Sophia Sasson - Mending The Doctor's Heart

For days after, his cries still woke her up at night.

She wiped her face with a paper towel. It was time to get back to work. There were still only two physicians, and patients were coming in by the truckloads as roads were getting cleared. Linda and Anna were taking turns sleeping. Anna had to keep moving; it was the only way to get through the remaining 319 hours on Guam.

A canteen hadn’t been set up yet, but the medical command tent had a corner stocked with a box of MREs—military grade “meals ready-to-eat”—instant coffee and hot water. She made her way there and was surprised to find hard-boiled eggs and basic bread. Compared to the MREs, any real food was a treat.

The PHS personnel and several of the local firefighters who had been helping were huddled around the cardboard box that served as a table. There was even fresh coffee, courtesy of a French press. Anna helped herself to a cup.

“Dr. Atao, thank you for the treats,” one of the firefighters said.

“What?”

“Your husband brought them in.”

Anna choked on the lukewarm coffee she had just sipped.

“Excuse me?”

“The man with the same last name as you.”

“Hi, Anna.” She turned to see Nico, all six feet three inches of him, looking strong in a fresh T-shirt and jeans.

“Um...thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”

“Actually, it’s a bribe.”

Anna grabbed his arm and pulled him outside the tent. She didn’t want her colleagues overhearing their conversation.

“I have no problems signing the divorce papers, but you might have some trouble getting them drawn up and adjudicated today given what’s going on,” she said. Last night after she’d asked for a divorce, he had sighed with relief, telling her that’s what he wanted to talk to her about.

“Oh, I already have them drawn up, but you’re right, it’ll be weeks before the courthouse is open for us to file them. That’s not what I was going to ask.”

He already has the papers drawn up? How long has he been thinking about this? While she had considered divorce many times, the thought of calling a lawyer and actually having papers drawn up had never crossed her mind.

“What is it, then?” She shifted on her feet, eager for him to leave. She had work to do and the last thing she needed was Nico hanging around distracting her.

“I have a hospital building in Talofofo. People who can’t make it to the camps on this side of the island have been coming there. Dr. Balachandra—you remember him, don’t you?”

How could I forget the doctor who pronounced Lucas’s death?

She must have nodded because he continued on. “He’s been treating those patients, but he went to Cocos Island late last night to see a woman in labor with a breech birth and the currents are too strong this morning. He can’t make his way back on the little boat he took out there.”

Anna took a sip of the now cold coffee she was still holding and studied him. The only sign that he’d aged were the stray gray hairs around his temple. Nico was four years older than her, which meant his fortieth birthday was just around the corner. Yet aside from those wisps of gray, nothing else had changed. His face remained smooth, his milky-brown skin, inherited from his mother, unmarred. His high cheekbones gave him the kind of exotic handsomeness that made women swoon, and he hadn’t lost any of his legendary charm.

“You built a hospital?”

“It’s the private hospital I told you I would build in Lucas’s memory. It’s three months from opening.” He looked around. “Maybe a little longer now.”

Don’t leave, Anna, I’ll build a hospital in Lucas’s memory. We’ll make sure no one ever has to sacrifice like we did. I need you to do this with me.

He gave her a small smile. “It took a few years, but I built it to the best hurricane standards so it fared pretty well. It’s damaged but still standing.”

The pride in his voice cut through her. Before she left, he had tried to show her the land he’d bought in Talofofo, vowing to make enough money to build a private hospital where specialists from around the world would be invited to care for the locals so they would never have to rely on the substandard facilities of the chronically underfunded public hospital. It had been his way of making sense of Lucas’s death. As if anything could make sense of Lucas’s death.

“I need you to come see the patients who aren’t in good shape. I used the tractor we brought last night to clear off the road to Talofofo. It won’t take more than a few hours.”

Spend the day with you? Go see the hospital that memorializes the fact that I couldn’t save our son?

“I’ll see if Dr. Tucker can go out. I have patients to see here.” She somehow managed to keep her voice steady.

“I already talked to Dr. Tucker—she asked me to get you.”

Anna stared at him. How dare he?

“It was her decision to send you.” His voice was hard, his eyes dark and unreadable. There had been a time when his open face couldn’t hide the emotions in his soul.

Anna shifted on her feet. How am I going to get myself out of this one?

“Dr. Atao.”

She turned to see Linda walking toward her, and sighed in relief. “Dr. Tucker, just the person I was hoping to see.”

“I see you found Nico, and what’s this I hear about him being your husband?”

Anna opened her mouth to answer, but Nico jumped in. “We’re actually separated.”

Linda looked from Anna to Nico. “Well, I hope that doesn’t make working together awkward.”

“Dr. Tucker, I think it might be better if I stayed here, I...”

Linda glared at her. “Dr. Atao, I’ve made a lot of concessions for you. I’m expecting additional staff and supplies today. In case you’ve forgotten, I’m in charge here.”

Anna pressed her lips together.

“There are no kids at the Talofofo hospital,” Nico bent down and whispered in her ear.

Her face warmed. They were all but divorced; he needed to quit acting so familiar with her.

Before Anna could find the words to respectfully tell Linda and Nico to shove it, Linda was gone.

“Come on, Anna, the whole family is at the hospital helping out. They want to see you.”

Why? She almost asked, then stopped herself. His mouth was stretched into that broad smile that used to melt her heart. But even his smile had changed. It was more reserved.

“Doesn’t seem like I have much choice, so let’s go gather up supplies.”

It didn’t take them long to fill a box with the things she needed. Anna lifted the box and Nico reached over to take it from her, his hands brushing hers.

She stepped back. “I can carry it.” One thing she could never fault in Nico was his chivalry. There was an incident once when they had hiked up to the Fonte Dam, and she’d twisted her ankle. Even though she’d been able to walk on it, he’d carried her on his back the entire four miles home. He hadn’t listened to her objections.

He raised an eyebrow. “Fine, then.”

They made their way back to the road. Anna’s arms protested. The box hadn’t felt that heavy back at camp, but walking through mud and debris was wearing her down.

“You okay with that box?”

She nodded. “It’s pretty light.”

His lips twitched but he graciously pointed to a pickup truck parked down the road. She saw that the big tree she’d climbed last night had been chopped up and moved to the side so cars could pass in single file. The locals weren’t going to sit on their hands and wait for help to arrive. She remembered when Nico had first introduced her to the island he’d said, No one comes for us. We’re more than twelve hours flying time from the US mainland. We fend for ourselves. At the time she’d been enchanted with the idea of living on a remote island and awed by the spirit of the people who charted their own course.