Chapter 10
B en’s phone rang three times in a row with his work ringtone at 6:45 a.m. on Monday. The repeating sound dragged him off the treadmill and into the kitchen, where the device buzzed on the counter. He frowned at Vanessa’s name on the screen and swiped right.
“What’s going on?”
“Ben. Thank God you picked up.” Vanessa pitched her voice low, whispering into the speaker of her phone. “We have a situation.”
“What happened? And what are you doing there before 7:00?”
“I always get here early on Mondays. And it’s about Penny. Your patient? When I got here, she was sitting on the porch steps. She looked like she was about to fall off them, though. I asked her if she had an appointment with you, but she wouldn’t say anything. All she would say was she was waiting for you, and I haven’t gotten a word out of her since then.”
“What? I didn’t arrange to meet with her there. We had a video appointment scheduled for later this afternoon.”
He’d scheduled two in-person appointments this morning, at the carefully chosen times of 10:00 and 11:00. Afterward, he’d planned to come back home. Two hours in the office would already stretch his limited capacity.
“I thought you wouldn’t have a meeting this early. I said I’d call and check with you, and I got her to come inside. She’s … not looking well.”
“Symptoms? Pupils dilated? Rapid pulse?”
“No, and no. No signs of concussion or a stroke. It’s more like she’s half-asleep, to be honest. I can’t get her to speak.”
He shoved a hand through his hair. “Is there anyone from her family we can call? Her file should have next of kin listed.”
“I checked, and it’s only her son listed there.”
“Damn. He’s in college in California. That’s no help.”
Ben was already jogging up the steps to his bedroom. Inside, he yanked a suit out of the closet and tossed it on the bed. He toed off his sneakers and grabbed a towel off the rack in the bathroom.
“I almost called an ambulance, right before you picked up,” Vanessa whispered. “But you know she’ll get dumped into the ER, sit there all day, and they’ll send her home with god knows what meds. We’ll never figure out what happened.”
“Don’t call them yet, as long as her vitals are normal. Emergency services aren’t set up to deal with our patients.”
“I’ll do whatever you tell me to do. I just need some instructions.”
“I’m coming in. I’ll be there in thirty minutes. Keep checking her pulse and call EMS if it drops below sixty.”
He clicked off the call and jumped into the shower. This wasn’t how he’d planned to return to work today. He’d already been dreading the curious stares of coworkers and patients after his long absence. Now he’d be in the office for upwards of five hours, instead of two, and with an emergency situation, too.
His pulse spiked, and didn’t slow as he dressed in his full armor—black wool suit with a royal blue tie, blue pocket square, and his platinum tie pin.
Fifteen minutes later, he stood by the front door, ready and not ready to go. He patted his pockets. Keys, phone, wallet. Now, to get into his own car and drive himself to work, like he used to do every single day without a thought.
He’d do this because it was the right thing to do, because he was needed, and people depended on him. And also because Nell would be happy for him. Her sunny smile appeared in his mind and he held onto the image as he twisted the door handle.
She believed he could do this, so he would. Tomorrow night, on their first date, he’d tell her about it.
The few steps to his car were quick and focused. He slid into the driver’s seat and slammed the door shut. Instinct would kick in as soon as he started driving. He couldn’t have forgotten how in the last month.
The drive downtown passed in a blur. His brain and hands remembered the route, and he pulled into his reserved parking space behind the clinic and killed the ignition. A few more deep breaths with his hands on the wheel. The panic hadn’t arrived yet—not while walking to his car, and not while driving. But panic attacks were sneaky bastards that liked to tackle you from behind.
He caught sight of himself in the rearview mirror as he opened the car door. From the outside, he appeared as he always had. Calm and in control. He locked the car and jogged up the clinic steps.
In the main sitting room, Penny slumped over the couch arm. Vanessa perched on the edge of a nearby armchair, and when he came in the door, she jumped up and strode toward him. Her long floral skirt swished around her ankles, her auburn hair a voluminous cloud around her face.
She smiled at him and pulled him into a quick hug.
“It’s so good to see you, despite the circumstances. I missed you.”
