Late Arrivals (Special Delivery Book 4)

by J. A. Armstrong

  Brooke and her mother had always enjoyed a close relationship. Tess envied that. Her relationship with Brooke’s mother was unique. At times, Rebecca filled a mother role for Tess. Tess sought her counsel often. But, more often, Rebecca played the role of a best friend in Tess’s life; a role Tess had come to understand she also played for her mother-in-law. Brooke often joked that to Tess that the friendship made it impossible for Brooke to keep any secrets from either her wife or her mother. Tess and Rebecca both prided themselves on a sense of loyalty to the woman they both loved beyond any other, albeit in different ways. Once in a while, either Tess or Rebecca felt inclined to share a concern about Brooke. It was natural, and it was always kept in the strictest of confidence.

  Brooke had remained mostly quiet regarding her parents’ evolving relationship. Tess didn’t need Brooke to speak any words to know that Brooke desperately hoped her parents would reconcile. No matter how many years had passed, when Rebecca and Brad were together, Tess could see the spark that remained between them. She also had noticed the way Brooke’s demeanor would change. Brooke longed for the acceptance of both of her parents and for their attention. Tess understood. She still felt the same way about her parents. When she took the time to think about it, it explained a great deal about Davey and Dani. Children became adults, but when it came to their parents, they would always be captive to the longings of that inner child.

  Brooke’s father had been largely absent during Brooke’s childhood—a workaholic by definition. Brooke had always wanted to please Brad Campbell. She idolized him in many ways. That was evident to Tess. More than that, Brooke had confided to Tess that she often had longed just to spend a day with her parents together, when there was no hurriedness dictating that time. Brooke had told Tess she could not recall a time like that in her childhood. It made Brooke actively and deliberately attentive to the time that she and Tess spent as a family. It was strange, Tess thought, how disappointment in life shaped a person. And, how sometimes those past disappointments strengthened future relationships. Tess had no doubt that Brooke’s feelings in many ways shaped her parenting style, even her approach to their marriage.

  Things in the Campbell family had begun to shift over the last two years. Brad Campbell had retired after a heart attack. He had made more trips east in that time than he had in all the years preceding that Brooke had lived in New England. It had always been Brooke to travel west. And, Rebecca had been spending increasing amounts of time in Massachusetts since Brooke and Tess had first gotten together. She spent long weekends, holidays, and most of her summer with Brooke, Tess, and the twins. That inevitably led to Brooke’s parents spending more time together. Tess enjoyed it when Brooke’s parents visited. The twins adored their grandparents. And, Brooke? Tess loved to watch Brooke when her parents stayed or vacationed with them. Brooke lit up from within.

  Rebecca had told Tess that she and Brad seemed to be moving forward in a new relationship. Tess had to admit she was curious how Brad perceived things. And, she was also sure that Brooke hoped time with her father might help “seal the deal” on a reconciliation. Brad wasn’t wrong. Although, Tess thought “grilling” might be too strong a description, she would concede that Brooke was, if nothing else, hopefully curious.

  Tess smirked and then addressed her father-in-law. “I’m not sure she is into the grilling unless you mean on that behemoth outdoor barbecue she had installed.” Brad laughed. “For someone who still struggles to make pancakes from a box, she certainly is anxious to play grill master,” Tess laughed. It’s a toy. A big, overpriced toy. I wonder if they made a big, shiny, silver pancake box, if she would suddenly be interested? Tess put away her private musings and looked back at Brad. “I’m sure she’s curious.”

  “You mean worried,” he said.

  Tess’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “Worried?”

  Brad sighed. “I wasn’t exactly the best husband the first time around,” he said regretfully. Tess didn’t miss the word choice nor its implication. She smiled sympathetically at Brooke’s father. He looked back at Tess and shook his head. “You know, Becky used to tell me, one day I’d regret it—missing so much time with Bee. I have to say; she was right—as usual,” he chuckled at his own expense. “I see her now. I don’t blame her for not trusting me with Becky. Those two have always been close,” he observed affectionately. “She learned how to balance things from her mother. She sure didn’t learn it from me.”

