“Why don’t you ladies sit, and we’ll go fetch the tea?” James was giving a wide smile to both her and Bernice. “And if you’ve no strong objections, we’ll open one of those six-packs we bought.”
“That sounds lovely,” Pamela said. “It will give us time to learn more about each other.” It was all Pamela could do not to laugh at the slightly stricken looks on Adam’s and James’s faces. As soon as they were out of sight, she turned to the other woman. “Does their retreat fall under the heading of ‘distraction,’ do you think, Bernice?”
Bernice laughed. The two sat down, Bernice in one of the arm chairs and Pamela on the love seat kitty-corner to it.
“I do, indeed, Pamela. Though I must admit that my husbands have a habit of spoiling me.”
“I’ve had a little taste of that myself. I suppose I should find out who all came over to help prepare the house and invite them to coffee.”
“Well…as a matter of fact, a few of the women who pitched in were hoping to come and meet you on Monday. Since I do believe that Adam and James are planning on heading to the doctor’s office first thing, we thought it might be a good time, if you weren’t too…um…tired.”
Pamela had felt an instant connection to Bernice. But it was the way the woman blushed that made her feel as if she had a real friend in the other woman.
“I think Monday would be wonderful. Thank you, Bernice. I’ll be honest with you. I did worry a little about coming so far from all I’m used to. I had no idea what I’d find here…” It occurred to Pamela that to reveal just how much she hadn’t known about Lusty before she’d arrived might make the situation a little uncomfortable. She didn’t want to say anything at all that might discredit Adam or James in this good woman’s eyes.
Bernice reached over and clasped her hand. “My mother-in-law, Kate, believed you might not know anything. She said these particular nephews of hers were very good doctors but a little oblivious about some facets of everyday life.”
“Your mother-in-law has it right, for the most part. But I knew the most important thing. They didn’t want to return to their home without me. Kate knows them well, does she?”
“She’s a nurse and helps out part time at the doctor’s office. Uncle Warren, your father-in-law, was the main town doctor before Adam and James came home from medical school.
“Then he mostly just filled in if needed, until it was decided Adam and James should take advantage of the opportunity to spend a couple of years at Johns Hopkins. And in case you’re worried about him having to switch back to being the only doctor on call then, he wasn’t. Uncle Terrence, who’s married to Aunt Madison, has been splitting the time with him. He’d spent most of his career at the hospital in Waco.
“In the months she had worked with them, Kate said she got to know Adam and James very well. She told me we’ll all be in very good hands, once Uncle Warren and Uncle Terrence retire for good.”
“I knew they were considered very skilled physicians. Johns Hopkins is an enormous institution, but that’s where we met. And you hear things, as we worked in the same area of the hospital. I was a lab tech, and would see them through the day. I also know that their superiors were sorry to be losing them, but they were determined on their course.”
“We all have to find our place, don’t we?” Bernice asked.
“From what they’ve said, this has always been their dream—to come home and serve their own community. Now I understand it’s not just a matter of community, but of family.”
“Family’s very important here,” Bernice said. “It’s another of those things I love about Lusty.”
Pam hadn’t realized just how apprehensive she’d been about beginning her new life here in Texas. Bernice Benedict, with her welcoming spirit and keen assessment of her new home, went a long way in easing her concerns. “I think it’s already one of mine, too.”
* * * *
Monday morning, Adam and James took themselves a few blocks from home—after getting very nice kisses from their wife—and entered their office for the first time in a couple of years.
“We’re getting close to that time when there’ll be another baby boom.” Terrence Jessop, M.D., looked over his glasses at them and Adam felt that long-ago sense that he was about to get a lecture. A quick glance at his brother told him James felt the same way.
Their father snorted and sent them a look that was not hard to understand. The veiled reference to their having come home with a wife and would likely be adding to that baby boom was hard to miss.
It was difficult sometimes to stand his ground in front of the men he’d grown up respecting as his elders all his life. Dad was dad, and Uncle Terrence was still his uncle—but Adam was a fully accredited M.D. in his own right. Just have to tell myself I’m speaking with a colleague.
“Legend has it one occurs here every few years,” Adam said. “That was one of the reasons James took on that extra residency in obstetrics.”
Uncle Terrence grinned. “The two of you, between you, have most of the bases covered.” He looked around the ground floor of the house that the town of Lusty had been using as a doctor’s office since before the Second World War.
“I’m just going to be here today,” their father said. “Terry is going to fill in until the end of the month, and then, gentlemen, you’ll be on your own.”
“Grandfather Dalton told us the Town Trust is revisiting building a clinic,” James said. “We’ve got three exam rooms and a large treatment room in back. The x-ray is new, as is the operating room. Looks pretty good to me, just the way it is.”
“Well, you know how
