Page 4 of Holly, Jolly, and Oh So Naughty

“I…” I can’t say it. Not like this, huddled in the back of the car with a seatbelt catching on my arm and the exhaustion of the day weighing down on me. “Sure, baby. I can call him.”

It looks like my years of telling her fairy tales are finally over.

2

JAMES

“Are you sure about this?” The woman in my chair continues tearing her soggy tissues into confetti strips while sniffling. “What if it doesn’t work?”

It’s impossible to keep my heart out of situations like this. As a gynecologist, I see people at their most vulnerable, and facing a woman who has been trying to have children for years to no avail doesn’t get any easier.

“Samantha, with any treatment, there is always a chance it won’t work,” I reply as gently as I can. “And I have to remind you that this isn’t any kind of miracle injection. If you choose to go down this route, then it will be expensive and incredibly taxing on your mental and emotional health.”

“But I could have a baby?” She lifts her swimming eyes to me, and the sadness pouring out of her shoots me straight in the chest.

“Yes. With IVF, it definitely increases your chances.”

She breaks down once again, sobbing into her hands. I lean back and collect some fresh, dry tissues then press them into her palms.

“I always…” She sniffles and hiccups. “I always thought there was something wrong with me!”

“No,” I assure her. “There’s nothing wrong, per se. Your body is just different and needs some help. But I stress that you must talk this over with your partner, okay? You cannot make this decision alone, and it will be a long road.”

Samantha nods through her tears, trying to stifle her sobs. “Thank you, Doctor. Thank you!”

The thanks feels too early since I haven’t done anything other than go over her test results and offer her some options, but they are options that didn’t exist in this town until I got here, so her overwhelming gratitude is understandable.

“It’s no problem. Now, I don’t feel right sending you away like this so come with me, if you don’t mind?”

Samantha nods. When she stands, her legs are trembling so I quickly wrap an arm around her shoulders and guide her out of my room and into the reception area.

“Taylor, could you get Mrs. Hill a hot cup of tea, please, and bring it to the break room?”

My receptionist, Taylor, leaps to action immediately and hurries over to the coffee room while I guide Samantha into the staff room and sit her down on the couch.

“Now, Samantha. I want you to stay here and drink some tea until you feel better, okay? And once you’re calm, Taylor will call you a taxi to take you home, okay?”

“Oh.” Samantha weeps and she pats my arm. “You don’t have to do that. It’s too much.”

“Think nothing of it,” I assure her. Taylor arrives right on cue with a steaming hot cup of tea. Taking it, I hand it to Samantha and squeeze her shoulder. “Drink. Slowly. It will help.”

“What did you do?” Taylor hisses to me out of the side of her mouth as we stop near the door.

“I just gave her some options,” I reply. “Options I think she either never knew about or had written off long ago.”

“You know, if you keep making the patients cry, someone’s gonna think we’re doing something wrong.”

“Don’t worry.” I clasp Taylor’s shoulder. “They’re happy tears. I think. Can you keep an eye on her? Call her a taxi when she’s ready to leave? I’ll pay. I don’t mind.”

Taylor rolls her eyes. “An Angel this close to Christmas? Careful or they’ll rope you into the Nativity show next.”

With a laugh, I leave Taylor and Samantha alone and return to my office.

Closing my door, I breathe deeply and close my eyes.

It never gets old. No matter how many people sit before me with health concerns and more, delivering good or bad news doesn’t get any easier. These poor souls look at me like I hold their life in my hands.

Once upon a time, I thought it was something I would get numb to. I would watch my father attend his conferences and speak about people in such a detached way. As one of the country's leading surgeons, maybe he taught himself to disconnect, butI always assumed it would be something that would come naturally.

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