  Tess took a seat at the table across from the older man, whose gaze had retreated into his coffee cup. It pained her to see the regret and the insecurity his expression revealed. She startled him slightly when she finally spoke. “I don’t know that I would agree with that,” she said honestly. His look of astonishment made Tess chuckle. “I don’t think she’s worried,” Tess said bluntly. “Hopeful. I think she’s hopeful,” Tess told Brad. His open expression reminded her of Davey and Dani. It was hopeful and yearning in nature. Tess smiled. “I understand what you mean about feeling you missed things. Sometimes, I think about all the firsts I missed with the twins, being away at work. Their first steps, the first time Davey lost a tooth—so many things and memories I can’t get back. I think Brooke missed that too with you,” she explained.

  Brad let out an audible sigh and shook his head. “If I could change it…”

  “It would change who Brooke is,” Tess said, still smiling. “You can’t go back, Dad. You can only go forward. You just told me that Brooke didn’t learn how to balance her life from you. That’s not really true. I think missing that piece, feeling she missed that, that has made her all the more determined to give that to our kids—to me.”

  “That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement.”

  Tess shrugged. “I wouldn’t want Brooke to be anyone else. If she was, this probably wouldn’t be our family. I think she would agree. Now, she has a chance to have time with you and Mom, time with her children too. I don’t think it makes her worried. I think it’s something she wants to believe is possible.”

  “One thing she did learned from me.”

  “What’s that?” Tess wondered.

  “Marry a beautiful woman who is smarter than you,” he said with a wink.

  Tess blushed and cleared her throat. “So, what about you and Mom?” she asked suggestively.

  “Why do I think you might already have some idea about that subject?”

  Tess offered him an innocent shrug. “I don’t actually know anything,” she said. “Except that she loves you, and she didn’t need to tell me that—for the record.” Now, Brad blushed, which Tess found incredibly endearing.

  “Loving her was never the issue,” he replied frankly. “It was like she saw things from on top of the mountain while I was still trying to climb it. It was that way for most of our marriage after Brooke came.”

  “Well, maybe you have just finally met in the middle,” Tess suggested. “If you are worried about Brooke, don’t be. She’s thrilled that you are both moving closer.”

  “Tess?” Brad started a thought and then sighed.

  “What?”

  “I…”

  “Dad, what?” Tess gently prodded her father-in-law.

  “I’m out of practice,” he mumbled.

  Tess fought the urge to laugh out loud. Way too much information.

  Brad saw the glint in Tess’s eye and the hint of the grin he was sure she was battling. He rolled his eyes. Kids. “Not with that,” he commented.

  “Good to know,” Tess finally laughed. “So? What is it that you need to practice?” Brad looked like a deer caught in headlights. Tess began to run through some entertaining possibilities.

  “How did Brooke do it?” he asked. “If you don’t mind me asking. I can’t exactly ask Becky.”

  “Umm… I can’t really mind the question when I have no idea what the question is,” Tess pointed out.

  “Oh,” Brad took a deep breath. “Proposing.”

  Tess grinned and nodded. “A bit clumsily, if you must k
now,” she told him. “But perfectly.”

  “I haven’t proposed to anyone in forty years.”

  “I never have,” Tess laughed. “I don’t think the particulars are as important as the sentiment,” she told him. “Is that what you want?”

  Brad smiled. “I wish I didn’t have to ask.”

  “Afraid she’ll say no?” Tess teased.

  “Yes.”

  Tess nodded. “I think you are talking to the wrong person on this one,” Tess said. “Talk to Brooke.”

  “Ask Brooke how I should propose to her mother? Tess, Brooke and I don’t talk about things like that.”

  “Well, maybe now is a good time to change that,” Tess suggested. She stood up from the table. “You know, when she needed some help with Davey, she didn’t call Mom. She called you,” Tess reminded him. “My two cents? If you are asking me, then chances are you already know what her answer will be. So, tell her why it matters to you. That’s my two cents. The how isn’t what is important. It’s the what behind it,” she said. “I’m off.”

