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Sophia’s breathing was labored, but she still managed to ask sarcastically, “Couldn’t find one on Doctors Are Us?”
It was more of a gasp than a question, and Jeff had to listen intently to make out what she was saying. He didn’t want her dismissing the doctor he was bringing her to before she even met her. “Mom, I’m serious. This is serious—”
“I know.” Pressing her hand against her abdomen, Sophia closed her eyes. “Which is why I just want to be left alone to die in peace, not have some wet-behind-the-ears would-be doctor try to earn back his entire medical school tuition by treating me and pretending he knows what he’d doing.”
“Mom—” Jeff’s voice grew sterner despite his concern about her condition “—you’re beginning to make no sense.” His mother grabbed his arm. Her long, thin fingers felt surprisingly strong as she clutched at him. “Mom?” Concerned, he spared her a glance as he made a right at the corner. The hospital and the adjacent medical building were just up ahead.
Jeff didn’t have to look closely to see the perspiration not just on his mother’s brow, but on the rest of her face, as well. She had to be reacting to the pain she was experiencing, because it wasn’t that warm a morning.
He’d waited way too long to strong-arm his mother. He just hoped it wasn’t too late.
“Hang in there, Mom, we’re almost there.” He did his best to sound encouraging.
Clutching the armrest on her right and her son’s arm on her left, Sophia waited for the pain either to pass or totally consume her. Her breathing was growing more labored.
“Do you think your father’ll recognize me? It’s been a long time and I’m not the young woman I was when we lost him,” she said hoarsely in between panting.
“He won’t have to recognize you, because you’re not dying, Mom.”
Parking in the closest spot available, which because of the hour was right up in front of the medical building, Jeff got out and quickly hurried over to the passenger side. Opening the door, he slowly eased his mother out and to her feet.
She looked rather unstable.
“Do you want me to carry you?” he offered.
“No.” Sophia pushed his hands away. “I’m going to walk into this charlatan’s office on my own two feet,” she announced with far more bravado than she was actually feeling.
He knew it was an act, but for once he encouraged it. “That’s my girl.”
She looked at him accusingly. “If you really cared about me, you would have let me stay home and—” Her eyes widened as a sudden new onslaught of pain seized her, causing her to clutch at her abdomen. “Oh, Jeff, it hurts. It really, really hurts,” she cried, all but sagging to her knees.
Jeff was torn between putting his mother back in the car and driving over to the hospital’s emergency entrance and taking her upstairs to see the doctor who was waiting for her. The doctor who Theresa Manetti had assured him would be able to calm his mother down and find out what was wrong with her.
Jeff quickly weighed the options. He knew his mother. She’d balk at the emergency room, but he had managed to half talk her into seeing this doctor.
He went with door number two.
“What...what...are you doing?” Sophia gasped as he closed his arms around her. “I’m too heavy...for...you,” she protested.
Jeff had lifted his mother up into his arms and proceeded to carry her into the medical building. “I’ve carried bags of rice heavier than you,” he informed her, heading over to the elevator bank.
Because it was so early, there was an elevator car standing on the ground floor with its doors wide-open. It was empty.
He walked right in.
“Can you press three, Mom?” he asked, taking nothing for granted.
He could see more perspiration forming on her brow. She had to be in pain, he thought.
“This...is...a waste of...time,” Sophia told him, trying hard not to gasp between each word. With visible effort as well as a show of reluctance, she weakly raised her hand and pressed the number three.
The doors barely closed before they opened again on the third floor.
Getting out, Jeff glanced at the signs on the wall, saw the arrow, then went right. Reading the numbers, he looked for suite 310.
Arriving in front of the door, he tried to angle the door latch with his elbow to push it down. When it didn’t give, he tried again.
When the latch still didn’t move, he used his elbow to bang on the door, hoping there was someone inside who would hear him and let them in.
* * *
Mikki had arrived at her office even earlier than she normally did. She’d let herself in through the back door because Angela, her receptionist, and the two nurses who worked for her, Virginia and Molly, weren’t due in until regular hours, which officially began at nine.
Just because she was doing a favor for Maizie Sommers didn’t mean that her staff had to be inconvenienced and come in earlier than usual, as well, Mikki thought. They worked hard enough as it was.
Mikki had just slipped on her white lab coat over a simple gray pencil skirt and blue-gray blouse when she heard a loud thud against the front office door.
Actually three thuds, she amended. Someone with a very heavy hand was either knocking on the door or trying to break it down.
Since she didn’t keep a weapon in the office, she slipped her cell phone into her lab coat pocket after first pressing nine and one. All she had to do was press one more digit and the police would be on their way, she thought confidently. Bedford had next to no crime to speak of, and the well-trained police force, from what she’d heard, were eager to exercise their muscles.
