“Not if he has to work,” she said matter-of-factly, but she was sorry to see the last of him too. After the experience he’d gotten them through, he felt like a friend now, and she would be forever grateful to him.
“He’ll be there,” Peter repeated smugly. “I told you, he likes you.”
“Don’t be such a wiseass,” she said with a grin, unconcerned by what he was saying. He was just Peter’s doctor.
“I’ll bet you ten bucks he comes,” Peter said, readjusting his neck brace.
“You can’t afford it,” his mother said, and slipped quietly into the traffic. And whether or not Bill came to their Labor Day party, she assured herself, was entirely unimportant. She had convinced herself of it, though not Peter, as he smiled at her.
The House On Hope Street
Chapter 8
The Labor Day party was a big success. All of the kids’ friends came, and most of their parents, and some people Liz hadn’t seen since before Jack died. Victoria and her husband came, and brought the triplets. Liz and Peter manned the barbecue, and he did very well, despite his neck brace. And Annie, Rachel, and Megan mingled with the guests. Everyone seemed to have a good time, and half an hour after the party began, Bill Webster wandered in, and looked a little lost until he saw Jamie.
“Hi, remember me?” He was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved plaid shirt, his hair was neatly combed, and Jamie smiled as soon as he saw him.
“I remember you. You don’t like shots either.” Jamie grinned up at him.
“Right. How’s Peter doing?”
“Pretty good, except he yells at me when I jump on him.”
“He’s right, not to yell, but you need to be a little careful with him. His neck is kind of broken.”
“I know. That’s why he wears the big necklace.”
“I guess you could call it that. Where’s your mom?” Bill asked, smiling.
“Over there.” He pointed to the barbecue, and Bill nodded, watching her make hamburgers. She was wearing a barbecue apron over jeans, and her red hair stuck out in the crowd, as did Peter’s. And in spite of the fact that she was hard at work, she was smiling, and looked very pretty. Her hair had grown over the summer, and she was wearing it long on her shoulders. And as though sensing Bill watching her, she looked up, and saw him. She waved a spatula toward him, and he approached slowly, followed by Jamie. And when he got there, Bill saw that Peter was standing near her, wearing what Jamie called his “necklace.”
“How’s it going?” the doctor asked his patient, and Peter grinned, and spoke to his mother in an undertone, pretending to hand her something.
“You owe me ten bucks, Mom.”
“He came to see you,” she whispered sotto voce, and then turned to greet Bill and offer him a glass of wine. He smiled at her, and asked for a Coke instead, since he was on call. The mood around them was casual and festive.
“You look very professional with that barbecue.” Bill smiled at her and sipped his Coke.
“I learned from an expert.”
“Peter seems to be doing fine,” he said, casting a glance at his patient. Peter was having fun with his friends, and flipping hamburgers, despite the cumbersome neck brace.
“He wants to go back to school next week,” she said, looking worried for a minute.
“If you think he’s up to it, let him. I trust your judgment.”
“Thank you.” She turned the barbecue over to Carole and Peter then, and one of their neighbors lent a hand, so she could walk off with Bill for a few minutes. They sat down on two empty chairs and she sipped a Coke. She wasn’t much of a drinker. “How are things at the hospital?” It seemed funny being here with him, away from the concerns they had shared about Peter. Now they were on their own, like two ordinary people, and she felt suddenly shy with him.
“Things at the hospital are too busy. And they’ll get worse before they get better this weekend. Holiday weekends are killers, literally. Car accidents, gunshot wounds, attempted suicides. It’s amazing what people can come up with when they’re off work for a few days, especially when you put a steering wheel in their hands.”
“It’s nice that you could get off and take the time to come over.”
“I didn’t. I’m on call. I’ve got my pager on, but I figured they could live without me for a while. I left my chief resident in charge. He’s good, he won’t call me unless he has to. What about you, Liz? How are the holidays for you? They can’t be easy.”
“This one is better than I expected. The first of everything has been rough. Valentine’s Day, Easter, the kids’ birthdays, Fourth of July, but Labor Day is kind of innocuous. I thought this would be fun for the children.” And everyone seemed to be having a good time, especially her children. They looked happy to have their friends around, it was the first time the family had entertained since Christmas.
“I used to love holidays when I was a kid. Now they’re just workdays.” His life sounded lonely to her, but he seemed to like it that way. She had noticed that he was at the hospital constantly when Peter was there, which made it even nicer that he had come to her party. “What do you do with your spare time when you’re not working and chasing kids?” He looked at her with interest as he asked the question and she laughed as she answered.
“What else is there? You mean there’s life after work and kids? I’m not sure I remember what that feels like.”
