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Summer Rain And Roses |
Chapter 3 |
As John walked down the long, wide corridor, his shoes made a squeaking sound against the polished floor. He adjusted his gait slightly and thankfully, the irritating sound abated.
The noise alerted the receptionist to his presence and she raised her head as he approached the desk. Her detached smile of professionalism quickly deepened into one of genuine warmth. "Hello, John. Good to see you again."
"Hi, Mary. Nice to see you too. You're working here now?" The last time John had seen her, she'd been working in his father's office.
"Yes. It's been, oh, almost two years now. I'm guessing you're here to see Kevin?" Her fingers were already reaching for the phone.
"Good guess. He's not expecting me until later but I just need to see him for a minute."
"I'll let him know you're here."
"Thanks."
Less than two minutes later, Kevin's smiling face appeared from around the corner. "Hey, John! I see you escaped early." He clapped an arm around his cousin's shoulder and started leading him down the hall. "Come on, I can introduce you to some people."
"Uh, that's really not necessary," John protested.
"Sure it is! I've bragged often enough about the only doctor in our family. It's time they met you in person."
While Kevin's eagerness to introduce him to co-workers was sweet, John really wasn't in the mood. He blurted out the truth of why he was here. "I just came to tell you that I'm not going out with you tonight."
Kevin halted in mid-stride. "Why? Do you have better plans?" He wouldn't have minded being stood up for the sake of a woman, but was disappointed when John shook his head.
"No. It's just been a really bad day. I won't be much company."
"All the more reason to go out and have some fun, then."
John had always been the serious type but lately, he seemed to have a perpetual cloud hanging over him. Kevin was growing concerned and he'd hoped that a night out would help to lift John's spirits.
"Kev, you don't have to feel bad about missing my birthday. Kerry took me out last night."
"Oh yeah? Well, that's something. What did you do?"
"Just had a drink and talked. It was, um, nice." John winced inwardly, realizing how lame that sounded. It was also a blatant lie since nothing about the evening had been nice. In retrospect, it probably had done him some good to open up to Kerry. But part of him still resented being cornered like that.
Kevin uttered a small sigh. "Look, if you really don't want to go out, that's fine. But since you're here, I just want you to meet a couple of people."
"All right." John's tone reflected his obvious reluctance but he allowed Kevin to continue leading the way.
They stepped inside of a spacious, well-lit area that was dominated by dark, rich woods and glass. There seemed to be an almost palpable buzz in the air as everyone went about their business. Some people were talking on the phone while others stood huddled in small groups, their voices low but animated.
John wasn't quite sure what Kevin did here. It had something to do with finances. He'd once tried to explain it to him, but John knew his eyes had started glazing over after a while. Stocks, accounts, mergers, money...that world had never appealed to him, much to the chagrin of his father and grandfather.
But Kevin genuinely thrived in the business environment and seemed to be happy. Unlike John, he got along well with all of the Carters. He had a naturally bright and easy-going personality, often acting as peacemaker in heated family discussions. He was always the first one to defend John's choice of career.
John managed a smile and shook hands with several people. Although no one made a direct comment, he could see the intense curiosity in all of their eyes. He was the token black sheep of the family. The one who refused to take any part in Carter Enterprises. They probably wondered what the hell was wrong with him.
Wishing he could duck and hide, he shrouded himself with his polite-but-bored mask instead. Years of enduring high-brow societal events had enabled him to perfect the illusion. It allowed him to mentally distance himself from his surroundings while outwardly maintaining the proper image.
"So you have no interest at all in your grandfather's business?" someone finally ventured to ask.
"None at all, I'm afraid," John replied.
"And it's just as well. We already have too many Carters in this place," Kevin quipped. "There's someone else I want you to meet. This way, John." He smoothly extricated John from the group and headed towards the back, glancing sideways at him. "You really can't wait to get out of here, can you."
John made a face, his facade slipping away. "Am I losing my touch and becoming obvious?"
"Only to me."
"Sorry, Kev. I'm not feeling too sociable right now." He had his reasons but didn't want to reveal them now.
