Then He Kissed Me (6 page)

“H
ey, Mr. Handy,
how are you today?” Janie, Doc Morrison’s receptionist cheerfully asked, then she noticed the towel wrapped around his hand and frowned. “Oh no, did you have an accident?”

“Cut my hand trying to open a window,” said Daddy with such a straight face that Lauren was actually beginning to believe it herself. Could Momma and Felicia have misread the situation? Lauren thought about it a moment. Momma, yes. But Felicia? No. Lauren tried to keep her face neutral, but inside it was all she could do to keep from crying.

“Yikes!” Janie handed Daddy a clipboard with some paperwork to fill out. Momma intercepted the clipboard, and her parents took a seat in the crowded waiting room. Janie motioned to Lauren for a private word. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of your Daddy, but Doc Morrison is out sick today. He can see Dr. Miller, if that’s okay.”

“Dr. Miller? Oh, no, I’m afraid that’s not possible. My father only sees Dr. Morrison.”

“Well, if it can wait till tomorrow, then I’m sure we can work him in first thing in the morning,” Janie said. “Or he could see Ellen? But she’s backed up for at least the next hour. Dr. Miller’s available now.” Then she lowered her voice. “He’s kind of fast, if you know what I mean. Gets the patients in and out in record time.”

Obviously, it couldn’t wait till morning. Lauren had seen Ellen, the nurse practitioner a few times herself, and she’d given Henry his last physical, but she’d never treated Daddy.

“Dr. Miller is perfectly capable of doing a stitch up,” Janie added helpfully.

“Oh, I’m sure he’s fine, it’s just the situation is a little…delicate, and you know Daddy doesn’t do so well with strangers lately.” There had been a time when Dan Handy could handle anything thrown at him, major crises included. Strangers were just someone who wasn’t your friend yet, he’d say. But now, strangers caused him anxiety. Not all the time, of course. But you never knew when something might set him off.

Janie made a sympathetic face. “I know, hon.” She glanced around the busy waiting room and lowered her voice, although anyone who wanted to hear, could have. “It’s Dr. Miller’s first day going solo, and you’re not the first person who’s been less than thrilled to find out Doc Morrison isn’t here.” Lauren tried to think of something to say in Nate’s defense, but Janie kept on going. “Poor guy. He got dumped this weekend. So whatever you do, just don’t mention
YouTube
to him.”

“YouTube? Why on earth would I mention that?” Lauren asked.

“Sorry, I can’t talk about it. That would be gossiping,” Janie said.

What
? That made absolutely no sense at all. Janie said he’d been dumped, which meant Jessica had gone through with her little plan to try to manipulate Nate into moving to Miami. Lauren found herself hoping that her plan wouldn’t work. Not just because it would mean that Whispering Bay would be losing a doctor, but she’d hate to see Nate end up with a witch like Jessica.

 Lauren took a seat. Momma filled out the paperwork, and after a short wait they were escorted back to an exam room. Bianca took Daddy’s vital signs and did a general assessment. Lauren and her parents knew everyone in Doc Morrison’s office, and everyone in the office knew them, too. As well as Daddy’s
situation,
as Momma called it. Lauren squirmed in her seat. Hopefully, Nate would be up to speed on that. Doc Morrison had a warm way about him that made you love him instantly. Lauren had always thought of him as a great big teddy bear. No matter how sick you were, he always managed to make you laugh. If Doc brought Nate in to take over his practice, then it must mean that he trusted him to take care of his patients in the same manner he’d always done.

The heat in the office was a little stifling, so Lauren slipped off her poncho. Momma picked up a magazine to read, and Daddy sat on the exam table fidgeting with the towel, wrapping it and rewrapping it around his hand. The motion reminded Lauren of something Henry would have done just a few years ago.

 After a couple of minutes, there was a knock on the door and Nate Miller walked in. He wore crisp dark dress pants and a light blue shirt with a paisley tie under his lab coat. Very GQ looking for Whispering Bay. Lauren wondered if he’d keep up the look without Jessica around to pick out his outfits.

