[FIVE]
(Time 4:14 p.m. Town, Still Saturday)
Aubrey Barrett's (POV)
I think I just saw a goddess!
I mean, I got all flustered and tongue tied and she...wow...she was just gorgeous! And then I just let her leave the craft shop like a dumbass.
I did spot her by her truck and even felt her following me with her eyes, but I was too nervous to stop and talk with her again.
"Bird you idiot!" I scold myself, while hitting my head on the steering wheel. Yes, I moved here to start over, not to start looking for a partner or mommy, but wow. If you saw her, you would be in shock too!
I feel goosebumps all over as I drive home and as soon as I get there I back into my garage and rush inside. I need to call Amelia and spill my feelings to both her and Gabby.
As soon as I'm through the door I pull my boots off, leaving them near the garage and hop up the stairs to my room. In no time I'm showered, clean and dressed in my light yellow silk pajamas with warm fuzzy yellow socks with my hair in a messy bun.
Once done I grab my things and head back to the kitchen, planning to do some sketches while I eat, but first I set my phone on its stand and facetime Amelia and Gabby. While the phone rings, I look around inside the fridge for something to cook.
I'm getting a little frustrated at the fact nothing in my fridge looks appetizing, but squeals and giggles from my phone interrupt my search. When I round the corner to look at my phone screen, I'm greeted with the sight of Gabby kissing and tickle attacking Amelia, who is trying to get away and kicking her feet against the table, making the phone shake.
"Could you two stop that before you break the phone?" I giggle out.
They squeal and separate, looking breathless. "Sorry Bird, she started it," Amelia accused, while pointing her finger at Gabby. I roll my eyes at my friend, because I know it's most likely Gabby was simply retaliating.
"What are you two cooking for dinner? I can't decide what I want."
"Well little Bird, I'm making lasagna tonight," Gabby responds, while getting comfortable in her wife's arms.
My tummy growls loudly at the thought of Gabby's lasagne. It's one of her specialties. "No fair!" I whine.
"What are you craving, honey?" Gabby asks.
"Well, I had this amazing pasta dish at the diner for lunch, so I was wanting something light. I haven't had meat for a while though, so I want that as well. I thought about making fried fish and chips."
"Well that sounds good. You have everything you need right?"
I nod, but start blushing. "Yeah, but I wanted your opinion anyway."
"Anytime little Bird," she says with a chuckle. "You should get to cooking then, hmm?"
"Okay. Oh, but first, I must tell you both. I saw a goddess today!"
"Really? She was that gorgeous, huh?" Amelia asks.
"She was breathtaking! I mean literally, I could only stutter a thank you out when she helped me with a few things I dropped at this craft store I went to."
My friends are both giggling and I can tell they're excited for me. "Did you get her name?" Gabby asks.
"No!" I groan. "My dumbass was frozen and too nervous. Hell, even after leaving the store I spotted her by her truck and still couldn't find the courage to go talk with her."
This time it's Amelia who groans. "Geez woman! Bird, you must assert your sexy woman self and put yourself out there!"
I roll my eyes as Gabby smacks her. "Don't listen to her, honey. Anyway, it's a small town so you should run into her again, yeah? And besides, if she felt anything towards you too then you'll definitely see one another again."
"Thank you Gabs you're the best," I tell her, bouncing on my heels with some nervous energy.
Amelia feigns shock and hurt, complete with the little pout she saves for only Gabby and I.
"Okay I love you too," I tell her, blowing her a kiss and she immediately perks up and like a dork, holds the kiss to her heart. She laughs while I shake my head and Gabby rolls her eyes.
"I love you both so much. But I'm going to get to cooking, cause I want to do some sketches while I eat".
They tell me they love me too before ending our call. I rush to my studio, closing the shutters and grabbing my speakers, before running back to the kitchen. I start the same playlist from earlier, as I start getting everything out to cook my dinner.
As I prepare my meal I dance to my music, squealing and sliding across the floor boards in my fuzzy socks. It was so much fun I almost got so distracted away from the food I was cooking!
But as soon as the goddess flashed through my mind, all my thoughts were of her and the hope I have that I will get to see her again soon.
