Page 24 of Irresistible Second Chance

“And you’re telling me this now?!”

“The deal R&K made with Fausto’s company is independent of her. I made her an offer, but I guess she’s second guessing herself.”

I was pissed that he would keep something this big from me. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this sooner.”

“It was a need-to-know basis.”

“You’re right!” I yelled losing my patience. “And I needed to know!”

“We’ll talk about this when you’re ready to be reasonable.”

I flinched, “Just because you don’t like what I have to say doesn’t mean that I’m being unreasonable.”

He ignored me, “Maybe it doesn’t. But I don’t have to stand here and listen to it. Come find me when you’re ready to talk…and I mean , really talk.”

Chapter 7

I wasn’t ready to admit that I had a problem. But I did. A big one. I sighed and stared at the doctor. She looked back at me. I felt like we were in a staring contest.

“So?”

“It’s healing, but I think to be on the safe side, maybe a few weeks more would be best.”

“No.”

“Excuse me?”

“Take the cast off now. I’m done waiting.” I said the same thing to one of the other doctors in the practice a few weeks ago.

“But you’re not completely healed.”

I stared her down, “I’ll take my chances.”

“Mrs. Townsend---”

“It’s Tucker now. Sydney Tucker,” It was funny that my name sounded foreign to my own ears. For two years, I had been Sydney Townsend and now I was just back to being…well, me. I felt lost. Ignoring my existential crisis that I’m sure my doctor did not care about, I said, “I’m back to using my maiden name. I’m divorced.”

It was the first time I said those words out loud. My lawyer had said the divorce had been the fastest one he’d witnessed in the state. I guess Mark had been in a rush to get rid of me. He’d succeeded. I felt a migraine starting to form and stood up, reaching for my crutches.

“Where are you going?”

“Urgent care.”

“But you’re in a doctor’s office,” she said giving me a look as if she wasn’t sure whether she should call the psychiatric unit or not. I didn’t blame her. I thought I was crazy too.

“If you won’t take the cast off, then I’ll find someone who will.”

I didn’t know why I was making such a fuss about the cast. Actually, I knew exactly why. I think a therapist would call it displacement, not that I ever went to therapy. Frankly, I felt therapy was for other people. You know, the kind who actually could pinpoint their problems. I couldn’t…I had too many.

“Fine.”

She turned to find the other nurses, and I suddenly felt defeated and silly. What was I doing? Removing the cast wouldn’t remove my problems. I stood up, grabbed my crutches and said, “Never mind, doc, you’re right,” And then feeling guilty for giving her a hard time, I said, “And I hope you don’t think I give you a hard time because you’re a woman. I swear it’s not personal. I’m a cranky person in general and can be a bit of jerk too, so it’s not personal at all.”

She laughed, “I’ll see you later, Ms. Townsend, oops, I mean Tucker. Tucker suits you better anyway.”

And with that, she turned and left.

I took my time getting to the elevator. My thoughts were morose. The cast was the least of my problems. My dad’s birthday was today, and I had somehow ended up agreeing to host it at my place. I’m still not sure how that happened. Gratefully, Starr was coming by to help me get everything ready while the girls entertained dad until the party started. I know Starr had mentioned how many people she was expecting, but I hadn’t been listening. I’d been in a funk lately and not just because of my divorce. Truth be told, I missed Chris, but I was too proud to call him.

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