Page 45 of Just One Kiss

Carly straightened. Dr. Errol Roby was the hospital’s chief of surgery. He’d been a general surgeon for years—so many years the nurses had a pool going on to predict when the man might retire.

“Implantable? Like surgery?” Josh’s gaze stayed on the doctor. He was asking the questions Carly should be asking. Where was her head?

As Dr. Willette opened the exam room door, she glanced at Jaden, whose face had turned pale, and her mind spun with memories of her little boy running around the house in a diaper, dragging behind that raggedy old teddy bear Josh had given him on the day he was born.

How had they gotten here? So much brokenness mixed with so much beauty to create the moments that were their lives.

They weren’t the family she’d always dreamed of having, but theywerea family, and whether she’d ever admit it aloud or not, she was thankful Josh was here now.

Dr. Roby walked in with a robust smile, as if he were a clown at a birthday party, set to entertain. “Good morning, folks.”

Nobody responded. Even Carly couldn’t muster a hello.

“Carly, I understand you’re one of our pediatric nurses,” he said. “I hate that we’re meeting under these circumstances, but we’re going to take very good care of your boy.”

“Thank you,” Carly said.

“Jaden, I’m the chief of surgery here at the hospital,” Dr. Roby said.

“So, it is surgery?” Josh asked.

Dr. Roby explained that implanting the device was a simple and fairly routine procedure. He concluded with, “Surgery will take somewhere around two hours.”

“Then what?” Jaden asked.

“You’ll be in the hospital overnight, and then we’ll send you home where you can recover. I’d expect that to be another few days, maybe a week.”

“But when could I ski again?”

Dr. Willette’s eyes darted to Carly’s. Dr. Roby’s stayed on Jaden. His face softened.

“I don’t advise that you continue skiing, son.”

“What?” Jaden looked at Carly, then at Josh, as if searching for some support she didn’t know how to give.

“Dr. Roby, our son is a skier,” Josh said. “It’s the most important thing in his life.”

God, are you really this cruel?

Dr. Roby’s expression changed. “I understand this is difficult, but with Long QT and your ICD—that’s your implanted device—it’s a big risk. We want to lower the risk of malfunction—we all want what’s best for Jaden.”

“Right,” Josh said. “But what’s best for him is to be able to continue skiing.”

Tears pooled at the bottom of Jaden’s eyes.

“I know it’s hard,” Dr. Roby said, though Carly was beginning to suspect the man didn’t know. How could he be this calm if he actually understood? “But it’s Jaden’s health we’re most concerned about.”

“How many of these devices have you implanted?” Josh asked.

Dr. Roby’s smile condescended. The man was notorious for his ego, and he did not like to be questioned. Carly willed Josh to stop pushing—she had to work in this hospital. She had a promotion on the line.

But at the same time, she was actually grateful he was asking questions, even if they made the chief of surgery squirm.

“I can attest to Dr. Roby’s competence,” David said. “You’re in great hands.”

Could those great hands change the outcome of these tests? Could those great hands make this all go away so Jaden could get back to doing what he loved?

“It’s a lot to take in, but all things considered, Jaden, you are very lucky. I don’t want to think about what could’ve happened if we hadn’t discovered your disease.” Dr. Roby met Carly’s eyes. “Do you have any questions?”

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