Page 72 of Prognosis Bad Timing

CHAPTER NINE

CARRIE drove to theclinic on Monday morning knowing that today was the day. It wasn’t fair to put it off any longer. She’d been over and over the figures all weekend and no matter how much she tried to present them in a good light, the truth was inescapable.

The Valley Drop-In Centre was not financially viable.

It gave her a chill, just thinking about it. Charlie would be devastated. The centre was everything to him. She was so not looking forward to the conversation she needed to have with him first thing this morning.

Part of her wanted to chicken out. Leave the dirty work up to the board. Have the news arrive in one of those awful official yellow envelopes.

But she knew she owed him more than that.

She couldn’t believe how much could change in a few short weeks. How much this assignment had affected her entire life. Before coming to the centre, she wouldn’t have thought twice about getting rid of something that wasn’t performing. It was, after all, taxpayers’ money they were playing with, entrusted with — serious stuff.

And it wasn’t their place to waste it willy-nilly.

But trying to justify a venture like this on paper just didn’t take into account the human aspect. What the centre meant to the community it supported and what it would mean if it wasn’t around any longer. Whatever happened, she was going to make sure she stressed that in her final report.

But the real reason it was ripping her heart out was much more depressing.

She had fallen in love with Charlie.

The revelation had come last night as she’d been putting Dana to bed. Her daughter had hugged her and whispered, ‘I wish Charlie could be my daddy.’

And it had hit her then - she wished he could be, too. Wished it had been Charlie and not Rupert who had fathered Dana.

The truth had only depressed her further. She loved him. She wanted him by her side. Always.

In her bed. In her life. In her heart.

She shook herself as she stopped at a red light. Why? Why had she risked her heart on someone else who was reluctant to be a father to Dana? She’d never asked to feel like this. Never expected to feel like this.

Didn’t want to feel like this.

Since everything had fallen apart five years ago she hadn’t even entertained such fanciful expectations. She’d had Dana, who gave her indescribable joy, and her career.

Work, Dana. Work, Dana.

---