The Doctor's Redemption

by Susan Carlisle

  She’d told Marsha, “Don’t get any ideas. There’s nothing going on here.”

  “Okay, if you say so.” Marsha hadn’t sounded convinced before she’d hung up.

  Allie and Jeremy woke when she parked. They got out of the car, talking a mile a minute about the parade and Gus. Marsha grinned over their heads at Laura Jo. “Come in and tell me all about your visit to Dr. Clayborn’s,” Marsha said, as if to the children but Laura Jo had no doubt she meant her.

  “There’s not much to tell and the kids have school tomorrow.” Laura Jo locked her car.

  “I know they have school tomorrow but you can come in for a few minutes.”

  Laura Jo straightened. Marsha wouldn’t let it go until she’d heard every detail but Laura Jo wouldn’t be telling her about the kiss. The one that had shaken something awake in her. It wouldn’t happen again, even if there was an occasion, which there wouldn’t be. She doubted that her path and Mark’s would cross again. They didn’t even live on the same side of the bay.

  Allie and Jeremy ran ahead on the way to Marsha’s apartment. She and Marsha followed more slowly.

  A few minutes later, Marsha set a glass of iced tea in front of Laura Jo and said, “Okay, spill.”

  “Mark let the kids dress up Gus, his dog.”

  “So you’re on a first-name basis with the good doc now?”

  Laura Jo rolled her eyes. It was starting. “He asked me to call him Mark and it seemed foolish not to.”

  Marsha nodded in a thoughtful way, as if she didn’t believe her friend’s reasoning. “So what else did you do?”

  “We went to the parade. Mark walked with the kids while I watched.” She chuckled.

  “What’s that laugh for?”

  “I was just thinking of the look on Mark’s face when he showed up pulling a wagon with the kids and the dog in it he’d bought off a boy.”

  Marsha gave her a long look. “That sounds interesting.”

  “It was.” Laura Jo launched into the story, her smile growing as she told it.

  She ended up laughing and Marsha joined her.

  “So you went back to his place?”

  “I wish you’d stop saying ‘so’ like that and acting as if it was a date. The only reason I agreed to go was because Allie wanted to dress up the dog and be in the parade so badly.”

  “So…”

  Laura Jo glared at her.

  “You didn’t enjoy yourself at all?” Marsha continued without paying Laura Jo any attention.

  “I don’t even like the guy.”

  “This is the most you’ve had to do with a man since I’ve known you. I think you might be a little more interested in him than you want to admit.”

  “I think you’re wrong.” Laura Jo was going to see to it that it was the truth. “There’s one more thing and I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but he did ask me to the krewe dance.”

  “And you said no.” Marsha said the words as a statement of a fact.

  “I did. For more than one reason.”

  Marsha turned serious. “We could use his contacts.”

  “I’ve already told you that I’m not going to do that. What if I saw my parents and they found out I was there, asking for money. I couldn’t face them like that.”

  “Even at the cost of losing the house? Laura Jo, you’ve been gone so long I can’t imagine that your parents would see it as crawling back.”

  “You don’t know my father. It would be his chance to tell me ‘I told you so.’ I lived though that once. Not again.”

  Marsha didn’t know that Laura Jo hadn’t spoken to her parents since before Allie’s birth.

  “So I guess we’ll put all our hope in that grant coming through.”

  Laura Jo took a sip of her tea then said, “Yes, that and a moneybags willing to help us out.”

  “You’ve got a moneybag in Mark Clayborn.”

  “Oh, I forgot to show you this.” Laura Jo pulled the check Mark had given her out of her pocket.”

  Marsha whistled. “Very generous. He must really like you.”

  “No. It was more like I made him feel guilty.”

  “Whatever you did, at least this will help. We just need to get others to be so kind.”

  “Now I’m not only indebted to him for giving Allie a wonderful afternoon but for helping with the shelter.”

  “You don’t like that, do you, Ms. I-Can-Do-It-Myself?”

