Jackie was good. Very good. So good, in fact, Doug had absolutely no proof she was involved in whatever was happening around town, but he was certain she had to be part of the conspiracy to make sure he knew he was welcome and wanted in Hopewell.
The weird part was he was finding he didn’t mind.
Conspiracy or not, he didn’t see Jackie working her magic to conjure a pregnant woman and have Barb Poulin bring in said new-to-town friend for an introduction during Hope and Lillian’s check-ups. Both mom and friend looked relieved to hear the baby girls were doing so well after their early start. Doug himself was astounded at their quick growth. He’d miss seeing them hit the crawling stage.
While he was thrilled about Barb’s referral, it wasn’t as sweet as it could be. He didn’t like the idea of starting a pregnancy plan with a patient, knowing he was going to have to hand it over to Kashvi halfway through.
He set it aside. He wasn’t at the office right now. Jackie was catering the winner dinner tonight. With both their schedules ramping up in the last week of summer, he volunteered to help her carry in her supplies, just for the chance to spend a little more time with her.
“How are you doing?” he asked.
Jackie grabbed a can of soda off the counter and drained it. “Mmm, sugar and caffeine,” she said. “I’m not going to complain about all the hours I’m getting at the hospital before my contract runs out. It’s unexpected, but great. I’m banking all that money. I have a plan for it. But, wow, I’m going all day, every day.”
Her grin was infectious, and he couldn’t help but return it.
News of his imminent departure had made the rounds, prompting a rash of new appointments and requests for suddenly needed annual physicals from some of Dr. Roberts’ former patients who had refused to meet with him before.
Doug brought Jackie in for as many X-ray and imaging appointments as he needed and took great delight in spreading them as far apart as he could to give her the maximum number of hours. Dr. Brown caught on quickly and did the same. When Victor questioned him on it, Doug replied if they didn’t get them now, their patients would have to wait until the board found a replacement. Victor had no retort for that, except to show Doug the paint samples for the new office décor.
“Guilty as charged, and not sorry in the slightest,” he said.
She reached across the island in Evelyn’s kitchen and gave his hand a squeeze. “I knew it was coming from you. I appreciate it. But I’m still working, so get lost, Dr. Doug! I’ll bring in supper soon enough.”
He squeezed back. “I’ll walk you to your car after. Wait for me,” he said.
She winked at him, then turned away when the timer on the stove sounded.
Things were going well with Jackie. Very well, but what truly surprised him was the response from the rest of the town. Doug expected a lot of anger from the news he wanted out of Hopewell. But the wave of resentment he expected never came. Some comments, sure, but nothing of note.
He kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but all he got were smiles and suggestions on how to make the most of his remaining time in Hopewell. He wanted to be suspicious of Jackie working behind the scenes, but she assured him she would respect his decision and not try to force him to change his mind.
It seemed to be changing on its own. More than once he’d caught himself making plans for a future he wasn’t going to have.
Scarlett slipped her arm into his and walked him to his seat at the dining room table. “Doug, did you get hold of Junior?”
“Not yet. Do you know what he wants?” Her brother broke the stereotype of teenagers being surgically attached to their phones. Over the last two days, they’d had a minimum of a six-hour gap between each of their texts.
“Yes.” She shifted from foot to foot.
“Is it a medical question?” She had that vibe, the ‘I don’t want to ask you officially’ one.
“No. Yes, but no.
“Do you want me to have a ‘facts of life’ talk with him from the male perspective?” He kept his poker face intact, but he hoped that wasn’t it.
Scarlett’s face said she hoped he didn’t have to have that talk either. “No! Oh, no. Mom and I have both talked to him about all of that, and responsibilities and stuff. This is a much, much smaller favour.”
Thank goodness for small favours. “Then hit me up.”
“Junior is taking every pre-med course he can find. He signed up for an on-line psychology course through distance education at the high school. He thinks he’ll be done by Christmas. He wanted me to ask if you’ll be willing to tutor him if he gets stuck. He may not need it. He’s a smart kid.” Scarlett beamed as she bragged about her little brother.
It sounded like a legitimate and reasonable request. Doug would have given anything to have someone mentor him in pre-med studies when he was a teenager. But it was Scarlett, and Doug was learning she was much more devious than she appeared on the surface. “Is this a ploy for me to stick around? To tutor your brother?”
“I’m good, but not even I could convince a sixteen-year-old to sign up for extra high school credits if he didn’t want to.”
“I’ll keep trying to reach him.”
She patted his head, messing up his brown hair. “Besides, do you really think I’d do that to you?”
“Yes.” In a heartbeat. Jackie may have promised to respect his decision, but the rest of them had outright told him they’d try to get him to change his mind.
“Do you really think I’d get caught doing that to you?” she corrected.