Hopefully they wouldn’t have to, she thought as she carefully approached her front office door.
“Who’s there?” she called out.
“Dr. McKenna?” a deep male voice asked. “I’m Jeff Sabatino. I’ve brought my mother in to see you.”
Relieved, Mikki quickly unlocked the main door—she hadn’t had a chance to entirely open up the office yet.
She was about to say as much when she saw that the man she was speaking to was carrying an older woman in his arms.
“What happened?” Mikki asked, immediately opening the door wider and stepping aside to allow him to walk in.
“My mother started complaining of this stabbing pain on our way over here, and then when she got out of the car, her legs suddenly seemed to give way and she collapsed.”
“I didn’t collapse,” Sophia protested indignantly. “I had a twinge of weakness. But I’m all right now,” his mother declared with determination. “My son exaggerates things. I just want to go home and get into bed.” She said the latter as if she was issuing an order to her son.
“Soon, Mrs. Sabatino,” Mikki promised. “But I’d like to examine you first, if you don’t mind.”
“I do mind,” Sophia retorted stubbornly.
“She’s very grateful,” Jeff corrected. His mother still in his arms, he looked around the general area. “Do you have an exam room?” he asked, then mentally upbraided himself. He hadn’t meant to ask her that, he’d meant to ask where her exam room was.
Mikki smiled. “Actually, I do. I find they come in very handy in my line of work. Right this way,” she told Jeff, leading him to the back of the office.
There were three exam rooms located in the back, one right next to the other. She opened the door to the first room and gestured for him to bring his mother into it.
“If you just have her lie down on the exam table,” Mikki instructed, “I can get started.”
Jeff did as she asked, placing his mother gently on the paper-covered examination table. Mikki couldn’t help noticing that he had a very sensitive manner about him. It seemed almost in direct contradiction to the masculinity the tall, dark-haired man exuded.
“I’ve got her insurance cards and her driver’s license,” Jeff said, reaching for his mother’s purse in order to produce the items.
But Mikki shook her head. “Don’t worry about that right now. My receptionist isn’t in yet. She handles all that. Right now, I’m more interested in why your mother had to be carried in—other than the fact that she didn’t want to come to see me. Mrs. Sommers told me that you don’t have any confidence in doctors,” Mikki said, turning to her patient.
“I don’t trust them,” Sophia all but growled, keeping her hand firmly pressed against her lower right abdomen and grimacing.
“Mom!” Jeff admonished. He knew his mother had a take-charge attitude and she had no problem with making her opinion known, but he’d never seen her acting rude before, and it surprised him. It also wasn’t any way to behave toward a woman who had gone out of her way to come in early and see her before office hours.
Mikki raised her hand, silently asking him to hold his peace for a moment. She was interested in her patient’s response.
“Why not?” she asked the woman.
“Because a doctor killed my husband,” Sophia cried with a hitch in her voice.
“Killed him or didn’t save him in time?” Mikki asked diplomatically.
“What does it matter?” Sophia snapped. “He’s gone. My Antonio’s gone,” the woman lamented.
“It matters,” Mikki said gently. She began to slowly move her fingers along the perimeter of what seemed to be the painful region. “But right now, what matters more is what’s going on with you. What are you feeling, Mrs. Sabatino?”
“Like someone’s cutting up my insides with a burning-hot band saw.” Her statement was punctuated with another audible cry of pain as she clutched at her abdomen again, almost pulling herself into the fetal position.
“I’m going to press a little more on your abdomen, Mrs. Sabatino. I want you to tell me if it hurts,” Mikki requested.
“It hurts, it hurts,” Sophia cried immediately.
“Mom, she hasn’t touched you yet,” Jeff pointed out, then turned toward the woman examining his mother. “I’m really sorry, Doctor,” he began.
Mikki shook her head, wanting to put him at ease. “Don’t be. Your mother’s pain is very real,” she told him. “She’s obviously hurting without my touching her.” As she spoke, Mikki subtly placed her hand first near his mother and then very gently on the area where she thought the pain originated.
She was right.
“Argh!” Sophia cried, her eyes narrowing as she angrily looked at the doctor. “You’re hurting me!”
“I’m sorry,” Mikki apologized. “I just want to be sure what’s going on. How long have you had this pain?”
Sophia shrugged carelessly, avoiding her son’s eyes as she mumbled, “A few weeks, I guess.”
“Mom!” He’d only become aware of the problem in the last couple of days. “A few weeks? Why didn’t you call me?”
Still avoiding his eyes, Sophia sighed. “I didn’t want to bother you. You have that restaurant and everything. You’re always so busy,” she said just before her expression changed as she noticeably braced herself for another wave of pain.