  “No, I don’t. We have nothing in common. He and I don’t want the same things out of life anymore.”

  “Oh, and you know that by spending one afternoon with him?” Marsha picked up both of their glasses and placed them in the sink. “You do know that people with money also care about their families, love them, want the best for them?”

  All of what Laura’s Jo’s father had said to her just before he’d told her that Phil was no good. Had her father felt the same way about her as she did about Allie? Worry that something bad might happen to her? Worry over her happiness?

  “Well, it’s time for me to get Allie home.”

  As Laura Jo and Allie made their way to the front door Marsha said, “We’ve got to find that money for the shelter. There are worse things in life to have to do than dress up and go out with a handsome man to a dance.”

  “What handsome man, Mama?”

  “No one, honey. Aunt Marsha is just trying to be funny.”

  Mark was handsome. But what Laura Jo was more concerned about was the way his kiss had made her feel. Had made her wish for more.

  * * *

  Mark came out of a deep sleep at the ringing of his cell phone.

  What time was it? He checked his bedside clock. 3:00 a.m. This was never good news. Had something happened to his father?

  Mark snatched up the phone. “Hello.”

  “Mark, its Laura Jo.”

  The relief that he felt that the call wasn’t about his father was immediately replaced with concern for her.

  “I’m sorry to call…”

  He was wide awake now, heart throbbing. “Are you all right? Allie?”

  “Yes. Yes. We’re fine. It’s a child staying at the shelter. The mother has no insurance and is afraid of doctors. I think the child needs to be seen. Fever, sweating, not eating and lethargic. The mother won’t agree to go to the hospital. Will you come?”

  “Sure, but will she let me examine the child if I do?”

  “I’ll convince her that it’s necessary before you get here. If she wants to stay at the shelter then she’ll have to let you.”

  “Give me directions.”

  Laura Jo gave him an address in a less-than-desirable area of the city.

  “I’ll be there in about thirty minutes.”

  “Thanks, Mark. I really appreciate this.”

  The longest part of the trip was traveling the two-lane road between his house and the interstate. Even at this early hour it took him more time than he would have liked. Finally, he reached the four-lane, where he could speed across the two-mile causeway that bisected the bay.

  The child must really be worrying Laura Jo or she would never have called him. She’d made it clear she didn’t plan to see him again when she’d left his house. He’d thought of nothing but their kiss for the rest of the evening. To hear her voice on the other end of the phone had been a surprise. The child’s symptoms didn’t sound all that unusual but with a small person it wasn’t always straightforward.

  He drove through the tunnel that went under Mobile River and came up on Governor Street. There were no crowds now, only large oaks and barriers lining the main street. A number of miles down the street he made a left and not long after that he pulled up in front of what looked like a building that had been a business at one time. The glass windows were painted black and there were dark curtains over the door window. One lone light burned above it. It looked nothing like a place for pregnant woman or children. He could clearly see why they needed a house to move to.

  Laura Jo’s car was parked near the do
or and he took the slot next to hers. Picking up his cell phone, he pressed Return. Seconds later, Laura Jo’s voice came on the line. “I’m outside.”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  Mark stood at the door for only seconds before the dead bolt clicked back and Laura Jo’s face came into view.

  After making sure it was him, she opened the door wider. “I appreciate you coming.”

  He entered and she locked the door behind him. The room he was in resembled a living room with its couches and chairs spread out. There was one small TV in the corner. At least it looked more welcoming from the inside than it did from the outside.

  “Anna’s family’s room is down this way.” Laura Jo, dressed in jeans, T-shirt and tennis shoes, led him down a hall toward the back of the building, passing what he guessed had once been offices. Were families living in nothing more than ten-by-ten rooms?

  “Has anything changed?” Mark asked.

  “No, but I’m really worried. Anna has been so distraught about the loss of her husband I’m not sure she’s been as attentive to her children as she should have been.”

  “I’ll have a look and see what we come up with. Don’t worry.”

