by Maren Cooper
Chapter 45
Thank God it’s Friday, Jess thought as soon as she opened her eyes. She did a bit of stretching and spent some time at her computer before she left for the office. She caught Claire by phone just after Melody had arrived at the house.
“Hey, friend,” Jess greeted her. “Do you and my favorite baby boy have plans for Memorial Day weekend?”
“No. But I thought you were going to spend the holiday at Jim’s lake place.”
“That’s not happening. I can fill you in later, but I was thinking that a holiday would be just the thing for us. You haven’t had a getaway since Thanksgiving, and I would really like a break. What do you say?”
“Well . . .”
“I’m thinking we can book a cabin at a resort I know well on the Missouri River bluffs. Then we can have our own place, and—here’s the hook—there’s a spa right at the lodge, and child-care, too. I believe you need to be treated to some TLC. Anyway, they’re holding the unit for me, so I wanted to get back to them before they have to let it go. Are you in?”
“Massage, hiking, pontoon boat . . .” Claire paused. “Really, I could get excited about this. Are you sure you want to skip Jim’s? Are you doing this for me?”
“Believe me, this is for me as well.”
“Hmm. OK. Sounds like there’s something I’m missing, but I’m game. Book it!”
“Great! And remember, brunch at my house Sunday with Diane to plan the wedding stuff—eleven o’clock.”
When she arrived at work, the receptionist gave her a note. “This fellow Adam Bright called on the general line but wanted to talk to you directly, not to your voice mail.”
As she headed to her office, the elevator door opened and Cindy walked out. “Guess what? This is a nice surprise for us: Larry Personne called me last night and is heading in here this morning, with his attorney, at eleven.”
Together they walked down to Dan’s office and shared the news. “Excellent,” he said. “Who’s the lawyer? Someone we know?”
“Yes, actually. A very good attorney, Jack Silverman. We’ve worked with him before. He knows his stuff and would never advise anyone to play fast and loose where compliance is concerned. So if Personne has him involved, it’s a very good thing for all parties.”
They all exhaled at once. “Whew. I’m feeling a lot better about this.” Jess said. “One other thing: Adam Bright called in on the general line to talk to me. I don’t know what he knows, but I feel like I should call him back. Cindy, what are the legal limits of what I can say to him at this point?”
Cindy instructed Jess to stay away from legal specifics during any conversation with Bright, and they agreed to reconvene after Cindy’s meeting with Personne.
Back in her office, Jess picked up her lake rock and rubbed it as she thought about Larry Personne coming in. Had he really come around, or would this be a meeting in which he’d fight their findings?
Dr. Bright asked if Jess could meet him for a quick lunch near the clinic, and they settled on a little diner a few doors away. After a quick handshake, he offered a suggestion. “It’s Friday, and the cook always has a great soup-and-sandwich special. Are you willing to split a sandwich with me?”
“Sounds like you know this place well. Of course.” Jess smiled.
“I appreciate your willingness to meet with me. I’m sure there are some limits on what you can tell me about your findings, and I won’t put you in an awkward position about that.”
“Thanks, Adam. I can tell you that I met with Dr. Personne and gave him our preliminary findings Wednesday. He’s conferring with Cindy, my legal colleague, about the details right about now.”
“Yes, I know. Larry sought me out last night and bared his soul. He’s in bad shape. He begged me to take over the practice and do what I can to save the group.” He paused, cleared his throat, and then began again. “You know, I should have felt a certain satisfaction when he admitted his incompetence and utter lack of leadership. But I could only feel sorry for the guy.”
The server appeared with two steaming bowls of homemade tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich divided between two plates. “Ah, comfort food. Perfect. Please tell Pete he’s saving me today. Thanks,” Adam said.
He looked up at her shyly and grinned. “Sometimes it doesn’t feel good to be right.”
“I can certainly agree with you on that, Adam.” Then she asked, “Now, what would you like from me?”
