“He does. You don’t answer,” Vanessa said, taking a bite out of one of the complimentary tortilla chips. “And you barely answer when I call. We get that you’re doing well and you’re passionate about your work. But we miss you, Char. The last few years you’ve been so distant.”
“Years?” Charlotte replied. “Well, then maybe it’s just my personality. I’m not… Super communicative. I’m sorry about that. I’ll try my best to be better. And maybe in a few years I can settle down a bit, and work less. But right now I’m building my- “
“Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re building your brand, your business, your empire, your whatever,” Vanessa interjected. “But you don’t have to forget the people who love you while you do it. No one is so busy they can’t make a phone call once or twice a week.” Vanessa looked down at her lap. “We’re all we have, Charlotte. And sometimes I really miss you. I respect the hell out of you. But I kind of feel like you pour yourself into work to avoid things maybe you could be working on.”
“Such as?” Charlotte sat back and crossed her arms. “Please. Do tell me what I need to be working on.”
“Don’t take it like that,” Vanessa said. “It’s just, you’re beautiful and smart. And you have so much going for you, but you also have zero personal life. No boyfriend, no friends, no hobbies. I just don’t want you to wake up one day and regret not developing that part of your life.”
Charlotte shook her head, “Vanessa, you always pride yourself on being such a feminist. And now you’re telling me I need a man to be happy.”
“That’s not what I’m telling you!” Vanessa said. “I wouldn’t care if it was a man, a woman, a fucking dog. But you need companionship, we all do. We need something outside of what we do for a living.”
Charlotte shrugged, “I really don’t. I’m happy with this life. I can definitely make more time for you and dad, but this is my dream I’m living. I don’t have to depend on anyone for anything.”
“Why is it so terrible to depend on people?” Vanessa asked. “Your patients depend on you. I depend on you. We all get a lot out of that. Why can’t you let someone in, Charlotte? What are you so afraid of?”
Charlotte didn’t say anything for a moment. There was so much she could say to that question. They didn’t have enough time for the list of the things she was afraid of. But it all boiled down to one word. One name.
Declan. She was afraid of that happening again.
But she wouldn’t burden Vanessa with that, and besides, her phone was buzzing.
“Hang on,” Charlotte said. “I have to answer this. It’s the office.”
Vanessa rolled her eyes, “Fine.”
Charlotte had never been so grateful for an interruption. She thumbed over the green answer button on her iPhone and held it to her ear.
“This is Dr. Sanders,” she said into the phone.
The voice on the other end had very bad news. Charlotte’s face turned pale.
“I’ll be right there,” she said. “I’m on my way now.”
********
Melanie Hopp had been in a car accident.
She was on her way home from her appointment with Charlotte when it happened. She’d started to move her car forward at a green light when another car came barreling down the street, running the red light. They’d t-boned Melanie’s car and then kept going. Hit and run.
It was a story all too familiar to Charlotte.
But she couldn’t think about her mother now. What mattered was making sure Melanie and the baby were okay. Melanie had been airlifted to the hospital where Charlotte worked, and she was being prepped for emergency surgery.
As Charlotte ran through the halls of Nashville Memorial Hospital, she was met by one of her colleagues from medical school, Dr. Erin Whitmer. They’d graduated together and had remained close. They’d yet to be in this kind of situation together.
“Is she stable?” Charlotte asked as she scrubbed in. “The baby?”
“Baby’s heart is still beating but we don’t know what damage has been done,” Dr. Whitmer said, as she scrubbed next to Charlotte. “She has extensive abdominal trauma. We won’t know the full extent until we get in.” Dr. Whitmer looked down at her hands. “It’s not looking good.”
Charlotte tried not to convey any emotion at this news. She was a doctor and this was part of the deal. Life and death were always on the line. She’d been trained to deal with these things. She’d lost patients, she’d had to tell mothers their babies had died, she’d had to ruin people’s lives with the news she gave them. It wasn’t her favorite part of the job, but it was a necessary part.
But Melanie Hopp was different. And this situation was too similar to her past. Charlotte looked at this as a way to make things right.
She would not let Melanie and her baby die.
When she and Dr. Whitmer got to the OR, it was already a hectic scene. Melanie’s heart had stopped beating. One of the paramedics was still on top of her with the defibrillator, trying his best to get her heart pumping again.