Late Arrivals (Special Delivery Book 4) Read online

  Late Arrivals

  Episode Four of the Special Delivery Series

  J.A. Armstrong

  Text © Copyright 2016 Bumbling Bard Creations

  All Rights Reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced

  without permission.

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER ONE

  “No, no I don’t think so,” Brooke Campbell spoke into the phone. “Yes, I heard you, Jason. No, I don’t think that is necessary. Why? What do you mean; why?” Brooke asked in frustration. She looked up from her desk when her office door opened slightly and held a finger up to her best friend Rachel while she continued her call. “Of course, I heard you. I simply don’t think it is necessary at this point; that’s why. No, Jason, it is not a simple surgery. There is no such thing as a simple surgery. Simple and surgery do not belong in the same sentence,” Brooke said.

  Rachel Cantrell flopped into the chair that sat in front of Brooke’s desk and listened. Brooke looked tired, and a stranger would have been able to detect the irritation in Dr. Brooke Campbell’s voice. Rachel crossed her legs and sighed. Dr. Jason Bennet was the newest addition to the OB/GYN practice that she and Brooke led. He was bright, and he was talented. Jason Bennet also suffered from a complex that Rachel and Brooke called EOS—Ego Overdrive Syndrome. In other words, Dr. Jason Bennet was a know-it-all. Rachel leaned back and continued to listen as Brooke addressed the young doctor.

  “I will see Ms. Tanner in the office tomorrow, Jason. I understand your concern. I saw the ultrasound results,” Brooke said. She closed her eyes to suppress her frustration. “I’m certain that she is feeling a good deal of pain. Endometriosis is painful. Jason, I am not going to go round this again. Tell Ms. Tanner that I will see her tomorrow morning at eight here in the office. Yes, I know. Well, be that as it may, that is where I stand. We can discuss it after I see Ms. Tanner. Fine. Speak to you then,” Brooke said as she hung up the phone.

  Rachel lifted an eyebrow in question at her best friend.

  “Don’t,” Brooke warned Rachel. “I know that you think I am too hard on him. He is much too quick to want to intervene surgically.”

  Rachel nodded. “So, Donna Tanner ended up in the emergency room; I take it?”

  “So it would seem,” Brooke replied.

  “You looked at the ultrasound?”

  Brooke nodded. At times, the stacks of forms and what seemed like thousands of channels that had to be navigated as hospital affiliates annoyed Brooke. But, there were advantages. Access to test results via the hospital intranet was one of those pluses. Brooke had been particularly grateful of late. Two new staff doctors presented mentoring challenges for both Brooke and Rachel. Brooke shook her head.

  “How bad?” Rachel asked.

  “Bad enough to cause enough pain that she ended up in the emergency room,” Brooke said. “It’s the size of a golf ball—roughly.”

  Rachel nodded. “You don’t want to intervene?”

  “Donna Tanner is twenty-nine, Rach. I want to talk to her. She was primarily Liz’s patient until Liz left us. I can look at her records just as well as Jason. That’s not enough to make a recommendation or even an assessment. I want to speak with her,” Brooke said.

  Rachel understood. Brooke wanted to find out what the patient’s outlook for the future was. Did Donna Tanner want to have children? And, Brooke wanted to thoroughly explain how endometriosis and surgery might impact fertility. Rachel watched as Brooke leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and sighed heavily. Rachel also understood that at the moment, the topic of Donna Tanner likely had struck a personal chord with Brooke.

  “Brooke,” Rachel called for her friend’s attention. “Hey…It will work out.”

  Brooke opened her eyes and offered her best friend a forlorn expression. “Rach…”

  “Brooke, we’ll know for certain in a couple of weeks if all is well. We’ll go from there.”