“I was the one who found the attorney who Personne has in your office right now. He’s a former law school classmate of a friend of mine. I know he’s solid and will handle things right, but I haven’t decided how much I want to be involved in this mess. I’m going to wait to see what the situation is and whether it can be salvaged, or if it’s better for the practice to fold. And, truly, I don’t know which it will be.”
“OK, I’m with you so far,” Jess encouraged.
“Good. I wanted to ask you to think about something. If it happens that we’re all better off walking away from the practice, I want you to think about what it would take to start up a new practice with the same physicians, at least those who want to stay together. It’s a good group; we just had poor leadership.”
Jess nodded. “I understand. And are you thinking it’ll be an independent group?”
“Probably not. The heyday of independent practices is clearly coming to an end. If they aren’t totally turned off by the idea, given the circumstances, I’d love to see the possibility of a primary-care practice supported by Midwest Health.” He looked at her closely to gauge her reaction.
“Well, you’ve done a lot of thinking over the past twenty-four hours. I can tell you’re a natural leader, Adam.” She paused. “I knew that before, actually.” She smiled warmly at him. “Tell you what. Let me think about this. I’d like to confer with my colleagues, and then I can give you some advice on your ideas. Is that OK?”
“More than OK, Jess.” They stood and walked out of the diner together. “By the way, the only time I lost patience with Personne when he came crying to me was when he started to attack you. Unbelievable how some guys always need a scapegoat. Anyway, thanks for meeting and thinking this through with me.”
“Of course, Adam. And thanks for lunch.” Jess smiled as they parted, and kept smiling until she got to her car. Could this be coming together? She pinched herself, then remembered that Larry Personne and his attorney were with Cindy at that very moment. She checked her phone. No text yet—maybe they were still meeting. Was that good or bad?
Chapter 46
Jess slept in the next morning and, for the first time that week, awoke feeling relaxed and refreshed. She put on her running shoes and took a four-mile jog in her neighborhood. She stopped to grab a latte at a local coffee shop, then walked home leisurely, enjoying the rustle of a light breeze through the trees and the distinct fragrance of the last of the lilacs. The garden beckoned, but she wanted to get to the grocery store before the afternoon rush to shop for food for Sunday brunch. She planned an easy meal of cheese strata, fruit, and antipasti so they wouldn’t be preoccupied with cooking while planning the prewedding festivities.
She drove to the grocery store with the windows rolled down, relishing the warm air on her face. Now that the Goodmoor situation was exposed and Personne was cooperating with legal counsel to guide him through the morass of reporting to the authorities, she could take a breath. She, Cindy, and Dan had already made a quiet overture to Dick Morrison on behalf of the physicians of the practice, and he had expressed interest in assisting them, although he had asked Jess to determine exactly how. She already had some ideas, but right now she was going to enjoy her weekend.
The neighborhood was alive with birds chirping, lawn mowers grinding, and joggers and moms with strollers making the most of the beautiful May Saturday. She realized how many of these people she knew and waved to as she drove. She picked up the mail when she got back from the store and hooted with pleasure to see a card from Tom.
&
nbsp; Mom,
Like the picture? Gotta use these beautiful Italian postcards for someone special. Wanted to tell you that summer is set. I leave June 1 from here. I can store some of my stuff at school and will send some things home by UPS. I’ll be home for two weeks in August. Expect great meals prepared by yours truly. So glad you supported this culinary summer for me. Thanks again, Mom.
Love you!
Tom
She sighed and sat down on the patio to read it again. Nothing was as satisfying as the happiness of one’s own children, but she knew she’d miss him anyway.
She headed back to the car to unload her groceries and interrupted a florist deliveryman at her doorstep.
“Mrs. Lawson?” he asked politely.
