Elijah departed for the hospital exactly twenty minutes later. Charity felt a pang of jealousy for his devotion to his medical career now that she decided to give practicing medicine a break. She understood it more than before. She knew what it took to be a doctor, since she was one and it was no usual gig. You didn’t walk out the hospital doors and forget about the patients you’d just cut into or anticipate those to come. She couldn’t help feeling that Jamie’s new tooth was more important than Mrs. Richter’s heart valve replacement.
When she started working for the Pinnacle Foundation, or PF as she referred to it now, perhaps she’d stop feeling so self-involved.
“Hey, Jamie.” Charity forced a note of cheerfulness in her voice. “We’re going to get Gamma for a little FaceTime after we have something to eat. It’s late in New Zealand but she won’t be sleeping yet.”
Jamie headed for the tablet at the same time Charity’s phone chimed. Elijah reprogrammed her ringtone every day as a sort of love note. Today Jack Johnson was singing, “Better When We’re Together”. Since Jamie came into the world, the tunes were toned down. The lyrics were sweet and not provocative. They put the nasty tunes on a playlist reserved for the bedroom, the hospital supply closet or wherever they got the opportunity to make love, or fuck. Sometimes there was a need for the latter more than the first.
Charity tapped the screen of her phone. “Hey hot-stuff! Did you forget something?”
“Didn’t get a kiss from you and now my lips are burning,” Elijah teased. The sound of traffic let Charity know he was already on the highway.
“We were just going to eat some eggs and toast. Then it’s Gamma-time. Not to be confused with Hamma-time.” She headed to the kitchen.
“I have a hamma I’d like to pound you with,” Elijah joked.
“Tonight. Right now, I’m being Mommy. What’s up?” She pulled a carton of eggs, pack of bacon and butter out of the fridge.
“I might be late tonight. Seems we’re over-booking surgeries these days. I figured if I forgot to tell you, I’ll get distracted during a surgery and probably leave a clamp in some poor patient’s abdomen.”
“Don’t worry. I hear that kind of thing happens quite often. The patient usually doesn’t die but malpractice implications are a bitch.” She was used to him being late. It came with the job. “Love you. Here’s the peanut, she wants to talk to you too.” Charity handed the phone to Jamie, which was not the best idea, as she tended to hurl the thing after she finished talking.
“I love you Jamie,” Elijah cooed into the phone, which was now on speaker.
“Love, love Dadda. Daddy home?”
“I’ll be home later, bud. Take care of your beautiful mummy.”
“Mommy bu-ti-ful. Eggs!” Jamie threw the phone, which Charity caught with Major League prowess.
“Any chance you’ll be home for dinner?” Charity turned off the speaker phone and tucked it between her ear and shoulder. She lowered her voice, even though she knew Jamie wouldn’t understand what she was saying. “I’ll have Jamie down by seven. I don’t mind eating late. We can do soft music and candlelight as we did before parenthood hit us. You know, make a little music of our own.”
Elijah laughed. “Tempting, but let’s be honest, Charity, we had take-out Thai food back in the day. Even when you were a resident.” He chuckled again. “You did save my arse from crazy-lady one time. Actually, I don’t even think we own candles.” A sympathetic sigh blew through the phone. “I have a meeting post op and then I’m supposed to meet up with Simon tonight. Do a little male bonding. Dude needs his bro.”
“Everything cool with him on the home front?” Julie and she hadn’t done much talking since Jamie and work had overcrowded most of Charity’s day. She heard the beep of Elijah’s car in the background. He’d already pulled into the hospital and was probably jogging to the staff entrance.
“You know him and Julie. Things get tense and then they’re fine. I’ll be in touch throughout the day. Tell my Mum I say ‘allo. I’m about to lose you, just hopping on the elevator.” Elijah hung up.
She pictured him in his blue scrubs leaning sideways against the elevator wall. His broad shoulders and not quite clean-shaven face providing eye-candy to a gaggle of nurses. They received a glimmer of his sparkling white teeth when he smiled and said I love you to his wife and child.
“Oops, sorry, Mommy.” Jamie smiled after she tossed a fistful of scrambled eggs at Charity.
Charity had to turn away so Jamie didn’t see her laughing. She didn’t want her to get in the habit of throwing food.
“Food is for eating and not throwing. Let’s FaceTime Gamma and get her before she removes her makeup.” Margaret hated being seen without the stuff on although she didn’t need it. Margaret looked forty-five and she recently passed sixty. Add on a couple of years because she was rumored to fib about her age. She was a hot older woman. Charity didn’t blame her dad for being attracted to her.
Charity set the iPad on the counter so Jamie had full view of her Gamma. The ring echoed through the kitchen before it connected to the other side of the world. “Margaret!”