  “Errands?” he inquired.

  Tess smiled. “You could call it that.”

  “I will get Davey after school,” he promised. “Are you taking Dani to her lesson?”

  “No, actually her friend Tracey has a lesson at the same time, So, I am off the hook this week. Brooke is picking her up,” Tess said. “Actually, why don’t I take Davey duty today?”

  “I don’t mind…”

  “I know, but… Maybe you could drop in on Brooke this afternoon. I know she’d love to show off a little at work,” Tess said.

  “Now, who is worried?” Brad laughed. “You want me to check up on my daughter?” he asked. Tess shrugged. “She’ll see right through it.”

  “Maybe,” Tess said. “I’ll take my chances. Besides, it might give you an excuse to talk.”

  Brad groaned uncomfortably. “You mean ask my daughter’s advice on how to get her mother to marry me,” he said. Brad mumbled something and then laughed. “You know; I have helped set people’s scrambled brains straight in an operating room. I can’t even figure out how to ask a simple question.”

  Tess patted his shoulder and grabbed her keys. “Think of it as learning a new technique,” she suggested. “I’ve got Davey duty. You go pay a visit to Dr. Campbell. While you’re pumping her for advice, see if you can figure out what it is she is up to.”

  “What do you mean? You think Brooke is up to something?”

  Tess rolled her eyes. “No thinking involved. She is. She can’t hide anything,” Tess laughed. “I just hope she’s not stocking up on lasagna noodles and pans for Friday nights. She’ll be mighty disappointed.”

  “Should I understand that?” Brad asked.

  “Nope,” Tess replied. “See you tonight.”

  Brad watched Tess leave and shook his head. “Why on earth would Brooke hide lasagna noodles?”

  ***

  Brooke rubbed her brow forcefully in a futile attempt to banish a mounting headache. She had listened for the last forty minutes to her colleagues’ updates on patients, their concerns, and what Brooke often considered the humdrum necessities of maintaining a successful medical practice. Those included schedules, staffing, budgets, insurance protocols, and a host of other details that Brooke was not in the mood to deal with on her first full day back. She’d tuned out at some point. Oh, well. Rachel will fill me in later. Her ears prickled and her skin shivered when she heard a familiar voice giving his summation of what he considered to be facts.

  “It’s one thing,” Dr. Bennet began, “to be conservative and cautious. Just as being too aggressive, remaining reserved when intervention is the best option is also careless.”

  Brooke pulled her hand away from her eyes and regarded the young doctor harshly.

  “You disagree, I am sure, Dr. Campbell,” he addressed Brooke smugly.

  “That depends,” Brooke replied evenly. Jason Bennet stared at her, awaiting her explanation. “It depends,” Brooke said, “on whether the best option you portend is the one with the most likely best outcome for the patient or if that option is what is best for you.”

  Rachel braced herself. Brooke was seldom combative, and she generally liked everyone. She was keen to listen to the opinions of colleagues and discuss ideas and alternative approaches to the treatment of any patient. Something about Jason Bennet bothered Brooke. Brooke had voiced concerns for several months about the young doctor’s brash approach and what Brooke viewed as a tendency to intervene without good cause. One thing that Rachel did know, Brooke was fair-minded. And, Brooke was an exceptional doctor. Her judgment was based on both successful outcomes and devastating ones. Rachel doubted there was any other doctor that they had worked with that would so openly and evidently challenge Brooke’s methods and reasoning.

  Jason Bennet’s smug smirk crept higher. “It’s not in the patient’s best interest for the solution that offers the quickest and most reliable conclusion?”

  Brooke steadied her nerves. She was feeling more irritable than usual. Her inclination was to hand the young doctor his ass in a bedpan and then swiftly flush it down the toilet. She did not agree with his tactic, did not appreciate his tone, and was losing the small degree of respect for him that lingered. Brooke licked her lips and forced herself to speak calmly. “Dr. Bennet, I would be interested in what your definition of reliable is,” she said. Before he could mount a response, Brooke continued. “Reliable—to me—would imply successful. Outcomes are never guaranteed. Failing to intervene in a woman’s health surgically can lead to complications. I don’t disagree. However, in most cases that you are referring to, the desirable outcome can be achieved with patience and with minimal risk. You see patients through the lens of reliable statistics,” Brooke asserted. “I see outcomes for people who are mortal and fallible. That fallibility extends to me—and, to everyone in this room.”