He cleared his throat, thumped her awkwardly on the back. “I missed you, too.” He glanced over her shoulder at Penny. “Has she said anything else?”
“No. She’s been like this for almost an hour now.”
“Will you block off this area of the clinic? Have the first patients come in the side door and use the second floor sitting room as a waiting area for the morning.”
“Of course. I’ll make a sign for the front door.” She hurried to lock the front door and headed down the hall to the side entrance.
Ben crossed the room and knelt by the sofa in front of Penny. The older woman’s eyes looked dull, unfocused, her expression free of any spark of her usual personality. She’d put her shirt on backward, too. She’d been doing so well last week, when he’d seen her on their video call.
“Penny, can you hear me?” he asked.
At the sound of his voice, her eyes shifted in his direction. The pupils moved in slow motion, as if on a delay.
“Dr. Friedman?” she asked, her voice thick and slow.
“Yes, it’s me. I heard you came in to see me this morning.”
“I thought we had an appointment. But I … couldn’t remember when. I wanted to be on time.”
“You were on time. No need to worry.” He kept his voice light.
“Oh. That’s good.”
“Can I sit next to you?” He stood slowly, not wanting to startle her.
“Yesss.” She drew the word out, frowning at the sound of it. “Something isn’t right. I don’t feel normal. I needed to tell you. You said … If something went wrong, I’d know who to ask.”
“That’s exactly right, to ask for help. Do you know when you took your last dose of your antidepressant?” He spoke slowly, making sure she understood the words.
“Last night. Before bed, like always.”
“Good. Perfect. And did you do anything else, anything different from your normal routine?”
She shook her head in slow motion, then nodded. “I had a doctor appointment with my regular doctor yesterday. He gave me a new medicine.”
The hair on the back of Ben’s neck stood up. “What was the medicine for?”
“For muscle spasms. I told him my legs had been twitching at night. I took a picture of the bottle.”
With a shaking hand, she unlocked her phone and handed him the device, showing him a photo of her new prescription.
As the words on the label registered, Ben stopped himself from swearing, but the urge was strong. His own hand shook as he handed the phone back to her, part adrenaline and part his old friend, anxiety.
He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Penny, I think you’re having a reaction to taking two medicines that don’t mix well together. Your antidepressant doesn’t work well with the new medicine.”
She turned her face to him, tears sliding down her cheeks. “Am I going to be okay? Did I do something wrong?”
“You’re going to be fine. This isn’t an emergency, but it is serious. You didn’t do anything wrong. But we need to get you to the hospital so they can monitor you while the medicine wears off. I’ll have one of our nurses drive you there. You should stop taking that new medicine. I’ll call your doctor and discuss it with him.”
“Okay.”
He held out a hand to help her stand, and looked her in the eye. “I’m glad you told me. You made sure someone knew things weren’t right.”
He didn’t want to think about her driving here in this state. She was lucky she’d come before 7:00, when there wasn’t much traffic.
“Thank you, Doctor.”
“Wait here, and I’ll get Sophie to help you out.” He moved calmly, as if everything was under control. But as soon as he cleared the door of the sitting room, he sped into action. Vanessa waited for him in the hallway.
“We need Sophie,” he said. “She’ll drive Penny to the ER for a vitals check, wait with her while they monitor symptoms, then drive her home.”
“What was it? Did she tell you?”
“Drug interaction. Her doctor prescribed her a muscle relaxant and didn’t check her other meds.”
“Son of a bitch,” Vanessa hissed. “It would have taken them two minutes to check.”
“I had to restrain myself from saying the same thing in front of her. He could have prescribed her anything. Sleep aids would have been a disaster. This could have been so much worse. As it is, the meds she took should wear off in a couple of hours. As soon as I get upstairs, I’ll put in a call to her doctor. And try not to raise my voice.”
“I say, raise it. Who the hell do they think they are? She’ll be okay, though?” Vanessa asked.
“Yes, I think so. But I want them monitoring her heart rate for a couple of hours. And I want Sophie there to tell them what meds she took.”
“I’ll get her.” Vanessa disappeared in a swish of skirts.
Ben sagged against the wall in the hallway. As the adrenaline wore off, his hands continued to shake, and he shoved them in his pockets. The sheer effort to come here had eaten away at his energy reserves. He had no stamina for the real world.
