Джина Уилкинс: The M.D. Next Door

Meagan watched in amusement as Alice tugged at the leash to get the rambunctious pup headed in the right direction, then was nearly pulled off her feet when the dog dashed away. Obedience classes were definitely going to be interesting with Waldo in them.

“So then Waldo took a big jump right into the pool. Water sprayed everywhere and he yelped like he was surprised he got wet. Then he started swimming and splashing and shaking his ears and he had the best time. Me and Meagan—”

“Meagan and I.”

Setting a plate on the dining room table for Friday evening’s dinner, Alice continued with barely a pause for her father’s correction. “Meagan and I were laughing so hard at him, and that just made him act sillier. She said she didn’t mind letting him into her pool because she has someone who cleans it for her. Waldo loves going swimming, Dad. We really should get a pool.”

“If we get a pool,” Seth Llewellyn replied firmly, laying napkins beside the two place settings on their table, “it will be for our use, not for Waldo’s.”

Alice gave him an innocent look. “Of course. But we can let Waldo swim with us, too, can’t we?”

“We’ll see how he does in obedience classes.”

“He’ll ace them, you’ll see,” Alice said confidently. “He’s really very intelligent.”

Seth was still reserving judgment on that call.

At least they could eat in peace. The rowdy dog was safe in the fenced backyard. He had a cozy, overpriced dog house to keep him warm and dry, and more toys than any one dog should own. Within the course of the past ten days, Waldo had gone from shelter pup to pampered pet and he was adjusting quite happily to the transition.

When Seth had taken Alice to the Humane Society to rescue a dog for her birthday present, he’d given her the choice of adopting a small, indoor dog or a larger dog that would live outside. She’d chosen the latter, though she’d hinted broadly that one of the homeless cats in the shelter would do quite well inside their house. Seth had told her hastily that they would concentrate on one pet at a time for now.

“Meagan said she thinks Waldo will be the greatest dog ever once he graduates from obedience school.” Alice shook out her napkin and laid it across her lap without pausing to breathe. “She thinks he’ll be sitting and staying by the end of the first lesson and heeling and fetching by the third. Maybe I can even teach him some fun tricks — you know, like roll over and play dead and…”

“And wash the dishes and take out the trash and scrub the toilets.”

Alice laughed musically. “Daddy, he’s just a dog.”

“Mmm. Tell your friend Meagan that.”

“She knows. She calls him my wild child now, but she says she’s being an optimist about obedience classes.”

Seth had yet to catch a glimpse of his daughter’s new friend, though Nina, the sixty-two-year-old housekeeper who doubled as a caretaker for his young daughter, had discreetly checked her out. When Alice had asked permission to go swimming at the neighbor’s house during her spring break, he’d agreed only on the condition that Nina would first meet the woman and confirm that Alice was a welcome guest. Nina had reported back that there was no reason for concern about the situation.

Nina had apparently liked Meagan Baker immediately. She had confirmed Alice’s explanation that the woman was home from work on a medical leave and seemed to enjoy Alice’s company during the afternoons. Neither Alice nor Nina had mentioned what Meagan did for a living, though Alice had said vaguely that she believed Meagan worked at the local teaching hospital. Seth had formed a hazy image of a middle-aged secretary or insurance clerk recuperating from a hysterectomy or some such female ailment.

Alice was certainly taken with Meagan. During the past three days, all Seth had heard from her during the dinners they shared was “Meagan said this” and “Meagan said that.”

He was aware that Alice missed her mother. His ex-wife had moved to Hong Kong six months ago to accept an impressive position with an American law firm there. Though she called Alice almost every day, the distance between them was hard on them. Seth knew how Colleen had agonized before accepting that job she had wanted so desperately. Her long hours and freely acknowledged ambition had ruled out Alice joining her there, even if Seth would have agreed — which he would not have, not without a battle.

Though he, too, was an attorney with a busy schedule, Seth had always been the one to scale back his hours to allow time for Alice even if he risked forfeiting career advancements at times. He and Colleen had shared custody while Colleen lived in the same country, but Seth had always been the primary caregiver. Colleen loved their daughter as much as he did, but ambition had always come first for her.

She would be the first to admit that family had been sacrificed on the altar of career in her case, ending their ill-fated marriage and affecting her relationship with her only child. More than once Colleen had confessed to Seth that she simply wasn’t the maternal type. Had she not accidentally become pregnant with Alice while she and Seth were dating in law school, she probably would never have had a child. There would be no others for her.

They’d both been twenty-three and in their first year of law school when Alice was conceived in a spontaneous interlude during what was to have been a study session. After taking a couple of weeks to consider her options, Colleen had suggested it was actually the ideal time to start a family, before they graduated and leapt into the race for career advancement. She’d been a bit concerned that having a child would be counted against her in job interviews, but there was always the appearance of settled respectability to balance that, she’d concluded. If she could demonstrate that she could graduate at the top of her class after pregnancy and childbirth, then she could surely convince any potential employers that she was prepared for all challenges.

Encouraged by their youthful infatuation and confident determination, they had married, thinking they had enough in common to sustain a long-term partnership. They were both fascinated by the law, though Seth’s interests ran to local corporate practice while Colleen’s sights had been set on more far-reaching and international goals. They got along well, and were great together in bed. Both came from successful, overachieving families and would be able to afford housekeepers and nannies to help them run their household. They figured marriage and parenthood would be easy compared to their other achievements.

Their common grounds had not been enough to overcome the other obstacles between them. The divorce had been reasonably amicable, the division of property and terms of custody settled with only a few heated battles in the process. The past six years had passed quickly and relatively quietly. Seth had risen into a junior partnership at a prestigious Little Rock law firm while Colleen traveled extensively in her skyrocketing international law career, leaving Alice more and more in Seth’s care. He and Colleen had remained on distantly friendly terms. After all, they would be bound for the rest of their lives by the daughter they both loved, so they might as well make it as pleasant as possible for everyone involved.

Was Alice subconsciously searching for another female role model in her new friendship with Meagan, or was she simply a bit lonely in her new neighborhood and looking for entertainment? With an all-too-familiar pinch of parental guilt, Seth wondered if he should have done more to provide activities for her during this week off. He’d thought spending time with her new puppy and her beloved books and art supplies would have kept her entertained for a few days out of classes.