Destroy (A Standalone Romance Novel) (17 page)

“What are you doing
here?” she asked, handing me one of her bags. “I thought I wouldn’t see you
until tonight when we got home.”

“Call it an unscheduled
stop in the new routine.”

“What’s that
suppose to
mean?”

We crossed the street
just as an ambulance passed us and rode up to the emergency entrance.

“You tell me later,”
Tiffany added, grabbing the bag I was holding and rushing back to the ER.

I looked after her with
some envy in my heart.
This is what it
should have been for me too: rushing back to work.
But as it was, I wasn’t
looking forward to spending another six hours with Elizabeth Aldridge. I felt
bad for her. If Jeff was to blame for the obvious philandering, then Elizabeth
was left in the lurch. Not a good place to be. Having to watch her husband take
off with another woman at the end of several years of marriage was not
something I would wish on anyone.

So, giving her the
benefit of the doubt, especially since I was so angry with Jeff for not telling
me what was going on, I marched through the doors of the department with a
lighter heart and a lighter step.

Elizabeth was waiting for
me at the nurses’ station.

“Ah, Dr. Williams, just
the person I wanted to see,” she said, a broad smile adorning her lips. “Let’s
go to the children’s department. I have something to show you.”

I followed her out, down
the corridor and to the elevator. She looked at me and said, “We’ve got two
little girls–identical twins–suffering from liver failure. The father is an
appropriate donor…”

The elevator doors
opened. We walked in. I still hadn’t said a word. We remained quiet during the
ride up to the fourth floor since there were visitors in the lift. We were not
supposed to discuss a patient’s condition in presence of outsiders.

As soon as we were free
to talk, Elizabeth resumed her explanation. “So, the father is willing to
donate a portion of his liver to save the girls, which is great. However, we’re
faced with a huge problem…”

“There won’t be enough of
the father’s liver for the two girls to share, right?”

“Exactly, Dr. Williams.
The parents will have to choose which of the two children is to receive the
liver and which will have to be sacrificed–or wait for another liver to become
available before she dies.”

The coolness in
Elizabeth’s voice would have made Dr. Kerry proud. She was as detached as could
be. I was almost sure the woman never had any children. A parent would never
sound as unfeeling as she did. Or, maybe she and Jeff had lost a child…?

When we reached the
private room where the parents were watching the two little dolls, I was
practically in tears. How would those people decide on the fate of their daughters?
How could they? Besides, the girls looked happy enough. They were dressed the
same and playing ball in between their beds.

“Mr. and Mrs. Parkton;
let me introduce you to Dr. Williams.” Elizabeth turned to me. “She is the
doctor who’s going to look after you, Mr. Parkton, after the operation and
throughout your recovery.”

I extended a hand and
shook each of theirs with a tentative smile. “Pleased to meet you both,” I
replied. The father was a big, burly fellow with a good disposition, whereas his
wife was a petite woman with timidity written all over her beautiful tanned
face. She looked as if she came from South East Asia. I didn’t have to wonder
where the girls got their lovely faces.

Elizabeth sat on the edge
of the bed near the parents while I went to see the little girls. They had been
given a nametag each, so there wouldn’t be any confusion between them. Natasha
and Lydia were gorgeous children. Both were petite as their mother with black,
wavy hair surrounding happy faces. Yet, the yellow tinge in the white of their
eyes betrayed their illness.

As I played a little with
the girls, I heard Elizabeth ask if they had made up their mind yet regarding
which girl would have to be prepped for the operation, which needed to be
performed as soon as possible.

My heart cracked when I
looked into Natasha’s eyes. At the age of five, she probably knew what was
going to happen. Was she the one chosen to go under the knife? She threw a
glance in her mother’s direction. When I looked into her eyes, I saw the apprehension
that must have been encumbering her mind. Lydia, for her part, seemed ignorant
of the dilemma her parents faced at that moment. It was only when she noticed
her sister’s obvious anxiety that she looked at her mother and father in turn.
She ran to her mother’s lap, climbed in it and cuddled her. Natasha and I
looked on. I didn’t have the right words to say. So, I stayed mute and heaved
her into my lap.

“I don’t know, Dr.
Aldridge,” Mrs. Parkton replied.

“Perhaps you could tell
us which of our two girls
is more in need of the transplant
,”
the father added.

“They’re both in urgent
need of a new liver, Mr. Parkton. So, the choice would have to remain yours.
However, there is no need to despair, the minute I hear of another liver being
available; you’ll be the second person to know.”

“Why couldn’t I give part
of my liver too?” Mrs. Parkton asked. “I don’t understand. I’m their mother…”

“Perhaps I’ll ask Doctor
Williams to explain the reasons why we can’t ask you to do that.”

I took Natasha in my arms
and sat her across my hip.

“I haven’t been apprised
of Natasha and Lydia’s cases yet, but I can answer your question by saying that
it would be too dangerous to have both parents involved in organ donation at
approximately the same time. We don’t want to make the girls orphans while they
recover from their illness.”

“What if nothing went
wrong with either of us?”

“If that was the case, Mrs.
Parkton, all would end well, of course, but there isn’t any guarantee. Besides,
either of you could die of a cardiac failure during the operation; maybe one of
the girls would have problems with the anti-rejection drugs. In fact, and I am
sorry to say, there are a lot of unknowns when dealing with organ transplants to
be sure it would work.”

Elizabeth looked up at
me. “Added to that, there is the fact that your liver, Mrs. Parkton, is not as
well suited for the transplant as your husband’s is.”

“Yes, you said, it is too
small, isn’t it?”

“Exactly. So, in the
meantime that we get another liver let me hear of your decision in the morning,
if possible.”