"It won't be much longer, I promise. There's just...oh, she's not in her office." Kevin quickly glanced around and then reversed his direction. "Just wait here, okay? She's a good friend and I can't let you leave without meeting her. I'll be back in a minute."
John sat down on the edge of an empty desk. It was awfully quiet back here. Everyone seemed to be converged at the front of the office. Growing restless, he stood and wandered a little further down a corridor, stopping to study a watercolour painting with swirling pastels.
"Why are you being such a bastard about this?"
"I think I'm being entirely reasonable. You know how important the next couple of hours will be."
John couldn't help overhearing the raised voices that floated to his ears from a room across the hallway. Common sense told him to retreat before he heard any more but his feet remained planted on the floor.
"I would only be gone for half an hour at the most. Maybe less."
A woman's voice. Her tone was controlled but John could still hear the layer of frustrated anger underneath.
"Impossible. I need you here."
The man's words were sharp and clipped.
"What if I asked someone to..."
"No! We can't afford to fuck up this deal and you know it. Everyone out there is doing their job. I suggest you get back in there and do your share."
John was finally starting to turn away when the woman strode out of the room, her eyes immediately connecting with his.
"Can I help you?" she snapped.
Embarrassed to be caught eavesdropping, he could feel the flush staining his cheeks. "Sorry, I didn't mean to...I was just waiting for..."
"Dr. Carter!" she suddenly exclaimed.
While stammering his apology, his gaze had been traveling along the floor and the wall. Upon hearing his name on her lips, his eyes returned to her face. A lovely, somewhat familiar face. He took in the dark brown hair that was neatly upswept, save for some loose tendrils. Wide eyes of a deep blue stared back at him, mouth slightly parted in confusion.
"Have we met before?"
"I brought my son in to Cook County almost a week ago. You stitched up his leg."
"Oh, yes. I remember."
Now he realized why she looked familiar. But at the hospital, she had appeared younger, more vulnerable. Now with her carefully applied makeup and polished business attire she looked like a completely different person.
"What are you doing here? Wait, I'm such an idiot. I didn't even make the connection before. You must be Kevin's cousin."
"That's right. I'm sorry, I don't remember your name."
"Rose Philips."
Although she still looked upset, her demeanor towards him seemed to warm considerably. John quickly looked over his shoulder but the hallway behind him was still empty. "I was waiting for Kevin to come back. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been listening to your conversation. That was rude of me."
"It's all right. Let's head back that way. I'm sure he'll find us."
Entering the larger office space once more, Kevin bounded towards them. "There you are! You found her before I did."
"You don't even have to introduce us. We already know each other," Rose informed him.
"You do?"
As Rose led them towards her own office, she explained how Joshua had fallen and hurt his leg last week. Gesturing for the two men to sit in comfortable leather wing chairs, she walked around to her side of the desk and sat down heavily. "I suppose I was so worried about Josh, I wasn't thinking clearly. I knew John was a doctor, from what you'd told me, but I'd forgotten that he worked at County."
"You seem upset, Rose," Kevin commented. "Did you just come out of Adam's office?"
"Yes, that prick." Her eyes flew to John's face. "Sorry to be so blunt."
"No need to apologize," John said, resisting the urge to smile. He didn't mind women that spoke their mind and he knew it couldn't be easy to work in a male-dominated office.
"Apparently I'm a prisoner here now and can't even leave for half an hour. I know I've got some work ahead of me to close the deal but we still have time."
"Why do you want to leave?" Kevin asked.
Rose absently ran one hand through her hair before remembering she'd put it up today. More tendrils escaped to curl around her face, adding to her harried appearance. "Everything is a complete mess. I got a call from Helen five minutes ago. They've gone bankrupt! The daycare center is closed and all the kids have been sent home."
"Just like that? No warning at all?"
"Just like that. And to top it all off, there's some kind of family emergency so no one can even drive Josh over here. Helen was ready to shove him into a taxi but I told her to hold off until I got there myself. Now Adam's telling me I can't leave. Maybe I'm over reacting but he's only four. He doesn't like strangers and I don't want him in a taxi all by himself."
