Page 34 of Shadowed Rubies
Boston was a lively and fun city, but it wasn’t like I had friends or family there. I’d never even spoken to my neighbors that shared the townhouse, which housed my studio apartment. It saddened me to realize that I hadn’t forged any real relationships with neighbors, co-workers, or even patients during my busy years in the city.
A mental image of my mother’s tiny medical practice flashed into my mind then. I’d filled in for her for a few days while she shopped for a recreational vehicle to take on her big camping adventure next year with Mimi and her friends.
There was something to be said for knowing your patients and their families. Growing up, it had driven me crazy that everyone in town knew everyone else’s business and talked about it ad nauseum, but now that I was older, I could see the benefit of having a close-knit community that knew my history and truly cared about my well-being.
I was just a badge and a number with a white coat and stethoscope at Boston General. Here, my mother was the trusted and beloved town doctor. She treated people their whole lives. Some of the families in town had four generations that my mother had cared for.
Mr. Hayes, the proprietor of Hayes Farm Stand, had stopped by for his check-up while my mother was gone last week. He’d furrowed his bushy, white eyebrows in my direction when he asked where my mother was. When I’d briskly informed him that she was gone for a few days and that I’d be taking care of him, he’d stood to leave in a huff.
It was then that I’d realized the people in town needed a softer touch. My mother didn’t practice assembly-line medicine. She got to know and truly care for her patients.
When I asked Mr. Hayes how the blueberry crop had been this year, he paused and slowly turned around, before jumping into a long explanation about soil acidic levels, temperatures, and fertilizers. While he spoke, I ushered him back up onto the examination table. I asked just enough questions to keep him talking as I performed his exam, and I truly listened to his answers.
He seemed to sense the significant shift in my attitude. When he hopped up from the exam table like a man forty years his junior, he angled a steady gaze at me before weighing in with his opinion. “If you become the new town doctor when your mama retires… well, I reckon I’d be alright with that.”
It was high praise coming from the old codger. I smiled and nodded to thank him, even as I wondered when my mother was planning to retire. She’d never mentioned anything to me about it.
On his way out of the office, Mr. Hayes had promised to bring me a pint of fresh blueberries this summer. The memory made me smile, until I realized that I was on my way out of town. I wouldn’t be there to get my blueberries; to follow-up on our former kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Thatcher’s, appointments after her stroke; or to watch my sweet, little nephew grow up.
Without even realizing it, I had stopped my car just inside the town line. When Max walked up to the driver’s side of my vehicle and tapped on the window, I rolled it down.
“Everything okay?” He asked amiably.
“We’re going to miss it all…” I practically wailed as the tears started flowing freely down my cheeks.
Max leaned into the car to awkwardly try to comfort me. “What are we going to miss, sweetheart?”
I attempted to speak through my tears, but I was probably barely understandable. “Jaxson growing up, Mrs. Thatcher’s follow-up appointments, and next year’s blueberrrrr-ies.”
Max looked distraught as he tried to figure out what was wrong with me and how he could help. With a perplexed expression, he asked, “Do you want me to go get you some blueberries?”
I knew he was only offering in an attempt to help, but he was totally missing my point. I shook my head vehemently back and forth.
“What do you want, baby? I’ll do anything I can to make you happy.” He offered, looking desperate to stop my tears.
Snuffling and swiping at my face in an attempt to gain enough control to speak so he could understand me, I blinked up at him and said, “I don’t want to leave. I want to stay here in Brunswick Bay Harbor with you.”
He stared at me for a long moment as if trying to fully comprehend my about-face. “But your job?”
Even though it wasn’t a full question, I knew what he meant. Shrugging my shoulders, I said, “I don’t have all the answers, but we’ll figure it out… together.”
When he continued to stare at me, looking stunned, I began to wonder if maybe he was disappointed to not be going to Boston. I had assumed he was picking up his life and relocating just for me, but maybe he had wanted to move down there.
That fear was immediately alleviated when his eyes widened and he asked excitedly, “Really?”
At my confirming nod, he opened my car door and pulled me to him. I leaped into his arms and he twirled me around with a happy, “Whoop!”
38
Max
Christmas was nothing short of miraculous. I think having almost left Brunswick Bay Harbor made me appreciate its small-town charm even more than I usually would. Nearly everyone in town gathered to drink hot cocoa and sing carols as the large balsam fir tree in the center of the town square was lit with twinkling white lights.
When Dani began belting out an off-key version of “Silent Night,” Molly angled a glare in her direction and told her not to quit her day job. While it might seem to an outsider like that wasn’t a good sign, I knew that dig meant that she had accepted Dani into the folds of our family, and I couldn’t be happier about it.
Rather than being offended by Molly’s not-so-gentle ribbing, Dani began singing at the top of her lungs.God, I loved that woman.
We opened presents with both of our families on Christmas Eve because I had generously agreed to cover Christmas Day at the station. Since I’d had Thanksgiving off, I didn’t want to push my luck. Besides, when Dani and I started having babies, I would insist on having every holiday off to enjoy each special moment with them.
