Page 22 of The Hookup Plan

“I’m happy to,” she answered. She pasted on herdoctors aren’t scarysmile and opened the door.

“Good morning,” she greeted as she entered the brightly colored room.

Each room on the pediatrics floor had a different theme. There was the Jungle, Under the Sea, the Circus, the Hot-Air Balloon, the Fairy Princess, and the Rodeo. It was something she had pushed for when she first started at County, after reading a study on the effects hospital aesthetics play in the recovery of young children. When the administration had balked at the cost, she’d offered to paint the rooms herself. Thankfully, they had coughed up the funds in the end because her artistic skills left much to be desired.

“How are we feeling?” London asked. She looked to Aubrey’s mother, whose bloodshot eyes and rumpled clothing spoke volumes. “Last night was a bit scary for both you and Mom, wasn’t it?” she asked. Aubrey’s blond pigtails bounced with her nod.

“I know,” London said as she slipped the stethoscope’s earpieces in her ears and held the chest piece to the girl’s abdomen. “But you have nothing to worry about because you made it through surgery like a champ.” She moved the drumhead around, listening for anything abnormal and breathing a sigh of relief when she found nothing.

“All sounds good to me,” London said as she slung the stethoscope around her neck. She reached into her pocket. “You’re not the only one who’s been feeling a bit under the weather. I can’t stop blowing my nose.” She twisted away and quickly popped on the clown nose. “Any idea what could be wrong?”

The little girl, along with one of the first-years, burst into giggles.

London gasped. “Are you laughing at me?”

Aubrey nodded emphatically. She pointed at London’s nose. “Can I have it?”

“Aubrey,” Ms. Charles admonished.

“Hey, if anyone can pull off this look, it’s you,” London said. She looked to the girl’s mother for permission, placing the foam nose over Aubrey’s after getting the okay. “Oh, yes, honey. This nose was made for you. Now, if you follow the nurse’s orders, we may be able to release you by tomorrow morning.” She wiggled the nose.

“That soon?” Ms. Charles asked.

“Yes,” Dr. Malone answered.

Because of course he had to assert his authority. London suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.

“That wouldn’t be the case if Aubrey’s appendix had ruptured before we could take it out,” London said. “But Mom got you here just in time. High five to Mom.” London held her hand up to the girl’s mother. She turned to Aubrey. “And to you, because you are a rock star. I’ll be back in to check on you this afternoon,” she said with a wink.

She turned to leave, but stopped at Ms. Charles’s feebly uttered “Uh…Dr. Kelley?”

All five members of the medical staff looked back in unison.

“Yes?” London answered.

Dr. Malone cleared his throat. “Dr. Kelley, we have to continue with rounds.”

“Please go ahead,” London said. “I’ll catch up in a minute.”

His thin lips became nearly nonexistent as they pulled into a tight frown, but he only nodded and led the others out of the room.

“I’m sorry,” Ms. Charles said, peering nervously at Malone’s back.

“No worries at all,” London said. “How can I help you?”

“First, I wanted to thank you for everything you did for Aubrey last night. You literally saved her life.”

“You saved her by getting her here in time,” London countered. “Thankyoufor not trying to diagnose her yourself with Google.”

Her cheeks turned crimson. “I did Google her symptoms first,” she said. “It’s how I knew things were serious.” She bit her bottom lip as she shot a quick glance at her daughter. “You’re probably way too busy to concern yourself with this, but do you have any idea how much all of this will cost? I make too much to qualify for Medicaid, but my health insurance’s deductible is sixty-five hundred dollars.”

“That is the last thing you should be worrying about,” London said.

“Well, it’s all I can think about.”

London covered her hand. “The hospital will work with you. I’ll talk to someone in accounting, if necessary. Right now, your focus should be on Aubrey and her recovery. And I know it’s difficult, but try to get a little sleep. You can’t care for Aubrey unless you first take care of yourself.”

“That’s such a nice way of telling me I have bags under my eyes.” The woman laughed.