A Perfect Homecoming

“He would set me right here.” She motioned to the area on the desk in front of her. “And he would point his finger at me and say, ‘You can be anything you want to be. Just because I chose medicine doesn’t mean you have to.’ Then he’d wink and say, ‘But it sure would be nice to work next to you.’” Then he would pull a lollipop from the desk drawer and hand it to her.

“He was a great guy,” Kyle said with a sad smile. “It’s too bad the two of you didn’t get to live out his dream for longer than that one year.”

A cloud of melancholy blanketed her as the memories of her now-deceased father bombarded her. “He used to tell me how, back when he first opened the practice, people would pay him in chickens and vegetables or even cigarettes when money was scarce. Especially the families who had someone serving in Vietnam, leaving the women to deal with everyday life at home, including their sick children.”

“Those must have been tough times,” Kyle said.

Ashleigh nodded. “My dad would make house calls back then. Not only to those with sick children, but he regularly visited homes where food was scarce. He’d bring them the food other patients had paid him in, saying he couldn’t use all of it before it would spoil.”

Kyle spoke gently. “I always considered him as much a mentor as a father-in-law.”

Ashleigh missed her father so much, but he would have been extremely disappointed in her. He wouldn’t have liked knowing she’d left town when her marriage failed, abandoning the practice he’d built.

Kyle walked over to the credenza under the window to look at Stan’s framed photos. He finally broke the silence with a change of subject. “Stan won’t be able to work for a while. Do you have anyone to help out with the practice?”

Ashleigh related her plan to fill in until Samantha arrived.

“What about Paula? You can’t be two places at once.”

“I’ve got someone coming in to help while I’m here. Paula’s not happy about it, but I’ve given her no choice.” Paula’s compassion for Stan was the only reason she gave in about hiring help.

“She understands, though, right?”

Ashleigh met his dark blue questioning gaze. “I guess so. Not that she’s pleased about it.” She stood and shoved the wheeled desk chair back into the bookshelves. Blood rushed in her ears. “Can’t blame her, though. First, she didn’t want me here, and I tell her that I’m here whether she likes it or not. Then I say I’m sorry but I have to help out somewhere else and, oh, by the way, here’s a stranger I hired to take care of you.”

She knew her voice was getting louder and louder, but she couldn’t help herself.

“It’s not like you’re responsible for Stan’s heart attack.”

Ashleigh turned away, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m not sure that’s a true statement.”

“Ashleigh?”

She didn’t say anything. The guilt was eating her up. Stan wasn’t well this morning. Why hadn’t she suggested he see a doctor right then and there?

She spun in Kyle’s direction, changing the subject before she blurted out the truth.

“Anyway, Kyle, I’m not sure why you care so much about what’s happening with me and this practice. You’re the one who told me to go home last night!” Ashleigh came around the desk until she was a few feet from him. She lowered her voice to an angry whisper. “‘You’re not needed here,’ you said. Well, if I took your advice, then I’d never have a chance of repairing my relationship with my sister. Or maybe that’s what you’re hoping. As long as Paula and I are estranged, then I won’t be back to visit and you won’t have to risk running into me.”

His jaw dropped open and he quickly snapped it shut.

A knock sounded on the door and Cammie stuck her head in. “Your first patient is waiting in exam room one.” She was gone as quickly as she’d appeared.

Kyle didn’t say a word. Said nothing to contradict Ashleigh’s statement. He merely left the office and never looked back to see the hurt that had to have been apparent on Ashleigh’s face.

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