Chapter 7 Blakely
Blakely
“You won’t believe who’s here!” Paige says as she storms past me, takes a seat at her desk, and rests her head in her hands.
Paige and I are still as close as ever. When Kai and I split, she was by my side, helping me through every breakdown I had.
She never once judged me for all the times I wanted to run back to him.
She even followed in my footsteps to become a medical assistant.
After high school, she didn’t know what she wanted to do.
Since the medical assisting program wasn’t that long, she did that.
When I left my job at the surgeon’s office, she got me a job at a family practice she was working at called Family First Medical.
We both work for Dr. Peterson. It worked out perfectly, because he was only looking for a part-time assistant, and I wanted to work part time so I could spend more time with Amari.
And since moving in with Liam, I was able to do that.
“Who?” I ask.
“The doctor shopper.” She groans.
“Oh, no.” I sigh.
She shakes her head in frustration. “I don’t understand why Dr. Peterson keeps seeing her.”
Every now and then, we get patients who doctor shop.
That’s what we call it. They shop around for doctors, trying to get any kind of pain medicine the doctors will prescribe them.
They come in with excuse after excuse as to why they need pain pills.
Some even purposely hurt themselves to get a prescription.
Dr. Peterson has had to turn some patients away and give them resources to rehabs.
He’s a very kind and caring doctor and gives his patients multiple chances—too many chances, if you ask me—before sending them away.
The lady Paige is referring to still comes around because he hasn’t turned her away from the practice yet.
“He’s way too nice,” I say, logging into our EMR system to see who’s on the schedule for today—aside from the doctor shopper.
“How did your date go with that guy you were telling me about? What’s his name again?
” It’s so hard to date nowadays. Everything is done on dating apps now, and it’s becoming less about finding true love and more about finding quick hookups—regardless, if the people are married or single.
I’m so glad I found Liam, so I don’t have to keep going through horrendous dates.
“David.” She groans. “The nerve that some men have is baffling.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“For one, he’s married,” she says as she continues typing.
“What!” I exclaim, eyeing her in disbelief.
She stops typing and turns to me. "Supposedly,”—she uses air quotes—“he and his soon-to-be ex-wife have decided to keep the house they are living in and be roommates. Apparently, he moved into their basement. So he says.”
“What the fuck? He thinks he’s going to find someone who is okay with that?”
“Yup. He thinks it will and should work out because they will be turning the basement into an apartment, so it’s separate from the main living area.”
“In that case, not telling someone that he still technically lives with his ex-wife will probably work if they see he lives in a basement apartment. But why not wait until it’s turned into a basement apartment?”
“Why not wait until he’s actually divorced?” she says with her brows raised, staring at the computer.
“Oh, yeah. That too.”
“I doubt he’s even getting a divorce. And I highly doubt he lives in the basement,” she says making air quotes again.
“Some men.” I shake my head.
“You’re lucky you found Liam. When am I going to find a hot doctor?”
I giggle. Finding Liam was sheer luck. It’s true what they say: stop looking for love and let love find you. Because months before, I had given up on looking for love. I was so sick of it; I was coming to terms with being alone for the rest of my life.
Paige has also been through the ringer with dates.
She told me once that I’m lucky I already have Amari, because she doesn’t think she’ll ever find a guy to settle down and have kids with.
I told her she’s still young and has so much time.
I don’t know why she is so worried about it.
We’re the same age, and I was worried about it, but I feel like my situation is different since I have a daughter already. But…maybe it really is no different.
Twenty patients later, and it’s time to go pick Amari up . Dr. Peterson likes to see his easier follow-up patients on the same day since they are quicker appointments, so he can spend more time on those who need longer appointments on different days.
“Are you going to make it to Amari’s ballet recital tonight?” I ask Paige as we both clock out and shut down the office.
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
I give Paige a hug. “Okay. I’ll see you later tonight.”
“Are you excited to perform?” I ask Amari as I walk her to the back of the dance studio, where she and all the other girls stay before they come out on stage.