Instead of reaching for a thermometer, Mikki opted to test her theory the old-fashioned way. She lightly placed her fingertips against the woman’s forehead, finding it quite warm.
“Okay,” Mikki murmured to herself. “I think that proves it.”
“What is it?” Jeff asked, looking at the doctor quizzically. “Can you tell what’s wrong with my mother?”
Mikki didn’t want to be premature, but she had a very strong suspicion about what was going on. “Well, I think that we’d better get your mother into the hospital,” she began.
“No, no hospital!” Sophia interrupted.
“Mom, let the doctor talk,” Jeff told her, trying to get his mother to calm down long enough to hear the diagnosis.
“I don’t care what she’s going to say, I’m not going to die in a hospital,” Sophia declared.
“No,” Mikki responded with confidence. “You’re not. But in order for you not to die, we need to get you there in time.”
“In time for what?” Sophia demanded. “To cut me up into pieces?”
“No, just one piece,” Mikki answered quite seriously.
“What is it, Doctor?” Jeff asked. His mother was clutching his hand and he wanted to do his best to calm her, but right now, he wasn’t feeling all that calm himself. “What’s wrong with my mother?”
“I need to run some tests,” Mikki prefaced.
“I got all that. I understand. Just tell me what you suspect is wrong,” Jeff said.
“Well,” Mikki began, “with any luck—”
“Luck? You call feeling like someone set your insides on fire lucky?” Sophia cried indignantly. “Take me home, Jeff!”
“Let her talk, Mom,” Jeff ordered, surprising his mother with his abrupt tone. He turned toward Mikki. “Doctor?”
“Best guess,” Mikki said, enunciating every word as she looked at the all but terrified woman on her examination table, “is that it looks as if your mother has appendicitis.”
Chapter Four
The pain had momentarily abated, and Sophia sniffed. “Some doctor. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” she told her son.
Jeff prided himself on his patience. He had a nearly infinite amount, both at work and when it came to dealing with his mother when she was being difficult. But his ample supply was just about used up this particular morning.
A warning note entered his voice. “Mother—”
Ignoring him, Sophia said, “I had my appendix removed when I was six,” just before she suddenly doubled up in pain again.
“Are you sure?” Mikki questioned. “Forgive me,” she quickly interjected, “but according to what you just said, you were six, and maybe you’re not remembering things quite clearly.”
“Of course I’m sure,” Sophia bit off, annoyed that this slip of a girl was doubting her. “My mother told me that’s what happened.” About to continue, she suddenly grew very pale as she grabbed her son’s hand. “I can’t take this anymore, Jeffrey. Put me out of my misery.”
Interceding, Mikki laid a gentling hand on the woman’s arm to get her attention. “I fully intend to, Mrs. Sabatino, but not the way you mean.” Mikki looked at Jeff. “I have to get her to the hospital and run some tests,” she explained. “I still think it’s appendicitis, but if it is something else, the CT scan and abdominal ultrasound should show us what we’re up against.”
Jeff looked at her, puzzled. “How can it be appendicitis if hers was removed?”
“She could be mistaken,” Mikki pointed out. “At six, it’s easy to misunderstand what’s happening. Checking to make sure the appendix was removed is a simple process.”
Sophia’s laugh was harsh. “She just wants to get me into the hospital and do all those expensive tests on me.”
He was aware that the doctor was doing him a favor, seeing his mother so quickly. She certainly didn’t deserve to be treated this way. “I’m sorry about this,” he apologized to Mikki.
Mikki’s smile wasn’t strained. Instead, it was understanding.
“It’s okay, really,” she told him. “I’m not offended. Your mother’s afraid. Who wouldn’t be?” she asked, giving Sophia an encouraging look. Sophia appeared to be totally oblivious to it. “Let me just leave a note for my receptionist and I’ll ride over to the hospital with you and your mother,” Mikki told him, picking up a pad and pen.
Jeff realized what a huge imposition this had to be for the doctor, especially since his mother wasn’t even one of her regular patients. He could see why Dr. McKenna had been recommended to him. She seemed to have an infinite amount of patience.
“I really appreciate this, Dr. McKenna,” he told her, then lowered his voice before adding, “My mother can be very difficult.”
Mikki thought it prudent not to comment on that as she quickly wrote a note to her receptionist. He could say anything he wanted to about Sophia, but after all, the woman was his mother. If she agreed with his assessment, in all likelihood he would become defensive and that would make further communication difficult.
Being vague about her new patient’s disposition was the best way to go.
“Let’s just try to get her better,” Mikki responded. “I’m going to call ahead so that we can get her into the radiology lab for those scans quickly.”
With that, Mikki turned away in order to make her call.
