are you okay?”

  “Fine,” he said. “Will you be home tonight?”

  “Yeah.” He heard her pause. “Really, Matthew. Is everything okay? As okay as it could be under the circumstances?”

  “Everything’s okay,” he said. “I’ll see you later.”

  AFTER SHE HUNG UP, Sarah packed Deanna in her cage and drove to Rose’s house.

  “All I can say is it’s a good thing you’re a dermatologist,” Sarah said as she set the cage on Rose’s living-room floor. “If you were an ob-gyn, I’d seriously wonder about your competence.”

  Rose, reaching into the cage to remove Deanna, looked up at Sarah.

  “What?”

  “Deanna’s a she. And, what’s more, she’s pregnant.”

  “No.” Rose rolled the cat over in her arms, cradling it like a baby. “Come here, poky. Let mama check what’s under all that pretty fur.”

  “You can save yourself the trouble,” Sarah said. “I already checked.”

  Rose grinned.

  She set the cat down on the carpet. “Coffee? I was in the middle of making some.”

  Sarah followed her into the kitchen and sat at the table. Rose set a coffee mug in front of Sarah and sat down beside her.

  “Well?” Rose asked. “What’s the latest?”

  “Debbi called a while ago. Alli’s doing better, but she’s still undergoing tests. Debbi’s apparently had a change of heart about Dr. Cone. She’s still not thrilled with his bedside manner apparently, but she says he’s a good doctor.” She drank some coffee. “She thanked me for all I’d done, but said that Alli would be seeing Dr. Cone from now on. And one of the PR people is going to write an article for the employee magazine—about Alli’s care and how Compassionate Medical Systems really is compassionate.”

  Rose raised an eyebrow. “She’s been thoroughly indoctrinated, eh?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You didn’t have to.”

  Sarah suddenly felt close to tears. She watched the play of sunlight across the top of the table. Spring, after a few tentative starts, had finally come to the peninsula. On the way over to Rose’s, she’d noticed daffodils blooming everywhere, the pink clouds of cherry blossoms, but her mood felt leaden and gray, the tender shoots of her fledgling practice withering before they could grow into anything meaningful. “Debbi’s got a hearing next week about the custody issue,” she said, mostly to fill the silence. “We’ll see what happens after that.”

  “Cone wields a lot of influence,” Rose said. “As long as Debbi keeps all the appointments and doesn’t start feeding her dandelion tea, they’ll probably grant her custody.” She peered at Sarah. “How are you?”

  Sarah considered how to answer the question, not sure she wanted to confide in Rose.

  Rose raised a brow. “That bad, eh?”

  “Debbi also said Matthew had resigned from CMS.” Tears stung her nose and throat and she waited a moment, trying to get control. “He didn’t mention it when he called, but he’s coming over tonight. I guess, to tell me.”

  “I’d heard rumors,” Rose said.

  “I feel like a tornado that blew into town,” Sarah said. “Lucy, Debbi, Matthew.” She got up from the table, grabbed a tissue and blew her nose. “Well, maybe not so much Debbi. She’s getting the proper treatment for Alli, which is a positive, I guess. But Matthew.”

  “And what’s your solution?”

  Sarah moved to the window. The mock cherry at the edge of Rose’s yard was in full bloom, blossoms like pink confetti fluttering in the breeze off the strait. Out in the water, a red coast-guard boat left a wake as it rounded the harbor.

  “I think I want to get out of Dodge,” she said. “Well, I don’t exactly want to, but I think that would be best for everyone.”

  “Very noble of you.”

  Sarah felt the words like a slap. She’d turned from the window to glare at Rose. “Why is it so difficult for you to act like a mother?”

  Her expression unruffled, Rose met Sarah’s angry stare. “Sarah, I don’t act like a mother. I am a mother. Maybe I’m not your idea of what a mother should be, but I’m me. I’m the way I am. And I refuse to beat myself up because I don’t meet your standards.”

