Rustling from the bed catches my attention, and I quickly realize that my young patient is Tim’s son. A quick breath in and I collect myself. Putting on a truly warm and genuine smile, I walk to the side of the bed and pat the little boy laying there on the leg.
“Hey… you must be Sam?” I ask him gently, and he nods almost shyly.
His eyes are wide and fearful. They aren’t Tim’s eyes though. Much lighter… a hazel with flecks of green, and I wonder if Sam’s mother is white. The rest of his face is Tim’s though… through and through, and this kid is going to be gorgeous when he grows up.
“How are you feeling?” I ask him softly. “Any pain?”
“No.” He’s so quiet I can barely hear him.
“That’s good,” I say with a smile. “My name is Holly. I’m the doctor that’s going to take care of you today and I promise, I’m going to make you feel all better. Okay?”
He nods… this time with a tiny smile, which I return.
Turning away from Sam, I shoot a quick glance at Tim. He’s not said a word yet to me and by the look on his face, I’m not sure he really wants to talk to me. This I can understand as I’ve often thought over the years what we would actually say to each other if this moment ever occurred, and I always came up flat empty as well.
I walk over to a rolling cart that houses a computer terminal and with a few keystrokes, I have his x-ray results pulled up. It only takes me a nanosecond to see the problem.
Looking over my shoulder at Tim, I motion toward the digital films. “He’s got a small fracture in his first metatarsal.”
Tim takes a few steps and comes to stand beside me. I point to the fracture. “Right there. Good news is that it’s non-displaced and it’s an easy fix. Just a good splint and plenty of resting it for the next three weeks.”
Tim nods, lets out a grateful breath, and then murmurs, “That’s good.”
Turning away from me, he walks over to Sam’s bedside and places his large hand on top of the boy’s head. “Doesn’t look too bad, buddy. Holly is going to put a splint on it and you’re going to have to be careful for a while, but it should heal up fine.”
“In time for baseball season?” Sam asks hesitantly.
“Definitely,” Tim says with a smile, and then leans over to kiss Sam on the forehead. The move is a simple showing of affection from a parent to a child, but for some reason… watching Tim… the man he has become hits a deep chord within me.
Clearing my throat, I turn to the sink beside the computer terminal and wash my hands again. “I’m going to do a quick examination. I don’t expect I’ll find anything else to change my diagnosis, and then we’ll get you all bandaged up so you can get home.”
Amy pulls the splint and wrap out of a supply cabinet and lays the materials on a metal cart beside the bed. I step up to the side that Tim is standing on, and he quickly moves back to give me room. I shoot him a small smile and don’t get one in return, his eyes darting away quickly to rest on Sam.
“Sam… I’m going to look at your hand. It might hurt a little but don’t be afraid to tell me when it does. I want to make sure nothing else is damaged that I can’t see on the x-rays, okay?”
I get a brave nod in return and spend the next several minutes examining Sam’s hand. Tim tells me that he fell while playing outside with a dog, so I go ahead and do a quick range-of-motion exam on his wrist, elbow, and shoulder. When Sam assures me that nothing else hurts, I take a few moments and splint his hand up, explaining to Tim how to apply the wrap around for a secure but not too tight fit.
“All done,” I tell Sam with a quick squeeze to his shoulder. “You’ll be as good as new in a few weeks.”
Turning to Amy, I tell her, “Go ahead and remove the IV and get the discharge paperwork done.”
“Yes, Dr. Reynolds,” she says briskly.
I turn back to Sam. “It was good meeting you, Sam. Take care of yourself.”
Then I turn to Tim, and I’m met with that same impassive look he has been wearing since I walked past the curtain into the room. Disappointment fills me as I realize that Tim truly doesn’t want to talk to me… at least, not outside of my medical expertise.
I take in a breath, square my shoulders, and give a polite smile to him. “Well… it was good seeing you again. Take care.”
He doesn’t say a word. Doesn’t move a facial muscle in response. Just stares at me with those amber eyes until I turn away and walk toward the curtain to, once again, leave Tim behind.
Chapter 3
Tim
I’m still reeling from seeing Holly.
When she walked through that curtain and my brain first recognized her, I felt every cell in my body respond to her beauty.
She looked exactly the same as she did ten years ago.
Long, blonde hair, more of a golden tone, that’s thick and wavy. Crystal-green eyes with mile-long lashes and lips that look perpetually swollen by hard kissing. She’s still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known, a true fact that caused me to be tongue-tied around her.
Which was fine, because it’s not like this is the best place to re-open old wounds. Because that is what would happen if Holly and I actually had a moment to talk.
Instead, I was happy to see her concentrate on Sam. She was so gentle… so patient and kind with him, that I could tell he was immediately at ease. She was efficient in her expertise, and I’m grateful for her care of him.
And then?
Then she was saying good-bye and walking past me out of the small, curtained room.
My hand shoots out and grabs her around the wrist. She jerks in surprise and for a brief moment, I focus on my fingers clasping loosely onto her. My dark skin against her pale, and a haunting image of my body covering hers as I made love to her sizzles through my mind.
“Wait,” I say as I drag my gaze up to hers.
Holly tilts her head slightly… in curiosity, and I clear my throat. “Do you have a moment to talk?” I ask her.
“Sure,” she says with a smile. “I just got off the night shift. It’s going to take a few minutes to get Sam discharged.”
Turning back to Sam, I see him talking to the nurse as she takes his IV out. “Sam… buddy… I’m going to step just outside this curtain a moment to talk to Dr. Reynolds. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, Dad,” he says with a toothless but brave grin. “I’m good. Amy promised me some stickers.”
I give a wan smile to the nurse. Moving my hand from Holly’s wrist to her elbow, I steer her outside of the curtained room.
“We can step in here,” she says and actually leads me over to a small office across the bay.
I follow her inside and she shuts the door, turning back to me with her hands tucked into her lab coat. Her smile is warm, her eyes open and searching.
“It’s really good to see you, Tim,” she begins, her voice quavering slightly.
I scrub my hand over my head, feeling the prick from the short bristles of hair as I keep my head shaved almost to the point of baldness. It’s just easier to take care of. “Yeah… you too,” I say distractedly.
“I didn’t think you’d want to talk,” she murmurs, her gaze dropping to the floor.
A brief moment of anger surges through me as I remember the last time I talked to Holly. It was just before our high school graduation. All the students were congregated outside, waiting to get herded into our auditorium for the commencement ceremony.
Holly had grabbed my hand and pulled me off to the side, far enough away from the other students so we couldn’t be heard. It was the first time I had seen her since my disastrous meeting with her father four days earlier. Since then, I hadn’t heard from Holly and she wasn’t responding to my calls or emails.