Chapter 15

Monday morning saw me dropping Zoe off at the hospital at seven-thirty before I made my way to the university president’s office for my eight o’clock meeting. It was a pleasant if perfunctory meeting. Just before nine, I made my way into the main radiology department. There’s nothing like the tang of X-Ray photons in the morning, I told myself. Well, nothing except a decent mug of coffee. I was introduced to all the senior staff. I had to contain myself when I was introduced to Tony as the rising star of the residents. He’d only seen me for a few moments in the bar in Savannah before he’d pushed Zoe through the door, and it was obvious he didn’t remember me. Your time will come, I thought.

It was late morning before I found Zoe watching a case in the Angio lab with two other medical students. The attending, a radiologist, called Simon, invited me to scrub in. Well, I suppose it was time I earned my grossly inflated salary I thought. It was a relatively simple case. A cryogenic needle ablation of a hepatic tumor and they used the same image guidance package that I’d used in the UK.

It only took a few minutes to plan then place the three needles we needed. I kept up a running commentary for Zoe and the other students’ benefit. We needed to go through several freeze/thaw cycles before Simon and I were satisfied we’d archived the goals of the procedure.

“Well, that was fun,” I commented as I stripped off my gown and lead coat. “And the best bit is you get to write up the procedure notes,” I told Simon.

I turned to the students, “So do you have any questions?”

Zoe and the other two had several questions and for the next hour, I happily slid into my teaching role. By the time I’d finished, we’d had to move to a viewing room as more of the staff joined the impromptu teaching session.

There was a mix of nurses, Radiographers (I must remember to call them X-ray technologists) and junior and senior medical personnel in addition to the three original medical students. When I finally stopped, my voice was hoarse, and I looked around at the faces and knew I’d made the right decision to accept this post.

I stood up and said those magical words we all remember, “That’s all, folks.”

As the group dispersed, I greeted all those I hadn’t met earlier in the day. Finally, I was able to grab a word with Zoe in private.

Zoe whispered, “Sally and Mila said you were amazing to watch, and they weren’t kidding. I didn’t think I could love you anymore but I was wrong.” She checked the room and gave me a quick kiss.

“But did you learn anything,” I asked.

She punched my arm, “And then he proves how dumb he can be.”

She looked at her watch. “You’ve got ‘Doc perfect’s’ case presentation in thirty minutes. Do you want me to show you where it is?”

“Lead on beautiful,” I told her.

We picked up coffee and sandwiches at the coffee shop in the lobby, and then she escorted me to the lecture theatre. She squeezed my hand as we entered before she scurried off to join the rest of the medical students at the back of the room. I saw Bree wave and I smiled back.

As I was part of the review panel I had a reserved seat at the front. In the few minutes before they started, I was introduced to several more of my new colleagues. The room filled up quickly and I got my notebook out.

The lights dimmed, and the chief of surgery stood up and said. “Before we start, I’d like to introduce our new college who joins us after an illustrious career in England. Professor Michael Fitzpatrick, a past president of the Royal College of Radiologists.”

I stood up to a round of applause and said a few words of thanks. I could see Zoe bouncing on her seat at the back of the room. At the lectern, I saw ‘Doc Perfect’ go white when he recognized me from the tavern.

“Well, that was fun,” I said to Zoe and Bree as we met up for a drink in the Tavern after work.

Bree laughed, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen ‘Doc Perfect’ so flustered. What were you doing to him, Michael?”

“Nothing much, I just kept smiling at him,” and I smiled at her. It was actually quite an evil grin that would let any recipient know they were soon to be shown a hell they couldn’t even imagine.

Bree shivered, “Good God, please don’t ever do that to me again - promise me.”

I grinned at her, “I promise unless of course, you’ve been a naughty girl, Bree. You do know how to be a naughty girl, don’t you?”

Zoe punched me and then kissed me. “I got this back today,” and she showed me a purse.

“Yours,” I asked, and she nodded. “Is there anything missing,” and, this time, she shook her head.

She said, “There was a note at the reception that it had been handed in at the hospital security office. They said it had been handed in anonymously. There’s an extra $500 in it.”

“You’ve had no message from Tony?”

“Just a text to say that we needed to talk.”

“I guess that the money’s, at least, an indication that he knows he’s screwed up.”

“What’s going to happen to him? We reported him to the police in Savannah for assaulting me,” Zoe commented.

“Do you want to pursue it, we can always go to the campus police,” I asked, as Bree urged her to do it by vigorous nodding.

Zoe looked confused, “I don’t know. I’m not convinced he did it on purpose. And anyway, if he hadn’t, I’d never of met you, my wonderful senior partner.” She leaned back against me.

I put an arm around her, and she sighed happily. I said, “I suppose I should be grateful for that, but it doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun with him.”

“Sally said I needed to watch you.”

“And you believed her?” I snorted. “So, what did the three of you decide, it looked like you fell asleep talking to them.”

“I sent them the plans for the lake house, and they sent me the drawings of the place in England. Did you know it’s got a swimming pool and a tennis court?” I murmured yes.

“Mila and I will go furniture shopping when she arrives. I was to tell you that the only rooms you are allowed to give input on are the study and the kitchen.”

“Hey, what about my bedroom?”

Zoe gave me a condescending look and pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and read it. “Michael, we have decided that each of the wives will get their own room. You will get the master bedroom, but if you expect us to sleep with you, we will decorate it.”

She smiled as she looked up at me, “This will be the same for both homes, and this is non-negotiable.”

“Crap,” I muttered in mock indignation.

Zoe laughed, “Sally said, that’s what you would say. She said she’s had to live with your taste in furniture for the past ten years; now it’s her turn.”

I spent the next couple of days sulking, but I knew this was one battle I was always going to lose. My highlight of the week was when Zoe and Tony finally sat down in the Tavern on Thursday night to discuss the events of the weekend in Savannah. He’d been trying to get her on her own in the department but between us, we’d done a masterful job in avoiding him. He had ended up resorting to sending her emails asking for a meeting.

She didn’t want to see him on her own, so we got to the Tavern a few minutes early. She chose a table to sit down at where I would be able to see and hear what was said from where I was sitting at the bar.

Tony walked into the bar and joined Zoe at her table, and I listened as they talked. Tony was nervous and kept trying to spread the blame. Zoe wasn’t having that and started to lay into him.