  Her anger dissipating as quickly as it had flared, Sarah got more coffee. She thought of the book of lists. The Perfect Mother, the Perfect Husband. She’d never written one called the Perfect Me. Maybe there wasn’t enough paper to list all the things she expected of herself. She returned her seat. Elbows on the table, she propped her chin and looked bleary-eyed at Rose.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I understand you more than you give me credit for, Sarah.” Rose stroked the cat. “You carry around this feeling that you’ve failed somehow. You failed at being pretty, you failed at winning Matthew. I don’t see how you could possibly have thought you failed at being the smartest kid in the class, mostly because you worked so hard to make it happen.”

  Sarah smiled faintly. “Actually, I failed at that, too. Matthew was smarter, although I’d never tell him that.”

  “And now you’ve failed to charm his daughter. Lost out to her, just like you did to Elizabeth. Made a big fiasco of this Debbi Kennedy case. Chalk that up as another failure.”

  “Remind me not to call you if I ever feel suicidal,” Sarah said, although she was quite aware of what Rose was doing.

  “Well, you’re forty-two, Sarah, and what do you have to show for your life? Do you have a husband? Kids? Property? Money in the bank—other than what your father left you? Your father, who wasn’t a failure, I might add.”

  “Okay, you made your point. So what do I do about it?”

  Rose smirked. “Quite honestly, I don’t know. I’ve always been better at pointing out your faults than your attributes. No doubt why I’m listed in your book.”

  “I apologized,” Sarah said. “Burn the book.”

  “No way,” Rose said. “I find it charming. Hopelessly naive but charming, nonetheless.” She set the cat down on the floor, opened a can of cat food and emptied it into a dish. “Here’s my advice, for what it’s worth.”

  Sarah waited.

  “Just be yourself and quit worrying about not being perfect. Nothing is perfect. You’re not perfect and you never will be no matter how hard you try. This—” she grabbed the newspaper from the table “—isn’t perfect. There is news that hasn’t been reported. There are probably typos. Pictures out of focus. Does that mean you shouldn’t read it? Of course not. That’s the point. Just because something is not perfect, it can still be very effective and useful.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Yep.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  EVERY LIGHT IN THE HOUSE was blazing as Matthew pulled into Elizabeth’s driveway. The living room was empty, but the television was on and a newscaster was yammering about the latest developments
in the Alli Kennedy kidnapping.

  “…which raises the question of how adequate hospital security…”

  Matthew snapped it off and followed the sound of Lucy’s voice up the stairs to her bedroom where she was lying on the bed reading a magazine and Elizabeth, seated at Lucy’s dresser, was polishing her nails. The carpet, pale pink, was littered with magazines, socks and dirty glasses. They both looked up as he came in.

  “Any reason why the TV is on when there’s no one down there watching it?” he asked. “Or why the house is lit up like a beacon?”

  Elizabeth gave him a puzzled look as though seriously considering an answer. “What’s up with you?”

  “Hey, Dad.” Lucy tapped the magazine. “Check out this snowboard.”

  “Lucy,” Elizabeth warned, obviously sensing something from his expression. “Let’s go downstairs. I haven’t started dinner yet.”

  “Let’s go to Bella’s,” Lucy said.

  Elizabeth had already started down the stairs. He followed her, Lucy behind him, and they all trooped into the kitchen.

  “How about pasta?” Elizabeth opened the refrigerator. “I’ve got some cooked chicken and…asparagus.”

  “Do that later.” Matthew pulled out a chair and sat down. Lucy had pulled herself up on the counter, and Elizabeth was still inventorying the fridge. “Okay, there’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to plunge right in. I made a major decision today. Two, actually. The first is I’m no longer with Compassionate Medical Systems.”

  Elizabeth’s jaw dropped. She leaned against the counter. In the pin-dropping silence, her glance moved briefly to Lucy then fixed on him. “Matt. You resigned?”

  “I was going to. They beat me to it and fired me.” He waited a moment for that to sink in. “Obviously, this is going to necessitate a lot of changes and some of them won’t be easy. To start with we’re going to have to sell this house.”