(Time Skip 6:40 p.m. Pearce Home)
Dr. Sarah Evans Pearce's (POV)
"Babe I'm home, where are you?"
I lay my purse on the kitchen counter and kick my boots off at the shoe rack, before making my way through the house and to the studio in the backyard. Finding the door closed, I knock lightly before entering, hoping I don't startle Margaret if she's deep in concentration.
I can hear the music playing soft acoustic tunes, but I know she won't have heard me knocking.
"Babe? I'm home," I call out, to be heard over the music. It shuts off and my wife pokes her head out of the back room of the studio where she paints. Margaret immediately meets my steps and kisses me, while holding her paint covered hands in the air.
"Hi love," I whisper against her lips.
"Hi beautiful, just give me a bit to clean up."
"While you do that I'll have a quick shower upstairs then start dinner so you can have some more time out here."
She smiles and I'm confused when she shakes her head. "No need, baby. I put a casserole in the oven. It should be done now, so if you could pull it out to cool before you shower it should be ready when we're both finished."
I sigh and kiss her hard. "Goddess, you're a saint, babe."
"Nah, I just love my wife. Now go take that scalding hot shower." I peck her nose, which makes her face scrunch up.
"Love you too babe!" I call out as I make my way back into the house and into the kitchen, pulling the casserole out of the oven. The steam carries our dinner's aroma up to my face and I can't help taking a deep breath. My wife really does know her way to my heart - my stomach.
I head upstairs to take my long-awaited shower. Today was stressful. Not only did I have my eight regular patients, but I also had an accident patient who thought it would be funny to jump off his roof onto a trampoline on a dare from his buddies. End result: broken collarbone and right arm. It was surprising he didn't break his neck. All I know is I gave him a hell of a talking to, then he got another from his parents.
I step into the bathroom and start the water, then strip off my clothes and throw them in the hamper. Before I hop into the shower, I start some music playing on my phone which automatically connects to the speakers. A hot shower and music will definitely help me to relax.
Like Margaret said, my perfect shower includes scalding hot water and that is exactly what I get. I groan under the water, feeling my entire body melt with relaxation. I clean myself quickly, then stand for some time under the water, soothing my tired muscles.
When the heat becomes a little too much, I finish my shower and quickly get dressed in pajamas, fluffy socks and slippers. I put my hair into a quick french braid, before heading down to the kitchen, where I find my lovely wife making a salad.
Needing to touch her, I move behind her body and wrap my arms around her waist, kissing her neck. I sigh and breath in her scent of fresh rain and paint. "I missed you so much after lunch. It was a mess."
"Would me telling you I ran into that tiny, gorgeous woman everyone has been talking about make your day better?"
"Yes!" I gasp, the news immediately distracting me. "So? Tell me!"
She smiles before turning back to the counter to finish her salad. "I admit it. You were right, babe. I think she's even more gorgeous up close. I went to Delilah's to get some more paint and she came into the store."
I kiss her neck again and now that the salad is finished she turns in my arms, but leans back against the counter, ready to tell me what happened.
"Her eyes were amazing. I was completely captivated by them. They were this greenish blue color, with golden flakes, but my dumb self didn't even introduce myself! I was so in awe of how gorgeous and cute she was, I just couldn't think clearly."
Her story makes me chuckle, but I nod as well. "I understand. I only got a glimpse, but wow! She's a tiny little angel, isn't she?"
We both blush and seem to be in our own thoughts, still in each other's arms. I feel all wrong, but all right at the same time.
Both my wife and I have a crush on our new neighbor.
I lay my head on Margaret's chest. "We have it bad. And she's only been here three days, love."
"Agreed, but we need to just let things fall into place as they go. We love each other and if this young woman is meant to be our third, it will happen, okay?"
I nod and lift my head to look at my wife. We share a sweet kiss, before separating.
"Now, let's set the table and eat, I'm starving. Oh, and I'm almost finished with my latest painting, so you'll get to see them soon."
"Yay! I look forward to It my love."
My wife chuckles as she picks up the casserole. "Grab the salad and plates babe. I'll come back for our drinks and silverware."
I smack her ass as she walks past me, making her jump and giggle. "Of course love. Now, let's eat this lovely meal you prepared."