But another part of him thrummed to life, the part that had forgotten what it felt like to help someone in need. This was what he was supposed to be doing. This place was his, and the patients counted on him. He hadn’t been giving them everything he could. But you couldn’t pour from an empty cup.
He watched from the window as Penny got into Sophie’s car. He’d given the nurse a written note explaining the situation to give to the ER doctors. After they pulled away from the clinic’s parking lot, he went upstairs to his office.
Cameron, Ben’s administrative assistant, sat at his desk in the reception area outside Ben’s office, head bent over his laptop, wearing his usual suspenders and bowtie. He startled, eyes widening, as Ben appeared.
“Ben. You’re early.” To his credit, Cameron didn’t stare. The younger man, a grad school student, was used to unusual events at the clinic.
“I am. Bit of an emergency. You’re here early, too.” Was everyone at the clinic working longer hours, or was it his imagination?
“Mondays are always hectic. I heard a patient showed up here at 6:30 today.” Cameron glanced at his computer screen. “Your first appointment isn’t until 10:00, but let me know if you need anything. There’s already a water bottle on your desk.”
“Got it. Thank you. I’ll be in my office.”
That sounded self-assured enough. Ben went into his office and shut the door. He sank into the chair behind his desk and scanned the room.
The last time he’d sat on the couch had been with Nell, two days ago. He had a ridiculous urge to call her and hear her voice. But that would be too much, too soon. They weren’t dating. It could wait until tomorrow.
He booted up his laptop and pulled up Penny’s patient records, getting to work.
After his second in-person appointment left for the day, Vanessa poked her head in the door.
“Okay to come in for a sec?”
“Of course.”
She shut the door behind her. “I wanted to let you know they discharged Penny from the hospital, and Sophie got her settled in at home. She’s doing fine.”
“Great news. Thank you for your help this morning, by the way.”
“Of course. It was just like old times.”
“Just like old times,” he echoed, smoothing a hand down his vest. He’d been here over five hours now.
She examined his face. “How are you holding up? Doing okay?”
“I’m fine.” He waved a hand dismissively.
“You’re not fine. But since you won’t tell me what’s going on, I’m using my powers of observation.”
“And they’re telling you …”
“They’re telling me you’re exhausted. This morning took a lot out of you.”
“Maybe a little.”
She made a frustrated sound. “Fine. I’m never going to hear about it. Don’t tell me anything about your personal life. I’m only one of your oldest friends, and your business partner, too. But go home and rest this afternoon, yeah?”
“That’s the plan. But I’ll be back tomorrow. Two morning appointments a day this week.”
“You’re really back.” She let out a long breath. “Thank God.”
“Did you hear anything more after they finished the flower deliveries last week?”
“People loved the flowers. We got a lot of thank-you cards and phone calls. But also … A couple more patients left the practice last week.”
Ben straightened in his chair. “What happened? Did they say why?”
“You’re not going to believe it.”
“Try me.”
“The other clinic—Harmonious Mind—ran an ad on social media comparing themselves to us.”
“I’m sorry, they did what?”
“They called us out by name. Their ad said, ‘If you like The Well Space, but don’t like their prices, give us a try.’”
Ben shoved his chair back and stood. “They’ll get what they pay for.”
“That was my thought, too. That’s why I had Cameron reach out to a few of our patients.”
Ben’s gaze sharpened on her. “And tell them what, exactly?”
Vanessa folded her arms across her chest, a smirk on her face. “Oh, we didn’t ask them to say anything about the ad specifically, of course. We just asked if they’d post photos of themselves holding their flower arrangements, and tag us. To show our personal touch.”
“I see.” His stomach clenched. This was the exact reason he needed to be here. A personal touch meant in-person appointments, not video calls. The flowers were a good start, but he needed to be here, not half days, but full days.
“I’m going to brainstorm other things we can do to bring people back,” he said. “And I owe you flowers, too. For keeping things going while I was gone. I promise, I’ll be around more now.”
She flashed him a huge smile from the door. “Roses are my favorite. Now, go home before you fall over.”