Their Miracle Baby

“I’m sorry I’m late. It’s a bad habit I can’t seem to change,” she said, embarrassed by her own bad manners.

“It’s okay, I’ve only been here a few minutes myself,” he said, gesturing for the waiter.

After he’d ordered their meal, another nice touch, they both settled back in their chairs. There was a long silence as they both gathered their thoughts. Finally, Lewis broke the silence. “I’m glad we could get together. I’ve been…”

His words were interrupted by Venetia’s phone buzzing in her pocket. She’d planned to put it on silent but had forgotten in her rush to get to the restaurant. Pulling it out of her pocket, she sent him an apologetic look and switched it off.

“Again I’m sorry, but I turned it off,” she said, stuffing the phone into her purse where she wouldn’t be tempted to look at it.

“That’s okay. I’m surprised you turned it off,” Lewis said, knowing that it was a big deal for her to cut off communication with her patients.

“I managed to call in a favor so another doctor would cover my patients for the night,” she said, a little embarrassed.

“That’s the best news I’ve heard all day. Now, you’re all mine,” he said, flashing her a smile that melted her bones.

“Honestly, it wasn’t easy to do,” she said, shaking her head.

“It’s good that you take your job so seriously. If all doctors had your dedication, medicine would be a lot better off. But don’t forget that you need to have a life too.”

“Now you sound like my nurse. Lewis, you have to understand that these people need me. All I’ve ever wanted to do was help the ones who get missed by the system. If I can save just one child then it’s worth everything I’ve sacrificed.”

“Your dedication was one of the first things that struck me when I read about the clinic, but I still don’t know what motivates you,” he said, pouring the wine that had just been delivered with their appetizer.

“It’s not something I talk about that much, but when I was growing up, my brother was diagnosed with cancer. He survived, but barely, thanks to a lot of doctors who just didn’t want to bother with the extra effort of getting him the help he needed,” she said, the old anger surfacing again.

“What do you mean?” Lewis asked, shocked to think that any doctor would blow off a cancer diagnosis.

“Have you ever been to one of the free or low-cost clinics around town? Most of those places are run by people who are only looking to line their pockets by defrauding the government or doctors who have to work there for one reason or the other. Regardless of the reason they’re there, they usually don’t want to be.”

“I take it that this happened to you?” Lewis asked, truly interested in hearing her story.

“Not to me, but to my brother. We took him to several of those clinics. At the first one, they brushed away his constant exhaustion to laziness. At the second, they explained the bruises away as just a result of boy’s rough housing. No one was willing to do blood work or any other diagnostic testing, although I later discovered that they’d charged the state for testing.”

“But those are all classic signs of lymphoma. No one tested him?”

“No, they didn’t want to take the time or energy to find out what was really wrong with him. He just continued to get worse until my parents were so desperate that they went to the emergency room and demanded that they run the tests.”

“That must have been awful, the frustration of knowing he was sick and being able to do nothing about it.”

“It nearly tore my family apart. But once in the hospital, we were finally given the treatment and care that he needed. But I never forgot what that was like, and I promised that I’d do something to fix it.”

“And you have. Your clinic could be a model for how they all should be run,” Lewis said, admiration clear on his face.

“Well, I don’t know about that. One of the biggest problems with those other clinics is finding the right person to run them. Not very many people are willing to commit their entire life to taking care of these kids at the salaries that are offered.”

“But I still think that what you’ve done will make a difference in the long run, a model that like-minded people can use to achieve what you have.”

While Venetia was proud of what she’d accomplished at the clinic, she hated it when people made a big deal about her contribution. She hadn’t done it alone, and too many times the other people involved weren’t given the credit they deserved. She was saved from any more embarrassing discussion about how wonderful she was by the arrival of their dinner.

Taking the opportunity to change the subject, she asked Lewis if he’d traveled. Much to her pleasure, it turned out that he’d also spent some time volunteering in South America. They spent the rest of dinner discussing their shared experiences in the jungles of the Amazon. Each in agreement that they’d love to return someday.

“I’d love to go back, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon,” Lewis said.

Venetia was a little bit disappointed to hear that since she had plans for returning as soon as she could. “I’ve been looking into spending some time working with Doctors without Borders, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” she said, handing her empty plate to the waiter.

Lewis could sense her disappointment. “I just don’t know how much need there is for a neurosurgeon, and it’s what I truly love to do. Maybe someday I’ll be in a place where I won’t mind giving it up and using my skills in a different way.”

“I understand, you worked hard to get where you are and now you want to enjoy it,” Venetia said, realizing that she did understand.

They decided to skip desert, both much too full to even contemplate eating anything else. Lewis paid the check and they walked out into the chilly night. Venetia wasn’t ready for the night to end, but they hadn’t made any plans other than dinner. Standing on the sidewalk, they looked at each other. Venetia was sure that Lewis wanted to kiss her but wasn’t sure that he should.

Instead, he asked, “Would you like to go for a carriage ride in the park? It’s not too cold and it would give us a chance to talk some more.”

Venetia only had to think about it for a second, she wanted to know more about Lewis. She’d learned a lot at dinner, including the fact that they both had a driving need to help people, but there was still more to learn. To say that she was smitten with Lewis was a bit of an understatement, but she wanted to know more.

“That sounds wonderful,” she said, letting him guide her across the street to where a carriage was waiting. “Did you plan this?”

“I might have,” Lewis said, with a wink and one of those bone-melting smiles. “I’ve always wanted to do this. It seemed like the perfect time with the perfect person.”

Venetia felt herself blushing, pleased that Lewis had planned something so romantic. She let Lewis help her into the carriage, his hands leaving warm spots where he touched her. Once seated, he spread a warm blanket over their legs and they were off. As they rode around the park, which was lit up with twinkling lights, Venetia relaxed against the seat, pleased when he put his arms around her.

She snuggled into Lewis, enjoying his warmth, and she realized how right it felt to be in his arms. It was a little bit scary, but the best things in life always came with a risk, she thought. Lewis too was thinking that it felt right to have Venetia in his arms, but what he really wanted to know was how it would feel to kiss her. He’d been thinking about it for days, built it up so much in his mind that the real thing couldn’t possibly be as good as he imagined.