Beauchamp took a deep breath as he ended his narrative. Is there anything youd like to say or add, Dr. McCall?
Yes, Terrance thought, there was something hed like to say. But not to the crowd of physicians looking at him. Not even to Alix. His words would have been directed to his immediate superior, uttered in quiet, steely tones and demanding to know why someone hadnt thought to let him know that he was going to be coming in contact with a vital portion of his past. That he was going to be coming in contact with the only woman he had ever loved.
Because no one knew, thats why, he reminded himself. Hed left his past behind the day hed walked away. Still, he wished that hed somehow been forewarned, had thought to go over the hospital roster before hed walked through Blairs doors.
Too late now.
He could only make the best of the situation and hope that damage control would do the rest.
Terrances mouth curved in an easy smile that gave absolutely no indication of the inner turmoil he was attempting
to quell.
He leaned over the small, unnecessary microphone that Beauchamp had insisted on using. Just that I hope to live up to the standards that the name of Blair Memorial Hospital has come to represent.
Like a proud father receiving a compliment about his favorite child, Beauchamp beamed.
Im sure you will, my boy. The chief of staff laid a paternal hand on Terrances shoulder. Im sure you will. His eyes swept over the room and its occupants. Well, thats it, ladies and gentlemen, meetings adjourned. Go back to saving lives and being miracle workers.
Beauchamp chuckled at his trademark closing line. Then he raised his voice to be heard above the mounting din. Alix, would you mind joining us? He beckoned her forward.
Reese looked at her pointedly as he rose. Call me, he told her firmly. Night or day.
As if she would intrude on his life now that he was a married man. London might have something to say about that, she reminded him.
At the mention of his wifes name, Reese grinned. Married just three months and hed perpetually been in this state of grace that caused him to laugh to himself at unexpected, sporadic moments. As if hed no idea that a person could feel this good and not be dreaming.
Yes, Come on over, if I know her.
Alix merely nodded. He was probably right. The daughter of the ambassador to Spain had captured her best friends heart the instant shed been wheeled into the emergency room last year. She was a warm, vibrant woman who had a great ability to empathize and give comfort. The two firmly deserved each other.
And what do you deserve? Alix thought as she approached the front of the room, her eyes fixed on Beauchamp and not Terrance. Certainly not to have my heart whacked around like a giant Ping-Pong ball at some phantom gaming table.
Im over you, Terrance. Im over you.
She silently chanted the refrain over and over again in her mind like a life-giving mantra as her steps brought her closer to the two men.
She wished shed called in sick today. Played hooky and stayed home with her daughter. But that would have meant that Norma would have found out. The very woman who now baby-sat her child had once baby-sat her, as well. And if Norma knew something, it was only a matter of time before her father found out as well. The woman had been his housekeeper for forty years.
Daniel DuCane wouldnt have said anything to her about her lapse, but she knew he would have been disappointed that she would flaunt the principles to which he had dedicated his life all these years. After all, it was because her father was a doctor that she had become one, too.
Dr. Terrance McCall, Beauchamp gestured from Terrance to Alix as he made the formal introduction, This is Dr. Alix DuCane, and any compliment I could give her wouldnt be nearly enough.
No, it wouldnt be, Terrance agreed, his voice a cross between being amiably impersonal and intimately warma trick, Alix felt, that only he could pull off.
It was time to turn the herd before it stampeded out of control and ran through the town, trampling the citizens, Alix thought. She turned toward her superior, ignoring Terrance.
Dr. Beauchamp, I really dont think Im the best one for this assignment.
Did I mention that she was also modest? Beauchamp asked Terrance. Dedicated, skilled, modest, dont know how we got so lucky. Nonsense, Dr. DuCane, you are most definitely the best one for the assignment. Besides, if only half of what I was told is correct, Dr. McCall wont require much hand holding. The older man, a grandfather five times over, chuckled to himself. At least, not during official hours.
Once the words were uttered, Beauchamp must have realized the way they could be construed. His eyes slid over Alixs face nervously as if to see whether he had gone too far in his comment.
Alix knew the man meant no offense. Clarence Beauchamp wasnt capable of making any lascivious comments. He was like everyones overly friendly, slightly addle-brained favorite uncle. Unlike his operating methods, the humor he subscribed to resided decades in the past where innocent comments were just that and carried no veiled meanings or hidden agendas. The hospitals mandatory P.C. training had taught the older man to be cautious, but that usually kicked in only after he had said something that was jarringly out of sync with the times.