Chapter 2
Vera
N ever in her wildest imagination did Vera Forsyth imagine she’d be doing her fellowship in obstetrics and gynecology at her hometown hospital. She knew there was no place better to learn from the best than at Taylor Memorial Hospital. Students applied from all over the world to work under Bonnie Taylor, one of the top OBGYNs in the nation. Hell, half of the staff at Taylor Memorial were among the most sought after in their fields. The competition to get into a residency or fellowship program at the hospital was among the hardest in the nation, which was why Vera was surprised when she got matched with the OBGYN fellowship.
Not that she didn’t think she was good enough for the job. On the contrary, Vera knew she was one of the best in her class and didn’t care who knew it. She graduated early from both her undergrad and medical school with high hopes. Hopes of not only becoming a damn good OBGYN, but also wanting to be thoroughly educated in the booming world of fertility treatments, such as IVF. Vera loved learning and helping people, which made her perfect for her chosen profession.
“Forsyth.” Max Dalton, the pain in Vera’s side and one of the older gynecologists, handed her a patient’s chart. He didn’t seem to care that she was already working on charts for three other patients he had passed off to her in other exam rooms. “Got another one for you.”
“Surprise, surprise,” she muttered under her breath as she took the chart without ever looking up. Max was a perfectly fine doctor; nothing extraordinary by any means. He was waiting for his retirement date in a few years as if it were Christmas and had seemingly lost all interest in doing his job.
“Patient told intake she hasn’t had a period in months but assures us she’s not pregnant.”
“She might not be.”
“Oh, please,” Max snorted a laugh. “When you’ve been in the business as long as I have, you begin to know when someone is lying.”
Vera resisted the urge to snap back at so many things. She could yell at him—again—about how their job wasn’t a business and that they were there to help people, not make a profit. Or she could light into him again over not believing a woman when she says something is wrong. At this point, Vera was going to start counting down his days until retirement with him.
Pushing her rolling chair out from the desk, Vera opened the chart as she walked down the hall to the exam room.
Female. Twenty-six. Two live births. No miscarriages. Last period was in February.
Vera did the math quickly in her head. It was September now, which meant seven months had passed since then. If by some way the woman was pregnant, she most likely would know or at least be showing. Especially after two kids. But Vera tried her best not to assume anything about her patients before meeting them. So she put a smile on her face and knocked twice on the exam room door before entering.
“Mrs. Mackenzie?” Vera looked up from the chart at the woman sitting in the vinyl chair. She had dark brown eyes and hair and a sweet smile. A young girl was on her knees in front of the other vinyl chair playing with some action figures. “I’m Dr. Forsyth. It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too. But, please, call me Miss Mackenzie.” She appeared to laugh nervously. “Or Isla. I’m not married.”
“Noted,” Vera nodded as she made the note on the chart before turning her attention to the young girl. She crouched down to her level and smiled. “And what’s your name?”
Giggling, the child abandoned her action figures and climbed up into her mother’s arms. Isla laughed as she tenderly rubbed her back.
“It’s okay, sweetie. Dr. Forsyth is nice.” She looked at Vera empathetically. “Sorry, she gets nervous at doctor’s offices. Even though I told her we’re not here for her.”
“That’s okay.”
Standing, Vera walked to a cabinet over the hand washing station and pulled out a lollipop. She held it up for Isla to approve, which she did with a head nod, before showing it to the kid. Her eyes grew wide, as did her smile.
“I think big girls that come to the doctor should always get something fun. Don’t you?”
“Mhmm.” She took the lollipop out of Vera’s hand.
“What do you say, Mason?”
“Thank you,” she giggled as she slid off Isla’s lap and resumed playing with her toys.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Vera held Isla’s gaze longer than she should have. Shaking her head, she focused back on the chart. “So, I see you’re in for missed periods, is that correct?”
“Yes, and I know I’m not pregnant.”
“I believe you.”
“And I have been remiss about my annual visit to my OBGYN, so I need to get back on track with that. We just moved here, so I wanted to get established as a new patient.”
“Well, we most certainly can do that. And I see our lab tech already took your blood, so we’ll do some tests on that to make sure everything is normal and within range. I can also do an exam and a pap smear today if you want.”
“If we can do everything today, that would be great. I’m starting a new job and little miss here isn’t in school yet, so I’m pulled in about a million directions. Getting this off my plate will take away one more thing for me not to worry about.”
Vera pulled out a backless rolling chair from behind the exam table and sat. “Would you say you have been stressed lately?”
It was a routine question, especially for someone experiencing missed periods. But something flashed in Isla’s eyes that told her stress ed was an understatement.
“You don’t know the half of it.”
“Do you feel like elaborating?” Vera didn’t pause to allow her to answer. “You don’t have to. Only if you feel like it. I’m not a therapist, but I have a good listening ear.”
Isla seemed to relax as her shoulders dropped slightly. “Thank you. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say it like that. But yes, I have been very stressed lately. We just moved here and I’ve started a new job and am trying to find childcare for Mason. It’s been overwhelming. Plus, a lot of other stuff is going on that I won’t bother you with.”
“My daddy took my sister,” Mason flatly stated, never looking up from her action figures. Any relaxing that Isla had done was immediately undone as she leaned in closer to Mason.
“Mason, sweetie, we don’t talk about that with anyone, remember?”
