She sat up, turning to look at me. “Actually, I do. I liked my job. Not the lawsuit, but the other parts I enjoyed. I like the people I worked with except Dick, but he’s gone.”
“What? When?”
“They fired him. I think my resignation letter had something to do with it.”
“What did you do?” I studied Mia, seeing a stronger, fiercer woman than I’d known.
“I just gave my opinion that he didn’t support his staff, to the point that he’d sacrifice them and how he was ignoring important factors that could have contributed to Ms. Mason’s death that would lead to even more problems than the protesters if it came out.”
“What was he ignoring.”
She looked at me and I realized that she was trying to decide if legally she could tell me. I guess she decided she could or didn’t care. “The chest x-ray was sent to the wrong place.”
My breath caught in my chest. “I know I—”
She pressed her palms to my cheeks. “You did. It was an EMR glitch. New protocols were put in place to avoid that in the future.”
The pressure in my chest released.
“But it might not have mattered. Your lawyer might have told you that her expert pathologist indicated it might have been too late even if the tests were done right when she arrived.”
I nodded. “Does that mean the family dropped the case against the hospital?”
“Not so far, which is why they want me back. They did offer a raise too.”
I grinned. “You can support me. I could be a kept man.”
“I do want to keep you, Dr. Nick Foster. I like your bedside manner.”
“Just my bedside?”
“I like all sides. But,” she said, her smile dropping. “I have to go in today.”
“Well, that’s a bummer, but you should go. I don’t want to get in the way of your work.”
“You’re more important than my job.”
“I know. But you like your job. You can have both, Mia, if you want. Me and the job.”
She gave me that smile that made me feel like I was the greatest man in the world. “You and the job are my dream come true.”
An hour later, she was dressed and heading out the door.
“Have a good day at work honey. Do you want dinner on the table when you get home?” I asked trying to be the proverbial housewife.
“I want you to greet me at the door with nothing on but an apron.”
“I’ll add apron to my grocery list.” I kissed her, wondering if anyone was ever as happy as I was now.
I putzed around my place, showered, and then decided to go see Jim. It was time for us to plan our trip to visit the bongos.
I was in the car on my way to his house, when my cell phone rang.
“Dr. Foster? This is Alice Wallace. I’m a member of the hospital board.”
“Yes, Mrs. Wallace.” I knew her not just from the hospital board, but I’d gone to school with her son. “How can I help you?”
“I was wondering if you could come by the hospital?”
“What for?”
“We’re meeting today and wanted to talk with you.”
Just when I thought my legal issues were done. “If this is about the lawsuit, you’ll need to talk to my lawyer.”
“No. It’s not the lawsuit. We’d like to talk to you in person, can you come by?”
“When?”
“Now would be good. Sometime today?”
I pulled over as I tried to figure out how I felt about this call. Tension gathered in my shoulders at the idea of walking back into the hospital. But I remembered my new therapist saying I needed to get back on the horse. While I wasn’t going back to be a doctor, perhaps the first step was to walk into the place that still showed up in my nightmares.
“I can be there in ten.”
“Thank you, Dr. Foster.”
I made a left-hand turn at the next corner to head back toward the hospital. I called Jim and told him about the delay.
“Give ‘em hell, Nick,” he said. I hadn’t been out in town since returning home, so I didn’t know the sentiment about me, but I knew I had Mia and Jim, and even Eli to an extent. I could walk into a public place knowing at least the most important people in my life here were behind me.
I parked in the guest lot, and walked in through a side entrance, not the ER. My heartbeat quickened, but I used a deep breath to help calm my nerves. I exited on the third floor, and considered stopping by Mia’s office first, but decided to get this meeting out of the way. I went straight to the conference room. Inside, Mrs. Wallace, four other board members, and three administrators, as well as Mia, were in the room.
Mia looked up at me, but her expression was unreadable. I suppose she was just being professional, but since I didn’t work there, I didn’t see any reason not to acknowledge me. I could go over and kiss her, and the powers that be couldn’t touch her. She wouldn’t be breaking a rule.
“Dr. Foster, thank you for coming on such short notice.”
I nodded as I took the chair Mrs. Wallace indicated. I couldn’t help but feel like I was about to be interrogated. I look at Mia again for a clue, but she was looking down.
“I suppose you’re wondering why you’re here.”
“Yes.”
“First, we’re glad to hear that the case against you for malpractice has been dropped,” Mrs. Wallace said taking a seat at the head of the long table.
I looked at Mia again, wondering if she told them. “Thank you.”
“We haven’t been so lucky, but now that we have Ms. Parker back with us, we’re hopeful to have a resolution soon.”
I considered bringing up the EMR glitch but held my tongue. “I can’t really help you on that,” I said instead.
“No, and that’s not why you’re
