Page 41 of At Last

12.

Caitlin

My biker bodyguard drives us to Jade’s preschool where he opts to stay in the car and wait because some screamo song he likes, by some artist I’ll never listen to and therefore, never remember the name of, comes on the satellite radio station he’d picked.

If he thinks I’m listening to that all day, he’s got another thing coming.

Per her usual, Jade beats me inside the building but stops at the check-in desk.

“Hi Miss Jenny.” I hear my daughter greet her.

“Jade, sweetie, you’re back. How are you feeling?” Miss Jenny asks.

“Good. Duke’s gonna pick me up by six.”

That’s when I reach them, and Jenny greets me. “Hey Dr. Brennan, Duke?” Then she cuts Jade a curious glance. “Just a moment,” I say. Holding my finger up. “Jade, go put your stuff in your cubby, baby. Then come back and give me a hug.” My daughter runs off to do as I asked.

“Duke?” Miss Jenny asks a second time.

“Yes, where do I sign him up?”

She walks to a file cabinet next to the check-in desk and rifles through the second drawer until she finds a paper in a file folder and hands it to me to fill out. I take one of the pens from the pen can sitting on the desk, bend over to place the form on the desktop for a solid place to write, and begin to scribble down my answers, careful to use my best penmanship because doctors have notoriously bad penmanship.

As I write, I explain the situation to Jenny. “His name is Duke Ellis,” I tell her as I write it out. Address. Phone number. Driver’s license. All things I had Duke give to me before I left. He knows he has to present it when he comes to pick her up. It’s policy. “Of Ellis Auto & Towing.” I finish. “We’re seeing each other. It’s sort of serious.”

“Really?Serious, huh?” Jenny asks.

“Well, I’m letting him pick up my daughter, and we’re staying with him while we have some work done on our house.”

“Wow.” Jenny’s excitement makes me excited. Wow is right. “Good for you.” Good for me is right.

“Thanks.” I smile at her.

“We’re getting a new girl, so you know. Come in one day this week to meet her. She’s training afternoons because Em’s going on maternity leave soon.”

“Sounds good.” I agree as Jade skids to a stop, hugging but pushing me toward the exit at the same time.

“Go Mama, if you don’t go, Duke won’t pick me up.”

“I guess she likes him, too.” Jenny chuckles as I move away from her.

“He calls her Peaches,” I give as my answer. Which any woman who knows anything about single mothers knows what it means when a man gives her child a special nickname. Miss Jenny not only knows about single mothers, she is one. A good one.

The glass door swings shut behind me, and I scurry to the truck. Jesse starts it while I climb in. “I have to stop by the office so I can pick up my box of toys and my files, so I know who we’re visiting today.”

He shifts into drive and turns out of the parking lot. Five minutes after we turn into the parking lot of mine. Well, mine—I’m in family medicine—A pediatrician, and a chiropractor. All of our offices are in a strip not too far from the center of town.

Once again, he waits while I go in to meet Shirley, my office manager who’s been keeping me from hitting a paperwork backup the time I’ve been off. She and my RN, Carol, who has been funneling appointments and transferring priority cases to the other guy, have kept this place afloat. My staff is amazing.

“Dr. Brennan? Glad your back,” Shirley greets me. “How’s our girl?”

“Better. Much better. I’m going to be out all day today, tomorrow and probably Wednesday, making house calls. You can start making office appointments for Thursday.”

Then I walk to my personal office in the back of the office and pass Carol along the way. “Hey, Carol. Who did we send to Dr. Dimwit?” I stop her.

She laughs. “Willow’s mom called about strep. Mrs. Grady, Tom Heinlein and Grace Stanley all needed to be seen. I can get you the complete list.”

“Okay, have it here by Thursday. I’m going to be out.”

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