“Nope. Ms. Lawson.” She smiled at him. “Thank you.” She took the flowers into the kitchen and began unwrapping them. She hadn’t quite finished when she saw that they were the color complement of the spring flowers she had received six weeks earlier. She left the arrangement and put the groceries away. She picked up the card, went to the patio, breathed deeply a few times, and opened it: “Jess, I’m sorry. I’m not sure why I went at you that way. I guess it was fear. Please forgive me. Jim”
She pulled out her phone and drafted an e-mail—“I think it’s time to take a step back. Thanks for the flowers. Enjoy the ball. Jess”—but decided to sleep on it.
She worked in the shade garden for a couple of hours, then washed up and was trying to decide between tea and her book or wine and cheese and crackers for dinner, when the phone rang. She hesitated before answering, wishing she had caller ID.
“Oh, Beth. What a lovely surprise to cap off my lovely day. How are you, honey?” Sweet relief as she curled up on the couch, preparing for the pure pleasure of a call from her daughter. And this one started on an interesting note: “Mom, I think I’ve met somebody special . . .”
Chapter 47
First thing the next morning, Jess, clearheaded, reread her message to Jim twice before sending it.
She prepared food and walked outside to greet Claire as she drove up. They rescued PJ from his car seat and strolled around the garden. He went for the bright colors in the garden pots Jess had planted now that the frost warnings had passed. When Diane drove up, PJ recognized her and reached out immediately.
“Will you look at that? I’m already losing him to another woman.” Claire laughed.
Diane took him from Claire. “He’s getting so big. I can’t believe he’s already crawling.”
“And getting into everything,” Claire said as they entered the house.
“I thought of that. How about we set up in the great room and let him crawl around?” Jess carried the baby toys and diaper bag in from the car. In the kitchen, she took the strata from the oven and then carried it out and set it down with the food already on the great-room table. They all helped themselves and gathered around to watch PJ and do their planning.
An hour later, PJ was down for his nap and Jess had finished her to-do list for Diane’s showers in both Goodrich and St. Louis. They carried dishes into the kitchen, and Claire zeroed in on the flowers on the table. “Those are lovely. What’s the occasion, Jess?”
“From Jim. A long story there. Are you two up for that?” Jess started a fresh pot of coffee.
“Always.” Diane filled the dishwasher. “You know that.”
“Yes, please. What’s up? Why aren’t you going to his place for Memorial Day weekend?” Claire read the card with the flowers. “And why is he apologizing?”
“Well, he kinda went after me for doing my job the way it has to be done.” Jess winced. “Seems he didn’t like how it might turn out for a fellow doctor.”
“A friend of his?” Claire asked.
“No. that’s the odd thing. Jim doesn’t really know this guy. There’s been some bad stuff going on in this practice, so I had to call them on it. I think Jim just plain didn’t like it.”
“How do you feel about it? Seems like he’s apologized.” Diane found her coffee mug.
“Yes, he has.” Jess scowled. “But, actually, it’s a good time to take some time out.”
“Because?”
“Well, the anger was surprising—and misplaced. That’s the first thing. And I’m worried that we’re moving too fast, or at least at different speeds.” She paused to pour herself coffee too, and they headed back into the great room.
“I’m not sure we both want to get to the same place. My gut tells me that Jim is looking to get back into a married lifestyle and wants me to take on a traditional wife role.”
“Why do you think that?” Claire asked.
“He’s rushing me. ‘Meet all my friends, come to the Symphony Ball, come to the lake and we’ll do all of my lake things, meet my kids, host dinners with me, why are you going home, why not just stay here?’”
“Isn’t that behavior consistent with being in love and wanting to share everything with someone?” Diane added cream to her coffee. “And you did introduce him to your friends.”
“Yes, and that’s why I’m not sure. That’s why I want to take some time.”
“How long have you been dating—two, three months? It’s still new. What do you like about this dating thing?” Claire asked.
