Chapter 36
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
THOMAS
I stand up when I see Kevin walking toward me. “Hey, neighbor,” I say. “I stopped by your house this morning for a chat.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there, Tommy.” He’s wearing a dirty pair of overalls that look like they’ve seen better days.
That’s when I recognize the man he’s with. It’s Dr. Hall from the hospital. “Edward,” I say to him, “It’s nice to see you again.”
He nods his head. “You too, son.” Then he adds, “Pickles and I were just doing a little fishing.”
The use of Kevin’s nickname catches me off guard. These two must be old friends. “Did you catch anything?” I ask.
Kevin answers for him. “We got a mess of walleye. I was going to bring some by for you later.”
“I’m not sure I’d know how to clean a fish,” I tell him honestly. “Maybe I can YouTube it.”
He waves his hand. “Don’t worry, I’ll clean it for you.”
“That’s very nice Kevin, thank you.”
“You gotta call me Pickles, boy,” he says. “Every time you call me Kevin, I feel like I’m being called into the principal’s office.”
Dr. Hall jokes with him, “Remember that time we got called in for putting a dead fish behind the radiator?” The two of them laugh like little boys.
“You guys go way back, huh?” I ask.
“We grew up next door to each other,” Kevin says. “Eddie here lived in the house you’re renting.”
“Really? Does your family still own it?” I ask him.
“My sister Judy does,” he tells me.
“Does she live in town, as well?” I haven’t met her, but I’m not surprised as she listed the house with a realtor.
“She’s retired down to Florida. She comes up and spends Christmas with us, but other than that, we don’t see much of her.”
“Yet.” Kevin nudges him in the ribs. “Now that you’re going to retire yourself, you’ll be seeing her bunches.”
“You’re retiring?” I ask Edward. He doesn’t even look sixty yet.
“My wife wants me to stop working while I’m still young enough for the two of us to have some fun,” he says. “I figure she might be on to something.”
“Good for you,” I tell him. I hope I’m as lucky someday.
Kevin interjects, “Why did you stop by the house?”
I glance between him and Edward and stammer, “I … um … just wanted some advice.”
“Why don’t we all head over to the tackle shop for some tater tots and we can chat?” He nudges Dr. Hall and adds, “Two heads are better than one, am I right?”
I really don’t know if I want to tell Edward about this. Not only don’t I know him well, but he’s in the same field I’m in. I’d hate for him to spill the tea and alert the hospital board what’s going on. Although, nothing is definitive so they can’t be mad at me for considering an offer.
Edward senses my hesitancy because he’s quick to say, “Or you and Pickles can go yourselves. No skin off my nose.”
“You know what?” I decide, “Let’s all go. I bet you’d have some good insights for me, Edward.” He smiles appreciatively.
I walk next to the two older men in pursuit of a solution to my problem. Because honestly, I’ve got no one else.
By the time we reach Hook, Line, and Sinker, I’m feeling a little more optimistic about my choice of counselors.
I discover both men have been married for over thirty-five years and they both consider themselves happily hitched, as they put it.
I knew this was the case for Kevin, but I learn Edward is equally contented.
Kevin opens the door of the rickety-looking bait shop and immediately calls out, “Three buckets of tots, Frankie, hold the worms!” Gross.
A hefty older man around Kevin and Edward’s age walks out from the back room. He’s wearing an apron that is either dirty from cooking or dirty from worms. I can’t tell which. “Pickles, Eddie! How you boys doin’?”
Kevin turns to me and explains, “Frankie has been part of our gang since we were in diapers.”
I try to imagine how these seemingly very different men have managed to stay close friends. I guess a lot of that has to do with proximity. They all stayed in the town they grew up in so it’s easier to assume the disparity of their life choices didn’t cause major disruption to their friendship.
Kevin declares, “Our friend Tommy here needs our help, Frankie. So, get those tots and let’s see what we can do for him.” Great, now I have three old guys weighing in on my life.
Kevin and Edward lead the way to a small table in the corner of the shop. They sit down and motion for me to do the same. Edward asks, “So how’s life treating you, Thomas?”
“That’s kind of what I wanted to talk about,” I tell them.
Before I can explain, Frankie comes out with three small buckets of tots.
He arrives quickly which makes me wonder if he made them before we got here.
After setting them on the table, he pulls up another chair to join us.
Frankie must sense my hesitancy regarding the food, because he declares, “We use different buckets for the worms.”
My companions dig in, but I don’t. Instead, I tell them, “I’ve met a very nice woman here.”
“Finley?” Kevin asks. When I nod my head, he tells the other men, “That sweet gal from Happy Snaps.” They grunt in what appears to be approval.
I continue, “But I’m having a tough time adjusting to life in Elk Lake. It’s very different from what I’m used to.”
“I bet,” Edward says while reaching for a handful of tots.
“Also,” I tell them, “I just received an offer from my old hospital and I’m not sure I can turn it down.”
“And you want to know what to do about Finley?” Kevin asks.
“Exactly,” I tell him.
