“That must have been awful,” Meredith sympathized with him, but she still didn't like the similarities in the two situations, and undeniably, there were some.
And that weekend they went to Carmel with his children. They stayed at the Lodge at Pebble Beach, and she had a separate room, but surprisingly, none of his children seemed to mind her being with them. They had accepted her as a friend. She shopped with the girls while Cal and Andy played golf. And they went to Platti in Carmel, and had pasta for dinner. And the conversation was lively. The children teased their father about a number of things, his hair, the way he dressed, the kind of women he liked, or didn't, even the way he played golf. But it was all in relatively good humor. It was obvious that despite whatever foibles they saw, they genuinely loved him. And they gave Meredith safe passage, because they knew she wasn't his girlfriend, and was married to Steve.
“It must be hard not having your husband live here,” Mary Ellen said sympathetically, which startled Meredith. It was a surprisingly adult thing to say, and she nodded in agreement.
“It is. He's trying to find a job, but it's not easy, and right now he's stuck in New York anyway, because his boss had an accident,” she explained.
“He fixes people who get shot, right?” Andy asked sensibly and she laughed.
“That and a few other things.”
“People must shoot each other a lot in New York to need a special doctor for it,” he added, and they all laughed. It was an interesting perception, and not entirely inaccurate, but it reminded her again that Steve was very much part of her life, and she couldn't avoid him forever.
She and Cal talked about it again that night, and she said she really had to go home the following weekend. But when Thursday came, she found she truly did have to see customers, coming in from Tokyo. And she didn't know what to tell Steve, since she had already used that excuse for the weekend she'd spent in Carmel with Cal and his kids.
“Again?” Steve said unhappily when she told him she couldn't come home that weekend. “Christ, Merrie, do you ever plan to get back here? You know how stuck I am, with Lucas gone.”
“What about Anna? Can't she cover for you, so you can come out to California?”
“Not this week. She just worked six days straight on duty and on call. She hasn't seen her kid in days. I told her I'd at least be on call for her through Sunday.”
“So if I'd come, then you might have been busy anyway. Maybe it's just as well I can't do it.” She was making excuses that didn't quite fly with Steven.
“Look, Merrie. I don't care who goes where. I want to see you. The last bulletin I had was that we're still married. And if that's the case, I'd like to see you more than once a month, if that's okay with you.” He was really irritated with her.
“I'll come back next week.” She sounded apologetic as she said it.
“That's what you say every week, and then on Thursdays you call to tell me you have to see customers, or go to Hawaii, or fly a kite with Callan Dow. I don't know what the fuck you're doing out there, but all I know is that I never see you anymore.” He sounded angry and tired and jealous, and she couldn't blame him.
“I'm sorry. I don't know what to say.” She was feeling desperately guilty, and a little frightened by what she was doing. No matter what she felt for Cal, or how good it was, she was risking her marriage and she knew it. She couldn't expect Steve to put up with this forever.
“Never mind, Meredith. I'll see you when I see you. If you come to New York, call me. I have to get back to work now.” He almost hung up on her, and she felt uncomfortable for the rest of the day, thinking about it. But she didn't say anything to Cal. Steve was her problem. And her husband.
She entertained at Fleur de Lys with Cal on Friday night, the Japanese loved French food, and they thought the restaurant was excellent. And on Saturday, they took them to Masa's. Their meetings with them went well, too, and they were enthusiastic about a new system Cal was putting together. Meredith spent all her time with them until they left on Sunday. And when she called Steve that night, he was out, and she drove over to have dinner with Cal and the children. As it turned out, Steve worked all weekend in New York, and if Meredith had been there, he couldn't have seen her. They had another blizzard, and the temperature dropped dramatically. There were sheets of ice on the ground, and Steve said he had never seen as many fractures. He was assisting the orthopods in surgery day and night, and he had four head-ons, which involved children.
He had given Anna the weekend off, but he was thrilled to see her when she finally came in on Sunday evening, and he was still working.
“I hear you had a good time this weekend.” She smiled at him. She had had fun sliding around on the snow on garbage can lids and plastic bags in Central Park with her daughter. “Thanks for the time off. We had a great time.”
“Lucky you,” he growled at her. “Every old lady in New York has been in here with a fractured ass since you left on Friday.”
“I like that diagnosis. Did you tell them that?”
“Yeah. They loved it.” He smiled grudgingly at her. He'd been in a bad mood since Thursday.
“Did Meredith fly in?” she asked casually, wondering if they'd had a fight, or if he'd even seen her. She'd had the feeling lately that things weren't going brilliantly between them.
“No. She had to see customers. Again,” he snapped at her.
“You couldn't have seen her anyway if she had come,” Anna said practically, judging from his workload.
“That's what she said. She could have at least tried.”
“Look, kid. You're both busy. You knew this wouldn't be easy when you let her move, but you thought you'd both have jobs. Now you don't and you're both trying to make the best of it. It's not her fault your job fell through.” She was being reasonable, but it annoyed him that she wasn't as sorry for him as he thought she should be.
“Do you have to rub it in? Or do you just do that for the hell of it?” he snarled at her and shrugged, and then a minute later he apologized for it. “I'm sorry. I had a shit weekend. I haven't slept since Friday night. I'm sick and tired of the bullshit here. I miss my wife. And I get the feeling she never wants to come back here anymore, and it's driving me crazy.”
“So go see her,” Anna said sensibly. “Next Saturday is Valentine's Day. Why don't you surprise her?”
“What if she does the same thing and flies here and I miss her?” He was too tired to work it out in his head, but Anna wasn't. And at heart, despite her blunt words and bad breaks, she was still a romantic.
“So tell her you're on duty and can't see her, and she won't come. Then you fly out, and surprise her … you know, chocolates, roses, the whole Valentine thing. Very romantic. She'll love it.” Anna smiled at him, wishing someone would do the same for her, but there was no one to do it. Hadn't been in years.
“Anna,” he beamed at her happily, “you're a genius.” He made his reservations on the phone that night, and was planning to fly out on Friday at noon when he got off work. With the time difference, he could be in Palo Alto before she left the office. “Thank you,” he said to Anna before he went home to get some sleep, and promised her he'd be back in the morning.
“Just call me Cupid,” she called after him, as she watched him go. He was so tired, he was weaving. She was glad he wasn't driving. She knew he'd take a cab home to the apartment he hadn't let her see yet. She had long since guessed that he didn't want her to feel bad when she saw how luxurious it was. But she knew his wife made a lot of money. He came to see her at her place instead sometimes for a glass of wine, or a burrito when she made them. He and Felicia were pals now, and they both enjoyed the visits.
It was quiet in trauma unit that night, and Anna didn't need to call him for anything. She handled the unit well by herself, and the residents and nurses all liked her. She was still hoping the job would become permanent eventually, but there was no sign of it yet. Steve didn't seem to be going anywhere. And when she thought about it, as she sat in his office that night, she was glad.