Page 63 of Fall Into You
I press the button and speak. “Yes?” I ask.
“Dr. Parker is on line one. He says he needs to speak to you urgently,” she says.
“Shit,” I mutter under my breath. I press the button again and thank her.
I think I’m in trouble with him because I didn’t actually ask if it was okay for me to switch shifts with the other doctors in order to have the whole week of Christmas off. The general rule in the hospital is if you aren’t on-call for Thanksgiving, you cannot have Christmas off, and vice-versa. It’s a way to keep things fair for every doctor and make sure that we have some sort of work/life balance. Generally, he doesn’t police shift schedules since we’re adults and should be able to manage them on our own, but someone could have complained. I’m still new to the hospital. Maybe another doctor is having to work extra and is not happy about it?
I pick up the phone and hold it to my ear, clearing my throat. I just need to remember to stay strong and remind him that the doctors who switched with memade the choiceto do so, and I didn’t force their hand. Did I bribe them by promising to take at least one of their weekend shifts this January? Absolutely. But he doesn’t need to know that.
“Dr. Parker,” I say, trying to keep my cool. “How are you?”
“Ah, Dr. Wilson. How…how are things?” he asks, unsure. Something in his tone irks me—he sounds off.
“Um, great. Everything’s going great,” I say in my most confident voice. It’s not a lie, either. Workisgoing great. My practice has been growing, and I’m really enjoying working in this new hospital.
“So, you’re at the office now, right?” he asks, and now I know something is wrong, because fuckingduh,that’s where he called me.
“Yes?” I answer like I’m not sure, but of course I am. I’m seated at my mahogany desk, surrounded by stacks of paperwork that I’ve been neglecting for the last couple of weeks. I’ve been too focused on my relationship with Liza to want to stay late and finish, choosing instead to run home to her as soon as possible every single night.
“Right, right…” he says, followed by an awkward period of silence. I hear him cluck his tongue on the other line, a nervous tick he uses when debating a course of treatment with a patient that might end up going either way.
“Can I… Can I help you with something, sir?” I ask finally.
I hear him exhale deeply and then clear his throat. “Are you still, by any chance, dating that lovely girl I met at the hospital function? The one who also came to our department holiday party?” he asks quietly.
I furrow my brow in confusion. Why is he asking me this? Does he want to ask her out or something? I know he was super flirty with her both times he met her, but dude has a wife! This is really weird.
“Uh, yes.” I clear my throat. “I am, and it’s very serious,” I clarify, just in case he has any weird ideas.
She’s mine, buddy.
“Right, right.Good.” Silence again. This is the weirdest conversation I have ever had with my boss. Why the hell is he asking me about Liza?
“Is there a reason for your question, Dr. Parker?” I realize there’s an edge to my voice, but I can’t help it. He can’t really be interested in her, can he? This is ridiculous. Also, something about this conversation in general is giving me the creeps.
He sighs. “Dr. Wilson…do you happen to have the number for her, er, next of kin, perhaps?”
I sit up straight in alarm, cold water running through my veins. I know what he means by asking me that question.
“EXCUSE ME?”I choke out.
No, no, no, no.
He can’t tell me what’s happened to her because of HIPAA and because it’s a conflict of interest, but he’s just told me thatsomething’s happened to her, because why else would he ask me that?
“Dr. Wilson, I am currently at the hospital ER where I was doing a consult for one of my patients, and I happen to need your girlfriend’s next of kin contact information,” he says as calmly and professionally as possible, as if he were asking to borrow a pen. “Do you have it?”
“I—I don’t,” my voice is shaking. I’m torn between wanting to run out of this office and sprint the two blocks to the ER and staying on the phone so I can see what I can get him to tell me without necessarily breaking the law.
Fucking landlines.
“Actually, I do. I don’t have her mother’s number, but I have her brother’s. I can call him!” But then I remember that he’s not picking up my calls and almost lose it.
Parker clears his throat again. “Well, would you mind texting me the contact information? There is a nurse hereby bed elevenin section B of the ER who needs it.”
I fucking love Dr. Parker.
“Yes,” I say, getting up and pulling my cell and wallet from my desk drawer, making sure I also have my hospital badge with me—I’m gonna need it. “I’ll do it immediately, sir.” I hang up and rush out of the office, leaving my winter coat behind—there’s no time for that now. While I wait for the elevator, I text Vinny’s contact info to Dr. Parker.
