What the hell did that matter, though? It wasn’t as if he had anything else going on in his life other than his work—a situation that suited him just fine. In fact, to avoid some of the long lonely nights he even took call for his colleagues just to give him something to do. Some might call it crazy, but he called it picking up the pieces of his broken life.
“So the plan is for her to be back in two weeks?” He grimaced. There were two weeks of work waiting to see him right now, and he was the only general pediatrician in the house today. The other two had succumbed to the virus that was being spread like wildfire. Leaving him to roll up his sleeves and just pitch in, keeping his fingers crossed that he stayed healthy so he could handle the workload.
Pulling up his surgical mask and snapping on a fresh pair of gloves, he sighed. “Send in the next one.”
Rochelle chuckled. “Wouldn’t it just be quicker to go out there, sit them in a circle and look at them as a group?”
“What would be easier would be flu shots. But people don’t think about getting vaccinated until they’re already sick with the flu.”
She pointed to her upper arm. “Got mine. Hope you got yours.”
“I’ve been a pediatrician too long not to.” But that didn’t mean he wasn’t susceptible. Because vaccinations weren’t foolproof, as his colleagues had discovered.
Two more weeks and Del Carson might reappear. Admittedly, after six months of hearing glowing reports about her, he was anxious to meet her. “You don’t suppose we could convince Dr. Carson to come back early, do you?” he asked as he grabbed up the next patient chart. Five years old, fever, runny nose, cough, generally out of sorts.
“She values her baby time. She’ll be back when she’s back.”
Of all the bad timing to be on leave... He signaled for his nurse, Ellie Blanchard, and off they went, back to work. Vaccinating children and parents alike, dispensing antinausea medicine, and generally just trying to make it through the day. “Next,” he said as he stepped into Exam Four. “And get me two more ready to go. We’ve got a lot of patients to see in the next hour.” Glancing up at the clock on the wall, he shook his head. Not enough time. Not nearly enough time even if he worked through his lunch hour.
* * *
No trying to hide it, she had tears streaming down her cheeks as she handed Charlie to the day-care director then headed down the winding walkway to the clinic. It wasn’t as if she didn’t trust the center to take good care of him. They had an excellent reputation and the staff in general spoke very highly of them—but this was her baby she was handing over and being only a building away didn’t make any difference. She hated doing it. Considered at the very last minute whether or not she was ready to go back to work or if another six months’ maternity leave might be called for.
But one look at the swamped clinic told her she was doing the right thing. Other children needed her, too. And admittedly, she did feel that tingle of excitement the moment she stepped through the front door—a tingle that told her she was back where she belonged.
There were lots of single moms just like her who left their children and went to work every day. She didn’t have someone to support the two of them. It was up to her. Besides, she loved her work. Still, she was sniffling as she approached her office door and went inside. Leaving Charlie behind made her feel so empty, so alone. “Suck it up,” she told herself as she pulled on her lab coat, the one with her name embroidered onto the pocket. “You knew this was how it was going to be when you did this.”
Still, she hadn’t counted on it being so difficult. “But you’re lucky,” she said as she looked in the bathroom mirror and touched up her streaky eyes. “You’ve got excellent day care and you’re only a few steps away.” A few steps that seemed like miles. Damn it! She wanted to be home with her baby even though she knew she was needed here. Torn in half—that was how she felt. Completely ripped down the center.
Taking in a deep breath, she exited her office and stepped almost directly into the path of a doctor she didn’t recognize. The new hire? “Sorry,” she said, trying to find a smile for him even though it simply wasn’t in her to be found.
“You must be Dr. Carson,” he said, extending his hand to her.
She gripped it weakly. “And you are... Was that Dr. Michaels?”
“Call me Simon.”
“And I’m Del,” she said, appraising the hunk of man standing right in front of her. OK, so she’d vowed off involvement, but she could still look, and what caught her attention first, outside his very soft hands, were his stunning green eyes. They were serious, but she could almost picture them smiling and sexy.
“Well, Del, I’m glad you’re finally back. We’ve been too busy to make much sense of our patient load for a while, and we’ve needed you.”
“My baby needed me more than the clinic did.”
“I imagine he did,” Simon said, “but you haven’t been here and the pace has been crazy.”
She looked over his shoulder to a normal waiting room. “Looks like things are under control to me.”
“Want to know how long it’s been since I’ve been able to take a lunch break?”
She laughed. “No guesses from me. We all have to make sacrifices, Dr. Michaels. Some bigger than others.”
“You’re referring to leaving your baby in day care?”
“That, and other things.” But mostly that.
“Well, at least it’s a good day care and nearby. That’s an advantage for you.”
“But I don’t have to like it.”
“All I said was I’m glad you’re finally back. You were needed.”
“And I appreciate that, but I was also needed at home.” Where she wished she could have stayed. “But it’s nice to be missed. I take it you don’t have any children?”
He paused for a moment, then winced. “No children. Divorced. No future plans for anything except working.”
“And yet you complain about too much work.”
“Not complain so much as remark. We’re busy here. We needed you. Simple as that.” He chuckled. “Almost as much as you need me.”
“Well, you’ve got me there. We do need you, especially right now.”
Simon nodded. “During the flu outbreak the average wait time was an hour per patient. Which is too long for a sick kid to have to sit there and wait.”
“See, you could have told me that right off.”
“Pent-up frustrations,” he said. “I’ve been working hard.”
“I can see that.” She smiled at him. “Well, you’re right. An hour is too long. We like to guarantee no more than twenty minutes. Shorter if we can get away with it.”
“Sorry about my attitude, but all I could picture in my mind was you sitting at home playing with your baby when we had patients lined up in the hallways.”
“Trust me, it wasn’t all play. Babies require a lot of work.”
“I know, I know. I’m think I’m just tired... I know it must have been hard work, especially on your own,” he said.
“So how about we get off to a fresh start? Hello, I’m Del Carson and you’re...”
“Simon Michaels.” He held out his hand to shake hers and they both smiled. “So how was your maternity leave?”
“Great. I hated for it to be over with but all good things must end. So,