by Barbara Ebel
Danny nodded in agreement while looking. “That one’s the mixed collie,” Rhonda added.
Before Joelle dragged him again, he stepped over to scope three and fine tuned the focusing.
“And voila!” Joelle said. “There’s a trophozoite, and there’s a difference. The amoeba’s cell membrane has been violated. I think it’s from an enzyme in the dog’s saliva.”
“The Newfoundland gets the filet mignon,” Rhonda said.
“I see it,” Danny said, echoing their excitement. “I can understand the importance. But now what?”
“We’re close yet so far,” Joelle said. “Right now, there is nothing in the samples that disarms this organism. I even injected the saliva into other trophozoites but nothing happens. We’ll hope to get into the cell with something extractable from this saliva, but now we need to find a missing link. We must find what can be carried along with this enzyme into the cell to destroy it.”
“And we still wonder about your situation, Danny,” Rhonda said. “Joelle and I went and got more dog samples and have started working on them.” She checked their notepad on the lab bench. Samples four, five, and six are a beagle, Labrador retriever, and a greyhound.”
“Since time is of the essence, have you contacted Ralph at the CDC yet?” Danny asked. “Perhaps they can parallel the path you’re both on.”
“I’m calling him as soon as we wrap up here,” Joelle said.
“Speaking of wrapping up,” Rhonda said, “I’ve got some students who wanted to meet with me after their dinner break. I gotta run. It’s been real.”
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Rhonda,” Joelle said. “Appreciate all the help.”
“No prob. Bye, Dr. Danny.”
Rhonda pulled off her protective accessories at the door and was gone.
“One more thing about dog saliva. I’m going to give you the tools to get and bring in some of your dog’s saliva, the one that licked you. Can you do that tomorrow?”
“I’ll work it in.”
Joelle pulled a silver pen from her lab coat. “I’m making him number seven. What’s his breed?”
“Chesapeake Bay retriever.”
“Okay, got it,” she said, writing it down. Why don’t I come by your office tomorrow and pick it up? Will you be there?”
“That’ll work.”
“Now, please, I didn’t ask in front of Rhonda. What’s going on with your daughter’s situation? Is there anything I can do to help? And has there been any healing with the other love of your life, your ex-wife?”
Danny could tell her a lot, but he also had to get home to Julia.
“That’s alright, we can save some of it for another time,” Joelle said. “I must admit, part of my curiosity is because I don’t know anyone as interesting as you.” She patted him on his arm. “However, I’m willing to give you a woman’s perspective.”
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Halfway home, Danny went by a flower shop he passed every day since living with Mary and Casey, but had never stopped in. He made a right-hand turn and parked in their lot behind the building. The inside smelled gloriously sweet. The arranged flowers came in so many vibrant colors, he couldn’t decide. Mary had been a lifesaver to help him out with Julia and deserved a token of his thanks.
He wanted the stop to be brief so he smelled a bouquet of mixed carnations, orchids, and roses and took them out of the bucket. Then he grabbed another one and went to the counter. “One, I’d like to take with me. And the other one I’d like you to send tomorrow with a gift card.”
The smiling woman wore an apron full of daisy pictures and handed him a form for the recipient’s address. Danny filled in Sara’s address and took a gift card. On the inside, he simply wrote, Just because …
He signed it Love, Danny.
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At home, Mary was pulling a meatloaf out of the oven. When she turned around, Danny presented her with the flower arrangement. “For me?” she asked.
“Yes, thank you for helping me with Julia.”
“You’re welcome. She’s a sweetheart.” She placed the pan on a trivet and took the flowers. “But I think Dakota deserves these more than I do.”
“Where is Dakota?”
“He’s upstairs with Casey right now. They’re putting Julia to bed.”
“Yikes! I guess it is a baby’s time for sleep. I better go up. I would have been here already but I had to stop at the lab.”
Danny hurried up the steps. Casey stood over Julia, patting her back as Danny entered the room and Dakota rushed to greet him. “I didn’t know you had a way with babies. I sure do appreciate you, Mary, and Dakota helping out.”
