Page 87 of Finding Mercy

She gasps, “Ten?”

“Yes, ten,” I respond flatly.

Reaching over, she places the egg back in the carton and wraps her arms around my neck.

“Good girl.”

I kiss her far quicker than I like because Ivy is standing next to us watching.

“I love you. Have a good day.”

“I love you too,” she breathes.

Reluctantly, I pull away and head for the door to go to work when really, I just want to fall back into bed with my girl.

I open the door to my Escalade and spot a CD sitting on my seat with a note stuck to it.

“Wedding songs,” the note reads.

I smile as I get into my car and put the CD in to listen on my drive.

I never saw marriage in my cards. I didn’t have anything against it, and I just knew it wasn’t for me. Or I thought it wasn’t for me. That was before Mercy, however. I can’t imagine not marrying her. Not long now, and she’ll be my wife. I’m probably the only man this excited about a wedding. But it’s not the wedding I’m looking forward to, it's the mere fact that she’ll be mine, permanently.

I listen to my girl's CD as I drive down the highway. I smile to myself as I pull into my parking spot.

I remember the first time we came to the hospital together when she met Ivy for the first time. I never imagined this was where we would end up when I tried so hard not to touch her. If I’m honest with myself, something about her grabbed onto me in the bar and wouldn’t let go. When I found her naked in my bathroom, I was done. It didn’t matter how hard I fought, eventually, I’d lose the fight, and I did. Right now, I’m grateful for her persistence. I can’t imagine my life without her.

I head into the hospital to start my rounds.

My first patient is little Michael with heart issues. I read his chart before heading in to see what the pediatric cardiologist had to say.

I sigh as I walk into his room. It’s not great news.

“Michael, buddy. How are you feeling?”

“Sick,” he responds.

I sit beside his bed as I smile at his mother.

“Have you been throwing up?”

His mom gets up and hands me a paper.

I look down at it and smile as I realize this is a record of this kid's vomit. She’s keeping track of it.

“This is helpful, thank you.”

Man, this kid has been vomiting nearly around the clock.

“Do the nurses know?” I ask his mom.

She shakes her head, “No. Not to the extent that he has been.”

“Okay, next time let them know. They could call me, and I could prescribe something different which I will now.”

I glance at Michael, “I’m going to get you some medicine for your belly. We already had you on something for a sick stomach. This will work better but it might make you sleepy.”

Again, I look to his mom, “A nurse will be coming by every three hours today to ask how frequently he’s vomiting. They will do that until we get this under control. Of course, the nausea is expected, however, this is more than we expect. I want the weight loss kept to a minimum. Have them call me if you need anything.”

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