Page 9 of Daddy's Double Surprise

When my phone vibrated, dancing around my desktop, and I saw it was Rick, I knew what he wanted. He had called me a few times over the past two weeks to ask how Sunny was doing on the job, and I gave him nothing but raving reviews. However, he was a concerned dad who had a bit too much time on his hands with retirement looming in his near future.

I swiped right to answer and turned speaker phone mode on as I said, “Hey, Rick, what’s up?” Leaning back to recline in my chair and relax a little, I let out a long yawn silently.

“Carter, how are things? How’s Soleil doing?” Rick sounded a little more chipper than our last call, where he complained about his golf average and the skyrocketing price of his golf membership at the country club. I found it comical considering he had more money than he knew what to do with.

“Things are good, man. Sunny is doing really great around here. She’s settled in and taken to seeing patients. They like her.” Locking my fingers together on top of my head and shutting my eyes, I pictured Sunny with that young boy earlier who came in with an earache. Technically, she wasn’t a doctor and thus hadto have oversight by a licensed physician, but she was smart as a whip and had a great bedside manner too.

“Hmm, well, I just wanted to know. She’s been brooding and moody all the time. She’s not like that at work, is she?” Rick’s concern came out as criticism, but I knew deep down he was just worried about his little girl. She was far from little anymore, but I assumed that to a father, his little kids never quite grow up.

I thought about his question for a second and remembered the stiff way she’d walked in this morning. Now closing in on the end of the day, I wondered if she was still sullen like that. She was always professional, but at times the melancholy expression on her face or the downtrodden way she said something slipped through.

“She’s doing just fine. You worry too much, Rick. I told you I’d let you know if there was any issue with her.” I paused for a moment, wanting to ask Rick what happened and why Sunny was struggling, but I decided against it. It wasn’t really my place to pry for personal information, and since neither of them had offered it, I assumed they weren’t comfortable with me knowing about it.

“Yes, well, you do that. And are we on for golf this weekend? I pay for the darn membership. I may as well use it.” His grumbling made me chuckle.

“Sure thing. You pick me up at eight and we’ll tee off by nine.” Reaching for my phone, I listened as he said his goodbyes. Then I ended the call and stared at the door of my office.

It was past four now. Jackson had gone home early today, and last I saw, Sunny had taken the last patient into her exam room over twenty minutes ago.

Curiosity got the better of me. I forced myself up out of my chair where I should’ve been filing medical transcripts and walked to the door. The exam room doors were open and Sunny sat at the reception desk alone, sorting through her own stack ofpapers. I could see her chocolate brown ponytail swaying as she moved.

Wondering why she was still here when she had no more patients to see today, I strolled out to the reception area and peeked my head around the corner. She continued working as if she hadn’t seen or heard me until I cleared my throat. When she looked up, she appeared tired or sad. There was no sparkle in her eyes.

“Staying late?” I asked, leaning on the door jamb.

“Uh, just doing some filing. The system needs a massive update. No one does paper files anymore, Doc.” Sunny flashed a stiff smile, and her head dropped back to her work. I walked over to her and sat on the corner of the desk, resting my forearm across my thigh. She looked up at me in curiosity.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, genuinely concerned that she wasn’t doing well. If her father was worried, then maybe she was really struggling. Maybe she needed a friend to talk to about it. I could be that friend because she clearly wasn’t talking to Rick, or he’d know how she was doing and not have to ask me a couple times a week.

Sunny sighed as she reached up to pull the black rubber band out of her hair. Her ponytail splayed out as she shook her head and tossed her hair. Then she rubbed her face with both hands before one finger started twirling in the dark locks draped over her shoulder.

“Honestly, not really.” Her pinched expression made my chest feel a pang of compassion. “My best friend died about a month ago now…It’s been…difficult.”

No wonder the spark in her expression seemed restrained, the life in her eyes fizzling out most times. Things started to click in my head—the drinking, throwing herself at me, Rick constantly asking if she was okay. Sunny was grieving something horrible, and no one was taking the time to ensure she was okay.

“Wow, that’s awful. Do you want to talk about it?” My heart went out to her on such a deep level she’d never understand. I hadn’t lost a close friend, but I had lost a child, and it was soul crushing, especially when months later my marriage dissolved and I found myself alone.

Sunny shrugged one shoulder and tugged on her hair nervously. Her lip wriggled between her teeth and she sighed. “We’re not exactly sure what happened. Kira was in this drug trial for some new drug, and they think maybe it was a drug interaction. We won’t know until the autopsy report comes in. They said that can take weeks or months sometimes, especially if the coroner finds anything suspicious.”

Her confession made my stomach churn. Here I was sitting on top of my own personal investigation, looking into my own pharmaceutical company because of what I believed to be predatory practices, and Sunny’s friend had died in a drug trial. The coincidence struck too close to home. She didn’t know I owned the company; few people did. I kept it that way on purpose. I hated my father’s legacy. I only wanted to help people, so I stuck to the clinics.

But I was still responsible for what went on within the company, and learning that doctors in low-cost clinics owned by the company were luring people into the trials shocked me. I had to end it, but I had to do it at the source, so it was taking time.

All of that flashed through my head in an instant as I reached out and touched Sunny’s shoulder. “That has to be excruciating. Were you two really close?” My guilty conscience eased as she smiled warmly, tears coming to her eyes.

“We were so close that people sometimes thought we were a couple.” She chuckled and then continued. “But we were really just good friends. Kira was amazing, so warm and funny, impulsive but safe.” She wiped the tears from her cheeks and shook her head. “I don’t want to bore you with this.”

“I’m not bored,” I promised. “So, you stayed at work to bury your emotions in productivity?” I grinned at her, but she sighed hard.

“No, I stayed at work because right now I’m forced to be at my parents’ house, and Mom won’t be home tonight. I don’t like being there when it’s just Dad.” Judging by the grimace on her face, I could tell she didn’t get along with Rick well, which explained why he was asking me how she was doing instead of her.

“Ah, I see.” I wasn’t sure what else to say. Getting mixed up in Rick’s relationship with his daughter was not my idea of fun, but I could see that Sunny needed a friend. “Well, you’re welcome to hang out and work as late as you want. God knows we need the help.” I felt bad shifting the subject, so I asked again, “If you need to talk more, I’m a good listener.

Her tears had stopped, but the sadness in her eyes tugged at my heart strings. Her voice faltered as she spoke about Kira, and I could see the weight of the loss in her eyes. I knew that kind of pain all too well, the kind that lingers even when you don’t want it to. My own grief, the loss of my daughter, still clung to me like a shadow, creeping into the quiet moments when I thought I could finally breathe.

I took a step closer, instinctively drawn to offer her comfort, but unsure if she wanted it. She’d already shown so much strength, but I could feel her exhaustion, her vulnerability.

“You don’t have to go through this alone, Sunny,” I said softly. “I know it might feel like no one can understand, but sometimes, just talking…it helps, even a little.”

---