  Brooke’s half-hearted smile made Rachel’s heart sink. Brooke and her wife Tess had been elated five months earlier when Brooke had managed to conceive, only to be devastated six weeks later when Brooke miscarried. Brooke suffered from a mild case of endometriosis. She had not even realized it until the miscarriage. Afterward, Rachel had suggested that the couple wait for a couple of months before trying again. Rachel’s greatest concern had been Brooke’s emotional state. As a fertility expert, Rachel had suggested that perhaps Brooke and Tess consider in-vitro fertilization in lieu of artificial insemination. Rachel had explained to Brooke that she thought that the likelihood of success might be improved.

  “Brooke…”

  “I know,” Brooke admitted. “I want to believe it will be fine. I just don’t want to disappoint her.”

  “Tess?” Rachel asked hesitantly. Brooke nodded. Rachel smiled at her best friend. “I think you can put your mind at ease on that one,” she assured Brooke.

  “It was hard, Rach—not just on me.”

  “I know it was,” Rachel told her friend.

  Rachel had seen the excitement in both women when Brooke had learned she was pregnant. Miscarriages in the first trimester were not uncommon. Brooke knew that better than most people. At times, having a greater knowledge could be a blessing. There were moments when that knowledge could also be a curse. Rachel understood that as well. She smiled at Brooke reassuringly.

  “Brooke, it will happen. It will. If you don’t believe me as your friend, please trust me as your doctor. You and Tess will have that baby. I’m confident the ultrasound will confirm the blood tests and everything will be as it should be. I am. I just want to cross every T this time.”

  Brooke nodded. “I hope so.”

  ***

  “Davey!” Tess called up the stairs.

  “Yeah, Mom?” Davey called back.

  Tess took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Can you please come down here?”

  “I’m playing a game.”

  Tess counted to five and called for her son again. “David!”

  Davey rolled his eyes, set down his tablet and started for the stairs. Tess waited at the bottom for his arrival.

  “Yeah, Mom?” Davey asked when his foot hit the floor.

  Tess forced a smile onto her lips. “Yeah, Mom?” she repeated. Davey shrugged. Tess nodded and steadied herself. “Did you maybe forget to tell me something when I picked you up from school this afternoon?” she asked him.

  “No,” he replied.

  “No? Are you sure about that?” Tess questioned him, giving him another chance to start pulling himself out of the hole he seemed determined to dig. Davey shook his head no again. Tess nodded. “So, what time do you expect you will be done with school the next few days?” she asked him.

  “What do you mean?” Davey answered with his own question. Tess’s strained smiled began to rattle Davey, and he looked at his feet.

  “Davey, one more chance,” Tess said. “You can either tell me now or we can just wait until Brooke gets home and you can explain to both of us why you are lying to me.”

  “I didn’t say anything. That’s not lying,” Davey muttered.

  Tess licked her lips and took another deep breath. She pointed to the sofa in the living room. “Sit,” she told him. Davey complied with a huff. Tess moved to stand in front of him. “So? Should we try this again?” she asked.

  “I didn’t do anything,” he mumbled.
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  “I see.”

  Davey looked up at his mother. “I didn’t, Mom. Tara said I pushed her. It wasn’t me. It was Brian.”

  “I see,” Tess repeated. “So…”

  “Mrs. Knowles gave me detention for three days! I didn’t even push her!”

  “Why did she say that you did?” Tess wanted to know.

  “Cause I was with Brian behind her, I guess.”

  Tess considered her son silently for a moment. Davey and his sister Dani were just about to turn ten. For the most part, the twins were well behaved and respectful. Like all children, the pair had presented Brooke and Tess with a few challenges from time to time. They were a great deal alike in numerous ways—undeniably twins. But, Davey and Dani were also unique individuals. The older the twins grew, the more evident that became. In some respects, Tess suspected that discovering their individuality was, at times, responsible for her children’s outward displays.

  Both Dani and Davey were outgoing and engaging. Tess was enormously proud of her children. They shared a love of people and an ability to participate in complex conversations with adults when afforded the opportunity. The twins also had a spirit of adventure that seemed to ooze from their pores. Dani and Davey were creative and inventive. In a few instances, their creativity had led to minor disasters—an emergency room visit among them, but overall the kids’ explorations tended to prove fascinating, and in many cases amusing. The ways in which the twins differed as people sometimes prompted heated clashes between the pair. Other times, their contrasting personalities provided a needed balance.