Nate’s gaze stopped briefly on Lauren before settling on her parents.
Wait
, no nod today? “Mr. and Mrs. Handy? I’m Nate Miller.” He shook Momma’s hand.

“I’d shake your hand, young man, but as you can see I’ve had a little accident,” Daddy said.

“I see that, sir.” He glanced back at Lauren, cleared his throat, and…did the nod! But today he added, “Lauren,” by way of acknowledgement. Poor Nate. Lauren couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. As a witness to his proposal debacle, she was probably the last person on earth he wanted to see. Besides Jessica, that is.

“How can I help you today?” he asked Daddy.

Momma’s brow furrowed. “I don’t understand, we see Dr. Morrison.”

“Momma,” Lauren said, “Doc Morrison is out sick. Dr. Miller is his new partner.”

Nate sat down on a stool and opened his laptop, placed it on the desk, then made quick work of reading the screen. “You cut your hand trying to open a window?” he asked Daddy.

Daddy nodded. “Damn latch wouldn’t give way.”

Momma let out a huge sigh, like she was bursting to tell the real story. Lauren bit the inside of her cheek and tried not to squirm in her chair.

“Let me take a look at it,” Nate said. He put on a pair of gloves and unwrapped the towel from her father’s hand. His gaze quickly shot to Lauren’s, then back to Daddy again. Lauren felt an instant alarm. There was something in Nate’s gaze that implied the cut was worse than they’d originally thought. Should she have taken Daddy to the ER in Panama City, instead?

 Nate began to gently probe the skin around the cut. Daddy winced, but he didn’t make a peep. Lauren began to relax a little. Nate might be…verbally challenged, but he seemed competent enough. “This is going to require some stitches. I’ll numb it first with Xylocaine. You’re not allergic to anything, are you?”

“Just windows,” Daddy said.

Lauren waited for Nate to chuckle. But he didn’t. So she filled in the awkward gap with an even more awkward sounding attempt at laughter. Doc Morrison would have appreciated the little one liner. He would have also engaged Daddy in conversation—nothing big, but they would have talked about the weather or how the Jacquards were doing in the NFL this season. Anything that would have put Daddy at ease. But Nate Miller appeared to be all business. Lauren knew she shouldn’t compare both men, but it was hard not to.

Bianca walked into the exam room and handed Nate a disposable suture kit. “Would you like me to stay to help?” she asked him.

“Not necessary,” he said, already opening up the kit.

“All right,” she said uncertainly. “But if you need me, I’ll just be down the hall.” She smiled at Daddy, then closed the door.

Nate injected a needle into the skin around the cut, causing Daddy to flinch. “Sorry, should have warned you it would sting,” he said. He waited another minute or two and then began to methodically sew up the cut with neat, tiny stitches.

“Dr. Miller,” Momma said, “I’m sorry if we seemed a bit…taken aback by you initially, it’s just that Doc Morrison is the only physician we’ve ever used. Unless we needed a specialist, of course.”

Nate nodded, like he’d heard this before. Now that Daddy seemed to be cooperating, Momma began being Momma again. “How are you enjoying your new career?” she asked pleasantly.

There was silence for a few seconds, then Nate looked up from his sewing. “Are you talking to me?”

“Well, of course I am! You know, when we heard that Doc Morrison had hired a new physician to come work with him we were all skeptical. There had been those
other two
who, for whatever reason, just didn’t stick. Poor Doc,” Momma said. Then she lowered her voice to a near whisper. “I heard one of them got a big job in Dallas. How’s Doc supposed to compete with that? But he got smart this time and got himself a local boy.” Momma stopped, as if something had just occurred to her. She glanced between Lauren and Nate, and her eyes widened. “The two of you went to high school together! I knew that, of course, but I’d totally forgotten.” She reached over and lightly slapped Lauren on her knee. “Lauren! Where are your manners? You forgot to remind me that you and Nate are old friends!”

Nate stared at her mother as if she’d grown two heads.
Welcome to my world
. “Momma,” Lauren said, “Nate and I…um, we really didn’t hang out that much in high school.”