Getting what I was told I settle down at the table, waiting for my love and unable to stop the thoughts that we may have found our little. Well, that's if she is one! I know why Margaret is being cautious though, we don't even know if she likes women and even if she does, that alone doesn't mean she'll like us!
The thoughts disappear when my beautiful wife sits down and pours us a glass of wine. I focus on my love, right in front of me, as we eat our dinner and talk, looking forward to the rest of the weekend.
(Time Skip 8:20 p.m. Barrett Home)
Aubrey Barrett's (POV)
I've had a busy evening. Finishing my sketches quickly, I decided to start painting and now I'm halfway through two different canvases. I started a landscape of the sun setting over my lake first, but when I needed to let parts dry before I could add the finishing touches, I decided to just start a second.
I've taken more time on this painting than any I've ever painted before. That's because it's of the goddess I met today. I'm freaking out, trying to get all her facial features from just my memory and now I'm stuck and pouting because the only parts I'm able to get right are her long, dark flowing hair and her beautiful eyes.
After thinking about it for a moment, I decide I'm not going to keep painting when I know it won't be perfect, so I put it to the side to finish once I see her again.
Even though it's getting late I still feel the need to paint, so I start a new canvas of the diner. About half way through I start yawning and my strokes are getting sloppy. A quick check of my watch tells me it's nine twenty, and I giggle knowing I could paint all night. Even with that being the case, I'm finally too tired from today's activities, so I cover my paintings and make my way upstairs, careful not to get paint on anything.
Heading straight to the bathroom, I strip my clothes off and use my elbow to turn the shower on. Once under the water, I scrub the paint and watch the water whirl down the drain. It makes me giggle because it's an icky brown and green color of all the paint on my body mixing together as I wash myself clean.
After a very long shower of scrubbing I'm squeaky clean and dressed in a new set of pajamas. Because my dirty clothes have paint on them I take them straight down to the laundry and toss them into the washing machine, along with some soap and bleach. I sigh at the ruined clothes, it's not the first time this has happened because I start painting without getting changed first.
"Dork, you should've just stripped to your undies, now your second pair of silk pajamas are paint covered!"
I giggle at myself and start the machine before heading to the fridge where I grab a bottle of water and an apple off the counter. I make my way back up to my room and fold some clothes as I finish my apple, then do my nightly routine.
As soon as I fall onto the bed and crawl under the covers I'm yawning constantly. I stretch before snuggling down into my bed of comfort and drifting into dreamland, with a goddess on my mind, along with several new ideas for paintings.
(Time Skip 9:12 a.m. Evans Pearce Clinic)
[Monday]
Dr. Sarah Evans Pearce's (POV)
Today has already been hectic. I just finished up with my third patient of the morning and all I can think about is being home and snuggled on the couch with my wife.
I let out a tired sigh and decide to grab a cup of coffee as I wait for the next patient. As I'm heading to the kitchen however, I'm interrupted by slamming car doors and frantic shouting, coming from the front of the clinic.
I immediately change my direction and head to the entrance, there I'm met with several people rushing through the door. I'm shocked when I realize it's the Fletcher brothers, carrying a crying Trisha who is holding her arm and trying to stop the blood which is escaping around her fingers.
"Take her into the first room! Sabrina, I need your help!" The boys quickly comply, rushing into the room and laying Trisha on the exam table.
"What happened?!"
The boys both look guilty but don't respond so I let out a growl to show my displeasure, then examine the girl. Her arm is badly broken, the bone protruding through her skin, which means I'm going to have to operate. The hospital is just too far away to send her with an injury of this kind.
"Honey, I need you to take some deep breaths in and out for me, okay. We're going to get you all fixed up, yeah?"
Trisha is crying loudly, tears and snot all over her face, but she still follows my direction. I breathe in and out with her to make it a bit easier for her to follow, at the same time I look at her eyes with a pen light. She's in danger of going into shock, so I need to stop the bleeding as quickly as possible.
"What happened?!" Sabrina asks loudly as she rushes into the room, pushing the boys out of the way.
"I asked the same thing," I say through gritted teeth while holding a pad over Trisha's wound. "Boys! Snap out of it and tell us!"
