Chapter 12 #3
On the one hand, the oncology specialty intrigued him.
It had been his favorite rotation and had given him the opportunity to make a genuine difference for patients who were in the fight of their lives.
After his own battle with lymphoma, he had a better understanding of what cancer patients were going through and could bring that life experience to his work.
He really liked the other doctors in Garrity’s practice, too.
They were all first-class physicians who would make for excellent mentors and colleagues.
For those reasons, the offer was highly attractive.
When he and Janey were together, their plan had been for him to come back to the island after medical school and take over the practice of the doctor who’d served the island since they were kids.
He’d never really considered doing anything else.
After they broke up, he’d floundered for a while after his treatment concluded, trying to figure out where he wanted to be.
He’d sort of fallen into the job on the island when Dr. Cal Maitland had left abruptly after his mother had a stroke in Texas.
David had been home recuperating from the last of his treatments when Cal’s departure created an opening for the job David had hoped to have all along.
Without much consideration, he’d taken the offer from the town council and never looked back.
He’d been fumbling and stumbling through life since he’d broken up with Janey, not giving much thought to the grand plan while he tried to get through every day. Now, however, he felt like he was finally coming up for air, and it was time to take stock of where he was and what he wanted.
After these last few weeks with Daisy, it was impossible to ponder what he wanted without also thinking about her and how she fit into the big picture. He was anxious to talk it out with her but also hesitant to give her reason for doubts when everything was still so new between them.
As he drove by the police station, he noticed Blaine’s SUV parked outside and made a spontaneous decision to stop and see his friend. He needed to bounce this dilemma off someone he trusted, and Blaine Taylor definitely qualified.
Inside, the officer on duty at the front desk asked Blaine if he was available for a visitor. A few minutes later, David was shown to Blaine’s office at the end of a corridor off the main dispatch area. Blaine was standing up and on the phone, but he waved David in.
“It’s all going to be fine, Mom,” he said, rolling his eyes at David as he grinned from ear to ear. “Just think of it this way, we could’ve eloped. Isn’t this better than that?” Blaine’s smile got even bigger as he held the phone away from his ear.
David could hear Mrs. Taylor yelling from across the room.
“Gotta go, Mom. I love you. I’ll see you tomorrow. Yes, I know. Bye.” He dropped his cell phone on the desk. “Oh my God! Note to self, don’t give Mom twenty-four hours’ notice the next time I get married.”
David’s mouth fell open in surprise. “You’re getting married?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Get outta here. Seriously?”
“Yep and I want you there. We’re tying the knot on the beach and then crashing Mac and Maddie’s cookout and turning it into a reception.”
“Oh, ah, I don’t know about that…”
“Come on, David. I need all the friends I can get there. My mom is flipping out, and Tiffany’s a nervous wreck even if she’s trying hard to hide it.”
“What’s the rush anyway?”
“No rush. I’ve wanted this for a while now, but now that the douchebag ex-husband is giving her a hard time about shacking up with me, we figured why not move up our plans a bit?”
“That’s awesome. Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” Blaine said with a satisfied smile. “I’m getting exactly what I want, even if my mother’s having a shit fit. Anyway, what’s up?”
“Nothing. Doesn’t matter. You’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
Blaine came around the desk and sat in one of the visitor chairs, gesturing for David to take the other. “Something brought you in here. How about you tell me what it was?”
David sat and leaned forward, elbows on knees. “I’ve been offered a job in Boston.” He spelled out the specifics as well as the many advantages that came with the position. “It’s a chance to specialize and to really make a difference.”
“You don’t feel like you’re making a difference here?”
“No, I do. It’s just that after having cancer, I think I could be really good at oncology.
It was my favorite rotation during my residency.
And then there’s Daisy… Things have been really great with us, and she’s liking her new position at the hotel, so it’s not like she’d want to move to Boston or anything. ”
“Wow,” Blaine said. “I didn’t realize you two had gotten to the point where she’d factor into a decision like this.”
“Neither did I until I was faced with the decision and thought first of her,” David replied with a wry grin. “She’s a significant factor.”
“I sort of got the feeling you were liking general medicine and practicing here.”
“I do. I like both those things. I like feeling needed here. I like that I can’t leave the island without making sure I’ve got coverage from the mainland. That makes me feel important.”
Blaine grinned. “You’re like God around here.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Ask someone like Mrs. Murtry whether you’re right up there with God.”
David had saved the older woman’s life by performing a tracheotomy when she had a life-threatening allergic reaction.
“Or Chris Allston.”
Chris had severed a finger while trimming his hedges. David had preserved the finger, arranged for a medical helicopter to transport the injured man to a trauma hospital on the mainland and had kept him from bleeding out while they waited for the chopper.
“What would Paul and Alex Martinez have done without you over the last year?” Blaine raised a brow. “Need me to go on? How about Daisy? How about Sarah Lawry? Do you feel like you made a difference for them?”
“Yes, of course. And I appreciate what you’re trying to do. I know what I do makes a difference to the island residents. But is this what I want to do for the rest of my life?”
“I suppose only you know that for sure.”
“Sometimes I get tired of living in the town where so many people know I cheated on Janey McCarthy,” David said, getting to the crux of his dilemma.
“This may come as a newsflash to you, but you might be the only one still hung up on that. She’s moved on—happily, from what I can see whenever I’m with her and Joe.
The rest of the McCarthy family must surely appreciate what you did for Mac and Maddie when their baby was born, not to mention that you were there for Mac and his brothers after the sailboat accident. ”
“They appreciate it.”
“So hold your head up high around here, David. You’ve paid your penance, and for what it’s worth, I think you’re pretty damned good at general medicine. You’ve made my job easier on more than one occasion.”
David got up and held out his hand to shake Blaine’s. “I appreciate that and the pep talk when you’ve certainly got better things to do.”
“No problem. So I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“You know I’d really like to be there, right?”
“I hope so.”
“Let me think about it.”
“Fair enough.”
“Congratulations,” David said. “I’m happy for you and Tiffany.”
“Thank you. I am, too.”
David walked out of the police station with a smile on his face, eager to get to Daisy’s and hear what she had to say about the job offer.