20. #2
Alana, who hadn’t had an asthma attack in more than two years, had already experienced two in the last few hours.
Dawson was waiting for an ophthalmologist because the doctor treating him worried he might have small cuts and abrasions on one of his eyes from the dust particles and ancient insulation.
Dayton had already gotten the results of his X-ray.
They found that he had a hairline fracture, probably from landing on the stairs when the wall fell on him.
I was yanked from my thoughts when Dr. Parker said, “I know that telling you to relax and take advantage of the oxygen and ambience of this beautiful room is going to fall on deaf ears, so instead, I’m going to take you from room to room so you can check on your brood in person in the hopes that will lower your blood pressure to a somewhat normal level for a woman your age. ”
I smiled at the brusque woman and said, “I can’t imagine why it’s elevated, considering that almost my entire family was rushed to the hospital.”
“By the way, Amy has looked Leo and Beau over and they’re just fine. I’ll take you to see them so you can give them hugs and kisses before they leave to spend the night with Sam and Carlie.”
“Oh! I can’t ask them to take the kids for the night,” I said hurriedly as I pulled on the clean T-shirt Zoey had brought me.
I was pulling on the leggings she’d delivered with the shirt when Dr. Parker said, “You didn’t ask, they volunteered. Lark is here with Alana and offered to take her home with her, but she understands if you’d rather keep her close since she’s had some breathing issues.”
I frowned before I said, “I don’t know. Were the asthma attacks from her breathing in the dust or from stress?”
“I’m sure Amy can give you more details than I can,” Dr. Parker assured me.
“Amy is the pediatrician otherwise known as Dr. Hamilton, right?”
“She is. I apologize. I assumed you’d already met at one of the family things and were on a first-name basis already.”
“I haven’t. So, she’s part of this whole . . .” I circled my hand around and finished, “Situation of family being all over the place?”
Dr. Parker laughed before she said, “As am I. You can call me Jewel.”
Suddenly, the other Dr. Hamilton walked in and smiled at me before she looked at Dr. Parker and said, “Hey, hag. Are you finished yet?”
“Don’t call me a hag when I’m being professional, ho!”
My eyes darted from one doctor to the other as they bickered, and I wondered if I should put that oxygen mask back on. Obviously, I was having a hallucination, probably from the toxins I’d ingested and a lack of oxygen to my brain.
Just when I thought the two women might start slapping each other, Dr. Parker asked, “What time are we having breakfast tomorrow?”
“I’d like to work out before because I sure as hell won’t want to do it after,” Dr. Hamilton answered. “Want to meet at the gym at eight o’clock?”
“That sounds perfect. I’ll get my workout in and then ruin everything with a stack of pancakes.”
“Same, girl,” Dr. Hamilton commiserated. “Do you have anything else to do here tonight?”
“I’m going to take Courtney around to check on the kids and help Amy get everyone released,” Dr. Parker answered. “The boys are with their dad tonight. Do you want me to bring over a bottle of wine?”
“Yes, please!” Dr. Hamilton smiled at me before she told Dr. Parker, “Give me ten minutes with Courtney, and then she’s all yours.”
“Sounds good,” Dr. Parker said before she reached out and squeezed my arm. “I’m going to talk to Amy. You two can come find me when you’re done talking.”
It was so surreal to see the brusque and professional doctor I’d known for years now joking and insulting the other doctor I’d become friends with. When I nodded, too confused to speak, Dr. Parker breezed out as if this were just any other day.
“Zane told me that you’re blaming yourself for this and asked me to come take your temperature on the matter,” Dr. Hamilton said as she sat down on the bed next to me. “Is that true, Courtney?”
There was just something about the woman that made all of my defenses crumble. I burst into tears before I wailed, “I’m so cheap that I refused to pay the crazy amount of money that it would take to get all the repairs done, but I also refused to move somewhere safer!”
“Safer? Did you know the wall was going to collapse?”
“No! The contractors that have come out never said anything about the interior walls being compromised. They just said that the bricks needed work. I can’t believe I let my kids live somewhere like that. I swore I’d never . . .”
“Honey, I’ve been inside your house,” Dr. Hamilton interrupted.