“Closer to four months now. Not that long, really, especially given that both of us are recently single. Anyway, the best part about being with Jim is that he’s helped me realize how much I’ve missed the intimacy of a relationship—the sex, sure, but also the tender touch, the good-night calls, the intimacy of caring for someone. I love that.” Jess looked up carefully.
Diane was smiling broadly at her. “Hey, that’s totally healthy and a good thing for you. I bet you didn’t have that with Arthur anytime recently, and I know you didn’t see so much of it in your own family when we were growing up.”
Claire piled on, “So maybe it’s not Jim, but maybe Mr. Right is out there somewhere, waiting for you.”
“I’m not sure. Maybe he is. Or maybe it is Jim.” Jess paused and looked at each of her dear friends in turn. “Or is he just convenient because my kids are moving away from my orbit now? Tom is starting off toward being a chef, and Beth has a new boyfriend. Am I afraid to be alone?”
“Well, what do you want, Jess? The world awaits,” Claire said, but Diane was leaning in for the answer.
“That’s the problem—I really don’t know what I want now. And it’s frustrating!” Jess felt the scrutiny getting to her. She rose too quickly from the sofa and, in an attempt to avoid tripping on a baby toy, steadied herself on the console table, toppling a stack of books, which fell to the floor.
Claire helped Jess pick them up. “This is an unusual book. What is it?” She held it up, and as she did so, a photo fell out of the inner flap.
“Oh, that’s the guest book from the lake place.” Jess put her pile back on the table.
“It sure is!” Claire laughed. “Look at this pic! Lookin’ good, girl!” She held the picture out to Jess. There she was—a younger, nude Jess, hair cascading over her face, backlit by firelight and lying on a plaid blanket.
“Oh my God!” Jess felt her face flush with embarrassment—and relief. “Unbelievable!”
Diane rushed over and exploded in giggles as she looked. The three of them laughed, pointed at Jess, and took turns with the picture until the ruckus woke PJ.
Claire brought her warm and fuzzy son out from Jess’s bedroom to say goodbye and packed him up. They were still chuckling as they left—but not before they concluded that there are more mysteries in life than anyone can predict.
Acknowledgments
My writing practice grew from years of hanging out at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. I was an anonymous student in many a class, soaking up the ambience before I ever lifted pen to paper. Excellent teachers, talented fellow students, and intriguing class curricula finally gave me the courage to give it a go. Thanks to the Loft community for making it so.
Thank you to Mary Carroll Moore
for your thoughtful and supportive teaching through my early drafts. I am a grateful student of your in-person and online classes, as well as your wonderful retreat at Tanque Verde Ranch. And to all of my classmates, thanks for your honest feedback—the only feedback worth getting.
During the writing and production of this book, I have learned so much from so many gifted professionals. Thanks to Annie Tucker, whose editorial chops and light touch coached this debut novelist to a better finished work. Thanks to Brooke Warner, Cait Levin, and everyone else at She Writes Press and BookSparks for your visionary leadership and steady guidance in keeping me on task and on pace during the production side of publishing.
Finally, to my early readers, Diamond, Lucy, Melpomeni, Sharon, Gabrielle, Kate, and Mary, I am so grateful for the gift of your time and valuable input when I needed it.
Last but not least, my book club, the steadfast No Guilt Book Club, never fails to keep my horizons fresh with appealing literary choices and always feeds my inner artist. Thank you!
About the Author
Author photo © Leslie Plesser
Maren Cooper grew up in the Midwest and now resides in Minnesota. During her long career as a health services executive, she led a number of organizations in their efforts to respond to the challenges of new, competitive business models, improve their operating systems, and optimize their governance structures. A lifelong reader, Cooper recently discovered the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, began taking classes, and slowly unearthed the aspiring writer inside her. She writes best on the shore of Lake Superior, where she retreats frequently to hike, watch the deer devour her hostas, and needlepoint.
For book club questions and to learn more, please visit: www.marencooper.com.
Selected Titles From She Writes Press