  Dani was a natural leader. She was less fearful and less concerned with the opinions of others than her brother. Tess had noticed Dani’s natural confidence early on in her children’s lives. Dani tended to confront new things with curiosity rather than apprehension. She was willing to try just about anything from sports to music to science experiments. Tess and Brooke had both marveled at Dani’s versatility and her determination. The youngster seemed to master nearly everything she attempted. At times, that caused friction between Dani and her brother.

  Davey stood in contrast to Dani in one major way. He preferred to step in behind someone with a stronger personality. For most of his life, he had been content to follow his sister’s lead. He looked to his sister when he was placed in uncomfortable situations. Davey was sensitive, and both Tess and Brooke were aware that his sensitivity had the ability to derail him at times. He sought to prove himself to others, while Dani seemed to continually strive to satisfy her sense of self. In the last year, the differences between the twins had become gradually more evident both at school and at home.

  Tess was fairly certain she could guess what had happened at school earlier that day. She had no intention of playing Twenty Questions with her son. And, she was positive Brooke would not feel inclined to engage in a guessing game either. Dani and Davey knew their boundaries. Brooke and Tess expected that their children would stretch the limits of those boundaries at times. That did not change the fact that the boundaries existed. For Tess and Brooke, the boundaries and expectations they placed on their children were relatively straightforward. They expected that the twins be honest, respectful and do their best. It seemed to Tess to be a simple concept. She wondered why her son needed to press the limits of those concepts so often.

  “Davey?” Tess urged her son. Davey shrugged. Tess sighed. “Why would Tara think that you would push her?”

  Davey groaned. “She’s annoying.”

  “Is that right? Did Tara do something to annoy you?” Tess asked pointedly. Davey shrugged again. What is it with the shrugging? Do they ever outgrow that? “David, I want to know what happened from you. I already know Mrs. Knowles’ version.”

  Davey looked at his feet. “I dunno. Brian says she’s a dweeb. You know, like all she wants to do is read and stuff. She just sits there and watches us when we are playing or whatever.”

  Tess nodded. “And, that annoys you?”

  “Kinda.”

  “I see,” Tess repeated a familiar line. “I’m not sure I understand how her watching you led to someone pushing her.”

  “Brian was just running behind her. He didn’t mean to knock her down,” Davey said. Tess looked at her son skeptically. “Well, he didn’t,” Davey said.

  “But, there’s a little more; isn’t there? Something you would like to share with me?” Tess questioned knowingly.

  “We were sort of teasing her, I guess.”

  “Teasing her?” Tess asked. Davey offered his mother a slight nod. “Why would you be teasing Tara?”

  “I dunno. She’s just annoying. It’s creepy the way she watches us from the hill when we are outside. She doesn’t have any friends or anything. The guys don’t like her.”

  Tess shook her head. “Dani is friends with Tara, isn’t she?”

  “Kinda. But, Dani doesn’t see it ‘cause Tara is in my class this year and not hers.”

  Tess thought for a moment about how to respond. Davey’s voice sounded small. Tess had come to understand that equated to Davey’s understanding that he had been wrong. She doubted that Davey had pushed his classmate. She also knew from his teacher’s call that Mrs. Knowles doubted it as well. However, Davey had taken the blame without offering any reason or denial. Tess was sure that had been in an effort to strengthen his friendship with Brian Greer. Brian Greer would not have been Tess’s first choice of best buddies for her son. From what Tess had been able to discern at a distance, Brian Greer was the class bully.

  “You used to like Tara just fine when she and your sister spent time together,” Tess observed.

  “I guess. She’s a geek, Mom.”

  “A geek, huh? What does that mean?” Tess wanted to know.

  “She likes books and school and stuff.”

  “That’s a reason to pick on her?” Tess wanted to know.

