Page 24 of Fourteen of a Kind

“That’s me.” A nervous smile crossed her lips.

“Dr. Malone, go up to the pediatric unit. I’ll call up there now and have Dr. Konis show you around. It’s on the fifth floor.”

“Thank you, Dr. Kind,” I said, standing up from my seat. I stared at Ella as I left the office, not saying a word. I couldn’t believe she lied to me.

Ella

“Sit, my dear niece.” My Uncle Christian pointed to the chair across from his desk. “Explain.”

“We met at the hospital when I was in New York—well, sort of. He stopped me from buying a tuna fish sandwich in the cafeteria. Then, I ran into him in Central Park. We recognized each other, so yeah.”

“You told him you were an art student from NYU? Why did you lie to him?”

“Because I never thought I’d see him again.”

“For the love of God. Please tell me you didn’t sleep with him.”

“No, Uncle Christian. He asked me to dinner, and I declined. Then, for breakfast the next morning, and I declined that too.”

“Why did you lie to him about who you were?”

I looked down, totally ashamed of what I’d done.

“Ella?”

“Because, for once, I just wanted to be Ella. Not the Dr. Ella Kind. Thank God I didn’t have dinner with him?”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because then I would have made up this totally false story about myself.”

“You already did that.” His brow arched.

“Telling him I was an art student at NYU was a little white lie. If we had dinner together, that little lie would have spun a web of even bigger lies. Oh my God. He must hate me now.”

“Ella, you can’t hide from who you are.”

“I know that, Uncle Christian. Ugh, now he’s here and is probably telling the entire hospital how I lied to him.”

“He’s been here ten minutes and doesn’t know anyone. He’s not telling people anything, sweetheart. When you get a chance, clear the air with him. He seems like a great guy and will understand.”

“I will.”

“Now, why did you want to see me?”

“I don’t remember now.” I stood from my seat. “I’ll catch you later, Uncle Christian.”

I walked out of his office and pushed the button to the elevator. I had to find Graham and explain to him why I lied. When the door opened, I stepped inside and leaned against the wall, blowing out a breath and hoping Dr. Malone wasn’t too mad at me.

I stepped onto the pediatric unit and saw him standing at the nurses’ station. As I approached, he looked at me.

“Can we talk?” I asked.

“So you can lie to me again?”

“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

“So just because you thought we wouldn’t see each other again, it’s okay to tell someone false information about yourself?”

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