Chapter 8
EIGHT
LUKE
“Thanks so much,” I say to Ethan. “I owe you.”
Claire needed a second dose of epinephrine, but she’s stable now, and she’s been moved to the ICU for closer observation.
Ethan and I are in the hallway outside her room, giving the pediatrician, Dr. Markland, some space to do her assessment.
Now that Claire’s in the ICU, Dr. Markland will take over as the primary physician, which is a relief to me. Anaphylaxis really isn’t my field.
“No problem, man,” Ethan replies. “I’m on call tonight.”
“I still owe you.”
It’s true that as the surgeon on call, it’s Ethan’s job to deal with problems on the ward tonight, but I’m still grateful.
When I called him, he didn’t give me any BS about how busy he was, he just went and dealt with the problem.
He seems like his old self tonight, which leads me to hope that the rumors about his drinking were exaggerated.
He hasn’t asked how Melissa was able to reach me to tell me Claire was sick, but I decide to tell him anyway.
“I went to high school with Claire’s mom,” I explain. “The nurse on the ward wasn’t taking her seriously, so Melissa called my parents’ house and found me.”
“The nurse on the ward was a fucking idiot, Luke,” Ethan says in disgust. “Claire’s lucky her mom called you.”
“Yeah, I know.”
The door to Claire’s room slides open, and Dr. Markland emerges. “We’ll keep her in the ICU overnight, but I think she’ll be fine,” she says briskly.
“Thanks, Dr. Markland,” I reply. Although I’m on a first-name basis with most of my colleagues, Dr. Markland is older than my mother, and I’ll probably never call her Donna. “Please let me know if there are any problems tonight.”
“You got it,” she agrees, before heading off toward the nursing station.
Melissa comes to the door with Liam on her hip, looking utterly spent.
She turns to Ethan first. “Thank you so much, Dr. Atwell,” she says earnestly. “You saved Claire’s life tonight, and you were so calm . . . I really can’t thank you enough.”
Ethan looks embarrassed. “You’d already figured out it was an allergic reaction,” he says gruffly. “All I had to do was give some epinephrine.”
“That’s not true. You were great,” Melissa insists.
“Happy to help,” Ethan says. “I should head out now, though. Take care, Ms. Lawrence.”
Ethan walks away, leaving me facing Melissa. Liam’s fallen asleep in her arms, and she hitches him higher on her hip. I almost offer to hold him for her, but I’m not sure how she’d take that.
“Oh, Luke,” she says with a sigh. Those two words are enough to tell the story; she’s been strong all day, but she’s reaching her limit.
“She’ll be okay, Melissa. She probably doesn’t even need to be in the ICU, but this way, if she so much as sneezes, someone will be on it. And you won’t need to deal with the ward nurse anymore. What was her name?”
“Karli.” Melissa manages a weak smile. “She was really awful, Luke.”
“I believe it. If it helps, Ethan and I both share your opinion of her. I think his term was fucking idiot.”
“That works too.”
The charge nurse marches up to us, and I groan inwardly. Jan’s worked in the ICU for longer than anyone can remember, and she’s a bit of a battle-axe.
“Hello, Mrs. Thompson, my name is Jan,” she begins.
“It’s Ms. Lawrence,” I correct. For some reason, it seems important for Jan to get this right.
But it’s clear that Jan doesn’t think it’s important, because she barely hides an eye-roll. “Okay. Ms. Lawrence, I’m afraid visitors under the age of twelve aren’t allowed in the ICU. If you want to stay with your daughter, you’ll have to make other arrangements for your son.”
“I don’t have any other arrangements,” Melissa says fiercely. “And I’m not leaving my daughter.”
“Perhaps your husband could come and pick up your son?” Jan suggests. We’re trained not to assume that people have traditional families nowadays, so I think Jan’s deliberately being a bitch.
“His father is in Toronto,” Melissa says simply.
“A grandparent, then, or a friend?”
“My parents are out of the country,” Melissa explains. “There’s no one else local.”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Lawrence, but that’s our policy,” Jan says, looking anything but sorry. “You’ll have to either leave with your son or arrange for someone to pick him up.”
“But this is an unusual circumstance, Jan,” I put in. “You couldn’t make an exception, just for tonight?”
“I don’t make the rules,” Jan says primly. “My job is to enforce them.”
“But there must be someone who can override the rules,” Melissa argues. “Can you call your boss, or—”
“The administrative staff will be in tomorrow,” Jan interrupts. “But tonight, Ms. Lawrence, my word is law.” The set of her mouth tells me Jan’s enjoying this.
Melissa takes a deep breath. “All right. If you insist, I’ll call Claire’s father and ask him to come pick up Liam.
