Chapter 31

How on earth had Jackie missed how miserable he was in Hopewell?

His ringing phone roused him. He rolled slightly, and the sunlight streaming though his living room window hit him square in the face. “Dr. Little,” he growled.

“Good morning, Doug. It’s Kashvi. Can we talk?” a chipper voice greeted him over the phone.

“Sure we can, but it’s very early, and I haven’t had coffee yet, so please be kind.” If she had good news for him, it would be a wonderful way to start the day and make up a little for the night before.

“I won’t keep you from your coffee. I’m going to say yes,” she said. “I’m in. Manish is in. We’re very excited to get to Hopewell. But since you say you’re excited to leave, I wanted to let you know. Nothing until the papers are signed, please,” she added.

He barely heard her. “Of course, of course.” He was out of there. In a few months, as paperwork was never fast. “Thank you. You’ll love it here.”

“I have to say I’m surprised,” Kashvi said. “You seem pretty settled for only having been there for a few months. I hope we fit in as quickly since we don’t have the benefit of being born locals.”

“You’ll fit right in. And what do you mean I’m settled?” He still had packed boxes all over his apartment, and he’d saved the ones he had unpacked for the trip back to Winnipeg.

She laughed. “It was just an observation. Don’t get so defensive. Have some coffee and act surprised when you hear the news.” Kashvi hung up before he could apologize. Rather than leave it on his to-do list, he texted her one right away, and got back a smiley-face in response.

Doug pondered over his coffee. He had no idea what could have given Kashvi the impression he was settling into Hopewell. He’d met her in the city twice, and it was a three-hour trip each way. He hadn’t made the drive as often as he expected over the summer. He’d been working and on call a lot, but he’d still made it half a dozen times. How much more obvious could he make it?

He called Brandon to check on Dr. Roberts’s status before he headed to Ruth’s Place for coffee and toast for breakfast. When he’d first arrived in town, both Jason and Noah warned him not to order anything other than the toast. Now toast and bad diner coffee were his regular breakfast, especially on mornings like these, where he’d run out of milk or cereal the day before.

Jonathan Gilbert was at the counter when he arrived. “Aren’t you supposed to be away on vacation? Are you playing hooky?” Doug asked. No wife, no kids, and the waitress refilling his cup.

“We got back yesterday. Francine took the kids to the dinosaur museum in Morden. She said I needed time to work on my new book.” Jonathan stared hard at Doug. “Rough night? How’s Dr. Roberts?”

He must have winced, because Johnathan laughed at him. “Relax. Everybody knows. It’s a good thing you were here. Louise said we would have lost him last night.”

“It was touch and go,” Doug admitted. The impact of Jonathan’s innocuous question hit him hard. Dr. Roberts would not have survived if he hadn’t been there. The town would have lost him.

“Are you still up for softball tonight? We’re playing the Lone Pine Processing team.”

“I’m on call, but I’ll be there.” Doug paused. He was supposed to be the emergency alternate. How had he ended up on the regular rotation?

“We kept asking and you kept saying yes,” Jonathan said. “Yes, you asked that out loud.”

Alice brought Doug his bill and stamped a business card with his recent purchase. “You get a free coffee the next time you come in,” she said.

“What?” Doug asked Jonathan, before he realized the teacher couldn’t have spoken with a mouthful of coffee.

Jonathan stared at him over the top of his mug.

“Nothing,” Doug mumbled. He thought he’d heard a muffled comment from his friend about filling his frequent buyer card. It was coffee. It didn’t mean anything. People bought coffee everywhere, all the time. Ruth’s was the only place in town that sold it except for the gas station convenience store, and a man had to have some standards.

“Are you okay?” Jonathan asked. “Jackie was in here talking to Scarlett and Alice earlier this morning, and she had the same look on her face.”

Jonathan would be a good person to ask. “Have I ever mentioned to you that I wanted to move back to Winnipeg?”

“Sure. All the time.”

Vindication tasted sweet.

But then Jonathan continued, “When you first moved here. Then you joined the softball team, and it didn’t come up as much. When you and Jackie got serious, you pretty much stopped talking about it. Why are you bringing it up again now?”

Right, Jonathan hadn’t been at the last winner dinner for his revelation. “Do you think I’m fitting in to Hopewell?”

“Sure. Don’t you?”

Doug opened his mouth to say no and then closed it. Hopewell had been nothing but kind to him since he’d arrived. There had been a couple unpleasant people, like Mr. Sawchuk, but to be fair, there were jerks everywhere.

He missed a lot of things about city living, particularly restaurants and takeout. The lack of convenience when he decided at the last minute he didn’t want to cook and ended up with a supper of popcorn and pickles sucked, but between the winner dinners or when Jackie used him for a guinea pig for a new recipe, he was still eating out at least once a week. He wasn’t suffering.

