Page 112 of The Blessings of Christmas
“Victoria, you’re gorgeous. But a doctor can’t hit on pretty women who come into his urgent care center. I mean, even if he wanted to.”
“You think?” Was this the light at the end of the tunnel? “He has a clinic somewhere.”
Sipping her sweet tea, Bryn appeared to be thinking. “I read about that in theSweetwater Gazette. A vacant storefront over near Amblebury. It's for folks who don’t have health insurance. Gosh, wouldn’t that be terrible?”
“Absolutely. I don’t go to the doctor that often. But I wonder what a trip to an urgent care center would cost.”
“Tons,” Bryn said with no hesitation. “Trevor put me on his policy after we got married. I was so relieved. Insurance sure cost a bunch when I took it out independently.”
Victoria swirled her tea with the straw. “Guess I’m still on Daddy’s plan.”
“You’re so lucky.”
“Guess so.” Her mind circled back to the clinic.
“So, are you going to drive over to Amblebury?” Bryn batted her eyes innocently. “See what’s happening?”
But Victoria shook her head. “No way. What would I say?”
“Pretend you’re a reporter. Interview him for a follow-up article.”
The thought left her paralyzed. “Are you kidding? I’ve never written more than a grocery list.”
“Of course I’m not kidding.” Bryn gave an impatient shake of her head. “Sometimes you have to step outside your comfort zone, like I did. Malcolm told me to take a chance on something. That was right before we broke up. So I did. I took a chance on Trevor. Even called him when I had no clue what I should say.”
“You told me about that.” Victoria’s mind spun, a plan forming in her head. TheSweetwater Gazettedid use a ton of stringers. She’s always gotten A’s on any papers she did get around to turning in but never considered herself a writer. But she pulled her mind away from crazy schemes. Their conversation quickly zoned in on Bryn’s perfect life and Emily’s pregnancy.
Jealous much? A lot. But Victoria was happy for her friends.
After Bryn left with her box of cookies, Victoria scurried into the back room. While “O, Tannebaum” played over the sound system, she sat at her desk and plotted. Picking up her landline, she made a quick call to the urgent care center, holding her nose to disguise her voice. “Hello, is Dr. Darling on duty this morning?”
“No, he worked last night.” Thankfully, the woman did not sound familiar. “He might be over at the clinic. Can I take a message?”
“Oh, no. That's all right.”
Smiling wickedly, Victoria did a quick online search for nearby clinics. Eventually she came to “The Open Hearth Clinic.” The name made her feel cozy all over. She clicked andvoila, there was Dr. Darling. No white coat. Just a smile, surrounded by a few other people. Bryn had it right. The clinic was in Amblebury.
She couldn’t help noticing a lot of other articles about the mines closing. Daddy had mentioned that. The loss of jobs had hit their economy hard. The small towns were trying to come up with some answers for their unemployment problem.
Popping a steno pad and pen into her tote, she stopped into the rest room. After refreshing her lipstick, she smoothed the tangled blonde hair that flowed past her shoulders. Today she was wearing her black jeans with the red boots. She’d pinned a piece of holly on her short red jacket.
Before she left, she peeked into the shop. “I’ll be back in an hour or so,” she tossed out. Busy with customers, Maisy waved her away.
Victoria slid out the back door and took a deep breath. Although it was December, the weather was mild in the Carolinas. She loved that about the southern states and would never live anywhere else. Although the leaves had fluttered down from the liveoaks, moss still hung from the branches. The towering magnolia tree in back was a beautiful dark green.
With one click, she unlocked her car. She wished Daddy would build her a garage back here, but he’d said that it would take up too much room. “You have to think of other people, like your customers. Make the best use of that space.”
So okay, she’d felt like an idiot. Getting into her car, Victoria was tempted to put the top down but her hair would be a mess by the time she got to Amblebury. Not today. When she switched on the radio, José Feliciano was singing “Feliz Navidad” and she pumped it up. As she drove through town, she sang along, humming when she forgot the words.
What a great day. She felt so good about how the shop was shaping up. And she had Palm Beach to look forward to. Since Dr. Darling was a long shot, she might meet the next love of her life over the holiday break. Mama had mentioned that Spencer Hutchinson might be there, on break from law school. In high school, she’d had a huge crush on Spencer, who was three years older.
Amblebury was located off the main highway. Before too long, she was headed down smaller roads that passed cotton fields, some tufts of white left in the flat fields. Once she got close to town, she tapped the brakes and followed the signs to Main Street. The small town didn’t have a square like Sweetwater Creek. On Main Street, shops with names she didn’t recognize faced each other. Wreaths hung from light posts, their bright red ribbons fluttering in the breeze. But there weren’t many people shopping. Barrels with toiletries and Christmas decorations had been rolled out in front of their General Store.
But the end of the street was a completely different story. The Open Hearth Clinic was easy to spot. Men and women sat in mismatched rocking chairs, coffee mugs in hand. Little girls played hopscotch on the sidewalk, while boys tossed a ball. They looked happy. Beat-up pickup trucks sat in an adjoining lot, along with a jeep that looked familiar. Hadn’t she seen this parked at the urgent care center? Her hopes lifted.
Feeling totally conspicuous in her red car, Victoria drove about a block past the clinic and parked.Step outside yourcomfort zone. Well, Bryn, this sure felt uncomfortable. Her stomach clenched.
Pushing open the car door, Victoria realized that this flashy red car had become her comfort zone. In it, she was Victoria Pomeroy, the girl who had everything.
