Page 29 of Dr. Alaska
“Gotta go, Lee.” Maverick pressed his palm down on the back of her hand where it rested on the table. “See you for dinner in a few days, barring any natural disasters or acts of God.”
*
That Friday, Leewoke up at six a.m. before work and breathlessly logged onto her Georgia bank’s website. She squinted at the screen’s brightness, harsh in the morning darkness. The dinner date with Mavin a few dayshadn’t happened due to her schedule. Probably for the best. If they had split the bill, she might have been in trouble.
Shivering, she snagged the light blue throw blanket off of the functional but worn couch in the living room and wrapped it around her flannel-pajama-clad frame as she settled in the chair at the small dinette table. Drumming her fingers on the tabletop, she waited. Speeds might be slow, but thanks to rural broadband, at least she had internet out here.
Come on, she urged the screen.
One of the clinic nurses was having a baby shower next week. When the envelope to add gift money had come across Lee’s desk yesterday, she had wanted to contribute but instead pretended she’d left her wallet at home. Hot shame had churned in her stomach afterward.
She was literally down to her last dollar.
Damn Preston, her life, those lawyers. All of it. She clutched the blanket.
Her credit card payments were due by tomorrow. Even though her student loans were in temporary forbearance, it was important to restart monthly payments ASAP before the accrued interest blew the roof off of the balance.
The bank’s website loaded. She clicked on the link to her account.
Blinked.
Looked again. Her heart pounded as she searched the screen.
There were funds now present, but not as much as she had anticipated. She needed more than that to make a dent in her balances. What happened? Sweat broke out on her upper lip.
She checked once more. The amount deposited was around half of what she had planned for.
Air sawed in and out of her lungs.What?
Switching tabs, she pulled up the locums company employee portal on her computer and double-checked that she had submitted her hours correctly. Yes, she had submitted two weeks’ worth of work. However, she had only gotten paid for one week, because—
Biweekly payments.
Damn. It. To. Hell.
Lee had only been paid for her first week of locums because the second week would get paid in two weeks and—oh, she crammed shaking fingers through her tangled hair.
Her eyes burned. Gut ached.
Nowhere in medical school or residency was she given education about finances, other than an attending physician recommending that the residents get a good financial planner to manage their money. No discussion of how to work through the staggering debt medical students took on. No classes on how to set up a budget on the modest resident salary, especially when one’s spouse wanted to spend money like she was an attending physician already. That was the first step into the hole right there.
A laugh turned into a sob. No planner would take her on as a client now. She had no money! Lee stared blankly at the white walls of the empty kitchen and living room decorated with a few generic neutral prints. No one sat across from her at the bare table. Down the street a truck engine rumbled to life as someone warmed up their vehicle. Off in the distance, she detected the high whine of a snowmobile running at speed. Someone’s early morning commute.
What was she doing with her life? What was she doinghere? It would feel so good to unburden herself and share her shame. She had quite the collection of mistakes. She swallowed. No. The Tiptons never,everlet on about financial struggles. She looked around again at the empty room until her eyes landed on the new leather booties near the front door.
Theyweresuper cute, even if they were Bini knockoffs.
Successful people found a way to appear successful.
Thanks, Mom. Super helpful.
This entire situation was not what she had envisioned for her career, working for the highest bidder. Coldest place on Earth, in a neat but modest rental house in a tiny town, alone and buried under mountains of debt, unable to let on that she felt like a fraud because everyone thought if she was a doctor she must be successful.
Not every doctor had an ex-husband who had taken everything.
Not every doctor had gotten buried by credit card debt like she had.
How long would it be before she trusted herself again?