"Maybe I can help," John spoke up. "I wouldn't mind picking him up."
"No, I can't ask you to do that," Rose said quickly.
"You're not asking. I'm offering."
"I should just go anyway and risk getting fired. It would probably be a blessing in disguise."
Kevin thought he might know why Rose was hesitant to accept John's offer. "John's a stand up guy, Rose. You won't find a more trustworthy person on this planet. Let him do it."
Rose turned a thoughtful gaze on John's face. It wasn't his handsome features that she focused on, but rather his soft brown eyes. She could read a lot from a person's eyes and she sensed nothing but kindness in his.
"Well, I suppose you wouldn't be a complete stranger to him since he saw you at the hospital." She was rapidly running out of time. Helen was probably calling a taxi right now. Deciding to trust her instincts, she reached for the phone.
"Hi Helen, it's me. I've arranged for someone to pick up Josh. His name is Dr. John Carter...Well, he'll be leaving in a few minutes so depending on traffic...Yes, I realize that. Could you put Josh on the phone, please?...Hi sweetie...Yes, I know everyone has gone...No, I can't come myself. I wish I could. But listen, do you remember when we went to the hospital and you got stitches on your leg?...That's right. Well, that nice man Dr. Carter will come to pick you up...Yes, the man who fixed your leg. He's going to bring you here so I'll see you soon."
She was hoping they could close the deal earlier than expected so she could attend to Joshua when he arrived. If that didn't happen, well, she'd worry about it when the time came.
After speaking to Helen once more, Rose hung up the phone. She quickly scribbled a note that gave John permission to pick up her son and wrote down the address of the center. He assured her that he knew the area well and wouldn't have a problem finding the place.
As John got to his feet, Rose came to stand before him. "Thank you for doing this, Dr. Carter."
He smiled. "John."
"All right, John. It's very kind of you."
Kevin couldn't help grinning. "Didn't I tell you he's a great guy?"
Why hadn't he thought to introduce the two of them sooner? The goofy grin remained, even after John had left.
"Don't get any ideas, Kevin," she warned.
"Who, me?"
Rose just shook her head, even though a small smile played around the edge of her lips. Much as she wanted to deny it, she was intrigued. No doubt about it.
***************
Helen McCarthy practically thrust the boy towards John. "Here he is. Sorry, but I've got to run. I'm late as it is. Bye Josh!"
The door closed with a thud.
Well, at least she had taken a second to ask for some I.D. and read Rose's note. He was glad the woman wasn't entirely senseless.
Smiling, John crouched down to the boy's eye level. "Hi, Josh. Do you remember me?" The only reply was a slight nod of the head. "How's your leg doing?" No response. He noticed the beige coloured paper clutched in Joshua's small hand. "What have you got there? Did you draw that?" Joshua nodded again, but crushed the paper against his chest, not yet willing to share his artistic talent. "Maybe you should put it in your knapsack. It's kind of windy today," John suggested.
"No."
A one word reply but that was a start. His back protesting against the movement, he stretched to his full height again. Extending his arm, he waited until Joshua took hold of his hand. They began to walk down the path towards his Jeep.
Joshua suddenly pulled away from him with a cry of alarm. John looked up to see the drawing fluttering upwards on a puff of wind, the paper turning over and over in the air. Joshua started to run after it but John had faster reflexes. After several misses, he snatched the paper from mid-air.
"Got it!" He came back to Joshua's side. "Think we should put it in your knapsack now?"
The boy's eyes were still round from the excitement of the dramatic act and all he could manage was another nod. John folded the sheet in half and undid the zipper, noting the bag had a picture of the only Pokemon character he could recognize. The yellow guy.
"Thank you."
The words were uttered so quietly, John almost failed to hear them. Almost. "You're welcome, Josh."
***************
The flurry of activity in the office seemed to have increased by tenfold when John returned with Joshua in tow. The boy half-hopped and half-skipped down the aisle. People were so engrossed in their tasks, few of them even noticed him as he weaved around desks and chairs.
