Page 61 of The Doctor's Simple Life

“Bad,” I say, pouting like a kid.

“Oh, honey. I wish I could give you a hug.”

“Gramma says I should come back to work,” I say, blurting it out before she has a chance to get talking.

“Are you sure?”

“I think I should. Being here at home is driving me crazy. It’s driving Gramma crazy. We’re getting in each other’s way, and she thinks I’m moping. So yes. I am sure.”

“You’ve had enough time to adjust your… situation?”

“Not really.” I sigh. “But I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it. I’m just going to have to accept it, and I don’t think sitting around all day is helping. Besides, I’m excited about being a mother, so there’s that.”

“That makes sense, honey. But if you need any time off at all, you just tell us, okay? We’ll accommodate you wherever we can.”

“You’re the best,” I say, smiling. It’s on days like this that I love my job more than ever.

“And because I’m the best,” she says, and I can just see the smirk on her face. “I’ve got some juicy gossip for you.”

I hum down the phone, curious. Giselle’s gossip ranges from her cousin with arthritis to the prices in the vending machines going up a few cents.

“We’ve just been bought out again,” she says like she’s dropped the news of the century.

“Oh, really?” I say, trying to sound interested. “That was quick.”

“Uh-huh. The new guy was dying to take over as fast as possible.”

“Well, good for them,” I say. I don’t have the energy for this. “Is that going to affect anything?”

Giselle giggles in a way that seems to suggest that she knows something I don’t, but I don’t really feel like interrogating that right now.

I’m tired. My back hurts, and since I found out that I’m pregnant, I feel sick all the time. Whether that’s in my head or not, I can’t tell. What I definitely don’t have is patience for playing along with Giselle’s little gossip trails. To be honest, I couldn’t care less about who owns the hospital as long as I still have a job.

“Come into your shift like normal tomorrow,” she says. “We’ll be pleased to have you back.”

When I arrive at the hospital the next morning, there’s little fanfare. People tell me it’s good to have me back, but we don’t linger on it. They smile, then move on. It’s business as usual, just the way I like it.

At least until I start doing my job, anyway. Giselle comes to sweep me up under her wing and follows me around for the first hour of the shift.

After the first hour and ten minutes, I snap. “Giselle, what are you doing here?”

“I’m getting you all settled back in.”

I frown at her. “You don’t need to hover by my side. I promise I’ve done my job before. I know what I’m doing.”

“I know, hon,” she says, her bright grin unfading. “I just want to make sure you’ve got everything you need.”

“I do. Thank you.”

“All right, sweetie.” She pauses for me to say something else, and I don’t. I have nothing else to say. “Well, you let me know if there’s anything at all I can help you with, okay?”

“Okay,” I say, possibly a little too curtly. She squeezes my arm before she deposits me back in my office, where I flop into my chair with a sigh.

The worst part about this is that everyone’s going to know about the baby because everyone found out last week after I fainted. So everyone’s going to be treating me like this for the next nine months.

Well, more like seven at this point. I’m not totally sure how long I’ve been pregnant, but it’s two months since Reece left, and I sure as hell haven’t been with anyone else since then.

Fortunately, after Giselle leaves, my day goes pretty much as normal.

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