kindness, her instinct is to pull back before she gets
smacked.”
“I picked up on that, too,” Jim said. “I don’t think she ever imagined finding
herself facing this type of situation, and I think she’s overwhelmed. On the other hand, I do believe she is
one of the more virtuous physicians we’ve met in a while. Of course, her instinct is
self-preservation, but she doesn’t forget the others involved. I think in spite of what she fears for
herself, a big part of her grieves for the patient.”
Nancy nodded as she leaned back in her
chair, nibbling on the tip of her pen. “I see things the same way. It’s obvious Jenna feels genuinely awful about her patient becoming
infected.”
“It sure is,” Jim said, taking off his
reading glasses and placing them on the table. Unbuttoning the cuffs on his shirt, he
rolled up his sleeves while he reflected on the doctor. After a few moments, he put his
spectacles back on and said thoughtfully, “Jenna’s an interesting contradiction
of vulnerability and feistiness. I
think we are going to have to be very careful how we deal with her throughout
this lawsuit. I wouldn’t go so far
as to call her fragile. She never
would have survived the rigors of medical school and residency if she had
paper-thin skin. I only hope we can
exploit her inner strength.”
“Me too.” Nancy stretched her arms above her head
and yawned.
Jim smiled warmly at his colleague and
trusted friend. “Why don’t we call
it a night? Tell your husband I’m
sorry for keeping you late. I owe him
a beer.”
Nancy laughed as she stood to leave. “He’s keeping track, Jim. At this point, you owe him a brewery.”
CHAPTER 17
Over the course of several weeks, Jenna
became increasingly glum. One
night, after Mia had gone to sleep, Tom found Jenna huddled up on the couch,
her head resting on Ginger’s soft fur. The only light in the room came from the muted television. Tom sat next to Jenna, but she did not
notice his presence. He reached
over and took her hand. Only then
did she lift her head.
“Jenna, are you going to be okay?”
“I don’t know.”
Tom’s patience was fading. He had tired of Jenna’s sulking. In his mind, her period of mourning
needed to come to a conclusion.
Exasperated, Tom said, “I don’t understand why you are
internalizing this so much. You
should be pissed . I mean, REALLY PISSED ! Some
sick, drug-addicted skank decides that not only is she going to steal your
drugs to get high, but she’s also going to leave her dirty virus in a syringe
to be used on patients. I bet
Hillary Martin probably sat there and watched you and the other doctors push
the plunger. Maybe that gave her a
rise, too.”
“Tom,” Jenna shouted, losing control, “I’m
not you! Just because you would get
pissed off, doesn’t mean I’d do the same! I’m too sad to be angry right now.”
He barked back, “Jenna, I’m sick of it. You’re like a ghost. You barely talk to me. We hardly even touch. You go through the motions of being a
mother, and that’s it. Mia misses
you. She’s been crying herself to
sleep lately, wanting to know when you’ll be happy again. Honestly, I don’t have an answer for
her. I can’t stand watching you
mope around all the time. You need
to realize that you did not commit this crime! If you keep it up and continue to carry
on this way, people are going to start to think that maybe you are guilty. You better snap out of it. If you don’t, you are going to screw
yourself and, very possibly, our family!”
The thought of her daughter sobbing every
night upset Jenna more than anything else Tom had said. His selfish inference to their waning
sex life infuriated her. Feeling
anger build up inside her, Jenna was grateful that Mia was a sound sleeper, and
her bedroom door was shut.
Her upper lip curled, and she
smacked.”
“I picked up on that, too,” Jim said. “I don’t think she ever imagined finding
herself facing this type of situation, and I think she’s overwhelmed. On the other hand, I do believe she is
one of the more virtuous physicians we’ve met in a while. Of course, her instinct is
self-preservation, but she doesn’t forget the others involved. I think in spite of what she fears for
herself, a big part of her grieves for the patient.”
Nancy nodded as she leaned back in her
chair, nibbling on the tip of her pen. “I see things the same way. It’s obvious Jenna feels genuinely awful about her patient becoming
infected.”
“It sure is,” Jim said, taking off his
reading glasses and placing them on the table. Unbuttoning the cuffs on his shirt, he
rolled up his sleeves while he reflected on the doctor. After a few moments, he put his
spectacles back on and said thoughtfully, “Jenna’s an interesting contradiction
of vulnerability and feistiness. I
think we are going to have to be very careful how we deal with her throughout
this lawsuit. I wouldn’t go so far
as to call her fragile. She never
would have survived the rigors of medical school and residency if she had
paper-thin skin. I only hope we can
exploit her inner strength.”
“Me too.” Nancy stretched her arms above her head
and yawned.
Jim smiled warmly at his colleague and
trusted friend. “Why don’t we call
it a night? Tell your husband I’m
sorry for keeping you late. I owe him
a beer.”
Nancy laughed as she stood to leave. “He’s keeping track, Jim. At this point, you owe him a brewery.”
CHAPTER 17
Over the course of several weeks, Jenna
became increasingly glum. One
night, after Mia had gone to sleep, Tom found Jenna huddled up on the couch,
her head resting on Ginger’s soft fur. The only light in the room came from the muted television. Tom sat next to Jenna, but she did not
notice his presence. He reached
over and took her hand. Only then
did she lift her head.
“Jenna, are you going to be okay?”
“I don’t know.”
Tom’s patience was fading. He had tired of Jenna’s sulking. In his mind, her period of mourning
needed to come to a conclusion.
Exasperated, Tom said, “I don’t understand why you are
internalizing this so much. You
should be pissed . I mean, REALLY PISSED ! Some
sick, drug-addicted skank decides that not only is she going to steal your
drugs to get high, but she’s also going to leave her dirty virus in a syringe
to be used on patients. I bet
Hillary Martin probably sat there and watched you and the other doctors push
the plunger. Maybe that gave her a
rise, too.”
“Tom,” Jenna shouted, losing control, “I’m
not you! Just because you would get
pissed off, doesn’t mean I’d do the same! I’m too sad to be angry right now.”
He barked back, “Jenna, I’m sick of it. You’re like a ghost. You barely talk to me. We hardly even touch. You go through the motions of being a
mother, and that’s it. Mia misses
you. She’s been crying herself to
sleep lately, wanting to know when you’ll be happy again. Honestly, I don’t have an answer for
her. I can’t stand watching you
mope around all the time. You need
to realize that you did not commit this crime! If you keep it up and continue to carry
on this way, people are going to start to think that maybe you are guilty. You better snap out of it. If you don’t, you are going to screw
yourself and, very possibly, our family!”
The thought of her daughter sobbing every
night upset Jenna more than anything else Tom had said. His selfish inference to their waning
sex life infuriated her. Feeling
anger build up inside her, Jenna was grateful that Mia was a sound sleeper, and
her bedroom door was shut.
Her upper lip curled, and she
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