Upon entering the office, Joshua had tugged so insistently on his hand that he'd practically had no choice but to let go. But the kid had seemed to know exactly where he was going, so John had allowed it.
John had a brief moment of concern when he lost sight of the child around a corner, but he soon heard an exuberant voice. "Hi Mommy!"
"Hi there! Where's Dr. Carter?"
"Right here."
John rested against the doorframe as Rose came around her desk. Leaning down to give Joshua a hug, she flashed a smile that encompassed both John and her son.
"Guess what? My picture went in the sky but the doctor catched it. He put it in my knapsack 'cause it's windy."
"Well, that was very good of Dr. Carter." Straightening up again, she said, "I hope he wasn't much trouble."
"Not at all. This is the most I've heard him speak."
"He only gets chatty when he's happy, so you must have made quite the impression on him."
"Excuse me," stated a brusque, male voice. John turned to look over his shoulder as he moved to the side. The man brushed past him with an impatient air, his eyes focused on Rose. "Have you called Jenkins yet?"
"No, I said I'd call him in fifteen minutes."
"Make it five. Did you leave to get your son?"
Rose had to clench her teeth together to prevent saying something she'd regret. "No, I didn't. Dr. Carter...John, was kind enough to pick him up."
John took an instant disliking to the man that turned towards him, but he shook the hand that was offered.
"Adam Harris. I believe we've met before at one of your family functions."
"Sorry, I don't recall." John's face remained impassive, his tone cool.
Adam's insincere smile tightened at the subtle insult. "What brings you here, John? Decided to take the plunge into the corporate world after all?"
"Hardly. I came by to see Kevin and then thought I could help out Rose by picking up her son."
"How sweet." Apparently deciding their conversation was over, Adam faced Rose once more, jabbing his finger at her. "Five minutes, Rose. I'm not kidding. I want this thing wrapped up in the next twenty minutes."
Without waiting for her to reply, Adam marched out.
"What a charmer," John said dryly.
Rose allowed herself a brief roll of her eyes. "I could think of another descriptive word but I'll save it for later." Feeling a tug at the hem of her skirt, she looked down. "Yes?"
"I wanna show you my picture."
"I'm sorry, sweetie but I don't have time right now."
"But Mommy..."
"I would love to see your picture, Josh," John interrupted, with a surreptitious glance at Rose. "Would you show it to me?"
Appearing uncertain with that suggestion, Joshua looked towards his mother for guidance.
"It's okay, Josh. That's a good idea." Rose turned questioning eyes towards John. "Are you sure about this? You've already done so much..."
"It's fine. Besides, you'll have this deal wrapped up in twenty minutes, right?"
Rose chuckled. "Right. Thank you again. Oh, if you take a look in that bag by the chair, you'll find a couple of books. You can go into the office next door. No one's using it. And there's a couch in there."
"All right." John held out his hand towards Joshua and this time, without any hesitation, the boy slipped his tiny hand into the much larger one.
***************
Twenty minutes stretched into fifty before Rose was able to collect her son. There were still a few minor details to work out, but she'd reached her goal of attaining a verbal commitment to this contract. That was as far as she could venture with it today and now it was time to go home.
Rose stopped short at the sight that greeted her in the next office. John was sprawled out on the black leather couch, his head lolled back against the cushion. Joshua was snuggled next to him, one arm flung on top of John's stomach. Both were fast asleep.
The two of them together made a sweet and peaceful picture. She found it surprising that Joshua had taken to John so quickly. Her son was so extremely shy, she'd been worried about how he'd react to this man. A virtual stranger. But it seemed that John's gentle nature had won her son's trust.
"John." She spoke quietly, giving his shoulder a gentle shake. "John, wake up." He flinched, his head jerking upwards and his eyes snapping open. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
"It's okay." He winced slightly and reached up to massage the back of his neck. "Did everything work out for you?"
"Yeah, it's fine. The account is worth a quarter of a million, so Adam is actually pleased for a change." Rose sank down on the couch next to Joshua, trying to move lightly so he wouldn't waken.
"I should hope so. I can't believe I fell asleep. I must have been more tired than I thought."
