Chapter 4
Vera
A week had passed since Isla Mackenzie had visited the office and Vera had yet to get her off her mind. There was something so captivating about those dark brown eyes that Vera struggled to focus on her work all week thinking about them. And her one day off had been completely ruined by not-so-subtly wandering around town in the hopes of accidentally running into Isla. Her plan had failed, of course. For all she knew Isla didn’t even leave the house that weekend.
And it wasn’t as if Vera could ask anyone about her. Isla was new to town; the odds of someone knowing her were slim. But even if they did know her, what was Vera supposed to say? She couldn’t say she wanted to meet up with a patient for coffee and make sure she was okay. It went above and beyond the call of duty and way past the inappropriate lines she shouldn’t cross as a physician. Which was why Vera needed to accidentally bump into her somewhere else.
If only Vera’s entire world wasn’t the hospital.
She had friends, sure, but she’d seen more of her coworkers than her friends the last few months. Her hours at the hospital were also all over the place as she often worked eighty-hour weeks to get as much practice under her belt as possible. Most of her meals recently had been taken in the skills lab on the top floor of the hospital as she tried to hone in all the necessary skills she’d need during her career.
But all that was coming at the expense of a life outside of the hospital. Vera knew work wasn’t everything, and she definitely wanted a family someday, but her love life had been so nonexistent that it had been easier to pour herself into work than dating. She knew that was the issue though. At some point, she’d have to cut back at work if she wanted to have a family and cultivate a life outside of the bland hospital walls.
Ugh.
Vera repeatedly pressed the button for her floor on the elevator as she mindlessly ate out of the bag of chips in her hand. Her lunch of leftover spaghetti had been less than filling, but she didn’t have time to go down to the cafeteria for more food. She’d settled for the bag of sour cream and onion chips, and silently prayed she had time to brush her teeth before her next patient.
By the end of her shift, Vera plopped down in an empty seat on the couch in the lounge completely exhausted.
“I helped deliver not one, not two, but three babies today.” Vera rested her head on the back of the chair and yawned. “I’m so tired.”
“Not as tired as those moms are,” Bonnie Taylor yawned beside her. “You did good today, Forsyth. I have no doubt you’ll be one of my best prodigies.”
“My goal is to be the best, not one of the best.”
Bonnie chuckled. “A lofty goal.”
“Yeah well, I’m not one to settle for second place. When I want something, I go for it with everything in me.”
“That’s what will make you a great doctor.” Patting her knee, Bonnie stood and stretched. “I’m going to head home. You should do the same.”
“Yeah, I will.”
Once Bonnie left the lounge, Vera slowly stood and gathered her things out of her locker. She had been upgraded from a cubby under a desk to a locker last month and nearly bounced with joy the whole day. Lockers were reserved for doctors not in a fellowship as a way to distinguish between the two. Vera took it to mean the doctors liked her enough to consider her one of their own. With any luck, she’d have a job at the hospital after her fellowship. Or maybe she could even open her own practice up through the hospital. Either way, Vera could see herself staying in Moonflower Cove forever.
While the maternity wing would be busy all night with staff, the gynecological wing was only staffed during regular business hours. Although the hospital and the town of Moonflower Cove had grown rapidly over the years, they still managed to keep most of the doctor’s offices within one building. This not only made it easier for patients, as they could get a variety of services done at one central location, but it also helped staff from having to travel back and forth for procedures and surgeries. Vera liked the style of it; it felt very small town to her. She also liked that she could have her hands in so many departments at once without ever leaving the fourth floor.
Pushing open the door to the gynecology office, Vera made her way past the exam rooms and nursing station to the exit to the stairs that led to the parking garage. But a flicker of light at the nurse’s station caught her attention. Someone had not only gone against hospital policy and lit a candle, they had left it burning. Vera hurried over to it, blowing it out quickly. She knew she’d need to tell someone about it, but didn’t like the idea of getting anyone in trouble.
“Eh, I’ll deal with that tomorrow.”