“If Mary and I decide to have kids, at least I’ll have a jump-start. I bet you have a lot to tell me after that talk with the cops.”
Danny nodded. He wanted to hold Julia, but knew better than to disturb her going to sleep. “Let’s go down. Mary’s made dinner.”
The flowers were nicely arranged in a vase when they got downstairs. “From Danny,” she said to Casey.
“Nice bouquet,” he acknowledged while Mary handed them plates from the cupboard and then placed down a bowl of vegetables and Italian bread.
“Dig in,” Mary said.
Danny sliced the meatloaf. “So here’s my update. The cops were also at our office today, but Bruce wasn’t as annoyed as he usually gets.” He sat down on a stool. “Mark Cunningham is working on my keeping Julia and PAM is still spreading like wildfire. And in the lab? Joelle and a vet named Rhonda found a research tidbit that may prove useful. I have to bring in a sample of Dakota’s saliva in the morning.”
Casey squeezed ketchup on his meat. “That’s progress,” he said. “And how did that patient from the texting accident do?”
“No head case,” Danny said. “She stayed on the trauma service.” Danny looked across at his sister. “Did you get a chance to call the cleaning lady about babysitting?”
“I did. She’s thrilled to death with the offer. She was going to start looking for a part-time job besides the cleaning she does. I told her we don’t know how long we’ll have Julia, but she’s coming tomorrow. Let’s see how she works out.”
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Danny woke up before the alarm. Dakota trotted after him into the bathroom and settled on the rug while Danny brushed his teeth and washed his face. “I’m taking your saliva into the lab this morning,” Danny said, after rubbing his face with a towel.
Dressing in tan trousers and a light blue shirt, he went in to see Julia. He was glad to see her awake, especially since he had some time to change her diaper and clothes, then hold her for a few minutes.
“Bye, baby. I’ll see you later today.” He propped her in the crib with a small teddy bear.
Dakota followed him downstairs where Danny put on a pot of coffee and grabbed the container packet and swabs Joelle had given him. He placed Dakota in a sit. “For this, I wish you were more of a slobberer.”
But Dakota was no trouble at all and Danny left the house with a coffee mug and a saliva sample.
Chapter 23
Danny put Dakota’s container on his desk and then made coffee for the staff. Matthew came in and avoided Danny’s eyes. “Did the cops hunt you down yesterday?” he asked.
“They found me alright.” Danny frowned. Matthew was always last to hear things. “Looks like we’re in charge today,” Danny said, changing the subject. “Bruce has a full load at the hospital.”
Matthew checked his watch, as if he was timing laps. “We’ve got overflow today, too,” he said lightheartedly. “I wore my most comfortable shoes.”
Danny checked. They did look as comfortable as the sneakers Dr. Jeffrey Foord wore on his interview.
With a bounce to her step, Cheryl walked in.
“Morning,” she said. “Dr. Tilson, your first patient arrived a little early. Feel like getting a head start?”
“You’re a slave driver.” Danny laughed. “Let’s go.” He was out the door before her.
Danny shook the hand of his first patient. “May I call you Toby?” he asked the twenty-three year-old.
After evaluating the notes from his primary care physician and taking a full history, Danny had Toby read from the eye chart on the back wall, had him take a mini-mental exam, and tested his coordination and balance. He had the young man get dressed then and met him in the office.
“Toby, I’m writing an order for you to get an MRI. They’ll schedule the appointment at the desk, okay?”
“I guess, if you say so.”
“I’m being safe rather than sorry. Everything may be fine, but it’s wise to get images of your brain.” Toby nodded and carried the paperwork to the front desk.
Except for postop patients doing well, Danny’s morning was peppered with potential cancer cases. He shuddered at malignant disease – it certainly didn’t discriminate its prey. At eleven o’clock, Danny called the local pizza place and rattled off a delivery order for lunch. He had no sooner put down the phone when Joelle rounded the corner into his office. Her hair shined like her earrings and she wore a smart, casual dress.
