Page 7 of Family Bonds- Gabriela & Luca

“I don’t know,” Kate said, laughing. “Most of the doctors since I’ve been here are coming from Boston and filling in or doing stints like you. And if that is the case, why not say that?”

Gabriela pursed her lips. “Good point.”

“You normally have some inside knowledge from someone. You can’t find out more?”

It was a general assumption that she could find out more, but not necessarily in her department. “Sorry. My father is the only person I could ask something of and he’s not going to know in pediatrics.”

Nor would she ask. She didn’t care enough.

She wouldn’t even cross paths with the new doctor that much. They would start their five days when hers ended.

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see in a few more days. Since we’ve got time before the office opens, how did your mixer go last weekend?”

It was a small office. Only one doctor on Monday through Friday. On the weekends, she spent it in the hospital that her office was attached to.

There was one nurse practitioner who saw patients as well or fielded phone calls, and Kate, the nurse’s aide who saw her patients first.

“I’m not sure we have enough time for me to tell you how horrific it was.”

“Come on,” Kate said. “It can’t be that bad.”

“Oh, it can be and it was,” she said, nodding her head. “You’re lucky. You’re married.”

“Going on twenty years,” Kate said. “And the thought of having to date at forty-two is scary. It’s a good thing I love my husband so much. But living here on the island, it’s kind of boring. This office was too before you started.”

She puffed her chest out some. “Why, thank you. I do like to make it fun.”

“I always felt it needed to be. Not just calm for the kids, but the laughter too. They should see the adults laughing and having a good time with each other.”

“I agree.”

“So tell me what was so bad,” Kate encouraged. “We can start our day with a laugh.”

“Might as well since I ended up in tears.”

“No,” Kate said, smiling. “Now you’re exaggerating.”

“I’m not. I swear I’m not. I even told myself I was going to make it to the end, but I couldn’t. After the nose picker, I had to get out of there. I didn’t think it could get worse and I sat across from him. I was too skived out after shaking his hand on top of it.”

Kate was roaring with laughter. “He picked his nose at the table?”

“No. Though if we had more than ten minutes to talk, maybe he would have.” She filled Kate in on that quick conversation and how she played it.

“That’s gross. I mean to even bring it up in that setting.”

“I guess I had it coming. I asked why he was there. Not that he had to share he’d lost a bet and what it was.”

Kate gave an involuntary shiver, then added a gag to it. “The others couldn’t have been that bad.”

She held her hand up. “One called me Gabby even though I told him it wasn’t my name.”

“Jerk. That’s just rude.”

“I thought so. Another has three kids from three different moms and wanted more. Oh, he lives with his aunt, but made it seem like he was doing her a favor rather than the other way around.”

“That’s off the table,” Kate said.

“Another had one really badly stained tooth. Right in the front. I couldn’t help it. My eyes kept going right at it and I don’tremember anything he said. It reminded me of Austin Powers and the mole.”