Chapter Twenty-Seven
Eric
I scanned my list of appointments for the day, surprised to see Olivia's name on the list. We hadn't talked in a couple of weeks, so I had to assume that she had made the booking online. She hadn't listed a reason for the appointment, and I felt a bubble of concern, hoping that she was okay.
But she probably just wanted to talk about her mother's illness again.
I shook my head. Jeannie was just as stubborn as ever, and even though she was hanging on well, I had to wonder how much longer that would last. I couldn't believe that Olivia was sitting by and letting her mother decline, especially not since our conversation at the lake had seemed so promising. I thought that I had finally convinced Olivia that her mother needed the treatment, even if she didn't want it.
I thought back to the message that Olivia had left on my phone a couple of weeks before. She had said that she wanted to talk about something to do with her mother's illness again. But I had decided that the best course of action was to keep things between Jeannie and me from now on, rather than involving Olivia in things further.
It was partly that involving Olivia didn't seem to be affecting the situation: Jeannie wouldn't listen to her daughter any more than she would listen to the medical professionals. But it was also that I didn't want to deal with her at the moment. I didn't know how to deal with her at the moment. After Buck's revelation that they had slept together and after my realization that I was in love with Olivia, or had been anyway, I didn't know the first thing to say to her.
Fortunately, I had managed to avoid her around town for the past couple weeks. I had started bringing Emma to a different daycare, over in Westbrook, even though it meant a longer commute every morning and evening. Still, Emma seemed to be enjoying herself there, especially since there were other children her age at the daycare. I didn't regret the change as much as I felt like I should.
It seemed that my avoidance of Olivia was over now, though. If she truly had some medical issue, I'd treat it professionally. If she didn't have a medical issue, I'd politely ask her to quit wasting my work time.
I had a couple of appointments before Olivia's, and then I tried to get a little paperwork done. I had a hard time focusing, though, all of my thoughts turning around and around on what Olivia could possibly want to talk about.
The truth of it was, even if she wanted to talk to me about her mother's treatment, I suspected it was probably too late for me to do anything. I'd mostly handed Jeannie over to Dr. Halsey at this point because there wasn't anything else that I could do. I wasn't a specialist in this field, and if Jeannie were going to opt for surgery, I wouldn't be the one doing it.
I also knew that the more we let the tumors grow, the more unlikely it was that they would still be able to be operated on. At this point, it had been nearly three weeks since Jeannie had been admitted to the hospital; two weeks since she'd subsequently been released. I doubted there was much that we could do at this point.
If Olivia had wanted to talk about that, she should have made an appointment a while ago, and I had a feeling that she knew that.
Which meant that this had to be about something else. But what could it be? I didn't have all of Olivia's medical records still because she had decided that Chicago was close enough that she could continue seeing her doctor there for her yearly physical.
Maybe she was sick. I knew she was still running the daycare, with Harlan, and another few kids signed up for it so their parents could work during the summer. Everyone knew that where there were kids, there were colds. That was the most likely thing that I could come up with.
I shook my head and turned back to my paperwork, but even having resolved that this probably had to do with some minor illness, I couldn't seem to focus.
I didn't want to see her, to put it frankly. Not after hearing everything that Buck had said to Gary at the gas station. Not after realizing that she had lied to me. But if I treated her coldly and professionally, maybe she would get the hint that I was no longer interested and she would go to her doctor in Chicago in the future.
I was glad to hear the bells chime above the door as Olivia entered: at least it meant that my waiting and wondering was over. I just wanted this to be done with.
I stood up, schooling my face to a professional neutral. “Ms. Sable,” I said, nodding curtly at her. “What can I help you with today?”
She seemed nervous, and she fidgeted with her sleeves, biting her lower lip. “I'd like to consult with you about prenatal care,” she said quietly. Her eyes darted toward my face and then quickly away from me.
I felt as though the floor had dropped out from under me. I could hardly believe what I had just heard. Olivia was pregnant? I spared a look at her stomach, but she wasn't showing yet. She couldn't be too far along.