“No, Miss Secret-keeper. Are you going to give us all the details of your new venture? I know you’ve been making trips to see more lawyers. I shouldn’t be the only one getting the third degree at these suppers.”
At the other end of the table, Noah and Freddy perked up. “Scarlett has a secret?” Noah asked. Doug was glad to see Scarlett’s blush. It was nice not being in the hot seat for a change.
“It seems our delightful Miss St. James will be entering the esteemed ranks of Hopewell business owners,” Doug hinted, implying he knew more than the one simple fact that she’d been talking to lawyers about a commercial real estate purchase.
Tyler set down his breadstick in anticipation of the news. “We already knew about her buying the diner. Scarlett, do you have something new to share with the rest of the class?”
Scarlett mimed sealing her lips with a key. “I can’t talk about anything that might or might not be happening. But I do have news.”
“Share, share, share,” Andie and Freddy chanted.
“Jackie!” Scarlett shouted. “Did you tell Doug about our new deal?”
His girlfriend popped into the dining room carrying a fresh basket of bread sticks. “The part where you doubled your weekly order? No, because I’ve been too busy baking for you!”
“All hail the cupcake queen!” Andie teased.
Jonathan took the empty seat on the other side of him. “Doug, can we count on you for the fall ball league?” He held up his hands. “It’s a six-week season, ’til the weekend after Thanksgiving. You’ll be done before you have to go.”
“Replacement centre field again?”
“Not replacement, the real thing. You’ve been playing it all summer anyway,” Jonathan said.
“Sure, why not,” Doug agreed. He’d had fun.
“Since you’re being so generous with your time, how about a hand at the Double-Headed Creature Feature on the weekend before Halloween?” Kirby asked, as she nudged Evelyn to pass her a breadstick.
“Excuse me?” Doug asked. “The what?”
“The Double-Headed Creature Feature. Since half the time Halloween is too miserable to go trick-or-treating, we started an event at the high school for the kids. Two monster movies. The first is for the little ones, usually a cartoon. They go home, and the older kids can stay for a scarier movie. We need chaperones.” Kirby fluttered her eyes at him.
“Just say no, Doug. We already have plans. You already bought the symphony tickets.” Jackie paused behind Kirby, salad plates in hand, then deliberately stepped one more seat down and began serving, moving in the opposite direction.
“Hey!” Kirby protested.
“You’re trying to mess with my date night. You get yours last.”
“Symphony?” Jason scoffed. “What’s up with that?”
“I went to an art gallery earlier this summer. I figured I should continue getting cultured.”
“Like a yogurt?” Jason teased.
Noah gave him a high-five for the comeback.
Doug tugged Jackie down for a kiss when she dropped off his plate. When Jason said, “Hey, no kissing the cook ’til I get my food,” she skipped over him and served Freddy instead.
“When did you get so mean, Jackie?” Jason asked.
“When you all decided to horn in on date night. You got him for tutoring and softball. That’s enough for one meal. Leave the poor man alone.” She returned with the final two plates. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.” She glared at Jason and pecked Doug on the cheek one more time for good measure. “I’ll hold dessert hostage until I’m certain Doug is getting out if here unscathed. It’s apple pie. Any questions?”
“Nope.”
“None.”
“No problem.”
“He’s all yours.”
The four women at the table vowed to allow him his freedom. “Good to know where I rate on the scale of things,” he said.
“Jackie’s apple pie is on the line. I’m not taking chances,” Evelyn said.
They quickly settled down and dug into their meals, halting conversation for a few minutes until the salads had taken the edge off their hunger.
Tyler pointed his thumb at the kitchen. “She knows you’re leaving in a couple months?”
“She knows.”
“Is she okay with it?”
“Yes.” She said she was, and he believed her. They still laughed, and if they were a little more affectionate in the time they had left, neither seemed to mind. They were both determined to end things on a high note, for a truly mutually-on-good-terms breakup. He’d planned for the concert to be their big goodbye.
“How about you?” Tyler asked.
“I’m okay too.” The only thing not okay was how tired he was getting of telling people yes, he was still leaving and no, he didn’t feel bad about it.
Noah held the basket of breadsticks out to him. “You should be. Your social calendar is busier than mine.”
“It is not.” He wasn’t that bad. With Dr. Roberts out, and Kashvi not due for another two months, of course he was working more hours than before. It wasn’t his fault his summer league team had made it to the provincial championships, extending their season by two weeks. All of them were attending the various meetings to set up the Hopewell Reunion Charitable Foundation and deliver the initial donation cheques, so that wasn’t just him. Plus, he was spending as much time as he could with Jackie, and not all their dates were in town. That wasn’t anything special, it was just life.
When Noah began laughing, Doug took the breadstick basket away and passed it to Evelyn.