“When you say ‘somewhere like that,’ it sounds like you’re talking about a shack.
Your house was a home filled with love and cleaner than I could have ever kept it, considering how many kids are under your roof, and absolutely gorgeous to boot!
Nothing that happened today was your fault.
I want you to get that idea out of your head and look at reality. ”
“It is reality! I knew the place needed work, and I didn’t have it done. It was also too small for my family, but I didn’t do anything about that either.”
“Girl, you’ve gotta quit kicking yourself for things any normal human would do.
I don’t know shit about construction, but I do know that you made that house a home where your children were happy and thriving.
You sacrificed your comfort to give them their own space - yes, I know that you’ve been sleeping on the couch for years because you gave all the bedrooms to the kids.
That sort of sacrifice is something most people would never consider. ”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“Well, you can’t stay in that house right now. That’s for sure.”
“I’ll rent an Airbnb or something. We can stay at a hotel tonight and . . .”
“You’re not seeing the bigger picture, but I think we’ve become friends, so I’m going to drop the Dr. Hamilton mask and talk to you like we are.”
“Okay,” I said uncertainly.
“You’re not staying in a fucking hotel or renting an Airbnb.
You’ve got a man who is beside himself with worry for your kids, just like you are.
He called me in to talk to you because he was concerned about your mindset, and rightly so.
He obviously adores you and your kids. He has been banging around for years in a house that’s way too big for him in the hopes that, whether he’s willing to admit it or not, he’d be able to fill it with a family one day. ”
“Tonight at dinner he said that he loves me. He didn’t say it directly to me, but he . . .”
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! What’s wrong with you? Zane is so in love with you that he can barely see because of all the stars in his eyes. Squash your pride and issues you have about whatever the fuck happened in the past, and open your eyes to what’s right in front of you!”
Apparently, when Dr. Hamilton said she was going to take off her doctor mask and be real, she meant it. I’d never heard a doctor talk like that, but then again, I’d never dealt with a doctor who was talking about someone she considered family either.
“I’ve known that boy since before he could walk, and let me tell you, I’ve seen some shit watching him grow up, but I’ve never seen him so head over heels for a woman as he is for you.
My guess is that he knew that if he’d mentioned anything about how he felt earlier, you would have freaked out and let your past sabotage what he wants to build with you in the future.
” I had to admit she was right, so I nodded in agreement before she continued, “This is both the doctor and the woman in me telling you that a man like Zane Duke doesn’t come around often, so when he says that he loves you and wants to take care of you, you should hold on tight and never let him go.
I’m saying that from experience, Courtney.
I found one of my own to hold on to not long ago, and it was the best decision I’ve ever made. ”
“We’re so different, though.”
“No, you’re not. Open your eyes to what’s right in front of you, and leave your hangups and bullshit from your past in the dust. You’ve got a life to live, and it’s about goddamn time you took a chance for your own good, as well as the good of your family, and started living it.”
“I think I love him,” I whispered as I pulled a tissue out of the box on the table beside the bed. I blotted my tears before, in a louder voice, I assured her, and myself, “I do. I do love him.”
“It doesn’t take a medical professional to see that you just had a breakthrough, Courtney. Good job!”
“Now what do I do?”
“You let him and his family coddle you after the craziness that happened this evening, and then you throw your shoulders back, put your chin up, and make a choice to live the life you and your kids deserve. That life is one where you’re surrounded by the Duke family and all of the families that love them. ”
“When I start to doubt myself, can I . . .”
“If you don’t call me, I’ll be angry, and you should ask Zane what happens when I get angry.”
“I’ll be sure to do that,” I said, laughing through my tears. “Thank you, Dr. Hamilton. I don’t know what I’d have done without this pep talk. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to thank you for what you’ve done for me and Dayton.”
“No thanks necessary, and you can start calling me Emerald like the rest of the family. Now, let’s find Jewel and start releasing your brood so I can go home and snuggle my baby girl, kiss the man I love, and have a bottle of wine with my friend.”
“That sounds wonderful.”
“Someday, when your life calms down and you get settled in, I’ll call and ask you to join us.”