Dr Feelgood

by S. E. Law

“No, it is not. Ms. Ames was in a wheelchair, but she was mobile. If she wanted to leave, she could have.”

  The board members continue to take notes at every answer. The balding man looks down again.

  “According to her files, Ms. Ames had a broken wrist. Is this correct?”

  “Yes. Her wrist was broken in the same accident that affected her legs.”

  The board member gets a smug look on his face. “So, if the patient in question had a broken wrist, how can you state that she was fully mobile?”

  Ridge draws in a breath, but he lets it out without his anger showing. “Ms. Ames could wheel her chair even with a cast on her wrist.”

  “But it made it more difficult.”

  “I cannot speak for Ms. Ames.”

  The board member smirks. “Then how can you say she willingly partook in the inappropriate relationship you shared with her? If you cannot speak for her, how can you assume that she wanted to be with you?”

  Ridge’s facial expression is made of granite, and my heart breaks for him.

  “Ms. Ames made it clear that she was a willing participant in our relationship.”

  Heck yeah, I did. I made it clear every time we made love. My begging for more is a definite indicator that I liked what we were doing, but the interrogator merely smirks again.

  “Have you been intimate with other patients, Dr. Maddox?”

  “No, sir. I have not.”

  The board member checks his notes. “But you have been in a relationship with a hospital staff member in the past, yes?”

  Ridge stiffens.

  “Relationships between staff members who are not directly reporting to one another are not against any hospital rules.”

  The man nods, as if thinking.

  “That is correct. However, the fact that you were in a relationship with a staff member gives us reason to believe you may have been inappropriate with others during hospital hours. Did you and the nurse, Candy Ramirez, have intercourse on hospital property?”

  I could kill this old man. Why does it matter if they had sex at the hospital, so long as they didn’t hurt anyone?

  Ridge’s expression is still made of stone.

  “No, we did not.”

  I have to admit, hearing my boyfriend say that is a relief. I don’t want to know about his sex life before me, especially if it involved that harpy Candy. But now, at least I know they didn’t do it here.

  “Did you kiss Ms. Ramirez during hospital hours?”

  Ridge considers the question carefully before answering. “Yes, I did.”

  “More than once?”

  Ridge looks stiff.

  “I’m not sure, sir. I don’t recall.”

  The man’s eyebrows go up.

  “You don’t recall or you don’t know?”

  Ridge looks momentarily baffled.

  “Sir, I swore to tell the truth, and I don’t recall.”

  The interrogator harrumphs.

  “Back to Ms. Ames. Your relationship with her continued outside of the hospital. Is that correct?”

  “Yes.”

  The board member pauses between questions this time, apparently gathering his thoughts. I can tell by the gleam in his eye that he’s enjoying every bit of this. He wants Ridge to slip up. He wants Ridge to get angry and blow his top.

  But I know my boyfriend. He may have a temper when provoked, but he won’t let that out here. Not when there’s so much at stake.

  “Did you use your authority as a doctor to persuade Ms. Ames into spending time with you outside of the hospital?”

  Ridge blinks. “I don’t understand the question.”

  The balding man grins. I glance down at the nametag in front of him, wanting to know his name so I know who to curse once this is over. It reads “George Curtis.” I now hate George, and anyone else with that name.

  “Did you tell Ms. Ames that it was a necessary part of her treatment to spend time with you outside of the hospital?”

  Ridge shakes his head. “No, I did not.”

  George looks annoyed. He really wants Ridge to say something damning. I know that it’s his job to get to the bottom of situations like this, but I hate the questioning. It’s invasive, embarrassing, and totally offensive to boot.

  “Let me rephrase. Did you assist Ms. Ames in her treatment outside of the hospital?”

  “Yes,” Ridge admits. On weekends, Ridge would help me with the exercises I was supposed to do at home. It never felt inappropriate, but the board members look shocked. Was that against the rules?

