Page 97 of Nanny for the Doctor

“Yes.” She takes a small sip of her water. “I don’t know if I can take eight more weeks of this.”

“That’s just an average. It could go away sooner.” Holding Mae’s hand as I sit next to her, I give it a squeeze. “Did you try the ginger?”

She makes a face, scowling at the mention of the spice. “Ugh. No. Just the smell was enough to make me gag.”

“Well, we’ll think of something. I can get some peppermint tea from the store on our way home today.”

“It’s worth a try.” Mae shrugs. “Maybe Dr. Connors will know some trick. Didn’t you say she had a baby not too long ago?”

“Yeah. I’ll ask her. We’ve been doing good lately. She’ll probably give me a pat on the back for remembering.”

“Ha! I know she’s a bit of a softy, but I like her. As far as therapists go, you could have wound up with a much worse one.”

I nod, knowing how right Mae is. “Very true. Honestly, she’s been great, and I’m grateful you helped me find her. I don’t think unpacking everything about losing Clara would have gone nearly as well without Dr. Connors’s help.”

“Trust me,” Mae says as she meets my eyes, “I can tell. You’ve put in so much work with Henry and me. He’s so excited for weekends like this. I’m so happy to see you guys connecting.”

“Well, I have a lot more work to do, but yeah, it’s going great.”

We smile at each other, and then I turn back to watch Henry reeling his line in and casting it out again. He’s pretty good at that part, and I’m more than grateful I finally got to teach him.

I’m grateful for so many things, actually.

From the baby, to reestablishing my relationship with my son, so much has changed in just a handful of weeks, and it’s all thanks to Mae.

She’s been an absolute rock, not to mention the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The grace she shows navigating the loss of my first wife while helping me remember the good times has been remarkable.

There are even pictures of Clara in the hall outside Henry’s room now. Mae suggested them as a way to remember the good times instead of burying her memory behind sadness.

It was the perfect move. Remembering Clara and allowing myself to be grateful for the time we had has helped me start moving on. And Henry has been able to explore memories of his mother without fear or guilt.

Plus, I’ve had the added perk of finding Mae standing in front of the pictures on occasion, whispering under her breath. I’ve caught her thanking Clara and promising to “look after her boys.”

If I wasn’t already madly in love with her, that would have sealed the deal.

“Oh!” Mae shoots up in her chair, and I can see her immediately regret the sudden movement. “Ugh. Ooh, okay, go away nausea. Anyway, Johnny said yes to dinner tomorrow. I almost forgot to tell you.”

“Oh, great. It’ll be nice to see them again, and I need to get my leaf blower back.”

Mae laughs. I’ve picked up an affinity for yard work since I’ve been home more often, and Johnny has used it to his advantage, borrowing all of my tools so he doesn’t have to buy any.

I really don’t mind. I’ll lend Johnny whatever he needs. I’m just happy I didn’t lose my best friend after everything that happened.

Apparently, confessions of love have a way of changing people’s minds about you. Yeah, he’d woken up almost immediately after I got to Mae with the scans, and he’d just played possum to give us our space.

Crafty bastard.

Not that I’m actually mad. Hell, I’m thrilled that Johnny was able to see how much I meant what I said.

In his words,I saw with my own two eyes how much you love my sister, which had been enough to help him bury the hatchet before Mae was even discharged.

And thank God for that. I don’t ever want to fight with him like that again. Johnny is downright scary when he’s pissed, and I pity anyone who gets between him and someone he cares about.

“Dad! Dad, I got one!”

Henry calls back over his shoulder, the line jerking, and I run up to help him reel in the catch. It takes a few minutes of tugging; I want Henry to do it mostly by himself, just like my father taught me on this same lake.

With a hearty splash, the fish flies out of the water, and Henry swings his pole over to the shore. The glistening, slippery creature flails around on the lure, and my son smiles bigger than I’ve ever seen.

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