The President's Doctor by David Shobin

Author:David Shobin [Shobin, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: medical thriller
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Published: 2020-09-17T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

The already-considerable pressure on Rocky increased daily. It was late November, with less than a month remaining before Christmas. As the reelection campaign began to unfold, Bob Meredith’s eccentricities showed no sign of diminution.

It astonished her how her husband could seem so much in control at public appearances and yet privately be falling apart. It was painful to watch what was happening to him.

The effect on her was as much physical as emotional. Her whole body seemed swollen, a feeling of pressure. Her head felt ready to explode, as if it were being stretched. Her left arm had such persistent achy stiffness that she was worried it was her heart.

Their lovemaking was also a casualty. Over the years, their intimate life, while no longer lustful, had grown comfortably familiar. It was a refuge, a place of warmth, a safe haven to which two people could retire when the outside world was overwhelming. But now it was a casualty of the president’s problem. For one thing, Meredith showed almost no interest. Rocky had the impression he could no longer be bothered. Because of his unpredictable reaction, she was afraid to ask him about it. She kept her thoughts and needs to herself.

Her official duties were a refuge. Although Rocky stayed out of politics as much as possible, she did represent the Administration in a ceremonial way consistent with her status as a high-profile figurehead. She most often appeared at ribbon cutting ceremonies, speaker introductions, cake cuttings, and silent support from the dais, roles some dismissed as fluff. Yet she enjoyed this and did it well. Today, in keeping with the Administration’s support of health care financing, she was scheduled to introduce a speaker at a major medical conference in nearby Baltimore.

Baltimore was home to two excellent medical schools in Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland. While Hopkins was more prestigious, Maryland was renowned as the leader in shock-trauma. Equally important, barring traffic, the University of Maryland campus was a direct forty-five-minute drive from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The evening conference was scheduled to begin at seven p.m. in the modem Homer Gudelsky Building. Rocky could introduce her speaker, stay a while, and still be back at the White House by nine. She was to have been accompanied by Dr. Townsend, but at the last minute he begged off, citing an emergency.

Which was just as well. She knew they would talk about Bob the entire drive, and what she needed right now was distance from the subject. She had to get away from it. Her mind had been racing with preoccupation about her husband, and she longed for an opportunity to release her thoughts from the squirrel cage. A few hours diversion would give her emotional breathing room.

It had been a quick, relaxing drive with little traffic. As the limo neared Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Rocky leaned back in her seat, grateful for the respite. She tried to think positively and soon convinced herself that, with luck, things could only get better.

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