Page 16 of Sinful in Scrubs

“How did you know there was somebody new at work?” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

“Oh, really?” She turned to me with wide eyes. “Is he the kind of man who would take care of you?”

I didn’t know much about Marcus Walker. What I did know was that he made my body tingle just by being in the room. His comfort had been calm and soothing the other day.

“Maybe,” I said, not wanting to admit that I didn’t want my grandmother to hire a matchmaker to set me up with somebody who wasn’t him.

8

MARCUS

“Dad,” Jason whined with a huff. “I can’t believe you’re making me do this.”

He dropped his heavy backpack into the chair in my small office.

“What am I supposed to do with you? Jason, you’ve been tormenting your sister. You broke the PlayStation in a fit to get back at her, and now I get an email from your teacher telling me that you aren’t turning in your homework. It’s not like you. Not like you, Son.”

He shrugged and slapped his arms up at the elbows before sitting heavily in the empty chair across from my desk.

“Why are you making me come here after school?”

“Because here after school, I can check on you to make sure you are doing your homework. I don’t know how to make you and your sister get along.”

“Mom never punished me like this.”

I let out a weary sigh. “She knew what she was doing.” My wife had been special. Her children adored her. I adored her. “I’m Mom until I can figure something else out. I want you to come to the hospital after school and do your homework.”

“Do I have to stay all day? Do I have to do this tomorrow too?”

“Maybe once you prove to me and your teacher that you can get your homework done and get your grades back up, you can go home after school. But until then, you come here, you sit in this office, and you get your homework done.”

“You’re being unfair.”

“Life isn’t fair, Jason. And I’m trying to instill a sense of ownership on the tasks that are assigned to you.”

I reached into my desk drawer, pulled out my wallet, and removed a couple of bills, slamming them on the desk in front of him.

“There are vending machines down the hall. You can get snacks. I’ll be back to check on you.”

“Are you just going to leave me? Are you doing rounds? How long have I got?”

“It’s not going to be hours. I’m just going to go check in at the emergency department, see if they need me. If they need me for anything, I’ll be back in an hour, maybe an hour and a half. I expect you to show me completed homework when I get back.”

I left him bemoaning his plight, how incredibly unfair I was expecting him to complete his assignments. I ran my hand through my hair as I headed down to the emergency and trauma department.

I didn’t get that kid. I didn’t get either of my kids, actually. But Jason was so sweet. He had been such a kind boy, eager to earn good grades and show off the notes of encouragement from his teachers. Even after Blair’s passing, when Lily grew more morose, Jason seemed to be… reassuring. He wanted praise and approval more so than before. This sullen, moody, full of attitude… it was new, and I didn’t like the direction he was headed. I didn’t want to call my son a jerk, but if he kept this up, he was going to turn into one.

I stopped at the nurse’s station to check in with the charge nurse.

“We just had a patient come in presenting with abdominal pain,” the nurse said as she handed me a chart when I asked her how things were.

I flipped it open and reviewed the notes.

The patient was an overweight, middle-aged woman presenting with sharp pain in the right midline, and her shoulder hurt.

“Have you sent her for an ultrasound on that gallbladder?” I asked.

“No one’s had a chance. No one other than triage has had a chance to look at her yet.”

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