Blair: What will we be celebrating?
Sutton: You, of course. Always you.
There’s no wiping the goofy grin I’m wearing as I walk into the restaurant and move to the table where Tabitha is waiting for me with her phone to her ear.
“I know…Yes, dear. I’m more than aware…” A smile as soft and sweet as my own appears on her lips. “I’ve got to go now, Blair just arrived for our lunch meetin’.... I know, call it one of the perks of bein’ the boss. You get to have work at fancy restaurants…” She laughs and holds her finger up to me, indicating she’ll just be a moment. “I miss you, too. I’ll call you tonight.”
She places her handset on the table and looks over at me. “Sorry about that. That was my… partner.” Just like the first time we met, there’s a curious expression on her face. “Anyway, enough about me. I hope you like white wine because I ordered a glass each as well as the five-course degustation for lunch. Is that OK?”
I arch a brow, my lips twitching. “I thought this was an important business meeting?”
Tabitha grins and mirrors my expression. “You forget that Iknowyou’ve been workin’ in private practice for a while now, which means you’ve likely had more than your fair share of business lunches–no matterhowimportant.”
“Touché.”
Tabitha shrugs and we both start laughing as the server arrives with the first course.
“This is an amuse-bouche consisting of a smoked salmon tartlet with dill cream cheese and a sprinkle of capers. Enjoy,” he says, placing the plates in front of us and walking away.
I wait until we’ve finished eating before starting. “I’ve got a copy of my report here for you and I’ve also sent an electronic copy via email.”
“You’re nothin’ if not efficient, Blair,” she says. “I appreciate that, by the way. So how about you give me the highlights of yourreport so that I know how much work you’ve got planned for me when I implement your suggestions.”
I cock my head as I take a sip of my chardonnay. “Sounds like you expect to like what I’ve got to say.”
Tabitha’s eyes crinkle at the sides. “That would be because I’m ninety-nine-point nine percent sure I will. You’re a smart woman, a fantastic doctor, and you have a combination of urban and now small town hospital experiences that have already proven to be invaluable. You’ve seen what the city has and what Timber Falls doesn’t. I can’t think of anyone else better positioned to identify our shortfalls and what our community needs us to provide so that we can serve them better.”
“I appreciate the confidence. I really do.”
“Well, good. You should. You’ve earned it. Now, how ‘bout you start talkin’ before our next dish comes out. If we time it right, we should be past thebusinesspart of our meetin’ by the time the last plate is served. What do you say,DoctorLittlefoot?”
“I’d tell you to brace yourself, because we’ve got alotto cover.”
And that’s exactly what I do, laying out what the hospital does well, and the demographic breakdown of our patients for the past three years compared to those found in similar sized hospitals in other parts of Alaska, then in other rural/mountainous states in the Lower 48.
By then, it’s time for our second dish of the day, a seared scallop with a fried oyster.
Once we’ve cleared our delicious plates, I resume my summary, covering the specialized services that the hospital currently offers and the ones that are in high demand but can only be accessed in Anchorage or Palmer.
We take another break for the next dish, a salad with mixed greens, haskap berries, roasted walnuts, and a lemon-poppy seed vinaigrette, which serves as a great palate cleanser.
In between that and the fourth dish of pan-seared caribou loin with root vegetables and a saskatoon berry jus, we discuss the hospital structure and staffing shortages. Tabitha also shares her thoughts on where she thinks there are gaps in services offered to the residents of the town.
Over the final dessert plate consisting of a small rhubarb crumble with a scoop of homemade vanilla bean and lemon ice cream, we get to the most important part of my report–the recommendations.
I only finalized those last night but it’s the section I’m most proud of because this is where I know I can give back to the town that has opened my eyes in so many ways and reinvigorated my love of the medical profession. The most important suggestion was inspired by two people - Sully Wilson and Sutton.
Last night I remembered that way back at our first date at Hidden Lake when Sutton said people’s problems are the same in Timber Falls compared to the city, but the perspective is different.
“The therapist learnin’ from his patients and all that,”he said.
“I think I’m hoping to find something like that while I’m here too.”I replied at the time.
What I didn’t know when I said that was just how much I’d learn in the short time I’ve been here so far, or how much it would changemyoutlook. Not just work either, but what I want out of my life as a whole.
Yes, I can’t wait to tell Starchild that her reading was right.
I stayed up and researched my butt off, spending most of the night changing the entire focus of my report. That’s because it hit me that what Ithoughtthe town needed when I first arrived was no longer the case. I know better now, and that’s only through working in the ER, meeting the townsfolk, and coming across patients like Sully Wilson.
