Road to Redemption (4 page)

“I appreciate the offer, Ryan.  And thank your parents for me, too. But I’m working until two and then I’m on-call. It’s best that I stay close to home in case of an emergency,” Jack explained.

“I’m sure you volunteered to work. And to be on-call.”

Jack tried not to get defensive. He knew Ryan was only trying to be helpful. “I’m single, and have no family around for the holiday.  Why wouldn’t I volunteer to work?”

“You could have taken a few days off and flown home to see your parents if you wanted to.”

“I would only have to turn around and fly back a few days later.  Honestly, I never thought of Thanksgiving as much of a holiday.  It’s mostly about food anyway, at least in my house.  You know my family is small. Besides,” he continued, “my parents enjoy going out to dinner for Thanksgiving.  I can do that here. No need to fly home for it.”

Thankfully, Ryan knew when to give up. “Fine.  Remember you aren’t alone no matter how much you think you are.  I’ll check in with you soon for another night out. Help you relax a bit,” he said with a laugh.

Jack was going to make sure he was scheduled for the next few weekends for sure now. “Sure. Have a good holiday. Give your parents my best.”

Jack disconnected the phone and sat back at his desk.  It was almost like Ryan knew exactly when he wasn’t with a patient and would call.  And Jack always felt guilty when he didn’t answer Ryan’s calls.

Ryan was the only person Jack considered family now—besides his parents—and they were several states away. So at this moment, he actually was alone.

He had never been really close with his parents. Being an only child, he never had another sibling to tag along with either.  The three of them got along well enough, but it was a strange relationship.  His parents were as much of loners as he was. Of course that meant they liked to be alone, apart from each other. That left him alone when he was growing up.  It seemed to suit them all fine. 

They learned to co-exist in the house together. He loved his parents and he knew they loved him. They put a roof over his head, clothes on his back, and food in his stomach. They even paid for all of his schooling. He owed them a lot for the schooling alone. But they weren’t what the average person would consider a close family.  

That didn’t mean he didn’t like to visit them now and again. But normally within the first twenty-four hours the novelty wore off and they were left with an awkward silence.  When that happened they all retreated to their respective corners to entertain themselves.

His father would go to his study to either work or watch old crime shows.  His mother would go to her hobby room to either quilt or read. And he would end up in the living room channel surfing or reading medical journals. 

The only time it had been different was when Tracy was around. She always brightened the place up. She’d always been one to start and continue conversations and to draw his parents in as well. There were never any awkward silences or separate rooms when she was around. Those times were long gone, though.

***

“Mr. Montgomery, how are you feeling this morning?” Jack asked an elderly patient, before he checked the incision on his hip.

“I’m feeling fit, Dr. Reynolds. Fit enough to be home with my family for the holiday. Do you think I could get discharged this morning?” the elder man asked, hopeful.

“Your hip is healing fine.  You’ve been up and moving well with the walker, I hear,” Jack stated while he read his patient’s chart.

He arrowed down a few screens on the laptop, then turned to address Mr. Montgomery’s eager face. “If you promise not to overdo it for the next few days, I don’t see why we can’t get you home for the holiday.  Do you have someone that can pick you up you this morning?”

“Yes. Yes, I do. My son is waiting for my call.  He flew home with his girl for Thanksgiving. Then I went and ruined everything when I fell off the damn ladder trying to hang the Christmas lights,” Mr. Montgomery said, expressing his self-disgust.

“I don’t see any reason you should feel like you ruined the holiday. Give him a call while I finish up your paperwork,” Jack said to the now cheerful patient.

“Thank you. Thank you so much, Doctor. Hope you don’t have to work too late and can spend some time with your family for the holiday, too.”

Jack nodded and left the room.  He would be spending time with Roxy. She was his family now, not that he would ever admit it to anyone.

Several hours passed by quickly, and before Jack knew it, it was time to leave. Thankfully everything seemed quiet and under control. As much as he would have preferred to spend the holiday at work staying busy, he had to admit he was pretty tired. He’d been up since five this morning and had worked late several days already this week.  It would be nice to go home and relax, watch some football in peace.

He decided to pass through the cafeteria on his way home and pick up one of the Thanksgiving meals that were being prepared for the staff lucky enough to spend their holiday working.  When his stomach growled, he picked up two meals after realizing he hadn’t eaten anything since his egg sandwich and coffee almost seven hours earlier.

“Roxy, I’m home,” Jack shouted through the foyer minutes later. 

The dancing sounds of canine nails on hardwood floors greeted him as Roxy came racing full-force from the back of the house, skidding to a stop short of his legs.  Oh boy, Jack thought, she’s been in the kitchen.  He hoped she hadn’t gotten in the garbage again.  How the dog managed to get the lid open on the stainless steel can was beyond him. It wouldn’t have been the first time Jack had come home to find trash scattered all over the kitchen floor.

Thankfully that wasn’t the case today.  “You were a good girl, weren’t you? Guess you deserve a biscuit, huh?”

At the sound of the magic word, Roxy began to dance in circles around Jack’s feet, erratically hopping in the air like a bunny. A seventy-pound bunny that was reddish color and barked.

