Page 79 of Doctorshipped
“Jayme?”
“Yeah?”
“This is Marge over at Bordeaux Elementary.”
“Oh. Hi, Marge.”
“I’m here with Fiona.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes. Yes. It’s just that she had to stay late for an assessment with the reading specialist that’s coming in once a week from Columbus, so she missed the bus. We’ve been trying to reach Fiona’s dad, Doctor Grant, but he’s not answering. They have you listed as an alternate contact, and Fiona asked me to call you before I called Hazel.”
“I’ll be right over.”
I drop everything and tell Lexi and Trevor I’m heading out to give Fiona a ride home. In five minutes I’m pulling up in front of the elementary school and in less than a minute or two later, I’m dashing into the front office. Fiona wraps me in a hug as soon as I come through the doorway.
“Are you okay?” I ask her.
She nods. Her usual happy-go-lucky spirit seems deflated. “I don’t know what happened to my dad. I …”
“I’m sure he’s fine,” I promise her, even though I’m not one-hundred percent sure. It’s not like Grant not to answer his phone.
A tear slips down Fiona’s cheek. I pull her back in for another hug. “Let’s get you home. Your dad will be there and everything will be okay. Okay?”
“Okay.”
I thank Marge, sign a paper saying I’m the one taking Fiona from school, and then we head over to her house. She’s quiet the whole ride, so I fill the void with conversation.
“How did you like the wedding?”
“I loved it,” she says. “You were beautiful. And I saw you dance with my dad.”
“You did? … and thanks.”
“Yeah. Did you like dancing with him?”
“I love to dance. I’m not good at it like Shannon, but I love it.”
“Me too. My dad used to dance with me in the kitchen. Before mom …” Fiona cuts herself off and stares out the window.
I give her a moment and then I say, “I bet he’d still dance with you in the kitchen. He’d do just about anything for you.”
Fiona smiles a shy smile and then looks out the window again. Thankfully, we pull up in front of her home and she jumps out, running up the steps and through the front door.
I follow behind Fiona, and when I walk in the house, I hear the two of them in the office.
“I thought something happened and you weren’t ever coming to get me,” Fiona says to Grant.
“You thought something happened to me?”
“Like with mom.”
“Oh, Fee,” I hear Grant say. There’s some shuffling and then I hear her soft sobs muffled, probably into his shirt. At least I hope he’s holding her.
Soft shushing noises fill the silence—Grant giving Fiona comfort.
“I told you you’re going to have to chase me off with a stick. I’m not leaving you, Fee. You’re my girl. I’m here for you through thick and thin.”
