The Best Medicine

Chapter 26



THE SUN WAS SETTING OVER the lake, and a soft haze in the air gave our surroundings a muted, mystical quality. Or it could just be that I’d had two glasses of wine at dinner. Maybe it was my vision that was hazy. Either way, it was a warm, beautiful evening as Tyler and I strolled aimlessly along the docks of the Bell Harbor marina. He pointed out various boats, discussing aspects of each one as if they were old friends. He’d grown up at this place, and every captain we encountered as we walked had a smile and a wave for him.

“That’s the Mongoose, a thirty-eight-foot Tiara Express,” Tyler told me, pointing at a white boat with a navy-blue top. “Lots of extras on that one. And next to that is the Fishing Fortress. It’s a Sea Ray Express. Most of these have dual big-block Chevy engines.”


He said this as if it meant something significant. It didn’t. Not to me. But I didn’t have the heart to tell him all these boats looked pretty much identical, or that I didn’t know a big-block engine from a big block of cheese. Mostly I was just enjoying his enthusiasm and silently wishing he could somehow manage to restart his father’s charter business.

“Did you know it’s bad luck to take bananas on a fishing boat?” he said as we got to the end of one dock and turned around to go back.

“No. Why?”

He shrugged. “Not sure exactly, but it has something to do with the old trading days. I guess tarantulas would hide in the banana crates, and once you had a couple of mating tarantulas on your boat, it was hard to get rid of them.”

My whole body shuddered. “Oh, that’s awful. I’d have to jump overboard if I was on a boat full of big, hairy, badass spiders.”

Tyler laughed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “I had no idea you were afraid of spiders.”

“I’m not, usually, but being surrounded by an extended family of scary tarantulas is different. Ugh!” I shuddered again but saw a perfect opening. “By the way, speaking of being surrounded by scary families, how would you feel about coming to my parents’ wedding?”

Tyler laughed. “Nice segue. Are they venomous?”

“Tarantulas or my family?”

“Either or.”

“No to both, but I do have a sneaking suspicion my mother’s personality has been supplanted by an alien. Long story. But the good news is, my family isn’t that big and they’re all sick to death of coming to my dad’s weddings, so it should be a pretty small crowd. It’s next weekend.”

“Next weekend?”

We stopped walking and stood face-to-face. I think I’d surprised him.

“Next Friday I’m working, but I can see about switching with someone, I guess.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t mention it sooner. I’ve blocked the whole thing from my mind, and now suddenly here it is. It’s in Bloomfield Hills, so we’d have to spend the night on Saturday.”

One eyebrow rose. “I assume I’d have my own room. I’m not the type to shack up with a woman at some cheesy motel.”

“It will be a very nice hotel.”

He smiled. I tingled.

“In that case, I will happily shack up with you.”

“Excellent.” I rose up on my toes and kissed him. Then we started walking again, our hands linked and swinging.

“So, there is something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about,” Tyler said. “Something I’ve been thinking about for a while. I’m not sure what you’ll think.”

He suddenly seemed a little pensive, and so suddenly, so was I. Any conversation that started with there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you usually ended up with someone being very upset. Or someone being very surprised. Or someone being very broken up with.

“OK. Let’s hear it.” We stopped walking again and I braced for impact.

He gazed out over the water for a minute, his lips pressed into a line until he finally started talking. “I’ve been a basic EMT for almost three years now. I’ve advanced as far as I can without additional classroom training. So . . .” He took a big breath and blew out the last part, “So, I’m thinking about enrolling in an advanced paramedic training course.”

“Paramedic training?” I’m sure I sounded surprised, not by what he’d said, but purely from relief over the absence of bad news. This was great news.

He nodded and started rapid-fire talking, as if he’d been saving up all these words for just the right moment and they were finally pushing their way out, like a seed breaking through the soil in time-lapse photography.

“Yeah, there’s an excellent program in Grand Rapids that I could do and still keep my job at MedPro. I’d have to keep working, obviously. I need the money. But those shifts would count as part of my internship. It’ll take a while, a year and a half in the classroom, plus I’ll have to take an anatomy and physiology course. But I think I can do it. Tuition is about nine grand, which I don’t exactly have right now, but I’m working on that.”

He ran out of breath and stared at me expectantly, watching for my reaction.

A paramedic?

“Tyler, I love that idea.”

Relief flooded his features. “You do? You don’t think it’s too . . . you know, simplistic?”

“Simplistic?”

“Yes. Simplistic. Evelyn, you’ve made it all the way through medical school and residency. Being a paramedic doesn’t really compare to that.”

The fact that he would think that hurt my feelings, but I guess I could see his point. Still, I wish that thought had never occurred to him.

“It’s not a contest, Tyler. Plus being a paramedic is an incredibly hard job. We both know that. I’ve been in the emergency department enough times when those guys show up to know there’s nothing easy about what they do. Plus I think you’ll be fantastic. You’re a natural.”

He smiled, and I could practically feel the tension easing out of him. We started walking again. “How do you figure that?” he asked.

“You just are. You take care of people constantly. Look how wonderful you were with me when I had the flu.”

His laughter echoed over the water. “Buying you Popsicles because you puked is hardly proof I’ll make a good paramedic. You’re being overly generous.”

“I’m not. And I don’t understand why you didn’t tell me this sooner.”

“I don’t know. I guess I wanted to look into it a little more before saying anything. I’ve been in such a holding pattern waiting for the legal stuff to get resolved. The delay with that is frustrating.”

I felt his elation bottling back up. I leaned closer against him as we headed back toward the buildings of the marina.

“What does your lawyer say about the delay?” I was tempted to mention that his lawyer was my best friend’s husband who may or may not be having an affair, but it didn’t seem relevant. And either way, Steve might be an a*shole, but I had no idea if he was a good attorney.

“My lawyer says be patient. Scotty turns twenty-one next week, so at least the assault charges will be sealed forever. That’s a huge load off everyone’s mind, and he’s heading off to Fort Jackson at the end of the month.”

I lowered my voice. “Does your lawyer know it was Scotty who stole the Jet Ski?”

Tyler’s gaze darted around but no one was close enough to hear us. “He didn’t steal it. He borrowed it. And no. There was no point in telling him that.”

“I disagree. I think you should tell him everything. It might influence things in your favor.” Like the amount of crap Steve believed about Tyler and his family. And the amount of crap Hilary believed too.

“This is all being handled, Evie. OK? I appreciate your concern, but you don’t need to worry about it.”

His phone chimed in his pocket and he pulled it out. His face went pale as his eyes moved over the text message. His voice rasped with frustration. “Here’s something to worry about, though. God damn it. My mother’s been caught by security at Mason’s Jewelry Store. Shoplifting.”