“Thanks,” Flann said. “That was harder than waiting for Abby to say yes.”
“Which took, what, all of a second?” Harper teased.
“About that, yeah,” Flann said with her usual cocky flair.
“Does Blake know yet?” Harper asked.
“No, Abby and I are gonna tell him after I tell Mom and Dad.”
“Once Margie knows,” Harper said, “he’ll know. You know the two of them share everything, so you probably need to make it simultaneous.”
“Right.” Flann shook her head, smiling wryly. “I sort of wonder what’s going on with those two, but I don’t actually know how to ask.”
“Does it matter?” Harper asked.
“Only because I don’t want to see either one of them get hurt.”
“You can’t protect them from falling in or
Glenn hadn’t, but she’d never had a girlfriend in high school, or after that, either. She’d had hookups. She had natural urges, after all, and being in the kind of stressful day-to-day environment where life was pretty much on an hour-to-hour basis, the need to connect just to feel you had a little bit of a grip on life was even more urgent. But since she’d been back, there hadn’t been anyone.
“It’s never easy,” Flann agreed, “but I know Blake is already taking flak about being trans and Margie along with him. I just want to make sure no matter what, they’re okay.”
“We’ll all look out for them,” Glenn said quietly.
“Yeah,” Harper said, “but we have to let them tell us what they want us to know, if and when there’s anything to tell.”
Flann rubbed her face. “This parenting business is really tough. And I got one half-grown-up already.”
“Hey,” Harper said, “why don’t you and Abby do the announcement thing on Sunday at family dinner. Then we’ll all be there.” She glanced at Glenn. “And you too, right?”
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Perfect.” Harper dusted her hands. “That way everybody gets it at once, problem solved.”
Flann nodded. “Sounds good to me. Abby can decide if we should tell Blake first.”
“I suppose we better head to the staff meeting,” Harper said, grinning. “Presley will not be happy if I’m late.”
Glenn stood, wondering if she’d be in time to grab a seat with Mari.
*
The staff meeting was the first Mari had ever attended, since she’d had no reason to think much about the actual running of a hospital during her training. This one surprised her. The meeting started exactly on time, for one thing. She’d been watching for Glenn and saw her slip in just a few seconds before half past seven with Flannery Rivers and another woman who looked very much like Flannery except for her opposite coloring. She must be the other Dr. Rivers—Harper. When Glenn and Flann took seats, Harper went on to the front of the room and joined an elegant-looking blonde in a bottle-green suit at the narrow podium. Mari didn’t need anyone to tell her this was Presley Worth. She exuded authority simply by the way she scanned the room with a combination of command and camaraderie.
The CEO was as impressive as everyone had made her out to be. Presley quickly and concisely brought everyone up to date with the various plans for expansion of the physical hospital as well as the new ER residency and other training programs under way. A ripple of excitement moved through the audience, and something else that Mari recognized after a while…hope. She’d known that everyone had lived under the threat of the hospital closing for quite some time, but she hadn’t appreciated how important the hospital was to so many people in the community. Not just because a significant percentage worked there, but because the institution represented a huge piece of the history of the town. Even though there had to be newcomers like Mari, she bet the majority of those crowding into the dome-ceilinged, wood-paneled auditorium had been born there, or their parents had been.
Strangely, she didn’t feel like an outsider. She hadn’t expected to feel so comfortable in such a small-town environment after growing up in one of the biggest cities in the world, but she did. Just by virtue of being part of the hospital, she had become part of the community. By the time the meeting was over, she felt even more a part of her new world. The homesickness and sadness drifted a little more into the background with each passing day.
As she made her way outside an hour later, she heard her name and turned to see Glenn coming after her with quick, sure strides. Mari waited, a swift surge of anticipation coursing through her.
“Hi,” Glenn said. “Walking home?”
“Yes.”
“Mind company?”
“Of course not,” Mari said quickly, “although you don’t need to feel you have to. It’s perfectly safe.” She laughed. “Not even a hint of rain.”
“I know, but I’ve been cooped up all day and I’d like to stretch my legs, unless you want to be alone.” Glenn shoved her hands in the back pockets of her jeans and, for the first time ever, appeared less than absolutely confident.
“No, I don’t,” Mari said quietly. “I’d love the company.”