He tossed the biscuit in the air, and it was deftly caught by Roxy’s eager mouth. She proceeded to chomp once, twice and then swallowed it seconds later. He really was going to have to buy smaller biscuits if she was going to eat like that. “You have no manners whatsoever for a girl.”

He grabbed a plate from the cabinet and dumped the turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy from one of the containers messily in the center.  After swiping a fork and knife from the drawer and a beer from the refrigerator, he started to head back to the living to turn on the game. On second thought, he grabbed the second container of food, saving him a trip back to the kitchen for more.

Once he was settled in his favorite leather recliner making his way through his second helping, he felt rather than saw Roxy’s penetrating stare.  Glancing over he noticed her looking at him, then his plate, and then back to his face again. Watching him take each bite from the plate to his mouth and back to the plate, never breaking stride.

He thought it was actually humorous and decided to play with her a bit, picking his fork up and bringing it to his mouth and then dropping it back to the plate before he could actually take the bite.  Forcing her head up and then down, following the fork’s path. 

He didn’t think it was so funny when he noticed the drool coming out of her mouth, or the spit bubble that was starting to form at the corner of her jowls.  Then he knew he was in trouble.

As a surgeon, he had seen some pretty disgusting injuries.  Mangled skin and bones, the insides of the body people could only imagine. Nothing ever seemed to bother him. He had a gut of steel.  Of course he’d never tried to eat while performing surgery before, nor thought of food at all during that time, for that matter.

But that single spit bubble dangling on the edge of Roxy’s lips was starting to seriously turn his stomach.

He picked up his fork to attempt another bite causing her to blow out a breath in envy, making the bubble enlarge to twice its size.  Hanging only by a thread now, with a drop of drool forming a long string next to it.  Yep, he was done eating. 

With a sigh of regret he pushed the recliner back in place, stood up and made his way back to the kitchen with his half-eaten plate—Roxy now fast on his heels, trying to trip him in the hopes of a few tasty morsels finding their way to the floor. No such luck, he was onto her tricks.

He pushed the pedal of the garbage can, forcing the lid to pop up when he saw those big brown eyes staring at him woefully. It reminded him of when he’d first adopted her from the rescue shelter a year ago. He was never going to be able to get the image of her nearly starved and abused body out of his mind.

“Oh, what the hell. I guess you deserve it after you made me to lose my appetite.” 

He shut the lid and placed the remaining food on the floor with a smile.

“So why do you have energy to burn this time?” Brooke asked Cori when they both started off at a slow jog side by side on their treadmills.  Cori had suggested they run on the treadmills today, which was a first since Cori could never keep pace with Brooke, but always wanted to.

Surprisingly, Cori started out matching Brooke’s pace—that of a person who had been running most of her life with the exception of last year while she recovered from a horrible car accident.

“Too much sugar,” Cori said with a big grin.

“Too much sugar for you? Is that even possible?” Cori ate more sugar than Brooke thought was possible. It was a wonder Cori didn’t roll around the halls. Instead she was as skinny as Brooke, only in a more compact petite frame.  Maybe all that sugar she consumed caused her to bounce everywhere she went.

“Yep.  More than my normal,” Cori replied.             

Normal to Cori was two to three candy bars a day alternating with at least three extra-large coffees, five sugars apiece, including flavored creamer. “How is that even possible? How are you not nauseous from eating that much sugar?”

“Don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “I’ve always eaten like this.  Same with my mom and Nana. We all have the same builds, too.”

“Are they as hyper?” Brooke asked, a grin on her face.

Cori answered her seriously. “Actually we all are. Hmm, maybe the sugar causes us to be that way, do you think? Or maybe we need the sugar to maintain our activity level? Chicken or the egg,” she said with a giggle.

“Anyway, back to the question.  Why more than normal?” Brooke’s pace increased slightly.

“One word.” Cori grinned. “Pie.”

“Pie?” Brooke repeated confused.

“Yep, Nana’s secret apple pie.  She made three of them. One was for me to take home.” 

Brooke’s pace picked up a bit more, and she watched as Cori did the same, apparently determined to match her step for step today. 

“So I’ve had pie for breakfast and lunch the last few days.”

“You’ve eaten pie for breakfast? For several days? Eew,” Brooke said, drawing out the last syllable.

“What do you mean
eew
?” Cori asked, frowning. “It’s breakfast food.”

“Only you would think apple pie was considered breakfast food.”

“Well, sure.  I warm it up, so think of it as oatmeal, only baked. I mean it sort of has some of the same ingredients. And then I put ice cream on it—because you can’t have warm apple pie without ice cream. So it’s like having a glass of milk. Only frozen.  See? My version of oatmeal and milk.  Only baked and frozen.”

Cori let out a half laugh now that her breath was coming faster, matching her increased heart rate.  Brooke grinned. Cori was struggling to keep pace with her, especially while trying to talk. She kicked it up one more notch while she kept a serious face.

Cori looked over and frowned at Brooke’s longer stride, now off pace with her shorter one. She pursed her mouth and started to run a bit faster. Brooke was trying hard not to laugh.

