The Exception to the Rule (7 page)

“So do you think they’ll be okay?” I asked.

“It’s hard to tell right now. If the tumors could be shrunk to a reasonable size and then removed, they have a great chance.” 

“Well, that’s sounds pretty hopeful,” I said positively.

Julian looked at me with doubt in his eyes. “It would be hopeful if there was someone here to perform the surgery.” 

“Oh,” I said, losing my optimism. “Doesn’t seeing all of this cancer make you scared to have kids some day?” 

“No,” he answered quickly. “I don’t plan on having any.” 

 He explained to me that he was the type of person that likes to give one hundred percent to whatever he does. He knew with the demands of his career that he would never be able to give that to a family. He didn’t want to feel any guilt over doing his job. I admired him for firmly knowing what he wanted out of life and not letting anything stand in his way. He was totally committed to his career. I certainly loved my job too, but I wouldn’t let it interfere with having a family someday. Did that make me less of a doctor for feeling that way? Seeing how passionate he was about his career made me second guess a lot of my thinking.

“Wow, well that’s great that you have a plan in place,” I said.

“Yup, I’m going to die a lonely old man,” he joked. “What about you Kat, you don’t have a plan?” he asked, sounding more serious.

“Not really,” I said. “I know that I want to have kids someday. For right now, I’m pretty much happy with where I am with my life.” I felt a little inadequate saying that to someone who was always striving to be more.

“So, there you go,” he said. “You know what you want from your life someday. You have a plan too.”

“Well, I guess you can say that. It’s certainly not as grandiose as yours, but I suppose I do,” I answered with a little doubt in my voice. The thought of me having a plan sounded a little ridiculous to myself. Half of the time I couldn’t even figure out what to wear to work in the morning. Forget planning out the rest of my life. 

“What are you talking about? Being a mom is the most important job in the world,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to have kids; it’s just not for me,” he added.

I opened up and told him about my recent breakup with Jake and how I could relate somewhat to what he had said about not having time for relationships. 

“Nothing justifies cheating,” he said earnestly. “If he was unhappy with the way things were going then he should have confronted you about it or just broken up with you.” 

I was a little surprised by that statement. I just assumed that he wouldn’t have a problem with being unfaithful, given his attitude about relationships. I could tell that he was speaking from experience. I decided to come right out and ask him. He told me that he had been dating a girl all through medical school. To his surprise she was cheating on him with his best friend, while he was away doing his fellowship. 

“Geez, that’s horrible,” I said, feeling instant anger toward the girl who broke his heart. 

“So, I guess he’s not your best friend anymore,” I asked, already knowing the answer. If I hadn’t already, I could tell by the expression on his face.

He went on to re-confirm that he hadn’t been in a serious relationship since. He said that it was for the best so that he could stay committed and focused on his work. Still, I wondered if his past experience had something to do with his whole attitude on relationships.

The rain had completely stopped by the time we got back. Julian parked the Jeep in front of the medical building and we walked up the hill together. I hadn’t the slightest clue of the time as I looked down at my watch. I was shocked to see that it was almost 2 a.m. Julian seemed unfazed when I told him the time, leading me to believe that getting very little sleep was a normal occurrence to him. 

We finally entered the quiet building. Julian’s room was down the opposite hall to mine.

“Well, thanks for the company,” he said.

“Anytime; it was fun,” I said.

“Good night, Kat.” 

“Good night,” I replied, turning the corner heading toward my room.

* * * * *

 I forced myself out of bed. I hit the snooze button several times on my alarm but could no longer ignore it. Tricia was already up and gone. She and James had left extra early to go to one of the other villages. She must have been super quiet or I must have been in a deep sleep. I never heard her get up and get dressed. I slowly dragged myself to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror at the dark circles and puffiness under my eyes. Attractive, I said to myself. I hoped that a nice long shower would wake me up. To my dismay, it did absolutely nothing. I hurriedly dressed looking at the clock, with just enough time to head to the cafeteria and get some much needed breakfast. I was in the hallway locking the door when I heard a recognizable voice.

