“I’d love that,” I said. I still felt a little anxious, not quite sure how to embrace this positive possibility in my world. Against all odds, I had faith Alex and I would figure it out.
Surprisingly, I truly did have faith. Although I had to remind myself of that often, I stayed the two weeks and loved every minute of it. I even went with Alex to his second follow-up appointment with Charlie a few days before I was scheduled to return to Stolen Hearts Valley.
Looking around the small office, I sat on a chair beside him. It was like most doctors’ offices, painted in neutral colors with soothing watercolors hanging on the walls, in the midst of plenty of health informational posters.
“I think you’ll like Charlie,” Alex commented from my side.
“All I want to know is if your lungs are back to one hundred percent.”
“My hearing has to be.” Alex smirked. “I definitely heard you this morning.”
My cheeks got hot. I might have been a little loud this morning. “It’s all your fault,” I muttered, nudging him with my elbow. “Also, behave. We’re at the doctor’s office.”
Alex gave me an incredulous look before shaking his head. “We’re in this room alone. Charlie’s not even here yet.”
“Yeah, but she—” I began, just as the door opened, and a woman stepped in.
Charlie was beautiful. She had dark hair pulled back in a ponytail with streaks of pink and purple visible. She was dressed in the typical doctor’s uniform with a white coat over her slacks. Her warm gray gaze looked from Alex to me as a smile teased at the corners of her mouth. “Hi there,” she said with a brisk nod.
Apparently, this was not a town that stood on ceremony as far as insisting on the title of doctor.
“Nice to meet you,” I said, standing and holding out my hand. “I’m Delilah.”
“Charlie Franklin,” she replied with a firm handshake. “Great to meet you. I’ve heard good things about you.”
“You’ve heard about me?” I squeaked as I sat down quickly, clasping my hands together over my knees.
“Oh, yes. Rachel’s my medical assistant. She told me she thinks you should be my nursing intern next year.”
Charlie’s tone was casual and relaxed, but her comment suddenly had me tense. I did want to figure out what Alex and I were going to do to be able to be together full-time, yet every time I was standing on the edge of a decision, I felt as if I were about to step off a cliff. My habits of not needing anyone and taking care of myself were so deeply ingrained, it was hard for me to push myself beyond them.
When Charlie glanced at me as she turned to wheel a stool with a mounted laptop attached to the side, I simply smiled, and said, “Oh, you’re the doctor Rachel works with.”
Charlie nodded as she clicked a few keys on the keyboard. “Take all the time you need to decide, but we do take an intern every year. It’s definitely a possibility if you’re interested. But that’s not why you’re here today.” Her eyes flicked to Alex.
He suddenly looked a little uncomfortable, shifting his shoulders. I’d discovered he was a rather typical man when it came to his health. I generally loathed stereotypes, but sometimes, they fit. Alex hated feeling weak, and he hated going to the doctor. Even when he professed that he even liked his doctor.
“How are those scrapes healing?” Charlie asked.
Alex stood and moved to take his shirt off. Charlie held a hand up. “I don’t actually need to see them. They looked well on their way to healing last week. Unless you want me to check them?”
Alex’s arms fell back to his sides, and he shrugged. “I don’t think so. They itch like hell, so I figure that’s a good sign. Right?”
“Absolutely. It means they’re healing. I need you to sit here,” she said, patting the examination table. “I want to listen to your lungs.”
The paper crinkled as Alex shifted his hips onto the table. When I glanced up and saw the subtle uncertainty and vulnerability flickering in his eyes, my heart squeezed.
Charlie tapped a few keys on the keyboard and then moved to stand beside the table. She rested a stethoscope on his back, instructing him through several rounds of deep breathing as she checked both sides. After she removed the earpieces, she smiled. “Your lungs sound great, so you’re all set. I don’t need to see you again. I’m assuming you’ve already checked in with the hearing specialist?”
“Oh, yeah. This one is still a tiny bit off,” he explained, tugging on his left earlobe, “but she said it should resolve because I can hear noises at all volumes. Explosions are loud, in case you didn’t know.”
Charlie laughed as she turned and checked on her computer again, entering a few things on the keyboard. “Before you go, make sure to schedule your next physical. I’m not seeing it in your appointment calendar.”
Alex looked a little sheepish, so I piped up, “I’ll make sure he does it.”
“Don’t gang up on me,” he said when Charlie flashed me a knowing grin.
“I’m not ganging up on you. You need to get your annual physical.”
As we were leaving, Charlie called, “Think about that internship, Delilah.”
Turning back in the hallway, I nodded. “I will. Really.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Alex
Autumn
“What have you and Delilah decided?” my sister asked, tightening her lips in a line and lasering me with her eyes. That was Holly’s way of trying to look bossy.
“We’ve decided we’re not going to decide until Delilah’s father passes.”
I didn’t add that the uncertainty of that timeline was difficult for me. I was impatient, and I felt a little guilty for feeling impatient. I completely understood Delilah wanting to wait since her father’s cancer was terminal, but I missed her. We’d settled into a cycle of seeing each other roughly every other month with lots and lots of video calls between and daily texts, of course.
It didn’t change that I missed her to the point that my heart ached sometimes.
“What’s his status?” Holly asked, her bossy tone fading.
I lifted my hands and let them fall. “We’re not sure. He was diagnosed last winter before she went to Diamond Creek. At the time, they only gave him four to six months. Obviously, he’s overshot that.”
“What kind of cancer is it? I know you told me, but I can’t remember.”
“Colon cancer.”
Holly’s lips twisted to the side. “That sucks. I bet it’s hard on her just waiting, and she probably also wants him to live longer. It’s a terrible place for families to be.”
Knowing how thoroughly private Delilah was, I hadn’t shared the details about her not-so-great childhood with anyone else. I figured that was her story to tell if she ever wanted to tell it. She and her mother seemed to be mending fences, so I thought that was good. She’d also assured me she and her father had a few conversations that helped. Apparently, he slept almost all the time now.
“Have you two even talked about what the plan might be?” Holly asked, her words careful, which was so unusual for her that I almost laughed.