Jamie began shouting as she recognized the face on the screen. “GAMMA! GAMMA! GAMMMMMAAA!!!”
“How’s my favorite grandchild?” Margaret waved and her face lit up.
Charity loved watching both Elijah’s mom and her dad turn to mush when they were around Jamie. The stuffy Dr. Scott Thompson became unrecognizable when he was in Jamie’s presence. Come to think of it, he was pretty darn chill when Margaret was around too. Charity wanted to spread the love. She held a secret hope that Mrs. Bennet and her father would become a couple someday. Elijah didn’t agree with her matchmaking antics and he would say, ‘Put away your arrow cupid.’
Charity set Jamie down and handed her the iPad. “Chat away, Mommy’s going to get dressed.” She watched Jamie run to the living room, her voice chatting faster than her little feet. Charity headed upstairs to let the meeting of the mutual admiration society continue. When she returned a few moments later, Margaret had started with the flashcards.
“Really, Gamma?” Charity laughed. “We’re lucky to get two word simple sentences. I didn’t know words like cardio-myopathy until I was prepping for the M-CAT’s.”
“If she at least hears these words at a young age, she’ll be reading JAMA by the time she’s sixteen. I spoke with Scott and he agrees.”
“So, the two of you speak often.” Charity perked up as she ran her fingers through her hair.
Margaret must have noticed because when Charity was excited, she sat up straight and craned her neck like a giraffe. “The two of us have a great deal in common. Our kids are married, and we have Jamie Lynn. There’s a great deal to talk about, but don’t get any ideas.”
“I wasn’t.” Elijah had warned her not to push his mom, she would back off like a caged bear and then attack.
“I wasn’t going to tell you but I think it’s time.” Margaret’s voice took on a serious tone.
Charity blinked. Had she missed something? “Is everything all right? Are you sick?” Bad thoughts swirled around Charity’s head. She’d already lost one mother. Just as she was beginning to consider Elijah’s mother her mom too – it was too much. Charity slouched and waited for the news.
“I’m not dying.” Margaret waved her hand. She craned her neck and looked behind Charity. “My gran-baby distracted?”
“She’s off playing with her Doc McStuffins stuff. What’s going on?” She wondered if she should send Elijah a text to call his mom.
“It’s nothing dramatic. I just thought I’d tell you before mentioning anything to Elijah.” Margaret inhaled, her face completely composed. “I met a man. It’s not a big deal at this moment.” Before Margaret could provide details about the mystery man, Jamie started crying bloody murder. “Jamie okay?”
Charity moved to Jamie and helped her get the doll’s clothes on properly. She hurried back to the iPad. “It’s good. Her toys don’t move fast enough for her. She’s got a bit of an impatient streak.”
Margaret chuckled. “I wonder where she gets that from.”
“Elijah.” Charity kept her face unreadable.
Margaret’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?”
“So who’s the guy?”
“The guy?”
“Who you’re seeing.” Charity smiled. She was dying to tease Margaret but knew it wouldn’t be a smart idea.
“Just a local man. He was at the cricket match the other day and we started chatting. We’re going out for tea tomorrow.” Margaret looked at her watch. “I should probably get going. I need as much beauty sleep as I can get.”
Charity knew Margaret had enough. She wouldn’t give away any more information and since Jamie was happily playing, she was ready to say good night. “Very quick, I know you’re planning a trip to the States and I wanted to ask for your help. I’m planning a seventieth birthday bash for my dad. I hope you’ll be here for it. Planning events is something I’m good at, but I’ll need help.” She hadn’t planned an event in a couple years and now with Jamie… it seemed a bit more work to do on her own now.
“Send me the date. I can plan my next visit after I hear from you. Is it a surprise for Scott?”
“That’s the plan.”
“You kept your pregnancy a secret for five months, so I’m sure this can be kept under wraps. Cheers Charity. Bye my sweet Jamie.”
Charity knew the comment was a dig for not telling her about the pregnancy sooner. “Bye Marg.”
She hit the end button as Jamie yelled, “Bye Gamma! Love you!”
Jamie took off like a bullet to another toy area to make a mess of. Charity went to pick up the Doc McStuffins toys. Her new job started in less than two weeks, and she had a million things to accomplish before then. Having Elijah as her teammate had never meant more. She needed him. She hoped he was up to the challenge of both of them working and managing Jamie. She had doubts, but was too afraid to admit them out loud.
Charity sat on the couch to wipe the egg-smeared iPad a moment. Later tonight, when Jamie was in bed, she’d spend some quality time with Elijah. Valuable naked time. She grinned. She could fantasize about her sexy husband all day, but then nothing would be accomplished. She gathered her thick blonde hair in an elastic, pulled her yoga pants up and chased after Jamie Lynn.