  “And, she stares.”

  Tess took a deep breath. “Why didn’t you tell Mrs. Knowles that Brian pushed Tara?” she asked her son. Davey gave his customary shrug. “I see. You told her that you did it; is that true?” she asked. He nodded. Tess sighed. “Davey…”

  “She said I did, so why should anyone else get in trouble?” Davey asked.

  Tess sat down beside her son. “You know, Brian could have told Mrs. Knowles the truth,” she pointed out.

  “He got detention too, for teasing. Only for tomorrow, though.”

  Tess nodded. “I’m disappointed in you, David,” she said honestly. Davey met Tess’s eyes with regret. She sighed. “You know how much it hurts to be picked on. Remember when Brett did that to you in the second grade?” she reminded her son. “Didn’t feel very good, did it?” she asked him. Davey hung his head. “Most of all, I’m disappointed that you would lie to Mrs. Knowles and to me when I asked you what happened.”

  “I didn’t push her!” Davey defended himself.

  Tess’s eyebrow shot up. “You told me that you didn’t do anything. That’s not the truth.”

  “I didn’t push her.”

  “Maybe not, but you were with Brian when he did. You did not help Tara either from what I understand, unless you suddenly consider laughing at someone helping,” Tess said bluntly. “When I asked you about your day, you were not honest with me,” Tess said. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “Are you gonna tell Brooke?” he asked fearfully.

  Tess nodded. “You know that Brooke and I do not keep any secrets, Davey. But, no. I’m not going to tell her,” she said. Davey brightened and looked at his mother hopefully. Tess smiled. “I’m not going to tell her because you are.”

  Davey swallowed hard, and his eyes flew open. “No, Mom…Please, you tell her.”

  Tess shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

  “She’s going to hate me,” Davey muttered.

  Tess smiled genuinely at her son. One thing Tess knew without any question, there was no one on earth that Davey wanted to please more than Brooke. Tess put a hand o
n her son’s knee. “You know that is not true,” Tess said. “But, you also know that she will expect you to tell her the truth—the whole truth,” she said. Tess stood and looked back down at Davey. “I would think about what it is you want to say,” she instructed him. “And, I would suggest that you be honest.”

  “Am I grounded?” he asked.

  “We’ll talk about the consequences after you talk to Brooke,” Tess told Davey.

  Tess started to walk away and turned back to regard her sullen son. Tess shook her head affectionately. The truth was, she was angry, and she was disappointed in Davey’s actions. But, Tess loved her children beyond words. She sometimes became frustrated by their behavior, even struggled to understand their actions. In this case, Tess had a few ideas about what was motivating Davey’s behavior of late. She hoped that he might find the courage to talk to Brooke—to confide in Brooke. Tess sighed. Oh, Davey, just tell her the truth. You might be surprised at what she has to say.

  ***

  Brooke chuckled quietly watching Dani through the glass window of the practice room. Dani had been determined that she was going to learn to play the drums. Moreover, she had been determined that Brooke was going to mentor her in that endeavor. Brooke had balked, made excuse after excuse, and to Tess’s amusement whined about the whole prospect. There were few things that Dani or Davey could ask Brooke for that Brooke would refuse, least of all anything that meant Brooke got to spend time with one of them. Finally, Brooke caved to the request.

  Brooke looked on proudly as Dani worked with her instructor. The truth was, Dani was not a natural musician the way that Brooke was. Music had come naturally to Brooke. She could hear the notes in her head, feel the beats in her nerves. It made it easy for Brooke to pick up instruments. Not to say that Brooke didn’t practice. Brooke had always been a hard worker at everything she attempted. Music had come to her far more easily than medicine had, save the actual practice of surgery. Learning the science of her profession had required lots of concentration and determination on Brooke’s part. Learning music, much like working with a scalpel had seemed natural. Brooke was adept with her hands. She seemed to know intrinsically how to move them. Surgery for Brooke was a great deal like striking keys on a piano. It possessed a unique rhythm.