“Yeah. Is Dad going to be there?”
“He should be. He said he would be.”
“And what about Grandma and Aunt Bryn?”
“Yup. Them too.” This is her first dance recital, and I think she’s more excited for everyone to be there for her rather than for the dance itself.
“Is Liam coming?” she asks, looking up at me.
“Yes.” I say glancing down at her.
“Oh, and Paige. Is she coming?”
“Yes. Sweetie, everyone is coming to see you perform.” Her performance literally lasts three minutes. There are all different age groups that are performing tonight.
“What about Uncle Kevin?”
“Yes, he’s coming.” I bend down and check her makeup one last time.
Her smile enhances the pink blush on her high cheekbones.
The mascara makes her long, pretty lashes look twice as long.
I matched her lip color to the blush. She loves wearing makeup and gets excited every time I do it.
Her hair is pulled back into a bun. She’s dressed in a pink leotard with a matching tutu, white tights, and pink ballet shoes.
“I’ll see you out there.” I kiss her on her forehead, and she smiles and walks toward her classmates.
Once I get back out to the seating area, I notice everyone is already here. I walk through the line of chairs until I get to the corner where Kai is sitting.
"Hey, I saved this seat for you.” He points to the chair next to him.
“Thanks,” I whisper. I lean over and wave at everyone, but I realize Liam isn’t here yet. “Have you seen Liam?” I ask Kai.
He shakes his head.
I pull out my phone, and there are no missed calls or text messages from him. I send him a quick text to see if he’s going to make it.
The first set of girls go on. They’re so cute.
They’re three to four years old. It’s fun to watch because most of them are so offbeat, but they make it work.
After they finish their dance, I look around the crowd for Liam but can’t see him.
He must be held up at work. After the second group finishes their dance, Amari’s instructor gets on stage and calls the third group on.
When Amari appears on stage, we all cheer for her.
I glance around one more time for Liam, but there’s still no sign of him.
No messages or calls, either. I shove my phone away, not wanting to ruin tonight.
She does her routine, causing tears to fall from my eyes. I can’t believe how big she’s gotten—and so fast. When she’s done, we all start cheering. Kai whistles, making her smile even bigger.
He looks over at me, sets his hand on mine, and says, “Look what we created.”
With watery eyes, I say, “She’s so beautiful.”
The recital ends, and we head out to the front of the studio, waiting for Amari to be released.
Not long after, Amari comes running out to Kai. “Dad, did you see me?”
He hands me a pink assortment of flowers he bought for her and lifts her up. "Yes, I did.”
“You did so good!” I say.
Kai grabs the bouquet. “These are for you.”
She takes them out of his grasp, digs her nose into them, and does an exaggerated sniff. “These smell so good. Thank you.” She squeezes him tighter.
After she makes her round and says hello to everyone, Liam comes rushing in. “I’m so sorry I missed it,” he says out of breath.
“It’s okay. Did you get held up at work?”
“Yes. There was a complication with a surgery.” He walks over to Amari and bends down to her height. “Hey, sweetie. I’m sorry I missed your dance. I got held up in a surgery.”
“Were you saving someone’s life?” she asks.
“Yeah. Sort of.”
“Then that’s okay.” She shrugs her shoulders.
“These are for you.” He hands the bouquet of red roses to her.
She does the same thing she did when Kai gave her flowers; she digs her nose into them and does an exaggerated sniff. “These smell good.”
I can’t help but smile and feel full of love from everyone who came to support her.
I look up, and Kai's demeanor has changed, his brow furrowing as his lips form a hard line with pain lingering in his eyes. He’s watching Liam and Amari’s together.
The more time Liam spends with Amari, the closer they’re getting.
He treats her like his own, and their bond only increases by the day.
I see it firsthand, and I know Kai sees it, too.
I can’t help but feel his pain. I don’t know how I would feel if I were on the other side of things, watching another woman love Amari as her own.
Sometimes it makes me wonder if Kai and I should give it another shot—just to see if we can be the family I once wanted so badly.