I threw away the rest of my meal, no longer hungry, and headed back to the lab to bury myself in work. Anything to get out of my spiraling thoughts.
I got another hour of research in before Foley passed through.
“We’ve got a laser angioplasty,” Foley said. “Want to observe?”
I glanced at the wall clock. “I’ve got a shift at the clinic tonight.”
His eyebrow arched. “Ah, well. You’ve got your priorities, I guess.”
“It’s not that I’m not interested, but?—”
He waved a hand. “You don’t have the fire, Dr. Donovan. It’s okay. Maybe you’ll do okay in general surgery or primary care, right?”
I clenched my jaw, annoyed. I had the freaking fire. I could be a great surgeon. Iwouldbe.
I used the phone at the nurse’s station to call over to the clinic.
“Elkhorn County Medical Clinic, how may I help you?”
“Hey, Liliana, it’s Aiden.”
“Aiden! Dr. Meadows was just singing your praises over here.”
“Oh? That’s nice.” At leastsomebodywas impressed with me. “How busy are you guys, because there’s a surgery here, and I?—”
“Not again,” Liliana interrupted. “Damn it.”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s Larry Schumacher. He’s a no-show for his appointment. He never picked up the prescription we sent to the pharmacy either. I checked.”
“He mentioned his truck was giving him trouble the last time I talked to him,” I said. “Have you called him?”
“Yeah. No answer.”
“Where does he live? Maybe we should check on him.”
“I can’t get away. We’re slammed.”
And I was supposed to be observing a laser angioplasty. Of course, I’d seen one before. And I wasn’t actually a resident, but a researcher.
“I’ll go,” I said. “Give me the address.”
“Are you sure? You mentioned a surgery? I could call the authorities to do a welfare check. I just hate to pull them awayfrom their work if he’s fine and watching television like a stubborn old coot.”
I’d have the rest of the year to observe procedures. Me watching wouldn’t change the outcome for that patient. They were in Dr. Rose’s and Foley’s very capable hands.
Maybe I was proving Foley right. I wasn’t sure. I just knew that Liliana was worried about Larry, and she didn’t worry without good reason.
“I can go. It’ll mean I’m late to the clinic, though.”
“That’s fine. We’ll manage.” She clicked a few buttons, then read off the address to me. It was a forty-minute drive. Not so far. And yet, with an unreliable vehicle, still too far away.
“Okay. I’m heading out now.”
“I’ll make a care package for him with some insulin samples for you to pick up.”
I put Larry’s address in my GPS and drove north from Riverton—the opposite direction from home—and then turned onto a tiny blacktop that took me west.