“I do have a present for you,” Danny said, standing up. He moved Dakota’s sample in front of her. “So tell me. You’re always asking about me. Don’t you have your own dog at home to get a sample from?”
“No time for a dog, so I have a cat. But she’s like a dog. Does that count?”
“It depends. Why do you think she’s like a dog?”
“She begs.”
“Oh, I see. Is she enough company?”
“Plenty. And every once in awhile, I get tangled up in a relationship and then have to untie a dozen knots to get out.”
“Sounds complicated.”
Joelle smiled.
“You’ll be happy to know I sent my ex-wife flowers on a whim today. I’m hoping the man she had a date with Saturday night isn’t doing the same thing.”
“You can’t go wrong with flowers. It’s a time-tested romantic gesture.” She opened her handbag and carefully put the sample inside. “Oh, by the way, we’ve decided to do a press conference late tomorrow. The media is hammering Robert for our hospital’s update. Ralph is going to come up, too, so we’ll also have a general summary.”
“And maybe you’ll have some lab info to spill?”
“I hope so.”
Danny walked her to the door. “By the way, pizza is coming if you’d like to eat with us.”
“No, I better run. Bugs are waiting for me. And, Danny, I hope the situation with your baby is getting resolved.”
“Thanks, Joelle.”
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Danny paid the teen delivering the pizzas at the front desk. He started to carry the pies to the kitchen when Joelle came back through the entrance.
“Danny,” she said in a quiet tone since the room had patients, “Peter Brown just paged. Can I use a phone?” They exchanged serious expressions while Danny scooted her through the door and handed her a phone.
“Peter, it’s Joelle.” A long silence ensued as Joelle’s demeanor soured. “I’m in Danny’s office. I’ll be over. Maybe he wants to come, too.” Joelle leaned over the counter and replaced the phone. She stepped away from the desk out of earshot of the staff. “Peter and Timothy are together in the ICU. They were just going to page you as well. Michael Johnson is dying.”
Danny rested his forehead into his hands and gulped for air. “I’ve held out the most hope for him. We know this organism literally eats brain cells, but I’ve been in denial. Michael has held out longer, that’s all.”
Matthew came out of a room and spied Danny and Joelle. Danny waved him over. “Matthew, I won’t be long. The source case, our first and youngest patient with the meningoencephalitis, is close to death. Joelle and I are driving over. Would you let Cheryl know for me?” He pointed to the boxes on the desk. “I bought lunch for the office, too, if you could take those back.”
“Thanks, Danny. I’ll tell her.”
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Danny and Joelle couldn’t see Michael because Peter and Timothy hovered at the foot of his bed. The two physicians looked like a comical pair – the younger Peter with a short stature and shiny bald head; the older, tall Timothy leaning on a cane with a few hairs dancing as if they were plugged into electricity. But that’s where the entertainment ended for the two white-coated men whispered solemnly under their masks so as not to be heard above the ventilator.
With two steps, Danny and Joelle were next to them. A cloak of death enveloped the very air around them. Under the sheet, Michael’s long frame looked like a pronounced skeleton. Danny knew for sure - despite the thready vital signs displayed on the monitors – that Michael’s existence was nearing an end.
With their eyes only, all four doctors acknowledged each other.
“I have him at the highest dosage of life-support infusions I’ve ever run,” Peter said. “He’s been like this all morning.”
“Peter, there is nothing more we can do,” Timothy said. “It’s unfair for Michael to go on like this for a few more hours. It is too gruesome what’s going on in his brain right now.”
Danny’s heart thumped against his chest in an irregular beat, as if reminding him of Michael’s cursed destiny from the moment he had hit fresh water from a high jump. A little more than two weeks ago, his future had been taken away by an innocent summer day of fun. Danny remembered walking into the cubicle in the preop area and exchanging a few words with the young boy. In Michael’s head, the proliferation of killers had already begun and there had been nothing Danny could do to stop it.