He’d gone to more art galleries since he’d moved to Hopewell than he had when he lived in the city. He and Jackie had gone to two movies in Brandon, which matched the number he’d seen in the theatre all of the previous year. Plus, the softball team kept him busy twice a week.

Wow.

What he’d been doing did paint a different picture from what he’d been feeling.

Thank goodness she’d kicked him out the previous night before their fight had devolved even further. Her accusations hadn’t been right, but she hadn’t been completely wrong either, and that had been his fault.

His cell phone beeped before he could finish his conversation with Jonathan. “It’s the hospital,” he said in explanation.

“Take it.”

It wasn’t a patient emergency. It was an administrative one. Victor asked him to come in immediately to discuss contractual issues. On a Saturday morning. He must have been checking his messages to hear Kashvi’s call. “I’ll be right in,” Doug said to his boss.

Jonathan didn’t bat an eye at his unexpected departure.

Louise was off duty when he arrived at the hospital, but Nancy, the other shift nurse, greeted him at the nursing station. Like everyone else he’d run into, she asked for an update on Dr. Roberts. “Recovering nicely,” he said. The last thing the man had done before getting in the ambulance was give permission to Doug to discuss his status with whoever asked.

The administrator invited him into his office and closed the door behind him. Doug braced, waiting for the next round of arguments to begin.

“Coffee? Danish?” Victor offered.

The hairs on the back of Doug’s neck stood at attention. The other man never offered something for nothing. “You mentioned an urgent situation. Is a patient coming in?” He knew there wasn’t; Nancy would have said something. But he didn’t want to leave himself open and ask if he could do something for Victor, because he knew the answer would be yes.

“I received a call this morning from Dr. Singh. I’m pleased to announce that she will be joining us as of November. Her reputation is impeccable. I’m certain she will be an excellent addition to our little family.”

“As am I,” Doug said agreeably. “That is great news. I’m glad you found a replacement for me. Per my contract, and the addendum you emailed to me, I’d like to move ahead with severing my ties with the Hopewell Hospital. I will, of course, wait ’til Dr. Singh starts. I won’t leave you shorthanded until Dr. Roberts returns.”

“About that…”

“No.” Doug didn’t care what he said next. To quote him and the board, a contract was a contract. Doug had done everything required of him.

“Doug—”

“Dr. Little,” Doug corrected.

“Dr. Little, Dr. Roberts called us this morning from Brandon. He will not be returning to work. Ever.”

Doug sighed. Part of him expected that news. Dr. Roberts had been easing toward retirement for years; a heart attack was a big, blaring sign telling him to make the decision already. That was literally the reason Doug was in Hopewell, to take over his practice. “I’m sorry, but not surprised, to hear that.”

“Doug, we need you here. We can offer you Dr. Roberts’s old parking spot. It’s under the carport to protect it from the elements. And it’s the closest spot to the door.”

Doug raised an eyebrow. That offer had to hurt. Scuttlebutt in the staff room said Victor had been angling for that parking spot for years. Now he was offering it up on a silver platter. “A parking spot?”

“We could also find some money in the budget to overhaul your office. Yours and Dr. Singh’s. And a couple examination rooms.”

He had already bought his own blood pressure machine, but a nicer, newer office with a desk that didn’t wobble, and solid coat hooks would be nice. Everyone—patients and staff—would appreciate improvement to the examination rooms which were still painted in an 80s blue and beige theme.

“I don’t think so, Victor.”

“We have everything you need. How can the hospital get you to change your mind?”

The question made him think. Aside from being out of Hopewell, he couldn’t come up with an answer. A nicer, newer hospital would be nice. He had a nice place to live, friends to hang with, a new albeit growing practice, a girlfriend. Victor couldn’t offer him anything.

If he returned to the city, he could get all those things again. Renew some acquaintances like he had here. It wouldn’t be the same, though. It would take a lot of time and effort to replace what he had in Hopewell, and his new friends wouldn’t replace the old connections he’d re-established, but he could do it. Then he could have the same life in a better place. He’d be trading a bike ride to work for traffic and paying for parking, but that would be okay.

“Nothing,” he said.

Victor slumped in his chair. “Fine. I’ll inform the board that you found a replacement per our agreement. But you said you’ll stick around ’til Dr. Singh starts, correct?”

“Yes.”

“So, we have until November to find another doctor. I don’t suppose you have any other friends you want to send our way?”

“Not off the top of my head.” He could think about it; he might come up with one. “Was there anything else?”

“No.”

Doug was preoccupied on his walk home. Victor’s last question echoed in his head. What did he want?