Chapter 26

Free for a drink after work? Have a question for you.

It was a little cryptic for Jackie. Normally she was straightforward. Doug liked that about her. He never had any doubt as to where things stood.

Sure. Your place 5ish?

Sounds good. See you then.

No emojis. Something was definitely up. Fortunately, he wouldn’t have to wait long to find out what. It was a shame there was no place in town to take her to celebrate his news.

Kashvi said yes to his proposal. It was a tentative yes, and awaiting board approval, so he couldn’t say anything yet. Victor Lang, Dr. Roberts, and the others would keep it quiet as long as they could, to avoid a panic and a flood of complaints. For once, small town secrecy would work in his favour.

Doug knew his desire to get out of Hopewell would cause waves. At least he could ensure he wouldn’t be costing the community any money or medical services. Plus, they’d be getting a winner with Dr. Kashvi Singh.

The minute hand on the wall clock hit twelve, which meant it was five o’clock and his office hours were officially over. He waved good-bye to Louise, who was covering the afternoon to evening shift, and headed out the door.

He either biked or walked to work, both for the exercise, and because by the time he backed out of his tiny parking stall and wormed his way into his reserved parking spot, he could be in his office already. He’d planned to head straight home. Now he was adding another ten blocks of walking in the summer heat to stop at Greenley’s to see if they had any flowers.

He needed them as an apology for neglecting to return Jackie’s messages over the last couple days. He’d been preoccupied with getting Kashvi to Hopewell. He figured she could use the flowers, especially if the new radiology schedule Victor mentioned put her in a tight spot. There had to be a way to ensure Jackie wasn’t hurt by his defection back to Winnipeg, but he’d just finished fighting the last battle. He needed time to plan.

The store manager was taking inventory when he walked in and took a deep lungful of the chilled air. Vaughn Haskell gave him the stink-eye when he first saw him. Patricia, who was helping Mr. Sawchuk load a case of cola into his shopping cart, bumped Vaughn’s arm and whispered something in his ear. Whatever it was, Vaughn didn’t like it, but he plastered a smile on his face anyway. “Good afternoon, Dr. Little. What can I help you with today?” he asked.

“I need flowers.”

“For? A special occasion?” Vaughn didn’t try to hide his curiosity.

“Maybe a small one. Do you have any?”

Ten minutes later, after getting a small smile from Patricia at the checkout, he was on his way again, a bouquet of white daisies with a mini sunflower in the middle in hand. It was the best workday he’d had in weeks, and now he got to end it with someone special. It couldn’t get much better.

Jackie met him at the door and invited him into her apartment. But she didn’t sit beside him when she ushered him to the sofa, and she refused to meet his eye as she paced around the living room.

“Is something wrong?”

She nodded and then shook her head.

“You said you wanted to talk to me. Is it about that?”

Jackie nodded violently.

“I’m here whenever you want to start.” She was freaking him out. He had no idea what could have made her so upset.

She opened and closed her mouth a few times before the words started flowing. “I heard something. A rumour. About you. I should tell you, but I don’t want you to get mad because I’m bringing it up.”

Her concern was sweet but all that told him absolutely nothing. “Jackie, you can tell me. I know people have been talking about me. Is it the win, or something else?” Because the gossips in town were still having a field day with the bachelor-doctor-lottery-winner combination that was his life. Three months in, and the rumours still hadn’t stopped swirling.

“Patricia told me Vaughn texted her that he saw you having a breakfast date in the city with a beautiful woman. He took a picture of you and sent it to Jackie who showed it to me.”

Doug had no idea what she was talking about.

“It was Dr. Singh,” she added.

He couldn’t catch a break. “Kashvi? Vaughn saw me with Kashvi?” If that got around town, it could blow all his finely arranged, soon-to-be plans out of the water.

Then the true implication of what Jackie said hit him. “It wasn’t a date. No! No dating. Work! Besides, she’s—”

“Engaged,” Jackie interrupted. She took two steps and collapsed into the cushion beside him. “That’s what I told Jackie to tell Vaughn.”

She did not look well. Her tanned face was white, as were her knuckles. He left the flowers in his lap and took her hand in his. He massaged her fingers until her grip relaxed. “Jackie, it was a business meeting. I promise. She was telling me about changes to the clinic since I left, and we discussed other practices.” Like his, but he didn’t mention that. Another thought occurred to him. “Why was Vaughn watching me? Why did he take a picture? And why did he show it to you and Patricia?”

“I think he was looking out for me.”

Doug could see that. But—“Were you worried?”

“No. Yes. Not really.”

He was used to her indecisiveness. Before he thought it was cute. Now it was edging into annoying territory. “Jackie.”

“I was concerned until I saw who it was. Then I figured it was work.”

“Why were you concerned?”

“Because I haven’t seen you in days, and you haven’t texted either. We’ve gone out a few times and it’s been a lot of fun, but I’m twenty-eight. If I’m going to get serious with someone, now is the time. And we haven’t talked about that at all.”

She was absolutely right; he hadn’t asked her about any of her own plans for the future, or about plans the two of them might want to make together. “That’s fair. Let me start by saying three things so you can mark them off your list. We can talk more about them whenever we want. I like dating you. I plan to keep dating you. I don’t plan on dating anyone else while we are dating each other. I hope you feel the same way. Does that work for you?”