“So,” Cori huffed out quickly. “Was Ryan at Lucas’s parents on Thanksgiving?”

“Of course,” Brooke answered easily enough.

“Jack?” Cori questioned after she sucked in a deep breath.

“He had to work.  Then he was on-call after his shift, but Ryan did ask.”

Brooke was having a hard time keeping a straight face. Cori’s ponytail was swinging rapidly around her head, and her tiny legs were moving twice as fast in order to keep up with Brooke’s longer stride. It was almost like watching the roadrunner’s feet spin in place before taking off.

“Aw.” Cori stuck her bottom lip out in a pout. “Sad,” she stated, having more trouble speaking at the moment.

A few more minutes went by while Cori’s face turned red with exertion. Then she turned to look at Brooke’s face, saw Brooke’s grin, and then the light suddenly dawned.  “Crap!” She slapped her hands on the rails and hopped her feet on the sides of the moving pad. “You did that on purpose!” She sucked in a breath. “That is mean,” she said as she tried to look angry, but failed miserably. Between the rising and falling of her chest and her incredibly cute pout, she couldn’t pull it off.

“What?” Brooke asked innocently.

“You know what. You did that on purpose, didn’t you? You know how hard it is for me to keep pace with you.” Her breath was puffing in and out, but not as hard now that she was no longer running.

“Sorry,” she said with a grin. “You did say you had energy to spare.” To be nice, though, Brooke slowed her pace down and watched as Cori stepped back on the moving pad but didn’t try to match her pace this time.

Now that her breathing was a bit more under control Cori’s conversation went right back to Jack, like it almost always did now. “So, you think Jack spent Thanksgiving alone?”

Brooke frowned over the continued questions regarding Jack. “I guess.  I don’t really know for sure. But since the closest thing he has to family around here is Ryan, I would think so. Guess you decided not to give up on him?”

“Nope. Can’t do it. I feel like I’ve got to give it a shot and at least try. Besides, he’s hot.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Yummy. Like warm apple pie. With ice cream on top.” This time she rubbed her hand over her stomach while she grinned.

Cori’s grin turned to a pout as quickly. “But it’s so sad. Don’t you think?” At Brooke’s questioning look she explained further. “He seems so lonely.  Every time I see him, he is always by himself. Eating alone in the cafeteria or walking alone in the halls.  Do you think he’s shy? I bet he is. Maybe he needs a friend. Don’t you think?” she rushed out with another huff.

Brooke blinked, waiting for Cori to stop talking.  “I don’t really know for sure.  Not everyone is like you, Cori. Some people like being alone. And surprisingly they don’t feel lonely when they are.”

Refusing to believe her, Cori waved her hand at Brooke. “Oh come on. No one likes to be alone, not all the time. I don’t care what you say.” Brooke raised her eyebrow, but Cori only shook her head at her. “I’m serious. People like you and Jack think you like being alone, but in all honesty, you need people like Lucas and me.  We complete you.” She laughed at her own comment.

Rolling her eyes, Brooke stepped off the treadmill as soon as her program ended. “No, we let you think we need you,” she said in a joking manner.

They made their way to the locker room. Brooke, protective of her friend, felt she had to try one more time. “Listen, Cori, I know you seem to have a thing for Jack, but I think you should let it go.  He really isn’t your type and has shown every indication that he would rather be alone.  I’ve been in his shoes and it can really mess with your head. Not everyone can recover from that.”

“But you did,” Cori pointed out.  Brooke’s boyfriend had died in the same car accident that had injured her over a year ago.  The guilt of that accident and the insecurities of her past relationship had almost cost her Lucas.

But Jack’s situation was different. Brooke’s ex hadn’t loved her the way she loved him, as she found out after the fact. Jack had been married to his high school sweetheart and everyone knew they were deeply in love.              

Cori could be stubborn.  She felt everyone should be as carefree and cheerful as she was, that the world was a playground and everyone should enjoy the rides. Unfortunately, very few people actually lived their lives that way.

Brooke gave up and sighed. “Just be careful, OK?”

“Geez, Brooke, don’t look so gloomy. I’m a big girl.” She teased, then stood up on her tiptoes. “I’m almost as tall as you.”

Brooke knew that Cori never wanted to be responsible for making someone upset.  She much preferred to make someone laugh.  After yanking her sweatshirt on over the scrubs she changed back into, Cori turned, looked at Brooke and pointed to the bright yellow smiley face plastered across her chest that said, “Don’t worry. Be Happy.”

***

Happy was the last thing on Jack’s mind when Ann, his most experienced RN explained that she needed to take several weeks off to care for her ailing mother.  He had lucked out having Ann in his department. Her experience and outgoing personality had made his job easier. Since he wasn’t much of a talker, he relied on his nurses to get most of the information from the patients prior to his appearance.

Now he would have to worry about who her replacement was going to be from the list of rotating nurses that filled in.  He really hoped the person was competent and efficient.  The last thing he needed was an airhead that didn’t do even a fraction of her job and felt she was on easy street walking patients from the waiting room to exam room and taking a few vitals.