Both parents nodded, as
Natasha climbed down from my waist and went to her dad.

“Okay,” Mr. Parkton said.
“I’ll call you in the morning.”

As I closed the door of
the room, I felt a heavy bulk drop at the pit of my stomach.

“When is the procedure
due to be performed,” I asked Elizabeth.

“On Friday. In the
meantime, you and I have to discuss the case and prepare the father for
surgery.” She looked at me. “I gather this will be the first hands on for you,
won’t it?”

I had to swallow the knot
in my throat. “Yes. I attended a few operations with your husband and a couple
with Dr. Slosberg, but this will be my first “assist”.”

“Well, that’s good to
hear. I mean that you had some experience in Slosberg’s theater is very good.
He’s the top surgeon in this hospital. And one of the best across the country.
If you had a headache, I suggest you take two aspirin and phone Dr. Slosberg in
the morning.”

I had to laugh quietly at
the joke. I didn’t know why she was cold or so detached toward the patients in
her care, but as far as I was concerned, the woman’s character began to grow on
me. I had to admire her staunch approach and her stalwart demeanor.
Why on earth would Jeff walk away from her?

Chapter
18

The rest of the day was
spent partly in visiting the few patients who had recently undergone surgery.
One of them was a young man who had just received a new kidney from his uncle.
It had been very difficult to find a match for him apparently, until his uncle
heard about his nephew’s plight. He lived in Alaska and when he received the
call from his sister, telling him that Jonathan was dying; he packed his bags,
resigned his job and returned to Washington. Normally, he should have been
tested before leaving his work and home, but as he said, “What’s there to keep
me? I’ve got nothing but penguins and caribous to keep me company, so I’m much
better seeing my sister through this, right here.”

When we entered Mr. Archibald’s
room, he was watching baseball on TV. He turned the sound down and started
chuckling.

“Good gracious,” he
bellowed, “what have I done to the Lord to deserve two of you? If Dr. Lizzy
wasn’t enough of a sight for these sore eyes, but now I’ve got another beauty
to admire. What is your name, dear?” He peered into my eyes as I approached his
bed.

“Dr. Heather Williams,” I
replied, grinning at his bonhomie. “At your service, sir.”

“Truly, you’ve done it
now, Dr. Lizzy. Where did you get such a beautiful woman, and a doctor to boot,
to look after my sorry ass?”

“I’ve got my secrets, Mr.
Archibald, you know that.”

“Do
I
ever.” Mr. Archibald returned his gaze to me. “You know what this woman did?”

“No, sir, she hasn’t told
me yet. What did she do?”

“She gave me my life
back, that’s what she did. Yes, ma’am. Not only did she save Jonathan from
certain death, but she got me back to my family, where I belong, and to a real
ball game.”

“Don’t they play ball in
Alaska?” I asked.

“You’ve got to be kidding
me,” he replied, stifling a laugh. “They’ve got that darn Iditarod every year,
but before and after that, you name it they don’t have it.”

As for Jonathan, he was
asleep when we entered his room. I had to admit: he was a delightful young man.
Looking at him sleep like that, so peacefully, made my heart melt with
gratefulness. He was the perfect example of the reason why I had been working
so hard at university. He had another chance at life now.

His mother stood up from
the chair and closed her book. She walked with us out of the room when
Elizabeth indicated that she didn’t need to disturb him.

“Mrs. Paulson, I’d like
you to meet Dr. Williams,” she said. “She is going to look after Jonathan until
he’s discharged.”

“And where will you be?”
Mrs. Paulson asked, lifting a worried gaze to Elizabeth.

“I’ll be here, don’t
worry. I’m not going anywhere. But Dr. Williams is going to help me carry on
with the routine visits. That is if you don’t mind.”

Mrs. Paulson turned to
me. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to sound dismissive or anything like that, but
Dr. Aldridge has looked after Jonathan and my brother since this whole thing
began two years ago. You understand.”

“I do, Mrs. Paulson, and
I am only going to remain available when Dr. Aldridge needs my help, that’s
all.”

A couple of patients
later, we retired to the lounge where we began analyzing Natasha and Lydia’s
cases. There were files upon files to read and tablet notes to review. I put my
studying cap on and started poring over the documents. Elizabeth did the same
for a while until I had a few queries. We discussed the cases over a cup of tea
and went on reading. It was soon six o’clock and time for us to go home. All in
all, once I screwed my head on right, I had to admit it; it had been a
relatively interesting day.

As I reached the locker
room to change, I saw Tiffany come down the corridor. I waited for her at the
door.

“So, how was that first
day of yours,” I asked before she could ask the same of me.

“Whoa! I don’t know if I
will ever get used to these ups and downs.”

We sat on the bench
facing our lockers.

“What do you mean?” I
asked.

“Well, see, we spend an
hour or so doing nothing, except perhaps for going to ICU to check up on one of
our patients or those who have come up from the dungeon, and then all of a
sudden the entire ER is a combat zone. In the first instance, I was asked to stay
back and observe. I was glad for it. This guy had rammed his car into a pole at
one of the downtown intersections. He had second degree burns on his legs and a
couple of fractures–nothing really major like a cranial injury–but for some
reason he went into cardiac arrest right there and then.”

“Did he survive?” I
asked.

“Oh yeah, thanks to Dr.
Rogers’s prolonged CPR.” She stopped talking for a bit and looked at me. “You
know, I would have let that man die.”

“How can you say that?”

“I can say that because I
know me. I wouldn’t have the patience to last as long as he did. Or perhaps,
it’s because I would have believed it was his time to die.”

“Like what Slosberg told
us; is that what you mean?”

“Absolutely. I am still
not convinced that I can make a difference and save those lives that come to me
for help.”