Vera had learned a lot in medical school and during her residency. She’d learned how to handle difficult patients and to keep a neutral face no matter what was going on or said. But Mason’s five innocent sounding words hit Vera like a ton of bricks. She could almost feel her eyes bugging out of her head.
My daddy took my sister.
Mason’s words echoed in her head. What did that mean? She knew Isla had two live births, so was that the other child? Was the child okay? Isla had made it clear she wasn’t married, so were they divorced and each got custody of a child? Vera knew that wasn’t the usual arrangement, but who knows what worked for every family.
But how did she respond to that? It was an answer she needed to figure out sooner rather than later.
“I’m sorry,” Isla couldn’t even look her in the eye. “That’s not something I want to talk about.”
“It’s okay.” Vera blinked a few times, then shook her head. Forcing a smile, she tried to get the appointment back on track. “So, would you be more comfortable if one of my nurses could watch Mason while we do everything we need to do?”
“Really?” Isla looked relieved again. “That would be great. Normally I wouldn’t bring my kids to this kind of appointment, but I didn’t have anyone to watch her.”
“Hey, I get it. Give me a minute, okay?”
Excusing herself from the room, Vera tracked down her favorite nurse, Leanne, to watch Mason. It had taken some convincing for Mason to agree to go with her, but the promise of visiting the therapy dogs downstairs seemed to be all the bribery she needed.
Once alone, Vera retook her seat in the rolling chair as she studied Isla. She was staring out the skinny, frosted window, so Vera knew her view was nothing but discombobulated rays of sunshine mixed with blue light.
“Thank you, Dr. Forsyth.”
“You’re welcome. I know it can be hard to do it all as a single parent.”
“Do you have kids?”
“No,” she shook her head, “but I raised my younger sisters, so I have an idea of what it’s like.”
“It’s never easy.” Isla sighed, turning toward Vera. It was then she could see the tears welling in her eyes. “My ex-husband took our eldest daughter, Blake. It’s a long story that I really don’t want to get into today, or ever, but he has full custody of Blake now and I have full custody of Mason. And I don’t know if,” her lower lip quivered, “I’ll ever see her again.”
Breaking all the boundaries she had set for herself with her patients, Vera crossed the room and pulled Isla into a hug. She was learning that, sometimes, being a shoulder to cry on was better than being a doctor. And in this case, it was apparent Isla needed a moment to not have to be so strong for Mason.
“I’m sorry I’m such a mess.”
“It’s okay, we all are.” Pulling away, Vera grabbed a few tissues from the box and handed them to Isla. “For example, my mom has three kids by three different men. She’s a mess.”
Isla laughed, which made Vera smile.
“And my boss is counting down the days until he retires because he hates his job but won’t quit so he’s a mess, too. And me?” She snorted a laugh. “And me? Please. I’m a mess. I work way too much and have no life outside this hospital.”
“You’re not a mess.”
“Did I mention that most of my meals come from the vending machine or the cafeteria?” Vera chuckled, as did Isla. “No one’s perfect. We just have to find the people who are compatible with our imperfections.”
Isla’s eyes softened. “I love that.”
“Thanks,” Vera smiled and forced herself to get back into doctor mode. They proceeded with the appointment and Vera promised to call her as soon as possible with the results of her testing. She walked her out to the elevators, where Leanne was returning with Mason.
“Mommy! Guess what?”
“What?” Isla matched her enthusiasm.
“I got to pet a puppy!”
“That’s so cool, Mace. What do you say to Dr. Forsyth for letting you pet the puppy?”
“Thank you.” Mason grinned up at her, and Vera felt her heart melting. She knelt down to Mason’s level and smiled at her.
“You’re welcome, Mason. Thank you for being so good while I helped your mommy today.”
“Well, she needs all the help she can get.”
Vera was so caught off guard by Mason’s blunt comment she burst out laughing. Isla’s face was bright red as she covered Mason’s mouth with her hand.
“And on that note, I will talk to you later.”
She watched as Isla and Mason walked into the open elevator. Vera stayed there until the door closed, watching how Isla picked up Mason and how Mason wrapped her arms and legs around her. They rubbed their noses against each other as they giggled and Vera could have watched the sight forever.
Leanne coughed, startling Vera. She glared over at her and shrugged her shoulders. “What?”
“Nothing,” Leanne giggled as she walked back to the round desk in the middle of the waiting room Vera followed closely behind. “Just that I hope you got her number.”
“ Excuse me , that is my patient . We don’t flirt with our patients or get their numbers.”
“All I’m saying is if you let her go without making a move,” Leanne pointed to the now closed elevator doors, “then I sure as hell will.”
A surge of something coursed through Vera’s body. It felt like jealousy but that was ridiculous, right? Isla was a patient. She was doing what she would have done with every other patient. Her compassion was one of the main reasons she was the most requested OBGYN at the office. Much to everyone else’s annoyance.
Vera would have done the same thing for any patient. Not just the ones with dark, mysterious eyes and long curly hair that smelled like salty air. Especially not just the ones with cute kids and a past that held more hurt than Vera could imagine. No. There was nothing different about Isla Mackenzie from any other patient.
Right?
“I hate you,” Vera rolled her eyes at Leanne as she grabbed her empty coffee cup off the desk. She could hear Leanne laughing all the way to the breakroom.
Dammit.
No matter how much she denied it, there was something different about Isla. Vera just had to figure out exactly what that was.