Chapter Thirteen

London

The things I expected to happen after the convention included getting lots and lots of junk mail from venders, a few follow-up questions from some of the attendees, and to need a nap.

One thing I didn't expect was to receive a job offer, an opportunity that, had it been offered to me at any other time, I'd have jumped at. But now? Things were going so well with Gray, that even thinking about moving hurt, and this job definitely required a move.

I knew all the reasons you shouldn't make life decisions based on a boyfriend, not even one who was your daddy. But that didn't change how I felt. Feelings didn't seem to give a hoot about facts or the best way to handle a situation. Feelings were a pain in the butt.

The offer was from a group looking for someone to help start a nonprofit designed to nationalize the work that I'd been doing locally to help others, to give back. I didn't quite understand all the logistics, especially how it connected to the university. It partly read like a startup, but also like a nonprofit mashed up with education. I hadn't gone to business school, and frankly, some of their jargon might as well have been an ancient lost language. I'd have understood it the same.

But at the end of the day, did it really matter how it was set up logistically or even what the job was? Because Daddy was here, and that was something I wasn't able to get past. He had a good life filled with friends and loved his job. He wasn't going to want to get up and move for my job. Heck, we still had our own places. He wasn't even ready to live with me.

And, just like that, I'd jumped forty-two steps ahead. I wasn't even asking the right questions. Was this job something I could see myself doing long-term? Was the location one I would be comfortable living in? Was I willing to give up my practice?

I loved my job too. I really did. I had patients that I'd known for years, patients who trusted me. And my staff? They were the best group of people to work with.

And the clinic? They depended on me there.

It was best just to decline the offer and move on with things.

There was one problem with that plan. Try as I could, I couldn't bring myself to send the negative response. Something was holding me back.

After our date in the park, we had promised that we would talk about how we were feeling and what we needed. We wouldn't hide things because they were uncomfortable to talk about or because we were scared. And here I was doing exactly that.

I wasn't sure I could talk about this yet though. I needed to get my own feelings in order first. So, instead of telling them I wasn't interested, I asked them to set up a Zoom call to discuss matters. This time, hitting send was easy. I'd made the right decision.

So why did it feel like I had rocks in my belly?

There was a knock on my office door. It was my office assistant. "Sorry to bother you, Doctor, but there's call on line one. It's an emergency with extreme tooth pain."

"Which tooth?" I was already standing. I had a few more patients coming in, but tooth pain wasn't something I'd wish on anyone and, if that meant staying late, I'd probably do it.

"They aren't sure. They said it's the entire back jaw." Which meant, it might not even be their tooth that hurt.

"One of my patients?"

"No, and it sounds like they haven't been to a dentist in a while."

"Tell them to come in. We'll figure it out." She went out to let them know, and I texted Gray to let him know I was working late. We didn't have any official plans, but I usually called him when I got home, and I didn't want him to worry.

The patient came in an hour later, and it almost felt like a sign. It was a young man in his twenties. He had a full-time job that didn't come with dental insurance and, from the history he gave, it had been nearly a decade since he'd been seen. It was awful, and I refused to let him leave still suffering.

After looking around, I did some X-rays. As bad as his decay was, it was worse on film. At the very least, he needed a handful of cavities filled, along with a couple of root canals. At the worst—he needed some extractions.

I hated the shroud of embarrassment he wore for not having what he called "good teeth." He saw it as a moral failure, and maybe it was, but not his moral failure that, of all the things that got between him and being seen, mainly insurance.

And because he was a single man with no children with a full-time job, he fell through the cracks. There were no local programs to help him. Not official ones anyway. I wasn't going to let him leave here in pain. That was for sure. And the clinic, where I normally would have sent him, was booked solid.

I clipped the film up and turned on the light. Taking a seat on the rolling chair, I went over to it and tapped on it with my pencil.

"I have some good news and some bad news."

"Give me the bad," he groaned.

"As you can see, these two teeth have a lot of shadows on them…that's decay. I don't know which of the two is hurting you, but the odds are it is both of them. The best case for them would be to get a root canal."

"No root canal. What's the best way to get rid of the pain today for the least amount of money?" he asked, his voice shaky.

"Well, that's where the good news comes in."

"Good news? Dentist and good news don't seem to go together." He was probably right, and I tried not to let the truth of his words hurt me. It wasn't him being a dick. He was skeptical, as he should be. So many places would've already turned him away or had him sign up for a sketch credit card to pay them.

"The good news is, I'd love to take care of your teeth…for free."

"But?" He let out a sigh. "There's always a but."

"But nothing. We'd have to stay past dinnertime because I am pretty booked today, but I should be able to at least get the root canal done today."

"Isn't that a special dentist?"

"There are dentists who specialize in that, yes, but I have the equipment to do it in-house."

"And you would do that for me? Why?" He was already pushing himself up in his chair.

"Because no one should be in pain because they don't have money." It was the truth and the purpose behind the clinic. "And because I can give you this."

Because it was the right thing to do.

Just as I suspected, I worked well past dinnertime, but when he left, he was pain-free and had an appointment to come back in two weeks to get his crowns figured out. There was more to do for him, but it was a start. What really broke my heart was hearing that he'd been in foster care as a teen and, even though he had insurance then, no one bothered to take him to the dentist. His dental care had been neglected for more than half his life.

"Why do you do that?" my assistant, who had stayed late, asked as we were packing up.

"What, that?"

"Working for free when you could have gone home. There's the clinic. He could've gone there."

Which was true but it would've meant being in pain longer. Even in a nice town like this, there were a lot of people who didn't have money or insurance to take care of their teeth. I wasn't willing to risk that.

"Could you have gone home with a clear conscience if we had let him leave in that amount of pain knowing that a couple hours of your time could've helped?"

She shook her head.

"Then you already have your answer." I grabbed my keys. "Ready?"

The next morning, I saw that she really did understand my purpose. She hadn't even included staying late on her time sheet, and that had been done before our conversation. Of course, I quietly added the time, but I loved that she wanted to help.

I walked her to her car and drove home. I fell into the shower, washing the day from me. Even if it hadn't been eventful, it had been long. In this case, it was both—the job offer never far from my thoughts.

If I told Daddy about it, he'd tell me to go for it, to take it, that this was what I was meant to be. As supportive and caring as that would be, it was the exact opposite of what I wanted because it would tell me he was willing to let me go, and it hurt. It would be the right thing to do, though, and that sucked.

Maybe I'd get on the Zoom call in the morning and find out the entire position wasn't worth it—that it was something sketchy trying to wear a cloak of helpfulness—that they didn't really want me at all.

Spoiler alert: The phone call was amazing.