We bat around the same ideas that Shelly and I did. There are no new insights. That is, until Edward asks, “Have you given any consideration to going into private practice?”
“I haven’t,” I tell him. “I’ve been an ER doctor from the start.”
“But you weren’t happy doing that in New York or Elk Lake. Maybe it’s time to try another area of medicine.”
He’s not wrong. “But don’t you get bored?” I ask him.
“Not at all. I have a full roster of patients. Like I told you the other day, as their primary care doctor, I get to know them well. I get to know their families, too. It’s very rewarding.”
“But I don’t really know anyone here yet,” I say. “I don’t know how I’d even get started in private practice.”
“Lucky for you, you know a doctor who’s about to retire and is going to need to sell his practice.”
I feel a jolt of something shoot through me. I’m not sure if it’s good or bad yet. “I wouldn’t want to take over for you and then decide I don’t mesh with being a primary care doctor,” I tell him.
Edward nods his head. “You’d want to take some time to come in and shadow me,” he says. “I’d give it a couple of weeks to make sure you get a good idea of what I do.”
“Except I have a job at the hospital,” I tell him. “I’m not sure where I would find the time.”
Edward leans back in his chair and stretches his arms before saying, “Armie Bader is a good friend of mine.” Of course, he is. This whole town seems to be connected in one way or another.
“And?” I prompt.
Edward continues, “He told me what’s going on with Constance.” He suddenly leans in before saying, “He’ll let you out of your contract if you don’t sue them.”
“I wasn’t going to sue them,” I tell him. “I just wanted the harassment to stop.”
Kevin interrupts, “Who’s harassing you, boy?”
“Constance Brucker,” Edward answers for me. All three men grumble like they’re hep to that gossip as well.
“Even if it stops,” Edward says, “you said you’re bored, so corralling Constance will only solve half your troubles.” He’s right about that.
“So, what are you saying?” My brain is completely jumbled, I need Edward to spell things out more clearly.
“I’m saying you give your notice at the hospital—sign whatever nondisclosures they require—and then you give me a couple of weeks. If you aren’t happy with my practice, you go back to New York.”
“And give up dating Finley?” The thought hurts more than it should given our brief association.
“What else are you gonna do, Tommy?” Kevin asks. “You gotta work.”
“If I do this,” I say, “I’m going to need the three of you to stay quiet about it. I don’t want Finley to find out what’s going on until I’ve made my decision.”
“Don’t want to get her hopes up, huh?” Frankie asks.
“I just want to keep getting to know her normally without her calling an end to things too soon.”
“Sounds like you want to string her along.” Kevin doesn’t sound pleased.
I exhale loudly. “That’s not it. I just want to have time to get to know her better.” I explain, “If I’m still unsure about private practice in a couple of weeks, how I feel about Finley might help to tip my decision.”
“Even if we keep quiet,” Edward says, “Elk Lake is a small town. Word has a way of getting out.”
“While that’s possible,” I tell him, “I’ll talk to Armie and see if we can’t keep this on the down low for a couple of weeks.”
My fellow plotters don’t look convinced. Kevin eventually says, “I think you should just tell Finley what’s going on.”
And while he’s probably right, I’ve come to know her well enough that I’m afraid if I do that, she’ll simply shut me out. “I’ve already told her I might leave Elk Lake,” I tell them. “And she’s agreed to take things one date at a time.”
Frankie’s eyes narrow like he’s trying to focus on a dust particle.
“It’s sounds like you’re playing with a live grenade, kid.
” He explains, “Women say one thing, but they usually mean something else. For example, if you’ve had an argument and you’re pretty sure you’ve worked it out, you can be certain she doesn’t feel the same way. ”
“Frankie’s divorced,” Kevin interjects.
Frankie waves his hand in front of himself dismissively. “If you ask your lady if she’s okay, and she says she’s fine, run.”
“Why, exactly?” I ask.
“They’re never fine when they use that word. Fine means, ‘I’m done talking to an idiot like you and if you say one more thing, I’m going to end you.’”
“It means all that?” I’m guessing Frankie’s divorce wasn’t amicable.
“Oh, yeah,” he says.
Edward jumps into the conversation. “Don’t scare the boy, Frankie. Just because Elaine and you didn’t work doesn’t mean everyone is destined for misery.”
Frankie replies, “Women are masters at battle, Eddie. Tommy here needs to know that.”
I’m not sure about his advice, but I am sure that Edward might have just offered me a lifeline by suggesting private practice. And even though I’ve never considered it before, that doesn’t mean it isn’t the answer to my current troubles.
“I appreciate you all taking the time to talk to me,” I tell my cohorts. Then I turn to Edward, and add, “I’d love to come into your office and see what it’s all about. I have to talk to Armie first, of course.”
He nods his head. “You do that, son. Just give me a call when you’re ready and we’ll set things up.”
I’ve had more life changes in the last two weeks than in the last two years. Which makes me wonder if I might have been destined to come to Elk Lake. And if that’s the case, then surely Finley plays a large part in that.
I still want to think about things for a few days before I see her again. Hopefully my head will be clear enough by then that I’ll be on track to make the right decision.