The pain abated again for a moment. Concerned that she was disrupting his life, Sophia looked up at her son. “Just leave me here, Jeffrey. You have to get to work,” she reminded him.
“Not for a few hours yet,” Jeff corrected, “and anyway, I have people to cover for me. Let’s just focus on finally getting to the bottom of this pain you’ve been having.”
A ragged sigh escaped Sophia’s lips. “Everyone dies, Jeffrey.”
His mother could never be accused of being happy-go-lucky, Jeff thought. Or an optimist. “But not today,” he told her firmly.
Sophia began to protest just as the woman she viewed as far too young to be a doctor, much less one who was exceptionally skillful, rejoined them.
“Everything’s set,” Mikki announced. “Let’s get your mother over to the hospital. We’ll use your car.”
He didn’t ask her why, but once they arrived in the hospital parking lot, the answer quickly became apparent. The doctor pointed out a space marked Physician Parking Only and told him to park there.
“My car’s a small two-door,” she explained, “and I wanted your mother to be comfortable.” Quickly getting out of his vehicle, she told Jeff, “Wait here. I’m going in to get a gurney for your mother.”
The moment the doctor walked in through the electronic doors labeled ER Entrance, Sophia grabbed her son’s arm again. “I don’t know about this, Jeffrey.”
“Well, I do, Mom. We’re here and we’re getting to the bottom of all this. You almost cut off my circulation the last time you grabbed my hand.”
“I won’t squeeze your hand again, I promise,” Sophia told him.
“That’s not the point, Mom,” Jeff said. “You’re in a great deal of pain, and we need to find out why before your condition gets any worse.”
“It’s just indigestion,” Sophia cried, trying not to writhe in pain. She was desperate to have him take her back home. She hadn’t been inside a hospital since she’d lost her husband, and just being outside one brought back terrible memories.
“Enough excuses, Mom. You’re having these tests and that’s that,” he told her firmly just as Mikki returned with a nurse and an orderly in tow. The latter two were pushing a gurney between them.
“Your chariot’s here, Mrs. Sabatino,” Mikki announced, smiling as she and the two hospital staff members approached Sophia.
Sheer panic entered Sophia’s eyes when she looked up at her son. “Jeffrey?”
He forced himself to ignore his mother’s pleading tone. “You’re going in for those tests, Mom, and I’m going to be right there with you,” he promised.
“Well, maybe during the ultrasound, but not during the CT scan,” Mikki told him. Seeing the panicked expression on his mother’s face, she added, “But I can come into the room with you.”
That did little to comfort Sophia. “But I don’t know you,” she protested.
“Well, we’ll use the time to get to know each other,” Mikki told her.
Sophia murmured something under her breath that neither the doctor nor Jeff could make out. Jeff expected to see Mikki become annoyed. After all, she was bending over backward for his mother, who was being far from her usual genial self.
But the doctor only smiled, saying something encouraging to her in response.
Theresa had been right, Jeff thought as he accompanied his mother and her new doctor into the emergency room. Dr. McKenna was an absolute treasure. She was going out of her way to humor his mother and she hadn’t lost her temper once. Most people did when his mother behaved this way. It wasn’t often, but it was grating when it happened. He dearly loved the woman, but he wasn’t blind to her faults.
Once inside the emergency room, his mother was taken to a curtained-off bed in order to prepare her for the CT scan, ultrasound and several other necessary tests. Jeff waited outside the curtained area as one of the nurses went in to help his mother change into a hospital gown.
“I’ll take good care of her,” Mikki said, coming up behind him.
Surprised—he’d assumed that the doctor had left for the time being—Jeff turned around to look at the petite dark blonde.
“What about your other patients?” he asked. He remembered that Theresa had told him the doctor had a full schedule today. That was why she’d asked him to bring his mother in so early.
“I take good care of them, too,” Mikki answered with a smile.
He had no doubt that she did. There was something exceptionally competent about the woman. “I hope they’re not all like my mother.”
She laughed, and he liked the way her blue eyes crinkled.
“Oh, you’d be surprised,” she told him. “A great many of my patients require a lot of hand-holding and reassuring.”
“How do you do it?” he marveled.
“One hand at a time” was her answer.
Just then the nurse stepped out from between the curtained-off section. “She’s all ready,” the nurse told Mikki.
The latter nodded in response. “Then let’s get the show on the road.”
“Before you get started, Doctor,” Jeff said, stopping her for a moment, “I just want to say thank you.”
Her smile was warm and genuine. “No problem,” Mikki said.
“But there will be,” he replied with a sigh.
Mikki merely laughed in response.
* * *
The tests went far more quickly than he’d thought they would. He and his mother had arrived at the hospital at eight thirty. By ten fifteen the doctor had returned to tell him that she had all the results and she’d been able to diagnose his mother’s condition.
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