  They stopped at the last door.

  “Anna isn’t a fan of doctors.”

  “I’ll be on my best behavior.” He gave her a reassuring smile.

  Laura Jo nodded and knocked quietly on the door before she opened it. “Anna, someone is here to check on little Marcy.”

  Laura Jo entered and he followed close behind. A lone light shone, barely giving off enough light for him to see the room. There was a twin bed shoved into the corner and another at a right angle to that one where two children slept feet to feet. There was also a baby bed but it was empty because the child was in her mother’s arms. The woman was reed thin, wide-eyed and had wavy hair. She couldn’t have been more than twenty-five.

  “Hi, Anna, I’m Mark, and I’ve come to see if I can help little Marcy. Why don’t you sit on the bed and hold her while I have a look? I promise not to hurt her.”

  Anna hesitated then looked a Laura Jo.

  “I’ll sit beside you.” Laura Jo led her over to the bed.

  Mark went down on one knee and placed his bag beside him. He pulled out his stethoscope. The heat he felt as he put his hand close to the child’s chest indicated she was still running a fever.

  “I’m only going to listen to her heart and lungs now. Check her pulse.” He gave the mother a reassuring smile and went to work. Done, he asked, “How long has she had this fever?”

  “Since yesterday,” the mother said in a meek voice.

  He looked a Laura Jo.

  “I had no idea.” She sounded defensive and he hadn’t intended to make her feel that.

  To Anna he said, “I’m going to need to check Marcy’s abdomen.”

  “Let’s lay Marcy on the bed. That way she’ll be more comfortable,” Laura Jo suggested.

  Mark moved his hand over the child’s stomach area. It was distended and hard. Something serious was, without a doubt, going on. He glanced at Laura Jo. Their gazes met. The worry in her eyes was obvious.

  “Anna, thank you for letting me see Marcy.” He looked at Laura Jo again and tilted his head toward the door. As he stood he picked up his bag and walked across the room. Laura joined him. He let her precede him into the hall and closed the door behind him.

  Laura Jo looked at him.

  “Marcy has to go to the hospital.”

  “I was afraid of that. What do you think the problem is?”

  “The symptoms make me think it might be an obstructive bowel problem. This isn’t something that can wait. Marcy must been seen at the hospital.”

  “I’ll talk to her.” Laura Jo went back into the room.

  Mark pulled out his phone and called the ER. He gave the information about Marcy and they assured him they would be ready when he arrived. Finished, he leaned against the wall to wait.

  Soon Laura Jo came out, with Anna holding Marcy in her arms.

  “Anna has agreed to go to the hospital as long as you and I stay with her,” Laura Jo said. “I need a few minutes to let someone know to see about her other children. Will you drive?”

  His stomach tightened. He didn’t want to but what was he supposed to say, “No, I might injure you for life”?

  “If it’s necessary,” Mark answered.

  Laura Jo looked at him with a question in her eyes before he turned to walk down the hallway to the front.

  “The car seat is by the front door,” Anna said in a subdued voice.

  “I’ll get it.”

  He was still working to latch the child seat into his car when Laura Jo arrived.

  “I’ll get that.”

  With efficiency that he envied she had the seat secured and Marcy in it in no time. Laura Jo didn’t comment on his ineptness but he was sure she’d made a note of it. She would probably call him on it later.

  Anna took the backseat next to Marcy, and Laura Jo joined him in front. Before pulling out of the parking space, he looked back to see that the baby was secure and that Anna was wearing her seat belt. “Are you buckled in, Laura Jo?”

  “Yes. You sure are safety conscious.”

  Yes, he was, and he had a good reason to be. Mark nodded and wasted no time driving to the hospital. He pulled under the emergency awning and stopped.

  As they entered the building Laura Jo said to Anna, “We’ll be right here with you until you feel comfortable. They’ll take good care of Marcy here.”

  Anna nodded, her eyes not meeting Laura Jo’s.

  They were met by a woman dressed in scrubs.

