Wren exchanged a look with Charlie before she rose to stand. “I’m Dr. Wren Baker.”
“BAKER!” Hank roared. “Another PLAIN NAME.”
“Plainandplain. Sharp, Hank,” Charlie said, tapping his head. “Very funny.”
“But I didn’t MEAN it like—”
A small tourist bus rolled into the parking lot. David needed to finish cleaning the floor and dry it off before he had any more accidents in the store. “Charlie and Wren, I think it’s best if you both take Sally over to see Annie at Dok’s office.”
“But ... but...” Sally sputtered. “I need the spaghetti sauce for supper.”
David set the mop in the bucket and took a fresh jar of sauceoff the shelf. “For you, Sally. My gift.” He handed it to Charlie to carry for her.
Charlie needed both hands to hold it. “Whoa, itisa big jar.”
Wren helped Sally to her feet, encouraging her to lean heavily on her as they made their way to the door. Fifteen minutes ago, Sally had been shopping in the store, quite contented. Now, thanks to those two young doctors, she was a frail, weak woman, needing to be escorted.
David watched the scene with a mix of amusement and exasperation. It wasn’t funny, but in a way, it was. As Wren and Sally and Charlie disappeared through the door, David could already imagine his sister’s reaction when she heard about this. Dok had little confidence in the abilities of the two residents, and this episode with Sally Fisher would only cement that skepticism.
After returning the mop to the broom closet, David glanced at Hank, who was shaking his head with a knowing smile. “Things JUST got a LOT MORE interesting around here.”
“True,” David said.
“Those two are just CUTTING their TEETH,” Hank said. “WET behind the EARS.”
“Can’t disagree with that, Hank.”
“JUST out of the NEST.” Hank laughed out loud, the sound echoing in the small store. “FRESH off the BOAT.”
Hank was on a roll, so David lifted a hand to stop him. “Let’s hope they learn quickly,” he said, more to himself than to Hank. “Or we’re in for a bumpy ride.”
“Not US.” Rocking back and forth in his chair, Hank hacked a laugh. “Poor DOK!”
Returning to the office, Dok was met with a story so absurd it was almost unbelievable: Sally Fisher, a jar of spaghetti sauce, and two overly eager residents who had escalated the situation into a full-blown crisis. As she listened, she was torn betweendisgust and alarm. She issued a stern reminder that diagnosing patients was her job, not theirs. As she tackled the patient queue, she let Evie assist her while Wren and Charlie took turns observing. On a chair. In the corner. Silently.
Late in the day, after the last patient had been seen and Annie had gone home, Charlie asked Dok to follow him down the interior staircase that led to the basement. Once there, he tugged on the light fixture’s pull chain and gestured animatedly around the room as he explained his vision. “This space has so much potential. It’s big, it’s dry, there’s good lighting and ventilation. You could easily divide it up into several rooms for your practice. Framing, drywall, run a few wires for electricity—it’s not expensive construction.”
Charlie’s plans for the basement took Dok by surprise. Her curiosity was piqued. She’d always wanted to expand the building and create more usable space, but she thought she’d have to push out with an addition. Matt had even gone so far as to sketch some ideas to take to contractors for bidding. However, their never-finished house remodel took precedence, and the office redo slipped to the back of the shelf. Or maybe fell off it.
But theyhadtalked about it. They’d even set money aside for it.
She and Matt had never considered doing something with the basement. It was a very good idea and much simpler than the plans for the addition. Use what was already here. Such an obvious solution to Dok’s growing lack-of-space crunch. How had this never occurred to them?
Probably because no one went into the basement unless it was absolutely necessary. Dok didn’t even like to put supplies down there. Too dank, too moldy, too much evidence of mice. Yes, this might be the way to go.
“I can do all the labor for free,” Charlie said.
Dok foundthatvery appealing. “Do you actually have any experience with construction?”
“Tons of it,” Charlie said, waving his hand in an I’ve-got-it-covered way. “Basic construction, I mean. My dad worked in construction, so every summer of my life since I was fourteen was spent on a jobsite. We’d get someone with experience in for plumbing and electricity, but I can frame and drywall in my sleep.” His gaze swept the room. “Besides, this project is pretty simple.”
“Simple?” Dok said.
“Not easy, but simple.” He walked to a small door. “Like, there’s already plumbing down here. Even the makings of a very small bathroom.” That was a generous term for a tiny closet of a bathroom, studiously avoided by Dok.
She walked around the large room, then stopped as she faced the stairs. “Charlie, I have to admit I like what you’re proposing. But I’m worried it would still feel like a basement. For example, I can’t ask patients to go down these steep steps.”
Charlie held up a finger in the air. “I have a solution for that. It wouldn’t take much to reconfigure the cellar door into a full-sized exterior door. There’d still be a few steps to walk down to reach the office, but no one would have to duck to enter like they do now. I admit that it wouldn’t work for a wheelchair, but you have a ramp upstairs for patients in wheelchairs.”