  “Please expand,” another board member requests. Her nametag reads “Julia Stein.”

  Ridge takes a deep breath.

  “As a part of my physical therapy regimen, I give patients work to do outside of our sessions. We call it homework. When I was with Ms. Ames on weekends, I would sometimes help her complete her homework exercises.”

  “And at no point during these homework exercises did you claim that the house call was vital to her healing?” Julia asks, twirling her pen.

  “No, ma’am.”

  Julia makes a note and George takes over again. “Was your relationship predicated on these behaviors?”

  My boyfriend looks confused.

  “I don’t understand the question.”

  “Did you offer extra sessions to Ms. Ames in exchange for sex?”

  Ridge clenches his fist, but he manages to remain calm. How is he doing it? My palms are sweating, and my face is definitely red with anger. I’ve always known Ridge is a strong man, but this is beyond the pale. To not crack under this line of questioning is superhuman.

  “I never offered anything to Ms. Ames in exchange for sex. Any intimacy between us was consensual and done out of mutual attraction.”

  “During the time that Ms. Ames was in a wheelchair, were you having sex?”

  Again, our sex life is none of this old man’s business. I’m beginning to think he gets off on hearing people talk about their intimate lives. Maybe he wants details from Ridge because he can’t get any himself. Serves him right.

  “Yes, we were intimate while Ms. Ames was in her wheelchair.”

  George grins again, thinking he’s got something on Ridge. “Did you remove Ms. Ames from her chair for any sexual purposes?”

  Ridge strives to keep a calm appearance.

  “Ms. Ames learned independence early after her accident. She has been able to transfer herself in and out of her chair with little to no assistance since the first week after she was injured.”

  “So you never lifted her from her chair in order to force her into sex with you?”

  “No. I never forced her into sex, and I never forced her from her chair for sex. As I said, our relationship has been entirely consensual from the beginning.”

  I chance a look at Carter, Ridge’s union rep, who is watching the exchanges like it’s a tennis match. I try to read his face, to get a feel for how it’s going, but he’s not giving me anything to go on. It seems like Ridge is doing well, but this George guy is relentless. How long will this questioning have to go on? Will the questioning ever stop, or will he keep coming up with new ways to ask the same thing until Ridge says something damning?

  “Did Ms. Ames, at any time, ask to stop your relationship?” George asks.

  “No, she did not.”

  “So she never wanted to break up with you?”

  Ridge remains calm. “No, she didn’t.”

  “How do you know, Dr. Maddox?”

  He stares hard at the balding man.

  “You are asking me questions that require an inference in my part. To the best of my knowledge, Ms. Ames never wanted to break up with me. She never discussed the possibility, nor did she express any concerns about our relationship.”

  “So you’re saying that it is possible that Ms. Ames wanted to leave you, but didn’t.”

  “That is possible, but she never mentioned it to me.”

  “Would you say that your position as a doctor may have intimi
dated Ms. Ames into staying with you, even if she was afraid for her safety and independence?”

  That’s it. I refuse to take this anymore. If this idiot wants to keep grilling my boyfriend, fine, but not before I set him straight about a few things.

  Before I can lose my nerve, I raise my hand and interrupt. The entire room looks at me, clearly confused. Who is this woman sitting in the back?

  “My name is Summer Ames,” I say, my voice shaking. “And it seems like you have a few questions for me, and not Ridge Maddox. I’d be happy to answer them.”

  28

  Ridge

  Summer’s outburst comes at a good time because otherwise, I might have jumped across the table to attack the president of the board. His questions are uncalled for, and they barely even make sense.

  The only thing that should matter right now is whether or not I was inappropriate during my sessions with Summer. All of the questions from George are implying a situation that is blatantly untrue. He seems to think I took advantage of Summer somehow. He won’t stop mentioning that she was in a wheelchair, and it’s absolutely ridiculous. Just because she’s in a wheelchair doesn’t mean she’s deaf, dumb, and blind. It just means she can’t walk; her brain is in perfect working order. How did someone so clueless end up on the board of directors for a hospital, for crying out loud?