  “Lynn, this child needs to be seen,” Laura said.

  “Is this the girl Dr. Clayborn called in about?”

  “Yes,” he said. “I’m Dr. Clayborn.” Because he wasn’t on the staff at the hospital he couldn’t give orders. They would have to wait until the ER physician showed up.

  “Exam room five is open. Dr. Lawrence will be right in.”

  Two hours later Marcy was in surgery. Mark’s diagnosis had been correct. Thankfully, Laura Jo had called him or the child might have died. They were now sitting in the surgery waiting room with Anna. With Laura Jo’s support, Anna had accepted that Marcy needed the surgery. Mark was impressed with the tender understanding Laura Jo had given the terrified mother. He liked this sensitive side of her personally. What would it take for her to turn some of that on him?

  Mark approached the two women and handed each one a cup of coffee from the machine. He slipped into the chair beside Laura Jo. Waiting in hospitals wasn’t his usual activity. He’d always been on the working end of an emergency.

  While Anna was in the restroom Laura Jo said, “I think you can go. She seems to be handling this better than I thought she would.”

  “No, I said I’d stay and I will.”

  “You make a good friend.”

  Mark’s chest tightened. No, he didn’t. He’d already proved that. Mike certainly wouldn’t say that about him. Mark hadn’t even gone to the hospital to see Mike before he’d left town. Laura Jo shouldn’t start depending on him.

  “You might be surprised.”

  Laura Jo gave him a speculative look but he was saved from any questions by Anna returning. Soon after that the surgeon came out to speak to them.

  The sun was shining when he and Laura Jo stepped outside the hospital. Marcy was doing well in PICU and Anna had insisted that she was fine and no longer needed them there. They left her in the waiting room, dozing. Laura Jo had promised to check on her other children and that she would see to it they were cared for properly.

  As he and Laura Jo walked to his car, which he had moved to a parking place earlier, Mark asked, “Where do you get all the energy for all you do?”

  “I just do what has to be done.”

  “You sure have a lot on your plate.”

  “Maybe so, but some things I can’t say no to.”

  What was it like to
feel that type of bond with people? He understood the practical side of doing what needed to be done medically to save a life but it was a completely different concept to support another person emotionally without reservation. Mark understood that well. He hadn’t been able to stand beside his best friend when he’d needed him most. He had even ignored his conscience when it had screamed for him to do better. It hadn’t gotten quieter when he’d moved back to town but he still couldn’t muster the guts to go visit Mike.

  “I wish I had your backbone.”

  “How’s that?”

  “You face life head-on.”

  “You don’t?”

  “What little I have falls short of the amount you have.”

  “Thank you. That’s a nice compliment.”

  They had reached his car. “How about I buy us some breakfast then take you home? I’m guessing Marsha has Allie.”

  “Yes. I really need to check on her and Anna’s kids. I need sleep. I’m sure you do also. I have to work this afternoon. Don’t you have to be at work this morning?”

  “I don’t go in until two and you need to eat. I’m hungry so why don’t you let me get us some breakfast without disagreeing for once?”

  She walked to the passenger door. “I’m already too far in debt to you.”

  “I don’t mind that.”

  She sighed. “I pick the place.”

  “Ladies choice, then.”

  A smile spread across her lips. “I like the sound of that.”

  Had no one ever let her make a choice of where they went? He liked seeing Laura Jo smile. She didn’t do it often enough. She was far too serious.

  “Where’re we going?”

  “I’ll show you.”

  She got in the car and put her seat belt on. When he was ready to pull out he looked over at her.

  Laura Jo said, “Yes, I have buckled up.”

  He had to sound crazy to her, or over-the-top controlling, but he just couldn’t face hurting someone with his driving ever again. Somehow it seemed easier when he had her in the car with him; she accepted him for who he was. As he drove she gave him directions into an older and seedier part of downtown Mobile. He had last been to the area when he’d been a teen and trying to live on the wild side some.