“Why not?” Momma patted her bobbed hair. “A handsome, smart, nice young man like you? I bet all the girls were crazy about you.”

Nate’s face colored.
Please stop talking
, Lauren prayed, but, of course, she didn’t.

“You know, Dr. Miller, my beautiful daughter here is single now.
And
she’s a successful businesswoman. Don’t break my heart and tell me you’re not available.”

“Momma!” Lauren stood and went to stand by Daddy. “I think Dr. Miller is all done here, right?” She gave Nate a beseeching look. He nodded, mumbled something under his breath, then scooped up the disposable suture tray.

Daddy flexed his hand, moving it from side to side. “Feels okay,” he said.

Nate went back to his computer screen and began typing. “Your tetanus shot is up to date, Mr. Handy, so we’re good there.” He searched the screen some more, then frowned. “It says here you’re on blood pressure medication, as well as—”

“His
special
vitamin,” Momma said. She winked at Nate. Thankfully, Daddy didn’t seem to notice.

His special vitamin
. Oh, lord. It was the term Momma used for Daddy’s Alzheimer drug, something that was supposed to lessen the symptoms of memory loss and confusion.

Nate cleared his throat. “Yes, well, I’m going to prescribe an antibiotic, just to be on the safe side.” He begin typing something into the screen. “Normally, I’d prescribe something for pain as well, but if you can handle the discomfort with something like Tylenol, that might be best. If it becomes a problem, then come back and see me and we can discuss it.”

“Sure,” Daddy said. “I’m not one to take too many pills.”

“Glad to hear that.” Nate stood. “Bianca’s going to put a dressing on those stitches. She’ll give you instructions about how to take care of them and when to come back to get those taken out.” He glanced between Momma and Lauren for a few seconds, as if he was trying to figure something out, then his gaze finally settled on Lauren. “May I speak to you for a moment? In private?”

Momma practically pushed Lauren out the door. “You two young people go off now and reminisce. I’ll just stay with your Daddy and listen to what the nurse has to say.”

*~*~*

N
ate led Lauren to
his office, a small but nicely decorated room with a big oak desk and a couple of comfy chairs. He sat behind the desk and motioned for her to be seated as well. She made herself comfortable and looked up at the wall where his diplomas were displayed. His medical school diploma was one of those big fancy affairs with Florida State University embellished on the top. Nathanial Richard Miller. Lauren didn’t think she’d ever heard his middle name before.

He opened up his laptop (did he always have that with him?) and studied the screen for a couple of minutes, then looked at her.

“You’re making me nervous here,” she joked.

He didn’t smile. But then, did Nate Miller ever smile? “Is your father being properly supervised at home?” he asked.

What
? “I don’t understand what you mean,” Lauren said.

“The wound your father sustained is suspiciously close enough to his wrist area that I have to wonder if perhaps this window accident, wasn’t an accident at all. I’ve read your father’s records. He was an accountant. Owned his own firm in Panama City. He was a very successful businessman and now he’s—”

“And now he’s retired,” Lauren snapped. “What are you trying to say?”

“Please don’t be offended, I’m only trying to do what’s in your father’s best interests. It must be difficult to go from being in total control of your life to having absolutely no control at all.”

“I—he’s managing. We all are.”

“He’s been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. According to our records your father has seen several specialists in Pensacola. You’re an intelligent woman. You have to know there’s no cure for this disease. So does he.”

“But there’s lots of research going on, and he hasn’t…progressed so badly that it couldn’t be reversed. I mean, every day you hear about someone who wasn’t expected to walk again and now they’re running marathons!”

“Agreed. Hope is a powerful thing to hold onto. But you also have to be realistic. I think your father needs to be on an anti-depressant. Maybe your mother does, too. Her reaction to the situation is a little odd, to be honest. Clearly, your father is still in the early stages. He should be included in his plan of care, not coddled like some child.”

Lauren stilled. They’d discussed anti-depressants before with Doc Morrison, and Lauren knew that eventually Daddy would need one. But he’d insisted he didn’t need “any more dang drugs.” And as for Momma?
Ha
! Good luck with anyone telling Momma what she needed. “Are you serious?”