“Making you think, am I?” he questions when I still haven’t answered him.
“Yes. I don’t know what it is. I had some second thoughts a while back that almost had me ending things, but we talked through them back then and now, while those thoughts of doubt still sneak up occasionally, now my issues seem to have changed. I don’t want to be apart. I worry about things like, is my house suitable for her to move in with me or do I need to sell it and have one built with her wheelchair and future needs in mind,” I tell him as I run my fingers through my hair, pulling lightly at the ends. “Add in that I finally have a potential of a DWB trip on the horizon that I need to either commit to or back out of completely.”
“Tell me about that opportunity,” he says. I give him the quick overview of things I already know. I talked to the hospital this morning about the opportunity, and they’re one hundred percent behind me on accepting the spot on the team. No questions asked and fully will back the trip.
“Sounds like a fantastic opportunity not only for you professionally but personally. Trips like that can provide some much-needed personal growth that you might not have realized you needed. Make you appreciate what you have in life and cherish what’s important to you. And there’s something to say about being thousands of miles away from the person you love to make you realize just how important they are to you and how much you can’t live without them. It took me going back home for an interview to realize that I couldn’t live without Bridget and Brendan in my life and look where that got me. I now have the most wonderful woman in my life, a son who’s shown me more in the short time he’s been in my life than I ever knew I wanted, and two little girls that will drive me batty, I’m sure, when they reach their teen years, but I know that I’ll make it through all of that because I’ve got Bridget by my side and we’re a team.”
“No regrets, then, going all in on the family thing?” I ask, curious if Simon misses his bachelorhood at all.
“Bloody hell no,” he states matter-of-factly. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. I thought I’d be a bachelor for the rest of my life, and then Bridget crashed into my world, first as a patient in my ER and then a few months later when Calliope set me up to rent her guest suite. That was one shocking day when we realized that we’d met previously. And for all the heartache we went through over those months, it was worth it in the end.”
“That’s my other concern. Megan and I haven’t known each other for all that long. She only moved here in August. It’s only November. That isn’t that long to get to know someone.”
“Sometimes, when you find your person, things just click. You connect on such a level that little things like time don’t matter. When you find your soul mate, sometimes you just have to believe and take the leap of faith that everything will work out how it’s supposed to.”
I take in all his advice, thinking about what I want in life, and all I see is Megan in my future. I can see us one, five, hell, ten and twenty years down the road. Happy, a family surrounding us, much like I have now with my extended family. I guess now I’ve got to man up and make sure she’s got the same visions that I do, and make them happen.
“So, they still referring to you as Dr. Sexy Pants now that you’re a dad?” I ask, laughing at memories of all the nicknames the nurses used to have for Simon.
“Bloody hell,” he says, shaking his head at my question. “I don’t think they’ll ever stop. Dr. Sexy Pants, Dr. Hottie, and Dr. Dreamy seem to still be around, most days. I don’t think I’ll ever live out my reputation. Even once I come back married, I don’t think they’ll ever stop,” he tells me.
“When is the wedding again?” I ask.
“June 15th, you should come, bring Megan with you,” he suggests.
“Maybe,” I say, thinking about it. “It’s back in England, correct?”
“Yes, we’re headed there as soon as Brendan is done with school in June, and will be staying for a little over a month total. I’m looking forward to showing them around where I grew up.”
“Sounds like a good time will be had. Think the girls will do okay on the long flight?”
“Hopefully.” He chuckles. “We’ll fly out of Boston on a non-stop, so at least we only have to deal with one takeoff and landing each way. Bridget mentioned booking a nighttime flight so they’ll be tired and hopefully sleep most of the way.”
“I’ll make sure to book a different flight than you,” I tease.
“Bastard,” he barks out with a laugh. “You could come with us and be an extra set of hands.”
“Nah, I’ll just wait and hear all about it later. That, and aren’t you guys going a few weeks before the wedding? If I take this Rwanda trip, I won’t be able to go for much more than a week. Megan won’t, for sure, be able to be gone much longer than that,” I remind him.
“We should plan to get together, the four of us, soon so that I can meet this woman who has you so wrapped up and ready to settle down. I’m sure Bridget would enjoy getting to know her, as well.”
“You can bring the kids over, maybe this weekend for dinner.”
“Or, we can get a babysitter and have dinner without little grabby hands in the way,” he says, a dopey smile on his face as he references his daughters. I know he loves them more than anything, but I can only imagine what it must be like to have not one but two babies needing your constant attention.
“I’ll text you later in the week to figure out details,” I tell him as I sign the check the waiter dropped at the table.
“You didn’t have to buy me dinner,” Simon tries to argue with me.
“Don’t mention it. You were my sounding board and gave some good advice tonight. Paying the bill is the least that I can do,” I tell him as we both push back our chairs and stand to leave.
“Well, thanks, mate. I’ll talk to you later,” he says as we part ways in the parking lot.
My talk with Simon gave me the clarity that I needed. Some things to look forward to and things where I just need to be patient and let them unfold in due time.
18
MEGAN
APRIL
I SIT NERVOUSLY on the couch in Drew’s house, constantly looking at my watch as the minutes slowly tick by. I swear, each minute feels like an hour. I’ve looked at my watch no less than thirty times in the past twenty minutes. I got the text from him about a half hour ago that he was leaving the airport and on his way home. The past six weeks that he’s been away being the amazing doctor that he is has been hard, I’m not going to lie. Not knowing if he was safe and okay. But I had to keep my spirits up, knowing that he was doing so much good for the people that they were helping, and that he’d be home to me soon. I cried when he called once, back in an area that his cell worked once again. It was so good to hear his voice. I’m almost ashamed to admit how many times I called his cell, just to listen to his voice mail recording so I could hear his voice, or re-listen to the few voicemail messages I’ve saved that he’s left me. Anything to hear his voice while he was gone and not reachable. Twice, while he was gone, he was able to send me email updates, but those came at week two and four of his trip.