Page 67 of Clinically Bewitched
“I am not having a nervous breakdown.”
“Mate, your left eye is twitching.”
“It is NOT!”
“Oh my God, is that her?” a new voice, excited, slightly breathless, came from the hallway. A moment later, a tall doctor with dark hair practically skidded into the waiting room as if he had been running. “Please tell me this is who I think she is.”
“Nathan,” Julien said, his voice taking on a dangerous edge. “Go away.”
“But I want to meet the wife!” The new handsome man looked at me with undisguised glee. “TheVegaswife. The one Fitz has been texting us about all morning.”
“You’ve been TEXTING them?” Julien’s voice cracked slightly.
“Group chat,” Fitz said cheerfully. “It’s very active this morning.”
“There’s a group chat about my MARRIAGE?”
“There’s a group chat about everything, Julien. You’d know that if you ever checked your phone.”
“I check my phone!”
“For work emails. That doesn’t count.”
Another doctor appeared, this one devilishly good-looking with an expression of pure delight. “Did someone say Vegas wife? I came as soon as I got Fitz’s text.”
“GABRIEL,” Julien practically shouted. “You’re supposed to be in surgery!”
“I rescheduled. This is more important.”
“How is this MORE IMPORTANT than SURGERY?”
“Because,” Gabriel said reasonably, “surgery happens every day. You getting married happens... well, apparently it happens in Vegas after you get drunk, but still. Historic moment.”
“I hate all of you.”
“No, you don’t,” Fitz said. “You’re just embarrassed.”
“I am not embarrassed. I am...”
“Mortified? Humiliated? Experiencing a profound sense of existential dread?” Fitz’s grin widened. “Because your eye is definitely twitching now.”
A fourth doctor, younger, with dark red hair, poked his head around the corner. “Is it true? Is she really...?” He spotted me and his face lit up. “Oh my God, it IS true!”
“Quinton,” Julien said, his voice now completely flat. “I will fire you.”
“You can’t fire me. I’m a partner.”
“I will find a way.”
Fitz cleared his throat dramatically, straightening to his full height and spreading his arms as if he were presenting at an awards ceremony. “Gentlemen and Winnie, of course, I believe introductions are in order.” He gestured to me with a flourish. “Mrs. Athena Darcy, may I present the esteemed physicians of Clinically Approved: Dr. Hayden Walker... geriatrics and all things old, our oldest distinguished senior partner.”
Hayden gave a little bow.
“Dr. Nathan Carter, our cardiovascular specialist and gossip enthusiast.”
“Guilty.” Nathan smiled cheerfully.
“Dr. Gabriel Lyon, who apparently reschedules pediatric surgery for social events.”
