Джина Уилкинс: The M.D. Next Door

“We bought new school uniforms and some weekend clothes. I just won’t go to the party,” Alice finished with a melodramatic sigh. “I’ll stay home and play with Waldo or something.”

He winced in response to her long-suffering, self-pitying tone. Great. Could she make him look like a worse parent in front of her new friend? “Okay, maybe I can—”

“I’d be happy to take you shopping, Alice,” Meagan volunteered unexpectedly — or had that been his daughter’s hope all along? “If it’s okay with your father, of course.”

Meagan couldn’t help but take pity on Alice’s dad. Alice had certainly put him on the spot with her last-minute plea. Now a near stranger had offered to take his daughter shopping.

Meagan knew all about work obligations, and she didn’t blame Seth for not being able to change his plans on such short notice. As he’d pointed out, Alice should have tried on the dress earlier in the week. But Meagan could offer assistance this time. It wasn’t as if she had anything more pressing to do, she thought with an increasingly-familiar impatience to get back to her own busy life.

“We couldn’t ask you to do that,” Seth protested politely. “You’re still recovering from surgery.”

She figured he was remembering her momentary spell of weakness after she’d delivered Waldo, and it galled her that he’d seen that. She didn’t like being perceived as sickly or frail. “Chasing down Waldo and wrestling him over here was a little strenuous, but I’d be fine to watch Alice try on clothes. I’m cleared to drive now, no longer on any prescription pain meds. It would actually be good for me to get out and get some light exercise.”

“We won’t overdo it, Dad,” Alice added eagerly. “We can go to the mall, that’s not far. I’m sure I’ll find a dress really fast, so we won’t be gone long. I bet Meagan could help me pick the perfect outfit for the party. Please, Daddy?”

Meagan thought Seth still looked uncomfortable with the impromptu plan, but he was unable to resist his daughter’s hopeful expression. “Okay, if you’re sure you don’t mind, Meagan. I’ll give you my cell phone number. Feel free to call if you need anything, even if you have to interrupt my meeting.”

“We’ll be fine,” Meagan assured him.

She’d never taken a teenager shopping for clothes before, but she thought it might be fun. “Maybe I’ll call Madison and see if she wants to join us. She’s the fashion expert in our family and I think you and she would enjoy meeting, Alice. We could have lunch at the Chinese restaurant downstairs in the mall — do you like Chinese?”

“I love Chinese!” Alice almost bounced in her seat in excitement.

Laughing, Meagan nodded. “Then we’ll make it a girls’ day out. I’m not sure Madison can join us. She has a very busy schedule. If she can’t, we’ll have fun, just the two of us.”

“I’m sure we will,” Alice agreed with a grin that made her braces flash in the light of the dining room chandelier.

Seth cleared his throat, and Meagan wondered if he was feeling a bit left out. “Did you and Nina make any dessert to go with this meal, Alice?”

Alice jumped out of her chair. “We made flan! I’ll serve. Do you like flan, Meagan?”

“I love it,” she replied honestly.

Seth rose a bit more leisurely. “I put on a pot of decaf just before we sat down to eat. Would you like a cup with your dessert, Meagan?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Insisting she remain seated, he carried her plate and utensils into the kitchen with him. He was obviously handy around the house, she mused with a slight smile. She supposed that had developed from being a single dad. Alice had told her Nina worked weekdays until five and half days on Saturdays, taking care of the household duties and cooking, but Alice grumbled that she was expected to do quite a few chores, herself. Her dad, she’d said, took care of meals on Saturday evenings and Sundays. He was a pretty good cook, she’d added proudly, but sometimes they ate out when the hardworking attorney was too tired or busy to prepare meals.

Meagan had gotten the impression of a well-run, tightly scheduled household. Alice seemed generally satisfied with the routines, though perhaps a bit lonely at times. She was obviously crazy about her father, and seemed to have little resentment about her mother’s absence, though Meagan had heard occasional undertones of wistfulness in the girl’s voice when she’d spoken of her mom. All in all, Alice seemed to be a happy, well-adjusted girl, which spoke well of her busy father’s parenting skills.

Meagan studied Seth when he returned with two cups of steaming coffee, setting one in front of her before returning to his seat. She had been a little surprised when he had opened the door to her earlier. Alice had talked about him quite a bit, of course, but Meagan’s mental picture of him had been rather different from the reality. He was younger than she’d expected, for one thing. She wasn’t very good at guessing age, but he looked to be thirty-five, thirty-six, maybe — which meant he’d been young when Alice was born. Definitely nice looking, with wide-set green eyes, thick, slightly wavy brown hair and a firm, faintly indented chin. Alice had gotten her coloring and facial shape from him, apparently, though her brown eyes must have come from her mother.

He seemed quite nice. Amusing, thoughtful, devoted to his daughter. The latter quality was the one that precluded him from being someone she might have been interested in getting to know more intimately. Meagan didn’t have anything against dating divorcées, but she’d made it a rule to steer clear of men with kids. She liked children, for the most part, but with her crazy schedule and rather poor track record with relationships, kids were a complication she hadn’t wanted to deal with. She’d always thought she’d have one of her own someday, she mused, resisting an impulse to press a hand to her slightly throbbing surgical scar, but she’d never wanted to risk hurting anyone else’s children by being only a temporary part of their life.

Fortunately, that wasn’t an issue here, she assured herself, accepting a dessert plate from Alice with a smile and a murmured thanks. She and Alice were the friends, with Seth merely a bystander. She’d done her best to warn Alice that she’d have little free time once she returned to work, but maybe Alice could still drop by on the occasional weekend afternoon for a swim. Meagan would probably hardly see Seth at all.

Not that she minded seeing him, she thought, casting a glance at him over her coffee cup. He was certainly pleasant to look at.

She didn’t linger after dessert. Following her father’s instructions, Alice began to clear away the dishes. She and Meagan said their good nights at the table, agreeing to meet at ten the next morning for the shopping outing. Leaving Alice to her chores, Seth walked Meagan to the door.

“You’re sure you’re up to the shopping trip?”

She gave a firm nod. “Very sure. Actually, I’m looking forward to it. I’d find an excuse to get out tomorrow even if I hadn’t volunteered to take Alice.”

His deep, rich chuckle made her swallow rather hard, for some reason. “Getting a little stir crazy?”

“Getting alot stir crazy,” she admitted with a wrinkle of her nose. “If I hadn’t had Alice’s visits to look forward to, I’d probably have been climbing the walls by now.”

“She said you work at River City Medical Center?”

She nodded. “Yes, I—”

“Dad! Waldo’s knocked over a whole pile of stuff in the garage. You’d better come help me.”

Alice’s distant shout sounded more exasperated than frantic. Seth sighed heavily. “I guess I’d better go help her with the disaster dog. I’ve still got to find out how he escaped the backyard. It was very nice meeting you, Meagan.”