13. Chapter 13
thirteen
“Will you sit down? You’re giving me a headache,” Jo said, sounding exasperated.
Amanda abruptly stopped pacing in the little office she and Jo shared in Sanctuary. There was a small desk with a laptop, a built-in filing cabinet behind it where they stored hard copy records, and a yellow loveseat to brighten the windowless room.
“If you didn’t have an aneurism, you would’ve caused one by getting this upset over someone being concerned about you,” Jo added.
“Excuse me?” Amanda’s eyes widened. “He’s concerned I might be bat shit crazy.”
“That’s not what he said.” Jo made a face. “He just wants you to do a test. You should’ve listened to him in the first place and gone to the hospital after the accident.”
Amanda gave Jo a lethal look. “You can’t possibly be on his side.”
“I’m on your side. It’s your health. What’s the harm of getting the CT? If there’s nothing, we can breathe easier. It’s better we know now instead of paying for it down the line,” Jo argued. “I’ve read horror stories of people brushing off tests after a minor accident and not realizing they have internal injuries.”
“I feel fine!”
“Now you do. But what if you don’t feel any of the effects for another two or ten years from now?” Jo said.
Amanda couldn’t believe her best friend wasn’t as angry at Gene as she was. Of course, she hadn’t exactly told Jo the whole story. She shared almost everything with Jo, but there were some things she couldn’t tell her yet.
Yeah, like when you let the doctor finger you before he betrayed you?
Her face burned with embarrassment at the thought. Amanda turned to the door and headed out. She heard Jo scrambling behind her, following her into the bookstore. There were a couple of people sitting on the sofas with their coffees, laptops, and headphones. Only one lady was browsing the cookbook section. The late afternoon was usually their lull time.
“Hey.” Jo grabbed her arm. Looking worried, she lowered her voice. “I know you’re wary of the health care cost because of how much your mother’s care drained your family’s savings. But you can’t ignore a potential health risk because of that.”
Though that wasn’t the reason Amanda had walked out, Jo hit a sore spot.
“It’s easy for you to say, Jo. My dad would’ve gone completely broke if my mom hadn’t had life insurance. Even with that, there wasn’t enough money left for both his retirement and to update the bakery. I still have this place only because you put up the collateral for the loan. I still owe you so much.”
“That’s business,” Jo brushed it aside. “This is your head. Our insurance will cover it.”
Amanda hated having to go to a doctor or the hospital for anything since her mother died, except for Dr. Bloom, especially when she didn’t have any complaint.
“Well, I can’t just go ask for a CT,” she reluctantly relented.
“Talk to Dr. Bloom and see what he thinks. If you don’t agree with Gene, fine. But you should get a second opinion.”
“I’ll make an appointment with Dr. Bloom,” Amanda said, then added, “Just so you know, I’m more pissed at Gene about this because it means he didn’t really believe me when I told him about the girl.”
“Let’s have an afternoon snack. I think this conversation requires something chocolaty.”
Jo put an arm around Amanda’s waist, and they walked together toward the cafe counter.
“She exists, Jo. I saw her. She’s not made up,” Amanda said, almost pleading.
“I believe you. Getting the test doesn’t make what you saw any less real, not until we know for sure,” Jo said.
Amanda shook her head in frustration. “There’s gotta be a way to find out whether a teenage girl has been missing.”
“Gainesville isn’t that small. Sure, each neighborhood has the small-town feel, but there are still thirty-thousand people living here, not counting the lake visitors.” Jo smiled to Liam, one of their part-timers, and said, “Hey, Liam, can you plate a slice of the chocolate truffle cake?”
“Sure thing, Jo,” Liam replied automatically with a big smile. “You want any drinks with that?”
“Good job trying to upsell me,” Jo noted with a wink. “Two chamomile teas and two forks, please.”
She then pulled Amanda to a nearby table.
“How do I find this girl, Jo?”