  Rachel decided it was time to intervene. She had been keeping a close eye on Jason Bennet in Brooke’s absence. And, she had observed some behaviors that concerned her. This standoff brought her observations and Brooke’s concerns into sharp focus. She took a moment to scan the faces in the room. Janine was shaking her head. The other doctors all seemed prepared to jump in to support Brooke. She could tell by the way each had leaned forward in their chairs.

  “Brooke is right,” Rachel spoke confidently. Jason Bennett bristled at the statement. Rachel frowned. “I appreciate your thoughts, Jason. And, I am sure that everyone here would agree that when we can expedite a positive outcome with a high degree of confidence in a positive result, that would be the approach any of us would choose.” Rachel saw the younger doctor ready to interject, and she held up her hand. “The issue, Jason—respectfully—is that most of us at this table have learned in painful ways that even when there is the highest degree of confidence, the statistics support your decision, and you have performed a procedure dozens if not hundreds of times, something can go wrong. For that reason, we apply caution regarding any intervention whether that is regarding general health, fertility concerns, pregnancy, or in the delivery room. That is how this practice has always functioned and will continue to operate,” she told him.

  “Respectfully,” he replied. “We cannot tie each other’s hands.”

  Brooke was done. She took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. “Unless one of us finds ourselves on call and in the heat of a crisis, we will always discuss with our peers in this office what the best approach is to a patient’s care. It ensures we consider all options, ones that we may not have. And,” she continued. “What we do is not that of a general practitioner, Dr. Bennet. Not one of us can be on call all day, every day. Women go into labor or into crisis whenever their body decides. That’s why we always make an effort for our patients to see each of us, particularly those undergoing fertility treatments or entrusting us with their pregnancy and delivery. Each of us has our strengths. Each of us was brought into this office because of those strengths.”

&n
bsp; “And, of course, yours is surgery, so you get the final say,” he replied sarcastically.

  “That’s enough. I,” Rachel began to address him.

  Brooke gently grasped Rachel’s hand to stop her. “You have the benefit of five experienced and knowledgeable physicians in this room, not just me. I listen to their advice whenever I possibly can. I am certain they would each tell you the same thing. As far as if I have the final say in your decision to put a patient under the knife? Yes, I do. In my absence, Dr. Cantrell will make that final call,” Brooke said. She didn’t even bother to look at Rachel for approval before finishing her thought. “If that is unacceptable to you, Dr. Bennet, I would suggest that this is not the practice for you to remain affiliated with,” she said pointedly. Brooke slid her chair out, stood and sought out each pair of eyes in the room. Each pair silently assured her that she had their full support in her assessment. “Now, I have a stack of files to review before my next appointment. And, I am looking forward to lunch with my wife. So, if you will excuse me,” Brooke nodded to the room and calmly left.

  “Staff isn’t over,” Jason Bennet muttered.

  “Yes; it is,” Rachel said. “I’d like to see you in my office, Dr. Bennet,” she said. “Dr. Moore,” she addressed her good friend.

  Dr. Jeremy Moore smiled at Rachel. “Not a problem. Who is on deck?” he asked.

  Janine answered. “Mrs. Stoddard at eleven-thirty for a three month.”

  Dr. Moore nodded. “Letting me off the hook easy,” he whispered to Rachel. “If you need me,” he said.

  Rachel smiled. “I’ll see you in my office in fifteen minutes,” she addressed Jason Bennet as she left the room. Rachel immediately made her way to Brooke’s office. She started to knock on the partially open door when Brooke spoke.

  “Come in, Rach.”

  “Well, that was fun,” Rachel commented sarcastically as she closed Brooke’s door. Brooke leaned back in her chair and shook her head. “Not what you needed your first day back, was it?” Rachel guessed.