My loud yelling seems to have done the trick this time because after jumping out of their stupor Arron finally responds.
"We were on a job at the Forman's ranch. She was helping us move some heavy furniture out of the loft above the barn when she slipped and fell down the stairs. I couldn't catch her in time and she ended up landing badly on one of the older desks we'd already moved to the bottom of the stairs."
I nod along as they explain, but keep my eyes on Trisha. As soon as they've finished I direct Sabrina's actions.
"Get a morphine line going, we need to reset her arm before she loses feeling and has permanent nerve damage. I'm also going to need the portable x-ray machine."
Sabrina already had the bag hung and was only waiting for my confirmation before she put the line in, so this was done quickly. She immediately left to get the x-ray machine. Within a couple of minutes Trisha was calming, the pain medication clearly doing its job.
"Alright boys. Go inform your parents. They'll need to take her to the hospital once I'm done, but she should be settled and it will just be to give her a more thorough check over. And next time, don't have your little sister helping to move big things down stairs, it could have been worse!"
They both nod with tears in their eyes, then kiss their sister on her head, telling her how sorry they are. I really need to see if the bleeding is due to more serious damage within her arm or if it's just the superficial break through the skin, but I can't do that while the boys are still here. Just as I'm about to shoo them out again, Sabrina rushes back in with the x-ray machine and physically pushes them out.
"You just wanted to show off to your big brothers, huh?" I talk softly to Trisha, who just giggles in response. That doesn't last however because I remove the gauze and change it for a new one, reapplying the pressure to control the bleeding which causes her to cry out in pain again. As soon as the morphine kicks in fully she'll be fine, but until then there's still the possibility of some pain, especially with large movements.
"Just keep breathing honey, you'll feel a lot better soon, promise."
She whimpers and nods, keeping her eyes and focus directly on me. Sabrina and I are ready, we're now just waiting for the drug to take full effect, which will take a few more minutes. I continue to watch Trisha, returning her eye contact while holding her good hand and caressing her cheek. Her eyes slowly start to close and as soon as she passes out I put the oxygen mask over her face.
"We need to get this set now. She's bleeding too much," I tell Sabrina, who nods in agreement.
I ignore everything else and search for any bleeds in her arm and unfortunately I find one. It makes sense, given the amount of blood loss. I pinch it off with my thumb and index finger immediately.
"Clamps."
Sabrina hands them to me and when I set them, the blood stops flowing out of her wound. From here everything runs smoothly, I fix the bleed, we x-ray and reset her bone and Trisha is resting peacefully in a clean recovery room.
I change into clean scrubs and leave Sabrina to start on cleaning and sanitizing the area while I go out front to talk with Trisha's family. It's now one thirty in the afternoon, which means we were in surgery for around four hours, so I'm confident they'll all be here by now.
As I walk into the waiting room I'm proven correct; meeting the worried faces of Trisha's family I smile warmly.
"She'll be fine," I tell them immediately and they all audibly and visually let out their breaths. "In pain and in a cast for six to eight weeks, but fine."
The boys speed over and hug me, making me feel like a squished sandwich. I chuckle at the big teddy bears, patting their backs before stepping back.
"Now, she's still out due to the pain meds. We had to stop a bleed in her arm near her elbow and reset her bones. The bone suffered a major break which required a few screws to set it, but she should recover nicely. She'll have a cast for at least 6 weeks, then will have to do physical therapy to regain the strength in the arm, but I can already tell you there will be no heavy lifting for at least twelve to sixteen weeks."
They all nod, but now it's Delilah's turn to lunge at me to wrap her arms around me in a hug.
"You're a lifesaver as always Sarah. Thank you so much."
"Always," I tell her, hugging her back and letting her calm down from her worry in my arms. "Just keep an eye on her. Since she's right handed, she may have trouble doing normal tasks such as writing, but that will improve over time."
Delilah steps out of my arms and moves back over to her husband, Richard, who puts his arms around her shoulder.
"Because everything went so well, I'm happy for you to delay a check up at the hospital if she's not up for it this evening, but if you don't take her today it has to be tomorrow. Once she wakes up you can take her home, but I need you to stop by the pharmacy for her medicine. I'll write the prescriptions now and I'll also call the hospital and explain the situation letting them know they should expect you."