She nodded again. Her eyes got shiny, but she was smiling so he thought it was a good thing.

“I feel like we should mark this decision somehow,” Doug said.

“I have an idea.” Jackie leaned closer and gently placed her hand on his shoulders.

He liked this idea. But he couldn’t let her take all the risks today; she’d been brave enough already. Doug bent slightly and gently pressed his lips against hers. When their kiss ended, he heard Jackie give off a near-silent sigh, and he felt the same way.

“Wow! Okay, that’s settled. While we’re at it,” because he was going to want to hug her sooner rather than later, “Here.” He lifted the bouquet off his lap and handed it to her.

She didn’t fake nonchalance. “They’re gorgeous. Thank you.”

That was much better. “You’re welcome.”

He stayed put while she carried them to the kitchen. “You said two things in your text. What was the other?”

She stuck her head around the corner. Her smile was even bigger. “I have good news. Give me a minute.”

Doug stretched out on the sofa, the tension from the last couple minutes draining out of him. He liked the sound of “good news.” He relaxed and took a moment to really study Jackie’s apartment.

The cribbage and poker sets were Patricia’s. His old neighbour had always been a card shark. The shelves of jigsaw puzzles, on the other hand, had to be Jackie’s. He never would have guessed she was a puzzle addict. The—he paused to count—three baskets of yarn must be Jackie’s too.

Jackie returned, carefully carrying a vase. She nudged aside a picture frame next to the television to make room for it.

“Are you ready to tell me?”

“Yes.” She stood up a little straighter. “I have a new job. Two new jobs. First of all, you will be able to enjoy fresh Dunn muffins and other assorted baked goods with your morning coffee at Ruth’s Place starting on Tuesday.”

“That is fantastic!” Not only for Jackie, but for stomachs everywhere. “The diner is lucky to have you. What’s the second thing?”

“You know that I wasn’t full-time at Hopewell Hospital. What you may not have known is that the radiologist at Virden General is pregnant and she wanted to cut her hours to part-time. I called the administrator and beginning in September I’m working there afternoons five days a week until her maternity leave starts. That’s more than I was getting here!”

“Wow.” That was not what he expected to hear.

“Isn’t it great?” She was adorably excited.

“Beyond great!” He didn’t need to apologize for Victor’s decision now that she’d already shown the administrator’s coercion was ineffective. “What does Victor say about it?”

“What can he say? He made it clear when he told me the board didn’t want to renew my contract that Hopewell doesn’t want me. Virden does.”

Then a second thought hit him. “How long is your contract with Virden General?” He’d intended to recommend her to every clinic and radiology department in Winnipeg to get her a job once he’d moved back, but she didn’t know that.

“Until Christmas.”

Christmas wasn’t so bad. He’d be gone by then, but Hopewell wasn’t that far away if he had to make the drive for a couple months to see her. Besides, it would give him time to help her find a job in the city, if that was her career preference. “I thought you’d like a full-time job in Winnipeg.” Where he would be. “What about Emerald Catering?”

“I was thinking about it, but now I don’t have to. I can cater here, and still be my own boss. I didn’t want to move back to Winnipeg anyway. I was pretty desperate when I considered that. Now I don’t have to worry about it anymore. Isn’t it great? I can stop and breathe for the rest of the summer.”

“What do you mean desperate? I thought we had a good time when we were in Winnipeg for the day. Were you faking?” And if she was, what else had she pretended to enjoy?

“No! I had a great time with you. Visiting the city is great. It doesn’t mean I want to live there, though.”

“That is exactly how I feel about being stuck in Hopewell!”

“What? Stuck here?”

“Jackie, I only came back to town because I had to. Do you really think my career goals include settling down in a place like this for the rest of my life?”

“Why not? Is Hopewell so terrible?”

As mad as he was, he refused to lie. It wasn’t horrible. The people who lived here seemed to like it. But Jackie didn’t give him a chance to say that.

“I didn’t know you were suffering so badly,” she continued. “What with Mr. Ronald referring patients to you left and right after you helped him with his toe, and Barb Poulin singing your praises. It’s not like you don’t have a circle of friends you get together with once a week for supper, plus everyone you’ve met through softball. I don’t even know what’s going on at the diner, but Scarlett says you’ve fully joined the seven a.m. coffee crew. So, tell me again how terrible it is here for you.”

“I didn’t say it was horrible. I said that I want to go home.”

“This could be home.”

“So could Winnipeg.” Was it so impossible for her to think she could be happy there? He’d help her.

“I had no idea you felt that way.”

“Me neither,” he said. Doug had been picturing them walking the same road together, but they were miles apart when it came to their dreams.

He understood it in a way. They had the exact same opinion; only the places differed. It didn’t leave them anywhere to go. “Congratulations on your new job in Virden. I’m glad they snatched you up. You’re a great radiologist, even if Hopewell Hospital didn’t recognize that fact.”

“Thanks.”

The silence hung heavily between them.

“Are you planning to go back to Winnipeg as soon as your contract is done?” Jackie asked. Her lips formed an “I,” but she didn’t speak it. “Do we only have you for two more years?”

It was already bad enough. He couldn’t say, “At best.” He settled for, “I can’t see me staying any longer.”