“There you are,” Charles said as he exited his room.

“Are you headed for breakfast?” I asked, happy to have a familiar face to eat with.

“Well I was going to skip breakfast today, but since you talked me into it, what the heck,” he said.

The cafeteria was packed. We finally managed to find two seats together at one of the bigger tables. I was so hungry and planned on eating whatever they had to offer. That was until I saw that the eggs looked half cooked. I decided to go with the oatmeal and some fruit instead. Charles followed my lead and grabbed the same thing.

“So what’s going on, Kat? I feel like I haven’t gotten a chance to catch up with you in a while,” Charles said.

I began to tell Charles about the exciting day that I had had yesterday helping Julian with his patients. 

“He really is an amazing doctor,” I said.

Charles looked over his coffee up at me. I knew that look; it was the same one that my dad would give me when he disapproved of something. Sometimes the similarities between the two of them scared me.

“What?” I asked, knowing that he was trying to say something with his eyes.

“Kat, don’t set yourself up for another heartache,” he said in a fatherly tone.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, clueless.

“He’s around your age, nice-looking, and you haven’t stopped talking about him since we sat down,” he answered. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt,” he added.

“Thanks, but I have no intention of falling for Dr. Kiron.” I smiled, appreciative of his concern.

I decided that I would stop the talk about Julian. I instead began to tell him about the apprehension I had over my dad’s health. Charles reassured me that everything was probably okay and I was just being paranoid. It comforted me when he told me that he would have his wife Claire go over and check on him. 

“How is Claire?” I asked.

“She’s okay, keeping herself busy while I’m gone. She hasn’t found a new husband yet.” He laughed.

“Well, she better not be finding a new shopping buddy,” I said, smiling. 

 Claire and I had a monthly ritual. We would spend an entire Saturday shopping from early morning to late at night. She and I had become so close. I was very fortunate to have her and Charles in my life. They were like my second parents. 

“I don’t think you have to worry about that; you’re the only one as crazy as her with the shopping.”

“Well that’s good. Please give her my love,” I said.

“I sure will,” he said, taking another sip of his coffee.

I looked at him and thought what a wonderful dad he would have made. He and Claire had tried for many years but were unable to have children. I finished up my oatmeal, which was now cold from all the talking I had done. I was so hungry, I didn’t even mind. I wondered what would await me today as we walked over to the medical facility. I breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that I was scheduled to work the walk-in clinic with Charles. Anything of a serious matter would get referred to one of the doctors doing rounds or on call. I was still so tired. I couldn’t handle anything that would drain me emotionally. The day went by quickly. Charles and I were the perfect team. It was always such a learning experience when I worked with him. I looked at my watch, a half hour to go. Tomorrow was Sunday, which meant my day off and my weekly phone call to my dad. Even though I had just talked to him a few days earlier I still missed hearing his voice. I wrapped up with the last of my patients. I hung out and waited until Charles was done with his last walk-in. 

“Are we ready to get out of here?” Charles asked as his last patient exited the building.

“Waiting on you,” I answered.

“Care to join me for dinner?” Charles asked.

“Of course,” I replied.

We walked through the village and up the hill. Charles had wanted to get cleaned up before heading to dinner and I had decided to do the same. We were engrossed in our conversation. I almost missed seeing Julian standing right outside of our building talking to three other men. Two of them were older and one looked to be about the same age as him. I gave him a quick smile, not wanting to interrupt his conversation. He immediately stopped talking to acknowledge my presence. I introduced Julian to Charles as Julian introduced us to the three doctors that he had been speaking to. The two older doctors were pediatric oncologists from France. They spoke perfect English. The younger one was a pediatrician from England. Charles jumped right into the conversation. He was clearly in his element being around all of these medical professionals from around the world. I, on the other hand, was not. I excused myself and told Charles I would meet him in the cafeteria. 

“Hey Kat,” Julian yelled, running toward me.

