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“Yeah. Did you sleep well?”
“Of course. I had the best exercise all night.” I laughed.
I heard voices in the background and clanging.
“Look, sweetheart, I have to go. They’re waiting on me to scrub. I’ll call you as soon as I’m finished. Love you, babe.”
“Love you too. Do a good job in there.”
“I’ll do my best.”
He ended the call. I went down the stairs, took the key and the code, and set the alarm on my way out. After I locked up, I strolled home. It was only a couple blocks.
When I got home, I called Terri and asked her if she wanted to meet me at our favorite barbecue place for lunch. Of course, she was all in. In the meantime, I washed a couple of loads of laundry and vacuumed when my cell phone rang. It was Pearce telling me he was done with the first surgery but that he was preparing to do another. He didn’t know what time he’d be done, but he’d call when he could.
I finished up the chores, hopped in my new set of wheels, and drove across the Ashley River to meet Terri. When she saw me pull into the parking lot, confusion took over her features. Her eyes bugged out when she opened my car door.
“Pearce?”
“No. Lisbeth. My Christmas present.” I laughed.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. This is awesome. That lady sure adores you.”
“I know, right? I did my best to talk her out of it because I feel guilty about it, but she wouldn’t hear of it. It’s mine free and clear.”
“It’s a beaut, Lex, it’s a beaut!” She used her National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation voice and had me in tears, laughing.
We grabbed a table inside and she pulled every last teeny detail out of me about my time with Pearce. She had a knack for that. I didn’t hold anything back. “Part of me wants you to tell me that I’m insane and it would never work, but the other part wants you to pat me on the back and tell me what a great job I’ve done.”
In Terri’s usual way, she did neither. Her eyes drilled serious holes into me, and she said, “I have to meet him. I’ll reserve judgment on everything until I do.”
“Fair enough.”
We talked about a few other things and then it was time to go. We hugged and I promised I’d set up a time for them to meet. I really wanted her honest opinion.
Since the next day was a workday, when I got home, I pulled out my computer to get prepared. Ugh, I hated to even think about it. I had gotten spoiled having these few days off.
Once all emails were cleared and I had responded to my clients, I pulled up my appointments scheduled for the next day and made sure all preparations were completed.
Then I waited for Pearce to call … and waited. When the clock hit eleven, I decided to head for bed. I texted him to let him know and hit the sack.
PEARCE
“Middleton, get your ass in here, stat!” Jeremy called out. I finished scrubbing and waited to be gloved, masked, shielded, and gowned by one of the personnel.
“I’m here,” I said moving into the sterile field.
“What took you so long? Your head’s in the clouds. Must be a woman.”
That’s an understatement. “Must be. Wanna fill me in on what we have here?”
“What we have is a mess. Gunshot wound. Abdomen. Perforated bowel. Need I say more?”
“Nope. Let’s get to work.”
We got the patient patched up and into recovery, but it was one of those days. One right after the next. And the whole time all I thought of was Alexia. And that she loved me. She. Loved. Me.
I smiled. Good thing I had a mask on for most of the day because everyone around me would’ve wondered what kind of happy-assed pills I was popping. It wasn’t like me to be smiling through all the shit show cases we were dealing with. But it couldn’t be helped. She put a smile on my face that I couldn’t erase.
