That damned fundraiser. He didn’t want to go and he didn’t want to take her. Not that he wouldn’t enjoy spending the evening with her, but those kinds of events were so uncomfortable, so awkward. He’d never considered subjecting her to that. But she wouldn’t see it that way. She would come up with some other explanation, because his was too twisted for someone like her to imagine.
He didn’t allow himself a lot of regrets. There was no point. He always regretted losing a patient, even if there was nothing he could have done. But he didn’t regret the choices he made, how he lived, that he was alone. All that was part of the bargain he had accepted years ago. But hurting Montana? He shook his head. That he regretted.
Someone knocked on his door. Before Simon could answer, it opened, and Reese Hendrix stuck his head inside.
“Hey, Dr. B,” he said with a grin. “I’m here to see Kalinda. My grandmother brought me and she said I should ask you first. So is it okay?”
“I’m sure she would be happy to see you.” He motioned for the boy to step into the room, then studied him in the overhead light. “Whoever your doctor was, he did great work.”
Reese laughed. “You know you were the doctor.”
Simon patted him on the shoulder. “Come on,” he said. “I’ll go with you. Cece, Kalinda’s service dog, has been up there for a while. I’ll take her outside for a walk while you two keep each other company.”
Fay was just coming out of her daughter’s room as they approached. For once she didn’t look close to tears. “Hello, Reese. Dr. Bradley, I think she’s doing better. Kalinda wants some ice cream from the cafeteria. I’m going to get it for her. Do you want me get you something, Reese?”
“No, thanks,” he said, ducking around her and entering the room.
“Ice cream is good, isn’t it?” Fay asked. “She hasn’t been hungry in a while.”
“Hunger tells us the body is healing.”
“Her fever is down, too. I’m so relieved.” She smiled and patted him on the arm. “We’re getting through this, thanks to you. I don’t know what we would have done without you.”
They would have had someone else, he thought, wondering if that doctor would have cared as much, done as much. In his head he knew whoever had taken care of her would have been just as dedicated, but in his gut, he was less sure. For him, there were no distractions. Only his patients.
At least that’s how it had always been until Montana.
Pushing her from his mind, he entered the hospital room. Reese had already set up the computer game and Kalinda had raised her bed so she could sit up.
“Hey, guys,” he said.
“Dr. B, we’re going to play,” Kalinda told him. “Can we take care of whatever you want later?”
“I’m here to give Cece a bathroom break.”
He turned to the little dog, who was already standing. Cece gazed at him adoringly, her brown poodle eyes bright with affection. As he reached for her, she angled toward him, butt first, in what Montana had explained was her “You can pick me up” position.
He reached under her chest and supported her rear as he lifted. She gave a little push against the bed, as if offering help.
“You weigh six pounds, kid,” he muttered. “I don’t need the help.”
Kalinda giggled. “She does that. She’s very polite.”
Polite or not, what he felt was her quivering excitement as she squirmed to get closer and bathe his face in dog kisses. Her tail thudded against his chest in a frantic, happy rhythm.
Reese glanced up. “She really likes you.”
“So I’ve been told. I’ll be back shortly.”
“Okay.”
Neither kid was paying attention to him anymore, which was how it should be.
He made a quick stop in his office to put Cece into her harness and leash, then carried her outside. He walked to an unused bit of lawn and set her down. She immediately began sniffing around, then peed.
Although he could probably take her back inside, he thought she might like to stretch her legs a little. Montana had brought her by relatively early that morning.
“Are you up to walking around the complex?” he asked.
Cece stared at him, her head tilted as if she were trying to understand. Her tail wagged.
They started down the sidewalk. His plan was to walk the perimeter, including the parking lots and garages. It would probably be close to a mile.
During his early-morning workouts he was careful to watch the news. Current events served as a distraction. But now, with the little dog prancing at his side, there was nothing to keep him from his thoughts.
Despite Fay’s excitement over her daughter’s improvement, he was cautious. She could still take a turn for the worse and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. This was not anything he would share with the emotionally fragile mother. Kalinda might truly be recovering and everything would be fine. Statistically that was the case, although his experience made him wary.
Cece stopped by a tree and sniffed intently. She squatted, peed a couple of drops, then looked at him with an expression that could only be described as satisfied.
“Telling them you were here?” he asked her.
She wagged her tail, then began walking again.