Dianne Drake - Revealing The Real Dr Robinson

That caught her interest, shook her right out of her confusion. “What medication is she on? Chlorothiazide or furosemide?”

“No medicine. But she’s eating more fish and grain. Garlic, too. And she’s currently concentrating on eating more vegetables and fewer sweets.”

“Is it working?”

“Marginally. Her blood pressure is still high, but not as high as it was when she had her stroke last year. Which I’d consider progress.”

“Progress would be convincing her to take a pill.”

“Which she won’t do because she doesn’t trust our kind of medicine.”

“So she doesn’t get treated? Her medical condition is like a ticking time bomb, Ben. You know the statistics, she’s ten times as likely to have a second stroke because she’s already had one and her hypertension isn’t controlled. I mean, how can we let that happen?” It didn’t seem acceptable, especially with a condition that could kill her. And there she went again, heart on her sleeve and emotional involvement she shouldn’t be having.

“She does get treated, Shanna. She’s on a better diet, she’s losing weight—doing nicely at it, her blood pressure is lowering, and I check her once a week. More, if she’s not feeling well. And the big thing is, if she refuses my treatment, and I have offered a variety of options, including pills, I can’t force it down her throat.”

Ben held the gate open for Shanna, then followed her up the path to the front door. “We deal in realities here. It would be nice to give her a pill, but the reality is, she’s allowing me to do only what she wants me to do. It’s all I have to work with. I don’t like it, because my preference would be something more aggressive. But it’s not my preference, so I have to make do and be glad she allows me to do what I’m doing. The alternative could be doing nothing at all.”

And there was his practical side, the one that didn’t jump in with both feet and get emotionally tangled up at the start. “But she knows the consequences. I tell her every time I see her. Don’t like the result, but it’s her decision to make, her consequence to deal with.”

Shanna knew about choices and consequences. She was living the consequence of her choice now. Somehow, though, losing a family, which she feared was part of what was at stake for her, didn’t equate to losing a life, which was exactly what Vera Santos had at risk here—her life. So who really cared that she was already over the emotional edge for this patient? It wasn’t like her grandfather was standing there, calling her a sissy for caring. He wasn’t. Quite simply, Shanna wanted to help Vera Santos and that didn’t make her a sissified practitioner, no matter what anybody said.

“What if I can persuade her?” she asked. “What if I can get her to agree to take the pills?”

“That sure of yourself?” he asked.

“That sure of human nature.” She knocked on the front door, then smiled at him. “And of myself.”

“Well, if you’re that sure, here’s the deal.” A mischievous glint popped into his eyes. “You get her to agree to the pills and after house calls I’ll show you around the village, take you to dinner at the cantina.”

She liked the glint, liked this unexpected side of him because previously, when they had been in Tuscany, he’d never initiated the plans. Whatever they’d done with one another had been more as a result of them mutually stumbling into something together. So Ben asking… that was a nice touch.

“Then get yourself ready for the pay-off, Dr. Robinson,” she warned, “because I’m ready for that night on the town.”

“But here’s the flipside. What do I get in return if she doesn’t agree?”

“She’ll agree,” Shanna said quite confidently.

“But if she doesn’t, what’s in it for me?”

She thought hard for a moment. “A humble apology for being wrong?”

“Not enough.”

His face was totally expressionless and someone who didn’t know him might have thought he was being unfriendly. But he wasn’t. Ben was reserved but never unfriendly. And that elfish little glint was still in his eyes. “I know you love yerba maté tea, that you drink it every day. What I’ll do is brew it and bring it to you whenever you want it, for one entire day. Medical rounds and patient emergencies excluded, of course.”

“Tea, but for an entire week, and a humble apology. Then the bet’s on.”

She liked this side of him more and more. Not playful but light in a cautious, grounded sort of way. Like taking the step, but conservatively. Something she needed to learn, actually. “You’re a hard man, Ben. But I’m not worried, because I’m going to win,” she said as she stepped up to the door to address the woman who had opened it and was now standing there watching the two of them banter.

“Buenas noches, Sra. Santos,” Shanna began. “Me llamo Dr. Brooks. Trabajo en el hospital con Dr. Robinson. La razón que estoy aquí esta noche es que quiero hablar con usted acerca de cómo puede quedarse sano y continuar cuidar de sus nietos.”

“Really?” Ben said. “You’re going to use her grandchildren as the reason for her to take her medicine? Isn’t that being a little manipulative, telling her you want to talk to her about how to stay healthy so she can take care of them?”

“Not manipulative. Smart.” Shanna looked up at him, smiling. “And you’re just annoyed you didn’t think of it first.”

“How do you know I didn’t think of it first? Or already tried it?”

“Because, like I said, you’re annoyed. If you’d already tried it and it didn’t work, you’d be laughing at me. And if you’d tried it and it had worked we wouldn’t be making a house call.” She stepped through the door Mrs. Santos held open for her, then turned back to Ben. “Is dancing included in that night on the town, by the way?”

His response was to roll his eyes, exaggerate a sigh and follow her inside. No answer, no smile. Faked annoyance, she realized. Which meant his exterior wasn’t as hard as she’d thought it was. That came as a surprise. Actually, a huge surprise. But, sometimes she liked surprises.

“Okay, so you win,” Ben said, stepping around Shanna on the path back to the village and doubling his pace. Five house calls, and they were finished for the evening.

“Spoken like a man who’s going to grudgingly pay off his wager.” She was barely keeping up with him again and, truth be told, she was almost too exhausted to care if he left her behind. Everything about the past few days had finally caught up with her, and the adrenalin edge had worn off. There were no big plans left in her for the rest of the night, except to get back to her room. Forget the tour, forget everything else. All she wanted to do was concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other enough times to get her where she wanted to be—in bed, asleep.

“Spoken like a man who actually wishes he’d thought of your idea first. What you said to convince Vera Santos to take her medicine was nothing short of brilliant. And, yes, I wish I’d thought of it.”

“What?” Shanna sputtered, pausing a moment to catch her breath.

Ben stopped and turned around. “You heard what I said. No need to repeat myself just so you can gloat.”

“Only gloat… a little.” Suddenly so exhausted she felt paralyzed, her words barely managed to escape her lips.

“Shanna…” He took two steps back toward her but she held up her hand to stop him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just a little more tired than I’d expected. Wasn’t easy getting here.”

“Jet lag, humidity…”

Nodding, Shanna drew in a deep breath. “Is it a rough life out here, Ben?”