Jo shook her head with a sigh. “Why do you need to find this girl so badly? Just to prove Gene wrong?”
“No, I don’t care if he believes me anymore. She needs help. I can feel it in my bones.”
Jo studied her thoughtfully. “You can go to the police. It’s their job.”
“They don’t believe me, either.” Then Amanda had a brilliant thought. “I need to find an artist who can sketch her for me.”
“You remember enough details about the girl for a sketch?” Jo sounded doubtful. “You saw this girl for like a second at most.”
“You don’t understand. It was like we were frozen in time, and the details became clearer to me each day.”
Liam came to the table with their order.
“Did you really see the lady in the blue dress, Amanda?” he chimed in excitedly, catching bits of their conversation.
Amanda groaned. “No, I didn’t. I saw a real girl.”
“But everybody said you saw the—”
“Who’s everybody?” Amanda frowned at him.
Looking sheepish, Liam scratched his head.
“Kids at school. Some know I work here and wanted me to confirm the rumor.”
Peeved, Amanda tried to understand the teenagers’ curiosity. Then another idea popped into her head.
“No, it’s not true. But maybe you and your friends can help me find this girl,” Amanda said.
“How?”
“Maybe you’ve seen her around. She might go to your school. She looks a bit younger than you. A freshman, maybe.” Amanda pictured the girl in her mind. “She has darkish blonde hair, brown eyes, a widow’s peak, round shaped face, full cheeks. She looked like a healthy teenage girl, except for the eyes. They looked terrified.”
Liam stared at her uncertainly. “I don’t know, Amanda. I don’t really pay attention to the freshmen.”
“Maybe you don’t. But one of your friends might recognize that description,” Amanda said. “Can you please ask your friends? I just want to make sure she’s all right.”
Jo sat back and nodded at Liam. “It’s not a bad idea.”
Liam shrugged. “I’ll get the word out.”
Gene took a fortifying breath and pushed open the door to Sanctuary. He’d dove into work on multiple trauma victims with more confidence than he had about facing Amanda after the debacle last night. Why was he nervous about talking to a woman? Maybe because patients usually wanted his help. Amanda would probably tell him to go to hell.
At least she can’t slam a door in my face here.
The chime of a bell connected to the door automatically sent eyes toward the newcomer. Most of them turned their attention back to whatever they were doing, while a couple followed Gene as he approached the cafe counter.
A tall boy who looked about seventeen stood behind the register. He greeted Gene with a smile. “Hi, what can I get you?”
Gene didn’t exactly come for baked goods but looked over at the selections, anyway. The sight of the banana cream pie made him salivate. It reminded him of last night and Amanda’s delectable taste on his tongue.
“Do you have a whole banana cream pie? I’d like one to go, please,” Gene decided.
“I think we do, but let me check in the back,” the boy replied.
But before he left, Gene stopped him. “Is Amanda around? Can you also ask her to come out, please?”
“Ah, sure. Who’s asking?”
“Gene,” he said.
The boy narrowed his eyes at him. “Are you that doctor everybody says saved Amanda’s life?”
Gene simply said, “I’m Dr. Rowland.”
“Cool.” The boy nodded with some kind of approval. “Be right back.”
Gene looked around as he waited, but his gaze stopped at a table whose occupants were staring at him. Two elderly women smiled at him. He returned their smiles.
“Dr. Rowland?” the older one of the two asked. She looked like she could be in her late seventies. “One of Martha’s boys?”
“Yes.” He approached their table as recognition nudged his memory. “Mrs. Boyd?”
The older woman’s smile brightened. “You remember.”
“Of course, I do.” He took the woman’s hand for a gentle squeeze. He used to bag groceries as a part-time job as a teenager and often carried Mrs. Boyd’s groceries for her.
“Look at you. A doctor,” Mrs. Boyd said with pride in her voice as if he were her own son. “Dr. Bloom mentioned you were coming to work with him. I’m so glad you came home. We can definitely use more doctors in this town.”