For one brief moment, I was proud of her for choosing to consult about prenatal care so early in her pregnancy. I knew a lot of people looked up everything that they were supposed to do online but then didn't do anything about it until later in the pregnancy, besides the obvious things like refraining from drinking alcohol or eating sushi.
But then, as her words sunk in, a sick feeling rose in my stomach. I had been careful to use a condom each time she and I had slept together, and I knew she was on birth control as well. The baby must be Buck's. Not only was she sleeping with someone else, but she was carrying someone else's baby as well.
I would never have gone back to her, knowing that she had slept with someone else, but finding out that she was pregnant with Buck's baby too made it all seem so real. Whatever feelings I had had for her, they were gone.
The fact that she had come to me to consult about prenatal care made me angry as hell. Where did she get off, thinking that she could just waltz in here and announce her pregnancy like that? Sure, she was probably pretty ticked that I hadn't called her back, but there was nothing else to say between us, not after she'd lied and slept with someone else. Or had she thought that she could get away with that?
I spared a moment to wonder why she hadn't gone to her doctor in Chicago about this. But then, she was practically gloating about it. Throwing it in my face. At least since I had heard it from her, here in the privacy of my office, it wouldn't be such a shock when the news spread around town. That was the only good that I could see in the situation, though.
I sat down at my desk and grabbed a sheet of paper, scrawling out a name and phone number. Then, I crossed quickly toward her, wanting to get her out of there as soon as possible so that I wouldn't have to deal with her anymore.
“Here's a recommendation for a doctor over in Kingsfield,” I bit out angrily, pushing the piece of paper into her hand and folding her fingers around it. “I'm afraid I currently have too many patients in my roster for me to take on another one. Anyway, prenatal care isn't my specialty. You should find yourself a proper gynecologist who will be with you for the entire process. Dr. Lazaro is a great choice, but if you don't like working with her, the internet can point you in the right direction, I'm sure.”
It was all true, as much as I hated saying it. I spared a moment to think about what it would be like if the baby was mine and she had come to me consulting about prenatal care. If her night with Buck had never happened.
I remembered how happy I'd been when Emily had told me that she was pregnant with Emma. I'd done everything that I could to be there for her during the pregnancy. I had taken care of her, massaged her feet and ankles when they'd gotten swollen and sore. I’d also gone to whatever lengths were necessary to satisfy her food cravings, even though a lot of times, by the time I got home with whatever it was that she had been craving, she had moved on to another bizarre craving.
But I had to stop thinking about that. This situation was totally different. For starters, it wasn't my baby.
Olivia's face fell. “Eric, I know that we never talked about what happened at the hospital, but I thought—”
I interrupted her with a bitter laugh. “It's not the hospital that I'm upset about; you know that.” I didn't know how she could continue to be so dense. She apparently really didn't realize that I knew about her and Buck.
Olivia paused. “I don't know what you're talking about, but I don't know why you would refuse to treat me,” she said, sounding pained. “I'll pay for my appointments; I'm not asking you to treat me as a friend. But don't you want to make sure that your baby has the best prenatal care possible?”
“My baby?” I asked incredulously. “Nice try!” I narrowed my eyes at her. “I know the baby isn't mine, and I can't believe that you would try to pass it off as mine. But then again, we all know you're a liar.”
“What are you talking about?” Olivia asked, and I almost believed that she was truly confused.
“We were careful,” I snapped. “I used a condom every time, and I know you're on birth control; I wrote your prescription for it last month, or do you not remember that?”
“But accidents happen, don't they?” Olivia asked desperately. “You're a doctor; you know birth control isn't 100% effective. Maybe there was a leak, or something else happened. I haven't slept with anyone else. Unless you're accusing me of being the next Mary, it has to be yours.”
“Oh, come off it,” I snarled. “I know that you slept with Buck the night you went to that wedding. I don't know why you feel the need to lie about it, but I know it's true. Now, I recommend that you talk to Dr. Lazaro about prenatal care, and please don't try to involve me in your personal life again.”