“Let’s do the right thing,” Danny finally said.
He walked over beside the youth and grasped Michael’s right shoulder. Giving it a good-bye squeeze, he closed the teen’s eyes. He turned the medication pump switch to off, then went around to the ventilator where he clicked the master switch to off. The drone of the machine ceased and, within two minutes, what little EKG activity had been present was gone.
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As Danny returned to the office and Joelle to the lab with Dakota’s saliva, the sky darkened. The built-up humidity was waiting to burst into a thunderstorm. By the time Danny parked and shut down the engine, the rain thrashed his vehicle. Like going through a car-wash, the road dust and light pollen disappeared. He reached for the compact umbrella he kept on the back floor and protected himself as he ran into the building.
Danny went straight to his office as Cheryl tagged behind him.
“I saved you two pieces of pizza,” she said, “I’ll heat them up, if you’d like.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Danny said. “How about just one slice? I’ll eat it here while looking at the next patient’s chart.”
Cheryl brought him warmed pizza and a soda. After savoring every bite, he went back to seeing patients. He blessed the stormy afternoon as there were three no-shows and - at four o’clock - the last patient called in; the elderly couple said it was too dangerous to drive and the lady would reschedule her appointment. Wrapping up early by four-thirty, Danny’s apprehension finally got the best of him and he called Mark.
“Danny,” Mark said, “I was just going to call you. I’m leaving my office soon. Can we meet for a quick, early dinner?”
“Okay. Pick a place outside of the city, one on the way to our suburbs.”
“I need a meat and potatoes kind of meal. How about that steak place at the Willow intersection?”
“I’ll meet you there in a half hour.”
Danny helped Matthew with an opinion about a diagnosis, grabbed his trusty umbrella, and headed for the restaurant. He had just slid into a booth by a window when Mark’s baby steps brought him quickly across the wooden floor.
“Nice shirt,” Mark said, realizing they both wore a green Oxford.
Danny nodded. “I can’t wait to hear today’s developments.”
A twenty-something with red hair stopped at their table. “What can I get you both to drink or
eat?” she asked.
“Know what you want, Danny, besides a possible beer?” Mark asked.
“Medium rare rib-eye, vegetable of the day side, and baked potato.”
“Make it two beers and two of the same dinners,” Mark said. “And one bill to me.”
The young lady grabbed their unused menus and left.
“Thanks,” Danny said.
“Don’t thank me. It’s factored into my fee.”
“Well, thanks anyway. Saves me the big trouble of taking out my credit card.” Danny grinned.
The waitress returned with two beers and a basket of bread, and filled their glasses with water. “Steaks will be out in a bit,” she said.
Mark slipped his unused reading glasses back in their case. “So first thing I did today was call Rachel Hendersen’s attorney. Phil Beckett was clueless as to what transpired in the last few days, including Rachel sticking the police on you. But he got defensive for her quick enough and ranted how you’d broken a court order to return Julia.”
Danny took a sip of beer and placed the mug down harder than he should.
“Anyway, I made our motion into an emergency protective order for Julia and got it before our family court judge this afternoon. If I didn’t have the pediatrician’s signed statement, we’d be sitting here eating crow right now. Phil put up a great defense for his client.”
Danny relaxed, waiting for more definitive good news. Mark split and buttered a small roll. He ate half, keeping Danny waiting. “So, Danny boy, guess what I got ‘ya?”
“Mark, spill it all out.”
“The judge was actually angry about the physical evidence of abuse. Julia is staying with you, except for supervised weekend visitation with Rachel. It will be the same visitation as you had with her. Danny, this is unusual because you two were never married. Unusual for a single mother who had a baby on her own to lose physical custody like that. However, she could bring more into this history if she is so inclined. Like if a relative had hurt Julia, or something like that.”
Danny sighed with relief. Sometimes there was a God. Mark took a sip of his beer as the waitress brought their plates.