“Yeah,” I answered, turning around.

“Those two doctors from France have a surgeon lined up to operate on Rapula and Tau.” There was sheer excitement in his voice. “They’re here working on the funding to fly them to France so they can do the operation.” 

“Wow, that’s great!” I answered.

“I just have to check on them tomorrow and maybe do another round of chemo.” I could see the happiness on his face.

“I still say they wouldn’t have made it this far if it weren’t for you,” I said sincerely.

“Did you want to go with me again tomorrow? I’m leaving early in the morning,” he asked, trying to avoid my compliment.

“Sure!” I instantly blurted out. I just couldn’t say no seeing the eagerness in his eyes. It didn’t even matter that tomorrow was my much-needed day off.

“Okay, be ready by seven,” he yelled as he walked backwards toward the others in the group.

I smiled thinking about the enthusiasm on his face. He was beaming when he told me the news. This was his world. He existed just to be a doctor and nothing else. This again made me feel a little inadequate for not doing the same. After my excitement for Julian finally wore off a bit, it dawned on me that tomorrow was my phone call to my dad. I was unsure if I would be back in time to reach him, so I decided that I would check in with him after dinner.

* * * * *

 “Kat, really, you need to start eating more,” Charles said, looking at just a small spoonful of what was supposed to be pasta primavera on my plate. 

“I am,” I said, pointing to the two large chocolate chip cookies on the napkin beside it. Charles shook his head at me in disapproval, again, so much like my dad would have.

“So, what’s at seven tomorrow?” he asked inquisitively.

“What?” I said, playing dumb while dumb taking a sip of water. I hadn’t even realized that Charles was paying attention to my conversation with Julian.

“Julian told you to be ready by seven,” he clarified.

“Oh that.” I filled him on what was going on with the two boys. I explained to him that Julian had asked me to come along with him while he checked on them. 

“Isn’t tomorrow your day off?” he asked again in a fatherly tone.

“Geez, are we still eating breakfast, or am I just having a déjà vu?” I asked jokingly. “Charles, I’m fine. Did you ever think maybe this is a great learning experience for me?” I asked in a more serious tone.

“You’re a smart girl. I just remember how hard it was for Claire and me,” he said.

“What are you talking about?” I said, stunned. “You and Claire are one of the happiest couples I know.”

“Oh, now we are, sure, but not when we first were married,” he replied. 

He began to tell me about when he and Claire were first married. He was just finishing up his residency and Claire was a second grade teacher. They thought they could handle the craziness that comes along with being a doctor. They couldn’t, and it finally took its toll on Claire. They separated for almost a year, until he got into a practice and his schedule started becoming a little more consistent. 

“Wow,” was all I could say. I was shocked. Claire had never mentioned that to me and we talked about everything.

“You know, they say the only thing harder than being a doctor is dating one or being married to one,” he said.

“I don’t know why we are even having this conversation. I told you this morning, there is nothing, nor will there be anything, going on with Dr. Kiron,” I said in a very matter-of-fact tone. “Now let’s change the subject, so I can eat my cookies in peace.” I took a big bite out of one of my chocolate chip cookies.

After we finished dinner I headed over to the phone area waiting for one to become available. I sat down on the bench listening to some woman speaking in a foreign language. I put my head back against the cool cement wall and closed my eyes. I began to daydream about being home and sitting on the beach. I missed it so much; the smell of the salt air, and the sound of seagulls flying overhead. There was something about touching the ocean and the sand that restored your soul. I missed my house and lying in my bed on a warm summer night listening to the crickets through the open windows. It’s funny how you don’t realize how many things you take for granted until they’re gone. I opened my eyes when the woman seemed to be wrapping up her conversation. I jumped from the bench when I heard her put the phone on the receiver and smiled as she walked by me.

I was so happy when my dad picked up on the first ring. I explained to him why I was calling him on a Saturday and filled him in on the last few days here. I told him all about Julian and what a great doctor he was. After a while I found that I was rambling on about him again.