Royal Pains : Sick Rich (9781101559536)

by Lyle, D. P.

  “Divya.” He shook her hand.

  I introduced him to Jill.

  “Ah, Ms. Casey. The brains behind Hamptons Heritage.”

  “Don’t know that I’d say that,” Jill said.

  “From what I hear it’s an accurate assessment.”

  Even in the dim light I could see Jill blushing. “That’s very kind of you to say.”

  “Are you having fun?” Nathan asked.

  “Very much,” Jill said.

  “Love the way you’ve decorated everything,” Divya said.

  “You don’t think it’s too much?”

  “Not at all. It’s breathtaking.”

  “As is this view,” I said.

  Nathan gazed out toward the ocean and nodded. “That’s the main reason I bought this place.” He looked back toward us. “That’s why I work from here most days. No place I’d rather be.”

  “Yeah,” Jill said, “I was just thinking how much this place reminds me of my apartment.”

  Nathan laughed. “It is a bit much, isn’t it?” He looked toward the house. “And a bit much to keep up with sometimes. Most of the rooms sit empty.”

  “I’m available for adoption,” Jill said.

  Nathan laughed again. “I never knew hospital administrators were so funny.”

  “Most aren’t,” I said. “At least not the ones I’ve known.”

  “You’re not thinking of one in particular, are you?” Nathan asked.

  I shrugged.

  “Raw deal,” Nathan continued. “No doubt about it.”

  I agreed.

  Nathan took a sip from the glass he held. “Soda water. See, I do listen.”

  “Maybe you should talk to some of our other patients,” Divya said. “The ones that don’t listen so well.”

  “Speaking of other patients,” Nathan said, “I stopped by and saw Jimmy Sutter. He looked amazingly good for what he’s been through.”

  “He’s a tough guy,” I said.

  “And a good man,” Nathan said. “Done work for me for years.”

  Someone called Nathan’s name from the other end of the patio. I looked that way. Two attractive women waved to him. Both wore ball gowns, one soft pink, the other dark green.

  “Excuse me,” Nathan said. “My fans await.”

  “No problem,” I said. “We’ll chat later.”

  Nathan walked to where the two women stood. Hugs and kisses followed. Todd, Nathan’s assistant, appeared behind him, whispered something to Nathan, and then retreated back into the house. Nathan hooked arms with the two women and they all followed Todd.

  “Fans, huh?” Jill asked.

  “I’d suspect a bachelor with Nathan’s bank account has a waiting list of fans.”

  “Waiting list?” Jill asked.

  “More applicants for the position than he can handle.”

  “And what position might that be?” Divya said, an eyebrow arched in my direction.

  Uh-oh. My brain searched for a clever answer. The first thought was “all of them,” but I tucked that one away. What, then? Divya crossed her arms as if saying, “Well, we’re waiting.”

  “Here he is.”

  It was Evan, standing in the rear doorway, his cane aimed in my direction.

  There are things you never want to hear come from Evan’s mouth. Things like, “I have a great idea,” or “I need to talk to you,” or as in this case, “Here he is.” Nothing good ever follows such pronouncements. At least he distracted Divya and Jill, as both turned to look at him.

  Turned out this “here he is” wasn’t bad at all. Evan led Eleanor Louise Parker Wentworth through the door and toward us. Ellie—to her friends, and to me—is one of my favorite patients. She looked magnificent in a colonial ball gown.

  “You look great,” I said.

  “You’re just saying that.”

  “I’m saying it because it’s true.”

  “You do,” Jill said. Divya agreed.

  “It’s so lovely to see all of you,” Ellie said. “It’s been a while.”

  “The wedding,” Jill said.

  Ellie, known for her outlandishly prefect parties, had thrown a huge one for her granddaughter’s wedding. Which almost didn’t happen. Granddaughter Nicole had a few “spells” that put the entire wedding in jeopardy. Until Divya and I uncovered that these spells were actually temporal lobe epilepsy. A few meds and Nicole was a picture-perfect bride.

  “How is Nicole?” I asked.

  “Marvelous. They had a wonderful honeymoon and are now back to the real world and building a life together in the city.”

  The music faded and people began to pour out of the house and onto the patio. Todd, dressed as the town crier, led the way, stopping at the edge of the patio and turning back to face the gathering.

  “It’s time for the fireworks,” Todd announced. “You can easily see them from here, but if you want to get up close we’ll go down to the beach and watch.”

  Nathan reappeared, flanked by the two women I had seen earlier. He descended the steps and, like the Pied Piper, led maybe two-thirds of the guests across the lawn toward the sand. Evan and Danielle decided to stay on the patio with Angela, who said the walk was a bit far for her. Ellie said she’d stay on the deck, too. Divya agreed. Jill and I joined the group headed for the front row.

  It must have been a hundred yards down to the boundary of Nathan’s estate. Jill and I moved to the right side, where we had a clear view of the water yet were free of the crowd.

  The first rocket sizzled skyward and exploded in a huge red, white, and blue scintillating ball. Oohs and aahs followed. As did more fireworks.

  “Take off your shoes,” I said.

  “Why?”

  “To go for a walk on the beach.”

  “And miss the fireworks?”

  “We can see them from there.”

  “You’re on.”

  And that’s what we did. Leaving our shoes on the grass, we crossed the sand to where the water lapped at it, making it firm and cool. We stood watching explosion after explosion light up the night sky, flash kaleidoscopic colors across the upturned faces of the crowd, and paint broken reflections on the water. I curled my arm around Jill and she rested her head against my shoulder.

  Life was good.

  Funny how that is. A few years ago I had lost my job and had no future and now here I was standing with the Hamptons elite on the estate of one of the richest men in the world, with a group of people I wouldn’t have known or even thought I wanted to know, back then. People who I had always assumed were too rich to be real.

  Amazing how all that had changed. These were people just like everyone else. Sure, they had more money than most could imagine, but they had the same problems as the rest of us. How do you raise your children? How do you keep life fun and interesting? How do you deal with tragedy? How do you find happiness?

  Universally human problems. They don’t have social boundaries.

  Even better, here I stood, enjoying this evening with someone I care about and who I know cares about me.

  Why weren’t we together? Really together? I’m not sure, but the closest I could come to a rational explanation was that neither of us was ready for a stronger commitment. Someday maybe, hopefully, but not just yet.

  Still, life was good.

 

 

 
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