In Good Hands

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“Yes,” he said firmly, as if that made all the sense in the world.

“Do you know how completely unethical that is? I mean, we just… You…” She couldn’t even put into words what they had done except that it had been incredible. The last thing she wanted was to suddenly step into a professional relationship with him.

He just waved away her concerns with a mild shrug. “Well, you just said you’re a researcher now, not really a doctor.”

“That doesn’t mean—”

“And I’m not asking for traditional medical science, obviously. Been there, done that, and it’s not working. I want you to do the other stuff. Acupuncture, voodoo, mystical whatever.” He spread his arms wide. “Experiment on me. Just so long as I can keep my job.”

She sighed. She hadn’t thought of him as a quick fix kind of guy. From what she’d heard and seen of him so far, he made quick decisions, but that was because he was a quick thinker. Not because he was searching for a short cut.

“I’m sure your doctor discussed with you all the other options for lowering your blood pressure. Diet, exercise—”

“Yeah. I’m doing it. Not helping.”

“Medications.”

He ran through the litany of meds he’d already tried. She leaned forward.

“Just how high is your blood pressure?”

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a little card where he had recorded all his readings for the last five months. Her eyebrows shot up. Yes, he certainly did have a problem. “How long has it been like this?”

“Climbing steadily since my teens. You’re looking at my stable point for the last year and half.”

“And you’ve been on—”

“Every hypertension medication known to mankind.”

She passed back his card while trying to keep her expression neutral. From what he described, he certainly needed something. If modern medicine wasn’t helping him, then he had to look elsewhere. She knew exactly what she’d recommend for him, but it was drastic and not even remotely guaranteed.

“So?” he pressed. “Will you do it? Will you help me?”

She shook her head. “I can’t be your doctor. I won’t. We’re…” She didn’t want to say they were in a relationship, because they weren’t. But they certainly weren’t strangers, either. “There are some lines I won’t cross.”

He sighed. “Fair enough. But how about advice? You give advice to friends, right? And after this, I’d really like to call you a friend.”

She cautiously nodded. Yes, she could see him as a friend.

“Okay then, friend, what would you recommend for me?”

She bit her lip and pulled out the most drastic course of action she could think of in the hopes that he would compromise and do at least some of the items on her list. “As a friend, I would tell you that I think you should go on a raw-food diet, start meditating and hire someone to do energy sessions on you. And, of course, take a long vacation—right now—to really examine your life. Something’s out of whack and you won’t know what it is until you stop completely and listen.”

To his credit, he didn’t even blink. But he did have a question. “Listen to what? Meditation tapes like mantras and stuff?”

She shook her head. “To your body. To your soul. To what you really want to have in your life and what needs to just disappear.”

He shrugged. “That’s easy. My body likes red meat, my job and you. And not necessarily in that order.”

She laughed because he was being absolutely serious and kind of sweet at the same time. “As your friend, I recommend you do a two-week retreat. Raw food, yoga, meditation and absolutely no electronics whatsoever.”