An Engagement For Two

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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 (#ud9ad6dfc-c045-5e53-bf8c-312562824536)

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.