Page 25 of Stone Vows

She shoots me a distasteful look. “Of course she’s not a project,” she says abhorrently. “Kyle, you’ve always said we’re all just one bad circumstance away from being homeless. Well, maybe we can be hergoodcircumstance. With all our connections, maybe we can be what helps her turn her life around.”

“Alright,” I say. “I’ll talk to her.”

Chad’s phone rings. He looks down at it. “It’s Dad,” he says. He swipes his finger across the screen. “Hi, Dad, you’re on speaker. Mal and Kyle are here.”

“Hello, everyone,” he says. “How’s my granddaughter doing in there, Mallory?”

“She’s doing very well, Marc, thanks for asking,” Mal replies. “Please thank Jackie again for sending another care package.”

“She loves doing it, Mallory. So, how are my boys?”

“Good,” Chad says.

“Can’t complain,” I add.

“Except that you do,” Chad says.

“What?” I ask.

“Oh, come on, you nearly made my ears go numb with all the bitching you did about your new attending,” he says.

“What’s this?” Dad asks. “You having trouble with one of your attendings, son?”

I shoot Chad a look of death. He doesn’t need to be bringing this shit up with our dad. “No, sir. No problems at all.”

Chad blows out something that sounds like, “Pfffffft.”

“You need to learn to get along with your attendings, Kyle,” Dad says. “Not all of them will share your ‘save the world’ philosophy.”

“I know, Dad. And I do get along with them for the most part. But this one didn’t even give me a chance.”

“What’s his name?” he asks. “Maybe I know him.”

I sigh. “It’s not a him,” I say. “I started my OB rotation this week. I’m working under Dr. Redman. She decided on day one to put me on scut. She assigned me one patient, Dad.One. Then she has me running around doing menial crap that interns should be doing, not second-years. Oh, hey, but I did get to deliver a baby the other night. Solo.”

I don’t tell him about the second one I delivered just this morning.

When I stop talking, I realize Dad is laughing on the other end of the phone.

“Dad?”

“Huh? Oh, sorry. I think that’s great, son. Your first solo delivery. Fantastic. Being in emergency medicine, I’m sure it’s just the first of many you’ll have over your career.” He clears his throat. “And, Kyle, I’m pretty sure Dr. Redman’s aversion to you is not your fault.”

“No, I’m pretty sure it is. She singled me out over all her residents. I just wish I knew what I did to piss her off.”

“It’s not anything you did, son. It’s whatIdid.”

“You?”

“Dr. Redman and I did our residencies at the same hospital,” he says.

“You know her?”

“Yes,” he says. “I dated her.”

“Youwhat?”

I hear more laughter. This time, it’s not only coming from Dad, but Chad and Mallory as well.

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