Turning to leave again, her eyes fluttered across a chart sitting in a small box on the desk. It was in a pile to be filed, if the label on the box was any indication. The hospital had recently been uploading its files onto a new computer system that would keep track of the records electronically. If it were any other name on the chart, she would have walked away without issue. But it was the name staring up at her that made her pause.
Isla Mackenzie.
Before she had time to second guess what she was doing, Vera sat at the desk, opened the chart, and dialed Isla’s number. It rang once, and Vera nearly hung up the phone.
“Hello?”
Every word in the English vocabulary left Vera’s mind. Whatever Spanish she’d retained from high school went out the door with it.
“Hello?” Isla repeated.
Say something! Vera pleaded with herself.
“Hey.”
“Who is this?”
“It’s, um, Vera. Vera Forsyth. Dr. Forsyth.” Vera smacked her hand against her forehead. She was an absolute idiot for calling Isla. And so late, as it was after seven. “I’m sorry to call so late.”
“It’s okay,” the panic in Isla’s voice indicated it was anything but okay. “Is something wrong? They called last week with my blood work and said everything was fine and I picked up my prescription last week and I…”
“Everything’s fine,” Vera blurted out. Forcing herself to take a few deep breaths, Vera continued. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I called.”
“So,” Isla hesitated, “everything is okay?”
“Yes.”
Isla exhaled in what Vera could only assume was relief. “Good.”
Silence filled the line as they both seemed to think of what to say next. Vera had zero game when it came to dating. Not that she was trying to date Isla. She wasn’t. She was making sure she was okay. Checking up on patients was part of her job, right?
“So,” there was a slight laugh in Isla’s tone, “why did you call?”
“Oh, I, um,” she twirled the phone cord around her finger as she tried to think of an excuse that would be passable, “just wanted to make sure you were settling into the Cove okay.”
She exhaled sharply, suddenly realizing she had been holding her breath.
“Really?”
“Yeah.” Vera shrugged, despite the fact Isla couldn’t see her. Then she admitted, “You’ve just been on my mind. And I was thinking of you today and thought you might want to grab a coffee or something. As friends,” she quickly added.
“We’re friends?”
“We could be, I guess.”
“Do you make it a habit to make friends with all your patients?” There was a certain coyness in Isla’s voice that drove Vera wild in the best way.
“Just the ones who leave an impression.”
Isla laughed; or rather, giggled. “I left an impression?”
“Well, it’s not every day that someone like you shows up in my life.”
Okay, that was definitely crossing a line.
Vera had switched into flirting mode, and she knew it violated more than one rule the hospital had in place. Especially since she was making the call on one of the hospital’s phones. She could easily be fired for that; what was she thinking?
She wasn’t thinking.
That was the answer.
At least she wasn’t thinking about her job. All she had been thinking about was Isla and how she wanted to see her again. Never in her life had Vera been so hyper focused on someone. It was as exciting as it was confusing.
On the other end of the line, Vera heard Mason talking followed by Isla whispering something before returning to the phone.
“I have to go.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Thanks for calling.”
“What about the coffee?” Vera hated that her voice had the slightest bit of plea in it.
“Thank you for the offer, but I have to pass. Bye, Dr. Forsyth.”
Without another word, Isla hung up.
The dial tone of the phone filled Vera’s ear as she sat frozen in place. She could never show her face to Isla again. If she saw her out in town now, she’d dive into a trash can before she’d speak to her. And there was no way she could ever see her as a patient again.
Another chance ruined.
Dating as a lesbian wasn’t the easiest thing in the world, especially when more hours were spent at work than anywhere. Not that Vera would date if she had the time. Finding someone you clicked with, who understood you, and wanted to be with you forever seemed like a myth. Her mother would remind her that was why she was single, but Vera would then remind her that’s why she has three kids with three different men. Maybe her lack of ability to date someone was passed down from her mother.
Untangling the phone cord from around her finger, Vera hung it up and sighed. At least she took a shot, right? Too bad it was a shot to the foot.