Page 9 of Devil

“Hey, Bailey.”

“Hi,Amedia. Is Mackenzie in? I’m supposed to meet with her.”

“Yes. Dr. Minton’s in with her last patient, so if you’llhavea seat, I’ll let her know you are here.”

“Thank you.” I turned and moved to the waiting area and took a seat. I didn’t have to wait long before Dr. Minton walked out.

“Bailey, come on back to myoffice,and we’ll talk.” I followed her to theback,and once we reached her office, she waved to a chair in front of herdesk,and I sat down. “So, you finally got your results? That’s great. Now when can you start?”

“Mom said you would be a fool not to hire me,” I said and started laughing.

“How is your mom doing back at the bakery?”

“She is doing great, Mac. Me. I’m trying not to watch every move she makes and worry that she’s doing too much. I think I’m getting on her nerves.”

“Well, taking this job will help, Bay. She needs to get back into her routine.”

“I know.She’s been back less than a week. The first couple of days, she only worked a few hours. That was as long as it lasted too. The last couple of days, she has stayed the entire time with me, baking, waiting on customers...everything. And I spend the day watching her. You might be right, taking this job could be good for both of us.” I chuckled. “Mom will probably dance around for finally getting me out of her space.”

“It will be good for her. She needs to get back to her life, Bay, and you need to get on with yours.”

“You’reright,and that’s what she said too.”

“So, can you start tomorrow?” I had to have had a shocked looked on my face because Mac burst out laughing. “Don’t panic, I was just teasing. Butseriously,though, when would you be able to start? Mabel wants to retire and spend time with her grandbabies. She’s only still here because I told her once your results were back that you would take over.”

I shook my head. “What were you going to tell her if I failed?”

Mac laughed. “I have no idea. Now I don’t need to worry about it since you passed.”

“Okay, I guess if I’m going to be your new RN, I should pick up a few new sets of scrubs. The ones I had from school are a little worn. Plus, who knows if they fit after working in the bakery with all the sampling.” Istood,and so did Mackenzie.

“Please, you look great. At least you havecurves,and they are in the right places.” Mac waved her hand down her body. “Mine resembles a teenage boy’s body with boobs.”

I couldn’t help it, I laughed. Mac was dainty and looked as if she should still be in high school, instead of a doctor running her own practice.

“Go ahead and laugh. You will see. Some of the older patients who stayed with me after I bought out Dr. Davis when he retired, call me the female Doogie Howser.” I laughed harder at the expression on her face. “Do you know who that is?” she asked and raised her eyebrows waiting for my reply.

“Maybe.”

“See? I had to ask who they were talking about. How was I to know it was a TV show from the late eighties about a teenage boy, no less, who was some type of medical phenomenon.”

“Mac, you are absolutely gorgeous. And you do not have a body of a teenage boy. I wish minewasas toned as yours.”

“Yeah, and I wish I had some of your curves.” Mac changedfromrantingto chuckling, then continued, “We could sit here and bitch about what we don’t like about ourbodies,or we could say screw it and go to lunch instead. What do you think? Got time to have lunch with your soon-to-be employer before my afternoon appointments start?”

I thought of my mom at the bakery by herself and was ready to decline but thought better of it. “Let me check in with Mom to make sure she’s doing alright, and if she is, I am all for eating out with my new boss.” I reachedintomy purse and pulled out my cell while Mac took off her white coat and hung it on the rack in the corner, then got her own purse out of a drawer in her desk. By the time she was ready, I hadtoldmy mom that I would see her after we finished eating, and ended the call. When I looked atMac,she was smiling. “What?”

“Wow, Claire really is tired of youmotheringher. I could hear her over the phone.”

“Yeah, she is. I think this job is going to be great, not only formebut for her too. You were right, I need to get back to my life, and let her get back to hers.”

We headed out of Mac’s office and discussed what all my job would entail. Mabel would crossover with me for a couple of weeks so I could get acquainted with my job duties. A week from Monday, instead of going to the bakery, it seemed I would be headedfora new career. When we got close to the reception area, voices could be heard. And as we turned the corner I smiled at the two women who stood talking.

“Damn, Sami, you don’t do anything half-assed, do you?” Sami looked over Carly’s shoulder at Mac and I and shook her head and smiled at us. Carly noticed and turned to face us.

“Hey, Bailey,” Sami said and then picked up the papers Amelia laid on the counter for her.

“Hi, it seems like forever since I saw you two.” I stepped forward and hugged each woman.

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