adorable. Her mom was a big-boned woman, blond and fiftyish, obviously unrelated by blood to her daughter. Every time I saw them, I felt hope. Adam and I could adopt a child like Haley, I thought, or like any of the other adopted kids I saw in my practice. Adam didn’t get it. He didn’t witness the parent-child bonds I saw every single day, bonds that had nothing to do with blood and biology.
There was a knock on the door and my receptionist, Rose, poked her head into the examining room. “Dr. Pollard for you on one,” she said.
Adam! “Thanks, Rose.” I turned to Haley’s mother. “Excuse me,” I said, “but I need to take this call.”
I rushed to my office. He’d been gone two and a half days, and I hadn’t expected to be able to hear from him yet. I was used to long periods without contact during Rebecca’s absences, but it felt different to be so out of touch with Adam. When I wasn’t at work, I was glued to CNN, horrified by the news of missing and stranded people and the images of boatsmoving from house to house in a desperate search for survivors. Disaster team personnel are treating hundreds of patients in the airport, CNN reported, and I assumed that’s where Adam was calling from.
I sat down at my desk and picked up the phone. “Adam!” I said.
“Hey, My.” He sounded exhausted, but I thought there was a smile in his voice.
“I didn’t think you’d be able to call!”
“The cell towers are still down, but I’m using Dorothea’s satellite phone. How are things there?”
“Oh, things are fine here,” I said. “I’m more concerned with how things are where you are. It looks horrendous on TV.”
“Understatement,” he said. “Are you in the middle of something?”
“I have a patient, but I can take a minute. Are you anywhere near Rebecca?”
“Uh-huh. They have a bunch of medical tents set up in the airport lobby, and the whole terminal, every part of it, is wall-to-wall people. It’s really sad, My. Most of them have lost everything.”
“I can’t even imagine it,” I said. “Is there food?”
“MREs.”
“Ugh. Where do you sleep?”
He laughed, but there was no mirth in the sound. “I think I’ve gotten two hours since I arrived, but it’s not too bad. There’s a big carpeted conference room on the second floor and the volunteers sleep on the floor.”
Ouch. He wasn’t the best sleeper even in our king-size bed.
“You know…” His voice trailed off. “There aren’t enough of us here,” he said. “We’re trying to do the impossible, really, and…there are no pediatricians…” He stopped talking altogether.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
I heard him sigh. “I thought I could guilt-trip you into this,” he said. “Into coming.”
I hesitated. “Coming? There? I’d be more of a liability than a help, Adam.”
He didn’t respond, and I continued. “I heard one of the helicopters carrying doctors was shot at. I was worried it might be yours and Rebecca’s.”
He made a sound of annoyance. “That was just a rumor. The only thing to worry about here are all the sick and injured people who need help.”
He couldn’t really be asking me to come. “Adam, I can’t.”
He let out a long breath. “I know,” he said. “It’s all right.”
“What would I do with Chauncey?” I asked, although I knew the answer. Our neighborhood teemed with teenage pet-sitters.
“I said it’s all right,” he repeated.
I ran my fingers over the keyboard on my desk. “What are you seeing?” I asked.
“You name it. Heart attacks. Women in labor. Broken bones. Infections. Lots of chronically ill folks who just need maintenance meds. Loads of respiratory problems. And…there are so many kids here.”
Kids. And no pediatrician. That was why he thought I could help.
I rubbed my temple. “God, I am such a baby,” I said.
“It’s okay.”
“But you called to try to talk me into it.”
“I just got…it was an emotional reaction to what’s
There was a knock on the door and my receptionist, Rose, poked her head into the examining room. “Dr. Pollard for you on one,” she said.
Adam! “Thanks, Rose.” I turned to Haley’s mother. “Excuse me,” I said, “but I need to take this call.”
I rushed to my office. He’d been gone two and a half days, and I hadn’t expected to be able to hear from him yet. I was used to long periods without contact during Rebecca’s absences, but it felt different to be so out of touch with Adam. When I wasn’t at work, I was glued to CNN, horrified by the news of missing and stranded people and the images of boatsmoving from house to house in a desperate search for survivors. Disaster team personnel are treating hundreds of patients in the airport, CNN reported, and I assumed that’s where Adam was calling from.
I sat down at my desk and picked up the phone. “Adam!” I said.
“Hey, My.” He sounded exhausted, but I thought there was a smile in his voice.
“I didn’t think you’d be able to call!”
“The cell towers are still down, but I’m using Dorothea’s satellite phone. How are things there?”
“Oh, things are fine here,” I said. “I’m more concerned with how things are where you are. It looks horrendous on TV.”
“Understatement,” he said. “Are you in the middle of something?”
“I have a patient, but I can take a minute. Are you anywhere near Rebecca?”
“Uh-huh. They have a bunch of medical tents set up in the airport lobby, and the whole terminal, every part of it, is wall-to-wall people. It’s really sad, My. Most of them have lost everything.”
“I can’t even imagine it,” I said. “Is there food?”
“MREs.”
“Ugh. Where do you sleep?”
He laughed, but there was no mirth in the sound. “I think I’ve gotten two hours since I arrived, but it’s not too bad. There’s a big carpeted conference room on the second floor and the volunteers sleep on the floor.”
Ouch. He wasn’t the best sleeper even in our king-size bed.
“You know…” His voice trailed off. “There aren’t enough of us here,” he said. “We’re trying to do the impossible, really, and…there are no pediatricians…” He stopped talking altogether.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
I heard him sigh. “I thought I could guilt-trip you into this,” he said. “Into coming.”
I hesitated. “Coming? There? I’d be more of a liability than a help, Adam.”
He didn’t respond, and I continued. “I heard one of the helicopters carrying doctors was shot at. I was worried it might be yours and Rebecca’s.”
He made a sound of annoyance. “That was just a rumor. The only thing to worry about here are all the sick and injured people who need help.”
He couldn’t really be asking me to come. “Adam, I can’t.”
He let out a long breath. “I know,” he said. “It’s all right.”
“What would I do with Chauncey?” I asked, although I knew the answer. Our neighborhood teemed with teenage pet-sitters.
“I said it’s all right,” he repeated.
I ran my fingers over the keyboard on my desk. “What are you seeing?” I asked.
“You name it. Heart attacks. Women in labor. Broken bones. Infections. Lots of chronically ill folks who just need maintenance meds. Loads of respiratory problems. And…there are so many kids here.”
Kids. And no pediatrician. That was why he thought I could help.
I rubbed my temple. “God, I am such a baby,” I said.
“It’s okay.”
“But you called to try to talk me into it.”
“I just got…it was an emotional reaction to what’s
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