Page 24 of Endurance
I walk over to Sedg and give him a pleading look. “Sedgwick, it would mean a lot to me if you would take advantage of some of the luxuries this hotel has to offer. It’s why I brought you here specifically. Get yourself some new clothes, whatever you’d like. You really helped me out last night and I want to do this for ya.”
He looks uncomfortable. “It’s not that simple, Tanner.”
“Well, let’s make it simple.”
“Oh! There’s a marathon of Downton Abbey on right now!” Belle crows, interrupting our discussion again.
I look over to see she’s kicked off her heels and pulled back the blankets on the bed to tuck her feet under the covers.
“Have you seen this show, Sedg?”
“I can’t say I have,” he says and moseys over to stare at the large telly. “I do like the odd historical documentary from time to time, though.”
“This is basically the same thing,” Belle says, popping one of the pillow mints in her mouth like she owns the joint. “Come. Sit. You’ll love it.”
I can’t believe my eyes as I watch Sedgwick and Belle sidle up next to each other and watch the show. She mindlessly hands him one of the pillow mints and he takes it without a word. I drop down on the desk chair feeling a bit in the way and a lot out of sorts.
Later, there’s a knock on the door.
“Can you get that, Tan?” Belle asks, barely looking at me as she shortens my name like she’s a member of my family or something.
I shake my head and do as I’m told, opening the door to a hotel staff member with a rolling cart. It looks like Belle ordered enough food to feed a small family. I generously tip the man and bring the cart in. “Anywhere in particular, miss?”
She looks up at me and smiles, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “That looks like a good spot. You want to grab us some drinks, too, while you’re up?”
I look at Sedgwick, whose eyes are still glued to the telly. I walk over and grab three fizzy drinks and set them on the cart. Belle gets up and comes over to me, pulling off all the tray lids and smiling like the cat that got the cream.
“How can you be hungry?” I ask her softly. “I’m not judging. I’m just incredibly impressed.”
“I’m not.” She smiles widely at me and then her face suddenly falls. “Oh, Tanner, I’m not feeling well.” She rubs her forehead and places a hand on my chest for support. “I feel a bit queasy and faint.”
Sedgwick peels his eyes from the show and looks over at us with concern. “Are you all right, love? Maybe you need to eat something.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t think that’s it. My roommate came down with a sore throat a couple of days ago. I wonder if I’m getting that.” She winks at me and I finally get the clue.
“Oh yeah, Indie was telling me how awful she felt.” I nod with sympathy. “I better get you home.”
She begins walking toward the door and casually calls over her shoulder, “Sedg, can you eat some of that food? It’d be a shame for it to go to waste.”
He stands up from the bed, glancing down at the food. I swear I see him inhale deeply, relishing in the scent of greasy room service.
“I’m sure I can manage, love. You just take care.”
I nod at him and move to help Belle out the door. “I’ll stop by tomorrow and let you know how she’s doing.”
“That’d be nice, Tanner. Take good care of her. A nice steamy shower is good for a sore throat.”
“You hear that, Belle? I get to give you a shower.” I smile and give her waist a cheeky squeeze. She rolls her eyes and shoots me a secretive glare that goes unseen by Sedgwick.
When the door closes behind us, I can’t help myself. I lean down and kiss Belle on the cheek. “You’re a goddess.”
She smiles back. “I know.”
FOETAL SURGERY.IT’S NOT EVENa specific specialty you can focus on in med school or during your residency. Rather, it’s something you come into after mastering obstetrics and paediatrics. There are few doctors who are skilled enough to operate in-utero, so the ones who are doing it are extremely busy, highly coveted, and geniuses in their own right. But the medical industry not only needs them to save these tiny babies that have yet to leave their mothers’ wombs, they also need them to pass on their skills. Their knowledge. And not only in medical publications and research, but through hands-on, surgical training. They have to pass on their legacy.
So, to be twenty-seven and shadowing none other than Dr. Elizabeth Miller—who has more abbreviations in her title than I thought possible—is the stuff professional dreams are made of. I thought for sure I’d be booted out of the fellowship programme after week one. Now, here I am, two months in and still treading water.
Dressed in a pair of green scrubs, I stride into Dr. Miller’s office, steeling myself to be calm, cool, and collected despite my imminent fear that she’s asked me to come in here to discuss the events of the past two days. The photos that surfaced of me throwing my wine in Tanner’s face last night were not ideal. No one got an action shot of the actual toss, thank God, but the images of us arguing were quite mortifying. Thankfully, the alley was too noisy for the videos to capture any credible audio of our fight, or I’d be a lot more scared than I am now. The only saving grace were the ones of us kissing. We looked quite…passionate.