Mrs. Boyd’s companion cackled. “I agree. We need young blood. Dr. Bloom is almost as old as us.”
“Do you know Lucy Ingram, Dr. Rowland?” Mrs. Boyd asked.
“You can call me Gene, Mrs. Boyd,” Gene said, feeling conscious of his title realizing the woman had known him since adolescence.
“Oh, you’ve worked hard for it. I’ll call you Dr. Rowland with pride,” she said.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Rowland,” Mrs. Ingram said, offering her hand.
“Pleasure is all mine.” Gene shook the woman’s hand. “You’re not originally from here, are you?”
“I moved down here from Iowa about a decade ago,” Mrs. Ingram answered. “My son and his family live here. I wanted to be close to them and my grandchildren. Plus, the climate here agrees with my bones.”
“Many people are happy you”re here to assist Dr. Bloom,” Mrs. Boyd said before Gene could respond.
“Ah, I’m glad to be of help, even temporarily.”
“Temporarily?” both women echoed.
Gene smiled apologetically at their disappointment.
“I’m at your service for the next three months.”
“Oh, that’s something at least,” Mrs. Boyd muttered.
Mrs. Ingram’s gaze sharpened at something behind Gene, and she smiled.
“Perhaps we can convince you to stay.”
“What are you…” Mrs. Boyd’s sentence trailed off and followed her friend’s look, then smiled conspiratorially. “Ah, right.”
“Is Dr. Rowland bothering you, ladies?” Amanda’s annoyed voice cut in.
Gene pivoted on one foot to face her.
“Uh oh, trouble in paradise already?” Mrs. Ingram whispered to Mrs. Boyd.
“No, of course not, dear,” Mrs. Boyd said to Amanda, waving off Mrs. Ingram’s comment. “We were just telling Dr. Rowland how glad we are he’s back in town. We’re hoping he’ll stay for good.”
Amanda leveled her gaze at him. “I don’t think that’s his plan, is it, Dr. Rowland?”
“I still have a few things to consider.” Gene fell back to his diplomatic response. But he pivoted to the older ladies. “It was wonderful seeing you, Mrs. Boyd, and making your acquaintance, Mrs. Ingram. If you would excuse us, I need to discuss something with Amanda.”
“Of course, dear,” Mrs. Boyd said, patting his arm, but gestured for him to bend down closer to her. She whispered, “She’ll make a good wife.”
Gene’s face reddened at the suggestion, and he held back a retort. So, he just smiled awkwardly as he walked away.
“What do you want?” Amanda asked sharply under her breath.
He looked around. “Can we speak alone, please?”
Amanda’s lips flattened at the request, but she moved without answering him. He followed her to a door with a plague that said “Office.” She entered and left the door open, so he went inside.
“Hey, Gene.” Jo threw him a smile from behind a desk.
At least one woman wasn’t pissed at him.
“Hi, Jo. How are you doing?”
“Hanging in there.” She stood and went to the door. “You two look like you need some privacy, so…”
She pointed at the door and disappeared.
Amanda watched Gene close the door but said nothing. She stood where she was with her arms folded over her chest. The body language and unsmiling face clashed with her cheerful pink patterned long-sleeved dress. She was still lovely despite the unwelcoming vibe.
When Gene didn’t come out and say what he was there for, Amanda tapped her booted foot on the floor in impatience. He was getting to know many sides of Amanda quickly. And he didn’t enjoy being on her shit list.
“I’m sorry about last night,” Gene quickly said, then amended, “You know… at the end.” When Amanda didn’t respond, he added, “You must know I suggested it out of concern. I said my piece, but it’s your decision.”
When she merely stared at him out of stubbornness, it triggered his annoyance. Once he thought of something as important, he felt fervently about it, whether it was a goal or a purpose. He’d learned to temper it, but still struggled when he knew people were making poor decisions based on feelings instead of data.
This time, Amanda’s resistance to the CT made him angry.