Page 89 of Right in Front of You

“Okay, so what’s going on here?” I pointed from one to the other. “Are you two…”

“Well, not officially. We’d like to ensure that Clare has her divorce first.”

“That shouldn’t be too hard. Get a few beers in Father and he’ll sign everything over.”

“Actually, it’s not that easy. If it were, we would have done it a long time ago.”

“I don’t need him to sign anything over, darling. He can have the house and the land. I just need him to let me finally go.”

I stared at them both with about a hundred questions going through my mind.

“Have a seat, Molly.” Doctor Burke pointed to the empty chair.

I sipped on my coffee, waiting for either one of them to explain what they meant.

“You know that we went to high school together, don’t you?” my mother asked.

“Yes, I do.”

“Well, we also dated back then.”

“Oh. So, I guess it didn’t work out. Which is okay, but it could now. Right?”

“Actually, it did work out. In fact, we were madly in love.” Doctor Burke took my mother’s hand and her cheeks flushed red. She lowered her head, shyly, before looking back up at me again.

“So, what happened?”

“Your father used to be different. He came into the picture just after graduation when Donald had to leave to study. We broke up just before he left. It was one of the biggest mistakes of my life.”

“Why did you break up?”

“We came from different families who wanted different things for us. Also, I didn’t want Clare missing out on life while I studied. I wanted her to experience her youth and not to have regrets. I shouldn’t have done that. I should have asked her to marry me before I left.”

“But you were so young, you didn’t know what life would bring.”

“That’s true, but sometimes you should listen to your heart instead of what others may think about your relationship. There were other forces at work as well. My parents wanted me to find a girl who was also a doctor. By the time I realized that my heart could never belong to anyone else, it was already too late.”

“I married your father. He… he used to be a good man, Molly. I really thought I was marrying a good man.” My mother’s eyes were sad, but they illuminated again once she snuck a peek at Doctor Burke. It was as if he were the center of her world.

“Why? I mean, he was young and probably not a drunk back then, but if you knew you loved someone else—”

“I didn’t have a ch—”

Someone tapped on my shoulder. “Doctor Fowler, the patient in room four has had a setback.”

“Mom, Doctor Burke, I’m sorry but I have to—”

“Go, Molly. We understand.”

“We’ll finish this conversation. I promise.” And I meant that. It was time that some light was shed on how my mother had ended up with an asshole and a rapist.

I shot off my chair and took the stairs to run up to the emergency floor. Another patient was still having chest pains, and after multiple tests, I’d diagnosed him as having pericarditis — an inflammation of the membrane enclosing his heart. All the symptoms were almost identical to a heart attack, except that there was no scarring of tissue on the ultrasound and the echocardiogram was perfect.

“The most likely cause is viral, Mr. McKinnon. I’ll prescribe anti-inflammatory medication to help with the pain and inflammation. In the meantime, you need to take it easy. It may take several months to bounce back to yourself, but if you notice any additional deterioration in your health, please come back.”

“Thank you, Doctor Fowler.”

“You’re welcome.” I scribbled the prescription and asked the nurse to give the patient his first dose of anti-inflammatories before he left, then headed into the next room. My lunch break was over anyway so there was no point in returning to the cafeteria.

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