  The answer is obvious. George has money. You don’t need a medical degree to serve on a board; you need connections and you need the ability to fundraise. George has never set foot in a physical therapy room, as far as I know, so he has no right to judge what I do. Until he gets his own medical degree, I want to tell him to screw off.

  Unfortunately, that’s not an option. If I did that, I would be fired for sure. As a result, I need to stay calm, cool, and collected or the board will release me from my contract in an instant. Not only that, but they’ll recommend that my license be revoked. After all, it wouldn’t be hard to convince the powers that be that I’m a danger to patients, all because I fell in love with one.

  But where’s the justice in this? This guy is out for my ass, and it clearly shows. Unfortunately, now he’s turning his sights to Summer.

  “Please save your questions, Ms. Ames,” George says in a freezing-cold tone. “There is no audience participation in these types of meetings. Surely you can see that we’re busy here.”

  Summer’s nostrils flare. She doesn’t take well to people talking down to her like George just did, and they’re about to get Summer’s full wrath. I lean back a little in my chair, ready to watch as she calmly explodes.

  “I am the patient in question,” she reiterates, loud and clear so the recording device catches her tone. Gone is the quiver I heard when she first interrupted. My girl means business. “I want to address the comments made by the board.”

  She eyes the seven board members and then wheels herself up to the front of the room so that they can see her clearly. When no one says anything, she smiles sweetly.

  “My relationship with Dr. Maddox has never been inappropriate,” Summer begins. “There was only one instance when we were intimate at the hospital, and it was fully consensual. In fact, I loved it because Dr. Maddox was amazing in every way.”

  She blushes at her own admission, but powers on. “I was feeling down on myself. Everything was going wrong. I couldn’t feel my legs, and I thought I’d never walk again. Dr. Maddox is the one who gave me hope. He gave me light and love, and made me feel like there was a reason to live. He’s done that for me every day since then, and I adore him for it.”

  The room erupts in murmurs when she lets the L word slip from between her lips. I could kiss her right now. She has no idea how powerful this speech is, but I can tell it’s winning me favor with the board. Evidently, there are some romantics in our midst.

  Meanwhile, my woman is on a roll. She makes eye contact with every member of the board, and even George looks awed by the beautiful and articulate woman sitting before them.

  “I know that what we did was technically wrong,” Summer continues. “The hospital has rules in place to protect their patients, and I appreciate that. But the rules don’t apply when you fall in love because love doesn’t care what the hospital thinks and does. Love is its own master, and won’t bend a knee just because you say so.”

  I stare at her in awe, just like everyone else in the room. Her words are lyrical and persuasive, and I’m thinking about telling her to pursue law school after this. Imagine what dynamite she’d be before a judge! She’d win every case, hands down for sure.

  Meanwhile, behind Summer, Annabel and Leo are hand in hand, beaming with pride at our girl. I’m glad to see them here for support. Not only for me, but for my girlfriend as well because none of this has been easy for her, even though she’s a natural as she addresses the hospital board, seven men and women she’s never met.

  “As soon as we knew the attraction was building between us, Ridge and I should have terminated our patient/doctor relationship. We acknowledge that, and we wouldn’t be in this room right now if we had. But we didn’t, and there’s a good reason for our decision.”

  Slowly, Summer wheels herself forward again. The board looks confused, their eyes squinting. What is she doing?

  “Do you know what happened to me?” Summer asks the board from her seated position.

  “We are well aware of your accident, Ms. Ames,” George says in a paternalistic tone. He attempts to dismiss her, but she resists.

  “Then you know I was paraplegic when I started working with Dr. Maddox,” Summer says. “I was bound to a wheelchair. I’d given up on the life I knew before my accident. I was depressed and even thought of suicide a few times, but Dr. Maddox encouraged me to give him a shot. He made me believe in the magic of his practice. And I’m here today – literally standing before you, because of Dr. Maddox’s hard work.”