After another round of thank you's and hugs, they sit back down and I head to my office. As I reach my desk I sit and pop my neck, letting some of the tension leave my body. While I write three prescriptions, one for hydrocodone, one for muscle relaxers and antibiotics for infection, I call up Dr Sanders at the hospital. His cheery voice answers the line, which always makes me smile.
"Hey Andrew, it's Dr. Sarah Evans Pearce down in Harrison."
"Hi Sarah! What can I do for you this afternoon?"
I rub my temples and let out a long sigh. "I just performed a surgery on a seventeen year old girl. She came in with an open fracture, which also caused a bleed in her arm. The bleed was found and fixed quickly, as was the break, but I had to put some temporary screws in to assist with the reset of the bone. I've told her parents they need to bring her to the hospital to have her fully checked over and wanted to let you know." Dr Sanders of course had no issue with this and we spent some time discussing the injury and my actions.
"You sound tired Sarah," Dr Sanders tells me when we're finishing up the call. "But you honestly do an amazing job. I know you like your patients to be checked over by us after you've worked on them but honestly, we never have to do anything except tell them your work is perfect."
"Thanks Andrew, it means a lot, but I'm still a small town doctor and I like to make sure I haven't missed anything. Speaking of me sounding tired though, how's the search for a doctor for me been going? I know it can be hard to find someone who wants to move out of the city, but it seems more and more accidents are happening. I'd be happy with a few nurses as well, I'd just love some help."
"Well on that front I have some good news. There's a nurse who's worked in the ER here in the hospital for around five years. Her name is Gillen Arrow and she's planning on moving out that way. She'll need a job and may be perfect, she's twenty seven and was a medical officer in Afghanistan, so she's had a lot of experience with field medicine and sudden surgeries. Other than Gillen there's a few potentials, I can set up some interviews for you."
"That's welcome news Andrew, thank you. May I ask why she wants a small-town life?"
"Of course!" Dr Sanders says with a chuckle. "Simple reason is she's still feeling like she's back in the line of fire working in a chaotic city hospital. She hopes working in a small town will provide a more peaceful life where most patients present with minor issues, with the odd accident requiring work like you've done today thrown in. Don't worry, she's really good with patients and follows directions to the 'T'."
I smile as I write all the details down, it's all sounding really positive and another medical professional is something Sabrina and I sorely need.
"Well send her my way! She sounds perfect"
We finish up our call, confirming all the arrangements for Trisha and I stand and stretch before making my way back to the waiting room where I meet back up with Delilah and Richard.
"Here are her prescriptions," I say, handing the papers to Delilah. "Dr. Andrew Sanders is waiting up at General to do a full work up on her. I may do surgeries but you know I prefer second and third opinions so I don't fuck things up, yeah?"
Both Delilah and Richard chuckle and confirm they will head straight over to the hospital this afternoon, so they can get the visit over and done with.
"Well, she should be waking up, you can go through and see her while I discharge her. Hopefully the hospital clears her within an hour or two, I hate having you stay overnight."
Richard takes my hand without warning and shakes it firmly. "Thanks doc, for looking after my little girl. And yeah, the wait is always a pain!"
I give him a look of recognition, I can see in his eyes this man had the fright of his life today.
"Come on, this way to see your girl and then you can take her to the hospital. I do recommend keeping her arm elevated and she'll be in and out due to the pain meds." I lead them to the room, going right to Trisha's side to check her vitals. Her eyes flutter open just as I finish.
"Hi honey. Your parents are here and they're going to take you on to General for a check up. But your surgery went well, and your arm is all set. You just have to be careful with it for the next twelve to sixteen weeks."
She smiles groggily, quietly mumbling out a thank you. I give her a final smile before I leave the room and go to get her file prepared. By the time they've left it's four in the afternoon and I'm exhausted, so I decide to have Sabrina reschedule tomorrow's minor check ups to give us both the day off. After a surgery like today, we need it and the town knows where to find me if there's an emergency.
Soon after I'm making my way home to my loving wife and a hot, scalding bath to relax after a hectic day.
[Hey reader's what do you think so far? :) Please leave feedback Thank You.]