Her partners had been indicted but they didn’t go to trial. One gave up his license in a plea deal and the other was reprimanded and fined, and he moved to Florida. If there were civil suits lurking out there, no one seemed to know about them.
And she’d been invited by more than one of her colleagues to join their practices. John Halloran, a noted neurological surgeon from University Medical Center, advised her to keep a hand in. “Don’t stay out of the operating room too long, Maggie,” he said. “At least assist a few cases a month so when you do decide what you’re going to do next your decision won’t be forced by lack of practical application. Operate, Maggie. It’s what you were trained to do.”
It was good advice. She decided she’d drive into Denver a couple of times in August, scrub in with a colleague who could use a hand. While she was there she planned to see friends, so she took Cal with her once. It wasn’t at all surprising that her friends fell in love with him, even if he was a little hard to understand. She introduced him as a homeless criminal defense attorney who had a big crush on her. He explained himself as someone recently escaped from the rat race, simplifying his life. Maggie’s type A friends had trouble understanding that.
Maggie’s friends from the hospital, having had the mother lode of medical experiences, were fascinated by criminal law and plagued him with questions about his work, his clients, his experiences. They wanted to know if he’d ever defended murderers and he was quick to point out he had defended people accused of capital crimes. Had his life ever been threatened? Had mafia bosses tried to control him or had he ever been afraid for his life, being involved with scary people? And the one that interested Maggie the most: “Will you die of boredom being a maintenance man at a campground?”
“I’m not bored yet,” was all he said.
He only went to Denver the one time. He didn’t want to leave Sully shorthanded while Maggie was away in Denver for a night or two. Besides, there were other things going on over summer in addition to fishing, roasting marshmallows, and cleaning the public bathroom and showers. There were wildfires. One had been contained recently after raging for two weeks northeast of Colorado Springs. Another took out hundreds of acres near Salida and the smoke drifted over the crossing. Even though they were in no immediate danger, Cal wanted to be nearby in case Sully had to evacuate the camp and himself.
Maggie adored him for his care for Sully and others.
The summer routine was relaxed and low-pressure but Maggie noticed that Cal had become mysteriously morose and quiet. He went off by himself several times; she spotted him standing at the edge of the lake a few times, tossing pebbles into the water. She tried asking him what was bothering him and he brushed her off, saying he was just thinking.
Frankly, Maggie was getting a little scared. Had he been thinking about his mission statement and come to the conclusion that it was time to move on? She decided the best approach was to demonstrate that she was mature and rational, but, unable to help herself, she pitched a fit.
“What the hell is up with you? Why are you depressed? Why aren’t you talking to me? When did we become strangers? How do we go on from here if you can’t talk about whatever is on your mind that makes you go silent? How am I supposed to take it? Are you ready to dump me? Is that it?”
Cal took a deep breath. “I have to go to Iowa for a few days. My sister is in the hospital and my father has gone off the rails. I’d like to ignore the situation but I can’t. And, I think you should come with me. In fact, I insist, unless there’s some reason you can’t leave here. Maggie, you have to know where I come from so you can decide just how involved you want to be.”
If any man seeks for greatness,
let him forget greatness and ask for truth,
and he will find both.
—Horace Mann
Chapter 17
“Let’s get this over with,” Maggie said. “I know your family’s troubles are hard on you and you worry about the effect on me, but I’m a doctor. I’m sure I can keep this in perspective.”
“We’ll see,” Cal said.
“You have so little faith in me,” she said.
Cal explained to Sully that he wanted Maggie to meet his parents because they were pretty wacky. He didn’t want to terrify Sully so he described his father as unstable and his mother as nutty but loving. He could’ve said schizophrenic, but he hadn’t.
When Cal was out of earshot Sully spoke to Maggie. “Be nice to his wacky parents and don’t screw this up.”
“Oh, very nice, Sully!” she said.
“You know what I mean. I like him and he fits in and I don’t know that I’ve ever been around a man who treats you better, including one husband and one steady boyfriend.”
“Oh my God,” Maggie said. “I had more than one boyfriend! And I was engaged in med school for three weeks.”
“You were engaged?” Sully asked.
“It wasn’t worth mentioning,” she said. “I didn’t want to be engaged, but... Never mind, it doesn’t count. But I’ve had boyfriends.”