After Joshua had proudly shown off his crayon drawing of flowers and dinosaurs, they had started reading one of the books. The boy had nodded off before the last page had been turned and soon after, John had drifted off too. He must have needed the rest more than he'd realized because he felt wonderfully refreshed now. Maybe that was all he needed to get back into the swing of things. A few good nights of uninterrupted sleep. That's what he wanted to believe but truthfully, he knew the solution to his problems wouldn't be that simplistic.
"I want to thank you again for what you did today. You really saved my life. Of course, being a doctor, you probably hear that all the time."
John smiled at her little joke. "It's always nice to hear anyway. But you're welcome. It was no trouble. He's a great kid."
"Yeah, he is." A lock of dark hair had fallen across his closed lids and Rose reached out to sweep it away. Joshua wrinkled his nose but otherwise, didn't stir. "I just have to figure out what I'm going to do tomorrow. I can probably find a babysitter to take him for a few days until I find another daycare."
"I could take him tomorrow."
"No, no, I couldn't let you do that. Besides, aren't you working?"
"I'm taking a leave of absence for a while. I don't know for how long." John's confession surprised even himself. It wasn't something he had intended to talk about but the words seemed to tumble forth of their own volition. "I almost killed a patient today. It was a stupid mistake. Just a typo, really. I wrote down 50 milligrams of morphine on a patient's chart instead of five. Lily, one of the nurses, showed me the chart and asked me to change it. She tried to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal. That it was just a little mistake. But it was stupid and sloppy and I can't just forget it. I've been so distracted at work lately, I'm surprised something like this didn't happen sooner. So I walked out, even before my shift ended. Told Mark I was taking a leave and that was it. And I have no idea when I'm going back. Or *if* I'm going back."
It took a while for Rose to speak and quite honestly, she didn't know what to say. Everything that came to mind sounded so trivial. "It sounds like you've made the right decision," she said finally. "From what Kevin has told me and from what I've witnessed myself, you're an excellent doctor. I hope the time away from the hospital helps you."
John was suddenly embarrassed by the depth of what he'd revealed. What had he been thinking? He barely knew this woman and here he was, pouring out his soul to her. "God, I'm sorry about this. I don't mean to dump my problems out on you. I'm sure you didn't want to hear all that."
"It's all right. After all you've done for me today, I certainly don't mind lending an ear."
They smiled shyly at each other from across her sleeping child, both aware of the close connection that had grown between them in such a short time.
"Hey, you're still here." Kevin popped his head in the doorway and stepped into the room. "Nice work today, Rose."
"Thanks. You too."
"Nah, this was your baby, right from the start. I see the little one has the right idea." He nodded his head towards Joshua, who was still sleeping soundly, and gave a small chuckle. "It's a good thing you cancelled on me first, John, because I don't think I would've made it out tonight anyway. I'm beat."
John felt a tickling on his stomach and glanced down. Joshua was finally starting to wake up. Taking this as a cue to leave, he slowly got to his feet.
"I should get going. If you're leaving soon, I can give you a ride, Kev."
"Thanks, but I drove today."
Rose stood up, almost sorry to see him go. "Well, I'm glad that we formally met. Come by any time for a visit."
"Sure." He took the hand that Rose had extended, conscious of the warm and slender fingers enveloped in his. Their hands remained clasped together for a beat longer than necessary before they broke the contact. He looked over at Joshua, who was now sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Bye, Josh."
"Bye," Joshua responded. "Wait! You can have the picture." He hopped off the couch to retrieve the picture that had fallen to the floor.
John accepted it with a smile. "Thanks. I'll hang it up somewhere." As Joshua beamed with pride at that statement, he took one final look at her. "Goodbye, Rose."
"Bye."
And a moment later, he was gone.
Kevin turned to look at Rose with one raised eyebrow. "Was it my imagination or is something going on here?" he asked in a hopeful tone.
"It's your imagination," she replied. But she had sensed something too and she truly hoped that it wasn't one-sided. One thing was for certain; Kevin needed to receive more frequent visits from his cousin.
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