Page 42 of At Last

“House calls?” She asks.

On a firm head nod, we part. I gather my roller cart of toys and pile my folders on top, then wheel the whole thing out to the truck. Jesse gets out to heft the cart into the truck bed, the files come up front with me.

Then we take off to visit my first patient.

***

After visitnumber four, which means five hours later—there’s a lot of drive time with house calls—we stop for lunch, grabbing a couple of messy Everything burgers from the Whippy Dip and a couple orders of onion rings, which we eat in transit.

My phone rings. I pull it and answer. Elise. I assume she’s calling to find out how my first day back is fairing. “Hey lady. What’s up?”

“He followed me into the bathroom.” She speaks low into the phone.

I shift mine on my ear to keep Jesse from hearing. “What? Who?”

“Houdini,” she says. Well more like hisses. I know it’s her fear talking.

“Are you sure?” I ask.

“Yes. I’m with Blue at the grocery store. Gun needed a change, so we walked to the women’s. Blue stood right outside the door. I don’t understand. I don’t know how—”

“Calm down, sweetie. Are you safe now?”

“I think so. I set the diaper bag on the pulldown changer. Then Gun and I popped into a stall to grab some toilet paper. I like to wipe those changers down with toilet paper before I use the wipes. I didn’t hear anyone come in. But in that couple of seconds,he came in. There’s a silver baby rattle sitting on the diaper bag. A piece of torn paper says H. That’s all it says, just H.”

“Elise, listen to me. You need to tell Blue and then you need to call your husband.”

“I will,” she replies. But the ways she says it, I don’t know that I believe her.

“I’m serious. You don’t, I will.”

“You can’t, you promised.” She’s right. I did. Though, I promised when she onlythoughthe was watching. The situation has escalated. Still…

“I’ll give you time to tell him. But not much. I’m scared for you, Elise.”

We ring off. I shove my phone back inside my jacket pocket. Then I turn to Jesse. “I promised Elise I wouldn’t say anything. But since you overheard my side of the conversation, maybe you should call Duke.”

Jesse nods, then fishes his phone. A second later I’m in the clear. “Prez,” he says, and I can breathe again.

***

Five hours after lunch, we pass through the gate of the compound, and Jesse parks the truck.

“No offense, but glad the day’s over. That kind of sucked.”

“It wouldn’t suck if you were inside helping patients. But yes, I’m sure it sucked sitting out in the truck waiting on me all day.”

“That, and not knowing what the hell is going on with Houdini. Tell Duke to call me, but I’m heading inside for a beer and maybe a blowjob.”

“Wow, TMI Jesse.” I laugh while I watch him walk toward the clubhouse. Houdini found my friend in a grocery store, yet I still find something to laugh about. I guess that’s life.

Then I head inside the house through the utility room. Duke and Jade sit on the sofa together, well, she sits on his lap as they watch a movie. I set my purse and the files on the island, then bend to slip my shoes off my feet, stand straight, remove my lab coat to toss into a bin in the laundry and rub a kink in the back of my neck.

“Hey Doc.” Duke stands, sets Jade down and walks over to me. “You look tired. Have a seat.” He makes no mention of the Jesse call.

“Jade needs to go to bed.”

“I’ll get her down. You sit your ass on the sofa and put your feet up.”

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