  With that, she puts both hands on the armrests of her wheelchair and begins to lever herself up. A gasp rings throughout the room. Is it really going to happen?

  George jumps up. “Ms. Ames, please sit,” he says quickly. “We don’t need this.”

  But she won’t listen. Slowly, without any aid, Summer stands up in front of the wheelchair. She’s wobbly, but it’s as if a miracle has come true. Gasps ring throughout the conference room, and more than a few board members look like they’re about to pass out.

  “I couldn’t stop seeing Dr. Maddox romantically because I love him. And I couldn’t stop seeing him as my doctor because he changed my life. It’s because of him that I can walk again,” she pronounces.

  The board gasps again as this time, Summer takes a step forward. She’s as wobbly as a newborn dear, but wears a determined expression on her face. Her eyes fix on a point ahead, and she takes another wobbly step, and then another. She’s confident, and doesn’t even need her crutches anymore.

  Tears fill my eyes. After all, words are one thing, but action is another, and my woman has come through for me. Surely now, there’s no way the board will strip me of my job nor my license.

  “Ms. Ames, please stop this spectacle and take your seat,” George babbles. “We’ve seen enough.”

  My girl nods, walks a few more steps, and then slowly levers herself down into a nearby chair. Her motions are still weak, but her expression is triumphant. She’s undermined George’s case, and she’s proud of herself for it.

  “I want the board to take my testimony into consideration when making a final decision,” she declares. “I want the board to know how much Dr. Maddox has done for me.” Summer stares at the members as they nod and speak among themselves.

  “Ahem,” George interrupts. “I’d like to continue my questioning, if you wouldn’t mind.”

  With that, he tries to re-start the inquisition, but it’s no use. Anything he says now might as well be words lost in the wind. After Summer’s dramatic performance and impassioned speech, it’s clear how the board is going to decide. They loved her. Her air of unstudied authenticity and natural grace have
been more than enough.

  “George, I think it’s time to put this hearing to rest,” the vice president says after a short pause. “All those in favor of terminating this proceeding?”

  The other members say aye, and that’s it. We’re done for now.

  “Good. I hereby declare this hearing complete. The board will deliberate and have a decision by the end of the week. Until then, Dr. Ridge Maddox is stripped of hospital privileges pending review by the board. This proceeding is adjourned.”

  I let out a sigh of relief. Sure, anything could happen now, but I highly doubt they’ll rule against me. Summer was just too persuasive, and I love her all the more for it.

  After all, she could have abandoned me, but she didn’t. Summer stood up for me, and I didn’t even need to ask her to. She did it out of love, and I would’ve done the same thing for her. If I wasn’t sure before, I am now. Summer is the best woman on the planet, and I’m lucky to call her mine.

  Now that the hearing’s over, I want to leave more than anything, but unfortunately, that isn’t possible because I still have to talk to my rep from the union. Damnit. I think they’re calling it a debriefing or whatever, even though we were both here for the whole thing.

  “Dr. Maddox, let’s find an office to talk,” my rep, Justin Carter, says. He’s a nerdy looking guy with bad shoes and a combover. He holds a clipboard filled with pages and pages of notes.

  “Can you give me a minute?”

  He looks strained, but nods. I practically run over to where Summer, Annabel, and Leo are preparing to leave.

  “I love you so much,” I say to Summer. The board is still here, so I don’t kiss her like I want to because it’d be adding fuel to the fire. “I have to talk to Carter, but I’ll come to your apartment right after, okay?”

  She nods, her face slightly flushed. “I’ll see you then.”

  Leo claps me on the back. “Good luck, man. You did great up there. I would’ve clocked the guy.”

  “Which is exactly why you should never get in trouble with the board.”

  He laughs. “We’ll get Summer home. Let me know how it goes with Carter.”