“I do,” George responded.
“Maybe that’s why Zee found that a federal agency was connected to the Amalgamated servers.”
“Could be,” George said. “It would be a relief if that were the case.”
Paula put the steaks on the grill, asking George how he liked his.
“Medium rare,” George said. “Can I help?”
“I think I have it under control.” She set a couple of ears of corn on the upper level of the grill, and for a while they watched the steaks sizzle and contentedly sipped their wine. When the meat was done, Paula put it back on the platter with the now-grilled ears of corn. Carrying everything between them, they went back into the house.
“I’m more and more certain that I should talk with Thorn,” Paula stated as they sat down. “Either with or without you. That’s your call.”
“With me,” George said. Even though he still had reservations about Thorn, he was happy to have a plan of action.
She smiled. “Good. Because Thorn will certainly have a lot of questions that I won’t be able to answer.” She then changed the subject. “What’s this about your being placed on administrative leave?”
“It is exactly what you think. I haven’t been technically fired, but it is as if I have been, at least in the short run.”
“What will that do to your residency, now that you’re in the last year, if you don’t get reinstated?”
“It ends it unless some other program would be willing to pick me up. Whether that might happen, I have no idea. But if I can’t finish my residency, I can’t sit for radiology boards. Simple as that.”
“And that means what for your future?”
George shrugged. He was at a loss. “Maybe I’ll have to become a vitamin salesman? Truthfully, I have no idea. I’ll have to talk with Clayton. I’m hoping he’d be my savior since he, and not the chief, is actually in charge of the residency program.”
“Thorn might be able to help as well since he and Clayton are brothers-in-law. Thorn is married to Clayton’s younger sister.”
“I once asked Clayton how he became so deeply involved with Amalgamated, and he told me. That explains a lot.”
For a few minutes they ate in silence, then suddenly Paula piped up: “Hey! I have an idea! Let’s try to let the whole problem with iDoc, Zee’s untimely death, and your radiology future slide for a few hours and just relax and enjoy ourselves. What do you say? We can’t do anything about all this mess tonight.”
George shrugged. “I’m willing to give it a try. And the wine might help. Actually, I’m surprised I am eating as well as I am. And, Paula, everything is delicious.”
“Thank you for saying so. And about the wine, I’m happy to say we have plenty.” She refilled both their glasses. Suddenly her face lit up. “David Spitz and Rachel Simmons! Remember them?”
George certainly did. They were former friends and classmates at Columbia Medical and had dated off and on. George liked them both a lot, but they were always at each other’s throats. “Of course I remember them: the Bickersons!”
Paula laughed. “Yes! Well, guess what? They’re married!”
“No way!”
“Yes! I went to their wedding in San Mateo two months ago.”
He whistled. “Will wonders never cease? I never saw that one coming.”
“I don’t think anyone did. Even they didn’t.”
They chuckled and continued talking about their common experiences with friends and professors and rotations while attending Columbia Medical School. Mostly in retrospect, they had enjoyed the four years of hard but rewarding work.
“You know,” George said, “there is something I never told you but thought about a lot, even though I gave you some grief on the subject. I always admired the way you were able to deal with both medical school and B-school at the same time. For me, the demands of medical school were more than enough.”
“Yeah, well, you worked at the blood bank and all the other jobs you held down. I didn’t have to do that. My parents supported me financially.”
“It was still impressive,” George said. He didn’t want to discuss his financial struggles, which hadn’t improved as much as he had hoped.
As the evening progressed, they both surprised themselves by relaxing, something neither expected under the circumstances. It was helped by the second bottle of wine, the food, and the environment. As they continued chatting they both were able to let go of the past and even laugh about it. Paula thought that perhaps she was a bit too forward in pursuing George. He countered that he couldn’t even explain to himself what he had seen in Pia Grazdani!
“It is embarrassing when I think about it,” he confessed. “She clearly wasn’t interested in me and, in retrospect, probably not capable of any kind of normal relationship with anyone.”
George explained that Pia had disappeared in London, and even her father, high up in the NYC Albanian Mafia, had difficulty finding out what had happened to her.
“You mean no one has heard from her since then?”
“Not a word,” George said. “Although her father called a couple of months ago, saying that he had finally come across some encouraging information and said he’d get back to me when something concrete happened, he never did. I’ve not heard anything since. I hope for her sake that he is ultimately successful in locating her.”
There was a pause as each eyed the other, wondering exactly what the other was thinking. It was Paula who broke the spell. “Maybe it’s time to clean up the dishes.”
“Good idea,” George said. They carried their dishes to the kitchen counter. For a few minutes they worked in contented silence.
“You know, I’m amazed that I feel as relaxed as I do,” George admitted.
“You’ve been a trouper, considering what you went through,” Paula said. “But you definitely need more sleep, whether you know it or not.”
“Oh, I know it,” George agreed. “I’ll be able to nod off with no problem, especially in that bed. It’s amazing! Have you ever slept in it?”
“No, not yet.” She smiled. “You know I’d been planning to go to Hawaii for a long weekend. I’m not expected back at work until Thursday. We have plenty of time to hash out our game plan. Feel free to stay here as long as you want.”
“I appreciate that,” George said sincerely. “Thank you. I don’t know where I would have gone otherwise, because I surely would not have felt comfortable staying in my apartment.”
“I’m glad I could help. Now it’s time for bed. I’m exhausted, even though I didn’t spend last night in jail.” She smiled. “If you need it, I have some Ambien.”
He shook his head. “I think I’ll be fine.”
She gave him a hug. After a moment he hugged her back. Hard. Finally, they let each other go. Paula quickly turned to the kitchen cupboards. “Okay, then! For breakfast!”
George watched while Paula pointed out where the fixings were in case he got up earlier than she did. They stood in the kitchen, awkward and quiet; both were tired but neither wanted the evening to end.
“Okay, then, good night.” She gave George’s hand a squeeze. George squeezed back.
“Good night.” George watched as she mounted the stairs to the second floor and the master bedroom. Then he headed toward the guest suite.
49
George was still exhausted, but after sleeping for five hours that afternoon he found he couldn’t fall asleep after all. He had turned off the light and gotten into bed, but as soon as he lay down, all his fears about his future returned. Although he’d been able to let his mind rest for a few hours about iDoc, Zee, his legal worries, and the fact that he was on a forced leave of absence from his residency program, in bed it was another matter. Try as he might, he couldn’t stop thinking even though he had no answers, and, as Paula said, there wasn’t any way anything was going to be solved that night.