But you should know that he’s a lawyer, and he’s never met a fight he didn’t like.
I expect he’ll want to file a complaint with both the hospital and your regulatory college.
Your refusal to use common sense to override an arbitrary rule is cruel to a sick child and her family. ”
Melissa isn’t wrong, but Jan doesn’t care. “If you want to make a complaint, you can contact the ombudsperson’s office on Monday,” she says smugly. “But right now, your son can’t stay in my ICU. If you won’t obey the rules, my next call will be to security.”
“Melissa, let’s step outside for a minute,” I suggest.
She glances back at Claire, who appears to have fallen asleep, before following me through the double doors out of the ICU.
“Melissa, I’m sorry,” I tell her. “Jan’s a bitch with a stick up her ass, but she’s right that her word is law tonight.
I could try to go over her head and call someone in admin, but she’d be enraged.
And since the other nurses follow her lead, and they’ll be the ones looking after Claire . . . it’s probably not a good idea.”
Melissa looks at me helplessly. “I don’t know what to do, Luke, but I can’t leave Claire right now. I could call Troy, but it’ll take him over an hour to get here. And my parents are in Italy, and I haven’t had time to find a babysitter in Somerset, and—”
All of a sudden, the solution seems obvious. “My mom can look after Liam for the night.”
Melissa’s eyes widen with surprise. “I can’t ask your mom to babysit Liam.”
“Melissa, she’d be upset if I didn’t suggest it. Your daughter’s in the ICU. That’s what friends do.”
“Friends,” she says softly, then pauses and chews her lip.
“Yeah. Friends. After you called me, my mom said she’d like to have you over for dinner, once your daughter’s better. I told her that was unlikely to happen, but still—”
“Sure, but there’s a big difference between coming for dinner and dropping a three-year-old on her doorstep without notice,” Melissa interrupts.
“Yeah, the three-year-old won’t notice if she’s cleaned the house in advance.
” This earns me a half smile, and I can see Melissa’s resolve weakening.
“Come on, Milly.” The old nickname slips out reflexively.
“My dad’s away on a work trip, so my mom will be grateful for the company.
I’d watch Liam myself, but I want to sleep at the hospital tonight. ”
A pinch of worry appears between her brows. “You’re worried about Claire.”
Yeah, I’m worried about Claire. “Not really, but you know. Just in case.”
“Well, okay,” she says reluctantly. “Thank you, Luke. And thank your mom for me.”
“Of course.”
Liam’s still sleeping with his head nestled in the crook of her shoulder, so unless we wake him up, there’s no way for me to take him without touching Melissa.
“Uh—can I—” I ask, reaching my arms out awkwardly.
She nods, looking just as awkward as I feel, and adjusts her hold to put a few inches between her chest and Liam’s body. I take a deep breath and pick Liam up under his arms, and as I do, the backs of my fingers brush against Melissa’s breast.
“I’m sorry,” I stammer, pulling away as though the touch burned my hands. Liam’s eyes flutter open, but when I turn him into my chest he sighs and goes back to sleep. “Melissa, I didn’t mean to—”
“I know you didn’t,” she says briskly. “I’ve got a backpack with spare clothes for him. It’s in Claire’s room, I’ll grab it.”
She hurries away and returns with the backpack a moment later. “I’ve already put him in a diaper for the night, and there’s another one in the bag. He’s toilet trained, so he only wears them at night now.”
“Thanks,” I say, adjusting Liam in my arms so I can hook the bag over my shoulder. “Anything my mom should be aware of? Medical issues, allergies . . .”
“None that we know of. But give your mom my number, she can call me anytime. If Liam wakes up lonely and wants to talk, even if it’s the middle of the night.”
“Of course.”
Melissa holds out a car key. “He’ll need a carseat, so it’s probably easiest if you just take my car. I mean, unless you have a carseat? I didn’t mean to assume—”
She’s wondering if I have kids of my own. “No, I don’t have a carseat.”
“Oh. Okay.” She holds the key out again, and her hands “It’s a navy blue Camry. I think it’s on the third floor of the visitor’s lot, but it might be the fourth.” She looks at me dubiously. “Liam’s pretty heavy, you could wake him up so he can walk—”
I give her what I hope is a reassuring smile. “I got him.”
“Okay.” There’s still a worry line between her eyebrows. “If you have trouble with the carseat—”
“I’ll figure it out.”
By the time I find her car, which is actually on the fifth floor of the parking lot, I’m sweating.
The carseat straps seem too tight to fit around Liam, and I’m on the verge of calling Melissa for help when I find the button to loosen them.
Liam stirs but doesn’t wake up, and I manage to get him buckled in.
I call my mother from the parking lot to let her know I’m bringing Liam, and as I expected, she’s happy to watch him.