Sacred Trust

Tedi watched Mercy for a moment, her own eyes growing larger. She reached a hand up and caught a tear and held her mother’s gaze. “Don’t cry, Mom. Really. It’s going to be okay.”

Mercy pulled a Kleenex tissue out of her purse and blew her nose. Her own daughter shouldn’t be having to comfort her.

To Mercy’s surprise, Tedi’s spirits seemed to lift after that. She smiled when her grandmother and Jarvis teased her, and the smile was real. It was as if Mercy had reassured her of something vital. The mood relaxed until they reached the cemetery.

As the limousine driver held the door for Ivy, she clutched her chest and stumbled.

Mercy scrambled forward. “Mom!”

“Grandma!” Tedi cried.

Ivy caught herself against the seat as her face grew pale. Jarvis eased her back.

“Relax, it’s okay,” she said. “I just got a little dizzy.” She breathed deeply through her nose, then exhaled through her mouth. “It’s okay.”

“You grabbed your chest, Mom. I saw you grab you chest. Does it hurt? What’s wrong?” Mercy demanded.

Jarvis leaned toward Ivy. “You weren’t feeling well yesterday, were you? You mentioned chest congestion. Are you still feeling ill?”

“Apparently so,” Ivy snapped.

“Mother, why haven’t you seen a doctor?” Mercy asked.

“Very funny. I’ve seen more doctors in the past two days—”

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.” Mercy’s voice carried more volume than she’d intended, and other arrivals at the cemetery turned to look through the open limousine door with concern. She lowered her voice. “How long has this been going on?”

“For pete’s sake, don’t lecture me like a—”

“Stop it!” came a ten-year-old voice.

All three adults turned in time to see Tedi’s eyes fill with tears. Her lower lip quivered. “Grandma, you’re scaring me.”

Mercy quickly wrapped her arms around her daughter. “It’s okay, honey. You know how stubborn your grandma can be sometimes.” She cast a reproachful look at her mother, who did not hold her gaze. Good. She felt guilty. “Now that we know she’s sick, we’ll take care of her. I know she doesn’t want you to worry. Do you, Grandma?”

“No.”

Tedi sniffed and smeared tears over her face with the back of her hand. “But what’s wrong, Grandma?”

The color had already begun to return to Ivy’s cheeks. She eased herself back more comfortably on the velour seat. “Nothing serious, I’m sure, Tedi. Sometimes I just get the hiccups, but it isn’t in my throat. It’s deeper in my chest.”

“Do you think it’s your heart?” Fresh tears formed in Tedi’s eyes. She’d heard her mom talk too many times about heart attacks and the dangers of heart disease. Mercy wished she’d never discussed the subject in front of her.

“I don’t know, honey,” Ivy said.

“We’ll know soon enough,” Mercy said. “Mom, we’re going straight to my office as soon as we leave here.”

“No, we aren’t. I don’t feel it’s ethical for a daughter to treat her own mother.”

“Then we’ll go to my office,” Jarvis said. “You’re not getting out of this, Ivy Richmond.”

“And you’re not getting your stethoscope on me, either, Jarvis George. I’ll go to an unbiased doctor who doesn’t know me and doesn’t have preconceived ideas about the care I should receive. The two of you would have me trussed up like a full backpack and never let me out of the house again.” Her color continued to improve, and Mercy relaxed. Tedi’s tears had done more than any amount of browbeating could have done, and whatever was wrong with Mom, she was recovering for now.

Chapter Seven

A t eight o’clock Friday evening, Lukas completed his patient charts and sat back with a sigh. As usual, the evening rush hour had hit with a vengeance, making up for a midafternoon lull. He’d seen twenty patients today, several with high acuities—two chest pains, one asthma, a surgical abdomen, and a broken leg. Not bad for a day’s work when you also took into account the numerous flu, strep, pneumonia, sprain and workmen’s compensation patients he’d also seen. He’d had to fly one heart attack out via chopper to the trauma center at Cox South in Springfield. There was just so much this small, class-four facility dared to handle without sending some patients to a place with more specialized equipment and medical expertise.

Lukas decided not to wait until he got home to call his father, but opened his cell phone as he changed from his scrubs to his street clothes. He smiled when Dad answered in the middle of the first ring, then frowned at the sight of his rumpled clothes in the mirror. He had to start using hangers.

“Hey, Dad,” he said after the preliminary greetings, “I’m off this whole weekend. What do you think about that?”

“I don’t believe it,” came his father’s musical baritone voice. “It’s been months since you had a Saturday and Sunday off in a row. How’d you manage that your first week there?”

“I’m the only full-time physician working at Knolls Community E.R. Since most of the other docs practice family medicine during the weekdays, that’s when I work. Mrs. Pinkley warned me that once she wins her battle with the number crunchers, she’ll be hiring more full-time doctors in the E.R. and then I’ll have to share my cushy hours.”

“What did you tell her about your problems in Kansas City?”

“The truth. I told her that I had personality differences with my trainer during my residency, and—”

“Did you also tell her you weren’t the only one who had trouble with him? Did you tell her that he and a nurse lied on the witness stand about your actions?”

“No, I just showed her the court papers where my name was cleared and the hospital was forced to stop blocking my license. She checked my references and told me that was good enough. She also said that it was her opinion that docs were worse about professional jealousy than attorneys. I guess she was satisfied, because she hired me. She’s quite a lady.”

“Is she married?”

Lukas sighed and rolled his eyes. “Yes, Dad, she’s married, and she’s retirement age.”

“Doesn’t hurt to ask. Found a church yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Just think, you might even have time to join the choir and actually be there every Sunday for a change.”

Lukas shook his head. Dad had never come to grips with the fact that his youngest son could not carry a tune. “What are you doing this weekend? I thought I might drive up. It’s only about a two and a half hour trip to Mount Vernon from here.”

“We won’t be home tomorrow. We’re driving to Roaring River with the Goennigs for some fishing.”

Lukas stifled his disappointment. There was plenty to do this weekend. “Still feeling like a newlywed?”

“I still am a newlywed. It’s only been a year.”

“How’s Beth?”

“Busy as ever.” Besides being the church librarian, Lukas’s new stepmom, Elizabeth, was on the kitchen committee at church, and she helped out at the senior citizen center and delivered food for Meals on Wheels. She’d been good friends with Mom and Dad before Mom got sick, and she was there for them throughout the chemotherapy and radiation. After Mom died, Beth had been there for Dad as a friend. She, too, had lost a spouse five years earlier, and Lukas had always been glad of her friendship. She’d fit perfectly into the family, and she was good for Dad.

“I wish you’d called sooner,” Dad said. “We just made the date with the Goennigs today.”

“That’s okay, Dad. I probably need to stay and settle in, anyway.”